So this happened last night. Wife hit a pot hole and immediately pulled into a shopping mall parking lot (which I highly advise to ALWAYS get off the road when possible as side/shoulder of road is way too dangerous, even if you have to sacrifice the rims). Luckily the lot was only a block away so the rim looks okay, but I'll have to get it checked out. Tire is a goner.

Wife calls and sends me a picture. Only 5 miles out. I do have dedicated winter tires and rims (currently on the vehicle) so I just grabbed an all seasons set (tire+rim) and tools (aluminum jack, chocks, impact wrench, cross wrench, air compressor and gloves). The lot was well lit so changing out the tire took less than 10 minutes. Impact wrench to take off the lug nuts (too easy). Cross Wrench to put them back on (I use torque wrench normally, but in this situation, tight was good enough). Back in the house within an hour.

First time on the road tire issue with RLX. Now I'm thinking, I do need to purchase a spare tire and kit for the vehicle... Thank goodness it was only five miles away from home and I WAS home to help out or else we would have needed towing... And in New York, towers take forever to get to you.

Always safety first, my friends!

 

Bummer, but glad everyone is safe.

 

Same thing happened to me two days after purchasing my 18 RLX in Dec/19. Hit a winter caused pot hole and split the side wall on the OEM tire very close where the rim and tire meet. The tire was flat in less than 15 seconds. I was lucky to read this forum about the RLX-vs-potholes and got the hybrid spare tire kit at the time of purchase. I was back on the road in no time with my dinky donut on. I'm glad I had the donut spare because it took 3 days for Discount Tires to ship the replacement tire. It costed me $422 for the replacement tire and to add road hazard warranty to all the tires (also lifetime rotation/balancing). I would have needed to call a flatbed to tow or leave the RLX off the exit ramp in a poorly lighted industrial area without the donut. Decided to purchase a full size tire tire off eBay as back up. I upgraded my rims to aftermarket and have my OEM rims as back-up just in case the next pothole causes more damage.

 

I do agree about the spare tire kit...If the tires are not runflat, my cars get a spare tire.
Sometimes a flatbed is better for safety, but the spare gives you the choice.

 

moose66 - thank you, sir!

mrgold35 - I'd be livid with a brand new car. Two years ago, while driving my wife's coupe, someone T-boned into the car (I was waiting for a parking spot, a parked car on my passenger side backed out without looking. Colliding into my rear pillar. It was a low speed, non-eventful affair which ended up costing their insurance $10,000 in damages--all this before the car's first oil change... Wife wasn't too happy. C'est la vie.

KenRLX - Smart way to go about. After this incident not having a spare tire is not an option.

 

After 2 winters in a row of hitting potholes & destroying my RLX PAWS low profile tires (which cost like $1,000) I now have an MDX Sport Hybrid as my winter ride.

 

This is why I run 17" winter rims/tires on the wife's RLX - more meat between the rim and the pothole. But I did opt to get the spare tire kit just as peace of mind. But if you order it make sure you get the one for the sport hybrid, as it adds the bar that acts to protect the rear battery (it's easy to order the wrong one). Also, when I tried to get the kit last summer, it was on national backorder and I had to pull some strings to get it delivered. So check with a parts person directly to see what the availability is. Plus a tire is shockingly expensive for the temp spare - actually can cost more than the kit itself.....

Good luck - andy

 

Followed KRLESCH's advice from a different thread:

Mucho Thanks to KRLESCH as his advice made this process easy--got the whole kit shipped (including the bar) for around $170! This kit fits with no issues, mine is a 2017 sport hybrid advance. Bought a new spare donut online from Wal-Mart (Continentals, made in Germany).