How to Change a Flat Tire: The Exact Order of Operations (2026)

The short answer: change a flat in this order: park on firm, level ground with the wheels straight, set the parking brake, chock the opposite wheel, loosen the lug nuts while the car is still on the ground, jack it up, swap the tire, tighten in a star pattern, and re-torque after about 50 miles. If you cannot get a safe parking spot, skip straight to calling for help. No flat is worth changing where a car might hit you.

Spend ten minutes now, before you need it

Open the owner manual once and answer four questions:

• Does the car even have a spare? Many newer cars ship with an inflator kit and no spare at all. If yours is one of them, the roadside fix is the plug-and-inflate branch below, or a tow.
• Where are the jack, the lug wrench, and the spare? Usually under the trunk floor, sometimes behind a panel.
• What kind of spare is it? A full-size spare is a real tire with no speed limit. A donut is a temporary tire with a low speed and distance limit molded right into the rubber.
• Do you have wheel locks? The key lives in the glove box or with the jack. Find it before you need it in the dark.

While you are at it, confirm your tool layer, like the Apollo Tools DT0006 101-Piece Mechanic Tool Set socket set, has a socket that fits your lug nuts. Factory wrenches work; a socket handles a rounded nut better.

Step 1: Park somewhere safe

• Pull as far off the road as the shoulder allows, on firm, level ground if you can find it. Soft dirt and gravel make a jack sink or tip.
• Aim the wheels straight, set the parking brake, and put the car in Park.
• Turn on the hazards. Get everyone out on the side away from traffic.
• Set a warning triangle a good distance behind the car, farther back on a highway, and put on a reflective vest if you have one. The HAIPHAIK Car Emergency Kit with Jumper Cables ships both.
• Chock the wheel diagonally opposite the flat, on both sides of that tire. Big rocks work if you have no chocks.

If the shoulder is narrow or the road curves blind, do not change the tire here. Call roadside assistance or a tow.

Step 2: Loosen the lug nuts before the car leaves the ground

The car's weight holds the tire still, which is what you want.

• Push down on the wrench with your body weight. Leftie-loosey on most cars, though some older models have left-hand threads on one side; if a nut will not turn counterclockwise, try clockwise.
• Loosen each nut about a half turn. Do not remove them yet.
• Stuck nut? Step on the wrench, or slip a length of pipe over the handle for more leverage.

Never loosen lugs with the car already on the jack. The car can rock off it and land on you.

Step 3: Jack it up

• Put the jack under the correct jack point. The manual shows them: reinforced frame notches a few inches behind or ahead of each wheel. Never jack on the plastic rocker panel.
• Seat the jack's cradle in the notch before you pump, and crank until the flat tire just clears the ground, no more.
• Once it is up, treat the jack as a lifting device only. Nothing under the car.

Step 4: Swap the tire

• Finish removing the lug nuts and set them where they cannot roll under the car.
• Pull the flat straight off the studs. If it sticks, kick the top of the tread.
• Lay the flat tire flat on the ground under the car, next to the jack. If the jack slips, the car lands on the tire instead of on you. Cheap insurance; do not skip it.
• Line the spare's holes up with the studs and push it on. If it will not seat, lift the jack a little.
• Start the lug nuts by hand, a few turns each, so the wheel is held true before any tool touches it.

Step 5: Tighten in a star pattern, then tighten again later

• Lower the jack until the spare touches the ground and carries the car's weight, then tighten the nuts firmly.
• Go in a star or crisscross pattern, top, bottom-left, top-right, bottom, top-left, two passes tighter each time. Opposite nuts, never in a circle, or the wheel seats crooked.
• The target is roughly 80 to 100 pound-feet on most cars, about as hard as you can pull the factory wrench. Your manual has the exact number.
• Lower the jack fully, give the nuts a final pass, and re-torque after about 50 miles. The first drives settle the wheel; a loose lug nut is how wheels come off.

Know the spare's limits

Donut spares are for getting to a shop, not normal driving: usually 50 mph and 50 miles, and the sticker on the spare is the truth. All-wheel-drive cars can stress their drivetrain on a mismatched donut, so check the manual. Get the flat repaired or replaced within days.

When not to use the jack: tread punctures

A nail or screw in the middle of the tread is the one flat you can often fix without removing the wheel:

• Pull the object out. A hole in the sidewall or shoulder is not pluggable; those areas flex. Mount the spare or call.
• Ream the hole, push in a repair string with the T-handle tool, and trim it flush. That is the whole Slime 2040-A Tire Repair Plug Kit method, about ten minutes.
• Refill to the pressure on the door sticker with the EPAuto 12V Portable Air Compressor and check again in the morning for a slow leak.
• Treat the plug as temporary. Have the tire patched from the inside or replaced within a few days.

If the tire was driven flat before you stopped, the sidewall is likely crushed and the tire is probably done. Mount the spare instead of plugging.

After the fix

Set all four tires to the door-sticker pressure, not the maximum on the sidewall, and give the tire-pressure light a few minutes of driving to clear. Put the jack, wrench, and chocks back where they came from; the next flat starts at step one. Tire shops take old tires for a small fee.

The trunk kit that should already be holding your triangle, gloves, and tools is in our car emergency kits roundup, and if the flat happens in snow, the stuck-in-snow guide has the recovery steps.