Flat Tire Change Service in Plainfield, IL
BJ Towing provides 24/7 flat tire change service in Plainfield, Illinois. A technician mounts your spare and checks its pressure. If your vehicle has no spare or the spare is unusable, we tow you to the tire shop of your choice on a flatbed.
Swap or tow?
With one bad tire and a usable spare, a roadside swap usually has you moving again. The driver first checks that the car and the spot are safe to work in. Mention run-flat tires or a sealant kit instead of a spare; how far either gets you depends on the tire, the damage and what the automaker says. No jack or lug wrench in the car? That doesn’t rule out a swap; just tell us what tools you have.
A swap works when
- You have a spare that matches the car, isn’t cracked or rotten and holds air
- Only one tire is affected, with no sign the wheel or suspension took a hit
- The wheel can actually come off: no seized hub, and the locking lug key is in the car
- The car sits on flat, solid pavement with room to work clear of traffic
We tow instead when
- The spare is missing or unusable
- Two or more tires are flat
- The wheel is seized on the hub
- Something else about the car makes driving it unsafe
- The spot is too dangerous to work in: a steep grade, a narrow interstate shoulder or soft ground
Either way it’s one flatbed and one price. Ask on the call how the price changes if the swap becomes a tow, and we’ll tell you up front.
If a tire goes while you're driving
Hold the wheel firmly, stay off the brake and ease off the gas so the car slows on its own. Once it’s under control, find a safe spot off the road. Then flashers on and call us. Never change a tire beside moving traffic, skip the close-up inspection if it puts you in the lane, and call 911 if anyone is hurt or in danger.
How it works
- Tell us where you are. The make and model, which tire is down, and whether a spare is in the car. On I-55 or Route 59, add your direction of travel and the closest exit, mile marker or cross street you can see from where you’re standing.
- Hear the price. You get it on the call, before any truck leaves. If the rim looks bent or you can’t find the locking lug key, say so and we’ll tell you what’s likely to happen.
- On-site check. The driver positions the truck to shield the work area, inspects the spare and makes sure the wheel can be removed safely.
- Spare on, or plan B. The flat comes off, the spare goes on, torqued to spec and inflation checked, with the flat loaded in your trunk for the shop. If something blocks the swap, we talk through the tow.
While you wait, stay reachable and give the driver room to work. Grab the locking lug key if it’s within easy, safe reach. Leave the jack and the lug nuts to us.
Driving on the spare
A compact spare exists to get you to the tire shop and no further. Stay within the speed and distance limits molded into its sidewall, and check the manual if the car is AWD or 4WD, since some have their own spare-tire rules. If the car starts pulling, wobbling or vibrating more as you go, stop somewhere safe and call us. Once the original tire is repaired or replaced, check the spare’s pressure before it goes back in the trunk.
Flats spike here twice a year. Cold air drops tire pressure, so a tire that was a little soft in November is flat on a January morning; then the thaw opens potholes on Route 59, Route 126 and the I-55 frontage roads. If you hit something hard and the car pulls or vibrates afterward, have the wheel and suspension checked even if the tire looks fine.
Flat tire help near you
We handle flats across Plainfield, Naperville, Joliet, Romeoville, Bolingbrook, Shorewood, Lockport, Crest Hill, Oswego, Aurora, Montgomery, Woodridge, Lemont, Darien, New Lenox, Lisle, 24 hours a day, on the interstate shoulder or in your driveway.
Need flat tire change now? Call (708) 400-3917; a dispatcher answers 24/7.
Need help now?
- Live dispatch, 24/7/365
- Flatbed trucks only
- Upfront pricing
- Licensed & insured in Illinois
Related services
Flat Tire Change FAQs
What does a roadside tire change cost?
Call with your location and vehicle and you hear one flat price before we dispatch. If the job turns into a tow, that's flat-priced too, with no hookup or per-mile charge. Ask up front how the price changes if a tow is needed.
I don't have a spare. Can you still help?
Yes. We'll flatbed the car home, to a tire shop or to any address you give us. Let the dispatcher know if the car came without a spare, rides on run-flats or carries a sealant kit.
Is my tire fixable?
A tire shop has to inspect it inside and out to answer that. A clean puncture in the tread can usually be plugged; damage to the sidewall or a shredded tire means replacement, and driving on a flat can cause internal damage you can't see. Mounting the spare gets you to that inspection safely.