ESFO

Has anyone come up with an alternative for emergency situations?

Rainman00

Yup...AAA

i_eat_staples

that really instills the confidence i need to climb under a 4000lb vehicle

mwrose

in my garage on level ground. I went directly to the store and acquired a suitable jack for home use. Don't have a good emergence backup, other than to purchase a bottle jack, or some other small'ish jack to lug around.

HiTEC

Problem is nothing else will probably fit in the factory location. If that is the case, which is probably is, I think you'd be best going with a compact hydraulic floor jack. You can find some that come in nice plastic cases too. The problem is, you need to secure it somehow.

Last time my wife got a flat, I went and picked her up and we went home to get my floor jack from the house. I don't think I would attempt to use that POS jack they give us.

Miwa

If you are in a populated area, they actually can show up pretty quick.

s4jones

Same mechanical principle though. And actually, several folks on this forum attest to the effectiveness of the Audi jack. But I do worry about typically uneven/slick/broken/rocky surfaces, etc. encountered when the jack is going to be really tested in non-optimal emergency conditions. I say: Get away from the car; call roadside assistance of some kind. And wait. Hopefully, there will be a decent coffee bar nearby with a copy of the the Sunday NY Times crossword puzzle. If not, a bit of shade and a sturdy guard rail will suffice.

S4_Cinci (I S'edTFA)

car with just a jack for support. You probably know this, but this is for those who may think it's OK to get under a car with a "better" quality jack only; you do need a stand rated for the proper amount of weight it will be supporting. Be safe!

LCP

If you're not on a level paved surface, then shame on you for trying to change a wheel on this car. Once you do find that place to stop though, make sure the parking brake is firmly pulled and the car is either in a gear or in park. Next, and here's what causes a lot of the collapses I bet, is to make sure the jack is placed on the ground at the proper point. Sure, most of the time you're just worried about getting the top of the jack to mate up with the bottom of the car. But more important than that (because there's kind of just "one right spot" when to put the jack on the car) in preventing collapses is where you put the bottom of the jack on the ground before you start loading it. If placed too far underneath the car, it will be primed to tip over, causing the car to fall. I suppose putting it too far away from the car could also happen, but it seems like that would be the less likely mistake. And when using the factory jack, never put any body part under (or within a few inches) of any place that would be crushed if the jack were to slip to the side and the car to come crashing down.

vman4066

the wheel on S4 has all the weight to one side, the spoke side so its a bit tippy.

the roadside fellow lost cotmnrol of riolling my wheel and it fell on the curb. i required they replace it.

btw: i tried the jack first and it started to go but i grabbed under the door sill with one hand and lowered with the other.

Best answer: call roadside assistance but don't tell them yoru plan, after the guy gets there and jacks is up with a floor jack, take over and change the wheel yourself.