Guides
Flat tire on I-35 in Austin
Get the car as far onto the shoulder as it will go and put the hazards on. Where you wait depends on the shoulder. Note the nearest exit number and which way you are travelling, because that is how anyone finds you. TxDOT's free HERO patrol changes flats on I-35 during its hours; outside them, call us.
The first five minutes
A flat on I-35 is not the same problem as a flat in a car park, and the difference is traffic moving past you at seventy. Everything below is about getting out of its way first and dealing with the tire second.
- 01
Hazards on, then keep moving if you safely can
A tire that has just gone down will survive a short, slow run to somewhere better. If the next exit or a wide stretch of shoulder is close, take it. A ruined tire costs less than being hit.
- 02
Get fully off the travel lane
As far right as the shoulder allows, wheels straight, past the white line by the whole width of the car if there is room. On the elevated section through central Austin the shoulder narrows and sometimes disappears, which is exactly when taking the next exit is worth a wheel.
- 03
Decide where to wait, and it depends
If the car is clear of the lane on a wide shoulder, stay inside with your seat belt on, the hazards flashing and the doors on the traffic side shut. If the shoulder is narrow or traffic is heavy, get out on the passenger side and wait well behind the barrier or up the embankment. If the car is stuck in a live lane and will not move, call 911 first.
- 04
Work out where you are before you call
The nearest exit number, which direction you are heading, and whether you are on the upper deck, the lower deck or the frontage road. Thirty seconds spent on this saves ten minutes of someone driving past you.
- 05
Then call
Call or text (512) 573-0135, or send your location straight from your phone using the button on this site. We quote the job before anyone drives.
How to say where you are on I-35
I-35 through Austin runs about forty miles from Georgetown down to Buda, and almost none of it looks different from the rest at night. A street name will not place you. Three things will.
- The nearest exit number, which is signed ahead of and at every exit. Exit numbers on I-35 count up going north, so 230 is downtown and 213 is Kyle.
- Your direction of travel. Northbound and southbound are separated by a barrier for most of the route, so the wrong one means a driver has to go several miles to turn around.
- Upper deck, lower deck or frontage road, through the double-decked stretch across central Austin. These are three different roads stacked on top of each other and they do not connect where you are standing.
- If you have none of that, the location button on this site reads your phone's own position and puts a map pin straight into a message.
The free option, and where it stops
TxDOT runs a free patrol called HERO across the Austin highway network, and it will change a flat tire for you. If it is running and it can reach you, it is the right call to make first, and we will tell you the same thing on the phone.
HERO covers about 337 miles of I-35, US 183, 183A, US 290, SH 71 and Loop 1. The number is 512-974-4376. It runs Monday to Friday from 5am to 9pm and weekends from 7am to 7pm, except the stretch of I-35 between SH 45 North and SH 45 Southeast, which is covered around the clock on weekdays. TxDOT changes these, so treat them as approximate.
What it does not do is the part worth knowing. It does not run on most of the network at night or late on a weekend, which is when a large share of these calls happen. It fits the spare you already have; it does not carry a tire in your size and it will not sell you one. If your spare is missing, flat, or the tire is damaged past repair, a patrol that can only fit a spare has not solved your problem.
What we do when we get there
We bring the shop to the shoulder. The van carries a tire changer, a jack and stands, a torque wrench and a compressor, which is the same equipment a bay uses for tire work.
If the puncture is repairable we take the tire off the rim, inspect the inner liner and fit a combination patch and plug from the inside, which is the only repair the industry considers sound. If it is not repairable we say so and fit your spare, or a new or used tire in your size, depending on what you want and what the hour allows.
Every wheel goes back on with a torque wrench set to your vehicle's figure, generally somewhere between 80 and 100 lb-ft on a car and 100 to 140 lb-ft on a light truck. We look yours up rather than guessing.
When the tire cannot be saved
Highway damage is often past repair, and it is better to hear that on the shoulder than after a repair that fails. A puncture is repairable only if it is in the tread, no larger than a quarter of an inch, and does not overlap an old repair.
Sidewall damage is never repairable. Neither is a cut in the shoulder, the curved part between the tread and the sidewall. A tire driven any distance while flat usually has a damaged inner liner even if the outside looks fine, and that is a tire to replace rather than plug.
If you are buying a tire at the roadside anyway, the question becomes whether you want a new one or an inspected used one, and whether the other three are close enough in wear to sit beside it. We will tell you which of those matters on your car.
Questions about this service
Can I drive on the flat to the next exit?
Usually yes, slowly, and it is often the right call on I-35. The tire will probably be ruined, and the wheel may be too, but neither is worth standing on a narrow shoulder for. Keep it under about twenty and get off at the first exit or wide shoulder you reach.
Should I get out of the car or stay in it?
It depends where the car ended up. Clear of the lane on a wide shoulder, stay belted inside with the hazards on and the traffic-side doors shut. Narrow shoulder or heavy traffic, get out on the passenger side and wait well behind the barrier. Stuck in a live lane, call 911 first.
Do you come out on I-35 at night?
Yes. We run 24 hours a day, every day, and night calls on I-35 are a large part of what we do. The van carries its own lighting and warning triangles. There is no night or weekend surcharge; the price is the same as it would be at midday.
What if I do not know which exit I am near?
Use the location button on this site. It reads your phone's own position and drops a map pin straight into a text or a WhatsApp message, which is more precise than an exit number anyway. If you would rather not, tell us the last thing you remember passing and we will work it out.
Is the TxDOT patrol really free?
Yes, it is a free service and we will point you to it. Call 512-974-4376. The limits are the hours, which do not cover most of the network overnight, and the fact that it fits the spare you already have rather than selling you a tire. Outside those, call us.
My spare is flat too. What now?
That is common, because a spare that has sat under the boot floor for six years is usually low. We can air it and check whether it holds, but if it will not, the fix is a tire rather than a spare. We carry new and inspected used tires and can fit one at the roadside.
Tell us where you are.
Call or text (512) 573-0135. Give us the cross street or a dropped pin and we will tell you what it costs before anyone drives.
(512) 573-0135