2004 Mercury Monterey Owner's Manual - Page 249

Maintenance and Specifications The traction grade assigned to this tire is based on straight-ahead braking traction tests, and does not include acceleration, cornering, hydroplaning or peak traction characteristics. Temperature A B C The temperature grades are A (the highest), B and C, representing the tire's resistance to the generation of heat and its ability to dissipate heat when tested under controlled conditions on a specified indoor laboratory test wheel. Sustained high temperature can cause the material of the tire to degenerate and reduce tire life, and excessive temperature can lead to sudden tire failure. The grade C corresponds to a level of performance which all passenger car tires must meet under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 109. Grades B and A represent higher levels of performance on the laboratory test wheel than the minimum required by law. The temperature grade for this tire is established for a tire that is properly inflated and not overloaded. Excessive speed, underinflation, or excessive loading, either separately or in combination, can cause heat buildup and possible tire failure. Low tire warning The low tire warning system is designed to detect a significant loss of inflation in any one of your tires on your vehicle. The system uses the Anti-lock brake wheel speed sensors to detect a change in wheel speed due to tire deflation. When a tire loses inflation, the low tire warning system detects the change and illuminates the low tire warning indicator light as shown. If the light remains on while driving, check the tire pressure refer to "Checking the tire pressure" in this chapter. The low tire warning indicator light will also illuminate when using a temporary spare, refer to "Changing the tires" in the Roadside emergencies chapter. The low tire warning system may not detect an under-inflated tire under all conditions and is not a substitute for manually checking tires regularly for proper inflation. 249 2004 Monterey (mty) Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt) USA English (fus)