We spend a large amount of our life in a car so it so it's only natural that at some point we'll experience a flat tire. While services like AAA and, increasingly, on board systems, can provide assistance, it's always good to know how to change a tire by yourself in case you're stranded or someone else needs help.

Lokey Kia believes it's more important how you react to when your tire goes flat while driving than it is to know how to change a tire, so lets go over that first. If you happen to get a flat while driving you will probably feel the car wanting to pull to one side of the road and you may hear a funny noise. This is when its important to stay in control by having both hands securely on the wheel and begin pumping your brakes to slow down. Once you've managed to reach a safe speed or better yet, stopped, turn on your flashers so other cars know you are in distress. If you drive an automatic, make sure you're in Park (P) when you stop and if you're in a manual Kia, first gear or reverse are the gears you should be in.

As far as actually changing a flat tire on your new Kia or used car goes...

1. Locate spare tire (loosened by turning lock bolt to the left), tools, and wedge in trunk.
2.  Inspect condition of spare tire, paying particularly close attention to pressure.
3. Place wedge diagonally across the front of the flat tire.
3. Use a wrench to loosen the wheel nuts. Start with any one; then move to the nut diagonally across from it. Proceed to the next and then move diagonally across, so on and so forth.
4. Position the jack to the body frame nearest the flat.
5. Secure jack.
6. Double check jack to make sure it won't slip.
7. Insert nut wrench into the jack handle and turn handle to the right until flat tire is elevated from the ground.
8. As an extra precaution, place spare tire below the car frame to act as a wedge while changing the tire.
9.  Remove wheel nuts complete and take flat tire off axle.
10. Mount spare tire onto axle and hand tighten wheel nuts.
11. Lower jack by turning handle slowly to the left.
12. Tighten wheel nuts 2-3 times using nut wrench until tire is completely secure, following the same diagonal pattern used to loosen them.

Don't be confused if you still see the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) light on when you get back in the car. The light probably won't go off until you've replaced the full size tire yourself or at the Kia dealership.

Should you need any assistance with tires for your Kia vehicle or if you want us to inspect your car after having gotten a flat, bring your new or used Kia into Lokey Kia on 27960 U.S. Hwy 19N in Clearwater, FL today.