How To Change A Tire: A Service Guide From Younger Toyota | Hagerstown, MD

Jun 22, 2022

As drivers, we hope to never have to change a tire ourselves. But, sometimes misfortune strikes and we find ourselves roadside with a flat. If you’ve never changed a tire before, don’t panic! This guide from Younger Toyota will walk you through the process step-by-step. Plus, if you’re not comfortable doing it yourself, our Service Department of friendly and knowledgeable technicians would be happy to help. So don’t wait until you’re in a jam – learn how to change a tire below!

Younger Toyota’s Service Guide On How To Change Your Tire:

Pull over somewhere safe. Preferably somewhere where the ground is level, the area is well lit, and you are not near any bends in the road that may make it harder for other drivers to see you.
Put on your hazard lights and parking brake to increase your visibility and keep your car from rolling away.
Make sure you have at least a car jack, wrench, and spare tire in your trunk. Other items you may want for changing your tire include: gloves, flashlight, tire gauge, and your vehicle’s owner’s manual.

Remove your vehicle’s hubcap and use your wrench to turn each lug counterclockwise until they are loose enough to turn by hand.
Lift your vehicle off the ground using your jack being sure to have it perpendicular to the ground at all times. Consult your owner’s manual for proper jack placement, but if not accessible be sure that the jack is under a metal portion of your vehicle’s frame.
Now that the lug nuts are loose and the tire is raised off the ground, you can continue to screw off the lug nuts until you can remove all of them and your flat tire completely.

Replace the flat tire with your spare and push it as far onto the wheelbase as it’ll go.
Screw your lug nuts back on by hand as far as they will go, but don’t tighten them all the way just yet as you need to get the tire as even as possible beforehand.
Lower your vehicle with the jack until your spare tire is just touching the ground and the tighten the bolts in increments so that you alternate evenly between turning each.
Once your lug nuts feel as though they’ve been equally tightened you may lower your vehicle completely and double check to make sure all of your lug nuts are completely tight.