Secondary Latch System - Pontiac 2002 Aztek Owner's Manual

Secondary Latch System

Your vehicle has an underbody mounted tire hoist
assembly equipped with a secondary latch system. It's
designed to stop the compact spare tire from suddenly
falling off your vehicle if the cable holding the spare tire
is damaged. For the secondary latch to work, the tire
must be stowed with the valve stem pointing down.
See "Storing the Spare Tire and Tools" in the Index for
instructions on storing the compact spare tire correctly.
CAUTION:
Before beginning this procedure read all the
instructions. Failure to read and follow the
instructions could damage the hoist assembly and
you and others could get hurt. Read and follow
the instructions listed below.
5-28
-
Front Wheel Drive
To release the spare tire from the secondary latch, do the
following:
CAUTION:
Someone standing too close during the procedure
could be injured by the jack. If the spare tire does
not slide off the jack completely, make sure no
one is behind you or on either side of you as you
pull the jack out from under the spare.
If the cable is not visible, start this procedure at Step 2.