Before you start to change a car tyre

Anyone can learn how to change a tyre, but if its the first time you doing it or you’ve only changed a tyre or two before it’s normal to feel overwhelmed by all the things you need to do when you get a flat.

Of course, you could just call in the experts at Mobile Tyres who will take 30 minutes to change a tyre at most in most cases, but it is always worth understanding how to do so yourself.

Here are few helpful things to keep in mind before you start attempting to change a tyre.

• Make sure that you stop in a safe place and your car is on secure and on stable ground to prevent any risk of your car rolling or being unsteady while you are changing a tyre.
• Find a suitable location to stop to change your tyre and ensure it is not near heavy traffic as you will want ample space to safely change your tyre without either obstructing traffic or becoming a potential hazard.
• The things you must check you have done are switched off the engine, put the handbrake on and switch on your hazard lights.
• Make sure there are no passengers in the car while you change the tyre. Before you use the jack to lift up the car, make sure all passengers have exited the vehicle for their own safety.
• Once you have placed the jack under the car to lift it, do not at any point attempt to move underneath the car to perform any checks. As the car is only being held up by the jack, there is a significant risk of injury if it fails or moves out of place. Please exercise caution when you are in the process of changing a tyre.

The tools you need to change a tyre

• Your vehicle’s handbook
• Spare wheel
• Safety gloves
• A jack
• Wheel chocks or wedges
• Locking wheel nut key
• Wrench or wheel brace
• A secondary support like an axel stand
• Alignment tool (optional)
• A reflective jacket (recommended)

This list contains everything you need to try to change a flat tyre on your car safely. Take a deep breath, you can do this! Follow our guide and you’ll be able to change your flat tyre and be done in about 30 minutes.

1. Position the wheel chocks or wedges

Use wheel chocks or an alternative heavy object like a brick or a wedge of wood and position it correctly in relation to the wheel diagonally opposite the one being changed. The will help support the car and prevent it from rolling when it has been lifted up by the jack.

2. Loosen the wheel nuts

First if your vehicle has it, remove the wheel cover or the hubcaps. Then use the locking key to gently loosen the nuts by turning them anti-clockwise. Make sure to only loosen them and stop as the idea isn’t to remove them. The reason why is that if you were to remove one of the wheel nuts entirely, they’d place undue pressure on the other wheel nuts making them much more difficult to remove.

What to do if wheel nuts are two tight? Then carefully apply pressure to the wrench, while maintaining it in a horizontal position, using your foot.

3. Use the jack to lift the car up

Next place the jack under the car in the appropriate location closest to the tyre. To know where to position the jack, you can either refer to the vehicle’s handbook or identify the jack points which are often marked by helpful arrows.

Make sure the ground under the jack is clear of any debris or loose stones before fixing it on to the jacking points. Next, slowly and smoothly raise your car using the jack until the punctured tyre is about 10- 15 cms off the ground.

Make sure the jack is steady, straight and parallel. Also keep in mind that the inflated tyre will take up more space than the punctured on, so it’s important to lift the car high enough to replace the wheel with ease.

4. Remove the flat tyre

Next, once you have ensured that the jack is secure, remove the wheel nuts and keep them in a safe place. Use both hands and pull towards you to carefully remove the punctured wheel and set it aside.

Once the wheel nuts are removed, the wheel should be fairly easy to remove. It’s important to remember if it is not, it may be a warning sign of a deeper issue. In such a situation, don’t try to change the punctured tyre by yourself, instead you’ll need to call a trained tyre fitting professional for urgent assistance.

5. Mount the spare wheel

Use both hands to fit the spare wheel. Some models of cars come with an alignment tool, if your car does, this would be the time to use it. The tool will act as a helpful guide to ensure all the holes are lined up accurately. Once the wheel is in place, tighten all the nuts or bolts with your hand first.

Remember that it is vital for them to be tightened in a particular sequence. After you tighten the first one, you must tighten the one diagonally opposite to it next.

6. Lower the car and fully tighten the wheel bolts

Slowly lower the car till it is closer to the ground. Next, apply some pressure to fully tighten the bolts using the wheel wrench. This is the step to ensure each wheel nut has been properly secured. Then, lower the car so that it now touches the ground and safely remove the car jack.

At this stage, it is recommended that you check the tyre pressure of the spare tyre, especially if you have a tyre pressure gauge. Congratulations, you have successfully changed done your first tyre change!

Important Note: Remember to get your spare tyre repaired

Once you’ve completed the tyre changed remember to take the spare tyre in to the garage or to a mechanic to get it repaired or replaced (if necessary) as soon as possible. This ensures that in case you were to experience another flat tyre, you will have a spare tyre that is safe to fit, available for you to use.

You can also ask a mobile tyre fitting Glasgow expert to inspect and retighten the wheel nuts and if you haven’t already done so, they should verify the tyre pressure to ensure it is not underfilled or overfilled.

How to avoid a flat tyre

While there is no way to completely avoid a flat tyre, what you can do is adopt responsible and good driving habits and to ensure you are prepared for it when it happens.

Make sure you regularly check your tyre tread depth to ensure you are above the legal minimum tread depth required. Here is a helpful guide on how to check your tyre tread depth that explains three different tests you can choose to do.

Check your spare tyre at regular intervals to ensure it is fully inflated and safe to use. Familiarise yourself with the tools (listed at the top of this post) you ned to try and change a tyre. Go through the vehicle handbook and locate the appropriate breaking points for your car’s make and model.

Practice responsible and good driving habits like ensuring you don’t exceed the maximum load capacity of your vehicle as that can put excessive pressure on your tyres, avoid harsh accelerating and breaking and try not to drive too fast over obstacles in the road like speed bumps or potholes as these could impact your tyres.

Not sure if you all your tyres need to be changed? Refer to our useful guide on when to change your tyres.