"funny Spare"

[MerleSquirrel]

I had an RX-300 with a full sized spare. When buying the 2010 RX-350 I didn't even check. I thought that any 4WD SUV would never come with a "funny spare", and if I had known, it would have been a "deal killer".

So....a couple of years ago while driving from So Cal to Vegas, I had a flat outside of nowhere. No cell phone service. I changed the tire on the side of the freeway.

First problem was to unload all the luggage to get to the spare. Well, OK...it shouldn't happen often.

BUT...there were two BIG problems.

1. The full sized flat tire will not fit into the funny spare storage area. After fiddling around for a while, I got a large sheet of plastic (left over from Home Depot) over the flat to keep the luggage clean. And by piling the luggage wherever it would fit in the trunk and back seat, I was on the road again with the view out the back window blocked.

2. NEXT. The funny spare has a warning. "Do not drive for long periods over 50 MPH". Great, I'm two hours from Vegas on an interstate where the average speed is probably around 70-75 MPH.

End of adventure report.

Next:

I took my car in for routine servicing last week and was given a 2015 RX-350 as a loaner. Well, I just had to look, and YES....the 2015 RX also has a "funny spare".

My wife's ES-350 has a full sized spare. What is Lexus thinking about putting "funny spares" in SUVs?

[13IS250C]

That seems really dangerous to me. Was the vehicle leaning?

I'm jealous that you are that close to Vegas, but I would probably be bankrupt if I was. It's bad enough being only an hour away from Tunica, MS.

[LEX-SV]

1. Full sized wheel/tire will not fit in spare well designed for space saver wheel/tire. This is common today.

2. Yes, the space saver is not the ideal tire setup when you have lots of freeway/highway to go. Modern runflats/extended mobility setups have problems too.

What caused the regular tire to fail in the first place?

[MerleSquirrel]

That seems really dangerous to me. Was the vehicle leaning?

I'm jealous that you are that close to Vegas, but I would probably be bankrupt if I was. It's bad enough being only an hour away from Tunica, MS.

It was leaning just a bit, but that isn't my issue.

[MerleSquirrel]

1. Full sized wheel/tire will not fit in spare well designed for space saver wheel/tire. This is common today.

2. Yes, the space saver is not the ideal tire setup when you have lots of freeway/highway to go. Modern runflats/extended mobility setups have problems too.

What caused the regular tire to fail in the first place?

1. It may be common, but it is absolutely unacceptable to me.

2. Perhaps it is just me, but I think customers should demand better treatment. With all the fru-fru Lexus adds to their vehicles, a proper spare is a drop in the bucket.

The tire failure seemed to result from road hazard, as it was in good shape other than a sidewall puncture.

I've owned Lexus for many years now, but this "funny spare" is a deal killer.

I will not buy another Lexus that doesn't have a full sized spare. I can already see that the 2015s haven't fixed this problem.

[1990LS400]

Both the GX460 and LX570 have full size spare tires ... for now. All the Lexus crossover vehicles like the RX have small temporary use spare tires.

[lenore]

Yes the compact spares are there to save weight. But hey GM has even a better idea, no spare and a can of flat fix...what a stupid idea. My friend ran into this. Like you said, two hours in middle of no where and hey that big 2 inch slash and I am just sure that can of flat fixer is going to work. At least make the spare tire area big enough for full size so we can put what we want in there....

[MerleSquirrel]

Yes the compact spares are there to save weight. But hey GM has even a better idea, no spare and a can of flat fix...what a stupid idea. My friend ran into this. Like you said, two hours in middle of no where and hey that big 2 inch slash and I am just sure that can of flat fixer is going to work. At least make the spare tire area big enough for full size so we can put what we want in there....

LOL....yes indeed a bad idea. I rented a Volkswagen tiny car in Spain and had a flat in one of those small "white" villages. I was surprised to find a can of fixit, an underpowered air pump, and repair instructions in German. After a patchinf it up, I drove to the nearest AVIS location and swapped cars. But the speed limit on the repaired tire was around 40 MPH and I drove about 50 miles on a high speed highway to get to AVIS.

If owners don't start complaining about such foolishness, every time we buy a new car, there will be more of it.

Making the compartment big enough for a full spare would be a good environmentally friendly approach for Lexus. Lexus could then brag about saving weight, and increasing fuel economy, and I could just buy a full sized spare and dump the funny spare somewhere along the interstate :)

[MerleSquirrel]

Just to make sure everyone understands what I am complaining about, here are a couple of photos. Keep in mind that with that flat tire in the trunk there isn't much room for luggage.

[Hash10]

I so much agree. Funny spare is just a joke. I commute 35 miles one way daily to my office. This happened second time when my regular tyre got bad and I had to put spare on. 
 

1. First you’ve to order a new tyre as soon as possible. Means taking time off from work to go to good store and order. This can take few hours easily. 
 

2. second, even after i order, It takes at least few days to get a new full size tyre at Costco. I pick Costco because of great pricing. So until I get new tyre I’ve to continue drive on spare.

3. driving on interstate at below 50 is painful and sometimes dangerous with other cars and big trucks honking at you.
 

4. if I had full size spare, I can just put it on and keep going. I can get a new tyre at my own convenience.

i waste more time, money and energy with this not so funny spare.