How to use a tyre repair kit

A tyre repair kit is one of the most important pieces of emergency equipment you can carry in your car – offering a quick and safe-to-use alternative to a space-saving or full-sized spare tyre.

See also:
Toyota Touch & Go, Touch & Go+ and Toyota Touch Pro FAQs
How to use the Toyota Touch and Touch & Go multimedia systems
Toyota Touch 2: Introduction

It’s reckoned that on average, UK motorists suffer a puncture once every five years. Tyre repair kits reduce road-side risk by a factor of five and more than halve the time a car is immobilised (source: Tyre manufacturer Continental).

Using a Tyre Repair Kit can be quicker, easier and safer than jacking up your car to change wheels, which means you’ll spend less time in a potentially dangerous situation at the roadside.

The kits also reduce a car’s overall weight, and therefore improve fuel economy.

In this short video, we show you the simple steps you should follow to use a tyre repair kit correctly, and describe the situations in which you should use it.

Finally, it’s important to remember that  all new Toyotas come with 12 months free AA roadside cover. If you can’t use the Tyre Repair Kit, or don’t feel confident then contact the AA to arrange roadside recovery.

See also:
Toyota Touch & Go, Touch & Go+ and Toyota Touch Pro FAQs
How to use the Toyota Touch and Touch & Go multimedia systems
Toyota Touch 2: Introduction

By Dan Strong

159 comments

  1. I do like the comment made the it is an optional accessory available through your Toyota dealer.
    It would have been nice if the salesman had advised me that it was not standard with a new car, rather than leaving me frustrated one month later when I had a flat, with nothing more than a gunk kit (which did not work by the way)
    Now looking into purchasing a space saver, but not through my dealer as they are grossly over-priced (in my humble opinion!)

  2. I specifically bought an Avensis tourer after checking that a full size 17 inch spare wheel would fit in the wheel well, I immediateley bought a full size toyota alloy and tyre which fits perfectly, sourced a longer hold down screw from a 2003 avensis mk2, sold the micky mouse space saver wheel on ebay.
    Last year I stopped in a Belguim motorway services on a sunday on my way from Italy to calais, some kind soul punctured a tyre sidewall with a sharp blade, I changed to the spare and caught the ferry on time. If I had a car with a tyre repair kit, it would have been a tow job, If I had a car with wheel well only big enough for space saver, where would I have put the full size spare wheel with the car fully loaded, maybe on a passengers lap, tow job again. and missed ferry and night in a hotel. If toyota does not have a car that can take a full size spare wheel when I buy my next car, then I will buy from a brand who does.

  3. After using the tyre repair kit this morning on my 2014 registered Yaris, (due to a self tapping screw causing the puncture), I found it of no use what so ever.
    Thankfully belonging to the RAC they completed a temporary repair in order to return home with a top safety speed of 50mph.
    I am now in the process of purchasing a spare tyre and wheel kit which to me after the experience this morning is a more reliable fix.

    Yours.

    George. T. Rawlinson.

  4. Hello Gerald
    We do provide a space save spare wheel kit for the Toyota Aygo as an accessory item and this can be ordered via the parts department at your local Toyota dealer.
    We hope this helps but if you need any further help or information please let us know.

    1. Hello Jay
      The parts department at your local Toyota centre will be able to help organise repalcement of the sealant for you. If you are unsure as to the location of your nearest centre then we do have a dealer locator on our website http://www.toyota.co.uk. The compressor is reusable.
      Hope this helps.

  5. My wife’s new Aygo X-pression (2500 miles) got a screw in the centre of the tyre tread (repairable) last week and I had the joy of using a puncture repair kit for the first time. OK, not a big drama, it worked, and was a lot cleaner than trying to change to a spare, or wrestle with wheel nuts. So, am I convinced? NO! We were only 3 miles from home, so cancelled our trip out and made arrangements to call in at our local dealers 3 hours later. Got to the dealers who took a big intake of breath when I told them I’d used the Toyota repair kit. They were most apologetic but said it will probably need a new tyre. I left it with them. Returned an hour later and they were on the 3rd patch! The casing of the tyre was too wet for the patch to stick. They tried a 4th time by heating the casing up to make the patch stick and this time it worked. Brilliant service! But i’m somewhat of a cynic, and wonder if their persistance had something to do with the fact that they could not get hold of a new tyre in my size??

    I was told the replacement repair liquid would be £55.00! HOW MUCH? A tyre’s only £80.00.

    Come on Toyota. These kits might make the car lighter and more fuel efficient, but to my mind this is just a blatant money saving exercise. As far as I’m aware, several countries will not allow a car to be sold unless it has the same sized spare wheel as the running wheels. And £220.00 for a space saver kit when I’ve spent nearly £13K on a new car is an insult.

    Now i’ve had my rant, will the Aygo take a full size spare, as space saver tyres have been shown in a number of reviews to be dangerous?

    1. Hi Dean. Thanks for your comment and we’re really sorry to hear of your disappointment with the tyre repair kit. At Toyota we are constantly improving how we do things and this includes the reduction of waste. Compared to rough road countries like those in the south of Europe a puncture is a relatively rare occurrence for us here in the UK with the average driver only getting a flat tyre once every 44,000 miles or five years. It does appear then that carrying around a heavy spare wheel would mean a huge wastage of petrol over the lifetime of the vehicle. One must also consider that the AYGO is a very small car and all space must be maximised to make it as functional as possible. With regards to your question; we do not offer a full size spare wheel and in terms of whether you could fit one within the under floor space, unfortunately we do not have that information. We understand your comment about the price of a space saver kit but must point out that they are designed for temporary use to enable the vehicle to be driven to a place of repair. There is no maximum distance but due to the speed restriction, limited tread depth (only 3mm from new) and the fact that the tyre compound is often softer to simulate the traction capabilities of a wider tyre, the distance covered before repair should not be excessive.
      We will pass your comments regarding the additional cost of the kit on to the product department who will use it for consideration on future model planning. Thanks again for taking the time to get in touch with us and we hope you don’t have to experience a puncture again for a few years to come.

  6. Oh, and one more thing………..With a puncture repair kit you have to leave the car at the dealers. You can’t just drop the spare off. Crazy!

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