Towing a trailer -17, Flat towing -17, Uniform tire quality grading -17 – NISSAN 2010 Versa Hatchback - Owner's Manual User Manual

Page 324

Advertising
background image

Do not tow a trailer with your vehicle.

FLAT TOWING

Towing your vehicle with all four wheels on the
ground is sometimes called flat towing. This
method is sometimes used when towing a vehicle
behind a recreational vehicle, such as a motor
home.

CAUTION

Failure to follow these guidelines can

result in severe transmission damage.

Whenever flat towing your vehicle, al-

ways tow forward, never backward.

DO NOT tow any continuously variable

transmission

vehicle

with

all

four

wheels on the ground (flat towing). Do-
ing so WILL DAMAGE internal transmis-
sion parts due to lack of transmission
lubrication.

For emergency towing procedures refer

to “Towing recommended by NISSAN”
in the “In case of emergency” section of
this manual.

Manual Transmission

● Always tow with the manual transmission in

Neutral.

● After towing 500 miles (805 km), start and

idle the engine with the transmission in Neu-
tral for two minutes. Failure to idle the engine
after every 500 miles (805 km) of towing
may cause damage to internal transmission
parts.

Automatic Transmission

To tow a vehicle equipped with an automatic
transmission, an appropriate vehicle dolly MUST
be placed under the towed vehicle’s drive
wheels. Always follow the dolly manufacturer’s
recommendations when using their product.

Continuously Variable Transmission

To tow a vehicle equipped with a continuously
variable transmission, an appropriate vehicle
dolly MUST be placed under the towed vehicle’s
drive wheels. Always follow the dolly manufac-
turer’s recommendations when using their prod-
uct.

DOT (Department of Transportation) Quality
Grades: All passenger car tires must conform to
federal safety requirements in addition to these
grades.

Quality grades can be found where applicable on
the tire sidewall between tread shoulder and
maximum section width. For example:

Treadwear 200 Traction AA Temperature A

Treadwear

The treadwear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified gov-
ernment test course. For example, a tire graded
150 would wear one and one-half (1 1/2) times
as well on the government course as a tire graded
100. The relative performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of their use, however,
and may depart significantly from the norm due to
variations in driving habits, service practices and
differences in road characteristics and climate.

Traction AA, A, B and C

The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, B, and C. Those grades represent the
tire’s ability to stop on wet pavement as mea-
sured under controlled conditions on specified
government test surfaces of asphalt and con-
crete. A tire marked C may have poor traction
performance.

TOWING A TRAILER

UNIFORM TIRE QUALITY GRADING

Technical and consumer information

9-17

Advertising