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Kia No Spare Tire

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spare tire
105K views 98 replies 61 participants last post by  The Crawling KingSnake 
#1 ·
My 2012 Optima Ex came with no spare and one of those chemical flat fixing kits. Any one have experience with it and does it work? I contacted my dealer to try to get on spare tire and wheel the small temporary ones and they told me they couldnt get them. I asked about a full size wheel and he said he didnt think it would fit in the wheel well in the trunk. I have looked on line trying to see about getting the small temp kind and couldnt locate any.
Any ideas? I am in N.J. Thanks
 
#3 ·
There is no spare tire kit (yet).

The chemical kit included with the car will not fix tires with major damage.

So, some folks here have bought full sized wheels and mounted a tire on it. You can then put it in the spare compartment. You may need to remove the foam blocks to get it to fit right. You'll also need to get a jack and lug wrench.

I have not done this yet but will probably do so soon.
 
#6 ·
I put a full size spare in my wheel well, it kind of sort of fits. It sticks up slightly so the mat that lays on top of the well wobbles a little bit (even after removing the foam blocks that hold the donut in place), but not enough for me to take the wheel out. http://www.optimaforums.com/forum/8-optima-wheels-tires-suspension/5337-full-size-spare-warning.html

I just bought a wheel from another forum member that changed his wheels. Or you could buy a donut spare off of someone who has replaced their spare. Another thing to keep in mind, did you get a jack? Or are you going to have to buy one of those to.
 
#25 ·
I have a small scissor jack from one of my old cars. It was for a compact but I think it would work. I talked to a tire dealer who told me the donuts for our size are hard to come by and that some cadilac and other up scale cars are going to the foam kit route also. I am going to check around more to see if I can pick up a donut. The tire dealer said since we have 5 year road service why not just tow to get the flat fixed. I will probably do that as I am pushing 80 and dont know if I want to mess around with it.
 
#7 ·
IMO I would much rather have the donut. I hit something in the road once and had a major blow out and their high speed kit would not be able to fix that.
 
#26 ·
That dealer sounds like an idiot. Sure you could call for a tow. Chances are you'll have to wait an hour or so for a wrecker to get to you. Then the time it takes to take it to get it serviced.

So your probably going to lose a half a days productivity because of something so trivial.
 
#30 · (Edited)
My G8 GT came with no spare tire or run-flats. I keep a tire plug kit and a pair of pliers in all my cars, and take a portable air pump on long trips. It is easier, cleaner, and safer to plug the tire on the car than to mess around on the roadside with a jack. Note that it takes an above-average amount of upper body strength to push a plug into some of the newer tires (and cheaper plugging tools may break).
 
#31 ·
A lot of newer cars are do not have spare tires. My father-in-laws Cadillac CTS does not have one. Saves weight which increases gas milage. I cannot see it helping all that much but who knows.

I just found out the past friday that I do not have one in my LX - hit a pothole from **** on the way to the phillies game and destroyed the sidewall. Fix a flat was not going to fix it so had to have it towed to my tire shop and have a new tire put on. Problem is they could not get an OEM Nexen so now I have 1 Michelin and 3 Nexen.
 
#33 ·
Turbo or 2.4?
 
#34 ·
What are the odds that you will need a spare or had a flat that fix-a-flat would not take care of if you take care of your tires and don't wear them down to the cords? I think I have had two flats that fix-a-flat would not work on and that was because I had let the tires wear down to the cords. I started driving in 1962. It can happen but the odds are very very small.
 
#36 ·
I can think of a few circumstances separate from that. I've had a tire come separated from the wheel after hitting a pothole on the highway. You'd be stranded if you had a catastrophic blowout. Also, I think you also might have trouble fixing a puncture in the sidewall with a kit like this, or even in the tread depending what you run over. I guess that's why new Kia's also come with roadside assistance.
 
#35 ·
I have the EX and same here ....no spare just the kit. I was initially worried about it but I calmed down eventually. I guess the reason I calmed is because when I look in the trunk of my other car (a Camry) I notice I still have the original full size spare that has never been used in the 16 yrs I owned the car. I figure why carry around the weight of a full size spare in the Optima for the rare event. Tow trucks where I live in NJ are readily available.

If you're really hung up on wanting that extra spare to haul around just keep your eyes open on the posts of this site. A number of members buy new tires and rims out of the start gate and sell their stock.

Frankie
 
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