There are several threads on this. They also note the only options available for storing a spare.

 

Yup.. happened to us three times (sidewall blowouts)... after that I bought the spare and it's sitting in the trunk. It takes up a lot of space, but it's better than being stranded... Although I wouldn't call it a Safety issue. I'm thinking they did away with the spare to save weight and costs.

 

Sorry to hear that you had it 3 times. The sealer told us that they have a customer who had 4 blow ups in a year! Either the stock tires are bad, or low profile tires are prone to blow ups in general...

I said it is a safety issue because I had to sit on the hard shoulder for > 1 hour waiting to be towed, in that long time my car was more likely to be hit by a truck. With a spare I would be able to move on in 10 min.

 

Go for smaller wheels guys.

17" is the best!!

 

The funny thing is that as soon as I bought the spare.... never had an issue with blow outs or even a nail.

 

Agree that low profile tires are more susceptible to sidewall damage.

Volvo is not alone in abandoning spares. I understand there are several aspects to their thinking: 1) space; 2) weight reduction for fuel economy; 3) cost, and; 4) many owners wouldn't change their own tire even if they had a spare. I've had dealers of several different makes tell me that reason #4 is one of the biggies -- a high percentage of drivers these days are downright helpless and are fully dependent on roadside service.

I suspect those of who want a spare and are willing to use it to avoid being stranding or waiting for a tow truck are in the minority these days. "Progress" does sentence some of us to the past before we're ready.

 

Agree that low profile tires are more susceptible to sidewall damage.

Volvo is not alone in abandoning spares. I understand there are several aspects to their thinking: 1) space; 2) weight reduction for fuel economy; 3) cost, and; 4) many owners wouldn't change their own tire even if they had a spare. I've had dealers of several different makes tell me that reason #4 is one of the biggies -- a high percentage of drivers these days are downright helpless and are fully dependent on roadside service.

I suspect those of who want a spare and are willing to use it to avoid being stranding or waiting for a tow truck are in the minority these days. "Progress" does sentence some of us to the past before we're ready.

Even if the driver can not change tire, she/he can get on her/his way much faster with a spare. The alternative is to get towed and hoping that the dealer has the tire in stock. On occasion the tire blow out after business hour, and then you will have the additional hassle of calling around to get a lift home after getting the car towed to the dealer.

 

Bought a spare on Ebay for my 2013 S60. I've only had the S60 since late March, and have had no flats. But I never felt comfortable/secure not having a spare. Cost for the spare and bag, $89.99, and both are NEW. Hope I never have a flat, but if I do have a flat, the spare will come in handy!

 

did he have pirellis?

 

Have read that some Contis have weaker sidewalls so you may want to try a different brand next time. Agree that it's silly to not offer a more elegant solution than taking up a good chunk of the trunk area with the spare in a bag thing but it is what it is.

 

I've done some research into the new Bridgestone Driveguards (new generation of run flat tires) that get positive reviews from TireRack and consumers. Most seem happy with the tires. Since we can get some winter weather here in the mountains of NC, I am looking for an all season that does well in snow, and I'm not sure that the Driveguards will meet that requirement.

 

I thought they discontinued the spare tire kit for a while.. I see it's available (with all the fixings, raised floor, jack, etc..) at steingold volvo in RI for a mere $540

 

Just as a point of information, I wasn't defending any of the four points about the reasons for spare tires becoming less common these days. I was just relaying what I've heard from multiple sources representing several different brands of cars.

I agree with those who want a spare. Tire are subject to damage that fix-a-flat cans can't fix, and waiting for a tow truck can involve long waits and may still not get you on your way in any reasonable time frame.

But, more than one car maker has made the decision to get rid of spares no matter what some of their customers would prefer.

 

I will throw my 2 cents in here. Lack of spare tire is stupid policy for a multitude of reasons. It is bad enough in, for example, an Acura TLX where you can buy the kit which sits under floor of trunk, but even worse, in the S60 where the tire takes up space on top of floor of trunk. I will not consider a car that doesn't have a spare tire or a dipstick to check the oil. If this means my wife and I keep our /13 S80 T6 and my /06 Acura TL for a very long time so be it.

Best,
Jeff

 

There's so little trunk space without the spare that I couldn't see getting the styrofoam insert and the new floor board, so I ended up getting a Volvo spare and a BavarianAutosport tire bag (unfortunately, the Volvo bag isn't available any more) to load in the trunk for when I'm significantly far from home and unlikely to be near a Volvo dealer. But it still makes me wonder about some Volvo designers, because two of the tie-down rings to secure the spare (or anything else) aren't accessible once the carpet mat is placed over them, in the trunk...

If you're going to carry a spare, it's also a good idea to get the threaded install rod from IPD, because it helps mount the wheel. I also got some extra wheel bolts. Just think of what it would be like to change the wheel on a snowy winter night and losing a bolt.

 

> two of the tie-down rings to secure the spare (or anything else) aren't accessible once the carpet mat is placed over them, in the trunk...

I notice that there are two metal rings, one on each side of the trunk floor. Are you talking about additional rings? How do you tie down your tire? With ropes?

> If you're going to carry a spare, it's also a good idea to get the threaded install rod from IPD

Thanks for the reminder. Is there a diameter/spec I need to know before ordering this?

My plan is to order a full size spare. Since any spare has to sit on the trunk floor anyway, might as well get a full size for occasions that I travel far. It takes more space, but once deployed I don't have to worry about finding a tire shop in a hurry. A temp wheel has speed and range limit. A full size alloy+tire cost ~300 online (e.g., TireRack), not much more expensive than a temp.

 

There are four rings in the S60's trunk. Two are on the floor and the other two are on the interior wall above the fender line, below the lid's edge. The BavarianAutosport bag comes in one size, and has four pieces of nylon webbing with Fastex fixtures attached (like the Volvo bag) and carabiners to clip the webbing to the tie-down rings (I replaced the supplied carabiners with better ones, from Metolius). The IPD install guid comes in only one size, for all Volvos. The BavarianAutosport bag will fit a full-size wheel and tire, and comes with another nylon bag for a dirty tire.

I can understand your interest in a full-size wheel and tire, but a true matching fifth wheel and tire will cost more than $300, plus there may be issues with tread depth and winter traction that are worse than with a donut spare (there's a whole thread about rotation and tread depth).

 

> The IPD install rod comes in only one size, for all Volvos.

Could you send a link? Thanks.

> The BavarianAutosport bag will fit a full-size wheel and tire, and comes with another nylon bag for a dirty tire.

Will check into this.

> I can understand your interest in a full-size wheel and tire, but a true matching fifth wheel and tire will cost more than $300,

Just ordered one, comes to < $350 mounted and shipped. It is an alloy wheel plus a tire that is exactly the same as the stock tire (Continental). Actually if I do not care about the look, I can get a cheaper alloy, which, with the tire, comes to < $300. I ended up picking a wheel that looks somewhat similar to the Volvo stock wheel, at some what higher price that the cheapest alloy wheel of the same size.

> plus there may be issues with tread depth and winter traction that are worse than with a donut spare (there's a whole thread about rotation and tread depth).

May be that is an AWD issue?

 

http://www.ipdusa.com/products/5760/109421-wheel-install-guide

http://www.bavauto.com/fland.asp?part=BMTB2

 

When I got my 2015.5 S60 before I signed on the dotted line I told dealer that the deal is contingent on him throwing in a spare with bag. It was in the trunk in less than 10 minutes. Yes it does take up lots of room but I have peace of mind. So much for the inflator and cans.

 

So I've been driving around for 4 years with the spare strapped down in the trunk. Now I can't get it to stop thumping over even minor bumps in the road. I think the trunk floor has warped a bit from the weight. I now have the spare wedged behind the front passenger seat for my sanity for time being. I'm thinking about getting the raised floor kit for the spare now. It's unclear to me from what I've seen online if the new raised floor kit comes with the spare tire. Since I already have one I just need the other stuff to hopefully put an end to this rattle.

 

I've had the spare tied down in my trunk for just over 3 yrs and it's staying secure. It's surprising to think that having a donut spare in your trunk could warp the trunk floor. Just wondering, couldn't you cram something under the spare to stop it from thumping?

 

I purchased our tire box from here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Volvo-V60-S60-Spare-Tire-Carrier-Box-OE-OEM-31399083-/271932757687?hash=item3f507496b7

Or you could make an offer on mine? We traded-in our S60 but kept the box/insert package, but obviously don't need it. We had it installed for 5 months.