Changing a Flat or Punctured Tire
Knowing where everything is and how to operate it is the first step to success in changing your own tire. Be proactive and familiarize yourself on where the spare tire, lug wrench, and jack are located. Look at the instruction booklet on where to jack the car.
If you get a flat tire on the road, drive the shortest distance you can to prevent damage of the tire beyond repair, or damage to the wheel. Get as far off the roadway as possible-a parking lot is best. If you are forced to change the tire on the highway, get as far off to the side as you possibly can. But not into the woods: you want to avoid jacking the car up on a hill or on gravel, so try to find a flat area.
Put your car in park, put the emergency brake on, and be sure to put your emergency flashers on. Put out road flares, day or night, about 75 feet behind the car, far enough so that people can see them and slow down. If you are changing a tire on a curve, be sure to put the flares before the entrance to the curve.
Once you are in the safest location possible, determine which tire is flat. Get out the spare tire, jack, and lug wrench. One side of the lug wrench can be used to remove the hubcap: put it under the back edge of the hubcap and pry it off. Use the lug wrench to break the lug nuts loose by going counterclockwise; you can do this with the car still on the ground. But just loosen the nuts at this point; don't remove them.
Do not allow anyone to stay in the car while you jack it up. Place your jack in the proper position - if you jack in the wrong place, you could damage your car, or, even worse, it could tip over by coming off the jack. Once the car is jacked up, never put any part of your body underneath the car.
Now that the car is jacked up, go ahead and remove all the lug nuts the rest of the way, using the lug wrench. Remove the flat tire and set it aside. Take your spare tire and place it up on the hub. Line the spare up with the lug studs, push it on, and apply your lug nuts as tight as you can with your fingers. Then, take the lug wrench and tighten them as tightly as you can with the car still jacked up.
Take the jack down. Once the car is back on the ground and off the jack, double-tighten all of the lug nuts in an alternating pattern rather than side by side. Make sure you hit every lug nut three or four times to make sure it is as tight as Possible. Once you've done this, put the flat tire, jack, lug wrench, and hubcap in the trunk. Don't bother putting the hubcap back on.
Smaller, space-saving spare tires are made only to get you to a service station where you can get your full-size tire repaired or replaced. Extinguish the flares prior to leaving. Cut your flashers off and be on your way.
PREVENTION
* Every time you fill with fuel, check the air pressure in your tires.
* The proper pressure can be found on the sidewall of the tire.
* Purchase a can of Fix-a-Flat. This cannot be used for a flat tire, but it can be used for a soft tire with a leak.
* Check the tire pressure in your spare tire every time you get your oil changed.
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