To my knowledge, my wife has never changed a flat tire herself, perhaps because she’s never had to. I’m just curious how many of you female-type Dopers have changed or would have no problem changing a tire on your own.
Before we were married she was working late and came out to a flat tire. She called me, but a guy in the next office changed it for her before I got there. And now since we’ve been married I think there’s been three occasions (two on consecutive days!) where she had a flat. Not that I have to “rescue” her or anything, I think it’s just easier, maybe? I think she would have a little problem loosing and tightening the lug nuts, but it certainly isn’t too complex for her.
I have changed flat tires before. I have had my mother wake me early when I was a teenager to change her tire as the lug nute were on too tight for her and she didn’t want to get dirty before work.
I have no problem with it really but I think right now I’d just have AAA do it for me if hubby wasn’t around simply because I don’t think jacking up a van is a good plan for a pregnant chick
I know how to change a flat tire. My father showed me how and made me practice when I was 16.
I have never had to change my own flat tire. I have been stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire three times. Each time a man stopped to help me before I could even get the car jacked up. The way I figure it, if some man wants to change my tire for me I am not going to stop him.
Dad showed me how to do it on the first day I had my car.
Of course, it took me about nine thousand times longer than him, but it is a useful thing for every driver to know how to do.
The last time I had occasion to change my wheel, I pulled into a garage and took the wheel off. (Subsequent memo to self - always check that the spare is not flat)
Rolled the flat spare to the compressed air thingymajig and it was broken. So then I had two flat tyres, no air and no obliging husband-type person to call for assistance.
Luckily for me, a nice man who was filling up his car came over and drove me and my flat spare tyre to the next garage along the road where the compressed air thingymajig was working.
Otherwise I would have had to call the AA, and God alone knows how long that would have taken in rural Ireland, at half ten at night.
Another female Doper with tire-changing capability checking in.
When I started driving, my Dad had a whole checklist of things that he wanted me to learn. I can drive a stick-shift, check and refill my oil, refill antifreeze, and refill windshield wiper fluid.
But I’ve encountered what the others have run into - whenever I find myself on the side of the road with a problem, some guy will pull over near me and help me out. Who says chivalry is dead?
I haven’t changed one in many years. The last time I did it, it was on a ‘63 Pontiac Catalina. Full sized spare. And I’m pretty small. The hardest part was the lug nut removal. I put the tire iron on the lug and I had to jump on it to loosen it. Not much fun. I think the little doughnut tires are much easier to change. I had to lift the tire onto my lap and wiggle my way under the mounting position, and then sort of lift it with my legs and arms because it was so friggin’ heavy.
I’ve never learned how to drive (there were several failed attempts, and I really don’t want to talk about it), but I have changed a couple of flats on vehicles in which I was a passenger. Nothing to it.
Sigh … well, I guess I’ll have to be the first one to admit complete incompetence. I’ve never tried to change a flat tire, and don’t expect I’ll ever have to. I rarely use the car for anything except going to the grocery store and the library, so it’s not likely I’ll ever be stuck on a lonely road at night. Furthermore, whenever I try to do anything mechanical I screw it up the first time no matter how simple it is, so I’d much rather call a professional and have them do it correctly.
I suppose I’d learn how if I ever went on a long road trip, but since I hate driving and love planes and trains, I don’t see that happening.
I’ve done it before, took me forever and a day, but I did it alone. The hardest part was loosening the lug nuts. I too had to stand on the tire iron and jump on it to loosen them. Just cause I can do it doesn’t mean I’d turn down a man who offered to help out.
Yeah I can do it, but I struggle a bit getting the wheel on as I’m not a real big build.
I’m often on the road at night though and the last thing I want to be doing is spending 15 minutes changing a tyre at the side of the road and worrying whether every guy that stops to ask if I need help might be a potential weirdo. So I cheat and carry a can of that tyre inflator stuff that you just spray in. It’s easier, quicker and safer.
I’ll tell you one thing. I could not change a tire if I was wearing a dress and heels. You really have to get down and dirty to do it if you aren’t of gargantuan strength.
My father taught me how to change a flat tire when I was 16. Before I left for college, he made sure that I still remembered. Pop quiz.
I’ve changed my own tire 2 or 3 times. I do belong to AAA, but for something simple like a flat tire, it’s not really worth it to me to wait for them to arrive. The only difficult part for me is lifting and positioning the new tire. Dang, those things are heavy!
For the record, I’m not a woman, but I do know how to change tires. I made my sister and girlfriend in college learn. You better believe my daughters (if I ever have any) will know how when I’m done with 'em. I’ll make 'em change my oil too, just for fun.
The reason I’m posting: when you get new tires or have your tires rotated – basically anytime somebody at a garage takes a tire off – they use an air-powered wrench to put the lug nuts on. I’m medium-build, 150 pounds, and I’ve definately had to jump up and down on a wrench to get the damn things off before. They’re on tight.
I know how to do it, and have tried once, but was not able to get the lug nuts off, even with the “stand on the tire iron and jump up & down” method, as they (the lug nuts) had been tightened with a power tool.
It’s a bad idea to tighten lug nuts with a power tool not only for the reson that it mkaes it difficult toloosen by hand, but that it can break the nut and/or bolt. A previous car of ours had those “security” nuts that needed the special adapter. A mechanic cracked it and when I tried to loosen it the tire iron, it cracked in half. And a co-worker’s truck has several missing bolts because they cracked off when he was working on it.
Lesson to everyone: don’t let your mechanic use a power tool to tighten the lug nuts on your tires!
This is me. Except once I still couldn’t get a couple of the nuts off even with jumping on the iron. So I called my husband. He had to stand on the tire iron too, and for a minute I thought he wasn’t going to be able to get them off either. Air-powered wrenches are mighty things. I have AAA if I get stuck.
I agree. I actually enjoy it. If you don’t know how, practice a couple times in your driveway where it’s easy. (Once I showed up a few minutes late for work and told my co-worker “sorry, but I got a flat tire.” He stared out at my car and said “what did you do?!” I told him I changed it and he was sorta flabbergasted. Apparently HE had no idea how easy it was to change a tire.)
Sitting on the side of the road waiting for “a man” or AAA is asking for trouble. You don’t know who the hell is going to pull over and what they’re going to do for or to you.
