Yeah, who needs a vehicle anyway ...

[Pixelated]

A spare tire ... now THAT I needed.

[wolfie]

Missing spare, or was it one of those annoying cars that never had one in the first place?

[greek_jester]

In modern cars spare wheels are "optional extras"; in fact, you often don't get a full wheel, you only get one of those skinny things that are only good for about 50 miles until you can get your main wheel's tyre replaced.

[Pixelated]

wolfie: It's a used car and of course it never occurred to me to check if I had a spare ... until I needed one. Oh, lookie here ... all the tools for a tire change, but no tire ...

greek_jester: Even that would've saved me a lot of aggravation. However, in future, I will have a full-sized spare. The only "doughnuts" I'll have will be at the coffee shop.

[wolfie]

First check whether or not a full-size tire will fit in the well. A few examples:

Subaru Forester up to '08 it will (came standard with full-size), '09 and up it won't
Dodge Caliber/Jeep Compass it won't, Jeep Patriot it will (and was offered as an option)
2nd generation ('91-94) Hyundai Excel it will
2nd generation ('96-'00) Hyundai Elantra it will (station wagon - don't know about sedan), but you'll need to "stretch" the hold-down bolt
1st generation Hyundai Tuscon it will, but you need to store it "dish up" instead of "dish down" like the donut, and you'll need to put a spacer ring under the rim of the hold-down bolt (bottoms out before touching the spare wheel)

You can probably guess what cars I've owned, and what replacements I considered. Able to take a full-size spare was one thing I wanted.

Jack the car up CAREFULLY to take off a regular wheel for a test fit, but if there's ANY give where the jack fits, lower it IMMEDIATELY. On some cars, the jack points (especially the rear ones) rust out from the inside.

What car do you have?

[raw1989]

I should have had mine checked when I had my tires done in December

[Pixelated]

wolfie: I have a 2004 Pontiac Vibe. I had $5,000 to spend and virtually no time to shop; my (even older) Toyota Corolla was literally shedding parts. Important parts.

Thanks for the advice on jacking up a car. At some point I really have to get somebody to show me how to change a freakin' tire.

And folks ... it gets even more embarrassing.

I do have a spare tire.

I just wasn't looking where it was. Y'know all those tire-changing tools I saw? I guess they were ON TOP of the compartment holding the tire ... or something like that. I still don't know, but I'll get my mechanic to show me when I pick up my car tomorrow (hopefully). I believe it's a full-size spare tire but will confirm that as well; if it's a doughnut, I'll get it replaced as soon as I can.

I suppose it was all for the best: Mechanic says all 4 tires needed to be replaced, while the spare looks as pristine as the day it was put there. From what little I know about vehicles, putting a brand-spanking-new tire on a car with three other tires that are almost at the end of their lifespans is most definite Not A Good Thing. And I have CAA (thank goodness) so those two tows were free and I still have 2 more free tows on my membership.

[csquared]

You need to get the spare tire checked. Rubber deteriorates with time. There is one thing worse than having a flat spare, and that is one that looks good, but blows out when you are at speed.

[Seanette]

You need to get the spare tire checked. Rubber deteriorates with time. There is one thing worse than having a flat spare, and that is one that looks good, but blows out when you are at speed.

Yeah, we had an amazing self-destructing spare once. Didn't blow out, but the pattern made in the sidewalls as they gave way was rather interesting.

[wolfie]

Matrix/Vibe was one of the cars I was considering at some point. Is it the 1st generation (has "T" slots in the cargo floor for tiedowns)? If so, it can't hold a full-size spare (can't recall if it was just depth - which relocating the stuff on top of it would fix, or diameter as well).

That spare is 13 years old - as others have mentioned, it's "aged out" even though it hasn't worn out. You should replace it - all tires have a date code moulded into the sidewall.

When you replace your tires, you might want to consider "all weather" tires (not the same as "all season"). The Nokian WGR3 is one example of these (in Canada, it's handled exclusively through Kal Tire) - I've got its predecessor, the WGR2, on my car. If you drive on unplowed roads a lot (rural areas), you should be running full snow tires in the winter, but "all weather" is fine in the city for both summer and winter.

[Pixelated]

Ah, now see, that also hadn't occurred to me ... the age of the tire. Maybe I should go back to using the city bus system (if it didn't take two hours to get just about anywhere ...)

I will look into replacing it. Mechanic has advised me that the car already needs a further $500 worth of work, though, so the spare is going to have to wait. With 4 brand new tires, I'm hoping it doesn't become an issue within the next month or so ...

I don't know about the 'T' slots; will check it out when I get the vehicle back.

I'm hoping to drive around some this summer and check out the region I was born in and the various small towns and villages nearby, but I no longer drive in rural areas in winter -- that was my reporting days, when getting lost in the middle of nowhere was par for the course. I don't even do any long-distance driving anymore; I drive within the city and that's it. Whenever I can get a vacation (don't know if I'm entitled to one yet in my office job since I've just started there) I was thinking heading back to the Huron County area -- about a four-hour drive. Considering I haven't done anything like that in five years, it's gonna be a challenge.

[raw1989]

I have Michelin tires on my car they are the top of the line tire for my SUV but I will check my spar now that u say it has a date on it im sure it being a 2011 it may need to be changed if it hasn't been.

[greek_jester]

First check whether or not a full-size tire will fit in the well. A few examples: *snip*

Add the 2014 Toyota Yaris to those that won't fit a full-size wheel; guess which car I have!

I will look into replacing it. Mechanic has advised me that the car already needs a further $500 worth of work, though, so the spare is going to have to wait. With 4 brand new tires, I'm hoping it doesn't become an issue within the next month or so ...

Is it possible to put a reconditioned tyre on the spare as a temp job? That should only be about $10-$20 extra, and it's always a good idea to have a spare. I once changed 2 worn tyres on my previous car, went out that weekend, and went straight over a nail. Guess what? It was one of the new tyres that picked it up...

[Rosco the Iroc]

. From what little I know about vehicles, putting a brand-spanking-new tire on a car with three other tires that are almost at the end of their lifespans is most definite Not A Good Thing. .

YES freaking YES! Thank you!

I wish I could beat that though my farther in laws head!

Killed the trans in his Kia Rio twice running odd sizes and always to bald.
If he can get the tire to stick to an rim that somehow bolts on he runs it.

So after much bitching on what a POS it was and how they won't keep giving him new trans he gets an Prius.
2 wheel motors
1 main battery and charge controller all dead with in a year.

I have no love for that kind of car, but damm it doesn't deserve this either. As for the running the bald unsafe tires, I straight up banned anyone from my from house ever riding in that car.

Most new antilock/traction/torque control systems have wheel speed sensors that are set for a given wheel size. You change the tires to an non stock size the systems will react badly.

[Nunavut Pants]

Usually if you use the same size on both wheels on each end of the car (i.e., both fronts or both rears) the systems will be OK. Different sizes left to right will cause problems, though.

I don't know if there are any new cars any more with full-size spares. In general, they figure they have better use for the space and weight that a full-size spare would occupy. The little "donuts" aren't even that common it seems. Now a lot of cars come with run-flat tires, so they feel no spare is needed.