Kia Sorento: Tire replacement

If the tire is worn evenly, a tread wear indicator will appear as a solid band across the tread. This shows there is less than 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) of tread left on the tire. Replace the tire when this happens.

Do not wait for the band to appear across the entire tread before replacing the tire.

WARNING - Replacing tires

To reduce the chance of serious or fatal injuries from an accident caused by tire failure or loss of vehicle control:

• Replace tires that are worn, show uneven wear, or are damaged. Worn tires can cause loss of braking effectiveness, steering control, and traction.
• Do not drive your vehicle with too little or too much pressure in your tires. This can lead to uneven wear and tire failure.
• When replacing tires, never mix radial and bias-ply tires on the same vehicle.You must replace all tires (including the spare) if moving from radial to bias-ply tires.
• Using tires and wheels other than the recommended sizes could cause unusual handling characteristics and poor vehicle control, resulting in a serious accident.
• Wheels that do not meet Kia’s specifications may fit poorly and result in damage to the vehicle or unusual handling and poor vehicle control.
• The ABS works by comparing the speed of the wheels. The tire size affects wheel speed. When replacing tires, all 4 tires must use the same size originally supplied with the vehicle. Using tires of a different size can cause the ABS (Anti-lock Brake System) and ESC (Electronic Stability Control) to work irregularly.

Compact spare tire replacement

A compact spare tire has a shorter tread life than a regular size tire.

Replace it when you can see the tread wear indicator bars on the tire.

The replacement compact spare tire should be the same size and design tire as the one provided with your new vehicle and should be mounted on the same compact spare tire wheel. The compact spare tire is not designed to be mounted on a regular size wheel, and the compact spare tire wheel is not designed for mounting a regular size tire.

Wheel replacement

When replacing the metal wheels for any reason, make sure the new wheels are equivalent to the original factory units in diameter, rim width and offset.

WARNING

A wheel that is not the correct size may adversely affect wheel and bearing life, braking and stopping abilities, handling characteristics, ground clearance, body-to-tire clearance, snow chain clearance, speedometer and odometer calibration, headlight aim and bumper height.

Tire traction

Tire traction can be reduced if you drive on worn tires, tires that are improperly inflated or on slippery road surfaces. Tires should be replaced when tread wear indicators appear. Slow down whenever there is rain, snow or ice on the road to reduce the possibility of losing control of the vehicle.

Tire maintenance

In addition to proper inflation, correct wheel alignment helps to decrease tire wear. If you find a tire is worn unevenly, have your dealer check the wheel alignment.

When you have new tires installed, make sure they are balanced. This will increase vehicle ride comfort and tire life. Additionally, a tire should always be rebalanced if it is removed from the wheel.