Oh, no 'tayar pancit'! I got a flat tyre! What am i gonna do? I am in the middle of nowhere!
Keep calm , stay calm and inform your friends or families that you have got a flat tyre. Let them know your whereabouts and tell them not to worry. Nowadays, it is very easy to get roadside assistance almost immediately. They are everywhere. Worst case scenario, you might need to do it yourself.
Assemble your emergency warning reflective triangle.
Place your emergency warning reflective triangle about 5 meters away behind your car, as recommended in the Malaysian JPJ learner driver handbook.
Get into your dirty clothes or your special car mechanic's overall. It is a good idea to bring them along in the car.
Take note here, if you can handle the flat tyre all by yourself, do not accept any help from any passerby. Including unknown tow truck driver, roadside assistance guys wannabe, cunning wolf foreman, cute hunks or some guys who just wanna show off. Avoid people who you do not trust.
But of course, if she is your mom, don't chase her away.
Locate your spare tyre and the special tools. Refer to your car user's manual. Please put the manuals in the car, you will find them handy.
Get all your special tools out and lay them out on your car's rubber mat. Get organized!
Pry open the rim cover with the special tool provided. Be careful not to damage the cover.
Try not to wear slippers or sandals while doing this. You might hurt yourself.
It is always a good idea to have a pair of old shoes in your car. Use 'em for jobs like this. Loosening the nuts this way may not be recommended in your car user's manual. But sometimes you have no choice. The nuts are going to be very tight, so please be careful here. Do this at your own risk. Kids, do this at home when your parents aren't at home.
Position yourself in such a way that you will not slip or fall during the loosening of the nuts. At this point, just loosen the nuts but do not remove them.
This is one important step. Find out from your car user's manual where the jacking point is.
Jack up the car, jack it, jack it, jack it up... until the tyre is suspended off the ground. Be sure that the jack is still vertically straight.
Loosen and remove all the 4 nuts.
Pull out the tyre. Find out how heavy your is car tyre. This is to avoid you saying, "It's too heavy, i can't take it out! I give up!".
Remove the 'flat tyre' and keep it in the boot.
Roll in the spare tyre!
Put on all the nuts and then tighten them.
Cross tight the nuts, tighten them diagonally and repeat a few times. For now, just tighten them evenly and hand tight only with the socket wrench.
Lower and remove the car jack.
Now tighten the nuts all the way. Again, tighten them diagonally, evenly and repeat.
There you go, drive safely now. Go find the nearest car workshop! Drive at a reduced speed now as stated in the car user's manual, if applicable. Because some spare tyres are made smaller than the normal tyres. These are the temporary spare tyre.
A few more points to remember:
- Avoid changing a flat tyre on a slope.
- For manual transmission, gear must be engaged in 1st or reverse.
- For automatic transmission, put to 'P'.
- Chock one tyre, on the opposite end of the flat tyre, to prevent the car from moving.
- If your spare tyre is smaller than the normal tyres, please check if it is meant for the front or rear tyres.
- Place the spare tyre under the vehicle body at a point near the tyre to be changed. A precautionary measure to avoid danger in the event that the jack is detached.
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