2007 MERCEDES-BENZ C230 width

71 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Enhanced seat belt reminder system
When the engine is started, the seat belt
telltale< will always illuminate
for 6 seconds to remind you and your pas-
sengers to fasten your seat belts.
If the driver’s seat belt is not fastened
when the engine is started, an additional
warning chime will also sound for a maxi-
mum of 6 seconds or until the driver’ s
seat belt is fastened.
If after these 6 seconds the driver’s or the
front passenger’s seat belt (with the front
passenger seat occupied) is not fastened
with front doors closed,

the seat belt telltale< remains illu-
minated for as long as either the driv-
er’s or front passenger’s seat belt is not
fastened.

and if the vehicle speed once exceeds
15 mph (25 km/h), the seat belt
telltale< starts flashing and a
warning chime sounds with increasing
and side (front side impact air bags, rear
side impact air bags*, window curtain
air bags and ETD) impacts which exceed
preset deployment thresholds.

Never wear the shoulder belt under your
arm, against your neck or off your shoul-
der. In a frontal crash, your body would
move too far forward. That would
increase the chance of head and neck
injuries. The belt would also apply too
much force to the ribs or abdomen,
which could severely injure internal or-
gans such as your liver or spleen.

Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eyeglasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
might cause injuries.

Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips and not across the abdo-
m e n . I f t h e b e l t i s p o s i t i o n e d a c r o s s y o u r
abdomen, it could cause serious injuries
in a crash.

Never use a seat belt for more than one
person at a time. Do not fasten a seat
belt around a person and another
person or other objects.

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 always 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.

295 Operation
Tires and wheels
Tire labeling
Besides tire name (sales designation) and
manufacturer name, a number of markings
can be found on a tire.
Following are some explanations for the
markings on your vehicle’s tires:1Uniform Quality Grading Standards
(
page 302)
2DOT, Tire Identification Number (TIN)
(
page 299)
3Maximum tire load (
page 301)
4Maximum tire inflation pressure
(
page 301)
5Manufacturer
6Tire ply material (
page 304)
7Tire size designation, load and speed
rating (
page 295)
8Load identification (
page 299)
9Tire nameTire size designation, load and speed
rating
1Tire width
2Aspect ratio in %
3Radial tire code
4Rim diameter
5Tire load rating
6Tire speed rating
iFor illustration purposes only. Actual data
on tires is specific to each vehicle and may vary
from data shown in above illustration.
For more information, see “Rims and Tires”
(
page 403).
iFor illustration purposes only. Actual data
on tires is specific to each vehicle and may vary
from data shown in above illustration.

296 Operation
Tires and wheels
General:
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 295) indicates
the nominal tire width in mm.
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio2 (
page 295) 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 295) 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 297).Rim diameter
The rim diameter4 (
page 295) is the
diameter of the bead seat, not the
diameter of the rim edge. Rim diameter is
indicated in inches (in).
Tire load rating
The tire load rating5 (
page 295) is a
numerical code associated with the
maximum load a tire can support.
For example, a load rating of 91 corre-
sponds to a maximum load of 1 356 lbs
(615 kg) the tire is designed to support.
See also “Maximum tire load”
(
page 301) where the maximum load as-
sociated with the load index is indicated in
kilograms and lbs.

302 Operation
Tires and wheels
Always follow the recommended tire
inflation pressure (
page 289) for proper
tire inflation. Uniform 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
Warning!G
Never exceed the max. tire inflation
pressure. Follow recommended tire inflation
pressures.
Do not underinflate tires. Underinflated tires
wear excessively and / or unevenly, adverse-
ly affect handling and fuel economy, and are
more likely to fail from being overheated.
Do not overinflate tires. Overinflated tires
can adversely affect handling and ride com-
fort, wear unevenly, increase stopping dis-
tance, and result in sudden deflation
(blowout) because they are more likely to
become punctured or damaged by road de-
bris, potholes etc.
iFor illustration purposes only. Actual data
on tires is specific to each vehicle and may vary
from data shown in above illustration.
TreadwearTractionTemperature
200AAA

304 Operation
Tires and wheels
Tire ply material
1Plies in sidewall
2Plies under tread
This marking tells you about the type of
cord and number of plies in the sidewall
and under the tread.Tire 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 three hours or
driven no more than one 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.
iFor illustration purposes only. Actual data
on tires is specific to each vehicle and may vary
from data shown in above illustration.

316 Operation
Vehicle care
Ornamental moldings
For regular cleaning and care of
ornamental moldings, use a damp cloth.Headlamps, tail lamps, side markers,
turn signal lenses
Use a mild car wash detergent, such as
Mercedes-Benz approved Car
Shampoo, with plenty of water.
!Make sure that the windshield wiper switch
is set to0 (
page 51). Otherwise, e.g. the rain
sensor could activate and cause the wipers to
move unintentionally. This may lead to vehicle
damage.
Due to the width of the vehicle, fold in exterior
rear view mirrors prior to running the vehicle
through an automatic car wash to prevent
damage to the mirrors.
iAfter running the vehicle through an
automatic car wash, wipe any wax off of the
windshield (
page 317). 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. Otherwise they may
vibrate.
!Do not use chrome cleaner on ornamental
moldings. Although ornamental moldings may
have chrome appearance, they could be made of
anodized aluminum that will be damaged when
cleaned with chrome cleaner. Instead, use a
damp cloth to clean those ornamental 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.
!Only use window cleaning solutions that are
suitable for plastic lamp lenses. Window
cleaning solutions which are not suitable may
damage the plastic lamp lenses of the
headlamps. Therefore, do not use abrasives,
solvents or cleaners that contain solvents.
Never apply strong force and only use a soft,
non-scratching cloth when cleaning the lenses.
Do not attempt to wipe dirty lenses with a dry
cloth or sponge.
Otherwise you may scratch or damage the lens
surface.

408 Technical data
Main dimensions and weights
Main dimensions
Weights
ModelC 230
C 230 SportC 280
C 350C 280 4MATIC
C 350 4MATICC 350 Sport
Overall vehicle length178.4 in (4 532 mm)178.4 in (4 532 mm)178.4 in (4 532 mm)178.4 in (4 532 mm)
Overall vehicle width (exte-
rior rear view mirrors fold-
ed out)77.8 in (1977 mm)77.8in (1977mm)77.8 in (1977 mm)77.8 in (1977 mm)
Overall vehicle height55.6in (1413mm)56.1 in (1 426 mm)56.3 in (1 429 mm)55.5 in (1 410 mm)
Wheelbase106.9 in (2 715 mm)106.9 in (2 715 mm)106.9 in (2 715 mm)106.9 in (2 715 mm)
Track, front59.3in (1505mm)59.3 in (1 505 mm)59.3 in (1 505 mm)59.3 in (1 505 mm)
Track, rear58.1in (1476mm)58.1 in (1 476 mm)58.1 in (1 476 mm)58.1 in (1 476 mm)
Roof load max.220 lb (100 kg)
Trunk load max.220 lb (100 kg)