Flat towing your vehicle

Flat towing for all-wheel drive vehicle

Towing a vehicle with all four wheels in contact with the road is commonly referred to as flat towing, dinghy towing, or four-down towing. This method is sometimes used to transport a vehicle behind a recreational vehicle, such as a motor home.

CAUTION

Failure to follow the towing restrictions below can cause severe transmission or powertrain damage to the Nissan Murano.

• Never flat tow an All-Wheel Drive (AWD) Nissan Murano with all four wheels on the ground.
• Do not tow an AWD vehicle with any of its wheels rolling on the road. Allowing one or more wheels to remain on the ground during towing may cause serious and expensive damage to the transmission, driveline, or other powertrain components.

Flat towing for front wheel drive vehicle

Towing a vehicle with all four wheels on the road is also known as flat towing, dinghy towing, or four-down towing. Although this method is often used to pull a vehicle behind a motor home, it is not suitable for a front-wheel-drive Nissan Murano equipped with an automatic transmission.

CAUTION

• Failure to observe the following requirements may result in severe transmission damage.
• Whenever the vehicle is being towed, it must face forward. Never tow the Nissan Murano backward.
• Never tow a front-wheel-drive vehicle with its front tires on the ground. Because the front wheels are the drive wheels, doing so may cause serious and costly powertrain damage.
• Do not tow a front-wheel-drive vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission with all four wheels on the ground. Flat towing in this manner will damage internal transmission components because the transmission does not receive the lubrication required during towing.

Automatic transmission

When towing a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission, an appropriate towing dolly must be positioned beneath the drive wheels. The front wheels must remain off the ground throughout transport. Follow all installation, loading, securing, speed, and operating instructions supplied by the dolly manufacturer.

NOTE: If the vehicle battery is completely discharged, the transmission cannot be manually shifted into another position.

Uniform tire quality grading

Department of Transportation (DOT) quality grades provide standardized information about passenger-car tire treadwear, traction, and temperature performance. In addition to receiving these grades, every passenger-car tire must comply with applicable federal safety requirements.

Where applicable, the quality grades are molded into the tire sidewall between the tread shoulder and the point of maximum section width. A typical marking may appear as follows:

Treadwear 200 Traction AA Temperature A

Treadwear

The treadwear grade is a comparative rating based on how quickly a tire wears when tested under controlled conditions on a specified government test course. For example, a tire graded 150 is expected to wear one and one-half times as well on the government test course as a tire graded 100.

These ratings are intended for comparison under standardized test conditions. Actual tire life on a Nissan Murano may differ significantly because treadwear is affected by driving habits, maintenance practices, tire inflation, vehicle loading, road surfaces, climate, and other operating conditions.

Traction AA, A, B and C

The available traction grades, listed from highest to lowest, are AA, A, B, and C. These grades indicate a tire's ability to stop on wet pavement when tested under controlled conditions on specified government asphalt and concrete surfaces. A tire marked with a C grade may provide comparatively lower wet braking traction.

WARNING The traction grade assigned to a tire is based only on straight-ahead wet braking tests. It does not measure acceleration traction, cornering ability, hydroplaning resistance, or peak traction performance under other driving conditions.

Temperature A, B and C

Temperature grades are A, the highest rating, followed by B and C. They represent the tire's resistance to heat generation and its ability to dissipate heat when tested under controlled conditions on a specified indoor laboratory test wheel.

Continuous exposure to high temperatures can cause tire materials to deteriorate and may shorten tire life. Excessive heat can also contribute to sudden tire failure. Grade C represents the minimum level of temperature performance that passenger-car tires must meet under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 109. Grades B and A indicate higher performance levels on the laboratory test wheel than the minimum required by law.

WARNING The temperature grade is established for a tire that is correctly inflated and not overloaded. Excessive speed, insufficient tire pressure, excessive vehicle loading, or a combination of these conditions can generate excessive heat and may lead to tire failure.