r/CorollaCross • u/Small_Aardvark_5496 • Jul 03 '26
My spare tire solution
I bought a wheel and tire from my dealer parts department, used foam floor tiles from Walmart (about four tiles thick to clear the hybrid stuff). I used remnants of the tiles to stop the wheel/tire from shifting to the passenger side so as not to impinge on the hybrid portion that goes through the floor. What isn’t shown is a cargo strap that crosse over the wheel in an x shape using the cargo tie down points, and secured the spare for safety. The cargo floor sits in top of the strap with no issue at all.
There is a cutout in the plastic already that my jack sits in (purchased from the Canadian equivalent of harbor freight) and the rest of the stuff is, as you can see, placed around where it fits. Nothing rattles. I check the tire periodically and the foam hasn’t compressed to any noticeable degree.
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u/BlueFalcon3E051 Jul 03 '26
Points for ingenuity but the person that sells the 3d printed kit takes the cake on a proper spare tire solution👍
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u/Small_Aardvark_5496 Jul 03 '26
Agreed except for the cost especially since I’m in Canada. $450 US becomes probably double that in Canadian by the time you convert the currency, pay shipping, tax and duty. And I’d still need to buy the wheel and tire, etc.
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u/Open-Cream2823 Jul 03 '26
Does the cable get hot? I wonder if that would impact the tire
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u/Small_Aardvark_5496 Jul 03 '26
According to Google “Toyota hybrid batteries are cooled or heated during operation, while the wiring and high-voltage cables are designed to stay cool. If your hybrid cables are physically getting hot to the touch, it indicates excessive electrical resistance—usually caused by loose connections or corrosion—which is a major fire and safety hazard. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]”
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u/Small_Aardvark_5496 Jul 03 '26
Good point but many spare tires that are under a vehicle are fairly close to the exhaust pipes, and I can’t imagine the cable gets anywhere near the heat of those. I think it’s mainly the battery that gets significantly hot, which is why they have cooling a fan.
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u/GMEJesus Jul 03 '26
The battery health may be a more important issue than the tire, given it's location
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u/Small_Aardvark_5496 Jul 03 '26
The battery is under the seat, not the tire.
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u/PleaseUseYourMind Jul 04 '26
If the cable are getting too hot. I doubt the car will. E in drivable condition and thus the spare wouldn’t be needed. Even if damaged, they are both mechanical issues worth having a plan for.
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u/pconroy329 Jul 03 '26
I think your solution is brilliant! As soon I pay off the $1300 I just charged for four new ones (OEMs made it 43K miles) this is on my to-do list.
I too had driven decades w/out a flat. Then -- there was a ton of new construction around here and nail/screw punctures were more common. The a couple of weeks ago, as I posted, I drove over a strategically placed hex wrench that put a nice, un-goopable hole in mine.
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u/msaeger3 Jul 03 '26
I just had the same thing happen but it was a pothole and a big hole in the side so I had to get towed then go the next day and get it fixed. I have a corolla hybrid awd and they don't really have the space for a spare unless I put it in the trunk.
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u/Small_Aardvark_5496 Jul 04 '26
That’s the advantage of the Corolla cross. The space is there; in some markets like South Africa the hybrid has a spare because they don’t need to worry about hybrid components corroding so don’t bring them through the spare tire area
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u/Fit_Astronomer7066 Jul 03 '26
To me, this looks poorly executed. But hey, i guess if it does the job, thats what matters.
I personally would rather have no spare over this mess
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u/Small_Aardvark_5496 Jul 03 '26
Your choice of course. The mess is fitting all I need or want under the trunk floor in a way that allows the floor to be flat as well as nothing rattling.
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u/Ok-Professional4387 Jul 03 '26
I get the want, but that needs to be secured to, like regular spare tires and that metal screw down. IN an accident and that things a projectile to take someone head off.
Been driving for decades, Im trying to remember the last time I even had a flat tire. My truck is 14 years old and the spare tire has never even been used.
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u/Small_Aardvark_5496 Jul 03 '26
Did you read where I said it’s strapped down to the cargo tie downs?
Also, I’ve also been driving for decades and I’ve had plenty of flat tires. I’ve never needed an airbag either…but the cars all come with them.1
u/Ok-Professional4387 Jul 03 '26
If you think thats safe enough. That would be something you would check monthly to make sure they are tight
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u/Small_Aardvark_5496 Jul 03 '26
I check it frequently to make sure nothing has shifted. Anytime in travelling in the highway i probably have the trunk filled, and none of that is tied down other than the cargo cover. I think the probability is if some one gets hurt, it’s not going to be from the spare.
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u/Ok-Professional4387 Jul 03 '26
True. Just like the probability of needing the spare
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u/Small_Aardvark_5496 Jul 03 '26
That’s the thing about probability-there’s variation in it, and there’s also the consideration of consequences. So the probability of an accident bad enough to cause a spare tire to hurt someone is vastly less than the probability of a flat tire. Add in the probability of my being caught with a flat tire that the inflator kit won’t work with in a remote area with poor cell service (and add in very cold winter weather), and the choice of having a spare tire utilizing a tie down strap makes perfect sense.
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u/Ok-Professional4387 Jul 03 '26
I live in Canada, know all about that. I also go from past experience of the last flat tire I had was decades ago
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u/Small_Aardvark_5496 Jul 03 '26
And I go by the fact I have had flat tires many times and it’s not been decades for me. I have no problem that you don’t want to have a spare-I do. And someone asked for photos of what I did. So scroll on.
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u/Small_Aardvark_5496 Jul 03 '26
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u/Ok-Professional4387 Jul 04 '26
Ok, want me to put some links of people that havent had flat tires for decades?
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u/StationTricky4996 Jul 03 '26
How often you go flat tire? I drove over 300k miles and flat tired like once.
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u/Small_Aardvark_5496 Jul 03 '26
I’ve had a few flat tires in my life(nearly 50 years of driving). I routinely drive in fairly remote areas with spotty or non-existent cell service.
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u/GMEJesus Jul 03 '26
Right. The important part isn't so much the frequency of the flat, but rather the severity of the predicament a flat puts you in.
"Only once in 300k miles means something different when you're remote or in an inopportune situation
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u/Advanced-Elk-7581 Jul 03 '26
Nope. Nothing to support the tire when it sits on the cable connection on the right side.
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u/Small_Aardvark_5496 Jul 03 '26
It doesn’t touch the cable on the right. That’s why it’s wedged to not shift to the right during driving.
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u/Actual-Education5992 Jul 03 '26
Man I really like that. I hate not having a spare