Maintenance
9-34
Compact spare tire replacement 
A compact spare tire has a shorter 
tread life than a regular size tire. 
Replace it when you can see the 
tread wear indicator bars on the tire. 
The replacement compact spare tire 
should be the same size and design 
tire as the one provided with your 
new vehicle and should be mounted 
on the same compact spare tire 
wheel. The compact spare tire is 
not designed to be mounted on a 
regular size wheel, and the compact 
spare tire wheel is not designed for 
mounting a regular size tire.
 WARNING
The original tire should be repaired 
or replaced as soon as possible to 
avoid failure of the compact spare 
tire and loss of vehicle control 
resulting in an accident. The 
compact spare tire is for emergency 
use only. Do not operate your 
vehicle over 50 mph (80 km/h) 
when using the compact spare tire.
Wheel Replacement
When replacing the metal wheels 
for any reason, make sure the new 
wheels are equivalent to the original 
factory units in diameter, rim width 
and offset.
Tire Traction
Tire traction can be reduced if you 
drive on worn tires, tires that are 
improperly inflated or on slippery 
road surfaces. Tires should be 
replaced when tread wear indicators 
appear. To reduce the possibility of 
losing control, slow down whenever 
there is rain, snow or ice on the road.
Tire Maintenance
In addition to proper inflation, 
correct wheel alignment helps to 
decrease tire wear. If you find a tire 
is worn unevenly, have your dealer 
check the wheel alignment.
When you have new tires installed, 
make sure they are balanced. This 
will increase vehicle ride comfort 
and tire life. Additionally, a tire 
should always be rebalanced if it is 
removed from the wheel.