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Service............................................................5-3
Doing Your Own Service Work.........................5-4
Adding Equipment to the Outside of Your
Vehicle......................................................5-5
Fuel................................................................5-5
Gasoline Octane............................................5-5
Gasoline Specifications....................................5-5
California Fuel...............................................5-5
Additives.......................................................5-6
Fuels in Foreign Countries...............................5-7
Filling Your Tank............................................5-7
Filling a Portable Fuel Container.......................5-9
Checking Things Under the Hood....................5-10
Hood Release..............................................5-10
Engine Compartment Overview.......................5-12
Engine Oil...................................................5-15
Engine Oil Life System..................................5-18
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter................................5-20
Automatic Transaxle Fluid..............................5-21
Engine Coolant.............................................5-22
Engine Overheating.......................................5-24
Cooling System............................................5-26
Power Steering Fluid.....................................5-31
Windshield Washer Fluid................................5-32
Brakes........................................................5-33
Battery........................................................5-36
Jump Starting...............................................5-37Bulb Replacement..........................................5-42
Halogen Bulbs..............................................5-42
Headlamps..................................................5-42
Front Turn Signal and Parking Lamps..............5-43
Center High-Mounted Stoplamp (CHMSL).........5-44
Taillamps, Turn Signal, and Stoplamps............5-44
Replacement Bulbs.......................................5-45
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement..............5-45
Tires..............................................................5-46
Tire Sidewall Labelling...................................5-47
Tire Terminology and Definitions.....................5-49
Inflation - Tire Pressure.................................5-52
Tire Inspection and Rotation...........................5-53
When It Is Time for New Tires.......................5-54
Buying New Tires.........................................5-55
Uniform Tire Quality Grading..........................5-56
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance..................5-57
Wheel Replacement......................................5-57
Tire Chains..................................................5-59
If a Tire Goes Flat........................................5-60
Changing a Flat Tire.....................................5-61
Removing the Spare Tire and Tools................5-62
Removing the Flat Tire and Installing the
Spare Tire................................................5-64
Storing a Flat or Spare Tire and Tools............5-69
Compact Spare Tire......................................5-70
Section 5 Service and Appearance Care
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How to Check
Use a good quality pocket-type gage to check tire
pressure. You cannot tell if your tires are properly inflated
simply by looking at them. Radial tires may look properly
inflated even when they are under-inflated. Check the
tire’s inflation pressure when the tires are cold. Cold
means your vehicle has been sitting for at least
three hours or driven no more than 1 mile (1.6 km).
Remove the valve cap from the tire valve stem. Press
the tire gage firmly onto the valve to get a pressure
measurement. If the cold tire inflation pressure matches
the recommended pressure on the Tire and Loading
Information label, no further adjustment is necessary. If
the inflation pressure is low, add air until you reach
the recommended amount.
If you overfill the tire, release air by pushing on the
metal stem in the center of the tire valve. Re-check the
tire pressure with the tire gage.
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 5,000 to 8,000 miles
(8 000 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. SeeWhen It Is Time for
New Tires on page 5-54andWheel Replacement on
page 5-57for more information.
The purpose of regular rotation is to achieve more
uniform wear for all tires on the vehicle. The first rotation
is the most important. SeeScheduled Maintenance on
page 6-4.
When rotating your tires, always use the correct rotation
pattern shown here.
Do not include the compact spare tire in your tire
rotation.
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Buying New Tires
To find out what kind and size of tires your vehicle
needs, look at the tire and loading information label. For
more information about this label and its location on
your vehicle, seeLoading Your Vehicle on page 4-30.
The tires installed on your vehicle when it was new had a
Tire Performance Criteria Specification (TPC Spec)
number on each tire’s sidewall. When you get new tires,
GM recommends that you get tires 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. SeeCompact Spare
Tire on page 5-70.
{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.
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When you have a flat tire, use the following example as a
guide to assist you in the placement of wheel blocks.
The following information will tell you next how to use
the jack and change a tire.Removing the Spare Tire and Tools
The equipment you’ll need is in the trunk.
1. Turn the center retainer
nut on the compact
spare tire cover
counterclockwise to
remove it.
2. Lift and remove the cover.
You will find the jacking instructions label on the
underside of the tire cover.
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3. Turn the wing nut
counterclockwise and
remove it. Then lift
off the adapter
and remove the
compact spare tire.
SeeCompact Spare
Tire on page 5-70
for more information
about the compact
spare tire.
4. Remove the jack and wrench from the trunk. The
jack and wheel wrench are stored in a foam tray.
Remove the band around the jack.The tools you’ll be using include the jack (A) and the
wrench (B).
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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. Remove the wheel cover or center cap from the
wheel to find the wheel nuts.If your vehicle has a wheel cover or hubcap without
plastic wheel nut caps, gently pry on the edge of the
plastic wheel trim to remove it from the wheel to find
the wheel nuts.
3. Use the wrench to loosen all the wheel nuts. Don’t
remove them yet.
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6. 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
fit underneath the wheel well.
7. Remove all of the wheel nuts.
8. Remove the flat tire.
{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.
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9. Remove any rust or dirt
from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces
and spare wheel.
10. Install the compact spare tire.
11. Put the wheel nuts back on with the rounded end of
the nuts toward the wheel. Tighten each nut by
hand or with the wrench until the wheel is held
against the hub.
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