The rear driver side tire went flat on the road. I took out the standard Scissor Jack and started to jack up that tire. About half way us the car rolled backwards twisting the jack. Yes it was in park and the parking break was on! How in the heck can the car move backwards? A passerby offered his help. He also tried to jack up the car with my scissor jack and the same thing happened again. Fortunately, he had a 6 Ton Bottle Jack Hydraulic Portable and was able to change my tire.
Recommendations..There is no way a woman could ever change a tire with the jack and lug wrench that comes with the car. Hell, I couldn't ever do it! Also, the lug wrench is too short for most people to use, I did not have enough strength to loosen the lug nuts! If you don't have AAA and you get a flat, you are in trouble. I suggest purchasing a 6 Ton Bottle Jack Hydraulic Portable which is available from Ebay for $20. And get a pipe that fits over the lug wrench to extend it for more tongue.

 

I suggest joining AAA and save your money on a jack you will most likely never use.
If you ever break down on certain toll roads you must use a designated tow service, pay up front, get ripped off, and they will only tow you to the nearest exit when you will have to call another tow service to get you to the nearest repair facility.
A AAA membership will cover you and also provide up to 200 miles of free towing.

Do you intend to change a tire in pouring rain or a snowstorm on your way to a wedding all dressed up

Telcoman

 

I have AAA and called them as soon as I figured out my tire was shot. They said it could take 90 minutes to get to me. Therefore, I figured I would try to replace the tire myself. Little did I know all the problems I would face.
I posted my problems hoping others would learn the serious drawbacks to using the scissor jack and how much strength it takes to loosen the lug nuts.
William

 

What most people will do is put the lug wrench on and then stand on the wrench and bounce up n down. That puts your whole weight on it and will usually break it loose pretty easily.

Just a tip for next time.

 

Thanks, I will try that.

 

Get a 1/2" drive breaker bar and socket and throw the OEM lug wrench in the trash can.

As for the jack failing, the vehicle moved, there's no other explanation. I have a few scraps of 2x4 lumber about 6" long that I tucked in near the spare tire to chock the opposite wheel.

In a pinch you can almost always find SOMETHING to wedge onto both sides of a tire to chock it, large rocks, road debris, anything.

 

A young man stopped to help me. He had a 6 ton bottle hydraulic jack. The car did not move with this jack. The lug nuts were so tight he had to use a breaker bar on the lug wrench to loosen the lug nuts.
My scissor jack is twisted now so I ordered the 6 ton bottle hydraulic jack for $20 with free shipping. Lessons learned.

 

Your parking brake probably needs adjustment or you weren't on level ground. The oem jack isn't great by any means, but it gets the job done. If you have ever driven with the parking brake on, it will wear it out quickly(I think everyone is gulity of this at least once)

 

Ohhh yeah I've definitely smoked a parking brake.

What's that smell?

****!

 

The 6 ton bottle jack isn't the reason for your car not moving. Level and solid ground, chocked wheels, in park or gear, and parking brake on are why the car doesn't move when jacking.

Break the lug nuts loose with the tire wheel still on the ground, before jacking up the car.

 

Also, if you have a coupe, upgrade to the sedan scissor jack. It's made for more weight I've seen! That's what I did, when mine folded just like yours even on a slight incline. Parking brake was weak.

 

wait, did you try to break the lugs loose with the car jacked up??????

 

Thanks! But I am done with scissor jacks. Too flimsy and weak. And once the car moves and you bend it, your done.

 

Hi, no. I always loosen the lug nuts while the tire is still on the ground.

 

Good, I assumed you did but just wanted to double check. Scissor jacks can be flimsy and are not ideal to use them where you actually need to, like on the side of the road. Upgrading to a good bottle jack is worthwhile for piece of mind.