A flat tire on a Runner is the worst

[jrc_bar]

I just wanted to post regarding a topic that yesterday came up for me again.
I had my second flat tire whith in a month on my 06 Runner.
And I must say... shame on Toyota for dose bad tires and for their awfull jack and tire changing kit.

I have had a Chevy suburban and a Range Rover in the past and I belive dose cars had the best emergency flat tire kit.
They had an hydraulic jack, which lifted the car in less than a minute, and a full size lug nut wrench.
As I have seen in my toyota, it takes me at least 40 minutes to change a flat tire, while on my other cars it takes me less than 15 minutes.
The rood that attaches to the jack is bad... any way I will keep you posted as I come up with a solution to this problem.

 

[Koz]

I had a flat on my Taco and the OEM jack would not lift the vehicle high enough to put the spare on. Talk about spitting nickels. Toyota is ridiculous with their jacks!

Koz

 

[Mark86]

What kind of tires do you have on your 4Runner?

 

[BC4Runner]

And I must say... shame on Toyota for dose bad tires and for their awfull jack and tire changing kit.

I'm not sure I'd blame the tires, they're not the one running over things.

As for the jack, I changed a tire and didn't have any problems. I took me longer to get the jack out of storage and the tire down than it did to change the tire.

 

[toto]

I added an 18" breaker bar to the tool kit to make it easier to get the lug nuts off. The stock lug wrench is designed to prevent you from overtightening the lugs when you put them back on, but that makes it pretty weak for getting the lugs off, especially when someone puts them on with an impact wrench.

 

[Ghostrider]

I added 2 small pieces of 2x6 to help with the jack. I learned the hard way in my Jeep that the factory jack doesn;t give a lot of clearance on flat ground and less on other stuff. Slide a 2x6 shim under the jack and voilla - less jacking and more clearance

 

[Kmvreter]

I added 2 small pieces of 2x6 to help with the jack. I learned the hard way in my Jeep that the factory jack doesn;t give a lot of clearance on flat ground and less on other stuff. Slide a 2x6 shim under the jack and voilla - less jacking and more clearance

Good trick. It can also help on unstable surfaces (gravel shoulders, sand, snow.)

 

[greasefingers]

The one of best things one can do is: to change a tire or better yet rotate them yourself. At least one time in your driveway. Do a mock/trial run and use only the tools provided with the truck. That way if you ever need to perform this task in a real situation (and on the road), then you know how to do it efficiently. And you can also improvise by carrying some addition tools that you feel would be better.

I made my 17-year old son do this one month after he got his license.

As for my wife or my daughter ... well they will call me or AAA :roadkill: This road kill smilie is huge

 

[greasefingers]

Whenever I get my tires replaced, I always loosen the lug nuts and then torque them back on myself. That way if I get stuck somewhere the bloody nuts will come off easy. Nothing worse than having a impact wrench drive those babies on!

 

[Kmvreter]

I added an 18" breaker bar to the tool kit to make it easier to get the lug nuts off. The stock lug wrench is designed to prevent you from overtightening the lugs when you put them back on, but that makes it pretty weak for getting the lugs off, especially when someone puts them on with an impact wrench.

Here are 2 extra tools I carry. The 4-pt lug nut star is an antique I've had since my first car. The spare winch wrench is home made.



A good shop will teach the tire techs (kids) to only use an impact to run the nuts up, then finish the job with a torque wrench. If the shop can't handle these basics then take your business elsewhere. ALWAYS use a torque wrench on lug nuts (and retorque after 100+ miles), especially on aluminum wheels.

 

[jrc_bar]

What kind of tires do you have on your 4Runner?

I have the OEM Dunlops.

 

[jrc_bar]

Re: Re: A flat tire on a Runner is the worst

I'm not sure I'd blame the tires, they're not the one running over things.

As for the jack, I changed a tire and didn't have any problems. I took me longer to get the jack out of storage and the tire down than it did to change the tire.

I guess you have a point there, but if you just use the tires on regular highway conditions they should be ok.

I think my issue is more with the jack kit they supply than the tires. I guess at least we get one, in some other cars you just get the Road Side assistance phone number.