Check your spare tire

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My friend was telling me how his wife had a flat tire this week. She went to fetch the spare out of the trunk, and it was flat. So she had to call a tow company to come and pump up the tire.

I bought my car two years ago. I never checked my spare..out of sight..out of mind! I pulled it out of the trunk and checked the air pressure. It had 43 PSI, the tire should be at 60 PSI. I pumped it up and put it back in the trunk. I will check the spare every six months now.


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Ya. I pumped up a friend of my wife's spare day before yesterday.
She just had it in for brakes and they did all tires but the spare. The SUV is 4-5 years old and it has never been touched. (and it's pretty easily accessible--not that it matters) It is a 60 psi temporary spare and was down to 10 psi.

I check mine every month or two--otherwise I figure I might as well remove it and make more space.
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when i wrenched i always checked the spare pressure when i was doing tire work. its amazing the reaction you get from people when you do it. some were very happy to see me doing extra, others were upset i was in their trunk, theres were the ones that had 5psi, go figure.
 
Originally Posted By: river_rat
I check mine every month or two--otherwise I figure I might as well remove it and make more space.
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I sometimes wonder why some people even bother having a spare in their trunk, if they don't bother checking the pressure or make sure they have working tools. These are usually the same people that sponge off their friends when somnething doesn't go their way. I hate bailing friends out, wasting my time, because they didn't have the foresight to check their spare.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
An SUV with a temporary spare? Yuck! What happens if you get a flat off-road?


Are you implying that there are some SUV owners tha atually go off-road?
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Hopefully those that do will make sure they have a matching spare.
When I bought all-terrain tires for my truck, the guy at Discount Tire looked at me funny when I told him I wanted 5 tires - one for the spare. He told me that "no one" does that.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
An SUV with a temporary spare? Yuck! What happens if you get a flat off-road?

It's a soft sprung Chevy Equinox with low profile highway tread tires, AWD, and just a few inches of ground clearance. It can't go off road and never will.
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I keep a tire gauge, tool kit, fix-a-flat, and an electric tire pump in my car. The pump is tiny, and takes a long time to inflate a tire, but its been extremely useful over the last 5 years I have had it...mainly bailing out other people lol!

That said, I haven't checked my spare in a awhile...so thanks for reminding me!
 
^^^Me too, except for the fix-a-flat. (Prolly gum up the tire pressure monitor sending units) I also carry a tubless tire repair kit and a reflective triangle.
 
Checked mine today, and it was quite low. I don't think I've checked it in 2-3 years. It was rusty, too (under a van). I touched up the rusty, exposed surfaces with black paint, sprayed the inside of the wheel with WD-40.
 
Originally Posted By: law3500
also make sure you have the jack and tools, many cars have the tire and no tools.
And the know-how to do the job safely, including a chock to keep the car from rolling when you have one of the parking brake wheels up in the air and a board to set the jack on when you're on soft soil. Have every driver practice at least once in you flat, dry, lighted driveway so they can at least instruct a friendly helper who stops to help them. If the ladies don't feel that they want a stranger helping, then they need to know how to change a tire.
 
With every car I buy (typically a used one), after the purchase I go through the motions of changing the tire at home. This lets me know that everything is in good working order, plus trains me on how to use the tools.

As Ken pointed out, tire changes are also recommended training for every new driver. My dad trained me and my older sister. I trained my younger sister and some of her friends.
 
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