9-2 Vehicle Care
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
Tire Pressure MonitorSystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Tire Pressure Monitor Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-55
Tire Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-58
Tire Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-58
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-59
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60
Different Size Tires and Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-62
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-62
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-64
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . . 9-65
Tire Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-66
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . . 9-67
Tire Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-69
Compact Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . 9-76Jump Starting
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-78
Towing
Towing the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 9-81
Recreational Vehicle Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-81
Appearance Care
Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-85
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-89
General Information
For service and parts needs, visit
your dealer/retailer. You will receive
genuine GM parts and GM-trained
and supported service people.
Genuine GM parts have one of
these marks:
Vehicle Care 9-23
Brakes
This vehicle has disc brakes. Disc
brake pads have built-in wear
indicators that make a high-pitched
warning sound when the brake pads
are worn and new pads are needed.
The sound can come and go or be
heard all the time the vehicle is
moving, except when applying the
brake pedal firmly.
{WARNING
The brake wear warning sound
means that soon the brakes will
not work well. That could lead to
an accident. When the brake
wear warning sound is heard,
have the vehicle serviced.
Notice: Continuing to drive with
worn-out brake pads could result
in costly brake repair. Some driving conditions or climates
can cause a brake squeal when the
brakes are first applied or lightly
applied. This does not mean
something is wrong with the brakes.
Properly torqued wheel nuts are
necessary to help prevent brake
pulsation. When tires are rotated,
inspect brake pads for wear and
evenly tighten wheel nuts in the
proper sequence to torque
specifications in
Capacities and
Specifications on page 11‑2.
Brake linings should always be
replaced as complete axle sets.
Brake Pedal Travel
See your dealer/retailer if the brake
pedal does not return to normal
height, or if there is a rapid increase
in pedal travel. This could be a
sign that brake service might be
required.
Brake Adjustment
Every time the brakes are applied,
with or without the vehicle moving,
the brakes adjust for wear.
Replacing Brake System Parts
The braking system on a vehicle is
complex. Its many parts have to be
of top quality and work well together
if the vehicle is to have really good
braking. The vehicle was designed
and tested with top-quality brake
parts. When parts of the braking
system are replaced, be sure to get
new, approved replacement parts.
If this is not done, the brakes might
not work properly. For example,
installing disc brake pads that are
wrong for the vehicle, can change
the balance between the front and
rear brakes —for the worse. The
braking performance expected can
change in many other ways if the
wrong replacement brake parts are
installed.
9-30 Vehicle Care
5. Align the wiper blade with thearm and hold both ends of the
arm while gently squeezing until
the blade snaps into place.
Do not apply excessive force
during this operation.
Reposition the blade in the arm
and repeat, if blade is not
correctly positioned.
6. Place the wiper arm with the wiper blade attached back on
the liftgate glass.Headlamp Aiming
The headlamp aiming system has
been preset at the factory.
If the vehicle is damaged in an
accident, the aim of the headlamps
may be affected and adjustment
may be necessary.
It is recommended that a dealer/
retailer adjust the headlamps. To
re-aim the headlamps yourself, use
the following procedure.
The vehicle should be properly
prepared as follows. The vehicle:
.Should be placed so the
headlamps are 7.6 m (25 ft) from
a light colored wall.
.Must have all four tires on a
level surface which is level all
the way to the wall.
.Should be placed so it is
perpendicular to the wall or other
flat surface.
.Should not have any snow, ice,
or mud on it.
.Should be fully assembled and
all other work stopped while
headlamp aiming is being
performed.
.Should be normally loaded with
a full tank of fuel and one person
or 75 kg (160 lbs) sitting in the
driver's seat.
.Tires should be properly inflated.
Headlamp aiming is done with the
vehicle's low-beam headlamps. The
high-beam headlamps will be
correctly aimed if the low-beam
headlamps are aimed properly.
Vehicle Care 9-45
Wheels and Tires
Tires
Your new vehicle comes with
high-quality tires made by a
leading tire manufacturer. If you
ever have questions about your
tire warranty and where to
obtain service, see your vehicle
Warranty booklet for details. For
additional information refer to
the tire manufacturer.
{WARNING
Poorly maintained and improperly
used tires are dangerous.
.Overloading your tires can
cause overheating as a result
of too much flexing. You
could have an air-out and a
serious accident. SeeVehicle
Load Limits on page 8‑22.
.Underinflated tires pose the
same danger as overloaded
tires. The resulting accident
could cause serious injury.
Check all tires frequently to
maintain the recommended
pressure. Tire pressure
should be checked when your
tires are cold. See Tire
Pressure on page 9‑52.
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
.Overinflated tires are more
likely to be cut, punctured
or broken by a sudden
impact—such as when you
hit a pothole. Keep tires at
the recommended pressure.
.Worn, old tires can cause
accidents. If your tread is
badly worn, or if your tires
have been damaged,
replace them.
9-46 Vehicle Care
Tire Sidewall Labeling
Useful information about a tire is
molded into its sidewall. The
examples below show a typical
passenger vehicle tire and a
compact spare tire sidewall.
Passenger (P‐Metric) Tire Example
(A) Tire Size:The tire size is a
combination of letters and
numbers used to define a
particular tire's width, height,
aspect ratio, construction type, and service description. See the
“Tire Size”
illustration later in this
section for more detail.
(B) TPC Spec (Tire
Performance Criteria
Specification)
:Original
equipment tires designed to
GM's specific tire performance
criteria have a TPC specification
code molded onto the sidewall.
GM's TPC specifications meet or
exceed all federal safety
guidelines.
(C) DOT (Department of
Transportation)
:The
Department of Transportation
(DOT) code indicates that the
tire is in compliance with the
U.S. Department of
Transportation Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards.
(D) Tire Identification Number
(TIN)
:The letters and numbers
following the DOT (Department
of Transportation) code is the Tire Identification Number
(TIN). The TIN shows the
manufacturer and plant code,
tire size, and date the tire was
manufactured. The TIN is
molded onto both sides of the
tire, although only one side may
have the date of manufacture.
(E) Tire Ply Material
:The type
of cord and number of plies in
the sidewall and under the tread.
(F) Uniform Tire Quality
Grading (UTQG)
:Tire
manufacturers are required to
grade tires based on three
performance factors: treadwear,
traction, and temperature
resistance. For more information
see Uniform Tire Quality
Grading
on page 9‑62.
(G) Maximum Cold Inflation
Load Limit
:Maximum load
that can be carried and the
maximum pressure needed to
support that load.
Vehicle Care 9-47
Compact Spare Tire Example
(A) Tire Ply Material:The type
of cord and number of plies in
the sidewall and under the tread.
(B) Temporary Use Only
:The
compact spare tire or temporary
use tire has a tread life of
approximately 5 000 km
(3,000 miles) and should not be
driven at speeds over 105 km/h
(65 mph). The compact spare
tire is for emergency use when a regular road tire has lost air and
gone flat. If your vehicle has
a compact spare tire, see
Compact Spare Tire
on
page 9‑76
and If a Tire Goes
Flat
on page 9‑67.
(C) Tire Identification Number
(TIN)
:The letters and numbers
following the DOT (Department
of Transportation) code is the
Tire Identification Number
(TIN). The TIN shows the
manufacturer and plant code,
tire size, and date the tire was
manufactured. The TIN is
molded onto both sides of the
tire, although only one side may
have the date of manufacture.
(D) Maximum Cold Inflation
Load Limit
:Maximum load
that can be carried and the
maximum pressure needed to
support that load. (E) Tire Inflation
:The
temporary use tire or compact
spare tire should be inflated to
420 kPa (60 psi). For more
information on tire pressure and
inflation see Tire Pressure
on
page 9‑52
.
(F) Tire Size
:A combination of
letters and numbers define a
tire's width, height, aspect ratio,
construction type, and service
description. The letter T as the
first character in the tire size
means the tire is for temporary
use only.
(G) TPC Spec (Tire
Performance Criteria
Specification)
:Original
equipment tires designed to
GM's specific tire performance
criteria have a TPC specification
code molded onto the sidewall.
GM's TPC specifications meet or
exceed all federal safety
guidelines.
Vehicle Care 9-51
Radial Ply Tire:A pneumatic
tire in which the ply cords that
extend to the beads are laid at
90 degrees to the centerline of
the tread.
Rim
:A metal support for a tire
and upon which the tire beads
are seated.
Sidewall
:The portion of a tire
between the tread and the bead.
Speed Rating
:An
alphanumeric code assigned
to a tire indicating the maximum
speed at which a tire can
operate.
Traction
:The friction between
the tire and the road surface.
The amount of grip provided.
Tread
:The portion of a tire that
comes into contact with
the road. Treadwear Indicators
:Narrow
bands, sometimes called wear
bars, that show across the tread
of a tire when only 1.6 mm
(1/16 inch) of tread remains.
See When It Is Time for New
Tires
on page 9‑59.
UTQGS (Uniform Tire Quality
Grading Standards)
:A tire
information system that
provides consumers with
ratings for a tire's traction,
temperature, and treadwear.
Ratings are determined by
tire manufacturers using
government testing procedures.
The ratings are molded into the
sidewall of the tire. See Uniform
Tire Quality Grading
on
page 9‑62
. Vehicle Capacity Weight
:The
number of designated seating
positions multiplied by 68 kg
(150 lbs) plus the rated cargo
load. See Vehicle Load Limits
on
page 8‑22
.
Vehicle Maximum Load on the
Tire
:Load on an individual tire
due to curb weight, accessory
weight, occupant weight, and
cargo weight.
Vehicle Placard
:A label
permanently attached to a
vehicle showing the vehicle's
capacity weight and the original
equipment tire size and
recommended inflation pressure.
See “Tire and Loading
Information Label” underVehicle
Load Limits
on page 8‑22.
9-52 Vehicle Care
Tire Pressure
Tires need the correct amount of
air pressure to operate
effectively.
Notice:Do not let anyone tell
you that under‐inflation or
over‐inflation is all right. It is
not. If your tires do not have
enough air (under‐inflation),
you can get the following:
.Too much flexing
.Too much heat
.Tire overloading
.Premature or
irregular wear
.Poor handling
.Reduced fuel economy If your tires have too much air
(over‐inflation), you can get
the following:
.Unusual wear
.Poor handling
.Rough ride
.Needless damage from
road hazards
A vehicle specific Tire and
Loading Information label is
attached to your vehicle. This
label shows your vehicle's
original equipment tires and the
correct inflation pressures for
your tires when they are cold.
The recommended cold tire
inflation pressure, shown on the
label, is the minimum amount of
air pressure needed to support
your vehicle's maximum load
carrying capacity. For additional information
regarding how much weight your
vehicle can carry, and an
example of the Tire and Loading
Information label, see
Vehicle
Load Limits
on page 8‑22. How
you load your vehicle affects
vehicle handling and ride
comfort. Never load your vehicle
with more weight than it was
designed to carry.
When to Check
Check your tires once a
month or more. Do not forget
to check the compact spare
tire, if the vehicle has one.
The compact spare should
be at 60 psi (420 kPa). For
additional information regarding
the compact spare tire, see
Compact Spare Tire
on
page 9‑76
.