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

Call prestige ... Mark ... Works awesome!!!

 

Your experience resonates with me! My Prius Plug-in flat tire went like this:

Hoboken, NJ on a Sunday night about 10:15. Hit something in the road. Tried to use the repair kit (I had checked it out) but tire too damaged.
Called Roadside assistance. They could only find a tow truck in Brooklyn - maybe two hours from Hoboken. We waited.

The car could not be dropped at a NYC dealer without advanced notice, so it had to go to Brooklyn on Sunday night.
The tow truck driver dropped us off on a street in Manhattan.

On Monday I called Toyota of Manhattan about the Prius, but it wasn't there. I called Roadside assistance who called the tow company who said they would bring the car to Toyota on Tuesday.

I called Toyota on Tuesday and they had the car and would check the tire.

Toyota called me on Wednesday to say they couldn't get a replacement tire until Wednesday.

Toyota called me on Wednesday to tell me the car would be ready on Thursday. New tire: $166 Replacement inflation kit (one use only, sorry) $134

So, flat tire to full operation in 4 days and $300.

Now the tire sensor system light is on. Took the car to a dealer near me (not the 300 miles away dealer who replaced the tire). Told me $200 to replace the sensor and "reset" the other three.

Complained to Toyota corporation and my dealership salesperson from whom I have bought Toyotas since 1994.
Still waiting for the "so sorry for your inconvenience."
I think Prius needs a spare tire and was happy to read about an Amazon donut for $63 solution, but couldn't find it. I'll read more here.

 

Wow, that is quite a story. I understand Toyota's decision to omit the spare. But this is why I carry a spare with me on long distance trips. After reading this, seems like you would have been better off taking off your flat tire and hailed a taxi to take you to a tire shop to get you a new tire. Would've saved you time and money.

 

I emptied out the white stuff so I can use the stock pump.

 

great idea!

 

saw the tpms warning light up the other day. my tire had a slow leak so took it to dealer (happened to have an extra care service due). dealer wouldn't patch the nail through center of the trend (not sidewall), so i had them replace the tire (it was there already and didn't feel like waiting in line at costco).

i took the original tire to a tire center and had it patched and mounted on a 15" alloy rim from tirerack ($99) for $30. now i've got a full size spare, and can officially can the slime

 

I wonder why the dealer wouldn't patch it? For those folks with an America's Tires shop nearby, they patch your tires for free. With 23,000 miles on my tires, the TPMS light came on. I found a nail in the tread. I filled up the tire and pulled into the Union City America's Tires 30 minutes before closing. They happily patched me up in 30 minutes and applied some nice tire dressing gratis. I think the catch is that they hope you buy a new tire if they are unable to repair it. They even have the OEM EP20 tires in stock had I needed it.


iPhone ? - now Free

 

i suspect dealer bs. costco will also patch tires, but only on tires purchased there (we checked). hopefully i can get up to 60k on the stock avids before replacing all the tires at costco

 

Around here- if the tire's not 100% perfect (other than the puncture issue) no shop will plug tires any longer due to liability issues. A work colleague had that exact issue a few weeks back- his tires were a few years old- and they were LT tires (on a SUV) - so everyone assumed he'd be pulling a trailer or big load- so every shop he went to refused to plug his tire. They all recommended a new tire- which meant he needed all four new tires ($800 estimate)!
He ended up doing it himself with a $10 plug kit from Auto Zone.

It seems the days of "it should be fine..." are over. The lawyers won!

 

Just getting your own plug repair kit you could really shorten the circuit.

Two frustrations I see:

1. Lack of spare.
2. Reluctance of tire repair places to plug repair.

As I've said adinfinitum, lack of spare is a deal breaker for me. Yeah I know, lots of other cars blah blah..., sorry, not biting.

 

You now, buying a dount spare is not a huge thing. I paid $35 from a bone yard and just use tie downs, to secure the spare.
It would have been nice to have a spare from Toyota, but not a big deal to me.

 

the nail went all the way through, so i'm not crazy about patching and then re-using daily (no doubt why dealer wouldn't touch it... liability). patching it and using as a spare seemed like an environmentally friendly alternative (the tire tread was barely worn after 15k miles)

 

i should've been a lawyer

 

I plugged a tire that had a tiny nail in it, before re-install last spring (stored over winter while I had the snows on). It's held just fine. It's very simple and effective.

 

E-Bay lists several 3rd Gen Prius Donut spares for a "buy it now" price of about $100 + $15 for a tire cover and you'll be all set

 

Way cheaper to get it local. For that money you could get a brand new full-size tire from TireRack.

 

But then you need a wheel on which to mount the tire............

 

Sorry I meant the whole shebang. Steel wheel, tire, mounting, balance, and shipping. See the FAQ, I provided a ballpark price there.