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

Nice to have choice in USA, but In Germany a new law requires TPMS on all snow tire rim sets as well as on all new cars sold in Germany by 2015 or 2016. They regard it as a public safety issue. Given the 200+ kph speeds on the Autobahn, underinflation can be a true safely issue IMO.

 

Yikes, that is definitely my nightmare! Sorry to hear about your experience. I recall calling Toyota Care regarding a nail in my tire (thankfully still drive-able) and they were completely useless.

 

I took one of our all seasons into a dealership when it was off the vehicle (winter, snows on) due to a finishing nail in tread. They said no deal, too close to edge to patch.

That motivated me: got a quality plug repair kit, fixed it, the tire's been fine for another 2 years now. Picked up a small bolt since then in one of the snows, plug repaired it too. No drama, no problems.

 

May I ask the make/model of the plug kit you are using? (Or pic?)

 

It's by BlackJack. Believe it's KT-340 on this page:

Passenger Vehicle Repair Kits - BlackJack Tire Repair

It has two diameters of plugs, which I've not seen elsewhere. With the first repair the puncture was a very tiny finishing nail. I used the smaller diameter for that one, seems less intrusive. With the second repair it was more of a bolt, used the larger diameter plug.

It was a first for me to do such a repair, but really not that hard. It's got some negative press now, but worked fine for me.

 

The FAQ sticky says the spare should be T135/80D16 101M.
I found a spare for sale that is T135/80R16 101M. I think the R means it is a radial tire.
Will this spare work on the PiP?

 

I have plugged two tires on the PIP now, system works perfect. I drive the spare until I can get home in my garage and concentrate on installing the plug. The tricky part is to make the hole big enough to get the plug in BUT not to make the hole too big. Any other system that Toyota has designed is pure insanity.
The trend in all maintenance problems seems to be to. Make it, difficult, complicated, costly or just undo able .

 

There used to be a lot more regular maintenance that had to be performed on older vehicles (breaker points, spark plugs, condenser, distributor cap, rotor, high tension (spark plug) wires, ignition timing/advance, grease fittings, seasonal carb adjustments, fuel filters, belts, drum brakes, etc...) at short intervals so they had to make it semi-easy to get at and complete. But with 100,000 mile spark plugs, 15,000 synthetic oil changes (BMW, etc..) lubed for life ball joints, and no belts- they didn't care to make it easy access. If you put 15k mi on your car/year you'll go 6.5 years on the original set of spark plugs... so if you have to put a little effort into it- you're still ahead of the old school once per year changeout.

I think many of us who had cars from the 60's and 70's have selectively forgotten how much upkeep those old beasts required compared to modern vehicles.

 

breaker points ..... ah! you just had to mention them. I must have put several on and they all had to be gapped right. And I must have gone through many cracked distributor caps as well. Several tubes and jars of dielectric grease lying around. Bad ole days, bad ole days!

 

I asked my wife what she would do if she was driving and got a flat. She said, she would call AAA,,,well that answered my question..no need for a spare or a repair kit.

 

great, as long as your cell works, and you don't mind getting towed on a flatbed. but for someone who can't change their own tyre, it's really the only solution.

 

You see how much better off we are nowadays?
In the past when you got a flat you would roll up your sleeves, get out the jack and spare... but it's soooo much easier now: you get out your phone and make a call... problem solved!

 

15 minutes vs hours? To each their own.

 

I thought ny_rob was being sarcastic. Not sure.

 

Ha ha! I'm not that patient! Neither is my wife. She has a donut spare in her car but she would be calling me in an instant to change it. In any case I wouldn't be dragging the donut tire out if she caught me at home. I'd end up with getting a snow tire out during the summer or an all-season during the winter from the back shed and taking it with me. Her driving style and most donut spares have limited driving parameters which would not match well.

As with most cars today, the tires are large and heavy. Gone are the days of 13 and 14" tires and wheels. No way in hell is she going to be able to drag that 19" out of the wheel well and swap it with the full size flat tire. I'm not sure people realize just how big tires and wheels are today. Combine that with fact that some wheels are rather tight on the hub even after the lug nuts are off.

 

^ Good points.

My wife tried putting on one of our 17" OEM wheels once, and was right at her limit. I can't recall completely, but think I ended up pitching in, helping to lift it. It's a task: you need to lift it, then move it forward a few inches, and sync the holes with the studs, while at your strength limit. It's tough.

And yes, the aluminum rims in particular seem to corrode and bond to the hubs, especially when new I think. Once they're cracked loose a few times the aluminum gets a patina, doesn't stick so much. A very thin smear of anti-seize compound helps.

Tip for breaking them loose: with the tire and inch or two off the ground, remove all lug nuts save one at the top, left on, loose. Set a section of 2x4 on edge, behind the inside wall of the tire (preferably on a concrete slab). Lay a heavy sledge hammer on the flat, about 2~3 feet back. Swing it into the 2x4.

 

^ That's one (and probably the only) good thing about the space saver spares- they're very light compared to the stock tires.
Yesterday I had the new (17") winter tires mounted to my extra (oem alloy) set of rims for the Volt. They were were quite heavy and large being 215/55-17's. I doubt my wife or kids could swap out one of those- but the space saver I carry is very light, I can easily lift it out of the trunk with one hand. If they needed to- they could change out that space saver with a flat.

 

Come on guys...my wife is petite and had to change out a flat with the full size steel spare a couple of times on her recently retired Durango, when I was unavailable, because I taught her how to raise and lower the jack to the right level. At 10 years old my son could rotate all four using a proper jack and stands.

 

good thing there aren't many flats these days.

 

Muthe £¥\/#/&&*;/#\&!!!!!