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Secondary Latch System
Your vehicle has an underbody mounted tire hoist
assembly equipped with a secondary latch system. It is
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.
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1. If the cable is not visible, start this procedure
at Step 3.
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 held rmly in place, this
lets you know that the secondary latch has
released.
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7. Lower the jack by turning the folding wrench
counterclockwise. Keep lowering the jack until
the spare tire is resting on the folding wrench.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.
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