How To Change Car Tire

Wedge Your Wheels And Set Your Parking Brake

When you stop make sure you apply your parking brake. Every precaution that keeps your vehicle from rolling away is worth taking!

Speaking of keeping your vehicle from rolling, wheel wedges placed in front or behind your tires will ensure that your vehicle stays in place while you get your work done.

Get The Spare In Place

Push the spare tire onto the hub by lining up the rim with the lug bolts. When the rim is properly aligned, it should slide into place on the hub. When it is in place, put the lug nuts back on and tighten them to the best of your ability by hand. Dont use the lug wrench yet – youll do that once the car has been lowered back onto the ground.

When the lug nuts are tight, lower the vehicle to the ground so that the spare is touching the ground. The full weight of the car shouldnt be on the tire yet. Nows the time to break out the lug wrench again, or, if you have one in your kit, a torque wrench. Place whichever tool you have on hand onto the lug nuts and turn clockwise with all of your strength to get them as tight as possible.When the lugs are fully tight, lower the car the rest of the way onto the ground. When the full weight is down, give the lugs another turn just to be sure that theyre fully tight. If they are youre safe to replace your hubcap. If you cant get it back on, just stow it for the time being with the rest of your tire change kit.

Hows the pressure on your spare? If its low, your best bet is to head straight to a service station to get it properly filled. And take it slowly! Spare tires arent meant to be driven at high speeds.

Changing A Flat In 10 Easy Steps

1. Secure the car on a flat surface out of traffic chock the wheel in the opposite corner.

2. Loosen the lug nuts on the wheel with the car’s lug wrench.

3. Place the car’s jack under the car where its label indicates.

4. Jack up enough to get the wheel an inch or two off the ground.

5. Finish loosening the lug nuts and remove the flat tire.

6. Put the spare tire on.

7. Thread the nuts on and tighten just enough to hold the wheel on without slop.

8. Lower the jack so the car is back on the ground.

9. Finish tightening the nuts with upper body strength on the lug wrench.

10. Collect the flat, wrench, jack and anything you used to chock the car.

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Attach The Spare Tire And Replace Lug Nuts

• Line up the spare tire with wheel bolts and push it into place.
• Replace each lug nut, turning them clockwise to tighten. Tighten the nuts in a star pattern move to the next nut across, rather than the one adjacent to be sure the wheel mounts evenly.
• Turn the lug wrench one final time to be sure the tire is secure, but do not completely tighten all the bolts while the tire is in the air.

Find The Nuts On Your Tire

At this point you should have gathered the necessary materials needed to change a tire, and identified which tire or tires needs changing.

For cars with plastic rims only

A tire may have plastic rims or other objects, which cover the bolts of a tire. If your car has plastic rims you will need to remove them from the tire before proceeding.

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Find A Safe Location To Change A Tire

Make sure you are in a safe area to change the tire and have taken extra precautions. If you have a blow out on a freeway your only option may be the shoulder of the road. In this case, be sure to set up road flares or reflective cones. If you do not have flares or cones and traffic is heavy or youre uncomfortable, call roadside assistance and 911 for emergency traffic assistance. If youre in Illinois, emergency traffic assistance is typically provided by Emergency Traffic Patrol .

Take Your Flat Tire To A Mechanic

Temporary spare tires are just that temporary. They werent made to go long distances, nor were they made to be driven on at high speeds. Drive carefully until you can visit a mechanic. There, youll find out whether your tire can be repaired, or whether it needs to be replaced.

Congratulations, you now know how to change a tire!

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Changing A Car Tire In 6 Easy Steps

Whether punctured or worn-out, it’s simpler than you think to change tires. Here are the 6 easy steps to changing a car tire that your mechanic never told you.Why change a tire?

When you think of an impromptu tire change, it usually brings up images of beingstrandedroadside with a flat. Flat tires are often caused by a puncture or by a bad shock to the tire. Unfortunately, getting a flat is a rite of passage for most car owners.

Punctures aren’t the only reason you need to change a car tire. In most cases, it’s just normal wear and tear. Normal wear becomes apparent when the depth between the tread grooves becomes shallow. If you notice the tire sidewall has a defect, such as a bulge, its a sign the tire is damaged. If this is the case, it is better to replace it.

Essential tools

You never know when youll need to change a car tire. That is why it is a good idea to have these items in your car at all times.

Beyond these tools, you should also keep a flashlight, a poncho and some reflective warning triangles in case you need to change a tire at night or in the rain along the highway.

The 6 easy steps to change a car tire

1. Pull the vehicle over to a safe and flat surface. Secure the car byputting it into “Park” andpulling the parking brake. For a manual-transmission vehicle, put the car in gear and apply the parking brake.

4. Replace the damaged tire with a new one. Then tighten the bolts by hand.

Need To Change A Tire Follow This Simple Guide

It’s not difficult and this video and guide will help you do it yourself.

Brian Cooley

Editor at Large

Brian Cooley is CNET’s Editor at large, following the big trends in car tech, smart home , healthcare, the future of food, digital entertainment and more. He’s known for his affable and informed take on technologies that fly or flop. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he remembers when Apple’s headquarters was mostly apricots.

Don’t feel like you need to call AAA if you have a flat tire. If you’ve got a car with a flat tire, just stay right here and we’ll show you how to change your own tire with ease. We promise it’s simple enough.

Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, does it? But the jack in your car’s trunk or storage compartment is an easy tool to change your flat and get you back on your way quickly.

Here’s a short video explaining the simplest and safest way to change a flat tire. It runs about 10 minutes, which includes me stopping to explain a lot — so assume a tire change is about a 7-minute job. There’s also a list below of 10 steps you can follow. Before you begin, I should call your attention to a few pro tips:

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The Tools & Parts You Need To Change A Tire

At the minimum, you will need your vehicles lug nut wrench, a wheel key , a jack, and a spare tire.

An annoying reality is that many modern cars dont come equipped with a compact spare tire, lug nut wrench, or portable jack. They often just have a can of fix-a-flat and thats it. If you would like to buy these items, theyre all usually very inexpensive, especially a quality scissor or bottle jack. Also, wheel chocks are a good extra safety measure as they ensure the vehicle absolutely will not roll away.

Spare compact tires, often referred to as donuts, can cost a little more depending on your vehicles wheel size. Or, you could even buy another wheel and tire thats the same size as your vehicles , which would make tire changes much more stress free, as compact spares have mileage and speed limits. For this information, refer to the manufacturers guidelines, or your owners manual.

Extra items that make the job easier and cleaner: a good pair of mechanics gloves, flashlight, torque wrench, ½-inch ratchet wrench with a socket thats the right size for your vehicles lug nuts, and jack stands.

Peter Nelson

How To Change A Flat Tire

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Knowing how to change a tire is a necessary skill for all drivers. If you rely on a cell phone to save you in a roadside emergency, thereâs always that chance you will forget to charge it, be out of range, or leave it at home. Flat tires can happen anywhere, and a cell phone is no substitute for knowing how to change a flat tire.

Thankfully, changing a tire isnât all that hard! Just adhere to the following guidelines to be prepared in case you have a flat.

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Uncap Your Tires Full Potential

Some vehicles dont have hubcaps installed – in that case, you got lucky and skipped a step. If your vehicle does, its easiest to remove the hubcap while the tire is still on the ground rather than when it is lifted on the jack.

For most cars, the flat end of your lug wrench will work to remove your hubcap. If it doesnt work, you may require a specialized tool to accomplish this job. Your owners manual should be able to provide you with all of the information that you need for properly removing the hubcaps that your vehicle is equipped with.

How To Change A Tyre In 10 Simple Steps

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First thing’s first, never try and change a tyre if your personal safety is at risk or if you do not have the correct tools.

If you are, however, in a safe place, with the right tools and feel confident enough to change the wheel than the good news is a spare wheel is the most reliable way to get yourself back on the road.

Your car will either come with a narrow space-saver or a full-size spare. However, the process of changing a wheel is the same.

If there is no spare wheel and only a tyre repair kit, visit our tyre repair page instead.

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How To Change A Car Tire

Tips to make an unpleasant roadside task safe and easy

Many drivers dread being stuck on the side of a road with a flat tire. It can leave them stuck in a dangerous spot or a remote location where help isnt readily available. Here, we explain what to do if you experience this common problem.

For most people, the best response is to contact a roadside-assistance service such as AAA or the service provided by the cars manufacturer. And many drivers do just that. AAA said it responded to 3.5 million calls about flat tires in the past 12 months , underscoring how common flats are.

Changing a tire is a straightforward task in perfect conditions, says Ryan Pszczolkowski, CRs project leader for tire testing. But often the location is dangerous, such as a busy roadway, or theres a wrinkle, such as when you find out your car doesnt have a working spare tire. Its wise to know how to change a tire, but its just as important to know when to summon help and who to call.

Become familiar with how to use the tools youll need by reading your owners manual. Follow the instructions precisely failure to do so could result in injury to you or damage to your car. Practice at least once on each of the cars you drive in your own driveway.

The tips below outline how to deal with a flat and how to reduce the likelihood of getting one in the first place.

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Things That Make Changing A Flat Tire Easier And Safer

In addition to the essentials outlined above, there are a few things SafeWise recommends having on hand to make changing a tire easier and less dangerous. Pack these itemsalong with a first aid kit, bottled water, and other safety itemsin a durable bag and stow them in your car. Or purchase a roadside emergency kit that contains most, or all, of these things.

• Emergency flares or reflective triangles to alert motorists to your disabled vehicle.
• Tire blocks or wedges to help prevent the car from rolling.
• Tire-changing mat or towel to kneel on.
• Lubricant to loosen tight lug nuts.
• Headlamp flashlight, with working batteries, for changing a tire in the dark.
• Tire pressure gauge to check the spare tires air pressure.
• Heavy duty wipes to clean up after changing the tire.
• Rain jacketor poncho to help keep dry or protect you from the sun.

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When To Change A Tire

A flat is the most common and obvious reason to change a tire. But there are others.

The wear and tear of the road gradually grinds down the depth of tire treads, making it harder for them to grip the road, especially in rainy or snowy conditions.

Once the tread of a tire wears down to 4/32 inch, slipping on wet or icy roads or even hydroplaning is much more likely. At that point, swapping out your most worn-out tires can go a long way towards staying safe on the road.

How To Prepare For A Flat For Next Time

However, a proper tire change begins with at-home preparation. If you are reading to prepare yourself for a future flat tire, we suggest that you also include in your preparation the following items:

• The exact size socket for your lug nuts.

• A breaker bar. This is a long wrench used to break loose tight lug nuts.

• A jack stand to help support the car if the jack gives out during the tire change.

• A tire pressure gauge to measure the air level in the tire before the change, and to also check air in the other three tires and the spare tire.

• Road flares and a small orange traffic cone will help warn others that you are on the side of the road changing your tire.

• A pair of gloves will help keep your hands clean and can also help you with avoiding bringing back dirt and debris into your car.

At the tire shop you can request to have the lug nuts even more fully secured with a torque wrench. This is also where you can inquire about tire repair and purchase if necessary.

When changing your tire, it is important to take the correct safety precautions. If you do not feel comfortable doing this yourself, hire one of our mechanics to help you install a spare tire.

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Prepare Your Vehicle And Get Your Equipment

Once youve found a safe place to pull over, you can take out your equipment and prepare your vehicle. First, turn on your hazard lights . Next, to help stop your car from rolling, apply the parking brake.

After that, place wheel wedges against the tires opposite the flat. In other words, place the wedges on the wheels opposite of the end of the car thats being raised. So, if your front right tire is blown, youll place the wedges behind the back two tires. If you dont have wheel wedges, you can use any large, heavy object, like a brick or a rock.

Finally, you can take out your jack, your lug wrench, your owners manual, and your spare tire. Its time to get to work.

Items You’ll Need To Fix A Flat Tire

These items should have come with your vehicle:

Jack

Fully inflated spare tire

Vehicle ownerâs manual

If you have misplaced any of these items, or if your car did not come with these items, you should purchase new ones right away. And be sure youâre regularly inflating the spare tire to your vehicle manufacturerâs recommended PSI. You should check the spareâs air pressure every time you check your other tires. Remember to check pressure every month and before long trips or carrying extra load.

Here are some items that donât come with your vehicle but that you should stow in your trunk or glove box in case you have to change a flat tire:

Flashlight with working batteries

Small cut of 2″x6â wood to secure the jack

Gloves

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Introduction: How To Change A Tire On A Car

Have you ever gotten a flat tire? Whether your stuck on the highway or working in your garage, this document gives instructions on how to change a tire on a personal vehicle. This procedure may not be applicable for every type of car. This procedure will work for small to mid sized vehicles, for trucks and other large vehicles look for vehicle specific instructions. When in doubt always utilize professional services for car maintenance.

This procedure will require a basic background of using hand tools, and moderate physical strength.

Warning: This procedure has a chance to cause personal injury proceed with caution