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Car Care - How to Change a Flat Tire
By Anna on Jan 15, 2009 | In Car Care & Auto Tips | Send feedback »
- First and foremost, make sure you’re in a safe, clear and level spot to change your tire. If this isn’t possible, STOP. It’s better that you pay for the tow truck than lose your life.
- Turn on your hazard lights, put your car in Park (or first gear for manual transmissions), turn off your transmission and activate your emergency brake.
- Locate and check your spare tire. Make sure it’s fully inflated and doesn’t show any signs of cracking or dangerous wear. Remove it and set it aside.
- Take out your car jack and lug wrench from your car trunk and read your car’s owner’s manual with the instructions where to place the jack under your vehicle.
- Place a wheel chock or large rock behind (if uphill) or in front (if downhill) the opposite wheel to prevent the car from rolling.
- If your car comes with a wheel cover or hubcab, remove it with a metal object like a screwdriver or your key to expose the lugs nuts of the wheel.
- Loosen the lug nuts of the wheel in a star pattern before lifting vehicle (counter-clockwise to loosen; clockwise to tighten).
- Place the jack under the car (in the correct place your car’s owner’s manual instructs) and jack the car up high enough for the tire to be removed easily.
- Remove all the lug nuts (placing them where they won’t roll away or get lost), remove the tire and set it aside.
- Lift the spare onto the wheel studs, and make sure the air valve faces outward.
- Replace the lug nuts. Tighten them the same way you loosened them—diagonally, in a star pattern.
- Slowly lower the jack and remove it. Tighten the lug nuts further with the lug wrench as much as you can.
- Drive slowly to the nearest tire shop and have the tire replaced.
Depending on how worn your car’s other tires are, you may want to replace two tires or all four. It’s always good practice to change all tires for best balance, however. Also, have your mechanic double check the alignment or for other problems the blown tire may have caused.
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