What To Do If Your Hankook Tires Blow Out On The Road

By Keith M. Ferrante


Hankook tires can last a driver thousands of miles worth of smooth rides, but you still have to deal with those random situations that come as a surprise. Knowing how to change a tire is an important element of driver's education that everyone should undergo prior to heading out on the open road for the first time. Unfortunately, not everyone takes the time to learn how to perform this important task and will end up stranded as a result.

One thing that needs to be done before ever backing out of the driveway with a vehicle is ensuring that all the necessary equipment is onboard, including a spare, wrench, and jack. Making sure that you have all of these things in your vehicle is the first thing you should do to ensure that you won't be stranded when you lose a tire.

Anytime that you do have a blowout or a tire going flat, you should pull your vehicle onto level ground, or as level as you can find. Prior to jacking up your vehicle, you should put on your E-brake and activate your hazard lights so that other motorists notice you. Find some heavy object, if you can, to place in front of and behind the tires that are not being changed.

You want to jack the vehicle up near the flat tire, so place the jack under the frame in that area. Misaligning the jack can hurt your car, among other things, so most newer vehicles include specially marked areas on the frame that are considered the most ideal point to place the jack. If your car doesn't give an obvious indication of where to put the jack you may want to check the owner's manual for clarity.

Get your jack in place and start jacking it up until it gives a nominal amount of support to the vehicle but leaves the tire on the ground. With your wrench in hand, you may now start taking off the nuts holding the tire in place. This part does take a bit of strength, but with the appropriate amount of leverage, most people should be able to break the nuts and get them to come loose. Once they are loose, continue pumping the jack up enough to give you the room needed to remove the current tire and replace it with a spare.

Your Hankook tires will go on in the reverse order in which they were removed. Align your spare with the lug studs and fit it onto the wheel hub, replacing and tightening the lug nuts accordingly. You may now put your flat tire and tools away and get back on the road, but you will want to see a mechanic to have your spare replaced as soon as you can.




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