Auto tips: How to fix and change a flat tyre
Everyone with a car has had to change a flat tyre, if not then that individual hasn’t driven long enough. A flat tyre situation is common in Malaysia, simply because large vehicles and the usual adverse weather damage the roads. A lot of motorists often end up with tyre’s punctured by nails which causes deflation, depending on where the nail is on the affected tyre. At times, immediate action has to be taken in order to salvage the affected tyre and not having to replace it with a new one. This saves costs and prevents accidents from happening. So change a flat tyre, if you have one!
Why Flat Tyres Happen
A flat tyre isn’t something you’d want to experience, but it might be inevitable especially on Malaysian roads. A car usually comes with basic tools and a spare tyre to fix a flat. It is advisable to ensure that your car has a standard spare tyre and tools to enable you to replace a flat with a spare, before you even have to call a tow truck or a friend for assistance. The question here is do you call a friend, your parent or do you tap into your roadside assistance and call your car insurance company, or do you fix it yourself? Replacing the tyre yourself is faster and more cost efficient if you know how.
If you’ve never changed a tyre before, don’t be embarrassed. This will serve as a guide to changing or fixing a flat tyre in no time. First, make sure you have the required tools (ones that come with the car) and the car’s manual. The tyre repair tools consist of a jack and a lug wrench. You might want to add some gloves to safeguard your hands and wheel wedges to make changing tyres easier. Finally, make sure your spare tyre is properly inflated. It is advisable to inflate the spare once a month even if you don’t use it.
Simple steps to change a flat tyre
- Park your car in a safe area on flat ground. If you’re on a freeway, be sure to use hazard lights and hazard signs. Better yet drive to a safe area. For manual-driven cars, make sure the handbrake is up and for automatic, the gear lever is in Park mode.
- Place wheel wedges securely on either side of the tyres you won’t change so the car does not move. Otherwise, you can prepare the spare tyre and find the perfect point under the car’s frame to lift your car. Make sure you place the jack on the metal portion of the frame of your car.
- Before you jack up the car, remove the tyre hubcap then the lug nuts with the lug nut wrench. Use your foot for more effective strength to remove the nuts. Once the nuts are off, place your jack underneath the jacking point of the car and slowly raise the car. Make sure you lift it high enough to remove your flat tyre and replace it with your spare.
- After the spare tyre replacement, be sure to align the wheel with the bolts correctly and push the spare tyre back as deep as possible. Once complete, put the lug nuts back on loosely and lower the jack.
- As soon as the car is lowered completely, remove the jack and use the wrench to tighten the lug nuts, clockwise. Use your foot to stomp on them to make sure the nuts are tight and secure. And that’s it you’ve successfully changed a flat tyre!
Place the flat tyre in the boot and bring it to a nearest tyre repair specialist to properly patch it up or replace it with a new one if the tread depth has worn out too much. However, if you cannot fix the tyre, seek a good replacement, either used or new.
Now that you know how to change car tyres, here is an article where you can learn more about your car tyres. Or you can contact myTukar maintenance services to keep your car in tip top condition!
