363
Safety features of your vehicle
Just before impact, drivers often
brake heavily. Such heavy braking
lowers the front portion of the vehi-
cle causing it to “ride” under a vehi-
cle with a higher ground clearance.
Air bags may not inflate in this
"under-ride" situation because
forces that are detected by sensors
may be reduced by such “under-
ride” collisions. Airbags may not inflate in most
rollover accidents, even though the
vehicle is equipped with side impact
air bags and curtain air bags.
However, side impact and curtain
air bags may inflate when the vehi-
cle is rolled over by a side impact
collision. Air bags may not inflate if the vehi-
cle collides with objects such as
utility poles or trees.
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What to do in an emergency
20 6
Important - use of temporary
compact spare tire
If your vehicle is equipped with a com-
pact spare tire, it will take up less
space than a regular-size tire. This tire
is smaller than a conventional tire and
is designed for temporary use only.
The compact spare should be inflat-
ed to 60 psi (420 kPa).
✽ ✽
NOTICE
Check the inflation pressure after
installing the spare tire. Adjust it to
the specified pressure, as necessary.
When using a temporary compact
spare tire, observe the following pre-
cautions:
Under no circumstances should you
exceed 50 mph (80 km/h); a higher
speed could damage the tire.
Ensure that you drive slowly enough
for the road conditions to avoid all
hazards. Any road hazard, such as a
pothole or debris, could seriously
damage the compact spare.
Any continuous road use of this tire
could result in tire failure, loss of
vehicle control, and possible per-
sonal injury.
Do not exceed the vehicle’s maxi-
mum load rating or the load-carry-
ing capacity shown on the sidewall
of the compact spare tire.
Avoid driving over obstacles. The
compact spare tire diameter is
smaller than the diameter of a con-
ventional tire and reduces the
ground clearance approximately 1
inch (25 mm), which could result in
damage to the vehicle.
Do not take the vehicle through an
automatic car wash while the com-
pact spare tire is installed.
CAUTION
You should drive carefully
when the compact spare is in
use. The compact spare
should be replaced by the
proper conventional tire and
rim at the first opportunity.
Do not use more than one
compact spare tire at a time.
WARNING
The temporary compact spare
tire is for emergency use only.
Do not operate your vehicle on
this compact spare at speeds
over 50 mph (80 km/h). The
original tire should be repaired
or replaced as soon as is possi-
ble to avoid failure of the spare
possibly leading to personal
injury or death.
749
Maintenance
Compact spare tire replacement
A compact spare tire has a shorter
tread life than a regular size tire.
Replace it when you can see the
tread wear indicator bars on the tire.
The replacement compact spare tire
should be the same size and design
as the one provided with your new
vehicle and should be mounted on
the same compact spare tire wheel.
The compact spare tire is not
designed to be mounted on a regular
size wheel, and the compact spare
tire wheel is not designed for mount-
ing a regular size tire.
Wheel replacement
When replacing the metal wheels for
any reason, make sure the new
wheels are equivalent to the original
factory units in diameter, rim width
and offset.
Tire traction
Tire traction can be reduced if you
drive on worn tires, tires that are
improperly inflated or on slippery
road surfaces. Tires should be
replaced when tread wear indicators
appear. To reduce the possibility of
losing control, slow down whenever
there is rain, snow or ice on the road.
Tire maintenance
In addition to proper inflation, correct
wheel alignment helps to decrease
tire wear. If you find a tire is worn
unevenly, have your dealer check the
wheel alignment.
When you have new tires installed,
make sure they are balanced. This
will increase vehicle ride comfort and
tire life. Additionally, a tire should
always be rebalanced if it is removed
from the wheel.
WARNING
A wheel that is not the correct
size may adversely affect wheel
and bearing life, braking and
stopping abilities, handling
characteristics, ground clear-
ance, body-to-tire clearance,
snow chain clearance,
speedometer and odometer cal-
ibration, headlight aim and
bumper height.
