What can you do when Triple A(AAA) isnt available and you have a flat?

If you notice you have a flat tire and you’re on a busy road, the first thing you need to worry about is where to stop. Driving on a flat tire and can ruin the tire, and the rim, but your safety is more important than a tire that can be replaced. If possible pull into a parking lot, or somewhere where there is very little traffic. If the flat tire is on the left side of the car take extra care if you have to pull over on a busy street. Leave more than enough room to work on the tire without being near the road.

The first thing you need to do it make sure you know how to operate your jack. Different jack brands work different ways, so I wont go into how to make a jack work. You may want to check out before hand how to operate your jack. Since its much harder to learn and figure something out under stress.

Make sure the jack is on solid ground and that the head of the jack is on a sturdy part of the car frame. If you put the jack on a soft area, when you jack it up, you risk damaging your car. Do not start jacking the car up yet. With a tire iron loosen each bolt a tiny bit. Starting with the one I labeled ‘1’ on my picture. Follow in order the numbers and slightly loosen each bolt. The reason you do this while the tire is on the ground is because, sometime it takes a lot of force to loosen a bolt. If you have it jacked up, you risk shaking the jack and knocking the car off the jack damaging your car, and possibly hurting yourself. After you have loosened each bolt now you want to jack the car up. Jack it up slowly, watching to make sure the jack is not slipping or sinking into the ground. Only jack the car up a few inches higher than the require height to remove the tire. Now again loosen each bolt until the completely come off this time. Pull the tire off and swap with your spare. Now you want to screw each bolt back on. You need to do it in the order of the numbers I listed again. Start with number 1, and tighten until its snug, but do not force it. Then move on to number 2 and repeat, until you have tightened each bolt snug against the tire. Slowly release the jack until your tire is barley touching the ground. Now finish tightening the bolts. This time use alittle more force and make sure they are tight. Following the same pattern as before, starting with 1 and moving through each number. Once you have them all tightened, lower all of the weight of the car onto the tire.

Remember safety first. Your tire or rim is not worth your life. Practice at home with someone who know how to change a tire so that in an emergency you already have experience. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. And in Texas, you have a number on the back of your license for free roadside assistance.