When people study to obtain their driving licence, they study road traffic rules, basic car mechanics, road safety and take driving lessons. Yet very few driving licence holders know how to change a tire on a car.
If you find yourself with a puncture in the middle of nowhere it is essential that you know how to change a tire at the roadside, otherwise you could end up stranded. This could be dangerous, particularly in winter, so here at oneHOWTO we have put together a step-by-step guide on how to change a car tire.
- car jack
- spanner to unscrew the bolts
- spare tyre
When faced with the task of having to change a tire of your car, you must stay calm as feeling nervous will not help in the situation.
Before you start you should put your vehicle into "park" or "reverse gear" depending on whether it is an automatic or manual gearbox. This will stop the vehicle from rolling. To be extra sure you should also position rocks or another weighty object in front of the front or back wheels
Consult your car manual to check the exact point where you must position the jack (the tool used to lift the car). Usually, you'll find the jack along with your car's spare tyre which is usually stored in the back of your car, specifically in the lower part of your car boot.
You have to position the jack at the point indicated in the instruction manual, and raise it up until it comes in contact with your car. You should ensure that the surface where the car is positioned is as flat as possible to ensure you can change the tire safely.
Make sure the jack is positioned correctly and securely in the indicated place and is level. If not, you'll need to start again and find a level position, as you can't run the high risk of causing harm to yourself.
Use the jack to lift your car up until your car wheel begins to lift up off the ground. Once this is done, make sure the jack is still securely in place and the vehicle has not moved at all.
Then, using the socket wrench or key, slightly loosen the bolts attaching the wheel with the flat tire. Do not totally loosen them, just loosen them slightly and evenly.
Again, raise the jack up lifting the car until the tire/wheel is about 15cm off the ground. Do not stop at the moment when the wheel is no longer touching the ground. Remember that the replacement wheel will be fully inflated and will require more space to install the new tire.
Loosen the screws completely on the wheel with the flat tire, take them out and remove the wheel.
Next, position the new wheel in the same place, when you've removed the flat tire. To do this, you need to put the secure with the first bolt which should help you to find where the rest of the screws should go afterwards.
Attach the remaining bolts and tighten them up so they're all the same to ensure the wheel is balanced.
Once you've placed the screws on and tightened them up equally, you can use the jack to lower the car down completely until the wheel is entirely on the ground. You can remove the jack and put it away again.
Finally, once you have balanced the car and the wheels are on the ground, firmly tighten all the bolts on the new wheel as tight as you can. Make sure you do this properly, as your safety depends on it. Now you're all set to get back on the road, just remember to get a new tire as soon as possible if the tire appears to be damaged from the puncture, if not take it to a tire shop for a repair.
If you want to read similar articles to How To Change A Car Tire Safely, we recommend you visit our Cars category.
- Once you have changed the tyre, you need to go directly to a repair shop so they can repair the flat tyre for you. Do not drive too many miles whilst the spare tyre is in use, because if you're unlucky enough to puncture the other tyre, you won't have a spare to replace it.