How do I deal with a flat tyre in a car with no spare wheel?

A tyre puncture is a very irritating, inconvenient and potentially dangerous problem to encounter on the road. I recently picked up a screw in the tyre of a brand new BMW iX3 I was reviewing, and as with many cars, it doesn’t come with a spare wheel.

It does, however, come with a puncture repair kit – which is a pump that re-inflates the tyre while also applying a gel, designed to temporarily stem the leaking air.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), this wasn’t my first rodeo, so I took the time to document what you should do if you find yourself in the same situation.

Step one: pay attention to your car

While a lot of new cars come with a tyre-pressure monitoring system (TPMS), not all cars do. That’s why it’s vital to pay attention to your car, both while it’s parked and on the move. Before you get in, it’s worth taking a glance at your tyres to see if any look a bit flat.

While moving, pay attention to the driving characteristics. Is the car pulling to one side, do potholes feel particularly sharp or can you feel a new vibration? All of those are symptoms of a flat tyre.

If so, turn the radio off and listen out for a ticking or even a hiss, if the puncture is bad enough. If the tyre is particularly flat it’ll make a low rumbling sound. Even if you’re not sure, it’s time to pull over safely and inspect. Most importantly, don’t panic.

Step two: pull over safely and quickly

Whether your TPMS lets you know or you suspect you might have a puncture, don’t ignore it. If you’re on a quiet, residential street, pull over to the next available parking space. Fortunately I was doing the school run in a quiet area in the iX3, which made life a bit easier.

If you’re on a busy high street, dual carriageway or motorway, you need to put a bit more thought into where you stop. Pull into the left lane as soon as you can, and if you’re slowly losing pressure, see if you can make it to a service station or the next junction – or ideally a tyre shop.

If you’re losing pressure quickly, or the tyre is flat, pull over onto the hard shoulder – or Emergency Refuge Area on a smart motorway.

Step three: assess the situation

At this point, if there’s ample space, you can inspect the tyres. If you’re concerned about traffic on the motorway, just call for assistance and get behind the safety barrier. It’s not worth the risk.

I’d managed to pick up a pretty gnarly screw in my tyre, sticking out from the tread at an awkward angle, hissing away as the precious air escaped. Tread punctures are manageable, but if the puncture is on the tyre sidewall, it’s game over. Call for recovery.

Annoyingly, the BMW iX3 doesn’t come with a spare tyre, but there is a tyre repair kit situated in the front boot. Check your car thoroughly under the boot floor, behind any hidden panels or even in the glove compartment, as they’re not in the same place in every vehicle.

Step four: remove the object

Now comes the daunting part, but rest assured, it’s not a difficult process with a little bit of patience. Again, only do this step if the puncture is on the main tread, not the sidewall.

Your priority now is to remove the screw, nail or whatever it is that’s caused the puncture. It isn’t possible to repair a puncture if the culprit is still present.

You might not be able to get the item out by hand, and really it’s not advisable to, either. You’ll want to find a pair of pliers – whether that means knocking on someone’s door or asking another motorist. Bear in mind that there’s pressured air involved, so you’ll want a firm grip on whatever is lodged in there.

Luckily, there were some builders next to where I pulled over who lent me some pliers. I managed to rip out the enormous screw, as it wasn’t twisting out. Just look at the size of it…oof.

Step five: connect the repair kit

This can vary slightly from car to car, but the basic principle is the same: connect the pump to the air valve, turn it on and inflate the tyre.

Some pumps plug-in to the car’s 12-volt power supply, whereas others – as in the iX3 – are battery-powered. If it’s a wired-connection, you’ll have to stay stationary, keeping an eye on the tyre pressure as it inflates. Pay attention to the leak, too, because it should get quieter and ideally stop, as the repair gel seals it from the inside.

Rather annoyingly, my puncture was far too big for the repair kit to properly seal it up. Normally I would have been stuffed, waiting for breakdown assistance to help me out, but the iX3 had a trick up its sleeve.

BMW’s repair kit is brilliant, frankly. It’s battery powered and attaches to the centre of the wheel magnetically. You leave it turned on while driving and it maintains 2.0 bar (29 PSI) of pressure, just enough to get you out of harm’s way.

If, however, the pressure is still dropping quickly, don’t risk driving the car. Call for breakdown assistance instead.

Step six: get moving

With the leak hopefully stemmed, or in my case being maintained to a sustainable level, you can get back on the road. In an ideal world you’ll head straight to a tyre shop to replace the tyre, as repair gel is a temporary fix.

It was late in the afternoon when I had the puncture, meaning that my local tyre shops were closed. Even if you can nurse the car home, your first stop must be a tyre repair shop as soon as one is open – the gel isn’t there to be a permanent fix.

Fortunately I could get the iX3 home and parked safely, and BMW was happy to deal with the tyre when collecting the car from me later in the week.

Bear in mind, you must drive sensibly on a temporarily-repaired tyre. There’s a far higher risk of blow-out at high speeds, and the tyre coming off the wheel at low pressures. The BMW’s pump indicates a maximum speed of 50mph, as does the owner’s manual – which you must check.

Step seven: replace the tyre

It’s always advisable to replace a punctured tyre, because there’s no real way of telling how compromised its integrity is once damaged. This can be an expensive nuisance, unfortunately.

It is possible to patch a tyre that’s been punctured, but if you’ve used a repair kit, the inside of the tyre needs to be thoroughly cleaned and de-greased for a repair patch to hold well.

After thoughts on tyre punctures

As someone who’s mechanically inclined, I find the increasing lack of spare wheels irritating. I’d much rather jack the car up, replace the tyre and be back on my way in ten minutes, with the peace of mind that the spare is going to hold air until I can get my tyre replaced.

This also means that you can get back on the road should your tyre suffer sidewall damage. There’s no guarantee that a gel-based repair kit will actually stop a badly-punctured tyre from leaking, so you might end up wasting your time and energy to no avail.

If you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty, there’s another solution which could keep you moving, and you can take it from car to car: a tyre plugin kit. It’s a more reliable temporary solution to repairing a puncture, but it means taking the wheel off the car – which you might not be equipped to do.

Once you get the wheel off the car, you use the provided sanding tool to smooth out the edges of the puncture. After that, you use another tool to push a rubber strip into the hole, trim off the excess and plug the leak.

It may seem daunting, but it’s not the end of the world if you get a puncture. If your car has a repair kit, fantastic. If it has a spare tyre, even better, but the most important thing is to pull over safely and to make sure you’re not in any danger. If you’re unsure of what to next, just call for help, and hopefully you’ll be on your way again in no time.

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*Savings are made up of the maximum dealer discount off RRP – subject to dealership, location and trim. Prices correct at the time of writing.