Grrr....why do new cars not have spare tires?

[Catalina25]

Having a breaker bar in the vehicle is the key. The lug nut tools what come with vehicles are very iffy.

Bottom line: I'm OK with tire changing. I hope that my children and grandchildren can safely remove lug nuts and change a tire if needed. If one gets in a jam it's good to have a good breaker bar, a good jack, an air pump, maybe a piece of 3/4 inch plywood to put the jack on, and a chock block in the back.

Good practice and good advice, hudson!

Dad always had a breaker bar and a proper socket in all his vehicles, and I carried them off and on over the years myself.

Although I've shown my two daughters how to change a tire, having them do it themselves to take the mystery out of it, but I suspect they would simply call AAA and that's fine. My DW on the other hand wouldn't even think about doing it herself!

[Luke Duke]

IIRC, folks recommend some sort of bar that you put over the default wrench to extend it for more leverage for this situation. Is that some kind of packaged solution (go to Amazon or your auto parts store and buy *this*) or just something where people repurpose an old piece of pipe?

Either go get a piece of black iron pipe from the hardware store or get one of these.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=telescoping+lug+wrench

[cubs1999]

I thought of this thread yesterday. I hit a big pothole and could tell right away it was probably going to be bad. I clicked to the TPMS and the front passenger tire was already at 20 PSI down from the warmed up 38 the others were at.

I was on an on ramp from one interstate to another and I found a good place to stop just as the low pressure warning light came on.

Luckily, this old clunker still has a spare but I was worried as it was old. The Bobistheoilguy forums has had threads where people have suggested replacing the tire on a donut spare bc it could have dry rotted and not be good. My 19 year old spare still worked and got me to work just about a half hour late and I made it home.

I called AAA and the guy came within 20 minutes. The app had my location wrong but the driver called and said it always gives that location for people near where I was stopped. He put some air the the store and said it looked like fine and just reminded me to go bo faster that 50 MPH.

I'll know the damage later today. It seems like the suspension and alignment are okay wit the donut. I'm afraid the rim my be bent but I hit some wood last summer that bent the rim slightly but didn't cause any vibration and has been fine.

I had bought two replacement rims last year bc two were badly corroded. Luckily this isn't on one of the new rims.

The highway authority has a pothole reimbursement application that I can call to have sent to me. Not sure how regularly they pay out but I may have to try if I need new rims.

The tire has the Discount Tire certificates so that should be.covered as these tires are less than a year old.

This thread made me think that if I had a newer car with no spare, I would have missed work and had to take an Uber home and to the tire shop. I guess I would have had to have it towed to Discount Tire.

I'm actually going to ask them if people just have it towed there after hours and then call in the next day when in that situation.

[ponyboy]

I wouldnt purchase a new car without a spare tire. Or, if it didnt come with a spare, i would want whatever a spare tire costs to be deducted from the final price. I dont need a full size spare, just a simple donut size tire will do.

Ive changed enough tires in my 17 years of driving to never be without a spare. And, always make sure it has air in it. People often forget to check the spare tire air pressure.

I can change a tire in a few minutes. Im not sitting on the side of the road or highway for 2 hours waiting for AAA to arrive. I do things myself.

[neilpilot]

I wouldnt purchase a new car without a spare tire. Or, if it didnt come with a spare, i would want whatever a spare tire costs to be deducted from the final price. I dont need a full size spare, just a simple donut size tire will do.

Ive changed enough tires in my 17 years of driving to never be without a spare. And, always make sure it has air in it. People often forget to check the spare tire air pressure.

I can change a tire in a few minutes. Im not sitting on the side of the road or highway for 2 hours waiting for AAA to arrive. I do things myself.

Don’t forget the Jack, which won’t be supplied if there’s no spare.

[valleyrock]

Having a breaker bar in the vehicle is the key. The lug nut tools what come with vehicles are very iffy.

Bottom line: I'm OK with tire changing. I hope that my children and grandchildren can safely remove lug nuts and change a tire if needed. If one gets in a jam it's good to have a good breaker bar, a good jack, an air pump, maybe a piece of 3/4 inch plywood to put the jack on, and a chock block in the back.

Good practice and good advice, hudson!

Dad always had a breaker bar and a proper socket in all his vehicles, and I carried them off and on over the years myself.

Although I've shown my two daughters how to change a tire, having them do it themselves to take the mystery out of it, but I suspect they would simply call AAA and that's fine. My DW on the other hand wouldn't even think about doing it herself!

Yes, the shops drive the lug nuts on with an air wrench, to the point that you need a breaker bar to loosen them. (Too tight also warps the rotors, which they usually don't understand and/or don't mind, for obvious reasons.)

So, having a spare won't help if you can't get the lug nuts off.

Better maybe to have road-side assistance, which is pretty cheap to add to auto insurance, or go with AAA.

I always retorque the lug nuts and check the tire pressure whenever I get a car back from a shop. Take a gauge and check the tire pressures when you pick up your car. After you see they are not properly inflated, and might even be dangerously over-inflated, decide if it's worth it to go back in and tell them.

[RickBoglehead]

For those that say they won't buy a vehicle without a spare tire, note that many vehicles have no room for one should you get one, no place to put it.

In addition, it's frightening the number of people that buy a new car that includes years of free roadside assistance, and they have no idea they have that... People can't READ THEIR PAPERWORK AND WARRANTIES.

[flyingcows]

We have 3 cars in our household, different makes and models, none of them came equipped with a spare tire or a place to put one and only one came equipped with run flats (which I later replaced with "go flats")

Having a spare is nice, but personally I don't see the appeal in having a car come with a skinny spare. If a spare tire was that important to me I'd just pack a full size spare and tools in the vehicle, but in my case I'm fine taking the risk with just an air compressor and a plug kit. Although I don't road trip or drive in remote places, if I did that I'd want to bring a full size spare with me(not some skinny spare)

[HonorRole]

I recently replaced my 20 year old car and chose to test drive 2 hybrids, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. I bought the Camry in part because it comes with a spare tire and the Honda does not.

Maybe this is a reflection of the 'sleep well at night' philosophy. I feel more secure when I get behind the wheel knowing I have a reliable backup plan if a tire goes flat.

[rockstar]

I specifically bought my current vehicle because it still had a spare and didn’t have the irritating start stop at lights.

The idea that we should tow our vehicle every time we get a flat is nuts.

[obgraham]

Indeed, lack of a spare is just silly. A week or two back, while visiting another city, I came out in the morning to find a nearly flat rear tire. I could even see the nail in it.
The solution was simple. Jack it up, put on the baby spare, drive a mile to the nearest Discount Tire, have them fix it at no charge, and be on my way. A short delay with no significant stress.
The new way: come out and see the flat, call someone for a tow, wait for the "dispatcher" to find someone to tow me somewhere (hopefully that same Discount Tire) and get it fixed. Time required: couple more hours, and a significant addition to my Visa bill.

Why is this "progress"?

[lazydavid]

I specifically bought my current vehicle because it still had a spare and didn’t have the irritating start stop at lights.

The idea that we should tow our vehicle every time we get a flat is nuts.

I've had many, many flats over the 25 years I've had no in-vehicle spare. I've never had a single flat tire result in a tow, ever. Though I did once have to get towed for FOUR simultaneous flats. But a spare doesn't help there either.

The solution was simple. Jack it up, put on the baby spare, drive a mile to the nearest Discount Tire, have them fix it at no charge, and be on my way. A short delay with no significant stress.

Even simpler solution. Re-inflate the tire, make the same 1 mile drive to Discount Tire, have them fix it at no charge, and be on your way.

[cubs1999]

Just an update to this. I went in today. Unfortunately, DT did not have the tire in stock. I was offered two options: 1) Have them order the tired which would arrive the next day or 2) go to another location that has the tire in stock. I opted to order the tire as I didn't want to drive out of the way to get in fixed today, plus I have another car to drive to work today.

This brings up the "Tire Certificates" that DT offers that I've seen discussed in another thread. I would not have bought these but only did b/c the guy offered them basically free when I decided to do the TMPS sensors last year. I had refused the certificates but then when I asked for the price of the TMPS sensors (which I'm glad I have as they helped me realize I had busted tire right after hitting the pothole), he gave a lower price if I took the certificates.

The certificates have saved me the $127 cost of the tires (the price last year, I didn't look what the price is currently). I have to pay like $28 or something to get the certificate again. I suppose I saved around $100. Well not really as I paid about $95 for the certificates according to the receipt. (Well, it suppose this time I did save since I was going to get the TMPS even at the inflated price prior to him discounting it last year to include the TMPS).

I tried calling the state highway department for the pothole reimbursement. I just got voice mail so will try again tomorrow. I'm not sure if they approved the claim if they'd pay for the new certificate but I suppose it only costs me 5 minutes and a stamp to try. Maybe I should have just gotten a new rim too and seen if I could get that reimbursed. The pothole did scratch it up. They didn't say if it was bent as they didn't try mounting a new tire on it yet so we'll see.

Long story and to get back to this particular topic, if I had this as my only car, I'd be inconvenienced further if I didn't have a spare as I couldn't drive it to a location with a tire in stock with no spare so would have had to go back the next day and had no car for one day. (Well I have two cars but it would still be even more of an inconvenience. )

I thought of this thread yesterday. I hit a big pothole and could tell right away it was probably going to be bad. I clicked to the TPMS and the front passenger tire was already at 20 PSI down from the warmed up 38 the others were at.

I was on an on ramp from one interstate to another and I found a good place to stop just as the low pressure warning light came on.

Luckily, this old clunker still has a spare but I was worried as it was old. The Bobistheoilguy forums has had threads where people have suggested replacing the tire on a donut spare bc it could have dry rotted and not be good. My 19 year old spare still worked and got me to work just about a half hour late and I made it home.

I called AAA and the guy came within 20 minutes. The app had my location wrong but the driver called and said it always gives that location for people near where I was stopped. He put some air the the store and said it looked like fine and just reminded me to go bo faster that 50 MPH.

I'll know the damage later today. It seems like the suspension and alignment are okay wit the donut. I'm afraid the rim my be bent but I hit some wood last summer that bent the rim slightly but didn't cause any vibration and has been fine.

I had bought two replacement rims last year bc two were badly corroded. Luckily this isn't on one of the new rims.

The highway authority has a pothole reimbursement application that I can call to have sent to me. Not sure how regularly they pay out but I may have to try if I need new rims.

The tire has the Discount Tire certificates so that should be.covered as these tires are less than a year old.

This thread made me think that if I had a newer car with no spare, I would have missed work and had to take an Uber home and to the tire shop. I guess I would have had to have it towed to Discount Tire.

I'm actually going to ask them if people just have it towed there after hours and then call in the next day when in that situation.

[Northern Flicker]

For those that say they won't buy a vehicle without a spare tire, note that many vehicles have no room for one should you get one, no place to put it.

So those vehicles are among the ones that will not be purchased by those of us who expect a car to come with a spare tire, jack, and lug wrench.

[kevinf]

I had a friend call me today, she had a flat tire in the morning. She put the spare on which was dated 9th week of 2004 and had no pressure so it collapsed as soon as the jack lowered. So she calIed me for help, I came over and plugged her tire and inflated it and gave her a plug kit. Spares don't do any good if they aren't maintained.

The Ford Maverick I ordered has a full sized spare, but I'm not sure how easy accessing it will be to top it off and inspect it as it's stored under the truck.