Your trunk may not include a piece of equipment that has typically been sold along with many new vehicles for decades.
Doreen Payne-Mays of suburban Park Forest said she experienced a flat tire in her 2016 Hyundai Elantra. But she said she was shocked to find out her car did not include a spare tire.
“If you haven’t purchased a car in a while, it’s something that you expect to be there,” Payne-Mays said.
Her new car came with a tire inflator kit, which includes an air compressor and a can of sealant. Payne-Mays said she contacted Hyundai’s roadside assistance and followed their instructions for using the tire inflator kit. However, she said the sealant leaked out of her tire as soon as she inflated it.
According to Triple A, the kits work best for punctures in the tire tread surface and may not work for sidewall damage or a blowout.
“They’re often more expensive for the consumer, about $300 every single use for these tire inflator kits, which ultimately doesn’t work out well for the consumer’s pocketbook,” said AAA Chicago spokesperson Beth Mosher.
AAA research shows one-third of all new cars sold in 2015 did not include spare tires.
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Automakers say removing spare tires makes cars lighter and can improve fuel efficiency.
Yet, AAA said the flat tire-related calls it receives have not declined in five years.
“We’re urging automakers to put consumers first and include spare tires in the vehicle,” Mosher said.
Payne-Mays said she would have paid for a spare tire up front if she knew her car did not come with it.
A spokesperson for Hyundai told NBC 5 Responds that only some of its vehicles do not come with a spare tire and that the company tries to make it clear to customers when a spare is not included. Hyundai also said its customers get unlimited roadside assistance for five years.
Payne-Mays said after her flat tire experience, she tried negotiating a lower price for a spare tire with Hyundai.
“Can I get some type of break here?” Payne-Mays recalled.
After NBC 5 Responds contacted Hyundai for comment, the automaker agreed to provide Payne-Mays a spare tire at no cost. The spare tire kit comes with about a $325 value.
“It was wonderful,” Payne-Mays said. “Unfortunately it came to that, but I was very happy with the end result.”
