AAA wants automakers to put spare tires back in cars

AAA wants automakers to put spare tires back in cars

More than one-third of 2015 model year cars have no spare tire, and the American Automobile Association is unhappy about it. Automakers have been eliminating spare tires to cut down on vehicle weight and instead provide tire inflator kits. Because of their limited utility, the kits cannot provide even a temporary fix for many common tire-related problems, the AAA said.

–AAA responds to more than four million calls for flat tire assistance annually and, despite advances in vehicle technology, we have not seen a decline in tire-related calls over the last five years,” said John Nielsen, AAAês managing director of Automotive Engineering and Repair.

AAA noted that younger drivers are less likely to be able to change a tire. More than one in five drivers age 18 to 34, do not know how to change a tire; but nearly 90 percent of drivers 35 to 54 can do so.