2012 FORD ESCAPE wheel alignment

Tire and wheel alignment
A bad jolt from hitting a curb or pothole can cause the front end of your
vehicle to become misaligned or cause damage to your tires. If your
vehicle seems to pull to one side when you’re driving, the wheels may be
out of alignment. Have an authorized dealer check the wheel alignment
periodically.
Wheel misalignment in the front or the rear can cause uneven and rapid
treadwear of your tires and should be corrected by an authorized dealer.
Front-wheel drive (FWD) vehicles and those with an independent rear
suspension (if equipped) may require alignment of all four wheels.
The tires should also be balanced periodically. An unbalanced tire and
wheel assembly may result in irregular tire wear.
Tire rotation
Rotating your tires at the recommended interval (as indicated in the
Scheduled Maintenancechapter) will help your tires wear more evenly,
providing better tire performance and longer tire life.
•Front-wheel drive (FWD) vehicles
(front tires at top of diagram)
•Four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicles
(front tires at top of diagram)
Sometimes irregular tire wear can be corrected by rotating the tires.
Tires, Wheels and Loading
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Note:If your tires show uneven wear ask an authorized dealer to check
for and correct any wheel misalignment, tire imbalance or mechanical
problem involved before tire rotation.
Note:Your vehicle may be equipped with a dissimilar spare tire/wheel. A
dissimilar spare tire/wheel is defined as a spare tire and/or wheel that is
different in brand, size or appearance from the road tires and wheels. If
you have a dissimilar spare tire/wheel it is intended for temporary use
only and should not be used in a tire rotation.
Note:After having your tires rotated, inflation pressure must be checked
and adjusted to the vehicle requirements.
INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE TIRE SIDEWALL
Both U.S. and Canada Federal regulations require tire manufacturers to
place standardized information on the sidewall of all tires. This
information identifies and describes the fundamental characteristics of
the tire and also provides a U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number for
safety standard certification and in case of a recall.
Information on “P” type tires
P215/65R15 95H is an example of a
tire size, load index and speed
rating. The definitions of these
items are listed below. (Note that
the tire size, load index and speed
rating for your vehicle may be
different from this example.)
1.P:Indicates a tire, designated by
the Tire and Rim Association
(T&RA), that may be used for
service on cars, SUVs, minivans and
light trucks.
Note:If your tire size does not
begin with a letter this may mean it
is designated by either ETRTO
(European Tire and Rim Technical Organization) or JATMA (Japan Tire
Manufacturing Association).
2.215:Indicates the nominal width of the tire in millimeters from
sidewall edge to sidewall edge. In general, the larger the number, the
wider the tire.
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Driving style — good driving and fuel economy habits
Give consideration to the lists that follow and you may be able to change
a number of variables and improve your fuel economy.
Habits
•Smooth, moderate operation can yield up to 10% savings in fuel.
•Steady speeds without stopping will usually give the best fuel
economy.
•Idling for long periods of time (greater than one minute) may waste
fuel.
•Anticipate stopping; slowing down may eliminate the need to stop.
•Sudden or hard accelerations may reduce fuel economy.
•Slow down gradually.
•Driving at reasonable speeds (traveling at 55 mph [88 km/h] uses 15%
less fuel than traveling at 65 mph [105 km/h]).
•Revving the engine before turning it off may reduce fuel economy.
•Using the air conditioner or defroster may reduce fuel economy.
•You may want to turn off the speed control in hilly terrain if
unnecessary shifting between the top gears occurs. Unnecessary
shifting of this type could result in reduced fuel economy.
•Warming up a vehicle on cold mornings is not required and may
reduce fuel economy.
•Resting your foot on the brake pedal while driving may reduce fuel
economy.
•Combine errands and minimize stop-and-go driving.
Maintenance
•Keep tires properly inflated and use only recommended size.
•Operating a vehicle with the wheels out of alignment will reduce fuel
economy.
•Use recommended engine oil. Refer toMaintenance product
specifications and capacitiesin this chapter.
•Perform all regularly scheduled maintenance items. Follow the
recommended maintenance schedule and owner maintenance checks
found inscheduled maintenance information.
Maintenance and Specifications
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Seats ..........................................112
child safety seats ....................158
heated ......................................117
SecuriCode keyless entry
system ........................................106
SecuriLock passive anti-theft
system ........................................108
Servicing your vehicle ..............285
Setting the clock .........................28
Snowplowing .................................6
SOS Post Crash Alert ...............153
Spark plugs,
specifications .....................323, 327
Special notice
ambulance conversions ..............6
utility-type vehicles ....................6
Specification chart,
lubricants ...................................324
Speed control ..............................74
Starting a flex fuel vehicle .......209
Starting your
vehicle ........................206–207, 209
jump starting ..........................265
Steering wheel
controls ......................................76
tilting .........................................66
Stereo
CD-MP3 .....................................28
SYNC..........................................45
T
Tilt steering wheel ......................66
Tire Pressure Monitoring
System (TPMS)
Tires, Wheels and Loading ....189
Tires ...........................174–176, 254alignment ................................183
care ..........................................179
changing ..................254, 257, 259
checking the pressure ............179
inflating ...................................177
label .........................................188
replacing ..................................180
rotating ....................................183
safety practices .......................182
sidewall information ...............184
snow tires and chains ............193
spare tire .........................255, 257
terminology .............................176
tire grades ...............................175
treadwear ........................175, 179
Towing .......................................201
recreational towing .................204
trailer towing ..........................201
wrecker ....................................268
Transmission
automatic operation ...............224
brake-shift interlock (BSI) ....222
fluid, checking and adding
(automatic) .............................316
fluid, checking and adding
(manual) .........................316, 319
fluid, refill capacities ..............324
lubricant specifications ..........324
manual operation ....................226
Trunk ...........................................89
Turn signal ..................................57
U
Universal garage door opener ....79
USB port ......................................39
V
Vehicle Identification Number
(VIN) ..........................................328
Index
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Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)