Imagine that you are driving somewhere in a city that you are not familiar with. It’s late at night and you have a flat tire. Sounds like the opening scene of a cheesy horror movie, right? Well, this story doesn’t have to end badly. You can relax if you know how to change your own flat tire.
If you get a flat tire while driving your car, the first thing you should do is slow down and pull over to the side of the road. Do not try to continue driving with a flat tire or you will do a lot of damage to your wheels and tires. If you are on a highway or busy road, make sure you are far enough to the side so that you do not interfere with passing cars.
Always carry a spare tire in your trunk. A spare tire is a small tire sometimes referred to as a “donut.” Most cars already come equipped with a spare tire. The two most important components you’ll need to change your tire (besides the tire) are a jack and an iron bar. Once you’ve found the spare tire and tools you need, make sure your car is parked and the emergency brake is on. This is very important because you don’t want the car to roll away or worse yet…roll on top of you. Most importantly, never change a tire if your car is parked on a slope or hill. Make sure you are on a flat surface.
You will then need to pick up the iron bar, it is shaped like an “L”. Place the iron bar on the lugs of the wheels and turn them. The nuts are most likely pretty tight, so use a bit of force. Remember the old saying, “loose lefty” and “tight righty”. Once the lugs are loose, put the iron bar down and do not touch the lugs. You don’t want to delete them just yet. Now is the time to start the process of jacking up your car. Check your owner’s manual if he’s not sure how to use the jack and exactly where it should be placed under your car. The flat tire should be lifted completely off the ground. Once this is done you can remove the lugs and tire completely.
Next, it’s time to put on the spare tire. Hold the tire and line up the holes with the wheel studs. After the rim is hanging from the wheel studs, start attaching the lugs again, using the iron bar to make sure they are tight.
Once the spare tire is on, use the jack to lower the car to the ground. Now that the car is on the ground, squeeze the lugs one last time. Place the flat tire in the place where the spare tire was and drive to the nearest service station. Remember, your spare tire is small and was not designed to be driven for long periods of time or long distances. You will want to fix your floor as soon as possible.
