Knowing how to change a tire is mostly helpful in case you get a flat while driving on the road. Every other time your tires get removed, rotated and/or replaced it will be by a tire technician.
Every vehicle has instructions for using the jack and other tools as necessary to change the tire. Some of the details can vary by make and model, such as the storage location for the jack and spare tire. Consult the owner’s manual of the vehicle. Also, there will often be a sticker with instructions located with the jack and spare tire.
Here are some general guidelines for changing a tire (in order):
- Make sure the vehicle is on stable, level ground
- Apply the parking brake
- Remove the spare tire and tools from the vehicle
- Use wheel chocks to block the wheels opposite of the wheel you’re changing (i.e. if you’re changing a rear tire, then put the chocks in front of the front wheels).
- Wheel chocks are similar to triangle-shaped door stoppers. When chocks are included with the tire changing kit, then they should be used. However, they are not present with every vehicle. Cases where they’re not present may include vehicles with a rear parking brake and front wheel drive. When changing a rear wheel in these vehicles the front wheel drive keeps the vehicle stable, and when changing a front wheel in these vehicles the rear parking brake keeps the vehicle stable.
- Loosen the lug nuts before lifting the vehicle, but do not remove
- Pump or crank the jack to lift the vehicle using the proper lift points (see the owner’s manual for proper lifting points)
- Remove the lug nuts
- Remove the flat tire
- Place the spare tire
- Replace the lug nuts snug
- Lower the vehicle
- Torque the lug nuts (tighten them as much as possible after the vehicle has been lowered)
- Replace the tools in the appropriate location for future use.
- Carry the flat full-size tire to the tire shop with you.
Spare tires are often smaller than the full-size tires that are regularly driven on. Spare tires are only meant to transport the vehicle to a tire shop when needed and should be changed as soon as possible. They should not be driven on regularly.
How to Change a Tire is an original article from Crawford’s Auto Repair. Copyright © 2014, Jeff Crawford. Permission is granted to republish this article (text only) for personal or commercial use as long as the content, citation, and copyright notice all remain intact and unchanged. There must be an active “follow” link to CrawfordsAutoService.com. Any image seen with this article is the property of it’s respective author and requires it’s own permission.
How to Change a Tire is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
