Check your spare tire pressure

[Mark_888]

I had a flat tire recently and had to put the emergency spare tire on. The spare looked OK in terms of pressure, but when I had a chance to check it about 60 miles later (I was taking a fairly long trip at night) I found it only had about 25 PSI, and the small emergency spare is supposed to have 60 PSI. I have had my car about 4 years, but that is a lot of tire pressure to loose just sitting in the trunk, so I would advise that people check it at least yearly. I kept my speed to below 55 MPH (supposed to keep it below 50 with emergency spare), but was lucky it did not blow with only 25 PSI.

 

[scottdk]

Ouch Well, at least it worked out and you made it to your destination safely. When did you get new tires put on last? I ask because I just got my winter rubber put on a few days ago at discount tire and I noticed their sign mentioned that they also checked the spare tire pressure as part of the tire service. Not sure if they actually did this though, as I don't recall them opening the trunk, but I didn't have my eye on my car the whole time since they pulled a truck into the service bay blocking my view of my Sonata. You offer a great piece of advice most people probably don't even think about...including me.

Edit - Just checked my spare tire PSI and it's at 15. Tire feels rock hard, but I'm sure that's due to the small tire and it doesn't hold much air vs a standard tire. Guess discount didn't do what the slip says they did. Whatev....

 

[QuantumRift]

That's why it's always a good policy to also carry a small inflation pump. Might take a few minutes to get that 25 psi in the spare to 60 psi, but you won't have to worry about having another flat or blowout...

I had a flat tire recently and had to put the emergency spare tire on. The spare looked OK in terms of pressure, but when I had a chance to check it about 60 miles later (I was taking a fairly long trip at night) I found it only had about 25 PSI, and the small emergency spare is supposed to have 60 PSI. I have had my car about 4 years, but that is a lot of tire pressure to loose just sitting in the trunk, so I would advise that people check it at least yearly. I kept my speed to below 55 MPH (supposed to keep it below 50 with emergency spare), but was lucky it did not blow with only 25 PSI.

 

[Mark_888]

That's why it's always a good policy to also carry a small inflation pump. Might take a few minutes to get that 25 psi in the spare to 60 psi, but you won't have to worry about having another flat or blowout...

It is very difficult to get up to 60 PSI with a manual pump, and even some air compressors may not go that high at the level they are adjusted for. I have a small electric air compressor in my garage that goes up to 90 PSI, but I usually keep it set to about 45 PSI.

 

[Mark_888]

Ouch Well, at least it worked out and you made it to your destination safely. When did you get new tires put on last? I ask because I just got my winter rubber put on a few days ago at discount tire and I noticed their sign mentioned that they also checked the spare tire pressure as part of the tire service. Not sure if they actually did this though, as I don't recall them opening the trunk, but I didn't have my eye on my car the whole time since they pulled a truck into the service bay blocking my view of my Sonata. You offer a great piece of advice most people probably don't even think about...including me.

Edit - Just checked my spare tire PSI and it's at 15. Tire feels rock hard, but I'm sure that's due to the small tire and it doesn't hold much air vs a standard tire. Guess discount didn't do what the slip says they did. Whatev....

I got new Michelin Primacy tires at Costco about 12,000 miles ago, which is about 16 months ago. I don't think they checked the spare since I would have noticed that considering all the stuff I usually keep in my trunk. I am sure they would have checked the pressure if I cleaned out my trunk and asked them to (and they would do that now if I requested them to).

I was able to get a brand new tire at a different Costco (I was on a road trip) prorated for $23 out the door because of the road hazard warranty that comes standard with tires at Costco. That saved me about $200 because I got a quote from Discount Tire that was $220 to replace the tire (it could not be repaired) before I realized that my tire purchase at Costco came with a road hazard warranty. I had to drive about 30 extra miles out of my way during my trip to the nearest Costco that had that exact tire in stock.

My spare was also rock hard, which is why I was so surprised when I realized later that I had driven it quite a ways with only 25 PSI.

 

[Jbo]

Perhaps these temp tires are very different, but your thread prompted me to check my RSpec and found the pressure was 36 psi, the spec on the sidewall (of the 18 inch tire) was for 42 psi. For the life of me I can not imagine a 60 psi requirement on one for a 17 or 18 on a V-6. This may be a Korean conversion error if in the manual vs the tire sidewall.