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It happened. Flat tire. No spare.

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by JMalmsteen, Dec 21, 2017.

  1. JMalmsteen

    JMalmsteen I love my Prius!

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    This is our first car without a spare (actually, the vette has run flats, if that counts). I got a flat. At least it's at the gym a mile from our house. I need to leave for work at 5:20 am and we are waiting on the tow truck. We need to leave the car at Toyota. We have the other Prius. The others cars are two states over.

    Now, one of us has to call in for work. Rental car places aren't open and it's to late to fix the tire.

    Public service announcement- drive with a spare. I'm happy we are near home and I'm not stuck alone in the middle of nowhere.

    Has this happened to anyone? What did you do?
     
  2. JMalmsteen

    JMalmsteen I love my Prius!

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    We are trying the "fix a flat" so I will let you know how that works. My husband is staying home tomorrow. Imagine if it's 11:00 pm, no place is open. You get towed to Toyota and have to get a hotel room, get a cab back to Toyota, have nothing with you to stay overnight. This is such a pain of a situation to be in.

    I appreciate the warning. I'm near home. I go through some pretty rough areas to get to where I work (NY is like that). This could have been much worse.
     
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  3. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Happened with our BMW i3-REx on a summer afternoon in town. I had to wait 3 hours for the BMW ordered tow truck to arrive and the BMW service center stayed open 30 minutes to mount a new tire (old one, sidewall gouged.) Now I carry the Prius Prime spare behind the driver seat all the time.

    Bob Wilson
     
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  4. JMalmsteen

    JMalmsteen I love my Prius!

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    I need to do that. I drive 125 miles round trip daily for work. This is too much of a risk. Before, you just would swap the tire. I have had three flats in the past few years driving the 2007 Prius. Two, AAA saved me. One my husband changed on the side of the road.
     
    #4 JMalmsteen, Dec 21, 2017
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2017
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  5. HPrimeAdvanced

    HPrimeAdvanced Senior Member

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    I got TWO flats within 2 months of each other!! STRONGLY recommend flatbed tow to America's Tire (or called Discount Tire in some parts of the country). I have the Advanced which has the Emergency Button you push, and the operator comes on and arranges everything, even police, if needed. You don't want to go to Toyota dealer since, like my dealer, they don't stock the tire!!!
    I did buy the "donut spare" (new) that was used for previous Prii (the correct wheel and tire sizes have been posted somewhere on this forum by some very nice people); I got them at America's Tire (took couple of days, around $300+, new). I keep at home, unless going on a long trip
    Good luck!!

    .
     
  6. 4rpr15

    4rpr15 Senior Member

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    How are you all getting flat tires so much? I’ve owned 3 Prius’s, none of which ever got a flat.
     
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  7. JMalmsteen

    JMalmsteen I love my Prius!

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    475,000 miles on my 2007. We drive a lot. I have 17,000 on our Prime, which we bought new and have owned for four months. You get flats if you drive this much, it happens.
     
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    No spare = no sale. Then maybe they'll wake up.
     
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  9. SR-71

    SR-71 Member

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    Will a full
    Will a full size spare fit behind the drivers seat? Or you talking about a donut spare? And where's the best place to buy a spare?
     
  10. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Flats have not been eliminated, someone will get them. You are one of the lucky ones, while the sampling in this thread (a very small fraction of active Prime owners here) are the unlucky ones.

    In the past five years, I've had two flats in my regular Prius (small nail, giant bolt, both tires not repairable) and two in my Forester (screw, sharp flake of chipseal rock, both repaired). That is a higher rate than my long term average, but not statistically unreasonable.
     
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  11. KennyGS

    KennyGS Senior Member

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    I've had two occasions where my tire had an embedded nail/screw that was found during rotation at a regular service interval. In both cases the location was too close to the edge, which required replacement - the shop would not fix it. No flat occurred, but unbeknownst to me I was rolling around on a ticking bomb. Otherwise, I've never had a flat either.
     
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  12. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I've had several flats over the decades including two on motorcycles, but not many. Only one blowout. That's the only one that wasn't pluggable. I plug and inflate on the spot now. Easier than changing the tire. If it's on the sidewall, but the tire isn't shredded, I'd still plug it and drive it to a tire store right away.

    But on a long trip, I carry a spare. No fun wondering when a tow truck will arrive, and really no fun paying for it.
     
  13. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    So far so good. No flat on my Prime. I do have full size spare, but I usually do not keep it in the car. Most of my driving is within 20 miles of home, so if flat happens, call to home to have it delivered to the site works. I also have AAA.
     
  14. 4rpr15

    4rpr15 Senior Member

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    What’s the next best thing if someone doesn’t have AAA?
     
  15. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    AA? o_O
     
  16. 4rpr15

    4rpr15 Senior Member

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    I was thinking along the lines of Toyota roadside assistance
     
  17. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    That would be C- :LOL: The closest Toyota dealer is 60 miles away from my home.
     
  18. 4rpr15

    4rpr15 Senior Member

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    Ouch
     
  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    donut on the rear deck. glazed.
     
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  20. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    You don't need to keep it on the deck. There are Dunkin Donuts every two blocks.:LOL: