Flat Tyre and No Spare Wheel? Your Options, Fast

No. It is not illegal to drive without a spare tyre in the UK, and you cannot fail an MOT for having no spare. Many new cars come without one. What the law does check is the tyres on the road: tread, damage and pressure. If you carry a spare and use it, it must be legal too.

That means a spare that has sat in the boot for ten years needs a look. Rubber cracks with age even when it is never used. A cracked or flat spare is worse than no spare, because you only find out at the roadside. If yours is more than a few years old, have a look at the date code on the sidewall. Our guide to cracked and perished tyres shows what old rubber looks like.

The rules for the tyres on the road are simple. At least 1.6mm of tread across the central three quarters, all the way round. No cuts to the cords, no bulges. Up to £2,500 and 3 points for each tyre that fails. Read UK tyre law for the full list, or call 0300 124 6981 if a tyre looks wrong.

New cars often skip the spare wheel to save weight, cost and boot space. Less weight helps the official fuel and emissions figures. On many electric and hybrid cars the battery sits where the spare used to be. In its place you get a sealant kit and a pump, or run flat tyres, or sometimes nothing.

It suits car makers more than drivers. A sealant kit is light and cheap, but it cannot deal with a sidewall cut or a blowout. Run flats get you home, but they cost more to replace and can ride a bit firmer. And some cars get nothing at all, which catches out a lot of drivers. The spare, run flat or sealant guide sets out what each one really does for you.

Some drivers buy a space saver spare and jack for the boot. Check it fits over the brakes on your car, and that there is room for it. Others keep our number and let the van do the work. Either way, know your plan before you need it. See emergency tyre fitting or call 0300 124 6981.

No. A tyre sealant kit only works on a small hole in the main tread, usually from a nail or a screw. It cannot seal a cut in the sidewall, a large gash, a tyre that has come off the rim, or a blowout. Even when it works, it is a short term fix to get you somewhere safe.

If the tyre will not hold air after the kit, stop trying. Pumping a tyre with a split in it wastes the sealant and your time. Look at where the damage is. On the sidewall or near the edge? A kit will not help. Neither will more air from the pump. The honest answer is a new tyre, fitted where the car is. Our nail in tyre guide explains why the spot matters so much.

If it does seal, drive gently and keep under the speed on the kit label. Get the tyre checked soon. Tell the fitter you used sealant, because it has to be cleaned out before any proper puncture repair. Not sure it worked? Send us a photo on WhatsApp or call 0300 124 6981.

Most run flat tyres are made to go a limited distance at reduced speed after a puncture. Many makers quote around 50 miles at up to 50mph, but the true figure depends on the car, the tyre and the load. Your handbook has the number for your car. Treat it as a way home, not a way to finish the trip.

The car tells you a run flat is down through the tyre pressure light. You may not feel it at all, which is the point. Do not ignore the light. Slow down and plan the next few miles. Pick the nearest safe place to stop, not the furthest one you might reach. Our guide to the tyre pressure warning light explains what it means when it comes on.

Once a run flat has been driven with no air, it often needs replacing, not repairing. The inside can be damaged where you cannot see it. We fit run flats at home, at work or at the roadside, so there is no need to crawl to a garage. Read run flat tyres explained or call 0300 124 6981.

No, not on a normal tyre. Driving on a flat destroys the tyre within a short distance and can bend or crack the wheel rim. It also makes steering and braking unsafe. Only move far enough, at walking pace, to get off a busy road. Run flat tyres are the one exception, and only within their limits.

A flat tyre folds under the rim as it turns. The sidewall gets crushed and heats up. A puncture that could have been a simple repair becomes a new tyre, and sometimes a new wheel as well. It can also pull the car sideways under braking, which is the last thing you want on a busy road. The puncture repair rules explain why a tyre driven flat is usually scrap. It is one of the most common ways a cheap fix turns into a dear one.

Home might be a mile away. It still is not worth it. Stay where you are, somewhere safe, and let the tyre come to you. We fit at the kerb, on the drive or in a car park. See mobile tyre fitting for how it works, or call 0300 124 6981 now.

Yes. That is exactly when a mobile fitter helps most. We bring a new tyre in your size to wherever the car is, take the flat off and fit the new one there. You never need a spare, a jack or a sealant kit. Home, work or the roadside, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The van carries the common sizes, so most jobs are fitted on the first visit. For less common sizes we tell you honestly when we can get one, rather than guess. Send the size from the sidewall or just the registration, and we check. A photo of the damage helps too, so we know whether a repair is likely before we arrive. Our tyre sizes page lists the sizes we fit most.

There is no call out charge, because fitting is priced into the tyre. The price we send is the price you pay at the car. In our core area we reach drivers in around 32 minutes on average. See where we cover or call 0300 124 6981 to check your spot.

Often, yes, because the fitter fixes the problem where the car is. Recovery usually means waiting for a truck, then waiting again at a garage while they find a tyre and fit it. A mobile fitter brings the tyre and fits it on the spot, so there is one wait and you drive away.

Breakdown cover is still worth having. If the car has a wider fault, or it is stuck somewhere unsafe to work, recovery is the right call. On a motorway hard shoulder, call for help and wait behind the barrier. Nobody should change a wheel there. The traffic is too close and too fast, however careful you are. Our motorway blowout guide covers that case.

For a flat on a street, a drive, a car park or a safe lay by, the tyre is the only problem. So bring the tyre. No tow truck, no garage queue and no second trip to collect the car later. About 20 to 40 minutes per tyre once we arrive, with the wheel balanced and the pressure set. Read emergency fitting or call 0300 124 6981.

Keep the sealant kit and pump, the locking wheel nut key, a torch, a warning triangle and a charged phone. Add a high visibility vest and a warm layer for winter nights. Save a mobile tyre fitter number too. None of it takes much room, and it turns a bad night into a short wait.

The locking nut key is the one people forget. Without it, nobody can take the wheel off quickly, us included. It usually lives in the glovebox or under the boot floor. Check it is there today. Put it back in the same place every time the wheels come off. If it is lost, read lost locking nut key before you need a tyre.

Only use a warning triangle where it is safe to walk back and place it. Never on a motorway. Keep a note of your tyre size too, for example 205/55 R16. A photo of the sidewall on your phone does the job. It makes the first message to a fitter quicker. Our guide to reading your tyre size shows where to find it. Or call 0300 124 6981.

It can be worth it if you drive long distances, tow, or often travel where help is far away. A space saver spare and jack give you a way out of a sidewall cut that a sealant kit cannot fix. Check it clears the brakes on your car and fits in the boot before you buy.

A space saver is a narrow temporary wheel. It has a lower speed limit printed on it, often 50mph. It is for getting to a tyre fitter, not for weeks of driving. It also wears fast and handles differently from your other tyres. Our guide on how to change a wheel walks through fitting one safely, on firm, flat ground away from traffic.

If most of your driving is local, you may not need it. Town drivers are rarely far from help, and a space saver just eats boot space. A fitter who comes to you does the same job without the weight in the boot. Weigh up the options in spare vs run flat vs sealant. Want a straight view on your car? Call 0300 124 6981.

A flat tyre can often be repaired if a small object made a hole in the central tread and the tyre was not driven on flat. Damage to the sidewall or shoulder, a large hole, or a tyre driven on with no air means a new tyre. The only way to be sure is to take it off and check inside.

We repair to the British Standard BS AU 159 for £39.95. The tyre comes off the rim, gets inspected inside, and the hole is sealed from the inside. That standard allows repairs in the central three quarters of the tread, up to 6mm. Our puncture repair page explains the process step by step.

If the tyre cannot be repaired safely, we tell you and fit a new one there and then. No second visit. That is why it helps to send the size before we set off. A tyre can look fine from outside and still be damaged on the inner liner, so we always check. See can a puncture be repaired for the full rules, or call 0300 124 6981.

It can make a repair harder, but it does not always rule one out. The sealant has to be cleaned out of the tyre and off the wheel before the fitter can inspect inside and fit a proper repair. Some sealants also coat the pressure sensor, so tell the fitter you used a kit.

Most kit instructions say to get the tyre checked soon after use. Do that. Sealant holds air for a short while. It is not a repair, and it does not meet the repair standard. Drive gently until the tyre is looked at, and check the pressure again after a few miles. Our guide on slow punctures explains what happens when a tyre keeps losing air after a quick fix.

When we arrive, we take the tyre off and look inside. If the hole is in the right place and the tyre is sound, we repair it. If not, we fit a new one. Either way you know before we start. If the pressure light stays on afterwards, see TPMS sensors or call 0300 124 6981.