How often do you think about the spare tyre?

We are now on 1 July, and most of us have already booked our holiday dates. North, south, east or west, any destination can be a good way to switch off from routine, work, and enjoy a few days with family and friends. Every year millions of vehicles travel the Spanish roads in search of that escape from the everyday.

You will already know that it is very important to give your car a check a few days before setting off, however basic it may be. That way we can make sure everything is in perfect condition or, if something isn’t as it should be, we can take it to the workshop before the problem gets worse. On this occasion we are going to focus on one element: the spare tyre.

It is important to check the pressure of the spare tyre regularlyNowadays, many manufacturers no longer fit the traditional spare tyre as standard. It is usually stored under the boot floor or directly underneath the rear of the car. Many cars now replace it with a puncture repair kit, leaving the fifth wheel as an optional extra.

Even so, there is still a high percentage of new cars that keep the spare tyre, and customers who prefer to pay around 100 euros more (approximately) for one, plus all the older cars that came with one as standard.

The fact is that getting a puncture is not something that happens every day, far from it. You may not get one even once every 10 years. Of course, when it does happen it is incredibly annoying, isn’t it?

If we are on the road and the puncture is very slight, we may reach our destination without even noticing it, realising only the next day when we go to the car or after the first few metres. How annoying!

Driving on a deflated tyre can lead to the tyre being ruined. It can also be a sudden loss of air. Within seconds the tyre loses all its pressure and we are forced to stop practically wherever we are. In a town we can park the vehicle or leave it somewhere quite safe with little trouble, but on a main road we will have to pull onto the hard shoulder. We warn you that driving the car, even for a very short distance, without pressure in any of the four tyres is dangerous because of the lack of grip and its sudden reactions. Furthermore, we are likely to “finish off” the tyre or even the rim.

Once we have detected the problem, we all know we have to swap the punctured wheel for the spare, of course. But do we have the spare tyre in good condition?

Changing the wheel is not very difficult, but allow us to offer some advice. Unless you bought the car quite recently, before you start removing the affected wheel, think back and remember when you last checked its condition or, at the very least, its pressure. If you can’t remember, go to the spare first and pray that the workshop remembered to set the correct pressure the last time you took it in for a service.

Don’t let it happen through neglect

If your prayers have been of little use and the pressure really is so low that you can push the rubber in with your bare hands, you can start calling the tow truck, although you may have been so lucky that the puncture forced you to stop at a petrol station.

With all this we want to make you see that if our car has a spare tyre, we must pay it attention, the same as the other four. Many of us think of it practically only when we are about to set off on a trip. The usual routine: we check the oil level, coolant, windscreen washer fluid and, while we’re at it, check the pressures with a gauge. This is all very good and should be done. But a puncture can happen not only when you are on your way to the Mediterranean coast in the middle of August; it can happen any day, at any time and in any place.

It takes no time at all to take a quick look at it, including its pressure. We can do this whenever we check the air in the usual four, so we get into the habit and don’t forget it.