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06 Maintenance and specifications
196
Wheels and tyres
06
Tyre care
Tyre age
All tyres older than six years should be
checked by an expert even if they seem un-
damaged. Tyres age and decompose, even if
they are hardly ever or never used. The func-
tion can therefore be affected. This also ap-
plies to spare tyres, winter tyres and tyres
saved for future use. Examples of external
signs which indicate that the tyre is unsuita-
ble for use are cracks or discoloration.
New tyres
Tyres are perishable. After a few years they
begin to harden at the same time as the fric-
tion capacity/characteristics gradually deteri-
orate. For this reason, aim to get as fresh
tyres as possible when you replace them.
This is especially important with regard to
winter tyres.ä The week and year of manu-
facture, the tyre’s DOT marking (Department
of Transportation), are stated with four digits,
for example 1502. The tyre in the illustration
was manufactured in week 15 of 2002.
Summer and winter tyres
When summer and winter wheels are
changed they should be marked with which
side of the car they were mounted on, for ex-
ample L for left and R for right.
Wear and maintenance
The correct tyre pressure results in more
even wear, see page 208. To achieve the
best traction and more even wear on the
tyres, the regular switching of the front and
rear tyres with each other is recommended.
The first change should be after 5 000 km
and then at intervals of 10 000 km, this is to
avoid differences in tread depth. Tyres with
the greatest tread depth should always be fit-
ted to the rear wheels to decrease the risk of
skidding. Contact an authorised Volvo work-
shop if you are uncertain about tread depth.
Wheels should be stored lying down or hang-
ing up, and not standing up.
Tyres with tread wear indicators
Tread wear indicators are narrow treadless
bands across the width of the tread. On the
side of the tyre are the letters TWI (Tread
Wear Indicator). When the tyre’s tread depth
is down to 1.6 mm, the tread depth will be
level in height with the tread wear indicators.
Change to new tyres as soon as possible.
Remember that tyres with little tread depth
provide very poor grip in rain and snow.
1502
7700607s
WARNING
A damaged tyre can lead to loss of control
of the car.
7700601s