Changing a Flat Tire

The process of getting a license and being granted the privilege of driving is too short and easy. The responsibility required to safely operate a car is immense. There should at least be training offered to anyone who came from a "that's what AAA is for" type of family, like me. Even the simplest operations are extremely confusing to a lot of people, which brings me to changing a tire. Changing a flat tire on the spot is a must have skill. I plan to help clarify the process.

When you first realize that you have a flat tire, do not panic, calmly guide your car to the most level ground possible and engage the parking brake. If you have a manual transmission, leave the car in First Gear or Reverse to prevent rolling. If you have an automatic transmission, leave the car in Park. Now it's time to get out of the car and find the supplies that should already be tucked away in your car somewhere. Look in your owner's manual to find your jack, lug nut wrench and your spare tire as all cars have different stow away spots. On a side note, make sure you check your tire pressure frequently because being stuck with a flat tire and a flat spare tire is the worst. Now you need to remove your hub cap if the car has one. A hub cap is a plastic covering that covers the wheel on some cars. Usually using the back of the lug nut wrench and prying it off works but you can check the cars user manual as it is different on all cars. Remove any plastic covers that are present on the lug nuts because your wrench will most likely not fit over them. Before jacking up the car, the lug nuts will need to be slightly loosened. You will need to do this in a star pattern loosening the nuts one half turn across from the previous every time until all the nuts are loosened.

Next, you are going to need to use the jack to lift the tire off the ground. Before you jack up the car place a heavy object like a brick or a rock in front of the wheel diagonally opposite the flat tire to prevent the car from slipping. This is where the jack comes in; put it under the car's frame near the wheel with the flat. There's a thin lip that runs along the side of your car which is usually where the jack goes. Your car might be different though so check your owner's manual to be sure. Remember that it's possible for a car to slip off its jack so never get underneath a car that's only supported by a jack. Once the jack is in place insert the handle and start turning clockwise or pushing up and down to raise the jack and subsequently lift the car. If it lowers the car or the handle won't move try turning it the opposite way. Make sure you raise the jack high enough to replace the flat tire. The new tire will be full of air so you will need more space than you would think.

Now comes changing the flat tire out with your spare tire. Remember the lug nuts that were loosened earlier, now you can remove them completely by using the lug