2004 BUICK RANDEZVOUS spare tire

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 4-36.
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.
5-70

Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Quality grades can be found where applicable on the
tire sidewall between tread shoulder and maximum
section width. For example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA Temperature A
The following information relates to the system
developed by the United States National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, which grades tires by
treadwear, traction and temperature performance. (This
applies only to vehicles sold in the United States.)
The grades are molded on the sidewalls of most
passenger car tires. The Uniform Tire Quality Grading
system does not apply to deep tread, winter-type
snow tires, space-saver or temporary use spare tires,
tires with nominal rim diameters of 10 to 12 inches
(25 to 30 cm), or to some limited-production tires.
While the tires available on General Motors passenger
cars and light trucks may vary with respect to these
grades, they must also conform to federal safety
requirements and additional General Motors Tire
Performance Criteria (TPC) standards.
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative rating based on
the wear rate of the tire when tested under controlled
conditions on a specied government test course.
For example, a tire graded 150 would wear one and
a half (1.5) times as well on the government course as
a tire graded 100. The relative performance of tires
depends upon the actual conditions of their use,
however, and may depart signicantly from the norm
due to variations in driving habits, service practices and
differences in road characteristics and climate.
Traction – AA, A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are AA, A,
B, and C. Those grades represent the tire’s ability
to stop on wet pavement as measured under controlled
conditions on specied government test surfaces of
asphalt and concrete. A tire marked C may have poor
traction performance. Warning: The traction grade
assigned to this tire is based on straight-ahead braking
traction tests, and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydroplaning, or peak traction characteristics.
5-71

Removing the Spare Tire and Tools
The equipment you will need is located in the storage
compartment on the passenger’s side, at the rear of the
vehicle.
1. Open the jack storage compartment by lifting up the
tab and pulling the cover off.
A. Jack
B. Wing Bolt
C. Jacking Instructions
D. Folding Wrench
E. Wing Nut
F. J-Hook2. Remove the jack and jacking tools by turning the
wing bolt counterclockwise.
3. Separate the jack by lifting up the jack from the
bracket tab and remove the folding wrench from
the jack.
The tools you will be using include the jack (A),
folding wrench (B), wing nut (C), and J-hook (D).
5-78

Removing the Spare Tire (Vehicles without
the Rear Convenience Center)
The compact spare tire is located under the vehicle,
behind the rear bumper. Use the spare tire hoist to raise,
lower and store the compact spare tire. SeeCompact
Spare Tire on page 5-98for more information about the
compact spare.
A. Hoist Shaft
B. Folding Wrench
C. Hoist Assembly
D. Retainer
E. Compact Spare Tire1. Flip the rear cargo area carpet cut out to expose
the hoist shaft.
2. Attach the folding wrench into the hoist shaft.
3. Turn the folding wrench counterclockwise to lower
the spare tire to the ground. Continue turning the
wrench until the spare tire can be pulled out
from under the vehicle.
4. To remove the spare tire from the cable, tilt the
retainer and slip it through the wheel opening.
5-79

5. After removing the spare tire, turn the wrench
clockwise to raise the cable back up.
Do not store a full-size or a at road tire under the
vehicle. See “Storing a Flat or Spare Tire and
Tools” later in this section.
To continue changing the at tire see “Removing the
Flat Tire and Installing the Spare Tire” later in this
section.
If the spare tire will not lower, the secondary latch may
be engaged causing the tire not to lower.Do the following to check the cable:
1. Check under the vehicle to see if the cable is
visible.
2. If it is not visible, see “Secondary Latch System”
later in this section.
If it is visible, rst try to tighten the cable by turning
the folding wrench clockwise until you hear two
clicks or feel it skip twice. You cannot over-tighten
the cable.
3. Then loosen the cable by turning the wrench
counterclockwise three or four turns.
4. If the spare tire has not lowered, tighten the cable
all the way and then loosen it at least two times.
If the spare tire did lower to the ground, continue
with Step 4 under “Removing the Spare Tire
(Vehicles without the Rear Convenience Center)”
earlier in this section.
5. If you still cannot lower the spare tire to the ground,
see “Secondary Latch System” later in this section.
5-80

Removing the Spare Tire (Vehicles with
the Rear Convenience Center)
The compact spare tire is located under the vehicle,
ahead of the rear bumper. SeeCompact Spare Tire on
page 5-98for more information about the compact spare.A. Rear Convenience Center
B. Folding Wrench
C. Storage Compartment Cap Hole
D. Hoist Shaft
E. Compact Spare Tire
F. Retainer
G. Hoist Shaft Assembly
1. Open the storage compartment door of the
convenience center that is nearest the liftgate and
remove the cap on the bottom of the storage
compartment.
2. Flip the cut out carpet that is located through the
hole of the storage compartment.
5-81

3. Attach the folding wrench into the hoist shaft.
4. Turn the folding wrench counterclockwise to lower
the spare tire to the ground. Continue turning the
wrench until the spare tire can be pulled out
from under the vehicle.
5. To remove the spare tire from the cable, tilt the
retainer and slip it through the wheel opening.6. After removing the spare tire, turn the wrench
clockwise to raise the cable back up.
Do not store a full-size or a at road tire under the
vehicle. See “Storing a Flat or Spare Tire and
Tools” later in this section.
To continue changing the at tire see “Removing the Flat
Tire and Installing the Spare Tire” later in this section.
5-82

If the spare tire will not lower, the secondary latch may
be engaged causing the tire not to lower. Do the
following to check the cable:
1. Check under the vehicle to see if the cable is
visible.
2. If it is not visible, see “Secondary Latch System”
following.
If it is visible, rst try to tighten the cable by turning
the folding wrench clockwise until you hear two
clicks or feel it skip twice. You cannot over-tighten
the cable.
3. Then loosen the cable by turning the wrench
counterclockwise three or four turns.4. If the spare tire has not lowered, tighten the cable
all the way and then loosen it at least two times.
If the spare tire did lower to the ground, continue
with Step 5 under “Removing the Spare Tire
(Vehicles with the Rear Convenience Center)”
earlier in this section.
5. If you still cannot lower the spare tire to the ground,
see “Secondary Latch System” following.
5-83