
STARTING AND OPERATING 197
5
visible on the outboard side of the tire and if applicable
that the direction of rotation is correct when
remounting the tire.
Rotation (spinning) direction, refer to "Direction of
Rotation".
DOT (Department Of Transportation)
A tire branding symbol (1) which denotes the tire
meets requirements of the U.S. Department of
Transportation.
Manufacturer’s Identification Mark
Themanufacturer’s identificationmark (2) denotes the
tire manufacturer.
New tires have a mark with two symbols.
Retreaded tires have a mark with four symbols. For
more information on retreaded tires, refer to "Tires and
Wheels".
Tire Size
The code (3) indicates the tire size.Tire Type Code
The code (4) may, at the option of the manufacturer, be
used as a descriptive code for identifying significant
characteristics of the tire.
Date of Manufacture
The date of manufacture (5) identifies the week and
year of manufacture.
The first two figures identify the week, starting with
“01” to represent the first full week of the calendar
year. The second two figures represent the year.
For example, "0301" represents the 3rd week of 2001.
NOTE: Prior to July 2000, tire manufacturers were only
required to have 1 number to represent the year in
which the tire was manufactured.
For example, "031" could represent the 3rd week of
1981 or 1991.
NOTE: If the date of manufacture code indicated on the
tire is less than 4 figures, do not use it.

STARTING AND OPERATING 205
5
Rotation pattern for single and dual rear wheels
Single Rear Wheels:
Rotate the tires by axle. Never change the direction
of rotation of your tires. Make sure that on one axle
just one type of tire (same size, type construction,
load and speed rating) is used.
Dual Rear Wheels:
Rotate front tires by axle and the outer rear tire side
to side if there is no approved direction of rotation.
The tires used on dual wheel assemblies should be
WARNING!
In order to avoid loosing a wheel and in order to re-
duce the risk of fatal or serious injuries or vehicle
damage, please follow these safety instructions:
Always replace wheel bolts that are damaged or
rusted.
Never apply oil or grease to wheel bolts.
If a wheel hub thread is damaged, you must not
drive the vehicle. Consult a qualified specialist
workshop.
Only use genuine wheel bolts approved from the
vehicle manufacturer and specified for your
vehicle’s rims. Check tightness of wheel bolts or
nuts regularly and retighten with a torque wrench,
if necessary. Tighten wheel bolts or nuts in a cross-
pattern sequence. After changing a wheel, the
wheel bolts or nuts must be tightened once the
vehicle has been driven for about 30 miles (50 km).
If new or repainted wheels are fitted, the wheel
bolts or nuts must be retightened again after about
600 to 3000 miles (about 1000 to 5000 km).

206 STARTING AND OPERATING
matched for wear to prevent overloading one tire in
a set.
To check if tires are even, lay a straight edge across
all four tires.
The straight edge should touch all the tires.Alignment and Balance
Poor suspension alignment may result in:
Fast tire wear
Uneven tire wear, such as feathering and one-sided
wear
Vehicle pull to right or left
Tires may also cause the vehicle to pull to the left or
right.
Alignment will not correct this condition. See an
authorized Sprinter Dealer for proper diagnosis.
Improper alignment will not cause vehicle vibration.
Vibration may be a result of tire and wheel out-of-
balance.
Proper balancing will reduce vibration and avoid tire
cupping and spotty wear.
Winter tires
Always use winter tires at temperatures below 45°F
(7°C) and whenever wintry road conditions prevail.
Winter tires should be of the same size and type
construction as the summer tires. Winter tires should
also be operated as printed at the Tire and Loading
WARNING!
3500 Dual Rear Tires have only one approved di-
rection of rotation. This is to accomodate the asy-
metrical design (tread pattern) of the ON/OFF
road tire and the use of Outline White Letter
(OWL) tires.
When replacing a flat tire, the spare tire may have
to be remounted on the rim or installed at a
different location tomaintain the correct
placement of the tire on the wheel relative to the
tire/wheel position on the vehicle. For example, if
the spare is used to replace an outer rear tire it will
have to remounted on the rim so that the wheel is
dished inward. That way the tread design of
asymmetrical tires and the white writing of the
OWL tires will maintain proper position.

208 STARTING AND OPERATING
NOTE: Chains must be the proper size for the vehicle,
as recommended by the chain manufacturer.
Snow chains should only be driven on snow-covered
roads at speeds not to exceed 30 mph (50 km/h).
Remove chains as soon as possible when driving on
roads without snow.
NOTE: When driving with snow chains, you may wish
to deactivate the ASR before setting the vehicle in
motion. This will improve the vehicle’s traction.Please observe the following guidelines when using
snow chains:
Snow chains should only be used on rear wheels. In
vehicles with dual rear wheels, they should be
mounted on the exterior wheels. Follow the
manufacturer’s mounting instructions.
Only use snow chains that are approved by the
vehicle manufacturer. For approved snow chains,
please contact your authorized Sprinter Dealer.
Use of snow chains may be prohibited depending
on location. Always check local and state laws
before installing snow chains.
WARNING!
Use snow chains on rear wheels only.
Some tire sizes do not leave adequate clearance for
snowchains. To help avoid serious damage to
your vehicle or tires, use of snow chains is not
permissible with the spare wheel.

234 WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES
CHANGING THE TIRE
If you get a flat tire while driving, gradually decrease your
speed. Hold the steering wheel firmly and slowly move to
a safe place on the side of the road. The pressure of the
spare wheel always has to be checked regularly (at least
after every tenth time at the filling station).
WARNING!
Fitting other wheel sizes to the vehicle will change
the vehicle’s handling characteristics andmay lead
to an accident resulting in death, severe personal
injuries and property damage.
Only certain tires meeting the tire size/load/speed
rating specifications contained in the Tire
Pressure Tables are certified to conform to
FMVSS 110 for the Sprinter vehicle at this time.
Please check your side walls of your originally
equipped tires for specific makes/sizes, and speed
load ratings when you need to replace your tires.
To prevent accidents resulting in possible death,
sever injury or property damage, use only the correct
tire and wheel sizes with load ratings approved for
your vehicle for your tire replacement.
WARNING!
The jack is designed exclusively for jacking up the
vehicle at the jack take-up brackets built into ei-
ther side of the vehicle. To help avoid personal in-
jury, use the jack only to lift the vehicle during a
wheel change. Never get beneath the vehicle
while it is supported by the jack only.
Keep hands and feet away from the area under the
lifted vehicle. Always firmly set parking brake
and block wheels before raising vehicle with jack.
Do not disengage parking brake while the vehicle
is raised.
Always use the jack on a level surface.
Do not change wheels on either steep uphill or
downhill grades. Be sure that the jack arm end is
fully seated in the jack take-up bracket. The
vehicle may begin to move and fall from the jack
which could cause serious or fatal personal injury
and property damage.
Always lower the vehicle onto sufficient capacity
jack stands before working under the vehicle.

WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES 243
6NOTE: The optional light alloy wheels are supplied
with 5 short wheel lug bolts enclosed for the steel spare
wheel in the vehicle tool kit.
Before fitting the spare wheel, clean rust and dirt off
the contact surfaces of the wheel and the wheel hub,
and from the wheel bolts.
Note the specified wheel and tire size, tire load
capacity and speed code.
Do not change the tire’s direction of rotation.
Do not damage, grease or oil wheel bolts or their
threads.
WARNING!
Different wheel bolts are required for pressed
steel and light-alloy wheels.
Incorrect wheel lug bolts for the wheels could
work loose, thereby causing you to lose control of
the vehicle. This could cause an accident resulting
in severe personal injuries and and property
damage.
WARNING!
Incorrect mounting bolts or improperly tightened
mounting bolts can cause the wheel to come off.
To avoid the risk of serious or fatal injuries or ve-
hicle damage, please bear the following points in
mind:
Always replace wheel bolts that are damaged or
rusted.
Never apply oil or grease to wheel bolts
If a wheel hub thread is damaged, you must not
drive the vehicle. Consult a qualified specialist
workshop.
Only use genuine DaimlerChrysler wheel bolts
specified for your vehicle’s rims.

326 INDEX
Rear Seat Bench . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Security System with Towing and Passenger
Compartment Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Audible Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Switching off the Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Visual Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Service Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Disposal of Service Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Skid Control, Acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Sliding Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Snow Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Spare Wheel Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Special Maintenance Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Speed Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Sprinter Original Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
SRS Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Standard Fuse and Relay Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Starter Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Stopping the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Storing Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Suggestions For Obtaining Service For
Your Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Sun Roof
Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Mechanical Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Sun Roof, Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Switch Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Switch,Starter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
TTachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101, 103
Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Tie Down Rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Tire
Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Tire and Loading Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Tire Care and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Tire Grip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Tire Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Tire Sizes for Sprinter Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Alignment and Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Aspect Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

INDEX 327
10
Care and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Changing the Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Date of Manufacture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Design Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Direction of Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
DOT, Tire Identification Number (TIN) . . . . . . . 196
Hydroplaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Important Notes on Tire Inflation Pressure . . . . 187
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Installing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Life of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Load Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Maximum Inflation Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Maximum Load. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Recommended Tire Inflation Pressure . . . . . . . . 186
Removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Rim Diameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193Rotating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Size Designation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Sizes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Snow Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Spare Wheel Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Speed Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192, 195
Storing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Tire and Loading Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Tire and Loading Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Tire Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Tire Grip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Tire Ply Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Tire Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Tread Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Type Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Vehicles type 2500 C/HC/SHC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Vehicles type 3500 C/HC/SHC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Winter Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Tires, Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Towing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Towing a Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225