[flamesbee]

I was completely shocked that dealerships or people that are selling these cars are not making people aware that there is no spare tire. That could be completely dangerous for anyone experiencing a flat on a highway or in the dark. I was lucky enough that I bought a 2017 barely used. And the previous owner must have purchased a spare tire kit. I purchased the car only a month ago. And last night I had a flat. I am in Florida where the hurricane has left a lot of debris, such as roof tacks, nails and such... leaving a lot of us compromised with flat tires. So when I got online to find out what the tire was going to cost to have it fixed, I was shocked that cars are now coming with no spares. So I immediately went to my trunk and fortunately, I'm a lucky one. I can't imagine the frustration of purchasing a new vehicle, getting a flat tire, and then going to your trunk to find out that you have no spare. It's ridiculous.

 

[campb292]

It is true, some Malibus do not include a spare tire. Some cars come with an inflation kit. Since others will probably see this and wonder, here is the gen9 breakdown:

gen9 2016+
L/LS/RS/1LT trim include a compact spare tire and jack kit as standard equipment.
Hybrid and Premier trim do not include a spare and include the inflation goop kit.

If you open the trunk of a used gen9 Malibu and don't find either a spare/jack or the inflation kit, it was taken prior to sale and probably went to eBay.

Sorry about the flat... I feel the pain there and recently experienced it first hand. If I were to become a tyrannical ruler, every roofing nail would have a stamped serial number and every buyer would have to register their serial numbers online. You get one in your tire you retrieve the nail, search the serial number, and the owner goes to prison for 20 years! Fail to register and you are sentenced to watch Howard the Duck on loop for eternity.

 

[Moonwink]

You can decode your RPO label to see if your car came with a spare. On my 2015 2LT, that was code QCL (tire: TIRE SPARE T125/70R17 SL 98M BW SPR) on row 6 and 4G7 (WHEEL SPARE 17 X 4.0, B, STEEL, DESIGN 1) on row 9 of the RPO label. There's probably one for the jack somewhere but I can't find it right away. There's probably a code for the can of stopleak they replace the spare with too.

The 2015 sales brochure only calls for a spare in the 2LT & 3LT models but says the LTZ includes everything that comes with those models. The LS and 1LT do not list a spare tire.

Campb292, you'll have the support of many after you take over if you also include requiring car manufacturers to include an actual spare tire instead of a can of stopleak!

 

[jeffk]

My 2018 Premier had no spare just the can which is a terrible idea. My 2017 LT did have a proper spare.

 

[DrivenDaily]

When I bought my first 2011 LTZ, the standard factory outfitting was no spare, just a pump and a can of goo. The dealership had to order the spare. The dealer I got mine from has a standing order to include a spare in all of the vehicles they get from GM.

Not sure if that started in 2011, 2010, or earlier, but my 2009 2LT came with a spare.

 

[cp-the-nerd]

2009 Malibu 2LT - compact spare
2008 Cobalt Sport - compact spare
2017 Cruze Premier - compact spare (this surprised me)
2017 SS - full size spare

I'm also not a fan of inflator kits. The explanation I read was for weight reduction. GM was coming off a streak having the heaviest vehicles in their respective classes and started really doing some absurd things to trim very negligible weight with unfortunate tradeoffs.

It's worth noting the gen 9 Malibu is about 250 lbs lighter than the gen 8, but the vast majority of that came from the cutting-edge redesigned platform.

 

[repairman54]

'15 LT no spare just inflator kit.

 

[mortten]

When I bought my first 2011 LTZ, the standard factory outfitting was no spare, just a pump and a can of goo. The dealership had to order the spare. The dealer I got mine from has a standing order to include a spare in all of the vehicles they get from GM.

Not sure if that started in 2011, 2010, or earlier, but my 2009 2LT came with a spare.

My 12 LTZ had a spare.

 

[JonnyAbs]

My 2013 LT did not come with a spare, just the inflator kit. See below for what I bought. I didn't get the malibu spare kit because it was like $400. These combined for less than $200. I had a flat on the highway last year on an hour trip and the spare came in handy.

 

[tnmats]

If I were to become a tyrannical ruler, every roofing nail would have a stamped serial number and every buyer would have to register their serial numbers online. You get one in your tire you retrieve the nail, search the serial number, and the owner goes to prison for 20 years! Fail to register and you are sentenced to watch Howard the Duck on loop for eternity.

Same goes for gutter materials. Those jerks just cost me over $1k in the last few years. $450 in particular a few weeks ago with one of their dropped screws in a tire, of course it was barely in the no-repair area.

Howard the duck is too kind!