How to Inflate a Flat Car Tire
by Michael Signal
Tires help keep your car on the road. Well cared-for tires are important to a safe ride and a flat tire should never be driven on. You can damage your tire and wheel by driving on a flat tire. So if you have a flat tire, inflate it quickly. You may have to repair the tire before you can re-inflate it, but if you are going to inflate the tire without removing it for repair, it won't take much time or require any tools.
Inlate a Flat Tire
Step 1
Inspect the tire for damage. You may be able to inflate the tire right away if it leaks air slowly, but if damage to the tire caused it to become completely flat, you'll want to repair the tire before inflating it, or it may become flat again very quickly.
Skip to the tire inflation steps if you don't need to repair the tire.
Step 2
Remove the wheel lug nuts and raise the car with the jack. Then remove the wheel.
Step 3
Repair the damage to the tire. You can possibly plug a small hole with a tire repair kit, but the best permanent fix is to remove the tire from the rim and patch it from the inside. Service stations or auto repair centers can do this for you.
Step 4
Connect an air pump to the tire's valve stem and pump air into the tire.
Step 5
Check the tire's air pressure and adjust if necessary. Push the needle at the center of the valve stem if you need to let air out
References
Things You'll Need
- Lug nut wrench
- Car jack
- Air pressure gauge
- Air pump
- Tire repair kit
Writer Bio
Michael Signal began writing professionally in 2010, with his work appearing on eHow. He has expert knowledge in aviation, computer hardware and software, elementary education and interpersonal communication. He has been an aircraft mechanic, business-to-business salesman and teacher. He holds a master's degree in education from Lesley University.
