Imagine you are driving in the middle of nowhere, when suddenly your tire goes flat and you realize you’re in trouble because you don’t know how to change it.

You try to make a phone call, but there is no service and there are no cars around to help you. With this step-by-step guide on how to change a tire, you will become an expert and never have to worry about being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire. The very first thing you want to do is keep calm whenever the tire actually goes flat. Freaking out can cause you to do something, which can endanger others. Next, you want to turn on your hazard lights to show that you will pull off the road.

Then, you need to pull off the road and look for a level spot to park because an incline can be unsafe for jacking up the car. After that make sure you put the car in the park position and put on your emergency break. Just to be safe, it is good to find a heavy object such as a rock to put in front and behind the tire opposite of the flat tire you are changing so the car doesn’t role away. Also to show other drivers not to hit you, find an emergency triangle and put it behind your car, ten yards or thirty feet away.The next thing you need to do is find your tools. You will need a jack, a spare inflated tire and a lug wrench (the L-shaped shiny/black tool that has a hexagon hole for the lug nuts at one end and a flat screw-driver-like shape on the other end.) The tire can be in many places, such as under the car, inside of the car, or on the outside of the car. If you don’t know where the tools are located in the car, then read over your owner’s manual.

If your vehicle has a hubcap over the tire, you want to remove that first with the flat tip on the L-shaped tool. Take the jack and place it behind the tire you are going to change. Make sure you put it under the specified place, which should be a metal spot, in order that you don’t ruin any plastic frame whenever you pump up the car. Pump the jack up just a little bit so it supports but not lifts the car. Use the lug wrench and loosen the lug nuts by turning counterclockwise. You don’t want to take them off, only loosen them and break the tension. By keeping the wheel on the ground, you allow yourself to turn the lug nuts when you use the wrench and not turn the tire instead. If a lug nut is stuck, you can use your body to turn the wrench (for example jumping a few times on it with your foot.

) Once all of the lug nuts are loose, you can pump the car up using the jack. Jack it up, not just in order to pull the flat tire off, but also to be able to insert the spare one.Finish removing all the lug nuts and pull off the tire (it’s better if you pull the tire off with your hands holding it in a horizontal way.

) Put the flat tire under the car standing up to protect you if the car falls. Insert the spare tire and push it all the way in. You now want to put the lug nuts on again and at first tighten them by hand and then by using the lug wrench.

You only need to tighten enough lug nuts so the tire stays on its place while you lower the car. Make sure that when you tighten the lug nuts completely in the next step, you do it evenly to where all the lug nuts are tightened with the same pressure. A useful way is going in a star-shaped order (start with one, move to the opposite, and so on.) Jack the car down but don’t let it rest only on the tire, instead leave the jack a little pumped as support. Finish tightening the nuts as tight as you can.Lastly finish letting down the car and remove the jack. Put everything back in it’s proper location, including the flat tire.

Recheck that you don’t leave anything behind and that your tire is well fastened. Remove the rocks, release the emergency break, and turn off your hazard lights. Then you are good to go. Remember to get your tire repaired as soon as you can, so that if you get another flat tire then you’ll be prepared.