The Absence of Spare Wheels in Electric Vehicles: Unraveling the Mystery

Key Takeaways

• Many electric vehicles, especially smaller ones like cars and crossover SUVs, don’t come with a spare tire due to space constraints and concerns about added weight impacting range.
• EV tires are designed differently from regular gas-powered car tires to handle the extra weight from battery packs and offer less rolling resistance. This means that traditional spare tires may not be suitable for EVs.
• While spare tires may not be as necessary due to advanced safety features and roadside assistance services offered by many EVs, it’s still a good idea to be prepared by carrying a tire repair kit in your trunk.

If you’re shopping for a new electric car, you might not notice that most of them don’t come with a spare tire. While this isn’t unique to EVs, and you’re lucky if a car even comes with a “donut” tire these days, it’s a growing EV trend that potential buyers need to know about.

To make matters worse, many of the most popular electric vehicles available today don’t even have a spot to store a tire if you’d like to get a spare later. This includes every Tesla model, the Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai’s Ioniq 5, or the fun Volkswagen ID.4 EV. Instead, you might find an emergency tire inflation kit somewhere in the rear storage. Here’s why, along with a short list of a few electric cars with spare tires.

Do Electric Cars Have Spare Tires?

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Many large electric vehicles come equipped with a spare tire, but if you’re getting something smaller like a car, crossover SUV, or a hybrid, there’s a good chance it won’t have one. And while there are multiple reasons for this, valid or not, a big reason is space.

In electric cars, manufacturers pack every last inch of space with a bigger battery, electric motors, or deliver large and spacious interiors. This is especially true with compact EVs. Furthermore, some automakers feel like a spare tire adds weight, which will impact range, all while taking up space for a feature many people never use.

Some manufacturers even claim that spare tires aren’t used enough to warrant adding one. If you’re lucky, you’ll never get stranded on the side of the road or have to get your hands dirty changing a tire. However, I’m not buying that excuse, as reports suggest most drivers will get around four flat tires in their lifetime. It happens more often than people think.

Another reason is that electric vehicles have different tires than regular gas-powered cars. EV tires are designed to handle the extra weight from battery packs and offer less rolling resistance to improve range. Your typical small donut spare tire likely isn’t up to the task, and as a result, most don’t include one at all.

Finally, modern vehicles are pretty smart, and if they don’t have run-flat tires, they have a TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) and a light that’ll pop up on the dash—giving you enough heads up to add air or find a repair shop. Plus, many EVs have loads of safety features and built-in Wi-Fi, which usually come with a subscription plan that offers roadside assistance. The argument could be made that spare tires are no longer required. Of course, all the smart tech in the world won’t help you if a bucket of nails falls off a work truck in front of you on the highway so we certainly understand if you prefer having a spare right there ready to deploy.

Electric Vehicles That Have a Spare Tire in 2023

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Thankfully, many EVs available today still come with a spare tire or offer it as an add-on with different trim levels. For example, if you get the Ford F-150 Lightning EV, it’ll have a full-size spare tire. You’ll also get one with the excellent Rivian R1T we reviewed (and the R1S), GM’s Hummer EV SUV, the Toyota RAV4 Prime, Jeep’s Wrangler or Cherokee 4Xe, and more. Smaller vehicles like the KIA Sorento EV come with a donut spare, as does the Audi e-Tron or the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid.

Keep in mind that some EV models only come with a spare tire on select trim levels. So, if the electric car you’re looking at doesn’t have one, ask the sales rep about additional add-on packages. For example, the massive GMC Hummer EV truck doesn’t have a spare or a dedicated space for one, but GM will gladly sell you a dual spare tire carrier that’ll mount in the truck’s bed.

These aren’t the only EVs with a spare tire; upcoming vehicles, like the new RAM 1500 REV , will likely have one. We’ll have to wait and see for now, as they’re becoming less common by the day.

How to Prevent Flat Tires on Your Electric Car

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As you probably know, the occasional flat tire is inevitable. You’ll run over a nail, hit road debris, or deal with other unfortunate events that drain your tire of air. That said, there are a few ways you can potentially prevent such issues from happening.

Electric cars aren’t maintenance-free , and neither are the tires. Make sure you’re frequently checking to ensure the correct tire pressure. Check and clean your tires occasionally, and be careful to avoid hazards on the road. A common issue is that EVs don’t need oil changes, and that’s typically when many car owners get a tire rotation. So, don’t forget to rotate your tires roughly every 7,000—8,000 miles.

If you’re worried about your electric car not having a spare tire, get a tire repair kit and throw it in the trunk or frunk.