I have traveled to a handful of wonderful destinations in my life. Some of those places were big cities where I managed to get by with public transportation, but most of those places were not. Most of those places had me wanting to bop from city, to city, to city. This required renting a car, and I have driven in some relatively stressful situations (Rome, single back roads of Ireland/Scotland, sitting on broken glass in LA after a break-in, the autobahn…actually the autobahn is a blast to drive on), but nothing gives me more anxiety than the possibility of one specific situation.
A flat tire.
I have been blessed to drive in multiple countries and states with minimal car troubles (I had to put air in a tire once in a tiny town of Italy, but it was like a 6/10 on the stress scale), but the dreaded flat tire finally happened to me. In my own town. In my driveway. I’ve had punctured tires before, but nothing to the point I couldn’t immediately drive to the tire shop for a repair.
This time, my tire was so flat I didn’t dream of driving on it. Actually I did, but Duncan told me no.
I stumbled upon the above scene at 0750 on a Thursday, just ten minutes before I was meant to be at work. I shamefully have never changed a tire in my life, and I had no intention of calling AAA when the car was sitting safely in my driveway. I needed Duncan to help me change this tire, but I would have to wait for him to be off work later that day.
Instead of calling out entirely (which I will be doing next time), I rode my bike to work. I will not be doing that again. This entire situation caused more stress than it needed to, but I have a tendency to want to fix problems IMMEDIATELY. This was certainly a problem that could have waited for the following day, alas I did not want to wait.
Thank you to my hero Duncan, he showed me how to change the tire myself next time, though I don’t think I will be doing that.
My weak feeble arms could never in their wildest dreams be able to loosen those tire lug bolts. Duncan showed me how to use my foot to kick down on the arm of the tool to loosen them, but I hope to never have to attempt that. Duncan put the spare tire on for me, we took the flat to Discount Tire where they were able to fix the tire for free, and all was well again.
I had to rely on my knight in shining armor for this car problem, but I was able to redeem myself the following Monday.
I had an oil change scheduled where everything went according to plan, but my engine and cabin air filters were both in need of a swap. I have been wanting to change my own cabin air filter for YEARSSS now, so I finally decided it was time. I wasn’t familiar with the engine filter so I let them fix it for a whopping $70. I immediately watched a video on how to do this myself next time, and it’s just as easy as the cabin filter.
I bought a $20 replacement filter from the auto store, and managed to replace this all by myself! Well, I needed Duncan’s brute force again to get the glove box off, but overall IT WAS ALL ME OK! Toyota wanted $80 for this job, no way. Kick rocks Toyota! There are few things in life that bring me more joy than saving money, making money, or finding money (coins on the ground.)
And just like that my car is good as new. My anxiety about getting a flat tire however is still just as strong as ever (specifically in foreign countries.) Something about being stuck in an area you are not from with no cell service, and speaking an entirely different language makes my neck hairs stand up. I really hope I am not manifesting this problem by talking about it so much.
Q’s:
- Do you think a flat tire is a good reason to call out of work, assuming lives don’t depend on you?
- When’s the last time you had to change a tire?
- Have you ever changed your own cabin air filter?
Blissfulbritt 
51 thoughts on “Tire Troubles”
Ruben Ocasio
Yes, it’s a very good reason to call out of work.
Brittany
Thank you for the confirmation. My manager seemed to think I should still go out of my way to show up. 🤣
mamalisa4
I absolutely think a flat tire is a good reason to call out of work. Life is too short. I believe these inconveniences are supposed to happen. Let life carry you and ride the wave! With that being said, although I do a lot, changing a tire or a filter is not for me. I’m going to have to draw the line somewhere and it appears its right before I get on the ground and ticker with wrench! LOL Glad it all worked out!
Brittany
Life is too short, amen! I honestly don’t want to ever have to change a flat tire, but it’s nice to have seen it done JUST IN CASE. But I could also see myself walking to a nearby town to call someone before attempting to change my own tire. 🤣
Diana
Car problems stress me out so much as well, so I totally feel this. It’s been so cold here my car has struggled to start this week and that’s been a source of stress every day too of will it actually start so I can go to work. I’m glad you were able to get your tire fixed!
Brittany
Oh no!! Having a car struggle to start is very stressful. I’m sorry you’re dealing with that. I’m ready for winter to be over. 🤣
Diana
Oh gosh, me too!
Vanmarmot's Travels
I’ve changed tires over the years, so no issues with that. But we had a flat just last week in a rental car and soon discovered that the car (from Hertz) didn’t have a spare or any tools – all these had been intentionally removed from the trunk. Seems Hertz is scared that a renter will change a tire badly, it will fall off, and that will lead to a crash, lawsuits, etc. They want you to call them (or AAA) for help. Which is great unless you’re on some lonely road in the middle of nowhere with no cell service. Now I’m stressed about flat tires in rentals…
Brittany
New fear unlocked for rental cars. As if I couldn’t be more anxious about them! But honestly, I would likely call AAA for a rental anyway, but I wonder if other countries also forgo the spare now.
Something about not having cell service in an emergency gives me such stress. I guess this is when we have to rely on strangers. 🤣
Liz H-H
I had a pancake flat, right in my garage. After much sweating & swearing, I got the bolts off, but the tire wouldn’t budge. States that salt their roads cause degradation to the wheelbase. At least, that’s what the burly tow truck driver said; he couldn’t get the wheel off, either.
Uffda!
Brittany
Ohhh my gosh. All that work to get the bolts off and then the tire not budging would SET ME OVER THE EDGE! But if the tow truck guy couldn’t get it either you know it was the only option. Brutal.
Peg
I think that I and some friends who were riding with me started to change a flat on the interstate way back when I was in college, but a trucker stopped and helped us. I was thinking you would have a hard time with the lug nuts because those are put on with an air-powered wrench and would be extremely tight. But thanks for the tip on kicking the tire iron with your foot! Any sort of car problem when on the road is VERY stressful to me. I have not changed any kind of filter on my car and I am not about to start at this age! That’s for you young’uns. Great blog post as usual, Brittany!
Brittany
I think some of the pressure would evaporate if I had others with me to attempt changing a tire. I’m always paranoid it will happen when I’m solo.
Duncan has the strength of Thor and was able to get the lug nuts off smoothly, but even stomping on it I could see myself struggling. Alas, if I were solo I know I could do it. Adrenaline would take over. 🤣
EJ Blogs
Ugh changing tyres! I used to do a 180mile a day commute so sadly I had my share of flat tyres 😢 Im very hands on so have always just got on with changing them – my worst memory, 6 months pregnant on the side of a busy motorway in the pitch black and pouring rain as lorries splashed by – of course the tyre was on the road side 😭 I now also carry an extension bar for those tough wheel bolts (lug nuts!), a proper (but lightweight) jack instead of the silly things that get supplied with cars by the manufacturer, and when I had a low car I also carried a couple of wooden chocks so I could get the jack underneath 😂 AAA (or AA in the UK!) eat your heart out 😋 Well done for changing your own, hopefully it’ll never happen again, but at least you’ll know what to do 😁
Brittany
Wow, you deserve a badass award for changing a tire in the dark, while raining, and PREGNANT!?
You share some good tips for things to have on hand to encourage me to try this myself alone next time. Duncan, my boyfriend, also recommended a proper jack to have in the car.
Fingers crossed I don’t have to think about this for many years (or ever.)
Rootchopper
Whenever my bike broke down on the way to work (only 3 times in my career), I would call the office to say I’d be late because of “car trouble”.
I haven’t changed my cabin air filter but my mechanic is merciful and does it for a few bucks. It’s easy to do; I’m just lazy.
My son learned how to change tires in driver ed. It’s incredibly good at it. Of course, flying him home from Thailand is kind of a deal killer.
If you live near a building construction site, try to avoid the area with your car. Also, try not to drive on the edge of the road or through the debris in the middle of an intersection. This is where you will encounter nails, screws, pieces of car parts, etc.
With any kind of luck, you won’t have to deal with this again for years. Knock wood.
Brittany
The irony is that this was my second screw in the tire in a matter of two months. Thankfully the first one I caught quickly enough to drive over to Discount Tire. I have no idea where that one came from, but I suspect this second one was from the auto shop my mom left her car (I picked her up.)
I’ve had some coworkers have tire troubles and come in late, but for me if I didn’t have the bike it would have been an entire call out. I’m not going to pay an Uber to work retail. (I don’t use Uber anyway.)
I’m also lazy with car stuff, like with my wipers a few months back. I can change them myself, but I chose to be lazy. So then I got them for cheap from the tire shop. They ended up working out decent enough.
mjeanpike
It is stressful under any circumstances. I would definitely have called off work and gotten it taken care of. I’m glad you have a “knight in shining armor” to help with such things 🙂
Brittany
I’m glad too. I can be a bit stubborn and try to do most things myself, but I was glad to pass this off to him.
C.A. Post
You drive in ROME⁉️ Are you some kind of narcissistic masochist?!😂
I’ve been to Rome twice and would give my right arm away before trying to drive there.
Glad you survived.❤️🙏
Brittany
I know, I sometimes can’t believe I did that. I drove in and out of the city multiple times in a week period. I would not do that again.
The worst part though was trying to find a place to park at the Air B&B I booked. The listing said there was parking available, which is the main thing I looked for, but it turned out the parking was first come first serve. I had to message the host in the wee hours of the morning (we drove from Munich in one day) to ask her what was up. Thankfully she was kind and I parked on the street until the following day and snagged a spot closer to the listing. Ohhh what a time. I wouldn’t do that again. 🤣
C.A. Post
Also, it appears Duncan is a “keeper!”😉 Marry him before someone else gets the idea!
Brittany
He will like this comment. 🥰
Warren
I used to book sick because I wanted to go for a run instead….so yeah, I can see doing that for a flat tire, I have changed out a cabin filter…..and I just thought of this, what do you call a guy with a car on his head…..jack.
Brittany
LOL at calling out for a run, I love that. As someone else commented…life is too short! Good joke! 🤣
Duncan
That was certainly an unfortunate circumstance to be in, but I was very happy to help, and attempt to walk you through it!
I’m still surprised that you decided to bike to work instead of taking the day off, but everything worked out in the end.
Proud of you for changing that filter, it’s amazing to think of all the little things we can do to save some money here and there, it adds up quicker that one would imagine!
And I can relate to a fear of a flat tire, its the last thing I want to happen on a commute!
xoxo
Brittany
I admit some of my anxiety for a “closer to home” flat tire is gone thanks to you. I know you are always one call away.
You know I won’t be biking again. Unless I choose to for fun.
We should check you cabin air filter…
XoXo
hdsalmon
Calling in sick on a flat tire would be totally acceptable in my opinion. Sometimes it is better to just go back to bed. I drove around for 2 weeks with an 8 inch nail in my tire a few months ago.
The tire had a slow leak. So slow that it only lost a pound of pressure about every other day. I was subbing at the school one of the days and the tire looked flatter than the others, so I quickly remembered the new tire inflator under the seat. It plugs into the A/C adaptor outlet. It took me 45 minutes to figure out I had no clue what I was doing. I was angry, hot flashes, and cussing mad in the elementary parking lot. I made it home and my husband walks out and has it figured out in 2 seconds…..that made me more mad than I was in the first place! He checked the tire with dish soap to see if he could find the leak, and alas, nothing. No bubbles.
We took it to the Subaru dealer in Fayetteville, Arkansas to get the oil changed and asked them to look at the tire. I believe they completely forgot to check. They rotated it from the rear driver’s side to the front passenger’s side and we made it all the way home (2.25 hours away) AND down a bumpy dirt road 1.3 miles……and then the leak was quicker.
This time, we were parked just right and between the tight tread, there appeared to be a rock. My husband got some needle nosed pliers out and started pulling on this “rock” and it grew longer and longer, like pulling out a parasite……I was shocked, he was shocked. I should have videoed it. Luckily, we had a plug set and some tire glue. (I have no idea the technical terms). It is still holding up. I think it was september.
Brittany
OH MY GOSH!!! What a story. I am amazed that nail didn’t do more damage quicker. Two weeks with that in the tire is unreal!
I had to laugh at your elementary parking lot scenario, I would have been doing the same as you. Is the tire inflator a Subaru specific feature, or is this something you purchased separate?? That sounds like a GREAT tool to have in the car.
hdsalmon
Initially we bought it at kohl’s before Christmas a couple years ago for my son’s car, but found a better one to give our son that was a bundle deal, like, tire inflator plus battery jumper with cables, so we kept the plain one for our car. It was super cheap, like $15. The bundle one was around $50 or $60, but worth it for peace of mind! He was traveling a long ways for college about every other weekend coming home.
Brittany
Awesome, thank you for sharing!
TimeRichFi
Great work on learning to change the filter and now you know how to change a tyre😊
We once had a flat tyre in the middle of a National park in Tasmania. Fortunately we had stopped at a scenic spot. TheHandsomeSurfer had never changed a tyre so we both had to read the manual. Jagged the car got the bolts off, tyre would not come off had to put the bolts back on then drive a few metres. Unfortunately we put the bolts back the wrong way so could not remove them. Had to call roadside assistance wait time was 2.5 hours. Barely had phone service one bar on my phone the other phone had no reception. We took the scenery in and waited we resolved not to let the flat tyre ruin our trip!
Brittany
Wow. What a story! I think having someone else with me if this happens it would make all the difference. I can’t think of a better place to get a flat than in a National park! I’m glad it all worked out for you guys and you didn’t let it ruin your trip.
Atheria
Young lady (in my motherly voice) you do need to be able to change your own tire. That being said, I don’t even know where my cabin air filter is, and I’ve had Ruby for close to 10 years (in June). Ha! It’s NEVER been changed because they want to charge extortionist rates for it. I have changed my own engine air filter myself for years after a stupid oil change place broke off one of the hooks that keeps the plastic lid tightly down on it and didn’t tell me or pay for a new one. I get engine air filters on Amazon for much cheaper than at a store, FYI. Now I do know the air cabin filter is in my glove box SOMEWHERE, but I’ve also heard it’s really hard to get to. I probably “should” change it though. I’m scared to see how black it is. 🙂 I’m not afraid of much driving, but dear Lord the traffic in Panama City was NUTS! I had to close my eyes in taxis as I couldn’t take the nonstop near death incidents. Now, as a fast driver, I would loooooove to drive on the Autobahn!
Brittany
AHHH the cabin air filter is so so easy, you’re right in that it’s just behind the glove box. The hardest part is getting the glove box to fully come out, but a YouTube video helped me immensely. From there it was just a tiny little cubby where it sits. Mine get NASTY after just a handful of months, I can’t imagine what yours looks like. 🤣🤣
Awesome that you change your engine filter though! I’ll attempt that myself next time.
That taxi situation sounds awful. I’d probably have to close my eyes too.
mariezhuikov
I know how to change my own tire (but not air filters – good for you!) But you’re right about those lug nuts. I think they’re a male conspiracy designed to keep us dependent on them. I usually end up standing by the flat, looking helpless and frustrated, and somebody stops to help.
Brittany
I assure you the air filters are MUCH easier! But I think I’d be doing the same as you if I had a flat on the side of a road.
niall
In my opinion a flat is a reasonable reason to be late for work but not to take a day off. If you live a 10min drive from work then it’s walkable or use a different form of transport. The cost of getting there and back must be less than what you get paid for a shift? Then again I’ve been a retail manager and understand the pita it is when people don’t turn up for work 🙂
Brittany
I do agree if you’re close enough you should go in. I could walk theoretically, it would take probably an hour and a half, but I think for me it depends on my job.
Normally I would have asked my mom to take me, but her car was getting a new alternator. The irony!
Biking was easier than walking, but I think because people call out of my place of work so willy nilly I was irritated that I went out of my way to get there when most others wouldn’t. (I think I’m just jaded and it’s clear I need to find a new job.) 🤣
I’m over it now, and if I could do it all again I would just bike to work and fix the tire the following day.
gpavants
Brittney,
Fix it. Too late carpool. Change tire (POP) a like now. Cabin filter great idea. Especially my wive’s asthma.
Thank you, Gary
Gary Avants Forbear Productions * *garyavants66@gmail.com garyavants66@gmail.com
Brittany
All these years I’ve been paying someone else $50-$80 to change the cabin filter. No more!
Amy
Duncan is the BEST. I completely admire you for wanting to learn how to do everything yourself too! There’s something really empowering about fixing car- and home-related things. I’m also right there with you about finding and saving money… One of my favorite things! 😉 I hope all of your car troubles are behind you and you have nothing but good luck for the rest of the year!
Brittany
I hope these car troubles PAUSE for a while!! They are stressful. 🤣 but I admit it’s a bit less stressful having a Duncan. I’m thankful he’s so handy!
Amy
Everybody needs a Duncan in their lives! 😉 SO happy for you that you have him!! ♡
walkwithme413
Totally agree! Changing tires is terrifying, given what could go wrong if not done properly. Leave it to the Duncans/experts…however, I am not above calling AAA when said flat is my driveway.
Brittany
If I didn’t have Duncan, I would have absolutely had to call AAA even with it in my driveway. Counting my blessings he could help!
Enoble Asuquo
We drive bicycles here😊
Brittany
I lived somewhere without a car for two years, and got by with just my bicycle. It was THE BEST.
Allie Zottola
Oh no! Car stuff is so, so stressful to me, too. I totally would have been like you and rode my bike to try and problem solve ASAP haha. I also would have called Duncan (or Jimmy, in my case!) to help/teach me to figure all that out! I can add oil, gasoline, and washer fluid to our car… but that’s about it. I know I could save time and money if I learned to do more haha.
Brittany
I’m mostly with you on the extent of what I can do with my car. Changing the cabin air filter was a new one to add to my list, and it was much easier than I expected. Overall I think I will only mess with my own car if I have to. That’s one thing I am ok letting someone else help/do. LOL
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