This minor emergency is bound to befall you sooner or later, so be prepared. Know the necessary steps before it happens, and you’ll save yourself a lot of stress.
1. As soon as you notice you have a flat, stop driving. Pull over onto a smooth concrete area with no slope and engage the emergency brake.
2. Most cars are equipped with a spare tire, jack, and lug wrench (the manual will tell you where to find them, but typically they’re in the trunk). Carefully read the directions before using these items. Two things you won’t find next to the lug wrench but will be glad you kept there: a blanket to put between your new jeans and a dirty highway, and some heavy gloves-grease is a lot harder to remove than nail polish.
3. While the tire is still on the ground, use your lug wrench to loosen the lugs (the bolts that keep your tires in place) just a little. That will make it easier to get them off once the car is jacked (raised off the ground). Think righty tighty, lefty loosey: Attach the lug wrench in the direction you want to turn it, parallel to the ground, and use your foot to push down and loosen the lugs.
4. Refer to the manual to jack up your car at the right spot. There is usually a little notch or lip in the side of the car where the jack should go.
5. Completely unscrew the loosened lug nuts and remove the flat tire.
6. Line up the spare with your lug bolts and push it in as far as you can. Because the tire won’t simply rest flush on the bolts by itself, you’ll need to hold it in place to properly screw on the nuts.
7. Now begin to replace the lug nuts. Screw them on with your hands as much as possible; then grab your lug wrench and tighten as much as you can. Always tighten nuts across from each other rather than going around in a circle, and never pull up when tightening-go with gravity and push down.
8. Lower your jack stand and finish tightening your lug nuts using your foot (see step 3). You want them to be as tight as possible.
9. Spares aren’t made to be driven on for long. Put your tools and flat tire in the trunk and get to the closest gas station. If the tire isn’t too damaged, the mechanic will be able to plug it; otherwise you’ll need to replace it.
