If you are a driver you will be at risk of suffering a flat tyre on the road. Changing a tyre is a simple but regular problem drivers encounter on the road. Here is how to replace a tyre so if it does happen to you, you can be back on the road in no time.
1) Take the car off the road. You will need to be away from traffic before you can start to work on the car. Put on your hazard lights and if possible wear a high visibility vest. Put a warning triangle behind your car if you have one. The car itself should have the engine turned off, be put into gear and have the handbrake on. Take the spare tyre from the back of the car and check that it is inflated to the correct pressure.
2) Place a rock or something similar in front of or behind the car to ensure it won't roll.
3) Remove the hub cap, this may just pop off or you may find a small screw holding it on. In rare cases you may have to remove the lug nuts before you can remove the hub cap, if this is the case then move to the next stage. Likewise if your car doesn't have hub caps you can skip this stage.
4) Take a tyre iron and use it to loosen all the lug nuts. Move across the nuts in a crisscross pattern; do not loosen them in a circle. You will need turn the tyre iron counter clockwise, or to the left, to loosen the nuts. If the nuts are too stiff try stepping on the tyre iron or adding a length of pipe to the tyre iron (the longer the lever the easier it will be to apply pressure to the nut). If you loosened the lug nuts while the car was lifted then the tyre would spin.
5) Use a car jack to lift the car. Check the manufacturers handbook to find a safe point to lift the car. Because a lot of the cars weight will rest on the jack make sure that you only use the jack on an area of the car where it is safe to do so (where the car is strong enough)
6) Remove the lug nuts from the tyre.
7) Lift off the old tire and then place the new tyre on the car making sure it is facing the right way round (air valve facing outwards).
8) Replace the lug nuts loosely and then lower the car.
9) Use the tyre iron and make sure that the nuts are tight.
10) Replace the hubcap.
You can be prepared for a flat tyre by keeping the tyre in the rear of your car inflated and keeping the basic tools you need in your car.
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