AN auto technician has warned aspiring car buyers about a missing item no longer included in many vehicles on the market.
College student Courtney McKeown was one of those victims when, one day, her Jeep caught a flat and called the American Automobile Association (AAA).
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McKeown assumed the professional would arrive at her location, remove the spare tire from her truck, and replace the flat.
However, the college student soon realized there was no spare tire in the trunk of her Jeep.
“We thought it would be in there. So, we opened that up and realized there wasn’t a spare tire,” McKeown told Scripps News.
Her car did not even include a temporary “donut” tire.
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Instead, all that was in her trunk was a small air pump.
“This is what you get as an alternative to a spare tire,” dad Chris McKeown added.
SPARE TIRES GOING ‘MISSING’
“You get this pump for inflating the tire and this can of Fix-a-Flat.
“In our case, it wouldn’t have worked because the hole was in the sidewall.”
However, since 2020, spare tires have suddenly gone “missing” from new cars, according to Consumer Reports.
Just 10% of cars come equipped with a full-sized spare tire.
Meanwhile, less than 50% of new cars come with a space-saver or donut tire.
“I think there’s a lot of people out there that don’t realize this,” McKeown said.
Auto technician Michael Crossen said automakers are ditching spare tires to cut production costs and reduce the weights of the vehicles.
Crossen also warned about the dangers of driving long distances on a donut tire.
“You shouldn’t drive on them for more than 50 miles,” he told Scripps News.
“So, it’s truly temporary. And a lot of cars do come with those.”
Crossen cautioned drivers that whether they have a spare tire or not, they should always be prepared for a flat in case of an emergency.
“You definitely should know what you have in your vehicle,” he added.
“You want to be familiar with it now rather than when you need it on the side of the road in the dark.”
Crossen recommends drivers should always have five essential tools in their vehicles:
- Hazard triangles or road flares
- A working flashlight
- Rags or gloves to help with a tire change
- A phone number for roadside assistance
How to change a tire
Knowing how to change a tire is a necessary skill for any driver. A flat tire or a blowout could happen at any time.
Here are the items you’ll need to change a tire:
- Jack
- Lug wrench
- Fully inflated spare tire
- Vehicle owner’s manual
These items should have come with your car, however, if you have replaced any of these or it didn’t come with these items, you should purchase new ones immediately.
How to change a tire:
- Find a safe location such as an empty parking lot that has level ground. Never change your tire on a narrow shoulder near ongoing traffic.
- Turn on your hazard lights
- Apply the parking brake
- Use the wheel wedges either in front or behind the tires to make sure the car doesn’t roll away while you fix the tire
- Remove the hubcap or wheel cover
- Loosen the lug nuts
- Place the jack under the car
- Raise the car with the jack
- Unscrew the lug nuts
- Remove the tire
- Mount the spare tire on the lug bolts
- Tighten the lug nuts
- Lower the car and tighten the lug nuts once more
- Lower the car completely and replace the hubcap
- Place your equipment back in the care
- Check the tire pressure in the spare tire
- Take your flat tire to a technician
Replacing a flat tire can take about 15 to 30 minutes.
Source: Bridgestone
