I'm sure that will work well when when my tire is shredded by some obstacle in the road, as has happened a couple times to me in the past. If they give you sealant I wonder if that means there is no tire pressure sensor any longer or are you just supposed to ruin it with the sealant spray just so you can hopefully keep driving.
$New tire, $New TPMS sensor, and $TPMS reset. $200 to $300? You never get a deal on just one tire. and maybe $extra to clean sealant off the wheel. What a mess.
That seems statistically impossible. Most of us don't ever encounter anything beyond just an ordinary puncture flat, which the kit would handle fine. What does it take to shread a tire anyway? .
I actually shredded the tires on my old prius (Gen I). They were only rated to 80-some miles per hour, and on two different occassions I inadvertently exceeded that speed and they flew apart (figured the first time was a fluke). After that I never went over 80 mph and had no trouble. They really were shredded though, tread wall separation and everything.
Nothing about the 2012 Plug In Prius production model for the U.S. has been confirmed yet. Is is most likely it will not have one? Yes, but again not confirmed. Everyone with questions who want definite answers will have to wait like all of us for an official release from Toyota on the U.S. model.
Let's see. I once parked at a curb that had a piece of metal edging that was bent outward for some reason so it essentially was like a knife edge sticking out enough to slice my tire. I once ran into some piece of equipment someone dropped on the freeway that killed my tire and damaged my wheel (that was on a car I owned before my Prius but I don't think my Prius would have fared any better). In my younger days I clipped a curb while making a turn which shredded my tire. "Impossible"--I don't think that word means what you think it means
I meant, improbable. As for things happening when you're young, you may not have been as attentive to tires back then. Worn to the point of replacement leaves them much more vunerable. (I've certainly clipped curbs in my time without incident). And the sad part is, tire-pressure sensors had to be federally mandate due to so many people driving them dangerously low. .
I would have to say that no spare tire is not a show stopper for me, the Leaf doesn't have a spare tire either, and this is the way cars are going these days, with so many living in urban areas. WIth that said, I do have a 2010 Prius V, with the low-profile tires, and hit a pot hole once, 30 seconds later the "low tire pressure" lit up, and I had to pull over, it was just about on the rim at that point. nearly $275 and a week later I had a replacement OEM tire. These low profile tires have been nothing but trouble, and I won't be getting them on ANY vehicle ever again..
I've only had a flat tire once in my 17 years of driving and the side of the tire was completely blown out (I had driven on that tire for about 30,000 and I'm not sure what caused it to fail). If that had happened when I was traveling through some remote area with no cell phone reception, I'm not sure what I would have done without a spare tire. The lack of a spare tire will not prevent me from buying a Prius Plug-in, but it will make me a little uneasy when driving through remote areas.
I'm undecided about the lack of a spare being a show stopper. Yes, we live in cities but sometimes venture out of them. I drive to trailheads to backpack and frequently these are out of cell phone range and frequently on dirt roads. Having to get another vehicle to make those trips can be a pain. Also, not having a spare means any flat not fixed with sealant means a tow to someplace to get a tire replaced or repaired with half your day, or more, shot as opposed to putting on a spare, getting to your destination, and taking care of a new tire at a more convenient time. But, I do want those carpool stickers again and I don't really want a Volt, so....................
There is nothing to prevent you from buying a spare wheel and tire, and putting it in the rear storage area (along with a small jack and tire iron as well), if you are going to an area thats remote. Yes, it will cost you money and take up some storage space, but if you have an issue, you will have a spare. You could even get a donut spare from a totaled Prius at a junk yard, as long as the tire/wheel size, and hole pattern matches, that would keep the weight to a minimum. With over 1 million Prius sold, there are many that are in junk yards by now...
So, really it's a matter of storage space. Can you afford the space to carry a donut spare in the cargo area when going on trips to the outback? .
I have snow tires and I will carry one when ever I leave town with my PHV. It is not terribly difficult nor terribly expensive to put together a used wheel and tire for a spare which you can throw in the trunk on trips. Make sure that the wheel fits. You will need a jack and a lug wrench. These are also easy to find. If you don't want to go to the trouble and are willing to spend a little more, go to the Tire Rack, your friendly Toyota Dealer or what ever supplier is handy.
Perhaps that will be necessary. On a somewhat related note, I wonder if the new Prius will come with the on-star like system from Toyota so that one could perhaps call for help outside of cell phone range.
I have it on my 2010, I only had the 30 day trial, couldn't see it being worthwhile, as it was several hundred per year, and it DOES use cellphone frequencys, so if you are out of range on cell reception, it won't work either.
