Hi Ralph, welcome to PriusChat! :welcome: I think I've seen a hose that you attach to the spare tire's valve stem which you can bring up a little higher, but I'm afraid it might leak with 60 PSI inside. Thanks for asking and reminding me! I regularly check my tire pressure, but I haven't dug in to check the spare tire since winter started. I'm going to do it right now!
Also, keep a can of Fix-A-Flat in the car to inflate the spare tire -- or other tire that doesn't have Tire Pressure Monitor System/Sensor -- in the event of an emergency and the spare or other non-TPMS tire is flat.
That's why I use nitrogen for everything. I even flood the interior of the car with nitrogen when driving. It gets rid of all those pesky O2 molecules which give you bad gas --- mileage...;-) Rick #4 2006
Ralph Sorry to say, no. You must lift up the floor cover, take out the tray, unscrew the hold down contraption, and lift out the spare donut. I check mine once a month, no point having a spare if when you finally need it, it's flatter than the tire you're trying to remove I guess the benefit is you will become so good at removing the spare, you could do it in your sleep
For those who can’t be bothered checking the donut psi, a can of fix-a-flat is probably a good idea – has anyone tested to see if it can really achieve 60 psi? I would not put that goo in the ‘real’ wheels because it makes tire installers’ work harder and they don’t like that. But they will presumably never be putting a new donut on that rim, right? It is also good stuff in wheelbarrow tires, that seem to be chronically underinflated.
I don't think anyone mentioned it but... using the fix a flat on the wheels with TPMS will DESTROY the TPMS device... which is fairly costly.
True. $100+ for the sensor alone, plus more $ for installation and registration of the sensor. I had mentioned fix a flat for use on the spare and any other tire that did not have TPMS.
No offense to the people who said, "no." But, the answer is yes. And Bill nailed it while koa linked to it. I use an extension hose on all cars. Works great, though the one linked to is a cheapie one, and I've had them leak. I'd give a link to the quality ones if I could find it! It was from an RV shop. They never leak like the cheaper ones can. Easier to check the spare pressure than the road tires this way! Oop, wait! Hold the phone. This is it: Spare Tire Inflation System by Wheelmaster WAY better than the cheap ones. Somebody owes me a beer. I think I pulled something finding this link!
Ok, here, have a good stiff drink Gluk-gluk-gluk-gluk-gluk-gluk-gluk <clink> In the grand scheme of things, it's not too difficult to check the spare pressure. No, a fix-a-flat will *not* have enough oomph to fill it. It's good to get familiar with the process of removing a spare tire SUV's and pickups with the spare tire under the vehicle are the worst. Nobody ever checks them, so after 2-3 years of driving where salt is used on the roads in winter, the damn thing is rusted to the vehicle
