For 1990-2009 cars

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 the shift lever in P (Park).
3. Turn off the engine and do not restart while the vehicle is raised.
4. Do not allow passengers to remain in the vehicle.

To be even more certain the vehicle will not move, you should put blocks at the front and rear of the tire farthest away from the one being changed. That would be the tire, on the other side, at the opposite end of the vehicle.

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

### Removing the Spare Tire and Tools (Sedan)

The equipment you'll need is located in the trunk.

1. Open the jack access door on the left side panel of the trunk.
2. Remove the nut that holds the jack in place and remove the jack together with the wheel wrench.
3. Lift the trunk liner and place the plastic hook in the lip of the trunk.
4. Remove the nut that holds down the spare tire.
5. Remove the compact spare tire. See Compact Spare Tire
6. The wheel wrench is held in place by two clips which are attached to the jack. Remove the wheel wrench from the jack.
7. Fold out the socket portion of the wrench from the handle.

### Removing the Spare Tire and Tools (Wagon)

The equipment you'll need is in the cargo area.

1. Lift up the spare tire cover by the handle. Fold the side panels in and then attach the cover to the liftgate with the hook provided.
2. Remove the nut that holds down the spare tire.
3. Remove the compact spare tire. See Compact Spare Tire
4. Remove the wing-bolt that holds the jack in place and remove the jack together with the wheel wrench.
5. The wheel wrench is held in place by two clips which are attached to the jack. Remove the wheel wrench from the jack.
6. 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).

### Removing the Wheel

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.

### Removing the Flat Tire and Installing the Spare Tire

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. Your vehicle has jack notches. Position the jack in the notch near the tire being changed, but 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.

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.

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 compact spare tire to fit underneath the wheel well.
7. Remove all of the wheel nuts.
8. 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 the wheel, or on the parts to which it is fastened, can make the wheel bolts 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 wheel bolts. If you do, the wheel bolts might come loose. Your wheel could fall off, causing a serious accident.

9. Place the compact spare tire on the wheel-mounting surface.
10. Reinstall the wheel nuts. Tighten each nut by hand until the wheel is held against the hub.
11. Lower the vehicle by turning the jack handle counterclockwise.

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

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

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

12. Lower the jack all the way and remove the jack from under the vehicle.
13. 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.

### Storing a Flat or Spare Tire and Tools

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.

#### Sedan

#### Wagon

1. Place the wheel wrench into the clips on the jack.
2. Install the jack in the left side panel of the trunk for sedans or the spare tire compartment for wagons and secure as shown on the jacking instruction label located in the trunk or cargo area.
3. Place the flat tire, face down, into the spare tire compartment. When placing an aluminum flat tire into the spare tire compartment, be very careful to avoid scraping the wheel face on the hold-down bolt and other hard surfaces. The hold-down bolt should pass through the rear most wheel vent hold. The flat tirel will protrude above the trunk floor in this position.
4. Place the nut onto the hold-down bolt and tighten down until it is snug.

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 trunk or cargo area separately.

Store the flat tire in the compact spare tire compartment and secure the adapter, extension (aluminum wheel only) and wing bolt. Store the jack and wheel wrench in the foam tray.