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. Ok sitting here with a 3 year told after my wife’s puncture kit failed to fix the tyre, who the hell sells someone a brand new car without a spare. Bunch of idiots! Cheers Toyota you suck ohh and so do your dealers who couldn’t be any less interested because they where closing in 10 minutes. I’m furious!

    1. Hello Adam
      Thanks for your post.
      We are sorry to learn of puncture and apologise for the inconvenience you have been caused.
      Tyre repair kits are supplied as standard in a number of our models and we will always make sure this is now listed in the specification of the car. For those owners who would prefer a spare wheel then we do offer a space saver option as an accessory item. This can be purchased through the parts department at your local Toyota dealer.
      Finally, we were sorry to read that you were unhappy with the service by your Toyota dealer, if you do let us know which dealer is involved then we will make them aware of your comments.

  2. Hello Dean. We’ve jut got a response from Toyota Europe regarding a full size spare wheel for the Aygo. Unfortunately a full size spare wheel will not fit in place of the space saver tyre. Thanks

  3. Just changed our 2011 Yaris SR that came with a Space Saver Spare, Wheel Brace and a Jack, for a Yaris Sport that comes with A TYRE REPAIR KIT! NO WHEEL BRACE OR JACK but the Yaris broacher does not state the lack of wheel brace and jack so that you can just walk away from the sale. I have been driving for 51 years and have never owned a car without a Jack and Wheel Brace and spare Wheel and am not about to start now, I will try and return the Yaris as totally unsuitable along with the recently purchased GT86 that also comes without a Wheel Brace and Jack also not stated in all the info. I have purchased quite a few Toyota’s since 2001 but will now only buy if supplied with all the above.

    1. Hi Graham
      Thank you for your post.
      We are sorry to learn of your disappointment with the provision of the tyre repair kit and we now provide these on a number of our models. We do make sure that this information in all our vehicle brochures (in the wheels and tyres section) as well as on our website to make sure that potential customers are aware of this fact. For those owners however who would prefer the peace of mind of a spare wheel then we do offer space saver wheels as accessory items which can be purchased via the parts department at your local Toyota dealer.
      We say again how sorry we are to learn of your disappointment particularly in view of your support for the Toyota brand but if you do have any other questions please let us know.

  4. Hi David
    Tyre and wheel section

    Tyre Repair kit, (theses are next to useless) standard

    Space Saver Spare Wheel Optional

    It does not state that you do not get a Jack and Wheel Brace!

    I have been in touch with Toyota Customer Services and requested a full kit F.O.C. and they can have the rubbish they supply AS STANDARD back IN EXCHANGE. It should be stated quite clearly that you do not get a jack and brace even when you supply the rubbish gunk.

    As to weight saving I think somebody has worked out that the extra would use 64p worth of petrol every thousand miles, so it is obviously down the bean counters at Toyota cost saving. This I can quite believe as you now charge £250 for white paint! it’s a total rip off. I or my family will never buy another Toyota until they re-instate the facility to at least Jack up the car and take the wheel off.

  5. Hi David

    Please pass this extract onto all Toyota Managers and Directors.

    The REAL reason car firms won’t give you a spare tyre: Manufacturers scrimp on installing extra wheels to cut costs
    •Firms save around £100 every time they don’t install a spare tyre in car
    •Instead customers are left to fend for themselves with ‘repair kits’
    •Drivers now resort to buying spare wheels too keep in their boots
    Fewer car manufacturers are installing spare tyres in vehicles, leaving customers no option but to phone for roadside help when they get a puncture.
    Almost half of new cars are sold without a spare wheel at all — they are equipped with a repair kit: basically some sealant and an air pump that you use to temporarily fix the tyre.

    The problem is that too often the instructions seem to be written in Double-Dutch, and the kits are also not capable of fixing anything other than a small puncture.
    The obvious knock-on effect of this development is that many motorists,are having to summon the help of roadside breakdown services such as the AA, rather than simply change their wheels themselves.
    The RAC says that last year 94,000 customers called the service after being left stranded without a spare wheel — a threefold rise from just 29,000 calls in 2010.

    Of course, while changing a wheel should take no more than ten to 15 minutes (if one is reasonably competent), waiting for a breakdown service can take hours.
    And that’s not including the time to get to a repair centre, replace the damaged wheel, and then get back on one’s way.

    So with all the inconvenience brought about from the lack of a spare wheel, why on earth are car manufacturers so insistent on killing them off?

    The answer, of course, is money.

    For manufacturers, not providing a spare wheel can easily save them around £100 per car.

    With mass-produced models, that means savings of tens of millions for these global giants.

    Naturally, car makers claim the reasons are nothing to do with cost-cutting, but they are doing it because they are supposedly so eager to save us money.

    Pull the other one. The common excuse wheeled out by these industrial behemoths is that the spare wheel decreases the miles per gallon you get from your car. True, but the amount is trifling, with some estimates placing the figure at an increase of just a fifth of a mile to a gallon.

    The kits only work with certain types of punctures. If you have a big cut, or have hit the sidewall of the tyre, then the kit won’t help.

    The other problem is that even if you have managed to get the sealant to work, the residue means the tyre can no longer be permanently repaired at a garage, so you have to buy a new one.
    Ultimately, it looks like there is little we as drivers can do, apart from vote with our feet, and buy cars from manufacturers who still have a wheel to spare.

    P.S can somebody tell me why I am unable to even order a spare wheel for my GT86!
    The first six months in Australia they had a full size spare, but they now get the gunk instead.

    1. HI David,
      Just had a puncture repaired on my 2015 Yaris. Why is there no instruction in the handbook on how to reset my Tyre Monitoring System. How is this done?

      1. Hi David,
        Thank you for your post. We would recommend visiting your local Toyota Dealer who will be able to reset this for you. Hope this helps and if you have any other questions please let us know.

  6. Thanks for posting this useful information,
    It is very useful for who are searching for Car Tyre repair services in Hyderabad.

  7. Your article is very informative. It’s a welcome change from other supposed informational content. Your points are unique and original in my opinion. I agree with many of your points.

  8. I recently had my infrequent tyre blow out on my front passenger side whilst travelling in Devon out in the sticks down a minor B road when hitting a pothole at a low speed. Luckily my Toyota had a spare tyre, which we could easily fit. When I drove to the tyre replacement company they advised the tyre wall was so damaged it would not have reflated with a repair kit. The alternative with the repair kit on board would have been to sit around and wait for the AA to bring a spare tyre to fit, or get a truck down the B road to load the car on to. As a real service consideration Toyota should give the option to customers to make the decision to carry a spare, even if Toyota have to advise reduced fuel consumption figures. I’m purchasing the Corolla 1.8 Excel Hybrid which will not fit a spare tyre, though the Corolla 1.8 Design will. Why???

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