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Tire and Wheel Alignment
A bad jolt from hitting a curb orpothole can cause the front endof your vehicle to becomemisaligned or cause damage toyour tires. If your vehicle seems topull to one side when you’redriving, the wheels may be out ofalignment. Have an authorizeddealer check the wheel alignmentperiodically.
Wheel misalignment in the frontor the rear can cause uneven andrapid treadwear of your tires andshould be corrected by anauthorized dealer. Front-wheeldrive vehicles and those with anindependent rear suspension mayrequire alignment of all fourwheels.
The tires should also be balancedperiodically. An unbalanced tireand wheel assembly may result inirregular tire wear.
Tire Rotation
Note:If your tires show unevenwear ask an authorized dealer tocheck for and correct any wheelmisalignment, tire imbalance ormechanical problem involvedbefore tire rotation.
Note:Your vehicle may beequipped with a dissimilar sparewheel and tire assembly. Adissimilar spare wheel and tireassembly is defined as a sparewheel and tire assembly that isdifferent in brand, size orappearance from the road tires andwheels. If you have a dissimilarspare wheel and tire assembly it isintended for temporary use onlyand should not be used in a tirerotation.
Note:After having your tiresrotated, inflation pressure must bechecked and adjusted to thevehicle requirements.
Rotating your tires at therecommended interval (asindicated in the scheduledmaintenance information) willhelp your tires wear more evenly,providing better tire performanceand longer tire life.
Front-wheel drive vehicles (fronttires on the left side of thediagram)
Non-directional tires
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Directional tires
Sometimes irregular tire wear canbe corrected by rotating the tires.
USING SNOW CHAINS
WARNING
Snow tires must be the same size,load index, speed rating as thoseoriginally provided by Ford. Use ofany tire or wheel not recommended byFord can affect the safety andperformance of your vehicle, which couldresult in an increased risk of loss of vehiclecontrol, vehicle rollover, personal injury anddeath. Additionally, the use ofnon-recommended tires and wheels couldcause steering, suspension, axle, transfercase or power transfer unit failure.
The tires on your vehicle have all-weathertreads to provide traction in rain and snow.Snow chains have not been approved foruse on your vehicle.
Consult your authorized dealer forinformation on other Ford Motor Companyapproved methods of traction control.
TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING
SYSTEM
WARNING
The tire pressure monitoring systemis not a substitute for manuallychecking tire pressure. The tirepressure should be checked periodically(at least monthly) using a tire gauge, seeInflating your tires in this chapter. Failureto properly maintain your tire pressurecould increase the risk of tire failure, lossof control, vehicle rollover and personalinjury.
Each tire, including the spare (ifprovided), should be checkedmonthly when cold and inflatedto the inflation pressure recommended bythe vehicle manufacturer on the vehicleplacard or tire inflation pressure label. (Ifyour vehicle has tires of a different sizethan the size indicated on the vehicleplacard or tire inflation pressure label, youshould determine the proper tire inflationpressure for those tires.)
As an added safety feature, your vehiclehas been equipped with a Tire PressureMonitoring System (TPMS) thatilluminates a low tire pressure telltalewhen one or more of your tires issignificantly under-inflated. Accordingly,when the low tire pressure telltaleilluminates, you should stop and checkyour tires as soon as possible, and inflatethem to the proper pressure. Driving on asignificantly under-inflated tire causes thetire to overheat and can lead to tire failure.Under-inflation also reduces fuel efficiencyand tire tread life, and may affect thevehicle’s handling and stopping ability.
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When Your Temporary Spare Tire isInstalled
When one of your road tires needs to bereplaced with the temporary spare, thesystem will continue to identify an issue toremind you that the damaged road wheeland tire assembly needs to be repaired andput back on your vehicle.
To restore the full function of the tirepressure monitoring system, have thedamaged road wheel and tire assemblyrepaired and remounted on your vehicle.
When You Believe Your System is NotOperating Properly
The main function of the tire pressuremonitoring system is to warn you whenyour tires need air. It can also warn you inthe event the system is no longer capableof functioning as intended. See thefollowing chart for information concerningyour tire pressure monitoring system:
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Customer action requiredPossible causeLow tire pressurewarning light
Make sure tires are at the proper pres-sure. See Inflating your tires in thischapter. After inflating your tires to themanufacturer’s recommended pressureas shown on the Tire Label (located onthe edge of driver’s door or the B-Pillar),the vehicle must be driven for at leasttwo minutes over 20 mph (32 km/h)before the light turns off.
Tire(s) under-inflatedSolid warning light
Repair the damaged road wheel and tireassembly and reinstall it on the vehicleto restore system function. For adescription on how the system functions,see When your temporary spare tireis installed in this section.
Spare tire in use
If the tires are properly inflated and thespare tire is not in use but the lightremains on, contact your authorizeddealer as soon as possible.
TPMS malfunction
Repair the damaged road wheel and tireassembly and reinstall it on the vehicleto restore system function. For adescription on how the system functions,see When your temporary spare tireis installed in this section.
Spare tire in useFlashing warninglight
If the tires are properly inflated and thespare tire is not in use but the lightremains on, contact your authorizeddealer as soon as possible.
TPMS malfunction
When Inflating Your Tires
When putting air into your tires (such as ata gas station or in your garage), the tirepressure monitoring system may notrespond immediately to the air added toyour tires.
It may take up to two minutes of drivingover 20 mph (32 km/h) for the light to turnoff after you have filled your tires to therecommended inflation pressure
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