Not a fun day for my wife or her Clarity

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Ken7

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Got a call from my wife today that she had a flat. I went out to see what I could do and used the sealant kit that came with the car. It did nothing since this was apparently a sidewall issue that I could not see.

So we called Honda Roadside Assistance after it was apparent the sealant kit was having no effect...oh for the days of spare tires. Honda said it would be 90 minutes before a tow truck would show up. So I scouted around the area in my car and found a Mavis Discount Tire Center. I called my wife and had her limp into the Tire Center. There they confirmed the sidewall issue and told us they did not stock Michelin tires. Plan B. We waited two hours for the tow truck to come after giving them our new location...2 hours!

We eventually got towed to the nearest Honda Dealer. They were very nice there and did have the Michelin replacement. Although we had to wait 2 hours there too, they were nice enough to take us without an appointment on a very busy day.

Peace has been restored.
 
This is exactly why I said I'd never buy a car without a spare. (apparently my promises aren't trustworthy). In our case it is quite easy to end up 50 miles from home, 50 miles from a garage, and out of cell tower service. I understand the battery has to take up room for a spare but it seems to me a different design could make space at least for a temporary spare.
 
Yikes!

Glad it finally worked out for you. Makes me worry about some places I've been that would be 4 or 5 hours away from a dealer!

geo
 
I guess, we should keep one spare tire at home and if we're planning to go to a area away from busy place we should keep tire in a trunk. I don't see other way. Think about same situation in Canada and in winter time with -22 Degree c, where we can not be outside of car.
 
Putting a tire in the car costs about 50lbs of weight. That translates into about a 1% loss in fuel economy (I didn't do the math but trust it).

So....that is like taking 2.5 million cars off the road North America when it comes to pollution and gas if everyone did it.

As long as I don't get a blowout I am OK with that.
 
It might make sense for us to buy a spare too. We've had two flat tires in the past two years. Both were sidewall punctures from some sort of road hazard. Both were also in town so didn't present a huge problem.
 
I've managed to get two flats in my 23 years of driving, one of which was patched well enough by tire goo to make it the 150 miles home, the other completely shredded, so I guess part of me figures "Eh, I can live with needing a tow once every couple of decades." But then, I rarely go places with dangerously hot or cold temperatures, so that's a factor.
Atul Thakkar said:
I guess, we should keep one spare tire at home and if we're planning to go to a area away from busy place we should keep tire in a trunk.
Click to expand...
Assuming some older model of undersized spare fits the Clarity, for $100-200 it seems like a decent option to buy one and toss it in the trunk when you're going on a road trip.

As for finding one, I'm a tire ignorant, but this site claims to tell you what the tire, rim, and bolt pattern are for the Clarity: 235/45R18 (this is easy to find), 8Jx18 ET50 rim, and 5x114.3 bolt pattern.

The bolt pattern appears to be pretty standard on Honda vehicles of relatively recent vintage, and if I'm reading correctly, for example recent-model Accords are available with the same tire size, with the only difference being that the rims are ET55 instead of ET50. So unless that small difference in the ET offset number makes a difference it seems like the spare from most previous-generation Accords would work, since nearly all of them have the same diameter tires and the same bolt pattern.

Although I'm a bit confused, since the tire calculator I used says that a 235/45R18 has a diameter of 26.3", and the manual says the spare from a 2015 Accord with the same tires is a 125/80 D16, which is apparently only 23.9" in diameter. Is that 2.5" difference in diameter intentional (to reduce load), or am I misunderstanding something?

If that is indeed accurate, then 125/80/16 Honda spares seem easy enough to buy off eBay on the cheap.

Don't forget to buy and include a jack, too, of course.
 
Ken7 said:
Got a call from my wife today that she had a flat. I went out to see what I could do and used the sealant kit that came with the car. It did nothing since this was apparently a sidewall issue that I could not see.
Peace has been restored.
Click to expand...

Peace reigning is the best ending you can hope for! Glad it's resolved and all are safe and sound.
 
Those fix-a-flats never worked for me. I actually do carry a floor jack, torque wrench, and full-size spare when I travel far. Granted I fold the seats down for luggage since I don't drive anyone else but me and the missus. You can call it overkill but I did pop a tire once and these tools made changing a flat much easier.
 
For anyone that didn't see the thread that was on the forum a couple of months ago - once you use the tire kit you only need to replace the sealant bottle not the entire kit (pg 527 of the Owners Manual). One forum member was told by a dealer the entire kit had to be replaced which was a significant price difference.

geo
 
I was thinking whether I should keep my AAA membership, now I think I will. Two hours is too long. The Honda roadside assistance probably doesn't cover rental cars like AAA does.

I assume the tire is not under warranty. How much did you have to pay? I wonder if these energy saver tires are more susceptible to sidewall damage including curb damage.
 
Ken7, did the Honda dispatched Roadside Assistance guy say your only option was a tow since Claritys don’t come w spares? As in he doesn’t carry a spare to let you continue in your trip?
So if this happens after hours or weekends are you stuck until a Honda dealer is open?
 
I think getting run-flats would be a good option B when it is time to replace the tires. Tun-flats won't have low resistance tires but it will get you 50 miles of traffic on a completely flatted tire.
 
Hi, I am a new member. Just got a 2018 Clarity Plug-in. I am also surprise that there is no spare tire equipped. However, I think my alternative to this is to install a run-flat tire when it is time to replace them. At the meantime, just pray...
 
My last two Acura's did not have spare tires either. Drove them each 3 years (lease) and no tire troubles. I've been told that the small donut tires are being discontinued for safety reasons.
 
P1030716.webp

This is a donut spare tire from a 2009 Infinity G35. It is a 17 inch tire but it is about 1/4 inch taller than the Clarity 18 inch tires. It fits fine and I have driven with it installed for about 10 miles. See the following forum entry:

http://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/spare-tire-that-fits.2579/
 
I'm really thinking these Michelins are more prone to flats than some other tires. We've now had 3 (three) flats on these tires and one blowout. I take exactly the same roads with my Model S and have never had a flat with them. I can see 'bad luck' entering into the equation, but 3 flats? Hmm.
 
KentuckyKen said:
Ken7, did the Honda dispatched Roadside Assistance guy say your only option was a tow since Claritys don’t come w spares? As in he doesn’t carry a spare to let you continue in your trip?
So if this happens after hours or weekends are you stuck until a Honda dealer is open?
Click to expand...
Ken, sorry I saw your post so late! Yes, the only option was a tow. They flat-bedded the car and we bought a new one.

I'm just finding the frequency of flats more than a bit concerning.
 
I guess I've been lucky. I've only had one tire blowout in 42 years of driving, and that was an old bias belted tire back in the late 1970's. I do make it a point to inspect my tires and inflation levels regularly. I see no need to bother with a spare tire anymore.
 
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