How To Fix A Flat Tire In Less Than 20 Minutes

With all the holiday travel comes the increased potential that something can go wrong with your vehicle. Unfortunately, this could mean blowing out a tire on your way to Grandmoms. Don’t let this unexpected situation throw a monkey wrench in your holiday celebrations. We’re going to break it down step by step and explain how you can change out your blown tire for your spare in under 20 minutes.

Here’s what you’re gonna need: your spare tire, two blocks of wood, car jack, tire iron, and lug wrench. All of these except the two blocks of wood should be located in the same area where your spare tire is kept.

Here’s what to do:

• Park your vehicle on level ground and make sure to apply the parking brake. Never park a car on uneven ground because when you jack it up, the jack could buckle and your car could roll off the jack. This is a dangerous situation you definitely want to avoid.
• Block the two wheels that are opposite to where the problem tire is. This is because as you jack the end of the vehicle where the problem tire is, you don’t want the two tires still on the ground to roll.
• Locate your spare tire and check its proper inflation level which should be located in the vehicle owner’s manual.
• Remove the spare tire which may be anchored down by a mounting screw which should be hand tight.
• Now, remove the wheel cover of the flat tire is your car has these.
• Then, use the tire iron to break the lug nuts loose by doing 1 turn counterclockwise. This may take a good amount of force and a bouncing motion make be helpful when pushing on the tire iron. Just make sure to be completely on the nut with the tire iron to avoid rounding or damaging the lug nut.
• Next, grab the jack and place it under a lifting area which is usually part of the frame. Placing the jack just anywhere (especially under the body of the car) could result in damaging your vehicle and could create an unstable situation.
• Once the jack is positioned correctly, turn the jack screw clockwise to begin raising the car up.
• Once the wheel is completely off the ground, use your tire iron to finish removing the lug nuts. Once they off then remove the flat tire and place the spare on the wheel studs.
• Now tighten all of the lug nuts and secure the spare tire.
• Finally, slowly lower your vehicle down by slowly turning the car jack screw counterclockwise. Make sure all hands, feet, fingers, and anything else are not under the vehicle at all times.
• Now that your car is back on the ground, stow your jack and all of your supplies back in the appropriate compartment and you should be on your way!