71 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Depending on vehicle production date,
your vehicle is equipped with either a seat
belt reminder system or an enhanced seat
belt reminder system as follows:
Seat belt reminder system
When the engine is started the seat belt
telltale< illuminates for a maximum of
6 seconds and a warning chime sounds to
remind you and your passengers to fasten
your seat belts.
For more information on the seat belt
telltale<, see “Practical hints”
(page 366).Enhanced seat belt reminder system
When the engine is started the seat belt
telltale< illuminates for a maximum of
6 seconds and a warning chime sounds to
remind you and your passengers to fasten
your seat belts.
If after these 6 seconds, the driver’s or the
front passenger’s seat belt (with the front
passenger seat occupied) are not fastened
with all doors closed,
and the vehicle speed does not exceed
15 mph (25 km/h), the seat belt tell-
tale < remains illuminated for as
long as either the driver’s or front pas-
senger’s seat belt is not fastened.
and the vehicle speed exceeds 15 mph
(25 km/h), the seat belt telltale <
starts flashing and a warning chime
sounds with increasing intensity until
both the driver’s and front passenger’s
seat belt are fastened, or for a maxi-
mum of 60 seconds from the time the
Belts should not be worn twisted. In a
crash, you wouldn’t have the full width
of the belt to distribute impact forces.
The twisted belt against your body could
cause injuries.
Pregnant women should also use a
lap-shoulder belt. The lap belt portion
should be positioned as low as possible
on the hips to avoid any possible
pressure on the abdomen.
Never place your feet on the instrument
panel, dashboard, or on the seat. Always
keep both feet on the floor in front of the
seat.
When using a seat belt to secure infant
or toddler restraints or children in
booster seats, always follow the child
seat manufacturer’s instructions.
333 Operation
Tires and wheels
Tire size designation, load and speed
rating
1Tire width
2Aspect ratio in %
3Radial tire code
4Rim diameter
5Tire load rating
6Tire speed ratingGeneral:
Depending on the design standards used,
the tire size molded into the sidewall may
have no letter or a letter preceding the tire
size designation.
No letter preceding the size designation
(as illustrated above): Passenger car tire
based on European design standards.
Letter “P” preceding the size designation:
Passenger car tire based on U.S. design
standards.
Letter “LT” preceding the size designation:
Light Truck tire based on U.S. design
standards.
Letter “T” preceding the size designation:
Temporary spare tires which are high
pressure compact spares designed for
temporary emergency use only. Tire width
The tire width1 (
page 333) indicates
the nominal tire width in mm.
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio2 (page 333) is the
dimensional relationship between tire
section height and section width and is
expressed in percentage. The aspect ratio
is arrived at by dividing section height by
section width.
Tire code
The tire code3 (
page 333) indicates
the tire construction type. The “R” stands
for radial tire type. Letter “D” means diag-
onal or bias ply construction; letter “B”
means belted-bias ply construction.
At the tire manufacturer’s option, any tire
with a speed capability above 149 mph
(240 km/h) can include a “ZR” in the size
designation (for example: 245/40 ZR 18).
For additional information, see “Tire speed
rating” (
page 335).
iFor illustration purposes only. Actual
data on tires are specific to each vehi-
cle and may vary from data shown in
above illustration.
340 OperationTires and wheelsUniform Tire Quality Grading Standards (U.S. vehicles)
Tire manufacturers are required to grade
tires based on three performance
factors: treadwear, traction and
temperature resistance.
1Treadwear
2Traction
3Temperature resistanceQuality grades can be found, where appli-
cable, on the tire sidewall between tread
shoulder and maximum section width. For
example:
All passenger car tires must conform to
federal safety requirements in addition to
these grades.Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative rat-
ing based on the wear rate of the tire when
tested under controlled conditions on a
specified government test course. For ex-
ample, a tire graded 150 would wear one
and one-half (1
1/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded 100.
The relative performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of their use,
however, and may depart significantly
from the norm due to variations in driving
habits, service practices and differences in
road characteristics and climate.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to low-
est, are AA, A, B, and C. Those grades rep-
resent the tire’s ability to stop on wet
pavement as measured under controlled
conditions on specified government test
surfaces of asphalt and concrete. A tire
marked C may have poor traction perfor-
mance.
iFor illustration purposes only. Actual
data on tires are specific to each vehi-
cle and may vary from data shown in
above illustration.
Treadwear
Traction
Temperature
200
AA
A
342 OperationTires and wheelsTire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
The combined weight (in excess of those
standard items which may be replaced) of
automatic transmission, power steering,
power brakes, power windows, power
seats, radio, and heater, to the extent that
these items are available as
factory-installed equipment (whether
installed or not).
Air pressure
The amount of air inside the tire pressing
outward on each square inch of the tire.
Air pressure is expressed in pounds per
square inch (psi), or kilopascal (kPa) or
bars.
Aspect ratio
Dimensional relationship between tire
section height and section width
expressed in percentage.Bar
Another metric unit for air pressure. There
are 14.5038 pounds per square inch (psi)
to 1 bar; there are 100 kilopascals (kPa)
to 1 bar.
Bead
The tire bead contains steel wires wrapped
by steel cords that hold the tire onto the
rim.
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire inflation pressure when your vehicle
has been sitting for at least 3 hours or driv-
en no more than 1 mile (1.6 km).
Curb weight
The weight of a motor vehicle with stan-
dard equipment including the maximum
capacity of fuel, oil, and coolant, and, if so
equipped, air conditioning and additional
optional equipment, but without passen-
gers and cargo.DOT (D
epartment o
f T
ransportation)
A tire branding symbol which denotes the
tire meets requirements of the
U.S. Department of Transportation.
GAWR (G
ross A
xle W
eight R
ating)
The GAWR is the maximum permissible
axle weight. The gross vehicle weight on
each axle must never exceed the GAWR for
the front and rear axle indicated on the
certification label located on the driver’s
door B-pillar.
GVW (G
ross V
ehicle W
eight)
The GVW comprises the weight of the
vehicle including fuel, tools, spare wheel,
installed accessories, passengers and
cargo and, if applicable, trailer tongue
load. The GVW must never exceed the
GVWR indicated on the certification label
located on the driver’s door B-pillar.
354 OperationVehicle careAutomatic car wash
You can have your car washed in an auto-
matic car wash from the start. Automatic
car washes without brushes are prefera-
ble.
If the vehicle is very dirty, prewash it be-
fore running it through the automatic car
wash.Ornamental moldings
For regular cleaning and care of ornamen-
tal moldings, use a damp cloth.
!Do not clean your vehicle in an auto-
matic touchless car wash which uses
caustic spray. Otherwise the caustic
spray will damage the paint or orna-
mental moldings.
!Due to the width of the vehicle, fold in
exterior rear view mirrors prior to run-
ning the vehicle through an automatic
car wash to prevent damage to the
mirrors.
Make sure that the combination switch
is set to0 (
page 53). Otherwise, the
rain sensor could activate and cause
the wipers to move unintentionally.
This may lead to vehicle damage.
iAfter running the vehicle through an au-
tomatic car wash, wipe any wax off of
the windshield (
page 356). This will
prevent smears and reduce wiping
noise which can be caused by residual
wax on the windshield.
When leaving the car wash, make sure
that the mirrors are folded out. Other-
wise they may vibrate.
!Do not use chrome cleaner on orna-
mental moldings. Although ornamental
moldings may have chrome appear-
ance, they could be made of anodized
aluminum that will be damaged when
cleaned with chrome cleaner. Instead,
use a damp cloth to clean those orna-
mental moldings.
For very dirty ornamental moldings of
which you are sure are chrome-plated,
use a chrome cleaner. If in doubt
whether an ornamental molding is
chrome-plated, contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
451 Technical data
Main dimensions and weights
Main dimensions and weights
Main dimensionsWeightsModel
CLK 350
CLK 500
Overall vehicle length
183.3 in (4 657 mm)
182.8 in (4 657 mm)
Overall vehicle width (exterior rear view
mirrors folded out)
78.4 in (1 991 mm)
78.4 in (1 991 mm)
Overall vehicle height
55.4 in (1 408 mm)
55.4 in (1 408 mm)
Wheelbase
106.9 in (2 715 mm)
106.9 in (2 715 mm)
Track, front
58.8 in (1 493 mm)
58.9 in (1 497 mm)
Track, rear
58.0 in (1 474 mm)
58.2 in (1 478 mm)
Roof load max.
220 lbs (100 kg)
Trunk load max.
220 lbs (100 kg)