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Tires and Wheels
11-22. Tires and Wheels s11av
& Types of Tires s11av01
You should be familiar with type of tires present on your vehicle. The factory installed tires on your new vehicle are summer tires.
! Summer tires s11av0102
Summer tires are high-speed capability tires best suited for highway driving under dry conditions.
Summer tires are inadequate for driving on slippery roads such as on snow-covered or icy roads.
If you drive your vehicle on snow-covered or icy roads, we strongly recommend the use of winter( snow) tires.
When installing winter tires, be sure to replace all four tires.
! All season tires s11av0101
All season tires are designed to provide an adequate measure of traction, handling and braking performance in year-round driving including snowy and icy road conditions. However, all season tires do not offer as much traction performance as winter( snow) tires in heavy or loose snow or on icy roads.
All season tires are identified by“ ALL SEASON” and / or“ M + S”( Mud & Snow) on the tire sidewall.! Winter( snow) tires s11av0103
Winter tires are best suited for driving on snow-covered and icy roads. However, winter tires do not perform as well as summer tires and all season tires on roads other than snow-covered and icy roads.
NOTE
If the tread wears down below 0.16 in( 4 mm) on the snow tires the effectiveness of snow tires is lost.
! Low profile tires s11av0104
Generally, low profile tires will wear more rapidly and tire grip performance will be reduced on snowy and / or icy roads when compared to standard tires. Be sure to use snow tires or tire chains on snowy and / or icy roads and drive carefully at a speed appropriate for road and weather conditions.
NOTE
Low profile tires may cause greater damage than usual to the wheel when receiving impact from the road surface. Therefore pay attention to the following:
. Be sure to use the proper tire inflation pressure. If tires are underinflated, they may be damaged more severely.
. Avoid pot holes, uneven pavement, curbs and other road hazards. Failure to do so may lead to severe tire and wheel damage.
& Tire Pressure Monitoring System( TPMS)( U. S.-Spec. Models) s11av02
The tire pressure monitoring system provides the driver with a warning message by sending a signal from a sensor that is installed in each wheel when tire pressure is severely low. The tire pressure monitoring system will activate only when the vehicle is driven. Also, this system may not react immediately to a sudden drop in tire pressure( for example, a blow-out caused by running over a sharp object).
If you adjust the tire pressures in a warm garage and will then drive the vehicle in cold outside air, the resulting drop in tire pressures may cause the low tire pressure warning light to illuminate. To avoid this problem when adjusting the tire pressures in a warm garage, inflate the tires to pressures higher than those shown on the tire inflation pressure label. Specifically, inflate them by an extra 1 psi( 6.9 kPa, 0.07 kgf / cm 2) for every difference of 108F( 5.68C) between the temperature in