What to Do If Your Tire Won’t Come Off
If your tire won’t come off, even after you’ve removed the lug nuts, you might need to get creative to remove it!
Written by Patrick Price
Reviewed by Melanie Reiff
The safest thing to do when your tire won’t come off is to contract a professional for help—such as an auto shop or roadside assistance. If that’s not an option, there are a few tricks you can try using to get the wheel off, but you’ll need to be very careful.
Changing a tire is an annoying and tedious process at the best of times. If your tire won’t come off, even after removing all of the lug nuts, there are a few DIY solutions that can help—just remember to be very careful and never trust the stability of jack stands.
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How are tires connected to your car?
Tires technically aren’t connected to your car, not directly at least. The tire is attached to the wheel rim, via its beads. The rim, in turn, slides over the axle hub and the wheel studs. Lug nuts or “wheel nuts” are then used to secure the wheel studs to the rim—which is what holds the wheel steady.
How often should you check your car tires?
Checking your car tires is an important bit of car maintenance. It’s the best way to stay ahead of tire pressure leaks, avoid getting a flat tire, and know if your wheel hub or lug nuts are getting corroded.
In general, you should check your car tires at least once a month. Use a pressure gauge to make sure that they’re properly inflated and scrub the wheel hub clean with a wire brush.
MORE: What to do if your tire blows out?
How to remove a stuck tire
So, you’ve got your spare tire, car jack, and lug wrench all ready to go, and you’re trying to fix your flat tire. Under normal conditions, you’d have everything that you need! There’s just one problem—you aren’t able to get the old wheel off of the axle, which means you won’t be able to get any new tires installed! What do you do now?
Don’t worry, there are a few DIY tricks that you can try that should resolve the issue. You just need to know how to do them! The important thing is to not panic or let yourself become frustrated—that’s how accidents happen!
Loosen lug nuts and drive slowly
The most popular solution to this problem is to loosen the lug nuts and drive slowly. This is a pretty easy approach that will dislodge most stuck tires.
Start by removing all but one of the lug nuts. Leave one wheel nut on and loosened slightly. Then, drive a few feet back and a few feet forward. Make sure to do this slowly, gently, and on a flat surface. It’s also a good idea to turn the steering wheel back and forth slightly while you do this.
After four or five times, this process should make the wheel much looser and easier to remove.
Spray rust penetrant to get rid of corrosion
The main reason why a wheel gets stuck is corrosion. Corrosion, in this context, is a build-up of chemically compromised metals—often iron dust from worn-out brake pads or axles—that has reacted with oxygen to form rust (which is a form of corrosion).
To break up the adhesive corrosion, spray anti-rust products and/or an anti-seize compound into and around the wheel hub, alloy rim, wheel bearings, etc. That should loosen your stuck wheel right up!
Apply physical force
This is one of the more risky approaches and should only be used after other methods have failed. Try using a piece of wood or a sledgehammer to knock the wheel loose. Be very careful not to overdo it—you could bend the wheel bearings or even the axle itself.
It’s also important that you lower the car down from any jack stands that you’ve been using before putting any amount of physical force on the wheel. It’s all too easy for a car to slide off of jack stands.
Use a prybar
Just like with physical force, you shouldn’t try to use a prybar when your car is lifted up. Remove it from any car jacks, position it on a flat surface with no traffic, and then try to work some give into the place where the aluminum wheels meet the iron axle. You should be able to loosen it up just enough to work the wheel free—once it’s back up on the jacks, of course.
When to get professional help for a tire that won’t come off
Trying to pry a stuck wheel loose is always a bit of a risky proposition. Too much force at the wrong time can lead to all kinds of serious personal injuries. If you’re at all uncertain of your ability to get the tire off safely, you should contact a professional for help right away.
Additionally, if you’ve already tried all the methods listed above and still are not able to get the wheel off, it’s time to call the professionals. Local roadside assistance services are usually the best option.
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FAQs
What do you do when your tire won’t come off?
When you have a stuck wheel, you can try dislodging it by driving carefully back and forth, using a prybar, or even hitting it with a rubber mallet—just be careful not to do so when it’s up on jack stands.
Why is my tire stuck?
The most common reason why wheels get stuck is corrosion. A mixture of rust and debris forms a kind of natural glue that holds the wheel in place—the best way to avoid this is by regularly cleaning your rime (both sides).
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