How to Handle a Tire Blowout
Rapid loss of tire pressure — also known as a tire “blowout” — might cause you to lose control, leading to damage to your vehicle and possibly endangering you or your family.
There are things you should and should not do if you lose tire pressure. These tips from safercar.gov can help keep you safe during a tire blowout:
- • Gradually release the accelerator. Do not apply the brakes or suddenly release the accelerator — these actions can affect handling and may lead to loss of control of your vehicle.
- • Correct the steering as necessary to stabilize your vehicle and regain control. Look where you want the vehicle to go and steer in that direction.
- • Once your vehicle has stabilized, continue to slow down and pull off the road where and when you judge it’s safe to do so.
- • Remember, no matter which tire blows out — front or back — the dos and don’ts for safely maintaining control of your vehicle are exactly the same. The only difference between a front and rear tire blowout is that you will feel the force of a front blowout more in the vehicle’s steering, while you’ll feel a rear blowout more in the seat or body of the vehicle.
Safercar.gov also recommends that you check your tire pressure at least once a month, as most tires lose air over time and it’s difficult to determine whether a tire is properly inflated just by looking at it.
It’s easy to keep tabs on your tire pressure if you sign up to receive the OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics report for your car. Each month you’ll receive a report via email to let you know what’s going on with your vehicle, including tire pressure and key information about your transmission system, emissions and antilock brakes.