Can you change a tire on your car? Do you have a roadside assistance service?

[Tap]

Can you change the tire on the car you drive them most, if you are the only one in the area able to do it?  

 

I said that multiple choices was ok, since I know there may be multiple answers due to circumstances.

 

 

[MiMi 4under3]

I voted that I could change a tire with an owner's manual (if I had to), but in reality I would just call AAA.

[school17777]

I used to be able to in my first car, but if the lug nuts were machine tightened, I don't think I'd be able to turn them.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Didn't we just have a thread on this?  

[Tap]

I have never changed a tire, but know how.  I would need to check the owners manual to check to make sure I put the jack in the right spot, but other than an odd complication, I would assume I could do it.  The couple of times that I have been in a car that got a flat, it was fixed by the owner of the car or a stranger stopped and changed it before we had a chance to even think about what to do (20yo girls on the side of the road).

 

I have never had a roadside assistance program unless it came with my car (new car purchase had coverage on that car only), or my insurance company (all of our cars were covered). I wouldn't pay for it otherwise.

 

 

Having a 16yo daughter, driving a 14yo car, makes me rethink that though.  I  may consider getting it mainly for her.  She could change a tire, but we live in a dark, wet climate (in winter it is dark at 6pm) so the idea of her stranded with a broken down car or trying to fix a tire, makes me a bit worried. 

[Tap]

I would first try to change it myself, and then call the program provided by my car purchase.  I am impatient, so I would rather not sit for an hour waiting for someone to show up, when I could just do it and be done.

[Guest]

I know how, but I would never bother to do it except in an emergency outside of cell service. Otherwise I'd call my husband, who can change a flat in 15 minutes with little adieu.

[MiMi 4under3]

 

 

Having a 16yo daughter, driving a 14yo car, makes me rethink that though.  I  may consider getting it mainly for her.  She could change a tire, but we live in a dark, wet climate (in winter it is dark at 6pm) so the idea of her stranded, trying to fix a tire, makes me a bit worried. 

 

If this was my dd with a 14yo car, I'd get her roadside assistance. It's also helpful for things other than a flat tire.

[Matryoshka]

I have changed a tire more than once, all by myself.  When my brother had a flat on the roadside, he called me. :lol:

 

That said, we now have AAA.  I just got a flat the other day, and was wondering if I'd have to dig back through musty memories of how to do it, and wondering if the tiny wrench they give you with the donut would have enough torque to actually take off the machine-screwed in bolts, and I also called dh to ask where the darned spare was hiding in the new car, because it was well-hidden.  He said, 'you should just call AAA'.  Aaaah.

 

Yes, I can.  But I'd rather not. ;)

[MomtoCandJ]

I have before but not sure if I can now with machine tightened lug nuts. I would call dh first if close to home other wise our roadside assistance that we have through our insurance (I also have RSA with my car but I won't use that unless it's a covered issue for the dealership)

[Rosie_0801]

I can unless the nuts have been machine tightened. 

 

I ALWAYS have road side assistance. Who knows where I'm going to be when disaster strikes. (And by disaster, I mean I've gone and flattened the battery. :p )

[maize]

The one time I had a flat I called roadside assistance. I had five small children in the car, that was enough for me to worry about.

[happypamama]

Okay, so I can drive a stick and parallel park, but I can't change a tire. In theory, I know how, but in reality, I'm not sure about the whole jack thing and getting it right. I might be able to muddle through it if I had to, but I'd rather call someone. We pay for RSA through our auto insurance.

 

I *can* diagnose a dead alternator, though, and have done so twice. (I've needed an alternator for each of the last four vehicles I've owned. After the first two, I knew it was the alternator with the last two, based on the symptoms. Last time, the people on the phone tried to tell me it was the starter or battery. No, folks, when a vehicle dies suddenly while it's running, it's the alternator. Guess who was right?)

[LucyStoner]

Yes, I can change a tire and have. I'm NOT waiting an hour or more for roadside assistance if it is just for putting on a spare tire.

 

I also can change the oil and do basic simple maintenance and repairs.

 

We do have roadside assistance. It is part of our insurance policy but it's not free. It's something we have to add to the policy. It's cheaper to do that than it is to buy AAA so that's what we do. Worth it because my ADD husband was long on a first name basis with the pop a lock guy.

 

I actually knew how to do this before I learned to drive. My parents moved us around a lot on long road trips in OLD VW busses and once a beater Buick. I learned by watching parents keep those old cars going on workarounds and a prayer. The last time I had to change a tire was actually before I learned to drive. And while I didn't take drivers ed in high school, I did take auto shop. I have no idea why other than thinking it sounded like fun.

[Audrey]

I could, at one time, but I no longer have the ability in my hands to exert the force necessary to get the lugs off, without breaking multiple blood vessels, and that just hurts too much.  I do keep my CAA membership current.

[Guest]

Yes, I can change a tire and have. I'm NOT waiting an hour or more for roadside assistance if it is just for putting on a spare tire.

 

I also can change the oil and do basic simple maintenance and repairs.

 

We do have roadside assistance. It is part of our insurance policy but it's not free. It's something we have to add to the policy. It's cheaper to do that than it is to buy AAA so that's what we do. Worth it because my ADD husband was long on a first name basis with the pop a lock guy.

 

I actually knew how to do this before I learned to drive. My parents moved us around a lot on long road trips in OLD VW busses and once a beater Buick. I learned by watching parents keep those old cars going on workarounds and a prayer. The last time I had to change a tire was actually before I learned to drive. And while I didn't take drivers ed in high school, I did take auto shop. I have no idea why other than thinking it sounded like fun.

Our kids are learning so much just from watching daddy maintain our old, beater vehicles. Dropping out transmissions, changing spark plugs and starters, switching the summer and winter tire sets (we have both sets mounted on rims and then just do it ourselves), even fixing brake cables, alignment, blah blah etc etc.

 

My own dad and stepdad were handy if they needed to be but preferred other people be grease monkeys. My husband's dad was the exact opposite, and these seem to be heritable traits. So I sip lemonade and watch him while he works vehicular magic. I really want our girls to learn the basics of vehicle maintenance I missed, though!

[Guest]

I could, at one time, but I no longer have the ability in my hands to exert the force necessary to get the lugs off, without breaking multiple blood vessels, and that just hurts too much. I do keep my CAA membership current.

We have had such bad luck with anyone messing with our lugs. They cross thread them with the pneumatic wrench and just ruin the entire bolt. So yeah, we aaaaalways begin them with our hands before breaking out power tools, to prevent that from occurring. Cinching them down with stiff hand pressure has worked great, we have only lost one lug in ten years and that one was corroded :)

 

I hear you on the broken blood vessels. Not worth it!

[Sara in AZ]

I voted "yes I can and have done it" because I have in my driveway. If I were stranded on the side of the road I'd call DH first. I've mostly used my roadside assistance (through our insurance) to get my keys out when I've locked them in...😄

[Crimson Wife]

In theory I know how to do it. In reality, I struggle with the upper body strength needed to jack the car up and call the roadside assistance that comes as part of our auto insurance

[Anne]

One of my dds changed flat tires on our van about 6 times the year she was 13!! Fortunately, my dh had taught her how to do it and she had very little trouble.

 

The main challenge is the upper body strength needed to move the nuts. My daughter had that, but I'm not sure I do. Otherwise, I would have no problem changing a flat. (I checked other)

 

Anne

[Jenny in Florida]

I can change a tire and have done so.

 

We have roadside assistance for not exactly free, but for just a few dollars a month, as part of our auto insurance. If we didn't get it very inexpensively as part of a package deal, I probably would not bother to see it out and pay for a policy.

[KungFuPanda]

I can change a flat, but live in a populated area and feel it's safer to not attempt roadside repairs myself. We don't have roadside assistance. If I broke down, I'd call my mechanic to fetch the car, or the tow company directly if it was late. DH, a friend, or a cab would get me home.

[Pawz4me]

I know how to change a tire.  It's one of the first things my father taught me when I got my drivers license and I've done it quite a few times.

 

But the reality is that tire places nowadays use wrenches (pneumatic?) to put on lug nuts and they do it so tightly that there's no way I'd have the strength to remove them.  We have a huge honking lug nut removal thing that one can stand on, and DH still finds it difficult.  And he outweighs me by 80 pounds or more.  Realistically I know there's no way I'd be able to make one budge.

 

We do have roadside assistance.  Something through our insurance company and a plan we pay for through CoachNet (covers our RV as well as all our other vehicles).

[LMD]

I have been shown how, on a previous car, and I think I could figure it out if I had to... In reality I'd call my dh or father in law to help me. If I was alone or just with one or two of my older kids i might attempt it while I waited, but not with all my kids in the car.

We don't have AAA, I don't think... Maybe I should check my insurance policy again, I've forgotten!

[kewb]

I know the principals behind changing a tire but have never done it.

I call my dh or roadside assistance.

In my pre dh days I would look helpless and people would stop and help me.

I remember at one of my earlier jobs talking with a woman I worked with about changing tires and how I never had. She was horrified. I happened to get a flat the next day. She was determined to show me how. We are standing next to the car and she is showing me how the jack works and a jeep full of young men pull up and offer to help. I said sure. They put my spare on, which was also flat, took me to the gas station for a new spare and put it on the car for me. When I got back to work my coworker was shaking her head at me because I still did not know how to change the tire.

I do, however, want my kids to learn. I think it is a good skill to have.

[Junie]

I voted twice.  I voted for can not change a tire and would call a tow truck.  I also voted for disability (rheumatoid arthritis), because even if I wanted to learn how to change a tire, i know that it would be an impossibility and it would be foolish for me to try.  I can't even open a jar of spaghetti sauce.

[Guest]

We do not have any assistance programs. Dh and all of his brothers are very mechanically adept and would easily change a tire if I needed it. I *do* know how to do it, but the probability that I would simply have to do it myself is very low. The one thing I know would be the most difficult for me is loosening the lug nuts. I know they are tightened so hard that it is possible I would not be strong enough to pry them loose.

 

The one time in recent memory that my tire shredded on the highway, I was in a skirt, had the kids in the car (they were not teens yet) and DH and two of his brothers were on an out-of-town trip! I called the remaining brother (who was my last choice, TBH), but before he arrived, a man in medical scrubs stopped and assisted.

[Carrie12345]

Other. My car has the new patch and pump system, which I don't really know how to use.
I know the instructions for changing a tire, but a stranger did it for me once when I was on the highway with 3 kids 5 and under, and dh did it for me when I was at the grocery store waiting forever for AAA.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Other. My car has the new patch and pump system, which I don't really know how to use.

I know the instructions for changing a tire, but a stranger did it for me once when I was on the highway with 3 kids 5 and under, and dh did it for me when I was at the grocery store waiting forever for AAA.

 

I have this too.  I was going to use it, but before I did I called my car guy and he told me not to do it.  He said if there is any chance of repairing the tire that chance will be gone with the fix a flat stuff and that stuff can damage the rims too.  So I had it towed on a flatbed. 

 

Glad I decided to call!  The tired was repairable.  That saved money because on these cars with the tire sensors, once you bust a tire you have to also replace the sensor (cost me $130).  So all that just for a small hole in a tire!

 

I am thinking of getting a spare though.  Kinda dumb not to have one.  Although I can't change it myself anyway. 

[73349]

I learned how when I learned to drive, but I've never had a flat tire, so I've never done it. It's very likely the lug nuts would be too tight for me to be able to do it. I'd call AAA.

[bluemongoose]

I voted I know how and have at least once and I have assistance because it comes with the insurance.

 

My dad taught me how to change a tire as part of my learning to drive a car instruction.

 

Funny story, I have changed only one tire and it was at my bachelorette party, in the dark, with a music stand taking the place of the crank for the jack. The person who owned the car was a guest to my party, and everyone else had gone home. I didnt have my car with me and we didnt have another jack. Her jack was missing the handle that cranks the jack and that takes off the lug nuts. So we used the music stand we found in her trunk and used that. It was a bit messed up after its ill use!

 

Since then I have only had one other flat tire. I was going to change it myself, but that vehicle had been rear-ended and I couldnt get the spare to drop. DH had to come and rescue me. This was before the insurance changed and we got road side assistance. 

[Word Nerd]

I used to be able to in my first car, but if the lug nuts were machine tightened, I don't think I'd be able to turn them.

This is my problem. I know how and have helped others change a tire, but I'm not necessarily able to do it myself. Even getting the spare out would be a challenge.

[justasque]

AAA has saved me a number of times.  They have done an EXCELLENT job of recommending repair shops when we were on the road.  Good places that got us back on the road, doing what was critical and suggesting what to do when we got home, without charging an arm and a leg.  I don't use them often, but I do enough long trips that membership is well worth it.

Note that AAA covers the person, not the car.  This means that when my kids are on road trips with young drivers in beater cars, they are covered even if the driver doesn't have AAA.

(Also, PSA:  Explain clearly to your kids the difference between diesel and regular gas, which one your car takes, and what happens if they put in the wrong one.  If the diesel is usually at a different pump, they might be confused if they encounter a combined pump.  And the color of the pump is NOT standard, so should not be used as a cue.  No, not my kid, long story, but - yeah - remind your kiddos.)

[Dmmetler]

I had to know how to pass driver's ed, but have always had AAA and used them. I had several times I needed to change a tire when I was driving between several schools as an itinerant music teacher, and it invariably seemed that the breakdown would happen in one of the most scary areas I had to drive through (probably because that's where there often was glass etc on the road), so I didn't want to get out of the car without some uniformed person with ID right there.

 

 

[abcmommy]

With a minivan (spare stored under car) and kids, changing it myself seems impractical.

[Murphy101]

AAA is worth every little penny.

 

Multiple grown men working together cannot get the tires off my 12 passenger van without one of those special drill things. Discovering that was what led us to starting a AAA account.

 

My 80+ year old dad repeatedly locking himself out of his car was another reason to keep it.

 

Having a teen car break down and need towing was another reason to keep it.

 

And many more things.

 

Like I stated already - worth every little penny.

[Lawana]

I could, at one time, but I no longer have the ability in my hands to exert the force necessary to get the lugs off, without breaking multiple blood vessels, and that just hurts too much. I do keep my CAA membership current.

The one time I changed a flat by myself (on the way to work on the Eisenhower Expressway), I had just happened to have watched something on TV that showed using body weight to loosen over tightened lug nuts. That came in very handy.

 

I still remember the tollway maintenance guy who pulled over while I was figuring out what to do and informed me I had two hours to move my vehicle, then drove off. Thanks.

 

ETA That would be the East-West Tollway, not the Eisenhower. Oops.

[luuknam]

Didn't we just have a thread on this?  

 

No, that was about what age kids should know how to change tires.

 

I'll just use my almost 5yo as my personal AAA. ;)

[Tap]

AAA has saved me a number of times.  They have done an EXCELLENT job of recommending repair shops when we were on the road.  Good places that got us back on the road, doing what was critical and suggesting what to do when we got home, without charging an arm and a leg.  I don't use them often, but I do enough long trips that membership is well worth it.

 

Note that AAA covers the person, not the car.  This means that when my kids are on road trips with young drivers in beater cars, they are covered even if the driver doesn't have AAA.

 

(Also, PSA:  Explain clearly to your kids the difference between diesel and regular gas, which one your car takes, and what happens if they put in the wrong one.  If the diesel is usually at a different pump, they might be confused if they encounter a combined pump.  And the color of the pump is NOT standard, so should not be used as a cue.  No, not my kid, long story, but - yeah - remind your kiddos.)

LOL this has been drilled into dd16's head.  She will be going back and forth between  a gas and a diesel car. She has to pay attention!

[regentrude]

I know how to do it and did it once many years ago, but I would call AAA because I consider it safer - unless I am on a dirt road in the back country without cell service.

[regentrude]

But the reality is that tire places nowadays use wrenches (pneumatic?) to put on lug nuts and they do it so tightly that there's no way I'd have the strength to remove them.  We have a huge honking lug nut removal thing that one can stand on, and DH still finds it difficult.  And he outweighs me by 80 pounds or more.  Realistically I know there's no way I'd be able to make one budge.

 

That's where you use the jack under the wrench to let the car's weight help.

And of course loosen the lug nuts before lifting up the car.

[Pawz4me]

That's where you use the jack under the wrench to let the car's weight help.

And of course loosen the lug nuts before lifting up the car.

Use the jack under the wrench? Can you clarify what you mean by that? You've totally lost me.

 

And of course one loosens the lug nuts first. I can't imagine anyone who doesn't know that?

But I was raised in an extremely mechanically inclined family so maybe what I consider basic knowledge isn't?

 

ETA -- You mean like a fulcrum? Yes. Again that's basic knowledge. I still couldn't budge one.

[rebcoola]

I can and have on a car but won't try on the suburban

[HRAAB]

I know how to and have changed a tire when I was younger.  I don't know that I could now due to lack of upper body strength and joint pain, especially if the lug nuts have been tightened at the garage.  I would call dh or AAA.

 

We've always added our teen drivers to AAA.

[Artichoke]

Yes, I can change a tire but as others have said machine tightened lug nuts can be difficult.  Standing on the wrench can help loosen them.  

 

We also have premier AAA which includes a 100 mile towing distance for all of our family.  This has been incredibly helpful for our college kids who drive home over the holidays. 

 

 

[kiana]

Yeah, I'm a pro. I also use a fullsize spare so that I can simply swap the tire and continue my journey. 

 

I also have premier AAA but I am not interested in waiting for them to come out. I use them for breakdowns though and it's been worth every penny. 

 

ETA: Machine-tightened lug nuts -- it might be worth putting a piece of sturdy pipe that will squeeze over the end of your lug wrench in your emergency kit. You may end up someplace where you really need to change it, and putting the pipe on the end of the lug wrench can greatly increase torque -- plus it's easier than jumping on the wrench. Also, PB Blaster/Deep Creep or similar item is a great thing to have in an emergency kit in a car. 

[Catwoman]

We use the roadside assistance program from the car manufacturer, but we also have AAA. In an emergency, I would call both of them and see who got to me first. :)

[Pawz4me]

We use the roadside assistance program from the car manufacturer, but we also have AAA. In an emergency, I would call both of them and see who got to me first. :)

 

From what I understand, it's likely they both contract with the same companies.

 

[Catwoman]

From what I understand, it's likely they both contract with the same companies.

 

Maybe it varies from one place to another, but in our area, if I call the car manufacturer's toll-free roadside assistance number for something like a flat tire, a dead battery, or a mechanical issue, they send out a technician directly from the nearest dealership to make the repair for me. If the tech can't fix it, they have the car flatbedded to the dealership and drive me home. Then they fix the car and deliver it back to my house. I know that if they are sure a flatbed will be necessary, they use a local towing service which may or may not end up being from the same company as the one AAA uses.

 

I guess it probably all depends on what brand of car you drive and maybe on the individual dealership as well. Hopefully, I will never have too much experience with any of this! :)

[Truscifi]

I can and have, but I would call roadside assistance in most cases. I always seem to break down or have a flat on the side of a busy road.