wheel PONTIAC VIBE 2004 Workshop Manual

If a Tire Goes Flat
It's unusual for a tire to ªblowoutº while you're driving,
especially if you maintain your tires properly. If air goes
out of a tire, it's much more likely to leak out slowly.
But if you should ever have a ªblowout,º here are a few
tips about what to expect and what to do:
If a front tire fails, the ¯at tire will create a drag that
pulls the vehicle toward that side. Take your foot off the
accelerator pedal and grip the steering wheel ®rmly.
Steer to maintain lane position, and then gently brake to
a stop well out of the traffic lane.
A rear blowout, particularly on a curve, acts much like a
skid and may require the same correction you'd use
in a skid. In any rear blowout, remove your foot from the
accelerator pedal. Get the vehicle under control by
steering the way you want the vehicle to go. It may be
very bumpy and noisy, but you can still steer. Gently
brake to a stop, well off the road if possible.{CAUTION:
Lifting a vehicle and getting under it to do
maintenance or repairs is dangerous without
the appropriate safety equipment and training.
The jack provided with your vehicle is
designed only for changing a ¯at tire. If it is
used for anything else, you or others could be
badly injured or killed if the vehicle slips off
the jack. Use the jack provided with your
vehicle only for changing a ¯at tire.
If a tire goes ¯at, the next part shows how to use your
jacking equipment to change a ¯at tire safely.
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Changing a Flat Tire
If a tire goes ¯at, avoid further tire and wheel damage
by driving slowly to a level place. Turn on your
hazard warning ¯ashers.
{CAUTION:
Changing a tire can cause an injury. The
vehicle can slip off the jack and roll over you
or other people. You and they could be badly
injured. Find a level place to change your tire.
To help prevent the vehicle from moving:
1. Set the parking brake ®rmly.
2. Put an automatic transaxle shift lever in
PARK (P), or shift a manual transaxle to
FIRST (1) or REVERSE (R).
3. Turn off the engine.
To be even more certain the vehicle won't
move, you can put blocks at the front and rear
of the tire farthest away from the one being
changed. That would be the tire on the other
side of the vehicle, at the opposite end.The following steps will tell you how to use the jack and
change a tire.
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Removing the Spare Tire and Tools
The jack, wheel wrench, jack handle and spare tire are
stowed in the rear of the vehicle, underneath the
¯oor of the cargo area. To remove the spare tire and
tools do the following:
1. Turn the two lock
knobs on the ¯oor of
the cargo area to
UNLOCK.
2. Lift up the cargo area ¯oor panel, remove the hook
attached to the bottom side of the panel and hook it
over the weatherstripping.
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Notice:Make sure to place the hook in the proper
location in order to avoid damaging the vehicle.
Be sure to remove the hook when ®nished and place
it back in its original position before closing the
liftgate.
3. Remove the jack from the tray on the right side of
the compartment and the jack handle and wheel
wrench from the top side of the compartment.
4. Unscrew the center retaining nut and lift up the
plastic tray to expose the compact spare tire.5. Unscrew the center bolt from the compact spare tire
and pull out the compact spare tire. See
Compact
Spare Tire on page 5-88for more information about
the compact spare tire.
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The tools you'll be using include the jack (A), jack
handle (B) and wheel wrench (C).
6. Attach the jack handle to the jack.
7. Turn the jack handle clockwise to raise the lift head.
Removing the Flat Tire and Installing
the Spare Tire
1. Using the wheel wrench, loosen all the wheel nuts.
Don't remove them yet.
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3. Raise the vehicle by turning the jack handle
clockwise. Raise the vehicle far enough off the
ground so there is enough room for the compact
spare tire to ®t underneath the wheel well.4. Remove all the wheel
nuts and take off the
¯at tire.
5. Remove any rust or dirt
from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces
and spare wheel.
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{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
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.6. 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.
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7. Lower the vehicle by turning the jack handle
counterclockwise. Lower the jack completely.
8. Tighten the wheel nuts
®rmly in a crisscross
sequence as shown.
{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 speci®cation. See ªCapacities
and Speci®cationsº in the Index for wheel nut
torque speci®cation.
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 speci®cation. See ªCapacities and
Speci®cationsº in the index for the wheel nut torque
speci®cation.
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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.
Return the jack, jack handle and wheel wrench to the
storage area. The compact spare tire storage area
is designed only for the compact spare tire, the standard
tire cannot be stored there.
To store the ¯at tire do the following:
1. If your vehicle has aluminum wheels, remove the
center wheel cap before storing the ¯at tire.
2. Place the ¯at tire on the rear cargo area ¯oor panel
with the outer side of the wheel facing up.
3. Use the tire tie-down belts located under the ¯oor
panel to secure the ¯at tire.4. Hook the belts (end closest to the buckle) to the
rear, upper tie-down hooks.
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5. Pass the belts through the center hole of the wheel.
6. Attach the other end of the belts to the rear,
lower tie-down hooks.7. Position the tire edge against the rear center end of
the ¯oor panel. Pull the end of the belts to make
sure the tire is secure.
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