You Don’t Need a Spare Tire Until You Need a Spare Tire

First of all I want to make clear that every single one of the Toyota Vehicles I have owned or driven have been a pleasure to own and drive. This commentary is directed at one small issue I have with my 2016 Prius. In a sense it is smaller than small issue because it is invisible, or more accurately said, it is not there.

Toyota did not provide a Spare Tire with my 2016 Prius

I'm told they did this to help with their Fuel Economy Requirements, Trunk Space Considerations and the Dangers Involved in Setting up a Jack on the Side of a Road.

A Fella Wise-Ass Comments: In regard to Fuel Economy, why would Toyota be concerned about increasing the MPG in my Prius from 59 MPG to 59.5? It seems to me that Toyota should have worried less about the Prius and more about the Land Cruiser (14 Combined MPG).

Instead they provided me with a Tire Repair Kit which Toyota contends will inject some gooey stuff into the tire to seal a small hole, pump up the tire, temporarily fix my flat tire and save my day...Or will it?

(To be fair, Toyota is not the only manufacturer that is using these Tire Repair Kits. I’m afraid this is the wave of the future.)

Did you notice I said above, "a small hole"?

Lately I have been saying to myself, "Self, what if you have a large hole out in the middle of the Western Good Ole USofA while you are going to or coming from that Dude Ranch in northwestern Wyoming you are going to be going to and coming from this summer?"

If I get a flat tire and the tire is not gooey fixable because the hole is too big, I would have to call AAA to have my car, my wife, me and my daughter towed to civilization.

I started picturing the look on their faces when I ended the call to AAA (if I was lucky enough to have connected with a cell tower) and told them, "They said they would be here in about 4 and a half hours...give or take an hour or thereabouts, as they say hereabouts". 

************

I decided I needed to buy my own Compact Spare Tire...

Ø Let me make this clear from the get go, I consider my Toyota Dealership Service Guy to be very good at what he does.

Ø When I told him I was going to try and be a Dude this summer, he showed me pictures of his own personal horse that likes to stick his (her?) tongue out when posing for pictures.

Ø After my Service Guy finished looking at me like I was crazy, he calculated my Spare Tire and Wheel Price be $267. 

Ø I thought that was a lot of money and I frantically started thinking of possible other alternatives. (My definition of a lot was going to change a lot before this saga was over.)

Ø My Service Guy recommended I go to Pull-A-Part (modern junk yard) and buy a spare tire from one of one of their junked cars.

Ø The 3 locations of Pull-A-Part in my area did not come close to having a spare tire for me to buy.

Ø I called another Toyota Dealer and got a quote over the phone of, "Somewhere around $1,500". (This is what I was referring to when I commented about my changing definition of a lot above.)

Ø I researched on the Internet and found out that in 2016 there were 5 models of Prius and only 2 came without a spare tire but all had the wheel well in the back where I could store my spare tire (if I ever got one).

Ø Not everything you find out about on the Internet is true.

Ø The dealership took out the flooring of the Way Back (formerly known as the Trunk) and found out there was no wheel well back down there.

Ø That meant I would have to store the tire behind the front seat on the floor or in the Way Back on its floor.

Ø I called Toyota Motor Sales because I am a retiree from Toyota Motor Sales and just knew they were going to fall all over themselves trying to help me.

Ø They treated me like they never heard of me.

Ø This was probably true because the employee I talked to probably had not been born when I retired.

Ø I went back to my Service Guy and told him to order me a Cheap Spare Tire and Wheel priced at a mere $267.

Fella Digression: You may not find this interesting but I am in control because it is my Blog and hold on because you are almost done with me and my Blog (for today only I hope). I was the Owner Services Manager for American Motors Corporation (Google it) more than 40 years ago. (We were the first company to have an incoming 800 number.) AMC (figure it out or Google It too) had recently changed the name of my department from Customer Complaint Department to Owner Services Department. Toyota has moved on from those ancient times. Their Customer Complaint Department is now called Brand Engagement Center and their former Phone Answerers are now Brand Engagement Advocates. 

As Fella has been known to say, “That’s progress”. (Fella’s Digression is over.)

Ø I went to the dealership to pick up my cheap tire but they had ordered the wrong size tire and I had to go back 2 days later.

Ø When I went back, the quoted price was $100 more than the cheap price I had already been quoted.

Ø My Service Guy figured it out and he told me what he figured out by saying, "They still have the first wrong-sized tire on the invoice. They are charging you for 2 tires".

Ø I don't know who "they" are but I don't like them one bit.

Ø The final price was $255.

The bottom line is we have our Cheap Compact Spare Tire and we also have room for our daughter.

I just have to decide the location for the Cheap Compact Spare Tire (see pictures).

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Lagniappe: If you need more info about Missing Spare Tires (not just Toyotas) go to this site: https://www.torquenews.com/1083/shopping-guide-2021-why-you-should-demand-spare-tire-your-new-vehicle. As that American Express Commercial used to say, "Don't leave home without it".