Many New Cars Have No Spare Tires

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dibbons

dibbons

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Almost A Third Of All New Cars Don't Have Spare Tires: Report

My last month's road trip (4,600 miles) paralleled the route of the Baja 1000 (now called Baja Mil) for about 1,200 miles. Not going through there without my spare.

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I have a 2012 Mini Cooper and...no spare! Just expensive run flat tires. I can pick up a spare from an older mini at about $100. Now that I wrote this I will end up needing one.

OP Dibbons,
I used to go fishing with my dad down there or just drive around on mini vacations down there.
Your car looks great with the Baja Back Drop.

Mike
 
I'm a "millennial" and I can easily change a tire and prefer to drive a manual. Bought my first nice car last year, a BMW 135i in a 6 speed manual. And it doesn't come with a spare! Crazy but most if not all of BMW'S newer cars come spare-less. I think it's due how wide wheels and tires are today plus the larger diameter. A 285 wide wheel would be hard to store away and still have a usable trunk on my 135i. Hell, my 15" rally wheels won't fit into my Dart's factory spare location with trunk mat.
 
Space has little to do with it.

Tires are way better, and fuel economy isn't.
 
Those spares are useless. I got a flat in NYC ( manhattan) and had to drive 50 miles on the L.I. Expwy at 50 MPH. Just try doing that on that road anytime of day and with everybody crawling up your tail you'll be doing 70 again. You can't tell me I getting better gas mileage because of that tire. It has to be a money saving gimmick that Detroit shoved down our throat. And those runflat tires are another joke.
 
When we were shopping for Loris new car, quite a few of the new ones didnt come with a spare. You get a "tire in a can". Sales rep simply said "cost cutting"
Hey new Hyundai Elantra came with a spare.
 
My nephew has a Volvo with no spare. He said you just push a button and the car sends a message to the dealership who sends the closest tire service. He found out how well that works if you have a flat between Casper and Buffalo, WY. Apparently Volvo has no idea either of those places exist because his button did nothing. He nad to call himself. The tire shops had to order a tire to fit as none were in stock. Took him a day and a half.
 
Its not about knowing how to change a tire. It never was safe to be outside a vehicle on the shoulder of the road for any reason. Ask state troopers.
About 1980, bumpers started disappearing. The jack point on majority of passenger vehicles moved from the ends of the vehicle to the sides of the vehicle. So a left side tire will put you out there in harms way, just like those state troopers.
Hell, even in a situation as safety minded as NASCAR, pit crew members are hit. That's 30 vehicles? at 11 seconds? average. Versus how many vehicles and how long on the public roads? The driver is in the safest place.
Modern technology has provided low air pressure warnings, and run flat tires, and most importantly communications.
Factor in the millions of spare tires that were never touched. They went flat or dry rotted away. That compares to a insurance policy that turned out to be worthless when needed. Remember the Uneasy Rider? "limped on down the shoulder on the rim". A rim could cost you a nut today.
Bottom line, Not every change is for the worse.
 
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Watch TV insurance commercials about changing tires, just sit in the car and call for service on
your I phone 52 app like a twat.
 
66jim said:
Watch TV insurance commercials about changing tires, just sit in the car and call for service on
your I phone 52 app like a twat.
Click to expand...
All well and good, if you have service. Not everyone lives or drives in areas that have continuous service. I drive a route a few times a week, that has no service for about 20 miles.
 
(posted this on FBBO yesterday on a different topic thread):

I just read a story about finding the largest T-Rex ever in South Dakota, just because the anthropologist got bored waiting around because of a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. Funny how unrelated things make connections.
 
Mostly done to save weight. But also cost-cutting, and packaging. Think of how much room the spare eats up.
 
69_340_GTS said:
Mostly done to save weight. But also cost-cutting, and packaging. Think of how much room the spare eats up.
Click to expand...
I'll politely disagree. Spares are/were underneath pickup trucks, hangs off the back of wifeys RAV4. Then a Crovette and other sports cars would need 2 different size spares so space is a factor in some cases.
Recon which costs more?, a spare wheel and tire or the air pressure motor system? Mfgrs don't give a hoot about cost. The consumer covers the cost.
 
If Mfgrs weren't worried about costs there would be a lot less recalls. GM ign switches mopar mini vans with tailgate recall etc. They may pass on the cost but never make the upgrade. $1.00 saved on 500,000 cars is 1/2 million.
 
RedFish said:
I'll politely disagree. Spares are/were underneath pickup trucks, hangs off the back of wifeys RAV4. Then a Crovette and other sports cars would need 2 different size spares so space is a factor in some cases.
Recon which costs more?, a spare wheel and tire or the air pressure motor system? Mfgrs don't give a hoot about cost. The consumer covers the cost.
Click to expand...
Yeah well most trucks and full size SUVs have plenty of room for spares, and they are normaly supplied with them or are readily available. So I don't exactly get your point.
By the way, TPMS was mandated by the Federal Govt. It wasn't the car manufacturer's idea.
 
I was a bit concerned when I got my 06 charger SRT and it didn't have a spare. So I bought an Autobahn tire plug kit to add to the air pump and tire goo that the car came with. After 11 years as a daily driver and 120k miles in Memphis and Philly on some pretty lousy roads, I have still never used the air pump or plug kit.

Modern tire technology is damned good and blow outs almost never happen. On the flip side my wife's 05 Grand Caravan has a spare underneath that has never been used and the rim has rusted and the tire has rotted. Do I replace it just to have a spare?

Nope.
 
69_340_GTS said:
Mostly done to save weight. But also cost-cutting, and packaging. Think of how much room the spare eats up.
Click to expand...

This guy hit the nail on the head. Fuel economy averages need to improve. One of the easiest ways to improve fuel economy is make cars lighter. Even a cookie spare tire weighs 15 or 20lbs. A jack and tire iron weighs another 10 to 20lbs. Easily 40lbs, if not 50lbs, saved by not having to equip every car with one. Also creates more trunk space so car companies to squeeze out another cubic ft or 3 when adversing their cars to their competitors.

Ever wonder why the batteries that come in cars, especially compact cars, are smaller and don't have as many cells (cold cranking amps) as years ago? To save weight. These smaller batteries are probably 10 to 15lbs lighter than the old school batteries. Do they last as long? Nope, but the car company doesn't car since your not likely to buy a replacement battery from them anyways in 5 years or 10 years even if you had a full size battery to start with.

Primary reason for no spare tire is to save weight which helps a car company increase their corporate fuel economy averages. Secondary reason is for increasing interior capacity. Third reason is for design/styling considerations and being able to equip the car with different size/diameter tires front and rear.
 
tonysrt said:
If Mfgrs weren't worried about costs there would be a lot less recalls. GM ign switches mopar mini vans with tailgate recall etc. They may pass on the cost but never make the upgrade. $1.00 saved on 500,000 cars is 1/2 million.
Click to expand...
Recalls are the result of poor engineering. It doesn't cost more to design and produce a good part. Ignition switches that can withstand they weight of keys and fobs is a good example. Every mfgr always did that since day one. For GM to design always the harsh detents in their switch was just ignorance, plain and simple,,, and it cost them in the long run. I see the lack of common sense here, there, everywhere.
Some of your points I can't counterpoint. They do need to increase interior space for todays fatter population, along with fatter panels to contain air bags, in todays smaller vehicles.
Not only do fuel millage mandates play a part but 5 tires to dispose of or recycle with every 4 tire vehicle ads up too. They still haven't found a economical way to recycle a tire.
What we end up with here is a top 10 list, "Why to delete a spare tire". Cheers
 
4spdragtop said:
When we were shopping for Loris new car, quite a few of the new ones didnt come with a spare. You get a "tire in a can". Sales rep simply said "cost cutting"
Hey new Hyundai Elantra came with a spare.
Click to expand...

It is not in any manner cost cutting to the consumer..you get no physical real spare but the inflator kit, given the tire is not damaged beyond a small nail puncture you can use the inflator kit. Step one is insert the sealer, step two is to inflate the tire..step three is get the dang thing serviced properly in quick order. For those with the inflator kit, price that small special can of sealer for your particular car. Savings my arse...just another way for the dealership to hold you hostage. I opted for the spare in my newer car...the actual tire winch and such is already in place...and given the cost of the inflator kit, truly less expensive.'

I will close with this note...being the mini van the spare is between the front seats (under the car of course) the thing is not the best position or easiest to access but that is the cost of Stow and Go seating
 
1) To save weight on economy oriented cars so they can post their fabulous EPA ratings..........FACT.
2) Many of said above vehicles (like an Elantra), have a Mobility Kit, which sits in a styrofoam insert fit neatly in the SPARE TIRE WELL. No space is "saved" in these cars.
3) Crowing foolishly about how great new tires are is ridiculous, road debris, chuck-holes, cutting a curb a bit to close and these things are on the rim...and sealant ain't
fixin' that!! I know, because the towing companies are thanking the recovery gods for these imbecilic "no spare" gems, it's been a boom!!
4) I've installed spare kits and applied the new tire info placards on the same cars, which amazingly fit neatly in the SPARE TIRE WELL, for those bitten & the wiser.
5) The pump & sealant kit ain't any cheaper than the spare tire,.......FACT, I know, I've priced 'em for pre-owned more than enough............
6) For vehicles like the Toyota Sienna, run-flats are great & free up seating/storage room, until $$'s tight & You opt for less $$ non run-flats,.....then You're SOL.
7) Try breaking the above news to the pre-owned sales manager when You tell Him He has to buy(4) pricey RFT tires to replace the brandy new ones He appraised
it with to certify it!! LOL!!!
8) Try telling a MAN, that He & His family are stuck on the shoulder of an off-ramp near the projects or the middle of bumf*#k, He's safer while word gets around
waiting, or has no cell service to get a tow, many people have lost their lives &/or disappeared breaking down on long desolate roads.........................
 
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