Periodic Safety Checks You Should Make Outside
The Vehicle
Tires
Examine tires for excessive tread wear and uneven wear
patterns. Check for stones, nails, glass, or other objects
lodged in the tread or sidewall. Inspect the tread for cuts
and cracks. Inspect sidewalls for cuts, cracks and bulges.
Check the wheel nuts for tightness. Check the tires
(including spare) for proper cold inflation pressure.
Lights
Have someone observe the operation of brake lights and
exterior lights while you work the controls. Check turn
signal and high beam indicator lights on the instrument
panel.
Door Latches
Check for positive closing, latching, and locking.
Fluid Leaks
Check area under vehicle after overnight parking for fuel,
engine coolant, oil, or other fluid leaks. Also, if gasoline
fumes are detected or if fuel, power steering fluid, or
brake fluid leaks are suspected, the cause should be
located and corrected immediately.
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 113
TIRES — GENERAL INFORMATION.........518
▫Tire Pressure........................518
▫Tire Inflation Pressures.................519
▫Tire Pressures For High Speed Operation. . . .521
▫Radial Ply Tires......................521
▫All Season Tires – If Equipped............521
▫Summer Or Three Season Tires – If Equipped. .522
▫Snow Tires..........................522
▫Spare Tire Matching Original Equipped Tire And
Wheel – If Equipped...................523
▫Compact Spare Tire – If Equipped.........523
▫Full Size Spare – If Equipped.............524
▫Limited-Use Spare – If Equipped..........524▫Tire Spinning........................525
▫Tread Wear Indicators..................526
▫Life Of Tire.........................526
▫Replacement Tires.....................527
TIRE CHAINS (TRACTION DEVICES).......528
TIRE ROTATION RECOMMENDATIONS.....530
TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR SYSTEM (TPMS) . .531
▫Base System.........................534
▫Premium System – If Equipped............536
▫General Information...................540
FUEL REQUIREMENTS..................541
▫3.6L Engine – If Equipped...............541
▫5.7L Engine – If Equipped...............541
436 STARTING AND OPERATING
Spare Tire Matching Original Equipped Tire And
Wheel – If Equipped
Your vehicle may be equipped with a spare tire and
wheel equivalent in look and function to the original
equipment tire and wheel found on the front or rear axle
of your vehicle. This spare tire may be used in the tire
rotation for your vehicle. If your vehicle has this option
refer to an authorized tire dealer for the recommended
tire rotation pattern.
If your vehicle is not equipped with an original equip-
ment tire and wheel as a spare, a non-matching tempo-
rary emergency use spare may be equipped with your
vehicle. Temporary use spares are engineered to be used
only with your vehicle. Your vehicle may be equipped
with one of the following types of non-matching tempo-
rary use spares; compact, full size, or limited-use. Do not
install more than one non-matching temporary use spare
tire/wheel on the vehicle at any given time.
CAUTION!
Because of the reduced ground clearance, do not take
your vehicle through an automatic car wash with a
compact, full size or limited-use temporary spare
installed. Damage to the vehicle may result.
Compact Spare Tire – If Equipped
The compact spare is for temporary emergency use only.
You can identify if your vehicle is equipped with a
compact spare by looking at the spare tire description on
the Tire and Loading Information Placard located on the
driver ’s side door opening or on the sidewall of the tire.
Compact spare tire descriptions begin with the letter “T”
or “S” preceding the size designation. Example: T145/
80D18 103M.
T, S = Temporary Spare Tire5
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Since this tire has limited tread life the original equip-
ment tire should be repaired (or replaced) and reinstalled
on your vehicle at the first opportunity.
Do not install a wheel cover or attempt to mount a
conventional tire on the compact spare wheel, since the
wheel is designed specifically for the compact spare tire.
Do not install more than one compact spare tire and
wheel on the vehicle at any given time.
WARNING!
Compact spares are for temporary emergency use
only. With these spares, do not drive more than
50 mph (80 km/h). Temporary use spares have limited
tread life. When the tread is worn to the tread wear
indicators, the temporary use spare tire needs to be
replaced. Be sure to follow the warnings, which
apply to your spare. Failure to do so could result in
spare tire failure and loss of vehicle control.
Full Size Spare – If Equipped
The full size spare is for temporary emergency use only.
This tire may look like the original equipped tire on the
front or rear axle of your vehicle, but it is not. This spare
tire may have limited tread life. When the tread is worn
to the tread wear indicators, the temporary use full size
spare tire needs to be replaced. Since it is not the same as
your original equipment tire, replace (or repair) the
original equipment tire and reinstall on the vehicle at the
first opportunity.
Limited-Use Spare – If Equipped
The limited-use spare tire is for temporary emergency
use only. This tire is identified by a label located on the
limited-use spare wheel. This label contains the driving
limitations for this spare. This tire may look like the
original equipped tire on the front or rear axle of your
vehicle, but it is not. Installation of this limited-use spare
tire affects vehicle handling. Since it is not the same as
524 STARTING AND OPERATING
your original equipment tire, replace (or repair) the
original equipment tire and reinstall on the vehicle at the
first opportunity.
WARNING!
Limited-use spares are for emergency use only. In-
stallation of this limited-use spare tire affects vehicle
handling. With this tire, do not drive more than the
speed listed on the limit-use spare wheel. Keep
inflated to the cold tire inflation pressure listed on
your Tire and Loading Information Placard located
on the driver ’s side door opening. Replace (or repair)
the original equipment tire at the first opportunity
and reinstall it on your vehicle. Failure to do so could
result in loss of vehicle control.
Tire Spinning
When stuck in mud, sand, snow, or ice conditions, do not
spin your vehicle’s wheels above 30 mph (48 km/h) or
for longer than 30 seconds continuously without stop-
ping when you are stuck.
Refer to “Freeing A Stuck Vehicle” in “What To Do In
Emergencies” for further information.
WARNING!
Fast spinning tires can be dangerous. Forces gener-
ated by excessive wheel speeds may cause tire dam-
age or failure. A tire could explode and injure some-
one. Do not spin your vehicle’s wheels faster than
30 mph (48 km/h) for more than 30 seconds continu-
ously when you are stuck, and do not let anyone near
a spinning wheel, no matter what the speed.
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WARNING!
Tires and the spare tire should be replaced after six
years, regardless of the remaining tread. Failure to
follow this warning can result in sudden tire failure.
You could lose control and have a collision resulting
in serious injury or death.
Keep dismounted tires in a cool, dry place with as little
exposure to light as possible. Protect tires from contact
with oil, grease, and gasoline.
Replacement Tires
The tires on your new vehicle provide a balance of many
characteristics. They should be inspected regularly for
wear and correct cold tire inflation pressure. The manu-
facturer strongly recommends that you use tires equiva-
lent to the originals in size, quality and performance
when replacement is needed. (Refer to the paragraph on“Tread Wear Indicators”). Refer to the “Tire and Loading
Information” placard for the size designation of your tire.
The Load Index and Speed Symbol for your tire will be
found on the original equipment tire sidewall. See the
Tire Sizing Chart example found in the Tire Safety
Information section of this manual for more information
relating to the Load Index and Speed Symbol of a tire.
It is recommended to replace the two front tires or two
rear tires as a pair. Replacing just one tire can seriously
affect your vehicle’s handling. If you ever replace a
wheel, make sure that the wheel’s specifications match
those of the original wheels.
It is recommended you contact your original equipment
or an authorized tire dealer with any questions you may
have on tire specifications or capability. Failure to use
equivalent replacement tires may adversely affect the
safety, handling, and ride of your vehicle.
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STARTING AND OPERATING 527
•Seasonal temperature changes will affect tire pressure,
and the TPMS will monitor the actual tire pressure in
the tire.
Base System
The Tire Pressure Monitor System (TPMS) uses wireless
technology with wheel rim-mounted electronic sensors to
monitor tire pressure levels. Sensors, mounted to each
wheel as part of the valve stem, transmit tire pressure
readings to the Receiver Module.
NOTE:It is particularly important, for you to regularly
check the tire pressure in all of your tires, and to maintain
the proper pressure.
The TPMS consists of the following components:
•Receiver Module
•Four Tire Pressure Monitoring Sensors
•Tire Pressure Monitoring Telltale LightA low spare tire will not cause the Tire Pressure Moni-
toring Telltale Light to illuminate, a warning message to
appear, or the chime to sound.
The Tire Pressure Monitoring Telltale Light will
illuminate in the instrument cluster, a “LOW TIRE
PRESSURE” message will display in the instrument
cluster for 5 seconds, anInflate to XXXmessage will be
displayed and an audible chime will be activated, when
one or more of the four active road tire pressures are low.
Should this occur, you should stop as soon as possible,
check the inflation pressure of each tire on your vehicle,
and inflate each tire to the vehicle’s recommended cold
placard pressure value displayed in theInflate to XXX
message. The system will automatically update and the
Tire Pressure Monitoring Telltale Light will extinguish,
once the updated tire pressures have been received. The
vehicle may need to be driven for up to 20 minutes above
15 mph (24 km/h) to receive this information.
534 STARTING AND OPERATING
The Tire Pressure Monitoring Telltale Light will flash on
and off for 75 seconds, and remain on solid when a
system fault is detected. In addition, a “SERVICE TPM
SYSTEM” message may be displayed for approximately
5 seconds when a system fault is detected, and a chime
will sound. If the ignition switch is cycled, this sequence
will repeat, providing the system fault still exists. The
Tire Pressure Monitoring Telltale Light will turn off when
the fault condition no longer exists. A system fault can
occur by any of the following:
1. Jamming due to electronic devices or driving next to
facilities emitting the same Radio Frequencies as the
TPM sensors.
2. Installing some form of aftermarket window tinting
that affects radio wave signals.
3. Lots of snow or ice around the wheels or wheel
housings.4. Using tire chains on the vehicle.
5. Using wheels/tires not equipped with TPM sensors.
NOTE:
There is no tire pressure monitoring sensor in the
spare tire. The TPMS will not be able to monitor the tire
pressure. If you install the spare tire, in place of a road tire,
that has a pressure below the low-pressure warning limit,
upon the next ignition switch cycle, a chime will sound, a
“LOW TIRE PRESSURE” message will be displayed in the
instrument cluster for a minimum of five seconds, an
Inflate to XXXmessage will be displayed and the Tire
Pressure Monitoring Telltale Light will turn ON. After
driving the vehicle for up to 20 minutes above 15 mph
(24 km/h), the Tire Pressure Monitoring Telltale Light will
flash on and off for 75 seconds and then remain on solid. In
addition, a “SERVICE TPM SYSTEM” message will be
displayed for a minimum of five seconds. For each subse-
quent ignition switch cycle, a chime will sound, a “SER-
VICE TPM SYSTEM” message will be displayed for a
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