spare wheel BUICK PARK AVENUE 2004 Owner's Manual

Tires..............................................................5-62
Ination - Tire Pressure.................................5-69
Check Tire Pressure System..........................5-70
Tire Inspection and Rotation...........................5-72
When It Is Time for New Tires.......................5-73
Buying New Tires.........................................5-74
Uniform Tire Quality Grading..........................5-75
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance..................5-76
Wheel Replacement......................................5-76
Tire Chains..................................................5-78
If a Tire Goes Flat........................................5-79
Changing a Flat Tire.....................................5-80
Compact Spare Tire......................................5-89
Appearance Care............................................5-90
Cleaning the Inside of Your Vehicle.................5-90
Care of Safety Belts......................................5-93
Weatherstrips...............................................5-93Cleaning the Outside of Your Vehicle.................5-93
Sheet Metal Damage.....................................5-95
Finish Damage.............................................5-96
Underbody Maintenance................................5-96
Chemical Paint Spotting.................................5-96
Vehicle Care/Appearance Materials..................5-96
Vehicle Identication......................................5-98
Vehicle Identication Number (VIN).................5-98
Service Parts Identication Label.....................5-98
Electrical System............................................5-98
Add-On Electrical Equipment..........................5-98
Fuses and Circuit Breakers............................5-99
Removing the Rear Seat Cushion..................5-104
Capacities and Specications........................5-108
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts.........5-109
Section 5 Service and Appearance Care
5-2

Tire Inspection and Rotation
Tires should be rotated every 5,000 to 8,000 miles
(8 000 to 13 000 km).
Any time you notice unusual wear rotate your tires as
soon as possible and check wheel alignment. Also
check for damaged tires or wheels. SeeWhen It Is Time
for New Tires on page 5-73andWheel Replacement
on page 5-76for more information.
The purpose of regular rotation is to achieve more
uniform wear for all tires on the vehicle. The rst rotation
is the most important. SeePart A: Scheduled
Maintenance Services on page 6-4, for scheduled
rotation intervals.When rotating your tires, always use the correct rotation
pattern shown here.
Don’t include the compact spare tire in your tire rotation.
After the tires have been rotated, adjust the front and
rear ination pressures as shown on the Tire and
Loading Information label.
5-72

Buying New Tires
To nd out what kind and size of tires you need, look at
the tire and loading information label. For an example
of this label and its location, seeLoading Your Vehicle
on page 4-33.
The tires installed on your vehicle when it was new had
a Tire Performance Criteria Specication (TPC Spec)
number on each tire’s sidewall. When you get new tires,
get ones with that same TPC Spec number. That way
your vehicle will continue to have tires that are designed
to give proper endurance, handling, speed rating,
load range, traction, ride and other things during normal
service on your vehicle. If your tires have an all-season
tread design, the TPC number will be followed by
an “MS” (for mud and snow).
If you ever replace your tires with those not having a
TPC Spec number, make sure they are the same
size, load range, speed rating and construction type
(bias, bias-belted or radial) as your original tires.{CAUTION:
Mixing tires could cause you to lose control
while driving. If you mix tires of different sizes
or types (radial and bias-belted tires), the
vehicle may not handle properly, and you
could have a crash. Using tires of different
sizes may also cause damage to your vehicle.
Be sure to use the same size and type tires on
all wheels. It’s all right to drive with your
compact spare temporarily, it was developed
for use on your vehicle. See “Compact Spare
Tire” in the index.
{CAUTION:
If you use bias-ply tires on your vehicle, the
wheel rim anges could develop cracks after
many miles of driving. A tire and/or wheel
could fail suddenly, causing a crash. Use only
radial-ply tires with the wheels on your vehicle.
5-74

Removing the Spare Tire and Tools
The equipment you will need is in the trunk.
Instructions for changing your tires are on the inside of
the tire cover. You can rest the cover near you for
easy reference while you change the tire.
1. Lift the tire cover to gain access to the compact
spare tire and jacking equipment.
2. Remove the wheel wrench and jack from the jack
container.3. Remove the compact spare tire from the trunk.
SeeCompact Spare Tire on page 5-89for more
information about the compact spare tire.
The tools you will be using include the jack (A) and
wheel wrench (B).
5-81

Removing the Flat Tire and Installing
the Spare Tire
1. If your vehicle is equipped with the 8 inch (20 cm)
hubcap, use the wheel wrench to begin loosening
the plastic wheel nut caps. Once you have loosened
the plastic wheel nut caps with the wheel wrench,
you can nish loosening them with your ngers.
Once the plastic wheel nuts have been loosened,
pull the hubcap off by hand.
If your vehicle is equipped with either the 2 1/2 inch
(6 cm) or the 4 inch (10 cm) hubcap, rst remove
the decorative nut caps using the wheel wrench.
2. Then use the wheel wrench to loosen the wheel
nuts, but do not remove them yet.
3. The jack has a bolt at
the end. Attach the
wheel wrench to
the bolt to create a
jack handle.4. Turn the wheel wrench counterclockwise to lower
the jack head until it ts under the vehicle.
5. Near each wheel well is a notch in the plastic trim
panel to position the jack head. You will nd the word
JACK and an arrow stamped into the plastic near
each notch. Position the jack under the vehicle and
raise the jack head until it ts rmly against the sheet
metal next to the word JACK. Do not raise the vehicle
yet. Put the compact spare tire near you.
5-82

{CAUTION:
Getting under a vehicle when it is jacked up is
dangerous. If the vehicle slips off the jack you
could be badly injured or killed. Never get under
a vehicle when it is supported only by a jack.
{CAUTION:
Raising your vehicle with the jack improperly
positioned can damage the vehicle and even
make the vehicle fall. To help avoid personal
injury and vehicle damage, be sure to t the
jack lift head into the proper location before
raising the vehicle.6. Raise the vehicle by turning the wheel wrench
clockwise in the jack. Raise the vehicle far
enough off the ground so there is enough room
for the compact spare tire to t underneath
the wheel well.
5-83

7. Remove all the wheel nuts and take off the at tire.
8. Remove any rust or dirt
from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces
and spare wheel.
{CAUTION:
Rust or dirt on the wheel, or on the parts to
which it is fastened, can make the wheel nuts
become loose after a time. The wheel could
come off and cause an accident. When you
change a wheel, remove any rust or dirt from
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
the places where the wheel attaches to the
vehicle. In an emergency, you can use a cloth
or a paper towel to do this; but be sure to use
a scraper or wire brush later, if you need to,
to get all the rust or dirt off.
{CAUTION:
Never use oil or grease on studs or nuts. If you
do, the nuts might come loose. Your wheel
could fall off, causing a serious accident.
5-84

9. Install the compact spare tire on the wheel-mounting
surface.
10. Then reinstall the
wheel nuts with the
rounded end of
the nuts toward the
wheel. Tighten each
nut by hand until
the wheel is held
against the hub.
11. Lower the vehicle by turning the wheel wrench
counterclockwise. Lower the jack completely.
5-85

12. Using the wheel
wrench, tighten the
wheel nuts rmly in a
crisscross sequence.
{CAUTION:
Incorrect wheel nuts or improperly tightened
wheel nuts can cause the wheel to come loose
and even come off. This could lead to an
accident. Be sure to use the correct wheel
nuts. If you have to replace them, be sure to
get new GM original equipment wheel nuts.
Stop somewhere as soon as you can and have
the nuts tightened with a torque wrench to the
proper torque specication. See “Capacities
and Specications” in the Index for wheel nut
torque specication.Notice:Improperly tightened wheel nuts can lead
to brake pulsation and rotor damage. To avoid
expensive brake repairs, evenly tighten the wheel
nuts in the proper sequence and to the proper
torque specication. See “Capacities and
Specications” in the index for the wheel nut torque
specication.
13. Do not try to put the wheel cover on the compact
spare tire. It will not t.
Store the wheel cover in the trunk until you have
the at tire repaired or replaced.
Notice:Wheel covers will not t on your compact
spare. If you try to put a wheel cover on the compact
spare, you could damage the cover or the spare.
5-86

Storing the Flat Tire and Tools
{CAUTION:
Storing a jack, a tire, or other equipment in the
passenger compartment of the vehicle could
cause injury. In a sudden stop or collision,
loose equipment could strike someone.
Store all these in the proper place.
After you have put the compact spare tire on your
vehicle, you will need to store the at tire in your trunk.
Use the following procedure to secure the at tire in
the trunk.Store the at tire as far forward in the trunk as possible.
Store the jack and wheel wrench in their compartment
in the trunk.
5-87