wheel alignment Mercury Milan 2011 Owner's Manuals

•Do not run over curbs or hit the tire against a curb when parking
WARNING:If your vehicle is stuck in snow, mud, sand, etc.,do
notrapidly spin the tires; spinning the tires can tear the tire and
cause an explosion. A tire can explode in as little as three to five
seconds.
WARNING:Do not spin the wheels at over 35 mph (56 km/h).
The tires may fail and injure a passenger or bystander.
Highway hazards
No matter how carefully you drive there’s always the possibility that you
may eventually have a flat tire on the highway. Drive slowly to the
closest safe area out of traffic. This may further damage the flat tire, but
your safety is more important.
If you feel a sudden vibration or ride disturbance while driving, or you
suspect your tire or vehicle has been damaged, immediately reduce your
speed. Drive with caution until you can safely pull off the road. Stop and
inspect the tires for damage. If a tire is under-inflated or damaged,
deflate it, remove wheel and replace it with your spare tire and wheel. If
you cannot detect a cause, have the vehicle towed to the nearest repair
facility or tire dealer to have the vehicle inspected.
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.
Tires, Wheels and Loading
181
2011 Milan(mln)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

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)/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
182
2011 Milan(mln)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

Habits
•Smooth, moderate operation can yield up to 10% savings in fuel.
•Steady speeds without stopping will usually give the best fuel
economy.
•Idling for long periods of time (greater than one minute) may waste
fuel.
•Anticipate stopping; slowing down may eliminate the need to stop.
•Sudden or hard accelerations may reduce fuel economy.
•Slow down gradually.
•Driving at reasonable speeds (traveling at 55 mph [88 km/h] uses 15%
less fuel than traveling at 65 mph [105 km/h]).
•Revving the engine before turning it off may reduce fuel economy.
•Using the air conditioner or defroster may reduce fuel economy.
•You may want to turn off the speed control in hilly terrain if
unnecessary shifting between the top gears occurs. Unnecessary
shifting of this type could result in reduced fuel economy.
•Warming up a vehicle on cold mornings is not required and may
reduce fuel economy.
•Resting your foot on the brake pedal while driving may reduce fuel
economy.
•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 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).
Maintenance and Specifications
302
2011 Milan(mln)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

Safety seats for children ..........160
Safety Compliance
Certification Label ....................319
Satellite Radio .............................28
Satellite Radio Information ........40
Scheduled Maintenance Guide
Normal Scheduled
Maintenance and Log .............334
What Maintenance Schedule
Should You Follow? ................331
Seats ..........................................114
child safety seats ....................160
cleaning ...................................272
front seats ...............................116
heated ......................................119
SecuriCode keyless entry
system ........................................107
SecuriLock passive anti-theft
system ........................................108
Servicing your vehicle ..............275
Side air curtain .........................152
SOS Post Crash Alert ...............155
Spark plugs,
specifications .....................314, 318
Specification chart,
lubricants ...................................315
Speed control ..............................79
Starting your
vehicle ........................200–201, 203
jump starting ..........................253
Steering
speed sensitive .......................212
Steering wheel
controls ......................................81
tilting .........................................69Stereo
CD-MP3 .....................................28
SYNC..........................................43
T
Tilt steering wheel ......................69
Tire Pressure Monitoring
System (TPMS)
Tires, Wheels and Loading ....188
Tires ...........................173–174, 246
alignment ................................181
care ..........................................177
changing ..................................246
checking the pressure ............177
inflating ...................................175
label .........................................187
replacing ..................................179
rotating ....................................182
safety practices .......................180
sidewall information ...............182
snow tires and chains ............192
spare tire .................................247
terminology .............................174
tire grades ...............................174
treadwear ........................173, 178
Towing .......................................198
recreational towing .................198
trailer towing ..........................198
wrecker ....................................256
Transmission .............................213
brake-shift interlock (BSI) ....212
fluid, checking and adding
(automatic) .............................307
fluid, checking and adding
(manual) .........................307, 309
fluid, refill capacities ..............315
lubricant specifications ..........315
manual operation ....................217
Trunk .........................................100
Index
353
2011 Milan(mln)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)