How to change a wheel safely (and not on a motorway)

In short. On a motorway, do not change the wheel: National Highways says do not attempt repairs on your vehicle, and the Highway Code says the same words for the case where you cannot get clear. Go left, get safe behind the barrier, get help. Anywhere else, the Highway Code's test is whether you can change the tyre without putting yourself or others at risk; if not, call a breakdown service. If you do it, loosen the nuts before you lift, lift only until the tyre clears the ground, never put any part of your body under the car, tighten the nuts in a crosswise order in stages, then check the torque again after about 30 miles (50 km). Use your handbook for the jacking points and the torque: two handbooks from one carmaker group give 125 and 133 N·m.

First question: should you?

Annex 6 of the Highway Code is short on this: if you have a flat tyre, stop as soon as it is safe to do so, and only change the tyre if you can do so without putting yourself or others at risk, otherwise call a breakdown service (Highway Code, Annex 6). A place of relative safety, in the Highway Code's words, is one where you, your passengers and your vehicle are less likely to be at risk from moving traffic: a place designed for parking, a lay-by, an emergency area or a hard shoulder, which gives less protection than the others, and on a motorway or other high-speed road the safest is a service area (rule 275).

The first two rows follow National Highways and the Highway Code. The rest is our reading of the Highway Code's test, not its words.

On a motorway: what to do and what not to do

National Highways gives three steps for a motorway breakdown when you cannot leave at the next exit or reach a service area: go left, get safe, get help (National Highways). The Highway Code carries the same advice in rule 277.

1. Go left. Move into the left lane, pull into an emergency area or onto the hard shoulder if you can, stop as far left as possible with your wheels turned to the left, stop just beyond an emergency telephone if you can, switch on your hazard lights, and use sidelights in the dark or poor visibility.
2. Get safe. If it is safe and possible, get out on the side furthest from the traffic, and put on high-visibility clothing if you have it. Get behind a safety barrier where there is one. If you cannot get out safely, stay in the car with your seat belts and hazard lights on and call 999.
3. Get help. Use the free emergency telephone, or call National Highways on 0300 123 5000, then your breakdown provider. Wait well away from the vehicle.

What to leave alone, with the rule behind each one:

Rule 277 sends a driver whose vehicle develops a problem to an emergency area or the hard shoulder, so stopping there is allowed. It is not a licence to work there. If you have a hearing, speech or physical impairment, National Highways lists a text number for roadside assistance, 0738 028 3600, and rule 279 tells a driver whose disability prevents them from following the steps to stay in the vehicle with hazard lights and seat belt on and to call 999.

What you need

From the handbook procedures we read (a Jaguar and a Land Rover, both in UK English): the jack, the wheel brace, the locking wheel nut adaptor if the car has locking nuts, and a wheel chock. To that, add what National Highways suggests keeping in the car: a hi-vis jacket, a torch, warm clothes and your breakdown cover details. The Highway Code asks for light-coloured or fluorescent clothing in daylight and reflective clothing at night or in poor visibility (rule 276).

You also need a spare that is inflated and fits your car's wheel fixings, and the knowledge of where the jacking points are. Most new cars now come without a spare at all: see spare wheel, space saver or tyre repair kit.

The steps, with the reason for each

1. Park on firm, level ground, off the road, away from traffic. The Jaguar text says to make sure the car and the jack are both on firm level ground, and to switch on the hazard lights.
2. Secure the car. Apply the parking brake and engage Park, or the gear your handbook says. Put the front wheels straight ahead and engage the steering lock. When one rear wheel is lifted, the Jaguar text warns, Park will not stop the car rolling because the parking brake works on the rear wheels, so chock the wheel diagonally opposite the one you are changing. On a slight slope that cannot be avoided, it adds a chock on the downhill side of the two opposite wheels.
3. Everyone out, to a safe place. Passengers and animals leave the car and stand away from the road. Place a warning triangle behind the car if you are not on a motorway (the Highway Code's 45 metres, taking great care when placing and retrieving it), and put on hi-vis.
4. Take the spare out of the boot before you jack up. Jaguar says to remove the spare wheel prior to jacking the vehicle, to avoid destabilising it when raised.
5. Loosen the nuts while the wheel is on the ground. Do not take them off yet. Jaguar warns that the brace may slip off if not properly attached, and the nuts may release suddenly. Fit the locking nut adaptor if you have locking nuts.
6. Find the jacking point. Use only the points your handbook gives. Jaguar's text says to raise the car only if the jack head is fully engaged in the jacking point, and its handbook describes triangular indicators on the sill covers. Never place anything between the jack and the ground, or between the jack and the car.
7. Lift slowly and steadily, and only far enough. Land Rover's text says to avoid rapid, jerky actions that can make the car or the jack unstable. Jaguar says to stop when the tyre just clears the ground, because minimum tyre lift gives maximum stability. Some guides say lift to 10 cm or six inches; the maker's text says no higher than needed.
8. Never put any part of your body under the car, and do not start the engine. Jaguar's warning is that no person should place any portion of their body under a car supported by a jack, and that the engine must not be started or run while the car is supported only by a jack.
9. Remove the nuts and the wheel. Put the nuts where they cannot roll away. Land Rover says not to lay the wheel on its face, which can damage the finish. A wheel is heavy: the Jaguar text says wheels can cause injuries if not handled correctly.
10. Clean the contact faces and fit the spare. EUWA, the wheel makers' association, says the matching contact surfaces of hub and wheel must be clean, with nothing between wheel and hub. Fit the nuts lightly by hand and check the wheel sits evenly on the hub (Land Rover).
11. Lower the car until the tyre touches the ground, then tighten crosswise. See the next section. Do not overtighten with foot pressure or an extension bar (Jaguar).
12. Lower the car fully, remove the jack, tighten to the torque. Put everything back in the boot, with the removed wheel, and check the tyre pressure of the wheel you fitted as soon as possible (Land Rover).

No document we read describes a method for freeing a wheel that is stuck on the hub, so we do not give one: if it will not come, that is a job for a breakdown service.

Tightening: order, torque and the second check

EUWA's ES 1.07 says to fasten the screws or nuts to the torque in the vehicle maker's instructions, with a torque wrench, progressively to the final torque and not in one go, in a crosswise sequence: one screw, then the opposite one or the farthest away. Doing it clockwise or anticlockwise risks deforming the wheel centre and causing vibrations (3.5 and 3.6). Worked out from that rule, the order for 4, 5 and 6 nuts, numbering them clockwise from any nut, is:

Jaguar's text has you go round once lightly with the car still jacked, then lower the jack and tighten fully in the same sequence.

The torque is the car's, and it differs. A Jaguar procedure says to have the nuts tightened with a torque wrench at the earliest opportunity to 125 N·m (92 lb ft), and not to exceed it. A Land Rover procedure says 133 N·m (98 lb ft), and that if it is not possible to torque the nuts at the roadside they should be set to the torque as soon as possible. Those are two cars. Yours is in your handbook; we explain why it is the car's number in wheel nut torque: how tight, which nuts, locking nuts. Do not put grease or oil on the threads unless the handbook says so: EUWA says nuts and stud threads should be carefully cleaned and should not be lubricated unless the vehicle maker's manual specifies otherwise.

Then check the torque again. Four documents give four distances:

A check at about 31 miles (50 km) is at or after the shortest distance in the table and inside the longest range. Our conversion: 50 km is 31 miles, 100 km is 62 miles, and 25 miles is 40 km.

The nuts that are not yours

Two traps catch drivers at the roadside.

A steel spare on alloy wheels. EUWA ES 1.02 (4.3.1) says all mounting parts, including special parts for steel and alloy wheels, must fit exactly to the wheel being mounted and may not be interchanged, because confusion can damage the stud holes and finally cause the wheel to fail. McGard's instructions add that if your spare is on a steel wheel and your road wheels are aluminium, the original nuts should stay in the car for the spare. So check, before you need it, whether the nuts on your road wheels fit the spare's seat.

Locking nuts. Jaguar says locking wheel nuts can be removed and fitted only with the special adaptor in the tool kit, and that a code number is stamped on the adaptor to quote if you need a replacement. McGard says a lock should be tightened to the torque in the car's manual, with no impact gun. If the key is lost, Carbuyer advises asking a specialist rather than a removal kit.

After the change

• Check the pressure of the fitted wheel as soon as possible, and set it to the label's figure (see tyre pressure). If your car has a pressure warning, it may need resetting afterwards: MOT, TPMS and aftermarket wheels explains the two kinds of system.
• Re-check the nuts at the distance above.
• Have the flat tyre looked at: see slow puncture for what can and cannot be repaired.
• A temporary spare has its own limits, set out in the spare wheel guide linked above.
• In the MOT, one loose or missing nut, bolt or stud is a major defect, more than one is dangerous, and a wheel and fixings that do not match is major (DVSA MOT manual, 5.2.1 and 5.2.2).

Wheels from Onyx Forged

The bolts or nuts have to suit the wheel, and the fixings belong to the same fitting appointment as the tyres. Our wheels are made to your car's specifications, centre bore included, with no spacers or spigot rings, so the car's own locking nut adaptor and spare may not match what is on the car after a change. Check them before you need them by the roadside. If you are unsure which fixings a made-to-order wheel takes, ask customer service before fitting, not after. The Onyx Forged design office does not give a torque for your car: it is the car maker's.

Frequently asked questions

Can you change a wheel on a motorway?

You should not. National Highways says do not attempt repairs on your vehicle, and puts it under getting safe: go left, get behind the barrier, and call. The Highway Code (rule 277) lists the same instruction. Use an emergency telephone or call National Highways on 0300 123 5000, then your breakdown provider.

Is it illegal to change a tyre on the hard shoulder?

We found no rule in the Highway Code or on National Highways' page that names a tyre change as an offence. What the Highway Code does say is that you MUST NOT stop on the hard shoulder except in an emergency, and rule 277 sends a driver with a problem there. National Highways says not to attempt repairs: the advice is to wait and call.

How tight should wheel nuts be?

To the torque in your handbook. Two handbooks we read give 125 and 133 N·m (92 and 98 lb ft), for two different cars.

How soon should I re-check the nuts?

EUWA says after about 50 to 100 km (31 to 62 miles); the UN rule's fitting instructions say 50 km; one locking nut maker says 25 miles. A check at about 31 miles (50 km) matches all four wordings.

In what order do I tighten the wheel nuts?

Crosswise: one nut, then the opposite one or the farthest away. For five nuts, 1, 3, 5, 2, 4. Never round the circle in order.

Should I loosen the nuts before or after jacking?

Before, while the wheel is still on the ground. Jaguar's text says to slacken but not remove the nuts before raising the car.

How high should I lift the car?

Only until the tyre just clears the ground, according to Jaguar's text: the minimum lift gives the maximum stability.

What if I have no spare or no jack?

Many new cars have a tyre repair kit instead, and some have nothing. Read our guide to spare wheel, space saver or tyre repair kit, and call your breakdown service if you have no way to change the wheel.

Where to go next

If you want to know why the nuts need a torque wrench, read wheel nut torque; a vibration after a change may be a balance matter, and a kerbed wheel is covered in alloy wheel repair. Onyx Forged is a French brand of made-to-order forged wheels, designed to JWL/VIA standards: see Onyx Forged and the catalogue.

Sources

• GOV.UK, The Highway Code, Breakdowns and incidents (275 to 287); Motorways (253 to 273); Annex 6, vehicle maintenance, safety and security (updated 22 October 2025).
• National Highways, Driving on motorways: what to do if you break down.
• Jaguar, owner's information, Wheel changing; Land Rover, owner's information, Wheel changing.
• EUWA, ES 1.07, Safety and Service Instructions for the use of Wheels in Tyre Workshops (June 2020), section 3; EUWA, ES 1.02, Using Description Including the Fixation (May 2011), section 4.3.
• UN Regulation No. 124, replacement wheels, Annex 10, section 1.4.
• McGard, installation and removal instructions; Carbuyer, locking wheel nuts explained (17 May 2021).
• GOV.UK, MOT inspection manual, section 5.2.
• NIST Special Publication 811, Appendix B.9, conversion factors.

All pages were read on 15 October 2026.

The Onyx Forged design office.