Tire woes. Two flats in 4500 miles.

Maybe give up on the goo?

My remedy:

Temp spare
Plug repair kit
Air pump

 

Sorry about the bad luck...what caused the flats? what states?
For a long road trip need to consider taking a spare as some do with PiP and Prime.
Others say they never had a flat in their whole life, so it's just bad luck.
Also some get good at plugging small nail holes with a kit.

PS- Nice Harp! We have one a little like that but does not get played anymore.

 

What are they charging for the goop bottle?

 

I hope you do know that the goop is ONLY a temporary fix......right ??

You can't blame the tires until you get them inspected for punctures, etc.

You absolutely need to get the failed tires replaced or properly fixed......NOW.
When the goop fails, more than the tire might be damaged.

 

I'm the other Prime driver in Delaware. My car came with Dunlop tires that I replaced with Michelins (Grand Touring) after about two weeks. Couldn't stand the Dunlops for how the car handled and lack of traction on wet days. On Tire Rack they are the worst rated in class for available LRR tires that would fit the car. I just threw the Dunlops away and bought the Michelins so I wouldn't have to drive on crap tires for the first couple of years with the car.

 

Wow.

I have Bridgestone Ecopias on my Prius (third set - now on the Pluses) and in my entire life of driving (over 30 years), I've never had a flat tire.

 

sorry to hear it, no fun on a road trip. i agree on the tires, get a good set of michelins. i just put on energy savers, and they're fabulous.

 

no tpms warning?

 

i know, right? same as low gas.

 

Any tire can pick up a nail: both our stock tires and snows are Michelin, and both have had flats. In both cases I did a plug repair, no further problems.

Did your TPMS sensors survive the goop? Still to be determined?

 

I believe that if I were traveling that much I'd just pack along a spare tire, small jack and a suitable lug wrench.
I just did some quick checking and Toyota compact spares and OEM jacks are available on flebay for < $100.

LRR tires are harder than regular tires, so they're theoretically more susceptible to FOD damage.....right?

Naaah. Not right.
All tires can and will be punctured by nails (especially roofing nails) screws, rebar, bricks, angle iron, small children (just seeing if you were paying attention) or anything else in the road that's fairly hard and sharp.

We've had technicians shred tires to the point where you can put the can of spray-and-pray goop into the hole because they were on a mental coffee break while driving and "didn't see that cinder block in the road."
Since even drivers who are paying attention to the driving task and not drafting cannot be expected to avoid nails and screws.......flats are GOING to happen if you drive enough.
Fortunately......most tire punctures can be repaired by the goop but I would IN NO WAY call this more than a very temporary fix that will get you to the nearest tire shop for a patch or a new tire, and NOT to a stealership for another can of goop.

UNfortunately, the goop will not repair all tire damage, and in my (minority, these days) opinion only fools venture far from home without a proper spare - where "proper" does not even mean the little doughnut rim that used to be popular as a cost savings measure before they decided to just give you a $5 can of fix-a-flat as a further cost savings measure cleverly disguised as a "weight saving" measure for people that complain about cars that do not have a large enough cargo bay.
---can't make this stuff up.

Many people who live in the frozen north and experience (for now) snow and ice buy Corolla rims to mount snow tires on.
I'm thinking that one of these rims with an inexpensive tire would find its way into my cargo bay if I were to buy a Prime, and I would stick the goop into a saddle bag on a motorcycle.

AS ALWAYS.......

YMMV

 

The Prime comes with a jack and a lug wrench.

 

GREAT!
2 less things to buy if I ever get one.....

 

I'll replace the goop and its special compressor with a regular small compressor and a plug kit. Between proper tire maintenance, the plug kit and a cell phone, I shouldn't ever need a spare tire.