wheel alignment FORD ESCAPE 2011 2.G Owners Manual

Tire and wheel alignment
A bad jolt from hitting a curb or pothole can cause the front end of your
vehicle to become misaligned or cause damage to your tires. If your
vehicle seems to pull to one side when you’re driving, the wheels may be
out of alignment. Have an authorized dealer check the wheel alignment
periodically.
Wheel misalignment in the front or the rear can cause uneven and rapid
treadwear of your tires and should be corrected by an authorized dealer.
Front-wheel drive (FWD) vehicles and those with an independent rear
suspension (if equipped) may require alignment of all four wheels.
The tires should also be balanced periodically. An unbalanced tire and
wheel assembly may result in irregular tire wear.
Tire rotation
Rotating your tires at the recommended interval (as indicated in the
Scheduled Maintenance Guidechapter) will help your tires wear more
evenly, providing better tire performance and longer tire life.
•Front-wheel drive (FWD) vehicles
(front tires at top of diagram)
Tires, Wheels and Loading
180
2011 Escape(204)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

•Rear-wheel drive (RWD)
vehicles/Four-wheel drive
(4WD)/All-wheel drive (AWD)
vehicles (front tires at top of
diagram)
Sometimes irregular tire wear can be corrected by rotating the tires.
Note:If your tires show uneven wear ask an authorized dealer to check
for and correct any wheel misalignment, tire imbalance or mechanical
problem involved before tire rotation.
Note:Your vehicle may be equipped with a dissimilar spare tire/wheel. A
dissimilar spare tire/wheel is defined as a spare tire and/or wheel that is
different in brand, size or appearance from the road tires and wheels. If
you have a dissimilar spare tire/wheel it is intended for temporary use
only and should not be used in a tire rotation.
Note:After having your tires rotated, inflation pressure must be checked
and adjusted to the vehicle requirements.
INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE TIRE SIDEWALL
Both U.S. and Canada Federal regulations require tire manufacturers to
place standardized information on the sidewall of all tires. This
information identifies and describes the fundamental characteristics of
the tire and also provides a U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number for
safety standard certification and in case of a recall.
Tires, Wheels and Loading
181
2011 Escape(204)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

•Combine errands and minimize stop-and-go driving.
Maintenance
•Keep tires properly inflated and use only recommended size.
•Operating a vehicle with the wheels out of alignment will reduce fuel
economy.
•Use recommended engine oil. Refer toMaintenance product
specifications and capacitiesin this chapter.
•Perform all regularly scheduled maintenance items. Follow the
recommended maintenance schedule and owner maintenance checks
found inscheduled maintenance information.
Conditions
•Heavily loading a vehicle or towing a trailer may reduce fuel economy
at any speed.
•Carrying unnecessary weight may reduce fuel economy (approximately
1 mpg [0.4 km/L] is lost for every 400 lb [180 kg] of weight carried).
•Adding certain accessories to your vehicle (for example bug
deflectors, rollbars/light bars, running boards, ski racks) may reduce
fuel economy.
•Using fuel blended with alcohol may lower fuel economy.
•Fuel economy may decrease with lower temperatures during the first
8–10 miles (12–16 km) of driving.
•Driving on flat terrain offers improved fuel economy as compared to
driving on hilly terrain.
•Transmissions give their best fuel economy when operated in the top
cruise gear and with steady pressure on the gas pedal.
•Close windows for high speed driving.
EMISSION CONTROL SYSTEM
Your vehicle is equipped with various emission control components and a
catalytic converter which will enable your vehicle to comply with
applicable exhaust emission standards. To make sure that the catalytic
converter and other emission control components continue to work
properly:
•Use only the specified fuel listed.
•Avoid running out of fuel.
•Do not turn off the ignition while your vehicle is moving, especially at
high speeds.
Maintenance and Specifications
315
2011 Escape(204)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

Safety Compliance
Certification Label ....................330
Satellite Radio Information ........43
Scheduled Maintenance Guide
Normal Scheduled
Maintenance and Log .............345
What Maintenance Schedule
Should You Follow? ................341
Seats ..........................................110
child safety seats ....................156
cleaning ...................................285
heated ......................................115
SecuriCode keyless entry
system ........................................104
SecuriLock passive anti-theft
system ........................................106
Servicing your vehicle ..............287
Setting the clock .........................29
Snowplowing .................................6
SOS Post Crash Alert ...............151
Spark plugs,
specifications .....................325, 329
Special notice
ambulance conversions ..............7
utility-type vehicles ....................6
Specification chart,
lubricants ...................................326
Speed control ..............................75
Starting a flex fuel vehicle .......209
Starting your
vehicle ........................206–207, 209
jump starting ..........................265
Steering wheel
controls ......................................77
tilting .........................................67Stereo
CD-MP3 .....................................29
SYNC..........................................46
T
Tilt steering wheel ......................67
Tire Pressure Monitoring
System (TPMS)
Tires, Wheels and Loading ....187
Tires ...........................171–172, 253
alignment ................................180
care ..........................................175
changing ..................253, 256, 258
checking the pressure ............175
inflating ...................................173
label .........................................186
replacing ..................................177
rotating ....................................180
safety practices .......................179
sidewall information ...............181
snow tires and chains ............191
spare tire .........................254, 256
terminology .............................172
tire grades ...............................172
treadwear ........................171, 176
Towing .......................................200
recreational towing .................204
trailer towing ..........................200
wrecker ....................................269
Transmission
automatic operation ...............222
brake-shift interlock (BSI) ....221
fluid, checking and adding
(automatic) .............................318
fluid, checking and adding
(manual) .........................318, 321
fluid, refill capacities ..............326
lubricant specifications ..........326
manual operation ....................225
Trunk ...........................................88
Index
366
2011 Escape(204)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)