2005 Mercury Monterey Owner Guide 2nd Printing - Page 172

Tires, Wheels and Loading TIRE REPLACEMENT REQUIREMENTS Your vehicle is equipped with tires designed to provide a safe ride and handling capability. Only use replacement tires and wheels that are the same size and type (such as P-metric versus LT-metric or all-season versus all-terrain) as those originally provided by Ford. Use of any tire or wheel not recommended by Ford can affect the safety and performance of your vehicle, which could result in an increased risk of loss of vehicle control, vehicle rollover, personal injury and death. Additionally the use of non-recommended tires and wheels could cause steering, suspension, axle or transfer case/power transfer unit failure. If you have questions regarding tire replacement, see an authorized Ford or Lincoln/Mercury dealer. Make sure all tires and wheels on the vehicle are of the same size, type, tread design, brand, load-carrying capacity and speed rating because it can affect the safety and performance of your vehicle, which could result in an increased risk of loss of vehicle control, vehicle rollover, personal injury and death. Important: Remember to replace the spare tire when you replace the road tires at the end of their useful life. Even if it has never been used, the spare tire should be replaced because tires degrade over time. Important: Remember to replace the wheel air valves when the road tires are replaced at the end of their useful life. CHANGING A FLAT TIRE If you get a flat tire while driving: • do not brake heavily. • gradually decrease the vehicle's speed. • hold the steering wheel firmly. • slowly move to a safe place on the side of the road. • If your low tire warning light is on, refer to Low tire warning in this chapter. The use of tire sealants is not recommended and may damage your tires. The use of tire sealants may also affect your Tire Pressure Monitoring System (if equipped). 172 2005 Monterey (mty) Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt) USA_English (fus)