CMH Suzuki Hillcrest has compiled a step-by-step guide on how to change a flat tyre. Tyre punctures are the bane of every driver’s life. They demand immediate attention, regardless of where you are and what you had otherwise planned.
Whether or not a tyre is repairable depends entirely on the size and location of the puncture and the internal damage resulting from driving with a deflated tyre.
Step-By-Step How To Change A Flat Tyre:
Prioritise Your Safety
Flat tyres often happen in the most inconvenient locations. You will need to find a safe spot to pull over should this happen to you. If possible, have the flat tyre facing the verge side of the road instead of the traffic side. Once safely parked, put on your hazards, put your vehicle in neutral/park and pull up the handbrake.
Place Your Emergency Triangle in Plain Sight
In the event of a flat tyre, place your emergency triangle approximately 20 meters behind your vehicle on the road.
Place your triangle in plain sight
Find Objects to Support Your Brakes
Look for bricks, small rocks or logs and place them behind the other wheels to secure the vehicle and prevent it from rolling.
Retrieve Your Spare Wheel and Jack
Get your spare wheel, jack and wheel spanner from their respective compartments. They vary from car to car.
Look for a Suitable Spot to Place Your Jack
Look for the markings or notches on the metal frame under the vehicle near the tyre that needs changing. Place the jack and raise the wheel just enough to release vehicle weight.
Place your jack under
Loosen the Wheel Nuts and Remove the Damaged Wheel
Turn the wheel spanner anti-clockwise to remove the hubcap and partially loosen the wheel nuts. Proceed to jack the vehicle up high enough off the ground to remove the wheel, remove the wheel nuts, carefully remove the flat tyre and place it under the car in case your jack fails.
Loosen nuts & bolts
Proceed to Change Your Tyre
Align the spare wheel rim with the wheel bolts and slot them into place, and put back the wheel nuts tightening the nuts in a star pattern (don’t tighten the wheel nut next to the one you’ve just worked on, but rather the one just opposite it) to ensure even torque with your hands till they nice and snug.
Remove your flat wheel from under your vehicle to lower and remove your jack. Double-check that the wheel nuts are snug with the wheel spanner.
Place Your Jack and Damaged Wheel in Their Respective Compartments
Place the flat wheel, jack, wheel spanner and emergency triangle into the boot. Take the damaged wheel for repairs at your earliest convenience.
Boot compartment
Come into CMH Suzuki Hillcrest and let us assist you with proper vehicle care. Contact us at 031 763 3121 or visit www.suzukihillcrest.co.za for more details on our brand, accessories and monthly specials.