If a tire goes flat, avoid further tire and wheel damage by driving slowly to a level place. Turn on your hazard warning flashers.

Caution: Changing a tire can be dangerous. The vehicle can slip off the jack and roll over or fall on you or other people. You and they could be badly injured or even killed. Find a level place to change your tire. To help prevent the vehicle from moving:

1. Set the parking brake firmly.
2. Put an automatic transmission shift lever in PARK (P), or shift a manual transmission to FIRST (1) or REVERSE (R).
3. Turn off the engine and do not restart while the vehicle is raised.
4. Do not allow passengers to remain in the vehicle.

The following steps will tell you how to use the jack and change a tire.

The equipment you'll need is located in on the driver's side of the rear cargo area.

1. Lift the forward floor panel of the load floor cargo organizer.



2. Remove the forward floor panel of the load floor cargo organizer and place it in the vehicle while you are removing the spare tire.



3. Open the floor cargo organizer locks, located on the top left and right corners of the organizer, by pushing inward on them.



4. Remove the load floor cargo organizer.



5. Remove the wheel retainer bolt holding down the spare tire.
6. Remove the compact spare tire. See Compact Spare Tire for more information about the compact spare tire.
7. Remove the wing-bolt on the jack, and remove the jack and wheel wrench.
8. Remove the Velcro® straps holding the bag containing the wheel wrench. Remove the wheel wrench from the bag.
9. Fold out the socket portion of the wrench from the handle.

The tools you'll be using include the jack (A) and wheel wrench (B).

You must take off the wheel cover or hubcap to reach the wheel bolts.

For steel wheels with full plastic covers and aluminum wheels with large circular center caps, do the following:

Loosen all five hex-shaped plastic caps by turning the wrench counterclockwise. Do not try to remove plastic caps from the cover or center cap.

1. Pull the cover or center cap away from the wheel and place it in the trunk.

When reinstalling full plastic covers or center caps, tighten all five plastic caps hand snug with the aid of the wheel wrench and tighten them with the wheel wrench an additional one-quarter of a turn.

1. Use the wheel wrench to loosen all the wheel nuts. Don't remove them yet.



2. The jack has a bolt head at the end. Attach the wheel wrench to the jack bolt head and rotate the wheel wrench clockwise (to the right). That will raise the lift head a little.
3. Move the jack over to where the flat tire is.



4. Position the lift head at the jack location nearest the flat tire. Make sure all of the jack lift head is touching the jacking flange under the body. Do not place the jack under a body panel. The lower body panel has an arrow to aid in locating the jacking location.

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.

Caution: Lifting a vehicle and getting under it to do maintenance or repairs is dangerous without the appropriate safety equipment and training. If a jack is provided with the vehicle, it is designed only for changing a flat tire. If it is used for anything else, you or others could be badly injured or killed if the vehicle slips off the jack. If a jack is provided with the vehicle, only use it for changing a flat tire.

Notice: Make sure that the jack lift head is in the correct position or you may damage your vehicle. The repairs would not be covered by your warranty.

5. Put the compact spare tire near you.



6. Raise the vehicle by turning the jack handle clockwise. Raise the vehicle far enough off the ground so there is enough room for the road tire to be removed.




Remove all of the wheel nuts.

7. Take off the tire and wheel.




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

Caution: Rust or dirt on a wheel or other parts to which it is fastened, can make the wheel nuts become loose and eventually the wheel could come off and cause a crash. Always remove all rust and dirt from wheels and other parts.

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.

8. Place the compact spare tire on the wheel-mounting surface.
9. Reinstall the wheel nuts. Tighten each nut by hand until the wheel is held against the hub.



10. Lower the vehicle by turning the jack handle counterclockwise.




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

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.

11. Lower the jack all the way and remove the jack from under the vehicle.
12. Tighten the bolts firmly with the wheel wrench.

Do not try to put a wheel cover on your compact spare tire. It will not fit. Store the wheel cover in the trunk until you have the flat tire repaired or replaced.

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.

Caution: Storing a jack, a tire, or other equipment in the passenger compartment of the vehicle could cause injury. In a sudden stop or collision, loose equipment could strike someone. Store all these in the proper place.

1. Place the wheel wrench into the bag and use the Velcro® straps to secure the bag to the jack.



2. Install the jack in the driver's side panel of the rear cargo area and secure with the wingbolt.



3. Remove the wheel stow rod from the upper left side of the floor compartment.
4. Screw the threaded wheel stow rod onto the spare tire bracket. The final position of the wheel stow rod must be rotated to the farthest forward position so that the top of the rod faces forward.
5. Reverse steps 1 through 4 of Removing the Spare Tire and Tools to replace the floor cargo organizer and lock in place.
6. Place the flat, or damaged tire, face down, on the load floor with the threaded wheel stow rod sticking up through the center hole of the wheel.



7. Vehicles equipped with the 3.5L V6 (L66) engine and aluminum wheels, must remove the center cap from the wheel prior to placing it on the load floor. To remove the center cap, tap the cap for the backside of the wheel, then place the wheel on the load floor.
8. Place wheel retainer bolt onto the wheel stow rod and tighten.

The compact spare is for temporary use only. Replace the compact spare tire with a full-size tire as soon as you can. See the storage instructions label to replace your compact spare into your cargo area properly.