Flat Tire on a New Jersey Road: What to Do, Step by Step

Do

✓ Check the spare's pressure when you check your other tires; a flat spare is a common surprise.

✓ Know where your wheel-lock key is kept, usually in the glove box or with the jack.

✓ Tell the dispatcher if your car is AWD, an EV, lowered, or has run-flat tires.

✓ Keep the flat tire and its wheel; the shop may be able to repair it or reuse the sensor.

✓ Look at the inside of the tire and the rim edge for a bulge or a bend after a pothole hit.

✓ Use a flashlight or the phone light, not the car's interior light, to work at night.

Don't

✗ Do not change a tire on the traffic side of the car on a highway shoulder.

✗ Do not get under a car held up only by its jack.

✗ Do not keep driving on a flat once you are off the road; it destroys the wheel as well as the tire.

✗ Do not use an inflator kit on a tire with a sidewall cut or a large hole; it cannot seal it.

✗ Do not kick or hammer a stuck wheel while the car sits on a scissor jack.

✗ Do not leave the old wheel loose in the cabin; it becomes a projectile in a sudden stop.

Change it yourself or call a technician?

Do it yourself only on firm, level ground, well clear of traffic, with tools and a good spare. On a highway shoulder, with a heavy vehicle, a seized wheel or a wheel lock you cannot find, call for a flat tire change; the technician brings a floor jack, the right sockets and a torque wrench.

Spare or tow to a tire shop?

An usable spare and one damaged tire means a spare-tire change. No spare, a flat spare, two damaged tires, a bent rim or a run-flat car with no spare means a tow to the tire shop you choose. If the car is an EV or an AWD vehicle, a flatbed tow is often the right way to move it.

Plug kit or replacement?

A small puncture in the tread can often be repaired. A cut or bulge in the sidewall, or damage near the shoulder of the tire, means replacement. Only a tire shop can make that call properly after inspecting the inside of the tire.

Tire problem or something else?

If the car pulls or vibrates but the tire holds air, it may be a bent wheel, alignment or a suspension part damaged by the same pothole. That needs a shop, and the roadside assistance guide helps sort out symptoms.

The Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway

Tire changes on the shoulder of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway are done by the Turnpike Authority's authorized garages. Call us and the dispatcher explains how to reach them; once the car is off the highway at the exit or in the garage's lot, we take it to the tire shop or driveway you choose.

Move Over and the shoulder

New Jersey's Move Over law requires drivers to slow down and change lanes when possible for emergency vehicles and tow trucks with lights flashing. It helps, but the safest plan is still to stay off the traffic side of your car and let the technician's truck shield the scene.

Road salt and seized wheels

A winter of road salt can bond an aluminum wheel to the steel hub, so the lug nuts come off but the wheel will not. It is common in New Jersey after winter. A technician with a floor jack and a stand under the frame can free it safely; do not try it on the car's own jack.

Pothole season

March and April are typically the worst months for pothole flats in this part of the state. Keep your tires properly inflated through that stretch; a correctly inflated tire is better at absorbing a hit without pinching.