1998 Oldsmobile Silhouette Owner's Manual - Page 298

If a Tire Goes Flat It's unusual for a tire "blow out" while you're driving, to i especially if you maintain your tires properly. If a r goes out of a tire, it's muchmore likely to leak slowly. out But if you should ever have a"blowout," here are a few tips aboutwhat to expect and what to do: Changing a Flat Tire If a tire goes flat, avoid further tireand wheel damage by driving slowly to a levelplace. Turn on your hazard warning flashers. If a front tire fails, the flat tire will create athat drag pulls thevehicle toward that side. Take your foot off the accelerator pedal and grip thesteering wheel firmly. Steer tomaintain lane position,and then gentlybrake to a stopwell out of the traffic lane. A rear blowout, particularly on a curve,acts much like a skid and may require the same correction you'd use in a skid. In any rear blowout, remove your foot from the accelerator pedal. Get the vehicle under control by steering theway you want the vehicle to go. It may be very bumpy and noisy,but you can still steer. Gently brake to astop -- well off the road if possible. If a tiregoes flat, the next part shows how to useyour jacking equipment to change a flat tire safely. /1 CAUTION: Changing a tire cancause an injury. The vehicle can slip off the jack androll overyou or other people. You and they could be badly injured. Find a level placeto change your tire. help To prevent the vehicle from moving: 1. Set the parking brake firmly. 2 Put the shift lever inPARK (P). . 3. l h r n off the engine. To be even more certain the vehicle won't move, you can put blocks at the front and rear the of tire farthestaway from the one being changed. That would bethe tire on the other side of the vehicle, at the opposite end. Air Inflator (Option) Your vehicle may have an air inflator used to bring tires up to theproper pressure. See "Accessory Inflator System" in the Index for more details.