Busted, I think you took it too literally. I think it was an editorial comment on another thread. I’ve been accused of contributing to the depletion of the earth’s resources because I like 5,000 mile oil changes.
Some people can’t handle the truth 
How do you know when you’ve struck a nerve? The suffering is projected beyond the original thread…
@insightful
Watch this. And you might learn something.
Tester
Thanks, @Tester, I learned to never trust your videos. Per my owners manual:
“Never use a puncture-repairing agent in a flat tire. If used, you will have to replace the tire pressure sensor.” (2010 Honda Insight)
@"the same mountainbike"
Jack up the car, put on the donut to replace the front flat, remove jack and and jack up the rear and remove the wheel and replace with the flat, jack up the front, remove the donut and install the wheel from the rear, jack the rear up and remove the flat and install the donut. Piece of cake. Fixed in no time.
Exactly the same and busted knuckles. I was accused of being fearful and not scientific in over maintaining my cars. Of course truth be told the folks were more concerned about the environment than maintaining their vehicles. I polish my light lenses twice a year too which probably depletes the ozone somehow but provides jobs for Meguires.
Struck a nerve? Yeah. I’m waiting for a report on how TT made it to 500,000 miles without an engine failure with 10,000 mile oil changes.
Jeez, guys, can’t you confine your dispute to a single thread? This is getting ridiculous. Man up, put on your big girl panties, or do whatever it takes to soothe your wounded egos.
Thank you EK. Caddyman had already described the solution to me.
However, “piece of cake” it ain’t. A large portion of the population, myself included, have degenerative disc disease and other medical conditions that make jacking up a car and changing flats difficult and painful. I can, on a good day, manage changing one tire, but having to remove and move all those wheels around would put me in the hospital getting an epidural for certain.
And that’s on a good day. Which, in NH, it often isn’t. Snow, rain, and cold make it more of a problem.
I miss the old days when manufacturers designed in capacity for a full service spare. It bothers me that they no longer do simply because of mandated constantly-tightening CAFE requirements. Once again, it’s the “law of unintended consequences” in action.
I know this response will initiate attacks from all the “save mother earth” folks. It might even spawn the debate about whether by continuing to promulgate more and more regulations at this point the EPA is doing more harm than good. We’ve been down these roads already, had the debates already, I urge restraint. Me, I have my back to worry about. In a sense, this manifestation of constantly raising the bar by the EPA is literally placing the burden on my back… and it hurts. Literally.
Take this for what it’s worth. It’s solely a statement of preference.
Agree @Caddyman.
Like you implied earlier, if you don’t like Toyota’s solution to having an AWD system in a van that was not originally designed for it by using run flats, then your option is to give up some of that space with a spare you carry that works with AWD, or, you learn to live without a spare or go back to run flats. Vans are HUGE. they can accommodate a proper spare in a plastic bag if one wants to give up a few cubic feet of stowage. Life is about choices. This is one… So, anyone really can learn to live with one of these vehicles. Just do it a little differently. Another option for those who can afford it; get a Highlander
@"the same mountainbike"
I was being sarcastic with the “piece of cake” comment. Its incomprehensible to me why the manufacturers put a donut or no spare with the car. Chances are the person driving the vehicle has gained more in weight that the spare weighed.
@Bing and @"the same mountainbike" , sorry. I must have missed the /sarc tag. My bad.
Thanks for posting EK. Apologies for not understanding.
For the manufacturers, it’s all about chopping away everything that can even a minuscule amount improve CAFE numbers without impacting sales. Nobody cares about spares when buying a car.
As regards the driver’s excess weight… guilty as charged. {
I was told by a coworker that inside the third row seat storage well one side was made larger to accept a full size spare tire. You may have to cut the carpet to locate the mounting point in the floor. He told me the part number for the hold down bolt but I didn’t write it down.
However with a tire there you can no longer stow that half of the seat (60/40 seat).
Mountainbike, @Whitey needs a top drawer new neighbor. Have you considered moving south to a warmer climate? South Florida won’t be under water for about 100 years. Naples could be a good balance between cost and consistently warm weather. Spend a week down ther and see if you have more good days. You worked hard and you earned it. Even if you don’t move, you could spend several weeks in South Florida or another warm area during the winter. Take your time and drive down.
You can find the factory spare tire for a FWD Sienna of this year but it’s only a 17" which is the size of the factory fit wheels for the FWD model (at least from what I can find on tirerack) And a bottle Jack (such as from Harbor Freight) which won’t take up that much room but is likely easier to use than some of the ones provided by the factory.
Sarasota. I love it there.
But, also, I made a discovery this past winter. Once you’re retired, the weather isn’t so bad. I get up in the morning, pour a cup of coffee, and look out the window. If it’s nice out, I plan to go somewhere. If it’s raining, I get some inside chores done. If it’s snowing, I pour a second cup of coffee and wait for it to stop.
But if I stumble on some cash, I still might head to Sarasota.
My Cruze didn’t come with a spare either. The car makers did studies, and found that tire have become so reliable, many full sized spares were never used. I’m on my second set of tires now, and feel comfortable with no spare.
I hadn’t had a flat tire for quite a while either but then 400 miles from home picked up a 2 1/2 inch screw. Time before that I blew a tire 200 miles from home. I dunno, I had thought the next car would be an all wheel drive, but now I think I’ll reconsider. You at least have to get to a tire shop and for me its usually after-hours or on the weekend. Some kind of a spare at least keeps you mobile.
Every flat I’ve gotten in the last 30 years has been from a screw or nail. I got three or four of them after my house was reroofed. I got more when our college put on a new addition. Driving in and out of a construction zone every day for a year, one is bound to pick up a nail or screw.
My 2014 Mazda6 has a donut spare as does my wife’s 2012 Ford Fusion SE. She picked up a nail on Sunday and got a flat on Monday. I popped the donut on her car and she drove to the dealer to get her tire repaired. I would NEVER buy a car without a spare tire and I deliberately avoided the Sienna’s with run flats when I bought my Sienna to avoid having a four page thread like this one regarding tires. 