A note I have put on forums. I believe firmly that the NHSTA has failed the American consumer with respect to "Run Flat Tires" and Donuts. On a prior Audi we could and did throw the donut away and were able to use a real spare for the odd flat. Now for both this Volvo and most other cars, there is no accommodation for a real spare tire. I do not know what public interest you are serving by allowing the industry to do away with properly sized spare tires and spare tire wells. But here is a live example of a car effectively being out of all but emergency use for all of five days due to a simple nail in a tire. You need to re-think your priorities and in whose interest you regulate. This is simply a monumental step in reverse. Doug Scott Sort of a heads up for those taking trips to rural(?) America. Ours is at the Eastern Shore - a hop skip and jump to DC but terra incognito for Volvo. Friday it was discovered that the car had a flat. The VOC option was to have it towed to a dealer 90 minutes (plus bridge traffic away for a repair, said dealer would have to order replacement so Monday). No loaner cars. AAA was called and jumped into action. They got the donut on and delivered tire to nearest shop 30 miles away in Chestertown. They will not repair a run-flat so ordered one for delivery soonest which is the following Wednesday. Since they are a "Goodyear" dealer they cannot process the Volvo/Pirelli road hazard warranty. So we pay full price plus for replacement. Dealer does not want to give us damaged tire either....but that we will extract. So, a simple flat tire that were it a normal tire would have been repaired easily Friday keeps the user's while on vacation stuck for 5 days on a car with a limited use donut. Where is the advancement in this? For who are run flats a good idea?
NHTSA ODI 11430114