2006 MERCEDES-BENZ CLK350 load capacity

228 Controls in detailAudio systemDo not use CDs with an eight cm diameter,
not even with a CD adapter. Attempting to
play CDs with an eight cm diameter or
playing such CDs with an adapter may
cause damage to the CD drive. Such dam-
age is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.
Should excessively high or low tempera-
tures occur while in CD changer mode*, CD TEMP
will appear in the display, and the
CD will be muted until the temperature has
reached an acceptable level for the system
to continue operation.
The single CD player and the CD changer*
play audio CDs.
Tips on handling CDs


Handle CDs carefully to prevent inter-
ference during playback.


Avoid scratches, fingerprints and dust
on the CDs.


Do not write on CDs or apply any labels
or other material to them.


Clean CDs from time to time with a
commercially available cleaning cloth.
Never wipe the CD in a circular motion;
instead, wipe it in a straight line start-
ing in the center and moving outward.
Do not use solvents, anti-static sprays,
etc. for cleaning.


Replace the CD in its case after use.


Protect CDs from heat and direct sun-
light.
Operating the single CD player in the
audio system unit
Loading a CD
The single CD player in the audio system
unit has capacity for one CD. The CD slot
for loading the drive is located underneath
the soft keys.

Make sure the system is switched on.

Insert CD into CD slot. The label side of
the CD must face upwards.The system automatically pulls the CD
into the CD slot. The audio CD begins
to play.
!If a CD is already loaded, it must be
ejected before inserting a new CD. In-
serting a second CD in the slot with an-
other CD still loaded will cause damage
to the CD drive not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty. iIf a CD has been inserted incorrectly or
cannot be read,
WRONG CD0
will appear
in the display.

277 Controls in detail
Loading
Loading instructions
The total load weight including vehicle oc-
cupants and luggage/cargo should not ex-
ceed the load limit or vehicle capacity
weight indicated on the corresponding
placard located on the driver’s door B-pillar
(page 333).
The handling characteristics of a fully load-
ed vehicle depend greatly on the load dis-
tribution. It is therefore recommended to
load the heaviest items being placed to-
wards the front of the vehicle.
Always place items being carried against
rear seat backrests, and fasten them as se-
curely as possible.
The heaviest portion of the cargo should al-
ways be kept as low as possible since it in-
fluences the handling characteristics of
the vehicle.
!To prevent damage to the soft top or
luggage/cargo when lowering the roof:

load trunk only to the height of the
luggage cover


do not permit luggage/cargo to
push up the closed luggage cover


do not place anything on the shelf
behind the roll bar


do not place anything on the soft
top compartment cover
Warning!
G
Always fasten items being carried as secure-
ly as possible.
In an accident, during hard braking or sud-
den maneuvers, loose items will be thrown
around inside the vehicle and can cause in-
jury to vehicle occupants unless the items
are securely fastened in the vehicle.
To help avoid personal injury during a colli-
sion or sudden maneuver, exercise care
when transporting cargo. Put luggage or car-
go in the trunk if possible.
Never drive vehicle with trunk open. Deadly
carbon monoxide (CO) gases may enter ve-
hicle interior resulting in unconsciousness
and death.

333 Operation
Tires and wheels
Direction of rotation
Unidirectional tires offer added advan-
tages, such as better hydroplaning perfor-
mance. To benefit, however, you must
make sure the tires rotate in the direction
specified.
An arrow on the sidewall indicates the
intended direction of rotation (spinning) of
the tire.
Loading the vehicle
Two labels on your vehicle show how much
weight it may properly carry.

The Tire and Loading Information
placard (Example A) or the Vehicle Tire
Information placard (Example B) can be
found on the driver’s door B-pillar. This
placard tells you important information
about the number of people that can be
in the vehicle and the total weight that
can be carried in the vehicle. It also
contains information on the proper size
and recommended tire inflation
pressures for the original equipment
tires on your vehicle.


The Certification label, also found on
the driver’s door B-pillar tells you about
the gross weight capacity of your vehi-
cle, called the Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating (GVWR). The GVWR includes the
weight of the vehicle, all occupants,
fuel and cargo. The Certification label
also tells you about the front and rear axle weight capacity,
called the Gross Axle Weight Rating
(GAWR). The GAWR is the total allow-
able weight that can be carried by a sin-
gle axle (front or rear). Never exceed
the GVWR or GAWR for either the front
axle or rear axle.
1Driver’s door B-pillar
Following is a discussion on how to work
with the information contained on the two
placards with regards to loading your vehi-
cle.
iSpare wheels may be mounted against
the direction of rotation (spinning) even
with a unidirectional tire for temporary
use only until the regular drive wheel
has been repaired or replaced. Always
observe and follow applicable tempo-
rary use restrictions and speed limita-
tions indicated on the spare wheel.

334 OperationTires and wheelsTire and Loading Information
Your vehicle is equipped with either the
Tire and Loading Information placard
(Example A) or the Vehicle Tire Information
placard (Example B). Placard (Example A)
1Load limit information on the Tire and
Loading Information placard
The placard showing the load limit informa-
tion is located on the driver’s door B-pillar.
If your vehicle is equipped with the Tire and
Loading Information placard (Example A),
locate the statement “The combined
weight of occupants and cargo should
never exceed XXX kilograms or XXX lbs.”
on this placard. The combined weight of all
occupants, cargo / luggage and trailer
tongue load (if applicable) should never
exceed the weight referenced in that
statement.Warning!
G
Do not overload the tires by exceeding the
specified load limit or vehicle capacity
weight as indicated on the placard on the
driver’s door B-pillar. Overloading the tires
can overheat them, possibly causing a
blowout. Overloading the tires can also
result in handling or steering problems, or
brake failure.
iData shown on placard examples are
for illustration purposes only. Load lim-
it data is specific to each vehicle and
may vary from data shown in the illus-
trations below. Refer to placard on ve-
hicle for actual data specific to your
vehicle.

335 Operation
Tires and wheels
Placard (Example B)
1Load limit information on the Vehicle
Tire Information placard
The placard showing the load limit informa-
tion is located on the driver’s door B-pillar.
If your vehicle is equipped with the Vehicle
Tire Information placard (Example B),
locate the heading “Vehicle Capacity
Weight” on this placard. The combined
weight of all occupants, cargo/luggage
and trailer tongue (if applicable) should
never exceed the weight listed next to
vehicle capacity weight.Seating capacity
The seating capacity gives you important
information on the number of occupants
that can be in the vehicle. Observe front
and rear seating capacity. Your vehicle is
equipped with either placard Example A or
placard Example B located on the driver’s
door B-pillar (
page 333).
Placard (Example A)1Seating capacityPlacard (Example B)1Seating capacity
iData shown on placard examples are
for illustration purposes only. Seating
data is specific to each vehicle and may
vary from data shown in the illustra-
tions below. Refer to placard on vehicle
for actual data specific to your vehicle.

336 OperationTires and wheelsSteps for determining correct load limit
The following steps have been developed
as required of all manufacturers under Title
49, Code of U.S. Federal Regulations, Part
575 pursuant to the “National Traffic and
Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966”.
Step 1 (Vehicles equipped with placard
Example A)
Locate the statement “The combined
weight of occupants and cargo should
never exceed XXX kg or XXX lbs.” on
your vehicle’s placard.
Step 1 (Vehicles equipped with placard
Example B)

Locate the heading “Vehicle Capacity
Weight” on your vehicle’s placard.
Step 2

Determine the combined weight of the
driver and passengers that will be
riding in your vehicle.Step 3

Subtract the combined weight of the
driver and passengers from XXX kilo-
grams or XXX lbs.
Step 4

The resulting figure equals the avail-
able amount of cargo and luggage load
capacity. For example, if the “XXX”
amount equals 1400 lbs and there will
be five 150 lbs passengers in your
vehicle, the amount of available cargo
and luggage load capacity is 650 lbs.
(1400-750 (5 x150) = 650 lbs)
Step 5

Determine the combined weight of
luggage and cargo being loaded on the
vehicle. That weight may not safely
exceed the available cargo and luggage
load capacity calculated in step 4.Step 6 (if applicable)

If your vehicle will be towing a trailer,
load from your trailer will be trans-
ferred to your vehicle. Consult this
manual to determine how this reduces
the available cargo and luggage load
capacity of your vehicle (
page 338).
The following table shows examples on
how to calculate total and cargo load
capacities with varying seating configura-
tions and number and size of occupants.
The following examples use a load limit
of 1500 lbs. This is for illustration
purposes only. Make sure you are using
the actual load limit for your vehicle stated
on the vehicle’s placard (
page 334).

337 Operation
Tires and wheels
The higher the weight of all occupants, the
less cargo and luggage load capacity is
available.
For more information, see “Trailer tongue
load” (
page 338).
Example
Combined
weight limit
of occu-
pants and
cargo from
placard
Number of
occupants
(driver and
passengers)
Seating
configura-
tion
Occupants weight
Combined
weight of all
occupants
Available cargo/luggage and trailer
tongue weight (total load limit or
vehicle capacity weight from plac-
ard minus combined weight of all
occupants)
1
1500 lbs
4
front: 2
rear: 2
Occupant 1: 150 lbs
Occupant 2: 180 lbs
Occupant 3: 160 lbs
Occupant 4: 140 lbs
630 lbs
1500 lbs - 630 lbs = 870 lbs
2
1500 lbs
3
front: 1
rear: 2
Occupant 1: 200 lbs
Occupant 2: 190 lbs
Occupant 3: 150 lbs
540 lbs
1500 lbs - 540 lbs = 960 lbs
3
1500 lbs
1
front:1
Occupant 1: 150 lbs
150 lbs
1500 lbs - 150 lbs = 1350 lbs

341 Operation
Tires and wheels
Checking tire inflation pressure
Regularly check your tire inflation pressure
at least once a month.
Check and adjust the tire inflation
pressure when the tires are cold. The tires
can be considered cold if the vehicle has
been parked for at least three hours or
driven less than one mile (1.6 km).
If you check the tire inflation pressure
when the tires are warm (the vehicle has
been driven for several miles or sitting less
than three hours), the reading will be
approximately 4 psi (0.3 bar) higher than
the cold reading. This is normal. Do not let
air out to match the specified cold tire in-
flation pressure. Otherwise, the tire will be
underinflated.Checking tire inflation pressure
manually
Follow the steps below to achieve correct
tire inflation pressure:

Remove the cap from the valve on one
tire.

Firmly press a tire gauge onto the
valve.

Read tire inflation pressure on tire
gauge and check against the recom-
mended tire inflation pressure on the
placard on the driver’s door B-pillar
(page 339). If necessary, add air to
achieve the recommended tire inflation
pressure.
Warning!
G
Follow recommended tire inflation
pressures.
Do not underinflate tires. Underinflated tires
wear excessively and / or unevenly,
adversely affect handling and fuel economy,
and are more likely to fail from being over-
heated.
Do not overinflate tires. Overinflated tires
can adversely affect handling and ride
comfort, wear unevenly, increase stopping
distance, and result in sudden deflation
(blowout) because they are more likely to
become punctured or damaged by road
debris, potholes etc.
Do not overload the tires by exceeding the
specified load limit or vehicle capacity
weight as indicated on the placard on the
driver’s door B-pillar. Overloading the tires
can overheat them, possibly causing a
blowout.
iIf you have overfilled the tire, release
tire inflation pressure by pushing the
metal stem of the valve with e.g. a tip of
a pen. Then recheck the tire inflation
pressure with the tire gauge.