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Your Hyundai’s tire, or any vehicle’s tire, could get flat any time. It could happen somewhere in the middle of that trip to the grocery store. It could happen just as you are parking in your office’s parking lot. Or it could even happen just as you are about to drive to work.

That is the very reason why it is of utmost importance that each motorist or vehicle owner should know how to replace a tire. The knowledge would be very useful and that would certainly mean that you would not have to ask or wait for assistance in any case your tire gets flat on a country road. It could also be useful especially if you are on your way to a big meeting with one of your bosses.

When you experience a flat tire, make sure that you are parked somewhere on the side of the road. It would not be a good idea to have your car stopped in the middle of the road and changing your car’s tire there. This would be not only to alleviate any kind of traffic jams but it would also be to assure safety for yourself. Once you have your car on the side of the road, apply the parking brake. Also, place the shift in first gear. After doing such, locate your spare tire, your lug wrench, and the jack.

Make sure that you have everything you need beside you before you start changing your car’s tire. Then, start by taking the hubcap of the tire. It could be done with the assistance of a screwdriver or the end of the lug wrench. The lug nuts are loosened with only one turn. Do not loosen everything until you have actually lifted the car with the jack.

The jack would be the next thing to use. If you do not know how to use this, instructions could be easily obtained in the car owner’s manual. The jack could also hold some directions. Make sure that when you lift the car, the tire that you would be replacing is some inches away from the ground. Once this is done so, you can now completely remove the lug nuts and the tire.

Replace the spare tire. This could be done by putting it in the correct place by aligning the holes. After that, put in the lug nuts and tighten them. Make sure that they are secured. You can then lower your car back to the ground and start rolling away to your destination.

If there is a need for any parts for a vehicle, Auto Parts Information is one of the trusted dealers of quality auto parts like Hyundai parts. In fact, this online store manufactures and sells aftermarket performance products and accessories for many vehicle makes.

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Terry Brown is a 32 year old from Houston Texas, and an enthusiast for anything auto-related. He currently writes auto-related articles for several publications.

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My oldest daughter reached driving age not to long ago and one of the requirements for her license was for her to successfully change a flat tire on her own. I gave her a quick visual of where the equipment and tire was and then wrote down instructions for her to follow. I figured that if she could follow these instructions successfully then she was ready to be alone out in the car. By the way she was able to change the flat tire and stuck these instructions in the glove compartment in case of a flat tire later.

The steps below are the instructions I wrote up for her.

First make sure that you put the car in park in a level as possible area and set the parking brake. Make sure you have pulled off the road far enough to avoid traffic and turn the engine off. And don’t forget to turn on the hazard lights (flashers).

Get out of the trunk the spare tire, the lug nut wrench and the car jack. I pointed these out to her before hand.

Before jacking up the car, loosen the lug nuts, which hold the wheel in place. Turn the wrench counterclockwise to loosen the lug nut. Loosen every other lug nut first, then go back and loosen the others.

Carefully jack up the car and reference the owner’s manual for the correct and safe place to put the jack. Just Jack the car up a inch or so higher in order to remove the old tire and to be able to have room to put the new, full of air tire back on.

Continue by removing all of the lug nuts and set them aside in a place where you won’t lose them. The flat tire should be able to slide right off now.

Lift and place the new tire onto the wheel studs. Make sure that the valve, where you add air, is facing out.

Replace all of the lug nuts and tighten them by hand. Then tighten them with the lug wrench the same way you loosened them. Finally, tighten each lug as tight as you can.

Put the hubcap back on or in the truck to be put on later.

Once she did this she felt a lot more confident and comfortable about how she would handle a flat tire. I told her that there may be a time that she did not feel safe getting out of the car and that she should put her flashers on and move to the shoulder and call someone, if no one was available to just drive on the bad tire until she reached somewhere safe.

Everyone should take the time to get familiar with where the spare tire is, how to get it out of the car, and at least change a tire for practice.

Dennis Watson - Just helping others succeed.

Zeoh.com Free Classifieds Web Site =>http://www.zeoh.com/

You Can Do That Web Blog =>http://www.you-can-do-that.blogspot.com/

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Don’t ever say it won’t happen to you. Statistics show that the average person will have 5 flat tires in their lifetime. That means you will have a flat and it is best to be prepared for it.

I’ve seen people stuck on the side of the road with no spare, no jack or lug wrench and no cell phone. What if you get stranded down a far out, little traveled country raod at night? You will be stranded for a long time. That is something we want to avoid. So here’s a checklist of what to have with you at all times in your car:

1) spare tire - this may sound mundane, but many people out their are driving on their spare and take a big risk.

2) jack and lug wrench - many people never check to see if these items are in their car. Its a fact that half of the used cars purchased in the U.S. do not have all the tools necessary for a proper tire change. Also make sure you have a lug wrench that fits your car. This may sound stupid, but when I worked at a car dealership if the car didn’t have a lug wrench and the customer wanted one, they just took one out of any car and put it in (never looking to see if it would fit the lugs on the car in question). If you have wheel covers you may need a large screwdriver to pop off the wheel cover (some lug wrenches have this as one of their ends).

3) lock adapter - many people get the chrome, alloy wheels and have a lug lock installed so they can’t easily be stolen. Just, never lose the lock adapter or you won’t be able to change that tire without having the car towed to a car dealership where they’ll have to cut off and replace the lug spindle (a very costly experience).

4) Flares and reflectors - you have to be safe. If you have a flat in a hard to see area you want to warn other drivers of your predicament so you don’t have a worse predicament. Also, pack a flashlight and extra batteries for night use - all the tools in the world won’t help if you can’t see (regularly change the batteries once a year).

Now, for safety, when a flat occurs you need to pull safely off the road. If on a busy interstate drive slowly until you are in a safe and relatively flat spot. Put your car in park and put on the emergency brake.

Place reflectors or flares so as to give adequate warning to other drivers. This spacing will be different depending on whether you are in hilly curves or on a straightaway.

Place the jack under the car on the jack mount area This is a area specially designed for your jack and is covered in the owners manual.

Loosen all of the nuts and then crank the jack until the tire is several inches off the ground. Remove the nuts and wheel. Place the spare on and tighten each lug finger tight to make the whel flush.

Lower the jack so the wheel can’t turn and tighten all nuts with the lug wrench. Then completely lower the jack and remove. Drive to your nearest auto service station and have your flat replaced or repaired and reinstalled. This is essential as many spares are not full spares and aren’t as safe.

David Maillie is an alumni of Cornell University and specializes in automotive safety products and information. He holds numerous patents and awards for his patented headlight cleaner and restorer. For more information please visit: http://www.mdwholesale.com

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