JasonJ

This weekend I got a flat tire, and needed to use my inflatable spare...

Well, the friggin' thing didn't work! It wouldn't inflate...It sounded like the bead was broken, and the air continued to come out between the tire and the rim.

How are we ever supposed to check the integrity of the inflatable spare?

Of course it was Sunday of the Memorial Day weekend...luckily there was a Firestone dealer that was open and patched/plugged my driving tire.

When I contacted my dealer yesterday, they gave a CYA response...and said the compressor I used probably wasn't powerful enough to fill the spare. When I mentioned it was the Audi compressor that came with the car...they said I should bring the spare in, so they could look at it!

I mention this because I wonder how many of us are driving around with an inflatable spare that doesn't work...and also wonder how we check on this?

Any thoughts?

Jason

uncleiggy

Bummer! I only used the inflator and spare once and the combo worked flawlessly (as it should), mine is a 10yr old car and both items are the ones that came with the car. My dealer checks both every time I leave the car for service, or at least they say so in the (hefty) invoice they hand me. So, if you regularly service your car at the dealer you should ask them if checking the spare tire and inflator isn't part of the service routine.

rbtrary

Any one replace it with a real spare?

uncleiggy

I don't think there's enough room for a real spare.

billm0066

There isnt.

JasonJ

So...I went to my dealer to see what they would/could do.

My service tech simply replaced the spare tire/wheel...No Charge...No questions!

And they topped off my oil!

My faith in the people of the world has been restored...at least until I open up today's NYT!

Jason

uncleiggy

Great! Did you ask them if checking the spare tire/inflator is a service routine? Because I think it is and they might have missed to check it in your last service(s).

JasonJ

Crap...I forgot to ask them about that!

Sorry,

Jason

Redd

The cargo floor under the spare bends up over the car's frame, too narrow to put a full sized spare in.
I was lucky on my last car, when you ordered a posi rear they simply upgraded to a full size spare (on a plain steel wheel) instead of an excuse. I don't particularly like or trust the shrinky spare or the Audi half-jack, either, and over the years I've known AAA to take 4 hours for a 45 minute response. Stuff like that makes me prefer to carry options with me.
So there's a can of fix-a-flat (time to replace it now, they do have a shelf life) and a Slime pump inflator, which is really the same as what Audi puts in the R8, plus a plug kit, which is old low tech but cheap and reliable if I have to use it. I've got three options and three chances to fix any flat tire, without having to screw around with the spare. (Presuming it isn't a sidewall failure.) Doesn't cost that much to have some options. No TPMS sensors to worry about on the Q5 And the Slime compressor can simply be used to top up the air pressure every month or two without putting any Slime in the tire.
That's what happens when you've learned to drive long distances before there were cell phones: You had to plan to deal with the car without outside help.
Shrinky spare? Sure, and out the dead tire where? And wait how long to unshrink the spare again? No thanks, easier to slime the tire or plug it.

uncleiggy

I'm planning a road trip to the Patagonia next (Austral) summer (December/January), it'll be a 6K+ miles trip where I expect to do some light offroading and crossing the Andes at 10K feet using non paved roads, one of the issues that concerns me the most is the spare tire. So far the best solution I've seen is carrying a real spare on a roof mounted solution like the Yakima LoadWarrior or similar, I know it'll kill my MPG but there's no way I take such a huge risk as not carrying a real spare on this "expedition".