1998 Pontiac Firebird Owner's Manual - Page 236

If a Tire Goes Flat Changing a Flat Tire It's unusualfor a tire to "blow out" while you're driving,If a tire goesflat, avoid furthertire and wheel damage especially if you maintain your tires properly. air goes If by driving slowly to a level place.r on your hazard T n u out of a tire, it's much more likely to leak out slowly. warning flashers. But if you should everhave a "blowout," here are a few and tips about what to expect what to do: CAUTION: If a front tire fails, the flat tire will create a drag that I pulls the vehicle toward that side. Take youroff the foot accelerator pedal and grip steering wheel firmly. the Changing a tire can cause an injury. Thevehicle Steer to maintain lane position, and then gently brake to can slip off the jack and overyou or other roll a stop well out the traffic lane. of people. You and they could be badly injured. Find a level place to change your tire. To help A rear blowout, particularly on a curve, acts much a like skid and may require the same correction you'd usea in prevent thevehicle from moving: skid. In any rear blowout, remove your foot from the 1 Set the parking brakefirmly. . accelerator pedal. Get the vehicle under control by 2 Put an automatic transmission shift lever in . steering theway you want the vehicle to It may be go. PARK (P), or shift a manual transmission to very bumpy and noisy, but you can still steer. Gently FIRST (1) or REVERSE ( ) R. brake to a stop well off the road if possible. -3. I'urn off the engine. If a tire goesflat, the nextpart shows how to your use To be even more certain the vehicle won't move, jacking equipment to change a flat tire safely. you can putblocks at the front and rearthe of tire farthestaway from theone being changed. side f That would be the tire on the other o the vehicle, at the opposite end. 5-27 A