2003 BUICK RANDEZVOUS Owner's Manual

Secondary Latch System
Your vehicle has an underbody mounted tire hoist
assembly equipped with a secondary latch system. It’s
designed to stop the compact spare tire from suddenly
falling off your vehicle if the cable holding the spare tire is
damaged. For the secondary latch to work, the tire must
be stowed with the valve stem pointing down. See
“Storing the Spare Tire and Tools”later in this section for
instructions on storing the spare tire correctly.
{CAUTION:
Before beginning this procedure read all the
instructions. Failure to read and follow the
instructions could damage the hoist assembly
and you and others could get hurt. Read and
follow the instructions listed below.
To release the spare tire from the secondary latch, do
the following:
{CAUTION:
Someone standing too close during the
procedure could be injured by the jack. If the
spare tire does not slide off the jack completely,
make sure no one is behind you or on either
side of you as you pull the jack out from the
spare.
1. If the cable is not visible, start this procedure
at Step 3.
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2. Turn the wrench counterclockwise until
approximately 6 inches (15 cm) of cable is exposed.
3. Attach the folding wrench to the jack and raise the
jack at least 10 turns.
4. Place the jack under the vehicle, ahead of the rear
bumper. Position the center lift point of the jack
under the center of the spare tire.
5. Turn the folding wrench clockwise to raise the jack
until it lifts the secondary latch spring.6. Keep raising the jack until the spare tire stops
moving upward and is heldfirmly in place, this
lets you know that the secondary latch has
released.
7. Lower the jack by turning the folding wrench
counterclockwise. Keep lowering the jack until
the spare tire is resting on the folding wrench.
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8. Grasp the spare tire with both hands and pull it out
from under the vehicle.
9. Reach under the vehicle and remove the folding
wrench and jack.
10. When the spare tire has been completely lowered,
tilt the retainer and slip it through the wheel
opening.
11. If the cable is hanging, turn the wrench clockwise to
raise the cable back up.
Have the hoist assembly inspected as soon as you can.
You will not be able to store a spare tire using the
hoist assembly until it has been repaired or replaced.
Removing the Flat Tire and Installing
the Spare Tire
1. If there is a wheel cover, loosen the plastic nut
caps with the wheel wrench. They won’t come
off. Then, using theflat end of the wheel wrench,
pry along the edge of the cover until it comes off. Be
careful; the edges may be sharp. Don’t try to
remove the cover with your bare hands.
If your vehicle has aluminum wheels, remove the
wheel nut caps using the wheel wrench.
2. Loosen the wheel
nuts - but do not remove
them - using the
folding wrench. (Turn the
handle about
180 degrees, thenflip the
handle back to the
starting position. This
avoids taking the wrench
off the lug nut for
each turn.)
For wheels with a wheel lock key, use the wheel
lock key between the lock nut and folding wrench.
The key is supplied in the front passenger door
pocket.
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Notice:To help avoid damage to lock nut or wheel
lock key, do not use an impact wrench with this key.
3. Near each wheel, there is
a notch in the vehicle’s
body. Position the jack
and raise the jack head
until itfitsfirmly into the
notch in the vehicle’s
frame nearest theflat tire.
Notice:Do not place the jack under the rear axle
control arms or you may damage your vehicle. Only
use the areas shown for proper jack location.
Do not raise the vehicle yet. Put the compact spare
tire near you.
{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 tofit the
jack lift head into the proper location before
raising the vehicle.
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4. Attach the folding
wrench to the jack, and
turn the wrench
clockwise to raise the
jack head 3 inches
(7.6 cm).
5. Raise the vehicle by turning the folding wrench
clockwise in the jack. Raise the vehicle far
enough off the ground so that there is enough room
for the spare tire tofit under the wheel well.
6. Remove all the wheel nuts and take off theflat tire.
7. 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
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.
8. Install the spare tire and put the wheel nuts back on
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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9. Lower the vehicle by attaching the folding wrench to
the jack and turning the wrench counterclockwise.
Lower the jack completely.
10. Tighten the wheel nuts
firmly in a crisscross
sequence, as shown.
{CAUTION:
Incorrect wheel nuts or improperly tightened
wheel nuts can cause the wheel to become
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 100
lb-ft (140Y).
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 specification.
11. Don’t try to put a wheel cover on the compact spare
tire. It won’tfit. Store the wheel cover securely in
the rear of the vehicle until you have theflat
tire repaired or replaced.
Notice:Wheel covers won’tfit on your compact
spare. If you try to put a wheel cover on your
compact spare, you could damage the cover or
the spare.
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Storing a Flat or Spare 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.
{CAUTION:
The underbody-mounted spare tire needs to be
stored with the valve stem pointing down. If
the spare tire is stored with the valve stem
pointing upwards, its secondary latch won’t
work properly and the spare tire could loosen
and suddenly fall from your vehicle. If this
happened when your vehicle was being driven,
the tire might contact a person or another
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
vehicle, causing injury and, of course, damage
to itself as well. Be sure the
underbody-mounted spare tire is stored with
its valve stem pointing down.
Storing the Spare Tire and Tools
1. Lay the compact spare tire on the ground at the
rear of the vehicle. Position the compact spare
tire so that the valve stem is pointed down facing
the rear of the vehicle.
2. Lower the cable to the ground. See“Removing the
Spare Tire (Vehicles without the Rear Convenience
Center)”or“Removing the Spare Tire (Vehicles
with the Rear Convenience Center)”earlier in this
section.
3. Tilt the retainer downward and slip it through the
center hole of the spare tire.
Make sure the retainer is fully seated across the
underside of the wheel.
4. Attach the folding wrench to the hoist shaft.
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5. Turn the folding wrench clockwise to lift the
spare tire.
6. When the tire reaches the stabilizer bar, move the
tire over the bar, then continue to turn the folding
wrench clockwise to lift the spare tire.
7. When the tire is almost in the stored position, turn
the tire so that the valve stem is towards the rear of
the vehicle.
This will help when you check and maintain tire
pressure in the spare.
8. Raise the tire fully against the underside of the
vehicle. Continue turning the folding wrench until
you feel more than two clicks. This indicates that the
compact spare tire is secure and the cable is
tight. The spare tire hoist cannot be overtightened.
A. Push and Pull
B. Rotate Tire
9. Make sure the tire is stored securely. Push, pull,
and then try to rotate or turn the tire. If the tire
moves, use the folding wrench to tighten the cable.
Put back all tools as they were stored in the jack storage
compartment and put the compartment cover back on.
To put the cover back on, slip the tabs on the side of the
cover into the cover opening. Push the cover in place
and push down the tabs on the cover so that it rests in
the groove. This secures the cover in place.
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