How to change a flat tire?
Everyone hates having to change a tire, especially since they always occur when you least expect it: on the way to a job interview, a first date or when you need to bring the kids to school.
All drivers should be able to change a tire. There’s always a possibility you’ll forget to charge it, run out of battery life, or leave it at home if you rely on your cell phone to get you through a roadside emergency. Anywhere can have a flat tire, and using a cell phone won’t make you a better tire changer. Fortunately, replacing a tire isn’t that difficult.
This article explains how to change a flat tire step-by-step and contains all the necessary information.
Essential parts to fix a flat tire
Your vehicle should have included these things:
- Keyhole wrench
- An airtight spare tire
- Owner’s manual for the car
If any of these items are missing from your car or if they weren’t included when you bought it, you should buy replacements straight soon. Additionally, make sure you regularly inflate the spare tire to the PSI that the vehicle’s manufacturer recommends. Every time you check the air pressure in your other tires, you should also check the spare. Always check your tire pressure each month, especially before lengthy travels or when carrying extra weight.
Before going to start
There are a few preparations that need to be made before you can start swapping a flat tire for the spare. First, be sure to slowly steer the car off the road and park it somewhere secure. This space must be broad enough to allow you to move around the car without running the risk of being struck by other motorists. As you change your flat tire, make sure your emergency flashers are activated so that other cars will be aware to drive slowly past you. Put a reflective warning sign a few feet behind your car for further safety if you have one.
Step by step process
Step 1: Engage the parking brake
Put your car in park and apply the parking brake after coming to a stop. Another safety precaution to keep your automobile in place while you change the tire is to do this.
Step 2: Install warning mechanisms
If you have flares or reflective warning triangles, place them as directed by the manufacturer. Never turn your back on oncoming traffic and proceed with utmost caution.
Step 3: Insert wheel wedges
Wheel wedges aid in stopping your vehicle from moving. Put the new front tire behind the back tires of your vehicle when changing them.
Step 4: Remove the hubcap
The hubcap needs to be taken off next. This is required to access the lug bolts holding your tire to the vehicle. To remove the hubcap from the tire rim, use the pry bar.
Step 5: Loosen the lug nuts
The hubcap needs to be taken off next. This is required to access the lug bolts holding your tire to the vehicle. To remove the hubcap from the tire rim, use the pry bar.
Step 6: Place a jack beneath your car
The optimal location for a jack is adjacent to the flat tire, underneath the car’s frame. Consult your vehicle owner’s manual for detailed directions on where to, and how to, do this for safety and to prevent damage your automobile.
Step 7: Lift vehicle using jack
Till the flat tire is raised off the ground, gradually pump the jack. Make sure that neither your body nor anyone else’s goes underneath the automobile while you are elevating it or after it has been elevated. Try not to stop your automobile from moving if it does so while it is on the jack. Once it has fallen, go away from your automobile and make another attempt.
Step 8: Totally undo the lug nuts
Finish unscrewing the lug nuts by hand once they are already loose. To prevent them from being lost, store the lug nuts in a secure location.
Step 9: Remove the flat tire
Remove the tire from the hub by pulling it toward you, then flip it over so that it is no longer in your path.
Step 10: Mount the spare tire
Push the spare tire onto the wheel hub while aligning it with the lug bolts so that they go through the rim.
Step 11: Change the lug nuts
The lug nuts should be put on the lug bolts and manually tightened. Use the lug wrench to secure them later, not now.
Step 12: Lower the car a little bit
Lower your vehicle until the spare tire is in contact with the ground using the jack. Don’t let it get so low that your vehicle’s entire weight rests on it.
Step 13: Tighten lug nuts with a wrench
Tighten the lug nuts by rotating the wrench as much as you can in the clockwise direction. To help ensure that they remain firmly attached to the hub, it is crucial to tighten the lug nuts in the proper order.
Step 14: Finish lowering the vehicle
Remove the jack after completely lowering your car. Utilizing the same method as in the previous step, tighten your wheel’s lug nuts one more time.
Step 15: Reinstall the hubcap
Put back the hubcap you took off if it fits the spare tire.
Step 16: Check the tire pressure
Now check the air pressure.
Step 17: Put all tools and materials back in your car
Assemble whatever you used and put it in your automobile. Keep your owner’s manual, jack, and lug wrench where they belong.
Step 18: Get your flat tire mended
Take your flat tire to a qualified vehicle repair shop as soon as possible to have it serviced or changed because it is risky to drive for long distances on a spare tire.
Tips for maintaining tires to help prevent a flat
While maintaining your car’s tires properly won’t ensure you’ll never experience a flat, it may lessen the likelihood. Additionally, routine tire maintenance can increase the life of your tires, make driving safer, and increase fuel efficiency.
There are a few simple things you can do to help keep your tires in good condition, according to the Rubber Manufacturers Association’s (RMA) tire maintenance checklist: routinely check tire air pressure, rotate tires in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations, and have them balanced and aligned at intervals.
Signs you may be getting a flat tire
Although preventive maintenance will help maintain your tires in good condition, it’s still crucial to regularly check them. The RMA advises putting aside five minutes each month to scan tires for early warning indications of tire breakdown, such as bulges, uneven tread wear, severe tread wear, and sidewall fissures. Visit a tire shop to have your tire fixed or replaced if you notice any of these issues.
Practice changing your car’s tire in a secure area, such the driveway or garage, before you or your teen gets back on the road. By being familiar with the procedure today, you’ll be more prepared to change a tire in less ideal circumstances. We advise storing this manual in your car’s glove box and checking it sometimes to refresh your memory on how to change a tire.