Not the wheel change I had in mind..FLAT !!

[Shogun]

Long read but good info for new owners on how to change the a flat and most importantly breaking the screws free of the baked on paint in the toyota tool kit.

Was running some errands this afternoon and pulled into a shopping center and immediately heard a metallic noise coming from the left front. I was like WTH. I was going less than 5mph when I heard it as I had to take a hard right to get into the driveway of the place. Pulled over and got out and saw this

Unfortunately I could hear air leaking out of it so channeling my inner Christmas story I went to work on changing the tire so I could drive to get it fixed. For the record ....Like Ralphie's father, I did paint a tapestry of obscenities that are still hanging in the air over the parking lot...

I have a 2013 T4R LE with 2,000 miles on it. So when I saw that it was a metal hinge with a large screw stuck in the tire I was pissed but thankful it was in the middle of the tire and flapped on the fender liner rather than the outside paint and I was going slow enough to where it didn't do any damage or have a major blowout.

I read the manual the night I purchased the vehicle and already knew where all the tools were and had an idea of what I needed to do but I thought I would post it here so that it might benefit others. Some of the pics I took when I got home and put the tools back in the vehicle where they go but in order to get it fixed I just threw them in the back with the tire so that is why the scenery and lighting are a little different.

Getting the tools out. So everything is in the little access compartment in the back. The bottle jack you turn the knob to lower it and then remove. Then there is a rubber strap around the bag containing the lug wrench, center cap removal tool, and the extension arms that need to be put together. So first you have to put the pieces together to lower the spare. Notice the screw that holds the two pieces together in the photo below.

This screw was screwed all the way down and you have to back it off to insert the 3 pieces together. On mine. They screwed it all the way down then baked the paint on it. So I was not able to loosen it by hand. (insert weakling joke here) I assure you that is not the case. Anyway, I suggest you take these out and break them free with a phillips screwdriver which is what I had in my mobile tool bag and what I did.

Then you have to lower the spare. There is an access point right next to the latch for the rear gate. The trick here is that the bar goes in at slight angle to the right and also at a slight downward angle. Took a couple tries but got it in (insert sexual joke here). See photo below.

Got the spare down then put the jack under the frame behind the left front and jacked it up. It seemed like the bottle jack was at the very end of its range before the tire came off the ground. Got me to thinking what would I do if I had a larger tire. guess carry around a 4x4 or something. I will just skip to the end. Put the spare on and immediately wanted to hide. Who decided that Chartreuse yellow was needed for the rim and why ?

Made it to Discount Tire and they fixed me up No Charge.

 

[cbreze]

Thanks for the post. I for one didn't know about the location of the access point for lowering the spare. Yeah, nice color on that wheel ;-)

 

[DannyLlama]

OH man, I'm sorry this happened. Glad you got it taken care of though.

 

[Avalanche]

Thanks for your post. I learned more from you than I did the manual. I just went out and got it all out and put the tool together and lowered my spare on my 2010 4R. I definitely had to go right and low to get it to lower just like you said. Got the Phillips screwdriver in the tool bag permanently now, too. Not only was that screw really hard to get off to put it together, the tool needed to be tightened beyond by hand anyway, so the screwdriver made it sturdier. Thanks again for the post. I'm glad I went through this exercise in the comfort of my garage to be better prepared for when bad luck comes my way on the open road.

Thanks for sharing despite your bad luck.

 

[94hokie]

Great writeup. As a new owner this was very helpful, this forum is a wealth of knowledge.

 

[KidVermicious]

Who decided that Chartreuse yellow was needed for the rim and why ?

So that you'd be too embarassed to drive around on your donut.

 

[bofa]

Sounds like a good plasti-dip practice project. :nod:

 

[kmiller8821]

Long read but good info for new owners on how to change the a flat and most importantly breaking the screws free of the baked on paint in the toyota tool kit.

Was running some errands this afternoon and pulled into a shopping center and immediately heard a metallic noise coming from the left front. I was like WTH. I was going less than 5mph when I heard it as I had to take a hard right to get into the driveway of the place. Pulled over and got out and saw this

Unfortunately I could hear air leaking out of it so channeling my inner Christmas story I went to work on changing the tire so I could drive to get it fixed. For the record ....Like Ralphie's father, I did paint a tapestry of obscenities that are still hanging in the air over the parking lot...

I have a 2013 T4R LE with 2,000 miles on it. So when I saw that it was a metal hinge with a large screw stuck in the tire I was pissed but thankful it was in the middle of the tire and flapped on the fender liner rather than the outside paint and I was going slow enough to where it didn't do any damage or have a major blowout.

I read the manual the night I purchased the vehicle and already knew where all the tools were and had an idea of what I needed to do but I thought I would post it here so that it might benefit others. Some of the pics I took when I got home and put the tools back in the vehicle where they go but in order to get it fixed I just threw them in the back with the tire so that is why the scenery and lighting are a little different.

Getting the tools out. So everything is in the little access compartment in the back. The bottle jack you turn the knob to lower it and then remove. Then there is a rubber strap around the bag containing the lug wrench, center cap removal tool, and the extension arms that need to be put together. So first you have to put the pieces together to lower the spare. Notice the screw that holds the two pieces together in the photo below.

This screw was screwed all the way down and you have to back it off to insert the 3 pieces together. On mine. They screwed it all the way down then baked the paint on it. So I was not able to loosen it by hand. (insert weakling joke here) I assure you that is not the case. Anyway, I suggest you take these out and break them free with a phillips screwdriver which is what I had in my mobile tool bag and what I did.

Then you have to lower the spare. There is an access point right next to the latch for the rear gate. The trick here is that the bar goes in at slight angle to the right and also at a slight downward angle. Took a couple tries but got it in (insert sexual joke here). See photo below.

Got the spare down then put the jack under the frame behind the left front and jacked it up. It seemed like the bottle jack was at the very end of its range before the tire came off the ground. Got me to thinking what would I do if I had a larger tire. guess carry around a 4x4 or something. I will just skip to the end. Put the spare on and immediately wanted to hide. Who decided that Chartreuse yellow was needed for the rim and why ?

Made it to Discount Tire and they fixed me up No Charge.

I had the "joy" of doing this a few weeks ago. My finger has a small scar from the "fun" of putting the tool together. The yellow is a protective coating, fwiw.

 

[jcaark1]

For what it's worth, I haven't had to change the tire on the wife's 4runner, but on the Land Cruiser, that square receiver on the L handle where you connect the long rod to the handle can be used to loosen or tighten the screw that holds the sections together (the one that's painted over). The screw that holds the handle to the long rod can usually be done by hand. Of course, a phillips is handy, but without it the handle should suffice.

 

[cbielat]

I too had trouble with the bolts on the tools. I just couldn't believe they would sign off on that from the factory. I wondered to myself how I would have loosened them if I did have to use them out on the road somewhere. I had to use other tools to undo that bolt. My stock jack is useless to me with the lift and tires.

 

[3x4runnerOwner]

Yeah, i know I should have a flashlight in my vehicle at all times, but i had taken mine out a couple of weeks ago because I couldnt find one in my house. Long story short, if you've never lowered the spare, you should practice it once, because trying to figure it out in complete darkness is no fun. I got a flat last week at night and had never tried lowering the spare before...needless to say, i dropped my share of F-bombs before I finally got the spare lowered.

 

[3x4runnerOwner]

I too had trouble with the bolts on the tools. I just couldn't believe they would sign off on that from the factory. I wondered to myself how I would have loosened them if I did have to use them out on the road somewhere. I had to use other tools to undo that bolt. My stock jack is useless to me with the lift and tires.

Actually, I think there is a note in the manual about using one of the other pieces in the tool kit to loosen the screws...I read that after already loosening them with a phillips.

 

[Shogun]

Actually, I think there is a note in the manual about using one of the other pieces in the tool kit to loosen the screws...I read that after already loosening them with a phillips.

I read that too. I had a screwdriver handy so I just used that since it was easier.

Yeah, the only thing that would make this worse would have been if it was dark and raining. I carry one of those black and decker hand crank flashlight radio's in the kit at all times (it does have batteries but just in case they crap out the crank is good back up) also have the light on the cell phone but what would be cool is if Toyota could put a small retractable LED light in the panel holding the tools. There is enough room for one.. I even had one that came standard in my boat under the seat. Maybe someone has already done this mod I haven't searched it.

 

[aulen]

Actually, I think there is a note in the manual about using one of the other pieces in the tool kit to loosen the screws...I read that after already loosening them with a phillips.

yup...same here.

 

[flyrv9]

Yup, I need to practice too; and will when it warms up here. I don't think much of factory tire tools after having the jack on our 2000 Tundra fracture just after I got the tire off the ground. I was part way under the truck at the time. The jack sat unused for 9 years and breaks on it's first time use. I'll probably buy a good bottle jack like I did for the Tundra.

 

[snow&surf]

The L-handle is on backwards. The short part of the L should be facing out (away from the truck). Makes turning it easier.

 

[Shogun]

The L-handle is on backwards. The short part of the L should be facing out (away from the truck). Makes turning it easier.

disclaimer...Pic for demo purposes only. I didn't install the 3rd extension on there to clear the bumper. Just took the pics back in my garage before putting all the tools back in their home.

 

[Tengu]

I came out of a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert a few months back. When I got on the road I realized, yup, I've got t f%^&ing flat. Pulled off and yup, some ****head slashed it. Just then some dude walked up and offered to change it. Which is when I realized the ****head was standing infront of me. It seems it was a make work project.

I told him to f off in no uncertain terms, and started tearing into the back of my ride to get to the tire. Seeing red , I haul all the crap out of the back, including my storage drawer system, to get to the to the carpet level. I end up ripping some of the carpet. Then I realized I was going about it all wrong. Simmer down Brian. (wished I would have taken my frustrations out on the ****head instead of my ride) Anyway, finally figured out the spare thing. The angle to get the rod to find it's hole, Man, I felt like a teenager again trying to figure out another mystery hole. I vowed then, to get some form of swing arm bumper, and get that tire up out of there.

As for ****head. I still can't believe the lack of logic. If you are going to hit a ride in a parking lot for a potential fee to change a tire, why wouldn't you look for one that looked like a chick's ride? I mean really, I had Arrogant Bas****'s ale, and t4r stickers on it. It was still muddy. It looked like a dude's ride. What kind of dude, with a ride like that would say yes to a stranger changing his tire.

As for your spare rim color, that is like puke or worse. I can't believe toyota did that.

 

[homeyclaus]

For what it's worth, I haven't had to change the tire on the wife's 4runner, but on the Land Cruiser, that square receiver on the L handle where you connect the long rod to the handle can be used to loosen or tighten the screw that holds the sections together (the one that's painted over). The screw that holds the handle to the long rod can usually be done by hand. Of course, a phillips is handy, but without it the handle should suffice.

Yep, that's what I did on mine. I thought that was kind of obvious. But then I break everything I touch. Go army strong and all that, even from Canada.

Oh, and my PSA from some time ago: If you wheel, sticks and stuff get up over your spare and can prevent the magic handle from getting to the spare tire winch. So check that often. Like whenever you rotate your tires and check their pressure. Because the only thing that sucks more than a flat tire is finding out that at that time, your spare tire is also flat.

 

[joneseyyy]

Just got a flat on the way to work Monday. No worries, have an ARB plug kit, air compressor, and high clearance wide platform jack. Had that tire plugged, inflated, and back Rollin in no time. Didn't even get my dress slacks dirty! Being prepared is a great feeling.