My first time using Toyota Roadside Assistance really sucks

sorry to hear it. i refuse to drive without a spare, and i haven't had a flat in decades. although my house has never burned down, i still carry insurance

 

Maybe your Toyota standard tire repair kit (fix a flat) would have got you on the road again and possibly saved the tire?

 

I look forward to the days when I can't change wheel assemblies anymore. Wednesday night is my Friday at work and I had a 5 pack with a brake on the good wheel on my second plane....737NG. I'm only 66 YO...so a car wheel is nothing more than a 10 minute chock to chock hiccup for me. I will never drive without a spare on board though...ever...even when I finally do need assistance.

 

Roadside assistance programs are a joke. Most of them have the same problem- they negotiated a certain price for the actual recovery services some time ago, and everything got more expensive since then. So the tow operators play a massive game of "not-it" to avoid having to go out and actually tow any cars on those contracts because they aren't going to make any money on the deal.

Meanwhile you can hire your own and get picked up in 20 minutes.

 

...for about $200. Roadside Assistance is a Dealership sales tool...nothing more. Most insurance policies cover said tow as it relates.

 

Tow truck drivers could do the change.

 

triple a will change the tyre for me, if i have one. and they come fairly promptly. sometimes it is their own truck, sometimes private.

 

The other spare tire consideration for the OP is how much room there is for a spare tire in his Prius trim. I have the same or similar model (XSE Premium) and can only carry the spare above the trunk due to the larger Prime battery taking that trunk space. Over time, I've been ok with this and with the stock cargo net and the right additional straps, the spare tire in the cargo area has never really gotten in the way or left me wanting for space. Sorry to hear about your flat and experience too.

 

that's what i did in my pip.

 

When I saw "Toyota Roadside Assistance" I laughed and said to myself, more like Toyota Roadside Robbery... Your description of how it went for you is a perfect example of how Toyota loves to charge big for "service" even though they aren't able to provide those services in a timely or even professional manner... And all this goes back to them selling a tire size that is not easily available so they have more proprietary control of where those tires are bought and they can continue the highway robbery you're experiencing at a greater profit than they thought possible before they realized they really can squeeze blood from a stone.

The more I read about Gen5 wheel & tire issues the more convinced I am that you shouldn't even drive the Gen5 off the dealer lot until you get them to put on what you bring to them as new wheels with tires that are available in most every tire store. Leave it to Toyota to take a simple hassle of a flat tire that takes hours out of your day into a hassle that takes your car away for days, or in some cases weeks of your life.

 

Roadside assistance is a racket to begin with and Toyota selling it as an add on product makes it even worse than that.