Will tire changers be replaced by AI?
Updated
Tire changers score 10 of 100 for AI exposure. 91% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 4% today and speed up another 5%.
- 4% AI can do it
- 5% AI helps
- 91% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 97% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 24 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 1 and leaves 22 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Order replacements for tires or tubes. Reordering stock is routine digital work software handles well. | 70% AI can do it |
| Identify tire size and ply and inflate tires accordingly. Spec lookup is easy, but inflating tires needs physical handling. | 30% AI helps |
| Inspect tire casings for defects, such as holes or tears. Visual defect checks need a person handling the physical tire. | 15% Needs a person |
| Place wheels on balancing machines to determine counterweights required to balance wheels. Person loads wheels; balancer machine computes the counterweight. | 12% Needs a person |
| Locate punctures in tubeless tires by visual inspection or by immersing inflated tires in water baths and observing air bubbles. Finding leaks by sight or water bath needs physical handling. | 10% Needs a person |
| Raise vehicles, using hydraulic jacks. Jacking vehicles is physical work requiring hands-on presence. | 8% Needs a person |
| Replace valve stems and remove puncturing objects. Swapping valve stems and pulling punctures is physical work. | 8% Needs a person |
| Glue tire patches over ruptures in tire casings, using rubber cement. Gluing patches with rubber cement is manual physical work. | 8% Needs a person |
| Inflate inner tubes and immerse them in water to locate leaks. Testing tubes underwater for leaks is physical work. | 8% Needs a person |
| Reassemble tires onto wheels. Seating tires on wheels is physical work at the bench. | 6% Needs a person |
Show the other 14 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Clean sides of whitewall tires. Cleaning whitewall sides is manual work with brushes. | 6% Needs a person |
| Remount wheels onto vehicles. Remounting wheels is physical work on the vehicle. | 5% Needs a person |
| Unbolt and remove wheels from vehicles, using lug wrenches or other hand or power tools. Removing lug nuts with tools is physical manual work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Hammer required counterweights onto rims of wheels. Hammering weights onto rims is physical work with tools. | 5% Needs a person |
| Seal punctures in tubeless tires by inserting adhesive material and expanding rubber plugs into punctures, using hand tools. Plugging punctures manually is physical repair work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Assist mechanics and perform various mechanical duties, such as changing oil or checking and replacing batteries. General mechanic help involves physical tasks in the shop. | 5% Needs a person |
| Prepare rims and wheel drums for reassembly by scraping, grinding, or sandblasting. Scraping and grinding rims is physical, abrasive shop work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Apply rubber cement to buffed tire casings prior to vulcanization process. Applying cement to casings is manual work before vulcanizing. | 5% Needs a person |
| Patch tubes with adhesive rubber patches or seal rubber patches to tubes, using hot vulcanizing plates. Hot plate patching needs manual handling and heat equipment. | 5% Needs a person |
| Rotate tires to different positions on vehicles, using hand tools. Rotating tires with hand tools is physical work on vehicles. | 4% Needs a person |
| Buff defective areas of inner tubes, using scrapers. Buffing tube defects with scrapers is manual physical work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Separate tubed tires from wheels, using rubber mallets and metal bars or mechanical tire changers. Separating tires from wheels needs physical force and machine operation. | 4% Needs a person |
| Clean and tidy up the shop. Shop cleanup is physical work performed by people. | 3% Needs a person |
| Drive automobile or service trucks to industrial sites to provide services or respond to emergency calls. Driving to roadside emergencies needs a person and vehicle. | 3% Needs a person |
How tire changers compare
All occupations (923)
Installation, maintenance and repair (50)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $37,710 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 108,410 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +3.4% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Load wheels onto balancing machines and verify counterweight placement
- Find tubeless punctures using water bath inspection
- Inspect tire casings for holes, tears and sidewall defects
- Keep stock records current in recordkeeping software
- Quote tire jobs in Project estimation software
Safer roles nearby
2 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about tire changers and AI
Will AI replace tire changers?
Partly. About 1 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly ordering replacement tires and tubes and checking tire size and ply before inflating. Removing, mounting, balancing and physically inspecting tires stay with people because the work needs hands on the wheel and the vehicle.
Which tasks AI is taking over?
Ordering replacement tires and tubes is the task AI takes over first, with an exposure score of 70. Stock reordering is routine digital work that recordkeeping software and Excel handle well. Spec lookup for tire size and ply, with an exposure score of 30, gets augmented, but a person still inflates the tire.
Which tasks stay human?
Inspecting tire casings for defects, with an exposure score of 15, stays with people because the check needs a hand on the physical tire. Finding punctures by sight or in a water bath, exposure 10, needs a person handling the tire. Raising vehicles with hydraulic jacks, exposure 8, is hands-on work on a car.
How can tire changers stay valuable?
Get fast and accurate at loading wheels onto the balancing machine, since placing the wheel is the step a person still does. Learn water bath puncture checks on tubeless tires. Keep recordkeeping software and Excel stock sheets accurate so reorders match the bench. Quote jobs in Project estimation software to control pricing on each tire job.
Related jobs
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