Change a flat tire on the side of the road
The difference between a 20-minute shoulder stop and an hour on the phone with a tow company is knowing where the spare and jack live before you need them.
What you'll learn
- Why the traffic-side of a vehicle is the dangerous side for a DIY change
- Where the jack point is on most modern vehicles (check the owner's manual)
- The correct lug-nut loosening pattern (star/cross, not circle)
- When to call for a tow instead - highway shoulders, curbs without room, or damaged sidewalls
Step by step
- Pull off into a safe flat spot - away from traffic, off a shoulder if possible.
- Set the parking brake. Turn on hazard lights. Put the transmission in park (or 1st gear on manual).
- Loosen the lug nuts half a turn each before jacking - while the tire is still on the ground.
- Position the jack at the factory jack point under the frame. Raise until the tire is 1-2 inches off the ground.
- Remove the lugs, swap the flat for the spare, hand-tighten lugs in a star pattern.
- Lower the car fully. Torque the lugs in the same star pattern.
- Drive directly to a tire shop. Most spares are rated for 50 mph max, 70 mile range.
If you are on FDR Drive, the BQE, the Cross Bronx Expressway or the Belt Parkway, call for a tow to a safe spot instead. These roads carry some of the heaviest traffic in the country and in places there is no usable shoulder at all, so a roadside tire change is genuinely dangerous. On the state expressways in the region the NYSDOT Highway Emergency Local Patrol runs help trucks that clear hazards and protect a disabled vehicle until help arrives, but they do not change your tire and they do not tow you. One more wrinkle in this city: tow trucks are banned from the parkways, so a flatbed cannot legally come to you on the Belt or the Henry Hudson, which shapes how a recovery is routed.
Rather have a pro handle it?
Towing and roadside service across the five boroughs of New York City. One local line, taking calls around the clock.
Keep learning.
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Prepare your vehicle for a tow
A few minutes of prep before the tow truck arrives saves time, avoids damage, and makes the whole call go faster.