Mini-spare mini-rant

[Lee DeRaud]

I'm not sure if it's just my car (newish Honda Accord), but the guy who designed the spare really did not Think It Through.

When I went to check the pressure in the spare for an upcoming trip, I went through the usual annoying deal of (1) taking everything out of the trunk, (2) removing the WeatherTech liner that the dealer had thrown in "for free", and (3) pulling up the chunk of carpet that covers the spare well...and there's no valve stem in sight. Yup, it's on the bottom of the spare when it's in the trunk. So I now have to (4) unscrew about 3" of 20+ turn-per-inch hold-down bolt (by hand) to get it out. Yup, it's way low, so I roll it over to the compressor only to discover that the valve stem is too close to the rim for my locking filler chuck to get a grip. So I have to hold my old filler (which never seals worth a damn) on the stem the whole time. And then go through the whole kabuki dance in reverse to get everything put back together. (The idea of possibly needing to do this by the side of the road with a trunk full of luggage doesn't exactly fill my heart with joy either.)

Murphy's Law pretty much guarantees that I'll never need the spare unless I had blown off checking it, so maybe I'm ahead of the game, karma-wise, at this point. Or not.

[Frederick Skelly]

I feel your pain. Mine is no better. You have to wonder what they were thinking. Maybe trying to protect the valve stem, or maybe putting the valve stem downward improved their packaging. Or something. Beats me.
Fred

[justin sherriff]

a lot of cars do not even have spare tires now or even a place to put one.

[Alan Rutherford]

The spare on my '05 Prius fit that description. I went years without checking it, but finally did before a 600-mile trip. 2 days later, late at night and far from home, I hit a concrete median at 40 mph and destroyed a tire. I can't say that's made it any easier to check the spare - now that I think about it, I've never seen the spare on our current car but maybe it's time I did.

[Jeff Body]

Be thankful you have a spare. My 300 doesn't have a spare. The SRT8 model I have has such large brakes you can't fit a spare over them.
I keep a plug kit in the trunk but if I happen to have anything more than a puncture I'm screwed.

[Dave Lehnert]

My moms 2010 Chevy Malibu did not come with a spare. Went to find one at a junk yard with no luck. Everyone buying them up.
Asked to buy a used jack (Junk yards use to give them away) They wanted $45.

[Lee DeRaud]

I went through a couple years of the "no spare" deal with my previous car, 2004 Corvette. The problem with that one is that it has a staggered setup, with larger diameter rear wheels, so a mini-spare of either diameter would be useless half the time. The base models came with run-flat tires (a crime against humanity, IMHO)...I went with "plan B": a plug-kit, a bottle of Slime, and a 12V inflator.

Car before that was a 2000 Boxster. It had a mini-spare, as the front and rear tires were the same diameter but radically different widths. As I recall, the valve was accessible on that one and the spare itself was a lot easier to get at anyway. (In later years, Porsche dropped the spare, not because it wouldn't work, but because the rear tires were so wide the flat tire wouldn't fit in the trunk after you put the spare on.)

[Stephen Tashiro]

Have mini-spares been improved? - or are they still rated for a max speed of 25 mph? What happens if you have a flat on the interstate?

I bought my van as a used vehicle. It didn't come with a spare or a jack. If I had a spare and a jack, I'm not sure I could change a tire on it - given how tight the lug nuts probably are.

[Rick Potter]

02 Corvette, 13 and 14 Ford C-max's here. Not a spare in the bunch. The Ford's did come with a can of fix-a-flat though.

[Larry Frank]

My Jeep Cherokee has a full sized spare but is a beast to get down and change a tire. I carry a breaker bar and cheater.

[Bob Grier]

Agree with you that the spare should have been turned over and the retainer that holds it in place could have been a quick release for little or any additional cost. People responsible for design should be more experienced and conscientious.

I got stuck in the no spare no jack group and am uncomfortable with it. Maybe could have had a spare if I had better understood what I was doing when ordering the car. Sure hope I can figure out who to call when I get a flat. I have always just changed to the spare my self.

[Jim Becker]

Have mini-spares been improved? - or are they still rated for a max speed of 25 mph? What happens if you have a flat on the interstate?


Compact spares often have a recommended 50 mph maximum, but that's very often ignored by drivers. One is not supposed to drive on them for a long period of time, either. The idea is to get you out of trouble and to someplace where you can get the damaged tire fixed or replaced. There is not a whole lot of tread on them...

[Lee DeRaud]

Compact spares often have a recommended 50 mph maximum, but that's very often ignored by drivers. One is not supposed to drive on them for a long period of time, either.Honda owner's manual "recommends" 50MPH max for 50 miles, same as I recall from the first mini-spare I had in 1981. Coincidentally, that's the same as the set of run-flats that came on the 'Vette.

[Tom Stenzel]

Here in Southeast Michigan the roads are in just wonderful shape. Flats from these roads often leave the tire unusable. Sometimes the rim can't be saved. A guy I work with lost two tires and rims to a water filled hole.

My In-laws went looking for a vehicle. The Chrysler dealer said that cars don't need spares because they don't get flats anymore. The day after I heard that malarkey I saw not one but TWO- Chrysler minivans on the side of the freeway with flat tires.

They bought a new Subaru. It has a spare.

-Tom

[Ken Fitzgerald]

My Pilot came with a mini-spare and it stores underneath the car. The jack and tools store in the sidewall of the rear interior. Living where we do, I check the spares in our 2 cars, at least, once a year as it can be a long ways between gas stations where you might get a flat repaired. I can't believe the auto manufacturers eliminated spares and jacks as a method of lowering cost and weight to increase gas mileage.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Spares are being replaced by cell phones and AAA memberships ( or road service provisions in car insurance policies). What do car rental companies do nowadays? Do they leave any manufacturer supplied spare and jack in the car? Or do they "replace" it with a road service company?

[Jim Becker]

Many vehicles even come with roadside assistance, even when there's an actual spare tire onboard. While I've been a AAA member for "eons" and will always carry it (insurance is through them, too) my Subaru Ascent has roadside assistance included. My previous vehicle, a MY12 Grand Cherokee Overland Summit had road side assistance thought 7 years/100K Miles via the Mopar Maximum Care Extended Service Contract I had on it.

[Brian Elfert]

My roadside assistance says that they will put a spare tire on a car in case of a flat. I assume this means they won't send out a tire truck if you don't have a spare.

[Roger Feeley]

My Chrysler Town and Country has a spare that's suspended under the center console. There's some sort of winch between the two front seats. I've never taken the time to try it to see what it's like. I suppose I should.

[Kev Williams]

Know what else doesn't come with spares?

416226416227

[Brian Elfert]

My Chrysler Town and Country has a spare that's suspended under the center console. There's some sort of winch between the two front seats. I've never taken the time to try it to see what it's like. I suppose I should.

I have a Grand Caravan that has a winch for the spare in that location, but no actual spare tire there. My parent's 2014 Grand Caravan is the same way with no spare tire. I need to see about getting a spare.

[Adam Herman]

Know what else doesn't come with spares?

416226416227

ha. reminds me of working in the outback. our big trucks had custom spares and mounts with winches to get them off the mount. but Damn, it was lot of work with a bottle jack and a big socket wrench to change on in the middle of the outback by yourself, where there is no way to communicate if you don't have a sat. phone.