AW Option Split Spoke Alloys	AL/AY Option 5 Spoke Alloys	Curved Spoke Alloys	Standard Steel Wheels
$400 option N/A aftermarket	$835 AL option $875 AY option $1299 aftermarket	N/A option $1299 aftermarket	Standard (no cost) N/A aftermarket

Spare Tire Covers

There are a number of options for spare tire covers.  The standard is a plastic cover that covers just the wheel and leaves the tire exposed. 

 

Standard Spare Tire Cover Photo courtesy Marc Crawford

The L Package includes a hard shell spare tire cover painted to match the body with Toyota lettering across it.  This is also available as an aftermarket option (P/N 64771-42060-XX) for about $400 US from ToyotaGuys.com and other dealers.  When purchased this way it doesn't include the Toyota lettering and is pre-painted in any of the standard colors (the XX in the part number is substituted with the paint color code).  Since the hard spare cover is so expensive it is a target for theft.  A padlock can be placed on the cover latch.  I use a small Master padlock (121T) which is all brass with a plastic cover. These aren't completely weatherproof (and I haven't found any this small that are) so you need to give them a periodic squirt of WD-40 to keep them from rusting up.  At 2 for $5 you can afford to replace them if they get corroded as well.  These won't stop a serious thief - they will break or cut the lock off.  It's just a deterrent for the casual thief or kid in the parking lot looking for a trophy.  Note that even if they get the outside cover off it's useless without the back shell (which is behind the spare).  If you have wheel locks there is one on the spare as well so they won't be able to get the spare or the back shell.

 

	Hard Spare Tire Cover in L Package on my RAV
	Toyota Aftermarket Hard Spare Tire Cover (no Toyota Lettering) Photo courtesy Bernie Herrmann
	Padlock On Hard Cover Master Lock 121T Brass lock w/ plastic cover $5.00 for 2-pak at Walmart
	Spare with cover removed Wheel lock installed on third lug Note - no cover on hub

An option that several owners with alloys have used is to leave the cover off the spare completely.  Since the spare is a fifth alloy wheel the look is quite nice.  The standard spare doesn't have a center cap for the hub (the small 2" cap with the Toyota logo), but this can be purchased from any Toyota dealer as a spare part for about $10

	Uncovered spare w/ center cap on hub Photo courtesy Antoine Pharamond

Toyota has an additional accessory option for a hard spare cover.  It has a hard plastic face and soft vinyl sides.

Hard Face Spare Cover $99.00    ToyotaGuys.com

Toyota Hard Face Spare Cover on the RAV Photo courtesy Marc Crawford More Photos on Marc's Web Site

The spare covers for the 2000 and prior RAVs will also fit the 2001. 

	2000 and previous soft cover $49.00   ToyotaGuys.com
	2000 and previous hard cover.  There are two versions of this to fit the 215/70-16 and 235/60-16 wheels/tires. $115.00 (for 235/60-16)    ToyotaGuys.com $144.00 (for 215/70-16)    ToyotaGuys.com

Spare Tire Mounting

The spare tire on all models is mounted to a metal bracket on the rear door with three lug nuts.  On models with the hard spare tire cover a plastic rear shell mounts over the mounting bracket before the spare tire.

 

	Spare tire mounting bracket.  Three lugs used to mount spare (better visible in picture below)
	Back shell of hard spare tire cover attached to mounting bracket.
	Spare tire mounted to mounting bracket using two standard and one locking lug nut (indicated by arrow).  Toyota locking lug nut sets include 5 lugs to allow locking spare.

Tire Sizes

There are two standard tire sizes from the factory - P215/70-R16 on the base model and P235/60-R16 (Bridgestone Dueler H/T 687) with the AL and AY Alloy Wheel packages.  There is a tire chart on Antoine's RAV4 web site HERE.  It shows the diameter variations based on the 215/70-16 standard size.  You need to add 0.7 to all the values in this chart to get the variation from the 235/60-16 size.  Note the warning about any tire wider than 235 or at anything greater than a +0 diameter in the table potentially not providing enough fender clearance.

There is also a very good tire size calculator on the Miata.net web site  HERE.  It allows entering two tire sizes and shows comparative profiles, diameters, and speedometer correction.