XC70: Wheels/Brakes Spare wheel???

[Auldgit]

Hi all, "old" style V70 owner thinking of trading up for a "new" style XC70. I'm a bit confused about the spare wheel provision (or not) on these cars, and a search on here seems to indicate that not all cars have even a space saver spare supplied, merely a can of tyre sealant. Is this the case, bizarre if true, but not much surprises me these days...... All advice appreciated. Don't want to make a big mistake, Welsh roads pretty dark at night and not much mobile coverage.....!

[SouthOxon]

The default position is that an inflator and sealant is supplied in lieu of a spare wheel but this can be substituted by a space-saver spare wheel when the car is first ordered from the factory. In practice, many (but not all) cars do have the space-saver spare wheel.

[Auldgit]

Originally Posted by SouthOxon

The default position is that an inflator and sealant is supplied in lieu of a spare wheel but this can be substituted by a space-saver spare wheel when the car is first ordered from the factory. In practice, many (but not all) cars do have the space-saver spare wheel.

Thanks for that- difficult to understand the logic behind this approach but hey-ho, presumably therefore it is possible to buy a space saver wheel from Volvo? And any idea how much that would cost?? Cheers. Peter

[PaulTay]

Cost for the spare is £125, that is for a space saver and jack - which is also not supplied with the sealant and inflator.

My argument with the deler is that not providing a spare wheel or jack when running on normal tyres (not run flats) means that you will be stranded if you blow the side wall of the tyre hitting a pothole as I did two weeks ago. The dealer in Aberdeen agreed and said that they were discussing with Volvo UK about fitting the space saver as standard.

[Auldgit]

Originally Posted by PaulTay

Cost for the spare is £125, that is for a space saver and jack - which is also not supplied with the sealant and inflator.

My argument with the deler is that not providing a spare wheel or jack when running on normal tyres (not run flats) means that you will be stranded if you blow the side wall of the tyre hitting a pothole as I did two weeks ago. The dealer in Aberdeen agreed and said that they were discussing with Volvo UK about fitting the space saver as standard.

Ludicrous is the word that springs to mind. I've never had a flat that didn't run off the rim, and I would no more think of setting out on a journey without a spare wheel and jack as I would without my wallet. Both are indispensable. Thanks for the info, something else to factor in to the advertised price. Cheers.

[GrantA]

I had the same "shock" when I looked for my spare and jack the other day. A visit to the Volvo dealer resulted in a quote of £280 for the spare wheel and jack. Apparently it was an option when the vehicle was supplied which is not much use to me and others in the same position. My fear is also a side wall puncture which will leave me (us) stranded on some back road or even worse some Autoroute here in France.

When I first got the car last week and discovered it only had a compressor in the spare wheel well I was not impressed especially when I discovered the "tell-tale" tag on the compressor indicated it had been used. I checked the last Volvo Service Bill (Mar 2012) and it stated that all 4 tyres had been renewed, 2 because of wear (front tyres) and 2 because of punctures with nails (rear tyres). I called the Volvo garage and was advised that I should check the compressor as it most likely had been used and the remaining "goo" in the bottle inside the compressor would probably have hardened rendering the compressor useless - that's when the problems started...... I plugged the compressor in and it started immediately and went round the clock to 8bar. I quickly switched it off and decided to relieve the pressure by pressing the small button next to the bit where it screws onto the tyre valve and guess what happened......

The bloody thing had not been used and a full bottle of gooey tyre sealant squirted over me from head to foot, the side of the car and my mates driveway. I grabbed a pack of wet-wipes to clean the car as I spat out foul tasting sealant. As I wiped away the sealant I felt my trousers starting to stick to the hairs on my legs and my polo shirt stick to my hairy chest, I blinked and my eyelids started to stick shut - I was in deep pooh but all I was worried about was getting the sh1t off my nice new car. Luckily copious amounts of water and wet wipes cleaned the car but I was then stuck to my trousers and polo shirt as the sealant continued to dry. My wife had a good laugh when she pealed my clothes off giving me a whole body wax at the same time - not a pleasant experience. Warm water and soap got my eyelids working again but my hair remained matted for a couple of days not a pretty sight. I now have a set of waterproof clothes and my mate has a rubberised driveway, well part of it anyway.

Moral of the story - wrap a rag round the tube from the compressor if trying to see if there is any sealant left in it.

PS. I then drove 600 miles from UK to where we live in France with only a newly purchased can of sealant in the boot, now I am looking for a spare wheel and a jack!!

[Auldgit]

Nightmare. Quite what Volvo think they are playing at heaven only knows. Perhaps someone could enlighten us as to their motivation?? All this sort of nonsense does is deter potential buyers (eg me!)

[clivea]

I agree that for cars sold as capable of going off road ( to a limited degree) and as good tow cars I find even a space saver spare wheel too much of a compromise, but cannot fit a normal wheel in the well as with the AWD system the well depth is inadequate. Some caravan web sites will tell you that space savers should not be used when towing, but what options does the motorist have. I take the view that the space saver is rated for the car when fully loaded and fundamentally does not know that part of that tail load comes from the tow hitch. But even then I am limited to around 50 miles on the space saver so your journey is liable to be delayed until you can have the puncture repaired or obtain a new tyre. With dogs and gear in the car carrying a full size spare in the rear is not possible, so how about a roof rack? Such is progress!!

[SourDiesel]

The best solution in this case would be a spacesaver in the car for day to day plus a full sized alloy in the caravan for when your towing. Not ideal but....

[Chaddie]

The standard is just a can of sealant, the Space Saver Spare Wheel was an added extra but this has now been removed from the options list (or had last year when I ordered mine) so I swapped my Space Saver with the Sealant.

Still don't like the idea of the Space Saver, but it's better than sealant. If a full sized wheel won't fit in the space of the Space Saver, then where are you surposed to put the wheel you've replace for Space Saver for if your boot & car is fully loaded, while on holiday etc (on Granny's knee?)