Whether or not you’re in your approach to work, embarking on a household highway journey or simply working errands round city, there’s by no means a great time to get a flat tire. Nevertheless it’s an unlucky state of affairs that almost all drivers discover themselves in in some unspecified time in the future.
Whereas there’s not a lot you are able to do to forestall getting a flat tire, a bit of preparation can prevent money and time when it does inevitably occur. Right here, we cowl some useful suggestions to make sure you’re ready within the occasion of a blowout.
What Are Widespread Causes of a Flat Tire?
As tires put on, they develop into extra susceptible to puncture and harm. There are a selection of points that may trigger a flat tire, together with:
- Punctures: A puncture happens when your tire runs over a pointy object equivalent to a nail, a shard of glass or a chunk of steel.
- Highway hazards: The shock from hitting a pothole or driving over tough, uneven pavement can do sufficient harm to trigger a flat tire.
- Air leaks: Over time, your tire can develop a leak across the bead space (the place it seals in opposition to your wheel) or within the valve stem (the place you inflate the tire). Whereas these leaks could also be sluggish at first, they’ll finally result in a flat tire.
- Put on and tear: Tires don’t final without end. As they put on, low tread ranges or cracked, growing older rubber could cause leaks.
- Vandalism: Sadly, it’s not unusual for tires to be focused throughout acts of vandalism. When this occurs, they are often lower, punctured or deflated.
How Do I Inform if I Have a Flat Tire?
In case your tire goes flat whereas your car is parked, it’s straightforward to identify. However recognizing a flat whereas driving might be harder. Listed below are some warning indicators:
- Warning mild: In america, all autos manufactured since 2008 have been required to return outfitted with a tire stress monitoring system (TPMS). For those who get a flat tire, a warning mild will illuminate in your sprint. This mild usually appears just like the cross part of a tire with an exclamation level within the middle.
- Noise: A flat tire will make a number of noise, usually within the type of a loud thumping or flapping sound.
- Vibration: Together with the noise, you’ll really feel a shaking or vibration from inside the car.
- Steering: When your tire is flat, your car will drift or pull towards the aspect with the dangerous tire. The change in steering will really feel extra pronounced if a entrance tire has deflated.
Can You Drive on a Flat Tire?
That is determined by your automotive. Nowadays, many luxurious and efficiency autos from automakers equivalent to BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac come outfitted with run-flat tires. Because the identify suggests, most of these tires are designed to will let you drive for about 100 miles with no air stress, so you’ll be able to safely drive to get your flat repaired.
Nevertheless, in case your automotive has standard tires, driving any distance on a flat is at all times a nasty concept. For those who don’t pull over instantly, you are able to do irreparable harm to the tire and will even destroy your wheel.
How Do I Change a Flat Tire?
For those who suspect you could have a flat tire, observe these steps:
- Pull over. Flip in your hazard lights and pull off the roadway in a protected location. For those who’re on the freeway, get as far onto the shoulder as potential. When you’re safely out of visitors, flip off the engine, put the automotive in park and apply the parking brake.
- Find your spare tire and jack. Your spare tire could also be stowed within the trunk or suspended under your car. Examine your proprietor’s handbook for the precise location and directions for eradicating the spare.
- Loosen the lug nuts. Utilizing the supplied tire iron, loosen the wheel’s lug nuts by turning them counterclockwise. For those who can’t loosen them by hand, strive stepping on the lever. Remember that the aim for this step is to only break them free; you don’t have to utterly take away them but.
- Jack up your car. Place the jack on stable, degree floor. Following the directions in your proprietor’s handbook, jack up the automotive till the flat tire is totally off the bottom.
- Set up the spare. End eradicating the lug nuts, then substitute your flat tire with the spare. Reinstall the lug nuts (tighten them by hand) and decrease the automotive to the bottom. Earlier than driving off, end tightening the lug nuts utilizing the tire iron and test the stress within the spare tire. Then stow the flat tire and instruments in your car.
- Get to security. Spare tires aren’t a long-term answer. They’re designed to assist get you to the closest restore facility, so get your flat tire repaired or changed as quickly as potential.
What if My Automotive Doesn’t Have a Spare Tire?
In response to growing gasoline economic system requirements, many vehicle producers are ditching the spare tire to avoid wasting weight. In reality, in line with Client Reviews, about one-third of latest automobiles on the highway right this moment forego the spare. As an alternative, they’ll embody a can of tire sealant and an air pump.
For those who get a flat and your automotive doesn’t have a spare tire, strive utilizing the supplied sealant and reinflate your tire with the compressor. Within the occasion of a small puncture or sluggish air leak, you might be able to get again on the highway. But when the harm is extra vital, you’ll doubtless have to name for assist.
Who Can I Name for Assist if I Get a Flat Tire?
For those who need assistance, you have got just a few choices:
- Roadside help: For those who’re an Erie Insurance coverage buyer, see how our Emergency Roadside Service Protection can save the day. It’s an optionally available protection that’s straightforward so as to add to your auto insurance coverage coverage and solely prices about $5 per car per yr.1 With this protection, all it’s good to do is name 800-FOR-ERIE to be linked immediately with Agero, our nationwide roadside service accomplice.
- Towing corporations: For those who don’t have roadside help, you’ll be able to name a towing firm immediately. Name the corporate of your alternative or dial 411 to search out companies close to you.
Can My Flat Tire Be Repaired?
Simply since you acquired a flat tire, that doesn’t imply it’s good to set up a substitute. In lots of situations, tires might be safely repaired by a certified tire service technician. However in line with the Tire Trade Affiliation, there are a number of necessities for a protected restore:
- The technician should first take away the tire from the rim. This enables them to test for any inside harm.
- The puncture have to be positioned close to the middle of the tread. If a gap is simply too near the sidewall, it may influence the structural stability of the tire.
- The puncture have to be small. Holes or cuts bigger than one-quarter inch can’t be reliably repaired.
The technician will let you already know in case your tire is repairable. If not, it in all probability doesn’t meet one of many above standards.
One closing tip: Be sure to test your tires and treads routinely. In the event that they’re worn down, don’t look forward to a flat (or your annual inspection) to vary them out for a brand new set.
Get Again on the Highway
A flat tire can damage your day should you’re not ready. Whenever you’re stranded, it helps to have somebody you’ll be able to depend on to assist ease the stress.
At ERIE, our promise is straightforward: to be there once you want us. With our Emergency Roadside Service, we can assist with lockouts, flat tires, mechanical breakdowns, useless batteries and even an empty gasoline tank. It’s an optionally available protection that’s straightforward so as to add to your auto insurance coverage coverage and doesn’t price so much. You may as well buy the protection with ERIE’s Roadside & Leases bundle, which incorporates Rental Automotive Expense Protection.2
Discuss to your native ERIE agent and learn how we can assist you get again on the highway.
1. Autos eligible for protection embody automobiles, mild vehicles and bikes. The service additionally covers horse, livestock and different trailers which can be pulled by autos that ERIE insures. See particular person insurance policies for particular protection particulars. Sure phrases and limitations could apply. Discuss with our disclaimer for extra data. In North Carolina, protection is bought by limits ($25, $50 and $100).
2. In all states besides Virginia and North Carolina, transportation bills are included with complete protection however have to be bought individually for a collision loss. Rental car protection is predicated on the kind of car rented, moderately than a selected greenback quantity, and is topic to a per-day restrict if you choose a car in a better class than you have got bought. In Virginia and North Carolina, transportation expense protection is included with complete protection and collision protection and is topic to a per-day restrict. The six lessons of rental automotive choices aren’t obtainable in Virginia or North Carolina. Transportation bills are included in Virginia with complete protection and is optionally available with collision. In North Carolina, transportation bills are solely coated with car theft claims. The restrict is $15 per day and as much as $450 per loss.