AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Tire Repairers and Changers?

Task-level automation exposure for Tire Repairers and Changers: 25 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

E-E-A-T Verified

Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

12% weighted task index

25 of 25 tasks scored

Median Salary

$37,710 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

High

108,410 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+3.4% employment change

12,900 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 52 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$23,780 – $47,650

Highest medians

Oregon $47,650

Delaware $46,630

Montana $46,360

Rhode Island $46,240

Hawaii $45,760

Lowest medians

Puerto Rico $23,780

Guam $25,060

West Virginia $29,880

New Mexico $31,640

Louisiana $33,900

State figures come from the 49-3093 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 12%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 81%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 0%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 0%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 37/100 Moderate

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

25 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 2%

1 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 0%

0 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 98%

24 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Constituent Tasks

#20654 · Core · 8% automatable

Unbolt and remove wheels from vehicles, using lug wrenches or other hand or power tools.

physical manipulation — Removing vehicle parts requires hands-on mechanical work

Remove parts or components from vehicles.

#8363 · Core · 28% automatable

Place wheels on balancing machines to determine counterweights required to balance wheels.

physical manipulation — Hands-on mechanical testing in physical environment

Test mechanical equipment to ensure proper functioning.

#20655 · Core · 8% automatable

Identify tire size and ply and inflate tires accordingly.

physical manipulation — Hands-on vehicle servicing

Service vehicles to maintain functionality.

#8364 · Core · 10% automatable

Raise vehicles, using hydraulic jacks.

physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control

Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.

#8368 · Core · 5% automatable

Reassemble tires onto wheels.

physical manipulation — Reassembly after repair requires hands-on fitting

Reassemble equipment after repair.

#8374 · Core · 10% automatable

Glue tire patches over ruptures in tire casings, using rubber cement.

physical manipulation — Manual tire mounting and repair

Repair tires.

#8365 · Core · 5% automatable

Remount wheels onto vehicles.

physical manipulation — Vehicle part installation is physical labor

Install vehicle parts or accessories.

#8373 · Core · 10% automatable

Seal punctures in tubeless tires by inserting adhesive material and expanding rubber plugs into punctures, using hand tools.

physical manipulation — Manual tire mounting and repair

Repair tires.

#8369 · Core · 10% automatable

Replace valve stems and remove puncturing objects.

physical manipulation — Manual tire mounting and repair

Repair tires.

#8380 · Core · 10% automatable

Apply rubber cement to buffed tire casings prior to vulcanization process.

physical manipulation — Manual tire mounting and repair

Repair tires.

#8370 · Core · 4% automatable

Hammer required counterweights onto rims of wheels.

physical manipulation — Mechanical assembly needs hands and tools

Assemble mechanical components or machine parts.

#8385 · Core · 8% automatable

Buff defective areas of inner tubes, using scrapers.

physical manipulation — Hand sanding and finishing of physical objects

Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment.

#8371 · Core · 5% automatable

Rotate tires to different positions on vehicles, using hand tools.

physical manipulation — Vehicle part installation is physical labor

Install vehicle parts or accessories.

#8366 · Core · 18% automatable

Locate punctures in tubeless tires by visual inspection or by immersing inflated tires in water baths and observing air bubbles.

visual inspection — Mechanical component inspection requires hands-on access

Inspect mechanical components of vehicles to identify problems.

#8372 · Core · 18% automatable

Inspect tire casings for defects, such as holes or tears.

visual inspection — Mechanical component inspection requires hands-on access

Inspect mechanical components of vehicles to identify problems.

#8382 · Core · 8% automatable

Prepare rims and wheel drums for reassembly by scraping, grinding, or sandblasting.

physical manipulation — Hand sanding and finishing of physical objects

Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment.

#8376 · Core · 8% automatable

Separate tubed tires from wheels, using rubber mallets and metal bars or mechanical tire changers.

physical manipulation — Disassembly requires hands-on tool use

Disassemble equipment for maintenance or repair.

#8377 · Core · 10% automatable

Patch tubes with adhesive rubber patches or seal rubber patches to tubes, using hot vulcanizing plates.

physical manipulation — Manual tire mounting and repair

Repair tires.

#8378 · Core · 18% automatable

Inflate inner tubes and immerse them in water to locate leaks.

visual inspection — Mechanical component inspection requires hands-on access

Inspect mechanical components of vehicles to identify problems.

#20656 · Core · 8% automatable

Assist mechanics and perform various mechanical duties, such as changing oil or checking and replacing batteries.

physical manipulation — Hands-on vehicle servicing

Service vehicles to maintain functionality.

#20657 · Core · 5% automatable

Clean and tidy up the shop.

physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of work areas

Clean work areas.

#8379 · Core · 10% automatable

Clean sides of whitewall tires.

physical manipulation — Cleaning parts for repair needs hands-on dexterity

Clean equipment, parts, or tools to repair or maintain them in good working order.

#8381 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Drive automobile or service trucks to industrial sites to provide services or respond to emergency calls.

situated mobility — Driving vehicles at work sites is situated mobility

Drive trucks or other vehicles to or at work sites.

#8383 · Supplemental · 75% automatable

Order replacements for tires or tubes.

decision support — Ordering via systems automatable; human approves spend

Order materials, supplies, or equipment.

#20659 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Place tire casings and tread rubber assemblies in tire molds for the vulcanization process and exert pressure to ensure good adhesion.

physical manipulation — Adjusting mold position is hands-on machine work

Place materials into molds. Adjust position of molds during processing. Assemble tires.

Embed this calculator on your site ↓

Bloggers & authors: Embed this interactive calculator directly in your articles or comparison guides. It loads dynamically via a responsive iframe (auto-resizing to prevent double scrollbars) and provides a direct, high-value tool for your audience.

<div class="giniloh-calculator-embed" data-calculator="tire-repairers-and-changers"></div>
<script src="https://giniloh.com/embed.js" async></script>

Community Sentiment

Do you agree?

Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?

Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

Best AI Proof Jobs in a Changing Market

Worried robots are coming for your paycheck? You’re not alone—but the real story is far more hopeful. This guide cuts through the scare headlines to reveal exactly where smart, sustainable career opportunities exist right now. We’ve curated a list of true ai proof jobs—roles in healthcare, skilled trades, and cybersecurity that not only survive automation but thrive because of human judgment and empathy. You’ll get specific, money-making data on projected growth (the BLS says wind turbine technicians, for instance, will grow 44% by 2032), real salary ranges from active job listings, and a simple self-assessment quiz to identify your own most resilient path. Plus, we name companies hiring today and the niche job boards they use. Stop worrying and start planning—your secure career is closer than you think.

Read Article ->