[RK79]

Originally Posted by SedanGuy

This is a bad idea. What a lot of people don’t take into consideration is that rubber in these tyres degrade even if they are not used. Always buy 4 tyres when replacing.

Agree what you are saying on long term tyre storage, but short term storage of 1 or 2 years doesn't make much significant degradation resulting in a significant damage. Bridgestone is quoting a shelf life of up to 5 years for their tyres if stored properly. What more interesting is they say that one year old tyre is very fresh. Definitely tyres degrade over time, but quality tyres have good tolerance level over oxidation damage. I will try to quote a link for the same
https://www.bridgestone.com.sg/en/ty...-really-better
Infact, that tyre served me 3 years and 50k km along with the new ones with periodic air check,alignment and rotation, even tread wear,without any puncture and is due for a change in next 2 months.

[aneesh2M]

As per my opinion it’s a pure cost saving tactics by most of the manufacturers. For few it’s understandable as for large size wheels it’s not possible to provide such a large size spare wheel space in the boot but for others it’s just not acceptable. Though space saver has its benefits like saved cost/space/weight but in India all benefits override the practicality. India is a country with bad roads and less facilities on many roads so a flat with no spare is a nightmare. Also no one thought about how and where to carry the replaced full size wheel after replacement with a space saver in case you are on a trip and the boot is full of luggage. (in case of full size spare the replaced wheel goes in place of spare) Providing run flats is even more bad in India as one is left with an expensive replacement after one drives with flat tire. I am not sure about legal aspect but I think in this case dealer has nothing to do with this as it’s not his fault unless he has done some kind of cheating like showing a full size spare and providing a space saver, and for the manufacturer they sell the vehicle with all the specs informed to customer and customer accepts it before buying so don’t know how the case will stand in favor of customer in case challenged in higher court. Nonetheless space saver is a bad idea in India.

[tilt]

Originally Posted by steadfast

*SNIP*

Well in olden days, periodic maintenance was typically around 5000 kms but now on average it is 10,000 km and many manufacturers have 15000 km or 1 year. Even for Jetta, it would be 15k if I am not wrong.

*SNIP*

So with changing times, a space saver seems more practical and logical than full sized.

*SNIP*

Yes, maintenance for the Jetta is 15K or one year, whichever comes earlier. That said, tyre rotation & wheel balancing are still recommended at 5000k-10000k intervals for any vehicle; and I have been diligently doing so for my Jetta.

Cheers

[ScorpioYadav]

Pardon my ignorance & for others uninitiated like me, what are these run flat tyres ?
I’ve come across this term for the first time in this thread.

[sramanat]

With increasing service interval, space savers make sense. But the space saver should be properly rated - something like suitable for 80 kph for 100 km.

Correct me if I am wrong -
I clearly remember during servicing of my Jeep grand cherokee, there used to be an optional wheel rotation step where the service guy will ask if he has to rotate the spare as well. It used to go something like this. This was meant to ensure uniform wear & tear of all wheels. I used to joke with my wife that I could do it myself once a week and maintain myself and the car in top health . But what if in one particular interval I hardly use the car (the COVID scenario comes to mind). I will be rotating a sparingly used wheel with the spare.

[sagarpadaki]

I am very particular about full sized spare wheel. Few times when I had a flat or slow leak on a long trip, a full sized spare has allowed me to carry on with my journey at the same speed . A decade or so ago, manufacturers used to even provide alloys as spare on the top end trim.

Also, with a full sized spare, I can do a 5 wheel rotation which allows me to extract the max available tyre life from all 5.

When I purchased Tiago, it came with a 13 inch spare steel while the other 4 were 14 inch alloys. I purchased a spare alloy and tyre for my convenience

[COMMUTER]

In my case, I am using unidirectional tires. Hence, having a full sized spare tire is not very useful for long usage. If the two tires, whose rims are having their tire mounted in the direction opposite to that of the spare tire's get punctured, mounting the spare will be requiring as urgent a rectification as a smaller spare would.

[vox_alienus]

Some cars in the USA also have this. It's called "doughnut" there.

[itsmejack]

Originally Posted by saisree

Now I can go and sue Honda and the dealer for giving me the 14 inch spare for my 6 year old Jazz, attaching this judgement. So how many of you are ready? we can easily get a year's fuel for free.

Honda City that I got few months ago has different spec for spare tyre (175/65R15 84T) and regular ones (185/60R15 84H). Is it safe to use spare tyre as both seem to be different?

[Lalvaz]

Since all motor vehicles in India have to be compliant with the Motor Vehicle Act and since the act specifies that a spare wheel should be provided, there is no scope for ambiguity there.

Now as regards to the differently sized spare wheel, its purely done to reduce costs. Indian road conditions are far from ideal and any motorist has experienced punctures on our roads. Driving far away from roadside assistance and the lack of easy availability of spare tyres is a hindrance.

I would urge all automotive manufacturers to take a pragmatic view on this issue and ensure that their vehicles are with a full sized spare wheel. The cost is hardly pennies compared to the cost of a car, and its unwise to cut corners for pennies.

I routinely drive on our highways for long trips, either solo or accompanied with friends/family, and would hate to be stranded for lack of a proper spare tyre. Hence I strongly support this court order.

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

The forum also ruled that under the Motor Vehicle Act, the price of the spare wheel should be included in the overall vehicle cost and it is mandatory for carmakers to provide the same.

[shibujp]

I think the manufacturer can easily challenge the consumer courts ruling. The motor vehicle rules were altered in June 2020 permitting cars to be sold without a spare tyre.

In a recent notification, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has made an amendment to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), stating that passenger vehicles falling under the M1 category, subject to certain conditions, are not required to be sold with a spare wheel.

What is the M1 category?
The M1 category refers to all passenger vehicles with a seating capacity of up to nine occupants, including the driver. The vehicles also must not weigh more than 3.5 tonnes.

What are the conditions to be met?
As per the ruling, a vehicle in the M1 category can be exempted from having a spare wheel if the manufacturer has equipped the model with tubeless tyres. Moreover, the vehicle in question must be equipped with a tyre pressure monitoring system and a tyre repair kit, which includes tyre sealant.

The intention behind this rule is to bring Indian regulations in line with international markets where similar provisions have been made, and to give manufacturers the opportunity to use the space liberated for storage, or for additional batteries in the case of electric or electrified vehicles.

The ruling will also be applicable to commercial vehicles falling under the N1 category manufactured from October 2020.

Link

The less said about the sanity of the modified law the better. Ludicrous!

Drive on,
Shibu.

[RBR]

I doubt the manufacturers would pay any serious attention to this, and their business of providing a small-sized spare wheel to save money would continue. Such incidents may occur once a while, but for the most part, dealers and car manufacturers will go about their business as usual.

Aside from that, does it make sense to exchange/replace a small spare wheel with a full-sized tyre for peace of mind? I believe one would have to trade the wheel rather than just the tyre only (it this correct?)

[coolmind]

With all due respect to court, I feel its the fault of court here.
The buyer clearly knows upfront what he gets for a spare tyre. There is no cheating by the automaker in this case.
Instead court should have advised all the automakers to follow full size tyre for the future sales/ asked government to make amendment in motor acts enforcing the automakers to follow.

[sureshkumar]

The customer has responded well. He needs to be congratulated.
I don't know when this practice of supplying thinner/smaller spare wheels began. Anyway it will be good to stop it now itself. Designing the vehicle with sufficient space for the spare wheel cannot be such a tough job.

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by ScorpioYadav

Pardon my ignorance & for others uninitiated like me, what are these run flat tyres ?
I’ve come across this term for the first time in this thread.

To quote Wiki: A run-flat tire/tyre is a pneumatic vehicle tyre that is designed to resist the effects of deflation when punctured, and to allow the vehicle to continue to be driven at reduced speeds - under 90 km/h – and for limited distances – usually 16 to 80 km, depending on the type of tyre.

Additionally, a Run Flat tyre is stiffer and doesn't absorb the bumps and undulations as well as a regular tyre. It is inflated like a regular tyre using air or nitrogen. But since the tyres are stiffer, its harder to detect a underinflated run flat tyre, hence the need for Tyre pressure monitoring systems to detect pressure changes.

Also the run flats should ideally never be repaired, since there could be damage which is not visible by visual examination.