FORD 2013 Flex v.2 - Manual (Page 329)

normal on-road driving conditions. Operating your vehicle under other
than those conditions could subject the vehicle to excessive stress which
might result in damage which is not covered under your warranty.
With the AWD option, power will be delivered to the front wheels and
distributed to the rear wheels as needed. This increases traction which
may enable you to safely drive over terrain and road conditions that a
conventional two-wheel drive vehicle cannot. The system is active all the
time and requires no input from the operator.
For AWD vehicles, a spare tire of a different size other than the tire
provided should never be used. A dissimilar spare tire size (other than
the spare tire provided) or major dissimilar tire sized between the front
and rear axles could cause the system to stop functioning and default to
front-wheel drive.
How Your Vehicle Differs from Other Vehicles
Crossover vehicles can differ from
some other vehicles in a few
noticeable ways. Your vehicle may
be:
• Higher – to allow higher load
carrying capacity.
• Shorter – to give it the capability
to approach inclines. All other
things held equal, a shorter
wheelbase may make your vehicle
quicker to respond to steering
inputs than a vehicle with a
longer wheelbase.
• Narrower – to provide greater
maneuverability in tight spaces.
As a result of the above dimensional differences, crossover vehicles often
will have a higher center of gravity and a greater difference in center of
gravity between the loaded and unloaded condition.
These differences that make your vehicle so versatile also make it handle
differently than an ordinary passenger car.
Wheels and Tires 329
2013 Flex (471)
Owners Guide gf, 2nd Printing
USA (fus)