Your vehicle may have aluminum wheels. If so, you will see exposed stainless steel wheel nuts. Use the wheel wrench to loosen all of the wheel nuts. Do not remove them yet.

Your vehicle may have steel wheel covers. To remove the wheel covers and wheel nut caps, loosen the plastic nut caps with the wheel wrench in a counterclockwise direction. If needed, finish loosening them with your fingers. The plastic nut caps will not come off.

Use the flat end of the wheel wrench and pry along the edge of the cover until it comes off. The edge of the wheel cover could be sharp, so do not try to remove it with your bare hands. Do not drop the cover or lay it face down, as it could become scratched or damaged.

Store the wheel cover securely in the rear of the vehicle until you have the flat tire repaired or replaced. Once the wheel cover has been removed, use the following procedure to remove the flat tire and install the spare tire.

1. Do a safety check is done before proceeding. See Changing a Flat Tire for more information.




Loosen the wheel nuts using the folding wrench, but do not remove them.

2. Turn the handle counterclockwise about 180 degrees, then flip the handle back to the starting position. This avoids taking the wrench off the lug nut for each turn.

Notice: If this vehicle has wheel locks and an impact wrench is used to remove the wheel nuts, the lock nut or wheel lock key could be damaged. Do not use an impact wrench to remove the wheel nuts if this vehicle has wheel locks.

Notice: If a jack is used to raise the vehicle without positioning it correctly, the vehicle could be damaged. When raising the vehicle on a jack, avoid contact with the rear axle control arms.

Notice: If you position the jack under the rocker molding and attempt to raise the vehicle, you could break the molding and/or cause other damage to your vehicle. Always position the jack so that when the jack head is raised, it will fit firmly in the notch located inboard from the rocker molding.





Front Location

Rear Location

3. Near each wheel, there is a notch (A and B) in the vehicle's frame, inboard of the rocker molding. Position the jack and raise the jack head until it fits firmly into the notch in the vehicle's frame nearest the flat tire.

Do not raise the vehicle yet.

4. Put the compact spare tire near you.

Caution: Getting under a vehicle when it is jacked up is dangerous. If the vehicle slips off the jack, you could be badly injured or killed. Never get under a vehicle when it is supported only by a jack.

Caution: Raising your vehicle with the jack improperly positioned can damage the vehicle and even make the vehicle fall. To help avoid personal injury and vehicle damage, be sure to fit the jack lift head into the proper location before raising the vehicle.




5. Attach the folding wrench (A) to the jack (B), and turn the wrench clockwise to raise the jack head approximately 3 inches (7.6 cm).



6. Raise the vehicle by turning the folding wrench clockwise in the jack. Raise the vehicle far enough off the ground so there is enough room for the compact spare tire to fit under the wheel well.
7. Remove all the wheel nuts and take off the flat tire.

Caution: Rust or dirt on a wheel, or on the parts to which it is fastened, can make wheel nuts become loose after time. The wheel could come off and cause an accident. When changing a wheel, remove any rust or dirt from places where the wheel attaches to the vehicle. In an emergency, use a cloth or a paper towel to do this; but be sure to use a scraper or wire brush later, if needed, to get all the rust or dirt off. See Changing a Flat Tire .

Caution: Never use oil or grease on bolts or nuts because the nuts might come loose. The vehicle's wheel could fall off, causing a crash.





Remove any rust or dirt from the wheel bolts, mounting surfaces and spare wheel.





Install the compact spare tire and put the wheel nuts back on with the rounded end of the nuts toward the wheel.

8. Tighten each nut by hand until the wheel is held against the hub.



9. Lower the vehicle by attaching the folding wheel wrench to the jack and turning the wrench counterclockwise. Lower the jack completely.

Caution: Incorrect or improperly tightened wheel nuts can cause the wheel to come loose and even come off. This could lead to a crash. If you have to replace them, be sure to get new original equipment wheel nuts. Stop somewhere as soon as you can and have the nuts tightened with a torque wrench to the proper torque specification. See Capacities and Specifications for wheel nut torque specification.

Notice: Improperly tightened wheel nuts can lead to brake pulsation and rotor damage. To avoid expensive brake repairs, evenly tighten the wheel nuts in the proper sequence and to the proper torque specification. See Capacities and Specifications for the wheel nut torque specification.





Tighten the wheel nuts firmly in a crisscross sequence, as shown.

Notice: Wheel covers will not fit on your vehicle's compact spare. If you try to put a wheel cover on the compact spare, the cover or the spare could be damaged.