Minor Repairs
285
Tire pressures
Danger!
Risk of accident.
Risk of serious personal injury or death.
Driving the vehicle with low tire pressure
increases risk of a tire failure and resulting
loss of control. Furthermore, low tire pres-
sure increases rate of wear of the affected
tires and cause damage.
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Always use an accurate tire pressure gage
when checking inflation pressures.
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Do not exceed the maximum tire pressure
listed on the tire sidewall. (Also refer to “Tech-
nical data“).
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Please see the chapter “TIRE PRESSURE
PLATE” on Page 286.
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Cold tire inflation pressure means: all tires
must be cold, ambient temperature maximum
68°F (20°C), when adjusting the inflation pres-
sure. Avoid sunlight striking the tires before
measuring cold pressures, since the pressures
would rise from temperature influence.
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Valve caps protect the valve from dust and dirt,
and thus from leakage. Always screw caps
tightly down. Replace missing caps immedi-
ately.
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Use only plastic valve caps.
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For safety reasons, don't use tire inflating
bottles.
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Please see the chapter “TIRE PRESSURES,
COLD” on Page 358.
Each tire, including the spare (if provided), should
be checked every 2 weeks when cold (68 °F/
20 °C) and inflated to the inflation pressure recom-
mended in this Owner's Manual or on the tire-pres-
sure plate.
If your vehicle has tires of a different size than the
size indicated in this Owner's Manual or on the tire-
pressure plate, you should determine the proper
tire inflation pressure for those tires.
As an added safety feature, your vehicle has been
equipped with a tire pressure monitoring that illu-
minates a low tire pressure message when one or
more of your tires is significantly under-inflated.
Accordingly, when the low tire pressure message
illuminates, you should stop and check your tires
as soon as possible, and inflate them to the
proper pressure. Driving on a significantly under-
inflated tire causes the tire to overheat and can
lead to tire failure. Under-inflation also reduces
fuel efficiency and tire tread life, and may affect
the vehicle’s handling and stopping ability.
Please note that the tire pressure monitoring is not
a substitute for proper tire maintenance, and it is
the driver’s responsibility to maintain correct tire
pressure, even if under-inflation has not reached
the level to trigger illumination of the tire pressure
monitoring low tire pressure message.
For further information on the tire pressure moni-
toring:
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Please see the chapter “SETTING TIRE PRES-
SURE MONITORING” on Page 132.
When tires are warm, the tire pressure is increa-
sed.
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Never let air out of hot tires. This could cause
the tire pressure to fall below the prescribed
value.
Insufficient tire pressure can cause tires to over-
heat and thus be damaged – even invisibly. Hidden
tire damage is not eliminated by subsequently cor-
recting the tire pressure.
