If you have driven for any length of time, you have probably experienced a flat tire. You may have roadside assistance, and calling someone is quick and easy, but what if you can’t get help quickly or you don’t have cell phone service? There may come a time when you actually need to know how to change your tire for your own safety.
Check and Prepare Your Vehicle
When you find a new Subaru for sale, check for a jack, spare tire, and lug wrench. You should also have a tire repair aerosol for minor damage. Add a flashlight or headlamp, tire gauge, and rags. Have your spare tire checked regularly.
Pull Over and Get Your Tools Out
After you get a flat, find a safe, well-lit place to pull over. Get completely out of traffic, but try to stay on a hard, level surface. Avoid driving too far because you could damage your rim. When you pull over, turn your flashers on and pull your parking brake.
Then, test your aerosol tire repair. If it doesn’t work, collect your spare tire, jack, lug wrench, rags, and lug adapter.
Loosen Your Lug Nuts and Jack Up Your Vehicle
Before you change the tire, put blocks, a piece of wood, or a rock under the tire on the opposite side of the car from your flat. Before you lift your vehicle, loosen, but do not remove, the lug nuts on your flat tire. Lay down your floor mat to protect your pants and hands before you start.
Set your jack by the wheel you plan to change under the car’s frame. Crank the jack up using your lug wrench. Only lift the car until the wheel is completely off the ground.
Remove and Replace the Tire
Remove the lug nuts and take the tire off. Then, position the spare tire on the wheel. Line up the studs and finger-tighten the lug nuts on the wheel.
Lower the Vehicle and Tighten the Lug Nuts
Lower the jack so your car’s wheel tires are back on the ground. Then, use your wrench to tighten the lug nuts a little at a time. Make sure the lug nuts are snug and there is no give in the wheel when you try to wiggle it.
Put Everything Away
Put the flat tire and your tools back into the trunk of your vehicle. Remove the blocks, rocks, or wood from the wheel opposite your previously flat one. Also, replace your floor mat. Then, clean your hands on your rags.
Get Your Flat Fixed
Now that you have changed your tire, read the instructions from your manual on how fast you can drive on your spare. Then, take your flat tire to the shop and get it fixed or replaced as soon as possible.
Learn Emergency Procedures
The more you understand about how to handle different minor emergencies, the safer you can keep yourself. Take time to practice and learn how to change your tires so that when a blowout does occur, you can approach the situation calmly.
