Maintenance and service 11 - 3 3
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Tires and wheels „Types of tires
You should be familiar with type of tires
present on your vehicle. T All season tires
The factory-installed ti res on your new ve-
hicle are all season tires.
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 con-
ditions. However all season tires do not of-
fer as much traction performance as win-
ter (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. T Summer tires
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-cov-
ered 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 ti res, be sure to re-place all four tires. T
Winter (snow) tires
Winter tires are best suited for driving on
snow-covered and icy roads. However
winter tires do not perform as well as sum-
mer tires and all season tires on roads oth-
er than snow-covered and icy roads. „ Tire pressure monitoring sys-
tem (TPMS) (if equipped)
The tire pressure mo nitoring system pro-
vides 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 monitor-
ing system will activate only when the ve-
hicle 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 come on. To avoid this
problem when adjusting the tire pressures
in a warm garage, inflate the tires to pres-
sures higher than those shown on the tire
placard. Specifically, inflate them by an
extra 1 psi (6.9 kPa, 0.07 kgf/cm 2
) for ev- ery difference of 10
°F (5.6 °C) between the
temperature in the garage and the tem-
perature outside. By way of example, the
following table shows the required tire
pressures that correspond to various out-
side temperatures when the temperature
in the garage is 60 °F (15.6 °C).
Standard tire pressures:
Front: 32 psi (220 kPa, 2.2 kgf/cm 2
)
Rear: 30 psi (210 kPa, 2.1 kgf/cm 2
)
Garage temperature: 60 °F (15.6 °C)
If the low tire pressure warning light
comes on when you drive the vehicle in
cold outside air after adjusting the tire
pressures in a warm garage, re-adjust the
tire pressures using the method described
above. Then, increase the vehicle speed
to at least 20 mph (32 km/h) and check to
see that the low tire pressure warning light Outside
temperature Adjusted pressure
[psi (kPa, kgf/cm 2
)]
front rear
30 °F (–1 °C) 35 (240, 2.4) 33 (230, 2.3)
10 °F (–12 °C) 37
(255, 2.55) 35
(245, 2.45)
–10 °F
(–23 °C) 39 (270, 2.7) 37 (260, 2.6)
11 - 3 4 Maintenance and service
goes off a few minutes later. If the low tire
pressure warning light does not go off, the
tire pressure monitoring system may not
be functioning normally. In this event, go
to a SUBARU dealer to have the system
inspected as soon as possible.
While the vehicle is driven, friction be-
tween tires and the road surface causes
the tires to warm up. After illumination of
the low tire pressure warning light, any in-
crease in the tire pressures caused by an
increase in the outside air temperature or
by an increase in the temperature in the
tires can cause the low tire pressure warn-
ing light to go off.
System resetting is necessary when the
wheels are changed (for example, a
switch to snow tires) and new TPMS
valves are installed on the newly fitted
wheels. Have this work performed by a
SUBARU dealer following wheel replace- ment.
It may not be possible to install TPMS
valves on certain wheels that are on the
market. Therefore, if you change the
wheels (for example, a switch to snow
tires), use wheels that have the same part
number as the standard-equipment
wheels. Without four operational TPMS
valve/sensors on the wheels, the TPMS will not fully function and the warning light
in the instrument panel will flash.
When a tire is replaced, adjustments are
necessary to ensure continued normal op-
eration of the tire pr
essure monitoring sys-
tem. As with wheel replacement, there-
fore, you should have the work performed
by a SUBARU dealer.
„ Tire inspection
Check on a daily basis that the tires are
free from serious damage, nails, and
stones. At the same time, check the tires
for abnormal wear.
Contact your SUBARU dealer immediate-
ly if you find any problem.
NOTE y When the wheels and tires strike
If the low tire pressure warning light
does not come on br iefly after the ig-
nition switch is turned ON or the
light is flashing, you should have
your Tire Pressure Monitoring Sys-
tem checked at a SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible.
If this light comes on while driving,
never brake suddenly and keep driv-
ing straight ahead while gradually
reducing speed. Then slowly pull off
the road to a safe place. Otherwise
an accident involving serious vehi-
cle damage and serious personal in-
jury could occur.
If this light still comes on while driv-
ing after adjusting the tire pressure,
a tire may have significant damage
and a fast leak that causes the tire to
lose air rapidly. If you have a flat tire,
replace it with a spare tire as soon
as possible.
When a spare tire is mounted or a
wheel rim is replaced without the
original pressure sensor/transmitter
being transferred, the low tire pres-
sure warning light will flash. This in-
dicates the TPMS is unable to moni-
tor all four road wheels. Contact
your SUBARU dealer as soon as
possible for tire and sensor replace-
ment and/or system resetting. If the
light flashes, promptly contact a
SUBARU dealer to have the system
inspected.
