How to Change A Flat Tire

Like most of us at one time or another you have likely experienced a flat tire on your car or vehicle. Here is a very simple walkthrough of how to change a flat tire on your car.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• spare tire
• lug wrench
• car owner manual
• jack

1. The first step in changing a flat tire on your vehicle is to park the car on a flat surface of the road that you were driving on. Pull the car as far away from traffic as possible. Put your emergency brake on in your vehicle and your hazard lights.

2. Remove the lug wrench and jack from your vehicle's trunk. If your car has hubcaps, remove the hubcap from the wheel with the flat tire. If it does have hubcaps, you can use the hubcap to hold the wheel lugs. Loosen the lug nuts but do not remove them yet.

3. Check your car owner manual for the proper jack placement under your vehicle, and proceed to jack up your car until the tire is high enough to be removed from the vehicle. Remove the lug nuts from the wheel. Remove the wheel from the vehicle and lay it down on the ground so that it does not roll away from you.

4. Take your spare tire and proceed to place it on the lugs or bolts of the vehicle so that they line up and pass through the holes in the spare tire wheel. With the spare tire on, hand tighten the lug nuts back on to the wheel. Lower the jack so that the wheel is back on the ground firmly. You need to now tighten the lug nuts with the lug wrench as much as possible, you don't want your spare tire to fly off at highway speed or any speed for that matter! Double check all lug nuts are as tight as you can possibly make them with the lug wrench a second time when you think you are done.

5. Pack up the flat tire and lug wrench and jack and place them back in your trunk and be on your way.

Tips & Warnings

• Use your vehicles owner manual to determine proper jack location
• tighten lug nuts as much as possible when putting on the spare tire
• Watch for traffic
• Apply parking brake
• Apply hazard lights

[angeladent]

on 1/10/2009 Great article, thanks for sharing!

[Good-MEdison]

on 1/9/2009 I agree with the "beavs"... women should know how to change a tire and this article will help teach! 5 stars. My dad taught me how to change a tire when I was but a young lass.

[Beavertalk]

on 1/6/2009 Women should all know this in case they ever get stranded in a remote place...good article. (Check out our Mechanics 101 blog and video as well.)
xoxo the beavers

[offgrid]

on 1/6/2009 Try to avoid a flat by checking your tire pressure every few months. Especially when we change seasons.