2013 Ford Taurus Owner Manual Printing 3 - Page 205

204 All-Wheel Drive (If Equipped) Using your All Wheel Drive (AWD) system AWD uses all four wheels to power the vehicle. This increases traction, enabling you to drive over terrain and road conditions that a conventional two-wheel drive vehicles cannot. The AWD system is active all the time and requires no input from the operator. Note: Your AWD vehicle is not intended for off-road use. The AWD feature gives your vehicle some limited off-road capabilities in which driving surfaces are relatively level, obstruction-free and otherwise similar to 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. Note: When an AWD system fault is present, the warning Check AWD will display in the information display. The AWD system is not functioning correctly and defaulted to front-wheel drive. When this warning is displayed, have your vehicle serviced at an authorized dealer. Note: The AWD Off message may also be displayed in the information display if the AWD system has overheated and defaulted to front-wheel drive. This condition may occur if the vehicle was operated in extreme conditions with excessive wheel slip, such as deep sand. To resume normal AWD function as soon as possible, stop the vehicle in a safe location and stop the engine for at least 10 minutes. After the engine has been restarted and the AWD system has adequately cooled, the AWD Off message will turn off and normal AWD function will return. In the event the engine is not stopped, the AWD Off message will turn off when the system cools and normal AWD function returns. The Power Transfer Unit (PTU) does not require any normal scheduled maintenance. Do not check or change the PTU lubricant unless the unit has been submerged in water or shows signs of leakage The Power Transfer Unit (PTU) in some Taurus SHO™ vehicles is electronically monitored and notifies the driver of required service by displaying the message Change AWD/4WD Power Transfer Unit Lube in the information display. The PTU lube will be more likely to require a fluid change if the vehicle has experienced extended periods of extreme/severe duty cycle driving. Do not check or change the PTU lubricant unless the unit has been submerged in water, shows signs of leakage or a message indicating required service is displayed. Contact your authorized dealer for service and to reset the PTU lube life monitor. 2013 Taurus Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012 USA (fus)