Tip #14: Find your spare, jack and wheel-lock key before you need them
Take five minutes in your driveway to find out whether your car has a spare at all, whether it holds air, where the jack is, and where the wheel-lock key lives. Learning it on a dark shoulder is the expensive way.
Tip #14 in one line
Take five minutes in your driveway to find out whether your car has a spare at all, whether it holds air, where the jack is, and where the wheel-lock key lives. Learning it on a dark shoulder is the expensive way.
Stuck right now? Skip the reading and call.
Call nowYour car may not have a spare
Many newer cars come with a tire inflator and sealant kit instead of a spare to save weight and space. Others carry a compact temporary spare, often called a donut, and some trucks and SUVs mount the spare under the rear of the vehicle on a cable.
Lift the trunk floor, check the sidewalls of the cargo area, and look under the rear bumper. If you find a kit instead of a tire, know its limit: it can seal a small tread puncture, but it cannot fix a sidewall cut or a shredded tire.
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Call nowCheck four things
The spare's pressure. A spare loses air sitting in the trunk for years. The correct pressure for a compact spare is usually higher than for the regular tires and is printed on the spare or in the manual.
The jack and lug wrench. Make sure they are there and you know how they come out. Read the manual for the correct jacking points; jacking on the wrong spot can damage the car or let it slip.
The wheel-lock key. If your wheels have locking lug nuts, the key is often in the glovebox, the console or a tool tray. If you cannot find it, the tire cannot come off without special tools.
Any sealant kit's expiration date, which is often printed on the canister.
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Call nowKnow the spare's limits
If the car came with a full-size spare, check that it matches the other tires and holds the right pressure; some full-size spares are a different type or are older than the tires on the car. Either way, have the original tire repaired or replaced as soon as possible so you are not driving around without a backup. And replace the inflator kit's sealant once it has been used or passes its expiration date.
A compact spare is meant to get you to a tire shop, not to stay on the car. It has a lower speed and distance limit, printed on the spare or in the manual. Follow it.
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Call nowIf something is missing
Tell the dispatcher when you call (908) 444-0129. A flat tire change technician carries a floor jack and wheel-lock removal sockets, and if there is no usable spare, a tow to the tire shop is quoted alongside it. The flat tire change guide has more.
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Call nowMore on tires
Keep reading, or go back to every post on the blog.
- Flat tire on a New Jersey highway: what to do
- Tip #2: Cold weather lowers your tire pressure overnight
- Tip #13: Driving on a flat ruins the tire and the wheel within a short distance
- Tip #17: Run-flat tires buy you limited miles at limited speed, not a free pass
- Tip #22: The tire pressure light is a warning to check, not proof of a flat
- Tip #86: Rotate your tires on the schedule in your owner's manual
- Tip #92: Check the spare tire's pressure, because a flat spare is no spare
- What to do when your car breaks down in New Jersey
- All posts
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