1. Find a safe spot to pull over: choose a flat spot; jacking up your car on a hill can be a
disaster. Turn on your hazard lights. Get the jack, wrench, and spare tire from the trunk of the car and bring them over to the tire that is flat. Use other tools or supplies, if needed.
2. Apply the parking brake and put car into ‘Park’ position. If you have a standard transmission, put your vehicle in first or reverse.
3. Place a heavy object (e.g., rock, concrete, spare wheel, etc.) in front of the front and back tires
4. Take out the spare tire and the jack. Place the jack under the frame near the tire that you are going to change. Ensure that the jack is in contact with the metal portion of your car’s frame
5. Raise the jack until it is supporting (but not lifting) the car. The jack should be firmly in place against the underside of the vehicle.
6. Remove the hubcap and loosen the nuts by turning counterclockwise. Don’t take them all the way off; just break the resistance. By keeping the wheel on the ground when you first loosen the nuts, you’ll make sure that you’re turning the nuts instead of the wheel.
7. Pump or crank the jack to lift the tire off the ground. You need to lift it high enough to remove the flat tire and replace it with a spare.
8. Remove the nuts the rest of the way. Turn them counterclockwise until they are loose. Repeat with all lug nuts, then remove the nuts completely.
9. Remove the tire. Place the flat tire under the vehicle so in the event of a jack failure the vehicle will fall on the old wheel, hopefully preventing injury. If the jack is placed on a flat, solid base, you shouldn’t have any problems.
10. Place the spare tire on the hub. Take care to align the rim of the spare tire with the wheel bolts, then put on the lug nuts.
11. Tighten the nuts by hand until they are all snug. Avoid using so much force that you risk upsetting the jack. You will tighten the lug nuts again once the car is down and there is no risk of it falling.
12. Lower the car without applying full weight on the tire. Tighten the nuts as much as possible.
13. Lower the car to the ground fully and remove the jack. Finish tightening the nuts and replace the hubcap.
14. Put the old tire in your trunk and take it to a mechanic. Get an estimate for the cost of repair.
