Picked up some metal, TPMS lit up and right rear went flat. After using the factory jack "once" before, was glad I still keep my floor jack, stand and cross tool in the back. 10 minutes later back on the road (not the freeway) with the factory bicycle spare and on to Discount later for the authorized repair. Never leave home without them.
If you have not already, do a dry run to change out with the spare using the factory jack on your 2011. Weight will never enter your mind again. I keep my floor jack in the box below the cargo floor (dampered with towels) with the cables and other needed equipment. But that's me.
I've made do with the Toyota supplied jack. It's doable. Obviously packing a floor jack will make the job easier, but it's not that hard. Having a pair of wheel chocks, and a small square of plywood to help stabilize the scissor jack on uneven/soft ground is a good idea. Speaking of picking up metal: we drove into the Rona (Canadian lumber/hardware supply chain) last weekend. Was gonna pull into a spot at the back of the lot, next to these piles of timber. But noticed myriad little blue objects, so pull in one bay over. Had a look: they're these little circular blue caps, about 1" diameter, each with either a screw, or nail, or longish staple. Aparently they're hold-down fasteners for some of waterproof sheeting covering their lumber bundles. Anyway: the bulk of them strewn around the lot were with the cap down and pointy bit sticking up, great fun. Collected all I could find, a good handful, and dropped them off at the Customer Service counter. Didn't get much of a reaction. We were out back in the lumber section, under cover but set up so that customer can drive in to load up boards and such. Found a myriad more of the same little buggers. Gave a handful to a guy working back there, to more blank stares. Walking with our couple of boards to the drive thru pay wicket, found a few more. Handed them to the girl "manning" the till. She was on the ball, showed some reaction, said she'd let the powers that be know. Unfortunately, if said powers are like the rest of the staff there...
Never would. No don't do a freaking oil change with the thing, just for changing tires along the roadside, lol.
I'm a city-slicker now, but I'd never think of driving sans spare. If I ever become a Toyota (or a Volt) owner instead of just a driver? I'll immediately get a proper (i.e. full size) spare and jack if they're not supplied by the OEM. Yeah.....you can squirt some goo into the tire and pray about it.......or wait for the meat wagon but I work nights a lot. ...No thanks!
A temporary spare and mediocre scissor jack is ok, saves space, that's what you get now, with anything but a PIP. Where I draw the line is the current PIP setup: no spare and goop that'll total your TPMS, and may not be effective in any event.
Thanks for reminding specifically about using chocks. That was included is other needed equipment. I just assume some things others do not. As for the factory jack...oh it's provided...but very unsafe. Tried to put the full size wheel assy in the hole provided, to wide. If I had the PIP or another vehicle without a spare, a full size would sit back there somewhere.
Hey, nothing wrong with temp spares. Chris Harris Prefers The C63 AMG On Four Spare Tires (w/Video) - 0-60 Magazine
Yeah, I hate the jack on my 2010. The last flat I couldn't get it to lift the car. I pumped up the tire and went directly to a gas station to have the flat repaired. I looks like the screw part needs to be re-engineered to give you more leverage.
You are right. Now that I can look back at changing a flat tire this summer, the first few threads of twisting the scissors Jack were far harder than when car was further elevated and the angle of the arms of the Jack became less acute. I was on a dirt/gravel highway and had to have the Jack completely in the "down" position to get it fit under the car at the Jack point. I think that initial difficulty is simply the leverage effect of the scissor arms being near a 180-degree position, but it was quite hard and I remember thinking the DW could probably not accomplish it, which is a worrisome thought. Lubricating the threads with silicone might help, but I think a better crank handle or power tool to twist the Jack input would be necessary for DW to change a tire by herself. Hmmmm.
Did your full size wheel not fit at all, or just stick up a bit at the rear near the rear bumper? I ask because for our 2012 hatchback I purchased a used factory OEM rim and had a standard sized new Yokohama mounted on it for a spare. I found it would JUST fit in the hole provided if first removed everything including that styrofoam spacer, and then slid it in under the lip formed by the body just underneath the HV battery. It stuck up about 2-3 inches at the rear edge so the black plastic trunk bin did not fit in correctly, but the tire itself would fit. So I have now purchased a used OEM plastic trunk bin and will modify it to fit over a full sized spare.
The main shortcoming I see with the toyota supplied scissor jack is at the link with the torquing lug. It's a single cast eyelet, and thus does very little to restrain the hook on the torquing arm, allows it to do a dance with each revolution, and gets chewed up in the process. All the Honda scissor jacks I've seen have a double eyelet at junction with torquing rod, a stamped metal U-shape with inside face-to-face dim maybe 1". Much more stable, and harder steel as well. That said, it's not pretty but it's not a big problem, using the toyota jack. It'll do.
Mine does not 'bottom" in the hole because it is to wide. The jack in the Prius. Low Profile Aluminum Racing Jack - 2 Ton, Rapid Pump®
