Mexico Mishaps: Flat Tire Rescue

We’ve lived in Mexico for 10 months, and have driven 7,000 miles through 15 states. Here’s a little story y’all might find entertaining: The last day of our three-day drive from Oaxaca to Puerto Vallarta, we drove the scenic southern route, from Guadalajara. After stopping in Mascota for a late lunch, a torrential downpour started. We spent five years in Louisiana, so we’re used to sudden, heavy rain. But this lasted for much longer than anticipated.

We found ourselves on a curvy two-lane mountain pass, in the middle of nowhere, with no cell service, far from any village, 90 minutes from Puerto Vallarta, in the downpour, with a flat tire… To complicate things even more, our tires have “anti-theft lug nuts” and the specialized “key” attachment necessary to remove the lug nuts, of course, broke during use. My (very competent) husband, who has changed countless tires, somehow managed to break two of the five tire bolts completely off, before the “key” shattered. We didn’t know what to do. We had three “anti-theft lug nuts” securing our flat tire to the car, with no way to remove them! We actually have roadside assistance through our car insurance, but none of the friendly passers-by had cell service. The road was too narrow and curvy to walk, especially in the dark and heavy rain, so I thought for sure we would be sleeping in the car.

Thankfully, Mexico is full of very friendly and generous people. One of the cars that stopped had four nice Mexican men. They understood the problem with the the two broken bolts and the three remaining “anti-theft lug nuts” with no “key”. They grabbed a tool box and jury-rigged a way to override the safety feature: using a big hammer and brute force. The lug nuts were destroyed in the process, but they saved us!!! They put our spare tire on the car with the three remaining functioning bolts, and told us to drive slow. Although we tried numerous times, they wouldn’t accept payment. Thankfully, they did accept a single beer can and some cookies. Then they got in their car and continued on.