Quote:
Originally Posted by whoppa
A while back, my 2021 X5 caught a flat tire. The tire was a 22" Continental PremiumContact 6 (non RFT). Got my car towed to BMW service but their patch attempts kept failing. They told me that I would need to replace the tire. No big deal, I have Tire and Rim Protection. But they didn't have my tire in stock so they would have to order it. Long story short, nobody had the tire in stock and nobody could say for certain when they would get it in. I was told it would be at least a few weeks. To make matters worse, nobody had loaner cars available and even if they did, I would only be covered for a couple days at most.
After a lot of emails and phone calls, I got extremely lucky. The dealership found the tire I needed on one of their cars. They would let me borrow it until my replacement tire came in. As it turned out, the replacement didn't take a few weeks—it took over half a year! Because the 22" PremiumContact 6 isn't a popular tire, they had to wait until the production run for the spring season.
Anyway, the incident got me thinking... what would I do if I caught a flat while on a road trip with my family?
Spare tire isn't available in Canada. If I could make it to a garage, I could maybe buy whatever pair of wheels that fit but then I'd have to ditch two of the Continentals (and possibly the rims) because there's no way they'd fit inside the car. I don't have a tow hitch. Help from roadside assistance programs asus rog would also be fairly limited when I'm far from home. What would you do? I'm stumped. |
Pull Over Safely: Slow down gradually and safely pull over to the side of the road or onto the shoulder. Make sure to park in a safe location away from traffic.
Turn on Hazard Lights: Turn on your hazard lights to alert other drivers that your vehicle is stationary and there is an issue.
Apply Parking Brake: Engage the parking brake to prevent your vehicle from rolling.
Assess the Damage: Determine the extent of the damage to your tire. Check for punctures, tears, or other visible signs of damage.
Retrieve Tools: Gather the necessary tools to change the tire, including a spare tire, jack, lug wrench, and possibly a flashlight or reflective vest if visibility is low.
Change the Tire: Follow the instructions in your vehicle's owner's manual for safely changing the tire. Typically, the steps involve loosening the lug nuts, lifting the vehicle with the jack, removing the flat tire, and installing the spare tire.