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

If the shop is closed I can have it taken to one that is open. Discount Tire will refund the costs of a replacement tire if I have to get it replaced by someone else. If it is at night, I would probably just have it towed to Discount Tire and take a taxi home.

 

Yeah, the system is not tire-specific, so if it senses that one tire is low, you may need to check them all with a tire guage if you have a slow leak, where it isn't obvious, as in your case. Can't answer about the Advanced, but my gut says it will be the same. I think it senses if a tire loses approximately 5psi.
Glad to hear your TPMS sensor doesn't need replacement. That's one reason I went for a donut spare, so as to avoid even using the sealant.
With regard to towing services, Lexus (so I assume Toyota) used to contract with AAA in So. California. But I heard a couple of years ago from someone familiar with AAA operations that they no longer held that contract. If any roadside service is going to take longer than about 20 minutes to respond, I would rather have a spare to put on, provided I can do it safely, and be on my way.

 

AFAIK, the TPMS will only tell you there is low pressure, but not which tire(s). Keep a pressure gauge in the glove box?

 

Get out of your car, place you fingers on the tread of each tire, then press mid sidewall with your thumb. You should be able to feel the difference in a tire that is 5 psi low.

 

TPMS on base model doesn't show which tire is the problem. The advanced model has a screen on the display audio system that indicates which tire is the problem.
There's one thing I find completely unacceptable in this whole situation, which is that the sealant that Toyota provides will require TPMS sensor replacement. That's just crazy. Especially when there are slimes you can buy online for just $10-15 that claim that they will not affect the sensors.

 

As far as what's covered under warranty or not, my point was that due to the huge inconvenience caused, they SHOULD replace it because of the time and money you wasted due to their incompetence. If they had immediately sent the right truck and noted how many passengers are in the vehicle, OP would have saved at least an hour of his time.

 

Yeah, kinda like looking out the windows occasionally when using a GPS to navigate.

A year or two ago some people using their GPS to navigate got stuck far out in isolated wild country and died. A local Sheriff was quoted as saying "When you are using your GPS to navigate it's a good idea to occasionally look out the window."

 

No need for a Prius-specific sealant, it's not like there's something special about it. Check this one out for example, just $10 and tons of good reviews: Slime 10011 Tubeless Automotive Tire Sealant - 16 oz. : Amazon.com : Automotive

 

That tire display disappeared somewhere on the way to the production model. As far as I know, no Advanced owner has been able to find it.

 

Another option is to replace the standard tires with run flats if you don't want to carry a plug kit. No one selling subscriptions to roadside service provides it. They all subcontract so the speed & quality of the service are going to vary. If you are going to spend the money & the space on a spare tire why not get some use out of it by going with a matching wheel & tire? In the old days a tire rotation included the spare.

 

No, it doesn't have to be the same diameter. That is one of the reasons it is best mounted on the rear, not in a steering position. The 135/80R16 temporary spare in my non-PiP should be about one inch smaller diameter than the 195/65R16 main tires.

Think also about travels in areas with no cell phone reception. This is not an issue in some regions of the country. But I tend to travel in regions where the cell coverage maps have plenty of white space.

Well, this was disclosed as a feature of the car, before you purchased it. Wasn't it? Toyota is not the first to go this route.

 

Wait really? That's a bummer.

 

tire rack is selling cheap 15" steel wheels ($56). Tires and Wheels Package | Tire Rack
any issues using a steelie as a spare (with a lower priced tire, would be ~$150... worth peace of mind in my book)? i guess the TPMS would not work but this wouldn't be a permanent fix anyway.

 

TPMS should still work on the remaining 3 tires.
Also if you really wanted to, you could install TPMS on the spare as well…

 

TOYOTA PRIUS WHEEL RIM TIRE 04 05 06 07 15'' | eBay

GOODYEAR INTEGRITY 205 55 15 or TOYOTA CAMR EMERGENCY DONUT SPARE TIRE WHEEL RIM | eBay

 

We all got along fine for many years without TPMS. It was brought about by the Ford Explorer/Firestone Tire debacle several years ago. SUVs were rolling over when underinflated tires blew, so our government came to the rescue, giving us a system to tell us when our tires lose air, instead of us being responsible car owners, keeping track of something as routine as that ourselves.