Let our technical expert Richard Seymour show you how to use the Toyota tyre repair kit and how it can help you if you get a puncture. For more on tyre repair kits, visit the Toyota UK website, www.toyota.co.uk.
The tyre repair kit is a great idea in theory, it saves weight, therefore saving fuel, it takes up a very small amount of space, also it’s relatively quick and easy to use, plus it doesn’t require the manual effort involved when changing a wheel, however very limited in practice, it only provides a solution in certain scenarios, a spare wheel provides a solution in all scenarios.
Talked to a mechanic re this issue. He said if you can re-inflate the tyre and drive carefully to a tyre repair centre, even if you have to re-inflate a couple of times, it’s better than using the tyre repair kit. The tyre is scrapped once you use the kit.
Ive just ordered a brand new 2015 Volkswagen Polo 1.4Tdi Bluemotion, and surprisingly Volkswagen include a full sized spare wheel (not a space saver) and tyre jack, in the boot. That full sized spare wheel is standard fitment on every Polo in the range. Last year (April 2014) a friend bought a lovely brand new Volkswagen Up Black Edition model, a very pretty little car with impressive build quality. Did the car come with a full sized spare wheel, or even a space saver in the boot, NOPE, even though the car was over £11000, i purchased a brand new unused space saver wheel and tyre off a company in Manchester. Explain the logic in that, if a company the size of Volkswagen can include a full sized spare wheel on every new 2015 Polo, and not include the Up as well, then it's either down to pricing of the car, or simply bad manners. Maybe not a deal breaker for most potential purchasers, but it was a pleasant surprise to see a full sized spare included in the boot of every new Polo, and it's certainly peace of mind knowing it's there .
My TPMS light came on Saturday night, Sunday morning I woke up to a flat tire. I read the directions for Toyota's fix a flat, it worked then I drove 25 miles to WalMart who repaired the tire for $10.00 that was over 1,000 miles ago.
That's also what a car mechanic told me. As well that it doesn't always work, and it's a mess. And that in his opinion, this was only done out of their cost-efficiency, not your car's fuel-efficiency. In my case, apart from my dog, I hardly ever have passengers.
Question for toyota. Can you also use the compressor WITHOUT using the liquid bottle, i.e. Just the compressor to inflate a flat tyre that does not have a hole? Will it pump or does it need to have a bottle attached?
I would rather have the old system, that's why I've just bought a space saver and jack for £41. now I can change the tyre and get it repaired. your right John Does it only takes a few mins to change a tyre.
What he doesn't say is that you'll be hard pressed to find anyone to repair the puncture once you've used this system. No one will go near it. A replacement tyre is required. My advice, call the AA or other and get a hitch to a garage who can repair puncture for £20. Instead I've done this and have to buy a new tyre, although mine is only 1 month old.
Richard Alton Depending upon the nature of the puncture, many tyres can be repaired. They don't always have to be replaced. The point goldenjammy is making, is that after putting this gunk in your punctured tyre, many garages won't want to touch it to repair it! This is a win for the Toyota dealership, but a lose for the poor benighted driver; who has to pony up extra dosh to needlessly buy another tyre! I take the belt and braces approach. I have both a space-saver tyre and a can of gunk. I would use the space-saver for preference, and then have the puncture repaired. I would only use the can if conditions were really bad, or the tyre was approaching the end of its life, tread-wise. With a new tyre, I'd brave terrible conditions to change the tyre though!
Great for the environment I suppose, you don't carry the extra weight of a spare tyre around but you have to buy a new tyre if you get a puncture and add more waste. Awesome.
Yeah right. It's just cheaper than having a spare tire you mean. I bought a used Toyota with the car repair kit. I will chuck that one out and buy a spare tire, thanks!
For the tyre repair kit to work most effectively, the contents inside the whole bottle should be used. Once empty, you will need to get a new bottle. As well as a new tyre :^)
A full-size spare wheel and tyre should be a legal requirement. I am lucky as I have a Skoda Fabia, that does come with a FULL-SIZE spare wheel and tyre with; jack and tools. Skoda is part of the Volkswagen group. The Germans know best
The List of when NOT to use the Kit should tell you to get a SPARE TIRE . The constant reminder you may need to call recovery should reinforce that concept. They eliminate a spare tire for weight and force on you a Panoramic Roof which weighs more then the spare tire . He does NOT mention how long you may have to wait for recovery to show up. Especially if you are on the road in another city away from home at night .Great for wives and daughters who should know how to change a tire. Once the canister is used you need to buy another one Approx. $80. Some tire shops say they can not fix the tire due to sealant. Cost of new tire $200. Also what is the cost of the recovery service ? That's a pretty expensive flat. ( how much money are they saving on gas ???) People should REFUSE to buy a car without a spare tire. This bit of propaganda is outrageous. I can change a tire in my sleep . It is not that hard and be on the road before you figure if your inflator kit is working and pack it away while you drive your 10 miles and have to stop and recheck the tire.
Question is how mad will the mechanic be when I bring to him the slimy mess he's going to have to clean out? Additionally will he be able to fully clean it out? If not will the tire be out of balance? Would I be just as prepared with a tyre plug kit and the tyre inflator? I think the mechanic would give me a hug if I did. I know I've asked a lot and your answers would be appreciated. Also why must the brits spell it tyre and here in the USA we spell it tire? LOL!!
Hi and thanks for your message. The solution we're showing is advised because it is easy and effective. Any mess is easy to clean up too. The tyre won't now be out of balance from this. You can use an alternative method, yes. Tyre is the UK spelling - and we have a different way of spelling more words too!
The presenter has confused me. Not sure whether to purchase a Toyota or Hang myself in my garage. Wow A+ for enthusiam!!.....You Poms :) (joke by the way!)
The fuel economy of the 15 kg you lost by not taking a spare is probably a few bucks a year. Also you need to inspect the tyre to know if it is repairable? Did you add a flashlight, a cleaning kit and an inspection course in the kit? Also is it safer to drive a punctured tyre that has been used flat than using a spare tyre? Never mind the cases where there is no way to fix a tyre with the repair kit. Does it works okey in cold? Because propelling gases perform poorly in cold as this kit will. Getting stranded in a blizzard. Yeah super safe. Get normal sized spares in every car. I wouldnt buy a car without one.
Hi Peter, we're sorry to hear there's been an issue here. Have you spoken to your local Toyota centre about this? We'd also be happy to talk about it via customer relations: po.st/GQLM2C
No, not yet. I was looking for help when I came across this. I had a flat today (Sunday). We have a '13 td yaris which come with a spray can, so we asked for a wheel and they sold us a space saver and fitted into the boot as a regular wheel does not fit. When we came to use it today, the nuts do not fit through the holes. We bought this from the main dealer inBurton. We cannot find any help on the Internet so will contact the dealer tomorrow.
Obvious really. The wheel nuts are the same for all years BUT as the nuts need to be different for the space saver tyre. The wheel nut case for the 2011/12 (which DO come with the wheel as standard) have extra bits to attach to convert the nuts for the saver wheel. However, as the 13+ do NOT come with a wheel as standard, the nut case does not contain the extras. Moral of the story is that dealers, if they are selling the tyres separately should be offering the extra bits for the nuts as part of the deal, or customers may end up stranded like me!
Hi DJDanceClassic. A tyre with sealant is not a permanent substitute for a proper tyre, just like a spare tyre should only be used temporarily. While driving with a tyre with sealant, you must not exceed speeds of 50mph, and take caution when cornering, accelerating and braking. It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that the tyres fitted to their car are road legal.
+Toyota UK Thanks, but what could happen if you have a very small hole and you fix it with the liquid? Don't tell me the tyre could explode. If that is true then it should be illegal. What could happen in the worst case? The tyre could run flat again.
The Highway Code states that tyres should be free from certain cuts and other defects. A tyre repair kit will only temporarily seal any puncture, and simply does not offer the same level of safety as a fully operational tyre - hence the need to drive at lower speeds.
It's temporary because it is not safe to use a punctured tyre, whether repaired or not, for extended periods of time and for normal driving. A tyre repair kit is designed to enable the driver to get to their nearest centre to fit a replacement tyre, instead of ending up stranded on the side of the road.
stuff that, just carry a stupid spare. that way if the tyre shreds itself, has a side puncture etc... you can still get home rather than calling a tow for a stupid puncture.
With this gummy sealer, do we have to buy a new tire or Toyota Dealer will clean and patch the tires just like what tire repair is supposed to be? Plug it from inside with mushroom like plugs? If the tires cannot be used anymore then it is a TOTAL RIP OFF by not giving proper spare tires to costumer.
+David Wild This was also my attitude, but now I know that I have no choice. Problem is also the fact, that if modern cars do have a spare wheel, it is usually the small temporary-wheel so you cannot drive faster than 50mph plus, there is no room in the car for the flat wheel so you have to put the dirty thing into the trunk among your luggage. These days puncture causes your car to be almost useless for a few days or hours. Back in 90s it was just 10 minutes of work and your car was in 100% shape again. But I still try to insist on the "full-fat" wheel although it sometimes has to be in the trunk.
+Radin Černý The main problem is the culture where are cars used. If in your country garage is on every corner and exchange is relatively cheap compared to your salary, there is no need to have full tire reserve. Also lot of big parking spaces, wide roads and low boundary stones contributes a factor of less probability of rim damage. Sadly enough this is true only for a few big well developed countries. In other cases a spare tire helps a lot. I am just wondering how patchkit helps damaged rim (parking accidents), displaced tire, loss of balance or totaly devastated tire when someone dislikes you:(( However globalized policy of car manufacturers tell us - one patchkit rule them all. Some offroad cars have only a patchkit as well. This is nothing but a bad joke:(
So if you're driving in the countryside and hit a pothole that tears the sidewall of the tyre, what do you do? Imagine your wife in that position Mr. TOYOTA. No spare tyre? THIS IS A JOKE!
OK. When you say "old", does it mean that vehicles produced after 2013 are equipped with a spare? I just purchased a 2015 Toyota Harrier and it came without a spare. When I asked the dealer what happened to the spare he said modern cars don't come with one. So again I ask, is my Harrier "OLD"?
We no longer make Harrier, so in this sense it could be described as an older model now. As we now offer space saver spare wheels as options, we have listened to customer feedback and made it available.
Summery: 1.Only the repair kits can be used nearby the workshop. 2.never remove the screw or nail even after the mended Tyre. 3. driver should have thorough knowledge of internal diameter of punctured screw without removing it.4.the repair kit can be reuse after without the liquid inside the bottle.
He has done nothing to remove the screw that was actually in the tyre...!!!As a taxi driver, I see nails and screws all the time in our tyres. If we changed tyres for every screw or nail that went in we would be spending a fortune on tyres. A tyre repair kit would actually pull out the screw, replace it with a insert, cut it off, seal it, reinsert pressure into the wheel and bang! you are back on the road with a perfectly safe tyre that you can drive with for months. Whilst this might not be for everyone, most white van 'men' and other utilities and logistics drivers, this would be an easily doable and time saving (waiting an hour for the AA man) concept. 10 minutes and you are back on the road. Time and money saved. The Toyota method does not solve the problem. The screw is still there.....
They removed the spare 'that's stupid'if the hole is to large you'd have to have the car towed however if you have a spare tire you will not have to have you're car towed.
So basically if the tyre repair does not work then this is how AA get free subscribers curtacy of toyota at added cost. Just put a spare wheel in the car instead of relieing on a can of hope.
this is bull crap. every blowout i have ever had the tire was shredded far beyond the help of fix-a-flat. i can change my car tire with the crappy factory provided jack and lug nut wrench in 15min easily. screw waitin in the hot/cold for an hour waiting on some high school drop out to change my tire. on top of that road side assistance cost about as much as a spare tire. this is a huge drop in quality. who needs a spare when u have a bike pump and fix-a-flat.lol
thats has to be a joke how about in the could weather trying to use this and see it bust then your screwed or have a blow out or cut tire render this junk thing useless i rather have a spare tire thanks
and saying that the weight of the spare decreases the fuel consumption by any meaningful degree is a cop out for car companies so they can sound like they care about your wallet and the environment.lol the car companies are the only ones benefiting with this gimmick. a spare tire, jack, and tire tool cost alot more that an eletric bicycle pump and a can of fix-a-flat.
People who aren't as mechanically inclined. AKA 90% of the population. 99% of all female drivers aren't. Then you have elderly drivers. Then there are handicapped people which are impaired, but can still functionally drive a car. Should I go on?
