Opinion: Why A Spare Wheel Must Be Standard, And Not An Option, In India

In 2020, the Central Motor Vehicle Rules were amended to allow vehicles under 3.5 tonnes to do away with the spare wheel as long as they came with tubeless tyres. The regulation allowed for the deletion of the spare wheel, often located under the boot floor or under the vehicle, in favour of a tyre pressure monitoring system and a tyre patch kit to free up more space. The new regulations have been embraced by many brands, while others continue to offer a spare wheel. But with our current road conditions, is a repair kit a suitable alternative?

Also read: Car Tyre Pressure: How To Check & How To Maintain

The spare wheel is getting rarer in newer generation cars, but on Indian roads, it is still a necessity.

The positive of having a tyre repair kit is that it takes up a lot less space than a spare wheel and costs notably less than a fifth wheel and tyre. This means that manufacturers can free up more space, especially within the boot. Most modern kits feature an air compressor and a sealant bottle attachment that is pumped into the tyre via a filler nozzle to seal the puncture - this is only a temporary fix, and you should get the tyre repaired at the next tyre repair station. It's at times quicker to use this means than changing the wheel, especially when the puncture is small.

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On the not-so-positive side, not all types of punctures can be fixed - a nail in the treads is a generic fix, but patching damage to the side wall is a strict no-no and if the tyre disintegrates or dismounts from the rim for whatever reason, then there’s no going anywhere. Also, not all punctures are simple fixes, like in the case of a nail or screw. Punctures caused by objects like a sharp metal strip - debris from a passing vehicle - can be a lot more tedious to deal with, and a puncture repair kit will not be enough. Also, you need to keep an eye on the sealant bottle as well to avoid running out of sealant.

Additionally, if the air is leaking from the tyre's valve itself due to damage, there is no ready roadside self-repair for that.

Only some types of punctures can be self-repaired on the roadside, but it's always best to visit a tyre repair shop for a proper fix.

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The choice of a spare wheel here feels the safer bet, just dismount the punctured wheel, slap on the new one and continue - find and patch the puncture in the next rest halt or after you reach your destination. Of course, in the current era of space-saving spare wheels, this too isn’t a permanent fix, and you will need to get the tyre patched and reinstalled at the next operational tyre repair station. However, space savers generally limit top speed to 80 kmph - which is ample to keep pace on almost all state or national highways.

While many say that the move to offer a tyre patch kit and pressure sensors is in line with international regulations, our roads remain far from international standards. While we admittedly have one of the fattest growing road networks in the world, quality remains in question. Every week, there is news of vehicles damaging newly constructed roads, road surfaces eroding weeks after inaugurations and accidents due to potholes - the works.

While our road networks are improving, it's not all smooth sailing - roadworks, potholes and debris can be found everywhere these days.

Then of course, there are the roadworks on existing roads - pothole filling work, resurfacing work and now even road concretisation. All these entail large stretches of road work and a number of chances of running over sharp objects, falling off heavy vehicles or being left behind when barricades are disassembled or even placed in the road and forgotten after maintenance - the 2025 case of aluminium nozzles being left in the tarmac after grouting repairs on the Mumbai Nashik expressway is one such case. Then of course, you can also have the case of someone deflating your tyre as they felt your vehicle impeded their when parked.

A spare wheel really comes in handy out on the highway, where you could get stranded for hours waiting for RSA in case of a major issue with the tyre.

So when it comes down to it, the fifth wheel feels the safest option given our road conditions. You have a ready replacement that takes minutes to swap into place, and there’s little room for error, such as an improperly patched puncture that continues to slowly bleed air. Though you do need to keep checking the pressure in the fifth wheel from time to time, and especially before any long journeys. Additionally, should even the worst happen, and the tyre is lost entirely or dismounts from the rim, you will not be stranded by the roadside waiting for Roadside Assistance to dispatch a tow truck to the scene. This can take a matter of hours, even in the city or maybe even the next day, should you find yourself stuck on a desolate highway in the middle of the night.

Of-course vehicle owners should also follow proper tyre management, following manufacturer-recommended tyre rotations and proper tyre replacement as the vehicles age. You can read all about that in our detailed story here.