Page 337 of 420

’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
329
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
1. Reduce your speed gradually,
keeping a straight line. Move cau-
tiously off the road to a safe place
well away from the traffic. Avoid
stopping on the center divider of
a highway. Park on a level spot
with firm ground.
2. Stop the engine and turn on your emergency flashers.
3. Firmly set the parking brake and put the transmission in “P”.
4. Have everyone get out of the ve- hicle on the side away from traffic.
5. Read the following instructions thoroughly.CAUTION
When jacking, be sure to observe
the following to reduce the possi-
bility of personal injury:
Follow jacking instructions.
Do not put any part of your
body under the vehicle sup-
ported by the jack. Otherwise,
personal injury may occur.
Do not start or run the engine
while your vehicle is supported
by the jack.
Stop the vehicle on a level firm
ground, firmly set the parking
brake and put the transmission
in “P”. Block the wheel diago-
nally opposite to the one being
changed if necessary.
Make sure to set the jack prop-
erly in the jack point. Raising
the vehicle with jack improper-
ly positioned will damage the
vehicle or may allow the ve-
hicle to fall off the jack and
cause personal injury.
Never get under the vehicle
when the vehicle is supported
by the jack alone.
Use the jack only for lifting
your vehicle during wheel
changing.
Do not raise the vehicle with
someone in the vehicle.
When raising the vehicle, do
not place any objects on top
of or underneath the jack.
Raise the vehicle only high
enough to remove and change
the tire.
If you have a flat tire—
Page 339 of 420
’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
331
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
To remove the jack, rotate the jack
joint by hand until the jack becomes
free.To store the jack, ro tate the jack joint
until the jack is firmly secured.
This prevents the jack from flying for-
ward during a collision or sudden
stop.To detach the spare tire:
1. Vehicles with aluminium wheels— Remove the inside spare tire cov-
er by turning it counterclockwise.
Page 341 of 420
’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
333
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
5. Put the adapter socket (for remov-
ing a spar e tir e) on the spar e tir e
clamp bolt.6. Threading the jack handle throughthe adapter socket, turn the jack
handle counterclockwise. Contin-
ue until the spare tire is lowered
completely to the ground.7. Pull out the spare tire and standit up against the bumper.
Page 342 of 420
’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
334
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
8. Remove the holding bracket.
Vehicles with aluminium wheels—
Remove the spare tire cover.2. Block the wheel diagonally op-posite the flat tire to keep the
vehicle from rolling when it is
jacked up.
When blocking the wheel, place a
wheel block in front of one of the front
wheels or behind one of the rear
wheels.Ty p e A
Ty p e B
—Blocking the wheel —Removing wheel ornament
Page 343 of 420
’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
335
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
3. Remove the wheel ornament.
Pry off the wheel ornament, using the
beveled end of the wheel nut wrench
as shown.
CAUTION
Do not try to pull off the orna-
ment by hand. Take due care in
handling the ornament to avoid
unexpected personal injury.
4. Loosen all the wheel nuts.
Always loosen the wheel nuts before
raising the vehicle.
Turn the wheel nuts counterclockwise
to loosen. To get maximum leverage,
fit the wrench to the nut so that the
handle is on the right side, as shown
above. Grab the wrench near the end
of the handle and pull up on the han-
dle. Be careful that the wrench does
not slip off the nut.
Do not remove the nuts yet—just un-
screw them about one −half turn.
CAUTION
Never use oil or grease on the
bolts or nuts. The nuts may loose
and the wheels may fall off,
which could cause a serious ac-
cident.
—Loosening wheel nuts
Page 344 of 420
’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
336
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
5. Position the jack at the correct
jack point as shown.
Make sure the jack is positioned on
a level and solid place.6. After making sure that no one is in the vehicle, raise it high
enough so that the spare tire
can be installed.
Remember you will need more ground
clearance when putting on the spare
tire than when removing the flat tire.
To raise the vehicl e, insert the jack
handle into the jack (it is a loose fit)
and turn it clockwise. As the jack
touches the vehicle and begins to lift,
double −check that it is properly posi-
tioned.
CAUTION
Never get under the vehicle when
the vehicle is supported by the
jack alone.
—Positioning the jack —Raising your vehicle
Page 346 of 420

’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
338
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
CAUTION
Never use oil or grease on the
bolts or nuts. Doing so may lead
to overtightening the nuts and
damaging the bolts. The nuts
may loose and the wheels may
fall off, which could cause a seri-
ous accident. If there is oil or
grease on any bolt or nut, clean
it.
9. Lower the vehicle completely
and tighten the wheel nuts.
Turn the jack handle counterclock-
wise to lower the vehicle.
Use only the wheel nut wrench and
turn it clockwise to tighten the nuts.
Do not use other tools or any addition-
al leverage other than your hands,
such as a hammer, pipe or your foot.
Make sure the wrench is securely en-
gaged over the nut. Tighten each nut a little at a time in
the order shown. Repeat the process
until all the nuts are tight.
CAUTION
When lowering the vehicle,
make sure all portions of your
body and all other persons
around will not be injured as
the vehicle is lowered to the
ground.
Have the wheel nuts tightened
with torque wrench to 103 N·m
(10.5 kgf·m, 76 ft·lbf), as soon
as possible after changing
wheels. Otherwise, the nuts
may loosen and the wheels
may fall off, which could cause
a serious accident.
—Lowering your vehicle
Page 352 of 420
’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
344
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
1. Remove the front towing eyelet cover
on the front bumper by pushing the
outside of the cover.2. Use the front towing eyelet in the lug-gage compartment. Secure it to the
hole on the bumper by turning clock-
wise. (For the towing eyelet location,
see “—Required tools and spare tire”
on page 330 in this Section.)3. Tighten the front towing eyelet securelyby a wheel nut wrench.
CAUTION
When installing the eyelet on the ve-
hicle, be sure to tighten the front
eyelet securely. If the eyelet is loose,
it may come off when being towed
and result in death or serious injury.
—Installing front towing eyelet