Is a spare tire still needed?

[DAC21]

We just bought two 2023 Hyundai Sonata hybrid. Comes with no spare tire and a tire care kit. What a joke, supposedly to save weight.

Gee my tire just shredded in the middle of nowhere with no cell service. I'll just use the kit to magically rebuild the tire. 2022 had spares. I will be adding spares to both.

So under the trunk floor of the Sonata the spare tire cutout is there? Just a matter of finding a donut type spare? Man that is cheap and certainly weight being the reason is BS IMO. Looks like earlier years hybrid had a 125/80/16 size spare with the stock tire being 215/55/17. I believe the 2023 is the same tire size. Maybe an auto wrecking yard is a place to look? Wife needs a new car by next Spring this Sonata wil be on the list, that or the Tuscon / Sportage Hybrid if she wants to stick with a SUV. (Currently CRV) I have been happy with my Elantra GT Sport.

[DAC21]

Bummer, Curtis. For a new vehicle I’d assume that the tire was defective from the factory. Either that or they didn’t put summer air in it.

In 61 years driving I’ve only had one tire come apart. That was on about 1975. The tread came off but it still held air. Firestone had a problem with a particular tire throwing its tread. 721?

If there is room for a spare then I’m in favor of adding one.

Peace, Pat

I think that was a hypothetical tire shred Curtis mentioned. But I can imagine in the backwoods of Washington a real possibility.

[Curtis]

There's room. I see I can get a complete kit for about $250. A full size might even fit based on what I've read. Apparently the hybrids haven't had spares for some time.

We get the cars next month.

[theunz]

My wife’s 2020 Volvo V90 shredded a tire with only about 10 or 15 thousand miles on it. Fortunately she had a spare. We are getting ready to take a 1,500 to 2,000 mile trip in the Lotus that has no spare. It only has a few hundred miles on the tires…. I will worry constantly!

[70-1600]

Like others on this thread, I'm too nervous to go without a spare. When I had my stock steel rims powered coated and new tires put on (185/70R14) all five wheels, the spare wouldn't quite fit into trunk space. The tire was bumping up against the studs of the license plate lamp housing. So I took the spare back to the tire shop and they were kind enough to give me full credit on the 1 tire, and I replaced it with a 165/65R14 which was just a smidgen smaller in diameter for a perfect fit in the trunk.

On the four driving:

Drive.jpeg

Spare:

Spare.jpeg

[DAC21]

Pretty sure my spare is OEM white wall, have the vinyl cover as well. Not that it matters until it's running, if and when. It's petrified rubber at this point.

[Curtis]

I have a 155 spare tire since the others wanted push the 1600 emblem out. Fits really well.

[redroadster]

My wife’s 2020 Volvo V90 shredded a tire with only about 10 or 15 thousand miles on it. Fortunately she had a spare. We are getting ready to take a 1,500 to 2,000 mile trip in the Lotus that has no spare. It only has a few hundred miles on the tires…. I will worry constantly!

New tires with softer stickier rubber... absorb all the hazards nails screws way more than older tires and they plant you much more firmly on the road can make a head on or T-bone crash way worse than older tires , I est.the % of flats from this I had was 75 % recent rubber
Tires
with the tire / wheel well lack of a spare in it compromises the crash protection of the rear