Not Happy with flat

That sucks big time, but more and more car makers are doing it. I think it is wrong. I went from 1997 to 2014 without ever touching the spare, but I'm glad I had it on a cold, rainy, December night with a cut sidewall.

On Sun, 7 Feb 2016 20:25:27 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote in

Bought a new 2013 Elantra in Sept 2013. I didn't think to check the "spare" and found a few months later that there isn't a spare or donut. If I had known that I probably would not have bought the car. Fortunately I haven't needed one, but the tires are already needing replacement after only 33,000 miles. I'm not impressed with Hundai.

Really I was mad at myself, because I knew a lot of cars were like this now. I really could swear I checked, I wonder now if I asked the salesman and relied on his word.....hmm....maybe I will go back and check my paperwork too...you never know.

Chances are, no matter what car you bought in that size and price range it would not have a spare. It is a trend to get the mpg ratings up.

Lexus? BMW? Jaguar? Chances are you don't have a spare

As for 33,000 miles, not uncommon either. Smaller wheels turn more revolutions per mile and the grade of tire on an Elantra is probably not the same as on an Equus.

Has been that way for several years, and getting worse. Go out to any dealership, any brand, try to find a under $15,000 car with a spare tire ... good luck.

It seems like someone makes an aftermarket spare for this, but it would of course, require a place to put it. Is there a place for a spare if you had one?

I don't believe that relying on flat fixer is a good idea. The shop that I go to charges extra to remove the stuff, before patching the tire. In addition, some flat can't be repair at all, so not having a spare could strand the driver.

KM

There is space for a spare. The dealer, of course, can get one for you but it is not even shown as a Hyundai accessory. Nor is there any mention on the specs on the website that it does not have a spare.

Seems like a tire dealer can do well offering compact spare tire & wheels.

I took a look today, apparrently there are Hyundai replacement spares (at least I think they are Hyundai products)....they are over $300 from Hyundai though....an aweful lot for a spare that is not even full size. I did see some cheaper on EBay and Amzon too. Actually here is one from Hyundai that costs a bit less:

Looks like there are several aftermarket options for less. Since the tire and took kit hold up the trunk floor, what keeps it in place when there is no spare? Just curious.

-KM

When I bought my 2015 Sonata I researched the specs and noticed that it only included a damn fix-a-flat. When I sat down to horsetrade with the car dealer I didn't mention it until we started closing in on the final price. Then I was suddenly "shocked" to learn that the negotiated price did not include a spare tire

Told the salesdroid that it was a deal killer and I would have to go home and rethink the whole thing. He went to talk with the manager (usual ploy) and offered me a special-student-deal-one-day-only for the donut spare and mount. Got it for only a hundred bucks extra but I'm sure he didn't lose money on the deal.

Would sure as hell prefer an honest-to-God full size spare though.

---- Diogenes

The wars are long, the peace is frail The madmen come again . . . .

Oh, I was thinking spare tire, but forgot about the jack and lug wrench. Of course, roadside assistance can take care of that.

Did not know they went up that far now. My 2013 still had a spare. I don't care about full size, but I do want to be able to drive on it.

On Mon, 08 Feb 2016 19:29:51 -0500, Diogenes wrote in

Well done.

Good question! If I'm not mistaken, the tire inflator kit is in a hard foam piece that basically mimics the size as if there was a spare under there. So it does support the floor similar to the spare.

I am just curious . . . . , I had never heard of an inflator/sealer kit before reading this thread today (I still have a 2004 Hyundai, so I don't know what newer cars have). I just now watched a YouTube video about using an inflator/sealer kit, so now I know what it looks like.

What I am curious about is, how does an inflator/sealer kit compare to just buying an air inflator that plugs into the 12-volt power port and buying 1 or 2 cans of the tire repair sealant stuff?

I don't actually know, I looked quickly at the one in my wife's car. It is much smaller than most, so I'm just guessing it will be much slower to fill a tire. AND I wouldn't want to be on the side of a road triyng it out for the first time either.

Pretty much the same thing. They can get you going from a small leak but not from a big gash.

On Tue, 9 Feb 2016 14:42:42 -0500, "TomR" wrote in

IMO it's the same thing. Only difference is the Hyundai can of sealer costs $53 to replace but Fix-A-Flat is about $5.

I wonder what the tire pressure sensor rip off will be like? Hopefully I be rid of the P.O.S. by then.

Thanks jtees, Ed P, and CRNG for the replies. That at least lets me know that the new inflator/sealer kits are something that I can easily replicate on my own for older model cars.