Tyre Care; Tyre Age; Summer And Winter Tyres; Wear And Maintenance - Volvo XC70 Owner's Manual

Tyre care

Tyre age

All tyres older than six years should be
checked by an expert even if they seem
undamaged. Tyres age and decompose,
even if they are hardly ever or never used.
The function can therefore be affected. This
also applies to spare tyres, winter tyres and
tyres saved for future use. Examples of exter-
nal signs which indicate that the tyre is
unsuitable for use are cracks or discolora-
tion.
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. The week and year of manufac-
ture, 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
example L for left and R for right.

Wear and maintenance

The correct tyre pressure results in more
even wear, see page 215. To achieve the
best traction and more even wear on the
1502
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.
WARNING
A damaged tyre can lead to loss of control
of the car.
06 Maintenance and specifications
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.
Rims and wheel bolts
IMPORTANT
The wheel bolts must be tightened to
140 Nm. Overtightening can damage the
nuts and the bolts.
Only use rims that are tested and approved
by Volvo and which are Volvo genuine acces-
Wheels and tyres
06
207