2003 CHEVROLET MALIBU spare wheel

Service............................................................5-3
Doing Your Own Service Work.........................5-3
Adding Equipment to the Outside of
Your Vehicle..............................................5-4
Fuel................................................................5-4
Gasoline Octane............................................5-4
Gasoline Speci®cations....................................5-4
California Fuel...............................................5-5
Additives.......................................................5-5
Fuels in Foreign Countries...............................5-6
Filling Your Tank............................................5-6
Filling a Portable Fuel Container.......................5-9
Checking Things Under the Hood.....................5-9
Hood Release..............................................5-10
Engine Compartment Overview.......................5-12
Engine Oil...................................................5-13
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter................................5-17
Automatic Transaxle Fluid..............................5-18
Engine Coolant.............................................5-19
Coolant Surge Tank Pressure Cap..................5-21
Engine Overheating.......................................5-22
Cooling System............................................5-24
Power Steering Fluid.....................................5-30
Windshield Washer Fluid................................5-31Brakes........................................................5-32
Battery........................................................5-36
Jump Starting...............................................5-36
Bulb Replacement..........................................5-42
Halogen Bulbs..............................................5-42
Headlamps..................................................5-42
Front Turn Signal Lamps...............................5-44
Center High-Mounted Stoplamp (CHMSL).........5-44
Taillamps, Turn Signal, Stoplamps and
Back-up Lamps.........................................5-45
Replacement Bulbs.......................................5-47
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement..............5-48
Tires..............................................................5-48
In¯ation -- Tire Pressure................................5-49
Tire Inspection and Rotation...........................5-50
When It Is Time for New Tires.......................5-51
Buying New Tires.........................................5-52
Uniform Tire Quality Grading..........................5-53
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance..................5-54
Wheel Replacement......................................5-54
Tire Chains..................................................5-55
If a Tire Goes Flat........................................5-56
Changing a Flat Tire.....................................5-57
Compact Spare Tire......................................5-66
Section 5 Service and Appearance Care
5-1

When to Check
Check your tires once a month or more.
Don't forget your compact spare tire. It should be at
60 psi (420 kPa).
How to Check
Use a good quality pocket-type gage to check tire
pressure. You can't tell if your tires are properly in¯ated
simply by looking at them. Radial tires may look
properly in¯ated even when they're underin¯ated.
Be sure to put the valve caps back on the valve stems.
They help prevent leaks by keeping out dirt and
moisture.
Tire Inspection and Rotation
Tires should be rotated every 6,000 to 8,000 miles
(10 000 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. See
When It Is Time
for New Tires on page 5-51andWheel Replacement
on page 5-54for 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. See ªPart A: Scheduled
Maintenance Services,º in Section 6, 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 in¯ation pressures as shown on the Tire-Loading
Information label. Make certain that all wheel nuts
are properly tightened. See ªWheel Nut Torqueº underCapacities and Speci®cations on page 5-82.
5-50

Buying New Tires
To ®nd out what kind and size of tires you need, look at
the Tire-Loading Information label.
The tires installed on your vehicle when it was new had
a Tire Performance Criteria Speci®cation (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,
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 ªMSº
(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.
3
{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 ªCompact Spare
Tireº 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.
5-52

The tools you'll be using include the jack (A) and the
wrench (B).
Removing the Flat Tire and Installing
the Spare Tire
1. If your vehicle has a wheel cover or hubcap that
has plastic wheel nut caps, loosen the plastic nut
caps. You may need to use the wheel wrench
to loosen them. Do not pry off wheel covers
or center caps that have plastic wheel nut caps.
2. Then remove the wheel cover or center cap from
the wheel to ®nd the wheel nuts.
5-59

5. Raise the vehicle by turning the wrench clockwise.
Raise the vehicle far enough off the ground so there
is enough room for the compact spare tire to ®t.
6. Remove all of the wheel nuts.
7. Then 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
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.
5-62

9. Install the compact spare tire. Put the wheel nuts
back on with the cone end of the nuts toward the
wheel. Tighten each nut by hand or with the wrench
until the wheel is held against the hub.10. Lower the vehicle by turning the wrench
counterclockwise. Lower the jack completely.
5-63

11. 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.
Don't try to put a wheel cover on your compact spare
tire. It won't ®t. Store the wheel cover and wheel
nut caps in the trunk until you have the ¯at tire repaired
or replaced.
Notice:Wheel covers won't ®t on your compact
spare. If you try to put a wheel cover on your
compact spare, you could damage the cover or
the spare.
5-64

After installing the compact spare on your vehicle,
you should stop as soon as possible and make sure
your spare tire is correctly in¯ated. The compact spare
is made to perform well at speeds up to 65 mph
(105 km/h) for distances up to 3,000 miles (5 000 km),
so you can ®nish your trip and have your full-size
tire repaired or replaced where you want. Of course,
it's best to replace your spare with a full-size tire as soon
as you can. Your spare will last longer and be in good
shape in case you need it again.
Notice:When the compact spare is installed, don't
take your vehicle through an automatic car wash
with guide rails. The compact spare can get caught
on the rails. That can damage the tire and wheel,
and maybe other parts of your vehicle.
Don't use your compact spare on other vehicles.
And don't mix your compact spare tire or wheel with
other wheels or tires. They won't ®t. Keep your spare tire
and its wheel together.
Notice:Tire chains won't ®t your compact spare.
Using them can damage your vehicle and can
damage the chains too. Don't use tire chains on
your compact spare.
Appearance Care
Remember, cleaning products can be hazardous. Some
are toxic. Others can burst into ¯ames if you strike a
match or get them on a hot part of the vehicle. Some are
dangerous if you breathe their fumes in a closed
space. When you use anything from a container to clean
your vehicle, be sure to follow the manufacturer's
warnings and instructions. And always open your doors
or windows when you are cleaning the inside.
Never use these to clean your vehicle:
·Gasoline
·Benzene
·Naphtha
·Carbon Tetrachloride
·Acetone
·Paint Thinner
·Turpentine
·Lacquer Thinner
·Nail Polish Remover
They can all be hazardous Ð some more than
others Ð and they can all damage your vehicle, too.
5-67