1997 Ford Taurus Owner Guide 1st Printing - Page 134

Maintenance and care Changing the wiper blades When replacing wiper blades assemblies, always use a Motorcraft part or equivalent. To replace the blades, follow the instructions on that come with the new wipers. To make reaching the wipers easy, turn the ignition to the ACC position, then turn the wipers on. When the wipers reach the vertical position, turn the ignition OFF. INFORMATION ABOUT TIRE QUALITY GRADES New vehicles are fitted with tires that have their Tire Quality Grade (described below) molded into the tire's sidewall. These Tire Quality Grades are determined by standards that the United States Department of Transportation has set. Tire Quality Grades apply to new pneumatic tires for use on passenger cars. They do not apply to deep tread, winter-type snow tires, space-saver or temporary use spare tires, tires with nominal rim diameters of 10 to 12 inches or limited production tires as defined in Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 575.104(c)(2). U.S. Department of Transportation-Tire quality grades: The U.S. Department of Transportation requires Ford to give you the following information about tire grades exactly as the government has written it. Treadwear The treadwear grade is a comparative rating based on the wear rate of the tire when tested under controlled conditions on a specified government test course. For example, a tire grade 150 would wear one and one-half (1 1/2) times as well on the government course as a tire grade 100. The relative 135