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Dreaded flat tire and I dont like it a bit :(

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Sanjath, Nov 24, 2012.

  1. Sanjath

    Sanjath Member

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    Well, I haven't had a flat tire for 2+ years and even the one I had before that was right in front of my house. So, never thought missing spare tire was an issue. But now I am having second thoughts on that.

    It all happened on our way back from san francisco, as we were cruising on 880 south just before san leandro, I heard a phat noise initially I thought it was something hitting the car, soon I realized that it was flat tire. Parked on the shoulder at night around 8.45pm, called toyota care. They said estimate is an hour and after pleading that I have kids in the car and the section of highway doesn't feel very good, rep promised me that the truck will arrive soon. But, anyway after 2-3 calls truck came 60 minutes on the dot and the Toyota Care's explanation was that over weekends it is 90 minutes, so my plea made it to 60 minutes!!

    But, then the tow truck guy did not have a flat bed, he searched first for a spare tire, he couldn't believe it did not come one with, not his fault !! Then he said he need to get a flat bed tow truck, he called in. Next guy came in after another 20 minutes. Now, I came to know that he cannot carry all of us in his tow truck (2 adults+2kids). Toyota care guys said they can't tow it to my home but to dealership. May be my inexperience of this situation, I should've called in the cab much earlier. Called cab, so another 20 minutes of wait for the cab. (Couldn't toyota care suggest me some of the finer points of getting the cab when I say kids are there?)

    Now I have the car sitting in the lot in front of the dealership with nightowl paperwork. Not sure what is in store, he may ask me to change the tire.

    All these things happened right in the 20 mile radius from home and still had to go through all these non-sense. May be I will be better next time, but I will definitely buy a donut and required tools to change. I just dont think I can face the same situation again. Only question is where do I carry this tire!!

    Pretty disappointed and wondering if Toyota did the right thing with this whole no-spare policy. If they did, they should've provided better policy on helping the customer, not this non-sense of towing to dealership thing.
     
  2. lensovet

    lensovet former BP Brigade 207

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    Basically only trained techs are allowed to touch the car. This probably makes sense – if the tow truck guy actually knew what he was doing, he might have tried patching the tire first (btw, was there a reason you didn't try this?).
    Toyota Care, I think, should cover the tire repair. This is also why Toyota has them tow you to a dealer, so that the dealer can easily bill Toyota for the cost directly.
     
  3. lensovet

    lensovet former BP Brigade 207

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    Regardless, sorry to hear about your predicament. In terms of storage, there's no real place to store it other than in the trunk! One of the reasons why you'll definitely want to get a compact spare rather than a full-size tire. Might even find one from a totaled gen 3 Prius.
     
  4. Sanjath

    Sanjath Member

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    It was dark and not sure how well it would work. Also, as soon as you open that it says you should call toyota care first.
    Once it was towed to the dealership, I tried to use the repair kit, it just did not seem to inflate, may be I was doing something wrong, but just did not inflate even after pumping it for 3-5 minutes.
     
  5. lensovet

    lensovet former BP Brigade 207

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    Yeah. Probably was too big of a hole then. Is there sidewall damage?
     
  6. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Wow, that's just awful. I'm sorry to hear that. It's unacceptable that they sent out the wrong tow truck; there's no excuse for it. I'd demand a written explanation from Toyota.
     
  7. lensovet

    lensovet former BP Brigade 207

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    I suspect the issue here was that the rear tire was deflated and the rep taking the call didn't bother finding this out. If the front tire was busted, then a regular tow truck would do.
    Regardless, yeah, this is shitty, and come to think of it, I'd make sure that you don't get charged a penny for this. I'd also write to Toyota to get the cab fare covered as well. I doubt you can get much else from them though – it's like they can offer you free service lol.
     
    Greg75 likes this.
  8. benalexe

    benalexe Member

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    The first thing I did when I got the car is get a donut. I ordere the rim online for 80 and they donut tire was like :250 from Toyota. I also purchased a tire tote and I have it strapped to the hooks I'm my tunk. I purchased it for the exact reason you had. The tire cost is such a small price to pay,
     
    Okinawa likes this.
  9. SJ PiP

    SJ PiP Member

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    poor RSA response coupled with lack of spare is my only disappointment with the PiP. i wonder if OnStar, mBrace etc are any better or if it's the nature of RSA

    i need to look into getting a spare. only takes 20-30min tops to replace a tire. but i would pull off at next exit, and never try it on a bay area highway at nite
     
  10. blakemster

    blakemster Member

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    Just came back from a trip to Phoenix. PIP performed great. Thankfully, I didn't need my donut ... BUT I did bring it. I usually like to drive real early. Couldn't imagine the fiasco that would go down at 6:30am in the middle of nowhere.
    Bottom line: get a spare!
     
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sorry to hear of your bad experience sanjath. to me, this whole toyotacare thing is just marketing mumbo jumbo. triple a could do a better job. thanks for the heads up, i have to make a more determined effort to find a donut spare!
     
    Merkey likes this.
  12. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    Duncan Donuts is having a sale:whistle:
     
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  13. mikenancy1

    mikenancy1 2012 PiP (Base), '10 Highlander Hybrid, '05 Prius

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    Can you please post the specs for what you got? What you did makes total sense, and I've been thinking about doing the same. Now, after reading Sanjath's story, I want to just do it.
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you just need a donut for any gen III.
     
  15. IMkenNY

    IMkenNY Im just being nosy

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    If I loose a tire to unrepairable damage on the road I plan on using my 100 mile AAA to tow me home where I have a spare wheel/tire ready to go.
    Has anyone had to purchase a tire from the dealer to get them back on the road? If so, what did it cost? (arm, leg or first born?)
     
  16. mikenancy1

    mikenancy1 2012 PiP (Base), '10 Highlander Hybrid, '05 Prius

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    What's the size of the donut? It's not listed on the standard Prius's spec sheet, and I called my dealer's parts department, and they said they don't show it either. This can't be that complicated!
     
  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sorry, can't help you with the size. there are threads here you can search, i remember some people had the size. how does that help you acquire one?
     
  18. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    ya, good luck with that site.(n)
     
  20. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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