I guess this is a question for US FIT owners
Canadian FIT owners don't have this option
does the spare wheel (rim + tire) - the one in the lower back trunk area
a full size wheel or a small thin temporary wheel?
my car has that empty space without the wheel
they gave us a can of spray to fix the tire leak instead of the wheel
I am planning to put a spare wheel there just in case I need it.

 

it's a donut (not full sized)

 

So sad... I guess that's all part of cost/weight saving on Honda's part... Or extra storage space.

Yeah a temp/space-saver spare tire goes there.

 

As the previous posters said, we in the U.S. get a "temporary spare tire/wheel". IMO, the pretend wheel/tire is slightly better than the spray can that you guys get. But at our freeway speeds, the temp. spare can be pretty dangerous with a very short life. You have to drive slowly and directly to a tire store for the repair of the real tire/wheel that went flat. Those same limitations apply to the tire that you just inflated with your spray can. The difference is, if YOUR tire has a leak that is too big to be temporarily sealed, you're stuck. We can roll away on the temp. spare at least for a little while.

 

thank guys
what is the cost and spec of this temp wheel?
do I just buy it from Walmart or any other tire store?
I feel alot more safer with the temp wheel than the "can"
because I am planning a 6-7 hour driving trip to Portland, OR

 

You need to buy the temp. spare from your Honda dealer, or try a junkyard. There are a lot of wrecked Fits, and a wrecking yard for Hondas would probably have a lot of temporary spares for sale (but in the U.S. of course). Check on-line wrecking yards in the Seattle area. Since Honda Canada dealers don't sell cars with real temporary spares, you would have to buy the temp. spare from a U.S. Honda dealer also.

 

From what i've seen on here full sized wheels and tires don't fit well in the spare area. They will fit, but the cover won't close all the way.

Just an FYI before you go out and get a 14" steelie and regular tire and get pissed about the cover not closing.

Has anyone found a full size wheel that fits with the cover closed? The threads I was looking at about this were pretty old.

 

Don't have the car with me right now so I can't physically look. But in addition, to what Wanderer and Triskelion posted, here are the specs for the spare as per Owners Manual:
T115/70D14 88M for all models except Sports
T125/70D14 93M for Sports
60psi
Not to exceed 50mi/h (80km/h)

**This is from an '08 manual

Your best bet would be a salvage yard for reasonably priced ones.

 

This was a selling point for me. Looked at the Kia Rio 5 and found that Kia only had a can of sealer and an small compressor. What happens if the sidewall gets cut and you are in the middle of nowhere? Kia wanted $$$ for a 'real' spare tire.

At least with the space saver tire you can at least drive to the next tire shop or possbly complete your trip.

 

Game, set, and match: Honda

"Kia" is Korean for "piece of crap"

 

Kinda apples and oranges there... I wouldn't put Kia in the same group as Honda...

 

It is kind of interesting, though, that a crappy temporary spare tire would sell a car over one that only has a can of "aerosol sticky shit". Based on industry ratings and consumer reviews over the last decade, I agree with the definition of "Kia". Might as well be "Kaka".

 

I got a real size wheel and tire (2010 Sport) and got rid of the cover, just put carpeting down. It does stick up a little but it's fine.

 

If I were the OP, I would use your solution. A real wheel and tire, even if it is never needed for use, would be a better buy than whatever the cost of the temporary spare wheel/tire is. It would also give the advantage of using the fifth wheel in tire rotation. If you actually bought a stock wheel and tire and it fits except for being a little higher in the well than the temporary one, please post that for the OP. If that is really the case, I may copy your example if I ever have the occasion to use my temp. spare. If you use it for a few miles, how reliable is it now? How many more miles would it give you in the future? Mine is still unused, but if I ever use it, I would not be resistant to replacing it with a full size wheel and tire.

 

As someone previously stated, when the OEM POS Dunlop on mine developed bulges in the side wall at 13,000 miles, I changed it and installed the spare. Unfortunately the removed full size tire would not fit in the storage area tire. Actually it will sit there but it is too big to reinstall the cover again.

In Canada, do they give you a lug wrench and jack since there is no replacement wheel and tire?

I would try a few US junk yards looking for one. There normally is no market for used compact spares so they ought to be cheap.

Since I drive a lot off of paved roads running around oil fields, I would never consider doing it without a spare. I was just running around the Bakken oil fields last month in ND, Montana, and Saskatchewan. The previous month I was running around the Prudhoe area. None of these are places where I would want any vehicle without a spare. Granted I primarily use the Fit on paved highways. Off of paved roads I usually use a Blazer or a Colorado because these are not the type of roads for a Fit, but the spare tire rule still applies for me in a Fit. I would prefer a full size spare but anything that works is better than nothing.

I have a Fit Sport and the full size wheel and tire won't fit in the storage area. I wonder if the smaller steel wheel with tire from a base Fit will fit in the tire storage area and still get the cover on. I have never tried it.

 

how about you carry a plug tool, 12v air compressor, and a fix a flat can with your donut so you got a back up for a back up for a backup for a backup? lol and carry your celphone for further backing up. you guys sound like a frikken network admin.

fix-a-flat usually kills tpms and the tires are usually not salvageable. which means, you'd want to plug the tire first and see if you can seal it that way. if the tire seals correctly you can use it until you get a new tire, or if you feel better, get it plugged from inside out.

if you use fix-a-flat, it'll set you back a new tire + tpms + programming it.

 

How have I survived without a full size spare for three years? I even took a 3 hour trip a couple of times. Shame on me. What was Honda thinking anyways?

"fix-a-flat usually kills tpms" - we do not have PMS here so not to worry about killing it.

We do get a jack and lug wrench.

 

I just bought a 2012 Sport and I had a doughnut spare. My 09 also had a spare too!

I live in Edmonton Alberta.


I just did a 9 hour (Hauling all sorts or ass, shoulda been closer to 11 hours) trip to BC.

I DO have a can of that spray shit provided I do get a flat and dont feel like changing the tire. More so for a puncture then an outright flat. If the sidewalls are okay Ill run that tire into the ground!


I'd go look for any old Honda/Acura and older 4 lug VW spare doughnut rim. They're all 4x100 and its all an itty bitty spare.

Still for the 6-7 hour trip I wouldnt worry. Unless you hit something you'll be fine!

 

oh $hit, mine sport FIT is 2010 and no donut
why in Alberta you guys get everything?
I think the best way for me is to buy a temp spare for now
thanks guys!!!

 

One 'mod' I saw once on a full sized 70's Cadillac in downtown Oakland would work well for Fit owners having a fit that the tires and wheels on their fits don't fit well inside the spare tire well:

Get 5 space saver spares: Run on four of them, have the 5th in the back. You might want to have a 5th of Jack in the cab with you, while you are busy pleading the 5th as to why your fender mods consist of unrolling your fenders and bashing them in so they are narrower and closer fitting than stock, to the fit's space saving wheel and tire combinations.

The caddy turned a lot of heads, and quite a few stomachs. Your Fit could put folks into fits about it too!

Then sell your full sized wheels and tires to someone here.

Paul the punner. (Paul H)