[Lowrent]

Polestar 2 will be my first car with no spare tire, I made some research to be ready, just in case.

Unlike "the other brand ev", the Polestar 2 is delivered with everything necessary, neatly secured in the frunk (jack, 12V compressor, tire repair kit)

But... fellow electric drivers in another forum mentioned that tire sealing compounds have a downside : The interior of the tire gets really messy and all the gunk has to be cleaned when fixing the tire for real, including the TPMS sensor. If you waste too much time before the compound injection and the real repair, it can get difficult to clean.

So, I ordered a tire plug kit and watched some how-to videos on Youtube.

I also bought a nice multi-tool to able to remove a nail / screw in the tire, if that occurs.

Do you have any no-spare-tire flat experience to share ?

 

[GDank]

I'll call the AA and let them worry. Plus I've not had a puncture in 15+ years on 6 cars. Not sure if that's because I'm more careful in my mature age, the tyres are better, or the roads are better.

Anyway, thanks for the research and info, as I'm sure some people here will also live in areas where things happen.

 

[ScottM]

I have a 2018 BMW 540i and it does not have a spare, but has run-flat tires. This could be an option. As with GDank, I have not had a flat for a long time, however my wife has had two on her car (BMW X5) in the past two years. While run-flats may make sense, they have downsides 1) they are expensive, 2) they wear quickly, and 3) if you get a nail, they cannot be repaired, so you have to buy a new tire (see #1 )

 

[ProfessorCook]

Polestar 2 will be my first car with no spare tire, I made some research to be ready, just in case.



I also bought a nice multi-tool to able to remove a nail / screw in the tire, if that occurs.

Do you have any no-spare-tire flat experience to share ?

I've had run-flats on my 328i for over a decade. Over that time, I've had a couple of punctures due to nail or screw penetration. Despite being told that I would have to replace the tire and, because both tires on a given axle must have the same approximate age, I'd have to replace two tires.

Despite this sound advice (replaced tires are always safer and more reliable than a patched tire), I repaired the tires using a patch kit like the one you've bought. Those patches have worked well and lasted the duration of the tires. This saved a lot of money and a lot of hassle. So I think, if you're willing to take a small risk on a critical bit of your car, your approach will work well. It's certainly true that tire repair goo will make a mess of the inside of your tires.

I should also point out, though, that using that plug kit in the wild will not be easy. I think you'll find you need to remove the wheel, plug the hole, and then put the wheel back on. I wouldn't try to plug the hole with the wheel in place.

Finally, if the tire goes flat due to any kind of a slash, you're SOL no matter what. If that happens, you'll have to call for a tow.

 

[toscal353]

A number of points on this:
In the UK it is widely stated (by tyre suppliers?) that the kits are only temporary fixes, and if you use a gunk kit the tyre is irreparable and must be replaced.
If you have a spare you can change it and carry on with your day, hopefully getting a puncture repaired later, or failing that, replaced.
If you call a recovery service that can take hours.
A lot of drivers don't know how to change a wheel
A lot of drivers could not even lift a heavy spare in and out of their boot, or indeed use a gunk kit correctly.

 

[HoustonR32]

Having gone the last 16 years without an official spare, I have found issues come in two types, screws/nails and big things. Big things include 1) a 3/8" inch combination wrench in the tread that makes a 1/2" hole, 2) a big piece of concrete that bends the rim 1". Gunk is not needed for the first and does not work on the second, so gunk is never the answer. I have handled screws/nails by using a compressor until I get home and then having a full size tire at the house and taking the tire for repair (usually they do a plug from the inside unless in the sidewall). The nail/screw situations leak slow enough that you can get home or to some place for a fix. By having the tire at home I do not have to deal with leaving the car on jack stands and the issues of finding some way to jack the corner and then also put in a jack stand in the small lift point and it gets me to the repair place. For the big things, when I was doing long commutes I started keeping a full size spare in the back (hatchback or trunk) after waiting 3 hours for AAA to show up. It is not as bad as you think because you put the wheel face down and then have the inside to put stuff in, not losing all of the space. For example, the tool kit I keep fits in nicely. Once I had the full size tire in the back, then screws/nails become a tire change and a trip for repair. For the last few years I have had shorter commutes and a much smaller trunk, so I have just done compressor and AAA (and fortunately no big things). That is the way it will work when my 1 shows up, because no way that any size spare fits in the microscopic trunk.

 

[toscal353]

We have an additional problem here is the UK: Our roads are so badly maintained that we have pot holes everywhere, and if you don't spot them in time they can burst a tyre and also badly damage the wheel itself, especially alloys and those fitted with lower profile tyres.

 

[ProfessorCook]

We have an additional problem here is the UK: Our roads are so badly maintained that we have pot holes everywhere, and if you don't spot them in time they can burst a tyre and also badly damage the wheel itself, especially alloys and those fitted with lower profile tyres.

Unfortunately, you don't have an exclusive on potholes in the UK. Every spring in New England, it's a big problem.

 

[Lowrent]

In the local news recently :

Coroner Paul Dionne said 32-year-old Ihor Horbanov died March 11, 2019, after his car hit the “giant” pothole near Contrecoeur, Québec.
Horbanov hit the water-filled cavity after moving lanes to avoid a Transport Department vehicle that had stopped to help another car, which had already hit the same hole, the coroner’s report read.
At the time of the crash, the pothole was 1.6 metres wide, nearly seven metres long, and filled with about nine centimetres of water, according to a police report cited by the coroner.
The cause of death was described as “multiple cranial and thoracic trauma following a loss of control of his vehicle after a passage through a giant pothole on Autoroute 30 west.”

 

[ProfessorCook]

In the local news recently :

I need a sad button.

 

[JRRF]

If the hole is small you can handle it on the side of the road, but you don't want to spend any more time there than necessary, and that's where gunk can come in handy because it's pretty quick. I also recommend getting as far off the road/highway as possible, even if that means ruining a wheel. Wheels can be replaced. Anything that's not small will not be fixed by gunk or a repair kit.

 

[ArcElectric]

At Johnson Volvo at Southpoint, Durham for this issue - found the screw sticking out, but am not brave enough to do it myself, especially if there turns out to be more than one puncture.

 

[Skalamanga]

I was told by VW that if my passat gte got a flat to not use the tyre gunk, and to press the emergency button and they'd send someone out.

I got an unrepairable slow puncture, pressed the button and they sent the AA who put a spare on, waited while I phoned around to find a replacement and followed me to a tyre shop.

No charge, and not connected to my own breakdown service.

 

[ChiMatt]

Unfortunately, you don't have an exclusive on potholes in the UK. Every spring in New England, it's a big problem.

Just spring? In Chicago you have this problem every month ending in -y, -h, -l, -e, -t, or -r.

 

[MaxB]

I have plugged many a tire and most of the time the plug takes. Getting the tire patched from the inside works worlds best, but you have the issue of getting it to a tire shop. Despite having a spare I traveled around with a plug kit in the car for emergencies anyway.

 

[GrahamL]

Shame its not supplied with this: Volvo XC90 (17-present day) 18" | Space Saver Wheel | The Wheel Shop. Every car I have ever owned has always had a space saver spare tyre. To be out on rural roads without one is not something I would want to do.

 

[JRRF]

Shame its not supplied with this: Volvo XC90 (17-present day) 18" | Space Saver Wheel | The Wheel Shop. Every car I have ever owned has always had a space saver spare tyre. To be out on rural roads without one is not something I would want to do.

Fewer and fewer cars are coming with spares (even space savers). They take up lots of space and decrease range/mpg. They also increase cost. Nothing stops you from buying one with the right bolt pattern and putting it in the boot.

 

[JohnnyFarmer]

Thanks @GrahamL just ordered from your link & will buy a new tyre to keep at home as I gather supply can be the biggest delay.