I Obtained a Flat Tire… Now What?

Whether or not you’re in your technique to work, embarking on a household highway journey or simply operating errands round city, there’s by no means an excellent time to get a flat tire. Nevertheless it’s an unlucky scenario that the majority drivers discover themselves in in some unspecified time in the future.

Whereas there’s not a lot you are able to do to stop getting a flat tire, a bit preparation can prevent money and time when it does inevitably occur. Right here, we cowl some useful ideas to make sure you’re ready within the occasion of a blowout.

What Are Frequent Causes of a Flat Tire?

As tires put on, they develop into extra liable to puncture and harm. There are a variety of points that may trigger a flat tire, together with:

• Punctures: A puncture happens when your tire runs over a pointy object akin 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 towards your wheel) or within the valve stem (the place you inflate the tire). Whereas these leaks could also be gradual at first, they’ll finally result in a flat tire.
• Put on and tear: Tires don’t final perpetually. As they put on, low tread ranges or cracked, getting old rubber may cause leaks.
• Vandalism: Sadly, it’s not unusual for tires to be focused throughout acts of vandalism. When this occurs, they are often minimize, 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 tougher. Listed here are some warning indicators:

• Warning gentle: In america, all autos manufactured since 2008 have been required to return geared up with a tire stress monitoring system (TPMS). If you happen to get a flat tire, a warning gentle will illuminate in your sprint. This gentle sometimes appears to be like just like the cross part of a tire with an exclamation level within the heart.
• Noise: A flat tire will make a number of noise, sometimes 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 facet with the unhealthy tire. The change in steering will really feel extra pronounced if a entrance tire has deflated.

Can You Drive on a Flat Tire?

That relies on your automobile. Lately, many luxurious and efficiency autos from automakers akin to BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac come geared up with run-flat tires. Because the title suggests, most of these tires are designed to can help you drive for about 100 miles with no air stress, so you may safely drive to get your flat repaired.

Nonetheless, in case your automobile has typical tires, driving any distance on a flat is all the time a nasty thought. If you happen to 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?

If you happen to suspect you’ll have a flat tire, comply with these steps:

• Pull over. Flip in your hazard lights and pull off the roadway in a protected location. If you happen to’re on the freeway, get as far onto the shoulder as attainable. When you’re safely out of visitors, flip off the engine, put the automobile 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 beneath your car. Test your proprietor’s handbook for the precise location and directions for eradicating the spare.
• Loosen the lug nuts. Utilizing the offered tire iron, loosen the wheel’s lug nuts by turning them counterclockwise. If you happen to can’t loosen them by hand, strive stepping on the lever. Take into account 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 automobile till the flat tire is totally off the bottom.
• Set up the spare. End eradicating the lug nuts, then exchange your flat tire with the spare. Reinstall the lug nuts (tighten them by hand) and decrease the automobile 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 should not 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 attainable.

What if My Automotive Doesn’t Have a Spare Tire?

In response to rising gasoline economic system requirements, many automobile producers are ditching the spare tire to save lots of weight. The truth is, in accordance with Client Reviews, about one-third of recent vehicles on the highway immediately forego the spare. As a substitute, they’ll embrace a can of tire sealant and an air pump.

If you happen to get a flat and your automobile doesn’t have a spare tire, strive utilizing the offered sealant and reinflate your tire with the compressor. Within the occasion of a small puncture or gradual air leak, you could possibly get again on the highway. But when the harm is extra vital, you’ll possible have to name for assist.

Who Can I Name for Assist if I Get a Flat Tire?

If you happen to need assistance, you could have just a few choices:

• Roadside help: If you happen to’re an Erie Insurance coverage buyer, see how our Emergency Roadside Service Protection can save the day. It’s an non-obligatory protection that’s straightforward so as to add to your auto insurance coverage coverage and solely prices about $5 per car per 12 months.¹ With this protection, all it’s worthwhile to do is name 800-FOR-ERIE to be linked immediately with Agero, our nationwide roadside service accomplice.
• Towing corporations: If you happen to don’t have roadside help, you may name a towing firm immediately. Name the corporate of your alternative or dial 411 to search out providers close to you.

Can My Flat Tire Be Repaired?

Simply since you received a flat tire, that doesn’t imply it’s worthwhile to set up a substitute. In lots of situations, tires might be safely repaired by a professional tire service technician. However in accordance 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 permits them to test for any inside harm.
• The puncture have to be positioned close to the middle of the tread. If a gap is just too near the sidewall, it might affect 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 recognize in case your tire is repairable. If not, it in all probability doesn’t meet one of many above standards.

One last tip: Ensure to test your tires and treads routinely. In the event that they’re worn down, don’t watch for a flat (or your annual inspection) to vary them out for a brand new set.

Get Again on the Highway

A flat tire can destroy your day for those who’re not ready. Once you’re stranded, it helps to have somebody you may rely on to assist ease the stress.

At ERIE, our promise is easy: to be there while you want us. With our Emergency Roadside Service, we may also help with lockouts, flat tires, mechanical breakdowns, lifeless batteries and even an empty fuel tank. It’s an non-obligatory protection that’s straightforward so as to add to your auto insurance coverage coverage and doesn’t value so much. It’s also possible to buy the protection with ERIE’s Roadside & Leases bundle, which incorporates Rental Automotive Expense Protection.²

Speak to your native ERIE agent and learn the way we may also help you get again on the highway.

1. Automobiles eligible for protection embrace vehicles, gentle vans and bikes. The service additionally covers horse, livestock and different trailers which are pulled by autos that ERIE insures. See particular person insurance policies for particular protection particulars. Sure phrases and limitations could apply. Seek advice from 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 particular greenback quantity, and is topic to a per-day restrict if you choose a car in the next class than you could have 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 automobile choices should not out there in Virginia or North Carolina. Transportation bills are included in Virginia with complete protection and is non-obligatory with collision. In North Carolina, transportation bills are solely lined with car theft claims. The restrict is $15 per day and as much as $450 per loss.