Hey Scotty, I have a 2012 Mazda 3 with the skyactiv engine, as well as a 6-speed manual. It’s a great car, but recently I had an issue when I almost got ran off the road by a pickup truck on a country back road, and it caused my right front tire to get ripped up and destroyed. After I initially almost ran off the road, my driving changed and I began to think that I messed up the alignment, but I continued to drive even though I should’ve pulled over immediately. Once I realized what I had done, it was too late. The tire was completely ripped up and destroyed, and I think I might have dented the wheel. After installing the spare tire that happened to be a “donut” tire, I got traction control warning, as well as ABS warnings. I was also not able to activate my cruise control, but I am not sure if that is a safety feature. Did I mess up my wheel assembly, or will it go back to normal was I get a replacement wheel and tire and have it installed?
Yeah I think you just need to buy a new tyre (or 2 if the other front is worn too), and you should be good to go.
The tyre was destroyed because you continued to drive a flat tyre. Check the condition of the rim, if badly damaged, it may need replacing too.
If the warning lights can on after you put on the donut, it may be because of the different tyre size which is confusing the ABS/TCS and then I’d just wait & check if they turned off after you refitted the normal tyre.
If your rim is damaged beyond repair, go to a junkyard & find one that matches.
Keep us posted.
It's normal for the spare to trigger lights, because it's a smaller wheel. (It will probably tell you this in the owner's manual). Unless you hit a whole or had some kind of impact, then I don't think you have any permanent damage.
