Find a safe spot to fix your flat. The last thing you’d want is to fix a flat in the middle of the road, so pull off to a safe, well-lit place that’s also flat and level. Hit those hazard lights so other drivers know you’re in distress and, more importantly, avoid colliding with you or your vehicle. You can also open your hood to give an even clearer indicator of your troubles.
Make sure your vehicle won’t budge. Once you’re out of the way of traffic, put the vehicle in Park and engage the parking brake so it doesn’t roll away. Place your wheel chocks against the tires opposite of the end you’re working on. Finally, make sure all of your passengers are out and waiting in a safe spot away from the vehicle.
Gather your tools. Here’s a quick rundown of the tools you’ll need to fix your flat quickly. Fortunately, you’ll find most of these tools in your trunk or cargo area as part of the vehicle manufacturer’s tire-changing kit:
- A sturdy jack, which comes with most vehicles
- A lug wrench for undoing the nuts or bolts
- A fully-inflated spare tire – either a full-size or “space-saver” donut
- Jack stands
- Wheel chocks
- Flashlight
- Screwdriver
Get to work. Start by prying away the lug or wheel covers, if your vehicle is so equipped, with the screwdriver. Use the lug wrench to loosen the lugs or bolts, but don’t remove them all the way. Place your jack at a suitable jack point on the vehicle closest to the flat tire, and then carefully lift the vehicle until the tire is off the ground. Afterward, you can place your jack stands underneath for added support.
Fix the flat. At this point, you can remove the lugs or bolts holding the tire and set the flat tire aside. Now you can mount your spare tire on the wheel hub. Make sure the spare is completely centered as you thread the lugs or bolts by hand. Make sure they’re hand-tight, but don’t tighten them down all the way just yet.
Make sure your spare tire is firmly secure. Remove the jack stands and carefully lower the vehicle until the spare tire makes contact with the ground. However, you don’t want to completely lower the vehicle at this point. Now, tighten each lug or bolt in a star pattern using the lug wrench. Afterward, lower the vehicle completely and re-check the lugs or bolts.
Put away your tools and flat tire. Make sure everything goes back into the trunk or cargo area. Chances are you won’t be able to put the flat tire back in the same space your spare went. Instead, just lay the distressed tire flat on its side.
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you’re fixing your flat tire:
- Space-saver spares are half the width of a normal full-size spare, so you won’t be able to use one like an ordinary tire. In fact, most manufacturers recommend you don’t go faster than 50 or 60 mph or go more than 50 to 100 miles on one.
- Space-savers aren’t meant to be used on the driven wheels. That means if you have a FWD car with a flat front tire, you’ll need to swap out a full-size tire from the rear and use the space-saver in its place.
- Flat tires can be dangerous to handle, especially if a catastrophic failure exposes the steel belts. Whenever possible, wear gloves and avoid directly handling damaged areas on the tire.
- Your local tire shop can fix tread punctures, but not sidewall damage caused by driving on a flat tire. To minimize the damage and raise your odds of having your tire patched, don’t drive on a flat tire any further than you have to.
