# You have a flat tire on a lonely road, and your cell's dead. How screwed are you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954 "2014-12-22T21:23:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/1 "2014-12-22T21:23:39Z")
Assume, for purposes of this discussion, that no one else is in the car with you; that the car in question is the one you normally drive; that you haven’t seen another vehicle in quite some time; and that you can’t reach OnStar or whatever. Could you handle the situation with what you have in the car? The current thread about things kids should know but don’t brought this topic to mind. In that thread I mentioned being surprised that my usually hyper-competent baby sister did not until recently know how to change a flat. But on the night in question that skill alone would not have helped her, because she is quite small; removing the lug nuts was beyond her upper body strength. Since then she’s gotten one of those electric lug nut wrenches (though I still worry that she’ll have difficulty with muscling the spare). Anyway–under the above circumstances, would you be in for a long walk, or just a brief interruption while you changed tires? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/2 "2014-12-22T21:27:28Z")
Since we don’t have a car and I’ve changed innumerable flats on the handcycle, not at all. As far as lug nuts are concerned, you’re supposed to loosen them before jacking up the car. Stand on the wrench handle if needed. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/3 "2014-12-22T21:30:13Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Since we don’t have a car and I’ve changed innumerable flats on the handcycle, not at all. > > As far as lug nuts are concerned, you’re supposed to loosen them before jacking up the car. Stand on the wrench handle if needed. It is not uncommon for mechanics at a dealership to tighten lug nuts to a degree that it’s nigh impossible for many people to loosen them without mechanical assistance. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/4 "2014-12-22T21:31:53Z")
That’s why you carry a length of gas pipe or water pipe in the back to slip over the tiny little wrench they give you ( I exerted enough force to bend it that way). Actually last time I was a passenger in a Jeep that had a flat (a proper Jeep, not one of these Chrysler things) there was no jack but we went off the road a little way to a woodshed and came back with a bunch of chunky floorboard lumber that somebody hadn’t gotten round to cutting up yet, put two down as a fulcrum and used one as a lever to lift the axle up enough to get the wheel off. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/5 "2014-12-22T21:32:22Z")
I hate it when techs over-torque the lug nuts. I know it’s easier for them but it’s bad for the wheels. If she’s able to move the spare, she should be able to loosen properly fitted lugs. I wouldn’t really think about calling for help before trying to change the spare myself. It’s been several years since I’ve had to, though, or since I’ve been so far out of the way I couldn’t flag a car within a few minutes. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/6 "2014-12-22T21:34:44Z")
I carry a toolkit in my car that contains, among other things, a 2 foot 1/2" drive breaker bar sheathed in an equal length of pipe, meaning I can get at least 3 feet of solid leverage if I need it. I’ve got a 1/2" to 3/8" reducer and a 19mm socket for my lug nuts. Overkill? Perhaps, but I don’t trust my scrawny self to be able to break the lug nuts with whatever dinky little wrench comes in the car. And I’ve still never gotten a flat tire, so it’s all for naught. My wife’s car is a different story. She’d be screwed. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/7 "2014-12-22T21:42:52Z")
I turn the accessory mode on and charge my phone to where I can call roadside assistance. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/8 "2014-12-22T21:42:53Z")
I’ve never had to do it in the 20 years I’ve been driving, but I would hope I can change a tire. I have a spare and the tools that came with the car, and I know where they are so…good? I am humongous so I surely have the strength to do lug nuts but who knows whether they are over-tight or not. Here’s hoping not! I have Verizon (super good coverage) and AAA Gold so I’m hoping I’m never in this situation. I just wish I still smoked because what else do you do while waiting for help? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/9 "2014-12-22T21:49:54Z")
If I’m in the Accord and it’s a nice day out I’ll have that thing changed in no time. If it’s the FJ and it’s dark, snowy, 5 degrees outside, I didn’t bring gloves, the roadside is loose gravel and on an incline, I’ll be there for a while trying not to kill myself. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/10 "2014-12-22T21:53:11Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I turn the accessory mode on and charge my phone to where I can call roadside assistance. > > Problem solved. I didn’t write that the cell phone BATTERY was dead. The cell phone itself is no longer functioning. Anyway, you’re doing that annoying thing of trying to prove your cleverness by changing the question. In this case, the question is whether you have the skills and tools to change a flat in your car. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/11 "2014-12-22T22:03:51Z")
My car has the spare tire, jack, etc. under the floor in the back. I have not actually had to put on a temporary tire myself, but I don’t foresee any major problems doing it. There’s always the risk of adverse conditions, faulty equipment, etc. making it so that the real situation is more difficult than expected, but that would be one perfect storm to knock out everything all at once. (As far as real-life situations of this: the flats I have had were resolved by AAA. Part of the reason I pay my annual dues is so that I don’t have to deal with this crap. When I’ve needed them, the AAA truck got there faster than I could have done it myself anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/12 "2014-12-22T22:08:58Z")
I’d change the tire myself, no problem, have done so before. Assuming that the nuts weren’t torqued onto the rim like concrete because all I have in both vehicles is the puny little wrench (the length of pipe is a good idea.) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/13 "2014-12-22T22:14:17Z")
I’d be screwed, for sho. I’ve never changed a tire. No one ever taught me, and I don’t know how I’d learn. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/14 "2014-12-22T22:17:29Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Anyway, you’re doing that annoying thing of trying to prove your cleverness by changing the question. In this case, the question is whether you have the skills and tools to change a flat in your car. The thread title wasn’t “Can you change a flat?”, though. In any event, assuming that I’m not actually located in the Australian outback and it’s likely that another motorist will pass by at some point in the next several days, I turn on my emergency flashers, stand by the rear bumper, gesturing for help, and I should at least find someone willing to make a call for me in an hour or two. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/15 "2014-12-22T22:19:02Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > . . . Stand on the wrench handle if needed. Last time I changed my own tire, I had to do that. Broke the lug right off the wheel! I mounted the spare, and drove very carefully to the nearest shop, as I was driving on only three lugs on that wheel. (The good news was that fixing a new lug to the wheel wasn’t very expensive.) Anyway, answering the OP, no problem, I can change a tire on my own…in the rain…by the side of a busy freeway… And I hated every damn second of the process! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/16 "2014-12-22T22:22:12Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The thread title wasn’t “Can you change a flat?”, though. > > In any event, assuming that I’m not actually located in the Australian outback and it’s likely that another motorist will pass by at some point in the next several days, I turn on my emergency flashers, stand by the rear bumper, gesturing for help, and I should at least find someone willing to make a call for me in an hour or two. The OP made the meaning clear. But there’s nothing pleasant in conversation with you, so I’m done. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/17 "2014-12-22T22:27:37Z")
No problem at all. I’ve changed my own flats, helped random people in parking lots or roadsides plenty of times, even talked someone through it over the phone once. Changing a flat should probably be required knowledge before driving a car…it certainly will be for my son. Gotta remember to keep the spare aired up, though…nothing worse than having the skills to change the tire, but you have two flat tires instead of just one. Check the pressure on the spare now and then! ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/18 "2014-12-22T22:28:28Z")
I’d start walking. I was shown how to change a tire once, but I don’t remember and I’m sure I couldn’t do it now. And I don’t have the tools in my car, and I doubt I’m strong enough to manage it anyway. I’d be walking until I found a phone to call AAA. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/19 "2014-12-22T22:29:05Z")
I would be okay. I’ve changed many. Even did the swap in (guest) wedding attire, once. I’d be very disappointed, but that’s about the extent of it. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954/20 "2014-12-22T22:33:01Z")
I’d be fine. My brother and I used to race each other changing tires. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-a-flat-tire-on-a-lonely-road-and-your-cells-dead-how-screwed-are-you/707954.md?page=2)