Changing a tire is easy if you learn the procedure. Be sure to check your owner’s manual for the best information for your particular vehicle. In lieu of the owner’s manual, here are a few simple steps to change the tire yourself.

If you get a flat tire while you are driving, do not apply the brake heavily. Instead, gradually decrease the speed. Hold the steering wheel firmly and slowly move to a safe place on the side of the road. Park on a level spot, turn off your ignition, set the parking brake, and turn on the hazard flashers.

Changing a tire can be a daunting experience for the unschooled. If you don’t have your cell phone with you to call AAA, then you are like the rest of us, who have to change that tire themselves! There are a few things that could prevent you from accomplishing this task — one deterrent would be bolts that are adjusted too tightly to remove, another would be not having all the pieces to your jack. Both of these things have happened to me over the course of the past 25 years! Older cars tend to have parts that are a lot more corroded and stubborn than their newer counterparts, but you should be able to change the tire successfully with a little luck and lot of elbow grease!

First, I would recommend that you check your glove box and see if there is an owner’s manual in it. The manual will tell you where to place the jack on the underside of the car. On some cars it is near the tire, on others it is under the area where the bumper attaches to the car. At any rate, pick a place that is solid and not rusting through.

For safety’s sake set your emergency brake so the car won’t move, and if possible set a block in front of and in the back of the wheel that is diagonally opposite to the tire you will be changing. If you have an automatic transmission put your car in park. If it is a manual transmission, put it in reverse. Take your spare tire and the jack out of the trunk and you are ready to proceed. Next, remove your hubcaps. Many of them can be loosened by inserting the tapered end of the lug nut wrench behind the wheel covers or hubcaps, and twist off. Some cars have a little tool for removing hubcaps that may be stored in the glove box or with the car manual. After removing the hubcaps, you will want to remove the lugnuts. Apply the lug wrench, or the end of the jack that is fitted to double as a lug wrench, to the first lug nut. Loosen the wheel nuts by pulling up on the handle of the lug nut wrench about one-half turn, counterclockwise. Do not remove the lug nuts until you raise the tire off the ground. Since the lugnuts are going to be on there pretty tight, it's a good idea to loosen them before you jack up the car. If you can't do it by hand, get that foot up there and give it a little extra pressure.

Insert the jack handle into the jack and use the handle to slide the jack into the proper position under the vehicle. Turn the jack handle clockwise until the wheel is a maximum of one inch off the ground. Remove the lug nuts with the lug wrench. Pull off the tire and replace it with the spare. Thread the lug nuts on the wheel studs with the beveled face toward the wheel. Use the lug wrench to screw the lug nut snug against the wheel, but do not tighten. Lower the vehicle by turning the jack handle counterclockwise.

Breathe! Remove the jack and fully tighten the lug nuts. You must tighten them in a star pattern, always tightening the most opposite lug nut to the one you just tightened. Replace your wheel covers, ornaments and hub caps. Make sure that they are screwed or snapped into place or you will lose them! Put away your tire, jack and wrench, and then unblock the wheels.

A conventional spare tire is usually an identical match to the rest of the tires on the car and can be used as such. However, if the tire your vehicle has as a spare, is a temporary spare, or what many call a doughnut, use it only for emergency use. Do not use the temporary spare tire with 4wd as it can damage the powertrain components. If you must use 4wd do not operate at speeds above 10mph or for a distance above 50 miles.