Spare Wheel

[wharfstaff]

Spotted some RAVs for sale in Autotrader at Motorpoint with only delivery miles on them. They had an interesting feature on the rear door

Priced at under £20000 but the spec appears low, cloth seats, no cruise or remote radio controls.

[philip42h]

They are also in colours not sold in the UK. The small print does say:

... Vehicles are supplied with balance of manufacturers warranty where available. Vehicles may not be to UK spec. Specification subject to confirmation on inspection. You may not be the first registered keeper. ...

My emphasis. They are imports ...

[kencat]

Not sure but think thay have come from Ireland ?

[Davrav]

We've had a lot of debate on the merits of spare wheel vs tyre gunk etc and the advantages of a spare were brought home to me very obviously yesterday.

Noticed two ladies parked up with a Frontera just off a roundabout locally. They were obviously trying to change a rear wheel and struggling. Having gone round and back I stopped and asked if they were managing and they said 'No we're not sure about all this'. As they were well off the road and on level tarmac I said I would help them out.

First thing I noticed was that they had got the jack in the wrong place - they hadn't realised that there would be information on this in the handbook. Secondly, they hadn't got the handbrake on and thirdly they hadn't cracked the wheel nuts [six of them!] prior to lifting the wheel.

Now, apart from that, the tyre was completely shredded - side walls split almost all the way round. There is no way that a can of gunk would have fixed that.

I don't want to think about what could have happened had the tyre gone on their 40 mile trip down the M4 but it actually gave way travelling at about 30mph through the village.

When I asked them why they were trying to change the wheel themselves and not calling a breakdown service, only one was a member and she didn't have the details with her.......................

Anyway, they had a spare on the back door [the owner actually admitted that she had been looking under the boot floor for it initally]

Fortunately they had the locking wheel nut key and I was able to change the wheel for them and they went off to their family get together at a local wildlife park.

Happy days.

Might be worth checking if your 'significant other' knows what to do if a tyre goes, spare wheel or not.......................................

[philip42h]

My 'significant other' knows exactly what to do ... she has a mobile 'phone; the call starts "D-a-r-l-i-n-g ... "

[actually, I malign her is this case, she does know exactly what to do, by why spoil a good story with facts]

However, this sounds like a strong case for tyre pressure warning systems and run-flats (even BSR one! :D). From what you say - "side walls split almost all the way round" - it seems very unlikely that the 'puncture' has only just happened - rather, the tyre deflated a good while ago and the driver has only just noticed. A tyre pressure warning system would have alerted the driver to a potential problem much earlier and a run-flat would have allowed them to get to somewhere where someone could have sorted it out ... without relying on the gallantry of Davrav. :)

[three5]

Philip42h said: "However, this sounds like a strong case for tyre pressure warning systems and run-flats (even BSR one! :D). From what you say - "side walls split almost all the way round" - it seems very unlikely that the 'puncture' has only just happened - rather, the tyre deflated a good while ago and the driver has only just noticed. A tyre pressure warning system would have alerted the driver to a potential problem much earlier and a run-flat would have allowed them to get to somewhere where someone could have sorted it out ... without relying on the gallantry of Davrav. :)"

Good man Davrav!

Perhaps Hoovie would confirm, but I think he fitted a TPMS for not much more than £100. You only have to save one tyre from the sort of failure these ladies experienced and you are in pocket. Anyone found out how the one on the new RAVs displays the information yet? Mine and Hoovie's use a separate display about 80 x 50. The sensors are supposed to have a life of 7 years before they need replacement so, hopefully, they will last as long as my present tyres and I can change them all together.

[Davrav]

TPMS may or may not have saved the tyre but it would certainly have given early warning before, "The first we realised there was a problem was when we heard what we thought was something caught and bouncing against the mudflap"

[Hoovie]

Philip42h said: "However, this sounds like a strong case for tyre pressure warning systems and run-flats (even BSR one! :D). From what you say - "side walls split almost all the way round" - it seems very unlikely that the 'puncture' has only just happened - rather, the tyre deflated a good while ago and the driver has only just noticed. A tyre pressure warning system would have alerted the driver to a potential problem much earlier and a run-flat would have allowed them to get to somewhere where someone could have sorted it out ... without relying on the gallantry of Davrav. :)"

Good man Davrav!

Perhaps Hoovie would confirm, but I think he fitted a TPMS for not much more than £100. You only have to save one tyre from the sort of failure these ladies experienced and you are in pocket. Anyone found out how the one on the new RAVs displays the information yet? Mine and Hoovie's use a separate display about 80 x 50. The sensors are supposed to have a life of 7 years before they need replacement so, hopefully, they will last as long as my present tyres and I can change them all together.

I think there is starting to be a bit of a backlash against the trend of lack of spare wheels on cars - I bet if given the choice of no spare wheel or a spare, even if it cost £100 on top, 99% of people would chose to have a spare - and a PROPER spare at that, not a space saver one!

I also think the introduction of mandatory TPMS systems on new cars are a definite way forward, and is not just relevant for run-flat systems - and as Chris says, and has done, these can be retrofitted very easily and in actual fact, a COMPLETE aftermarket TPMS system can be fitted to a full set of wheels for less then the cost of a SINGLE OEM replacement sensor from Toyota or similar.

I have one set of valves on the winter wheels and on other set on the summer wheels, and simply swap the display unit when I swap the wheels.

If I had one installed on the HR-V (the last car I had a puncture on), then I would have been informed about the tyre losing pressure before I was driving with it flat on the M1 and having to spend about £150 on a new tyre - more then the TPMS system would have cost to buy and fit!

[philip42h]

... Anyone found out how the one on the new RAVs displays the information yet?

I don't know about the 4.4, but on the 4.3 the TPMS lights a warning light on the dash if any one of the tyres is less than 26 psi. The driver then gets out and checks each with a gauge to find out which ...

[paulmel]

Hi,

After waiting nearly a week to NOT get an answer from Toyota about my simple question of how the TPMS displays itself on my new 4.4 Rav, decided to simply let one of the tyres down and, hey presto, the warning light came on.

It is on the main instrument panel, not the touch screen.

Not sure at what pressure it came on. Let some air out the tyre, checked the dashboard, warning light on, checked how much pressure was left in the tyre, was at about 27 psi. Only way to check at what point it kicks in would be to have two people, one sat inside watching the dashboard, the other letting the tyre down.

Anyway, question answered,

[Davrav]

Did it indicate which wheel was under pressure Paul?

[paulmel]

No, just that at least one wheel had dropped in pressure.

[kencat]

*

[Tech01]

Here in Spain, new RAVs can be seen both with and without a full-size spare on the rear door. Both versions are available from the dealers, and, at the moment, both seem equally popular.

My guess, though, is that many buyers don't even give a thought to the 'spare' issue. Some good friends of ours nearby, recently bought a new Juke (heaven knows why...) and only found out about the lack of any jack or spare wheel the hard way. We rescued them. The tyre was unrepairable. The sidewall had a cut. A new tyre cost them €190. They tried to buy a steel wheel+tyre as spare. Rim in that size not available - Nissan alloys only. No space for a full-size Nissan alloy+tyre. So had to buy a Nissan steel skinny spare+tyre+jack. €650. Yes, €650. Dealer refused to discount by anything more than 10%.

They assumed that the high boot floor contained a spare wheel. It actually contained the space for one (skinny, that is) - and a silly little tube of goo and toy compressor.

If they had known all this, they would have either insisted on the ss+t+j FOC when buying the car, or not have bought the car at all.

Sad.