Owner`s manual
ROUTINE MAINTENANCE
108
ese actions, along with other care and maintenance activities, can also:
• Improve vehicle handling
• Help protect you and others from avoidable breakdowns and accidents
• Improve fuel economy
• Increase the life of your tires
is section presents a comprehensive overview of tire safety, including information on the follow-
ing topics:
• Basic tire maintenance
• Uniform Tire Quality Grading System
• Fundamental characteristics of tires
• Tire safety tips
Use this information to make tire safety a regular part of your vehicle maintenance routine. Recog-
nize that the time you spend is minimal compared with the inconvenience and safety consequences
of a at tire or other tire failure.
Safety First-Basic Tire Maintenance
Properly maintained tires improve the steering, stopping, traction, and load-carrying capability of
your vehicle. Under-inated tires and overloaded vehicles are a major cause of tire failure. erefore,
as mentioned above, to avoid at tires and other types of tire failure, you should maintain proper tire
pressure, observe tire and vehicle load limits, avoid road hazards, and regularly inspect your tires.
Finding Your Vehicle’s Recommended Tire Pressure and Load Limits
Tire information placards and vehicle certication labels contain information on tires and load lim-
its. ese labels indicate the vehicle manufacturer’s information including:
• Recommended tire size
• Recommended tire ination pressure
• Vehicle capacity weight (VCW—the maximum occupant and cargo weight a vehicle is de
signed to carry)
• Front and rear gross axle weight ratings (GAWR—the maximum weight the axle systems
are designed to carry)
For motor homes: Both placards and certication labels are on a sticker that is located in the rear
closet.
Understanding Tire Pressure and Load Limits
Tire ination pressure is the level of air in the tire that provides it with load-carrying capacity and af-
fects the overall performance of the vehicle. e tire ination pressure is a number that indicates the
amount of air pressure—measured in pounds per square inch (psi)—a tire requires to be properly