Men and Women: do you know how to change a tire?

I know how to, and have, but occasionally the bolts have been tightened so much that I can’t get them off with my tirearm alone. At those points, I will gladly call AAA.

To be honest, I really don’t know. No one taught me, and I’ve not had a blowout yet. I know I should know certain things, being a male and all, but I think me not having a father figure in my life had a lot to do with it. Now I have to ask friends or use the internet to figure stuff out lol.

I am a male, I know how to, and have changed, many tires. When I was in high school a girl from my school stopped at our house late one night with a flat tire (this was before cell phones were common). My father made my sister and the girl watch me change the tire while he lectured on the details so they would know how to do it themselves. Then told the girl how lucky she was that it happened in our neighborhood and that she shouldn’t be out driving at night without knowing how to change a flat.

I do, but I haven’t had to in a long time, and I don’t own a jack. I had to twice in my earlier twenties.

Female here! I’ve been taught to change a tire many times, because I date handy guys and because I’m always so curious I pepper mechanics with constant questions when they come to save me. But I’ve never had to fly solo on the tire-change before, so I guess I have yet to pass the final test.

I do, and I have.

I know how. I’ve seen it done many times. I’ve never done it myself though nor do I want to. I would if I had to though.

I could do it in a pinch, but probably wouldn’t get everything tightened up enough to be safe. That’s why I have a motor club that does that stuff for me.

My dad worked in a tire shop, so the answer is yes.
It isn’t unusual for me to stop on the freeway and help someone with a flat. You would be surprised how many people don’t know how to do this.

@MrItty I’ve never had lugs that I couldn’t get off. You can pretty much jump up and down on the tire iron if you need to. I used to carry a length of pipe to extend the leverage, but I’ve never needed it. I actually just had to change a flat a couple of weeks ago, and the wheel wouldn’t come off the axle. I just sprayed the whole thing down with WD-40 and waited a few minutes, then started kicking it and it loosened up and came off. The wheel not coming off had me pretty worried, especially since I had my 3 year old with me and my wife was in a meeting out of cell phone range and couldn’t come to get him.

Never tried before.

Not only can I change a tire, I can do it in the snow, in the rain, and once in the desert with the VW being held up by sage brush.

It was part of driver’s education for all of us to learn how to change a tire. I have done it a couple of times myself, but it has been years.

Good point @john65pennington. I have changed many a tire but in the last 20 years it has become a freaking nightmare! You either have a tiny doughnut for a spare or the SUV tire on a cable up under the vehicle (if it hasn’t been stolen) whose cable mechanism is rusted and inoperable!

The last one I did was in my driveway thank God since I learned first hand how unfun the rusted inoperable cable thingy was to deal with. Took me 6 hours to free it loose! @$#&!!!

When I read your question without the details my response was the same as your wife’s. I do understand “how” to change a tire, but I would probably have to get the owners manual out to do it. The last time I got a flat was in about 1985. I think I looked so pathetic in my stiletto heels and fairly short skirt trying to twist off the lug nuts that some that a kind gentleman rescued me! I wonder if my almost 50 year old self would still be able to attract such sympathy?

No, I don’t know how to change a tire – nor do I do know how to drive. I have never driven as my parents never had a car in their entire lives and my husband had his for less than a year. When I was going to be an EMT and received my training and was about to take courses, I got pregnant and those plans were derailed for a bit. We will never own a care, we live in NYC, we have no need for it. It is on my list of things to learn though, in case of emergencies.

I have some idea of how to do it, but thats what we pay taxes for—Road Rangers.

I’ve certainly changed a few tires in my time (not quite as interestingly as @Ron_C in the desert, though), but none in the past three years or more. It’s amazing how much easier it has become on most modern passenger cars. The jack points are clearly marked on the vehicle (if you know approximately where to look), and the jacks that come with most cars are generally safer to operate, too. (I’ll take a modern ‘scissor’ type jack over the old-fashioned ratchet-post jack any old day—it’s a slower process to jack up and then retract, but so much safer, too—and since the jack keys into the frame of the car, that’s better, too.)

No, there’s no “good place” to have a flat. But nothing replaces the good advice to be well off the road, on level and firm ground, to have the ‘off’ wheel chocked and the parking brake set, and to read your owner’s manual if you’re not certain of the sequence and procedure. Anyone really can change a tire. And nothing beats being able to call AAA and let them do it.

Yes.I also know how to trash the rim by driving on it.It’s a great way to keep your speed down ;)

yes i know how to change a tire. when i was a teenager my mom bought me a car, but she wouldn’t let me drive it til i removed each tire and put it back on as she watched. i’m very thankful she did this, iv’e had to change many a tire or i would have been stuck. i believe everyone should know how to change a tire. but you are right, so many people don’t know how, it’s sad…

I’m a woman and I know how to change a tire. I also know how to replace the starter, alternator, radio, spark plugs and oil. Mom taught me how to work on cars. It was one of the few times growing up that we weren’t at each others’ throat.

A good time to have a flat tire is at home, in your own drive way. I don’t have AAA anymore, and had never changed a tire in my life. Home is the best place for a crash course.

@lucillelucillelucille Square wheels have an upside as they help keep you awake when driving long distances.

I’m a woman and in my younger years was quite proud of my independence and ability to do things like change tires. I abhorred the stereotype of the poor little helpless female dependent on the man.

I’ve changed many a tire, but now that I’m older, it seems to have lost it’s luster :) so I gladly pay my yearly AAA membership.

AAA guarantees service even in the most remote of places and at any hour of the day of night. And with the advent of cell phones, I can’t imagine a circumstance where I would need to do it myself.

I just have to remember to get in the habit of always having my phone with me :)

@Cruiser -Yes,they do…how are those baby block wheels working out for you on those rollerblades??

I don’t know why your wife’s answer shocked you. Sounds sensible to me. I know the concept of changing a tire, but I’d call AAA before I did it myself.

I know how to change a tire.
After I got my driving license (on the same day), my dad had me remove a tire, and put on the replacement. But of course, since it was the spare, he didn’t want it to stay on. So I took off the spare and put back on the normal tire.

I also had to change a flat tire for serious, on April first, 2 years ago.

I’ve only called AAA once in the 3 years I’ve been driving, and that was when my serpentine belt snapped, and I lost (among other things) power steering.

Yes.

Yeah I call the towing service and then some really strong guy does it for me.

I’m a guy, I’m 18, but I don’t know how. :(

My parents both know, I’m not sure why they didn’t tell. I could’ve asked. I could ask this winter break. But I’m at Tahoe right now and they’re not here. :)

@CyanoticWasp You are right about the new jacks. Some even have fingers that lock into the jack point. The best one that I have had was for a MG Midget. It had a finger that fit into a slot that was exposed by a hole that was in the side of the car. One for each side. It picked up both tires for the side. Of course you could pick the MG up without the jack. It was very light.

@Ron_C, at one time Citroen (I think) had an even cooler system: The car itself could deploy powered airbags from either side of the undercarriage that would lift one side of the car or the other off the tires. Of course, in the interest of safety the user should add his own positive device, such as blocks, to ensure that even with failure of the bags the car would remain suspended, but I thought the idea to take away the “work” involved (as well as the consumer guesswork about “how to jack”) in jacking was a great innovation.

@CyanoticWasp I think Citroen also had a independent suspension system. I was told that it could be balanced to run on just three wheels. I have never seen anyone do it but it may have been possible. Of course at that time it was “unAmerican” to drive a foreign car.

The only work I don’t do on my own vehicles is things requiring a lift to do, Both engine and automobile. I also don’t have a welder or a one of them nifty tire machines that removes the tire from the rim. Everything else on the vehicle, I do myself. :)

@Axemusica I haven’t worked on a car for 20 years. I always end up bleeding. Automobile repair is why god created mechanics, who am I to argue?

@Ron_C yea sure, sometimes it can be a real pain to reach that one bolt that you needed 6 different attachments to loosen & can only finger it until your finger tips are raw, but it gives me a sense of pride.

Also ever since I had an engine replaced in one of my previous cars & opened the hood found a couple vaccuum lines not connected, intake system not even attached to the MAF and 2 spark plug wires not even plugged onto the spark plugs, I don’t trust other hands under my hood anymore. Never fails that I have to do more work when it should’ve been done right the first time.

@Axemusica I’ll forgo the “feeling of pride” for the retention of blood and reduction of pain and frustration. I don’t even do oil changes anymore and I have two excellent mechanics that work on my cars for very reasonable fees. I see it as supporting the American enterprise system.

For those confident they can just call a towing service, you should be aware that cell phones don’t work everywhere, pay phones are becoming less common, and usually in places where cell phones don’t work, pay phones are few and far between. I wish you luck if you get a flat while driving across Nebraska.

You might also be interested to know that you can save a lot of money and time by doing it yourself. I guarantee I can have the spare on and be driving before your tow truck even shows up.

@Snarp pfft 20mins tops!

@Ron_C well to each his own. :)

@Axemusica more power to you for doing your own auto work. Me, I’m old and don’t want to deal with it anymore. Frankly, I don’t even like to go car shopping anymore. When the old one need replaced, I go on line and look at the prices and present my local dealer with the facts. They have always gone along with my conclusions with little or no fuss. The only discussion I’ve had lately is the color. I hate gray and black cars. I need bright colors because I am partially color blind.

@Ron_C yea, I’m still young so I can handle the labor, but I’m not sure if I’d want to when I’m older. So, I kind of see what your saying. Although, rebuilding cars how I thought they should’ve been built has always been a fantasy of mine, so who knows. I might end up being one of those old dudes you see on those auto shows on tv, building rods to auction off and stuff, lol.

@Axemusica That reminds me of a fantasy that I may yet fulfil. I wanted to build a kit car based on the VW chassis. I went so far as buying a 69 VW with a good engine and running gear. After I lifted the body and fixed the chassis holes, I fell in love with the car. I rebuild it, replaced the fenders with fiber glass one, reupholstered the entire care. My dads friend was a retired body shop owner and put seven layers of red metallic and clear coat paint one it. The car was beautiful and better than when it came from the factory.

I let my teenage daughter drive it to work on Saturday. She missed a gear, got distracted and ran the car into a bridge abutment that ripped off the right side of the car all the way to the right rear CV joint.

I couldn’t look at her or the car. I kept the daughter and sold the car for parts. That was the last time I worked on a car.

@Ron_C ouch! half way through your post I was smiling. When I got to, “I let my teenage daughter…” I knew where it was going. Yea that’s hard, I would have been quite upset myself. One of my ex’s stole my ‘88 300Zx for a joy ride one time. I think she did it out of spite, anyways… She told me at one point she caught air and that would eventually lead to the reason why I needed new motor mounts and master cylinder and brake booster. I rarely let her even ride in it after that, lol. I do miss that car :’(

@Snarp amen to the time saving aspect. When I called AAA for a tow (I mentioned it above. It was for a problem other than a flat tire), the original estimate was an hour and a half before the truck would get there, I ended up waiting 2 and a half.
Mind you, this is in San Diego county, in a well-populated suburb, not like I was out in the middle of nowhere.
God that would’ve been embarassing if I called for a flat and had to wait 2 and a half hour for someone to do something I can do in 20 minutes.

@Sarcasm Yeah, something like that happened to me in Tampa once (also not a tire issue), and this was in the city, not even in a suburb.

@Axemusica you are right when ever you hear “my teenage daughter was driving” nothing good comes after. In fact she wrecked three cars her last year in high school. Then it was my younger daughter’s turn. She hit a mail truck because she said that she “didn’t expect it to stop”.

My wife wouldn’t let me buy anymore cars after that, at least until my daughter asked to borrow hers.

I bought her an old grand prix diesel. I figured that if she hit something with that, at least she has a good chance of surviving. Of course she did and she did. Then she went to the army and wrecked government equipment. I figured that it was my income tax well spent.

@Ron_C, @Axemusica I had a friend in high school who ran his red convertable Karmann Ghia up under a semi that he “didn’t expect to stop”. So sad.

@Snarp fortunately, all that happened was that I go a bill for $1500 from the Post Office.

@Ron_C haha that’s all they cost? Shit I’d pimp one of them crazy boxy things out if I knew they were that cheap.

@Snarp :O <~~ the “Holy crap” face.

@Axemusica That’s just for the tailgate. I don’t know how much the truck costs.

@Ron_C ohh, I see. Then I completely retract my statement, because that’s one expensive tail gate. haha.

@Axemusica and they only took cash, no checks but I did get a reciept.

Yes, I know how to change a tire. I got a flat once with the boyfriend in the car and had to walk him through it. Unfortunately, I do not have the strength to do it myself, but at least I know how.