2008 MERCEDES-BENZ CLK63AMG tow

320 Operation
At the gas station
Refueling
The fuel filler flap is located on the
right-hand side of the vehicle towards the
rear. Locking/unlocking the vehicle with
the SmartKey or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* automatically locks/un-
locks the fuel filler flap.1To open the fuel filler flap
2To insert the fuel filler capTurn off the engine
Vehicles with SmartKey: Remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*: Open the
driver’s door (with driver’s door open,
starter switch is now in position0,
same as with SmartKey removed from
starter switch). The driver’s door then
can be closed again.
Open the fuel filler flap by pushing at
the point indicated by arrow 1.
The fuel filler flap springs open.
Turn the fuel cap counterclockwise and
hold on to it until possible pressure is
released.
Warning!G
Gasoline is highly flammable and poisonous.
It burns violently and can cause serious per-
sonal injury.
Never allow sparks, flame or smoking mate-
rials near gasoline!
Turn off the engine before refueling.
Whenever you are around gasoline, avoid in-
haling fumes and skin or clothing contact,
extinguish all smoking materials.
Direct skin contact with fuels and the inha-
lation of fuel vapors can damage to your
health.
iIn cases where the central locking system is
not releasing the fuel filler flap, or the opening
mechanism is clamping, notify Roadside Assis-
tance or an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.

336 Operation
Tires and wheels
1Seating capacity information on the
Tire and Loading Information placard.
Steps 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
Locate the statement “The combined
weight of occupants and cargo should
never exceed XXX kg or XXX lbs.” on
your vehicle’s Tire and Loading
Information 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 kilograms 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 Tire and Loading
Information placard (
page 335).
iData shown on Tire and Loading Information
placard example are for illustration purposes
only. Seating data are specific to each vehicle
and may vary from data shown in the illustration
below. Refer to Tire and Loading Information
placard on vehicle for actual data specific to your
vehicle.

338 Operation
Tires and wheels
Certification label
Even after careful determination of the
combined weight of all occupants, cargo
and the trailer tongue load (if applicable)
(
page 338) as to not exceed the permis-
sible load limit, you must make sure your
vehicle never exceeds the Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating (GVWR) and the Gross Axle
Weight Rating (GAWR) for either the front
or rear axle. You can obtain the GVWR and
GAWR from the certification label. The cer-
tification label can be found on the driver’s
door B-pillar, see “Technical data”
(
page 478).Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR): The
total weight of the vehicle, all occupants,
all cargo, and the trailer tongue load
(
page 338) must never exceed the
GVWR.
Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR): The to-
tal allowable weight that can be carried by
a single axle (front or rear).
To assure that your vehicle does not ex-
ceed the maximum permissible weight
limits (GVWR and GAWR for front and rear
axle), have the loaded vehicle (including
driver, passengers and all cargo and, if
applicable, trailer fully loaded) weighed on
a suitable commercial scale.Trailer tongue load
The tongue load of any trailer is an impor-
tant weight to measure because it affects
the load you can carry in your vehicle. If a
trailer is towed, the tongue load must be
added to the weight of all occupants riding
and any cargo you are carrying in the
vehicle. The tongue load typically is ten
percent of the trailer weight and every-
thing loaded in it.
Your Mercedes-Benz has been designed
primarily to carry passengers and their
cargo. Mercedes-Benz does not recom-
mend trailer towing with your vehicle.

369 Operation
Vehicle care
Engine cleaning
Prior to cleaning the engine compartment,
make sure to protect electrical
components and connectors from contact
with water and cleaning agents.
Corrosion protection, such as MB Anticor-
rosion Wax, should be applied to the
engine compartment after every engine
cleaning. Before applying, all control
linkage bushings and joints should be
lubricated. The poly-V-belt and all pulleys
should be protected from any wax.
Vehicle washing
In the winter, thoroughly remove all traces
of road salt as soon as possible.
When washing the vehicle underbody, do
not forget to clean the inner sides of the
wheels.Hand-wash
Do not use hot water or wash your vehicle
in direct sunlight.
Only use a mild car wash detergent,
such as Mercedes-Benz approved Car
Shampoo.
Thoroughly spray the vehicle with a
diffused jet of water.
Direct only a very weak spray towards
the ventilation intake.
Use plenty of water and rinse the
sponge and chamois frequently.
Rinse with clean water and thoroughly
dry with a chamois.
Do not allow cleaning agents to dry on
the finish.Automatic car wash
You can have your car washed in an
automatic car wash from the start.
Automatic car washes without brushes are
preferable.
To protect the filter system, switch the
climate control or automatic climate
control to air recirculation mode, see
“Air recirculation” (
page 191) for
climate control or (
page 201) for
automatic climate control.
If the vehicle is very dirty, prewash it
before running it through the automatic
car wash.
iVehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:
If a door handle is hit by a strong jet of water, and
a SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is in close
proximity, i.e. within approximately 3 ft
(approximately 1 m), the vehicle could be
inadvertently locked or unlocked.
!Do not use scouring agents on these parts.
Never apply strong force and only use a soft,
non-scratching cloth when cleaning the vehicle.
Do not attempt to wipe the surface with a dry
cloth or sponge.
Otherwise you nay scratch or damage the paint.
!Do not clean your vehicle in an automatic
touchless car wash which uses caustic spray.
Otherwise the caustic spray will damage the
paint, ornamental moldings, or soft top
(CLK cabriolet).

377 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Where will I find...?
Unlocking/locking in an emergency
Opening/closing in an emergency
(Cabriolet)
Resetting activated head restraints
Replacing SmartKey batteries
Replacing bulbs
Replacing wiper blades
Flat tire
Battery
Jump starting
Towing the vehicle
Fuses

422 Practical hints
Where will I find...?
TIREFIT (CLK 63 AMG only)
The TIREFIT kit is located under the trunk
floor.
Lift up trunk floor cover and engage the
handle in the upper edge of trunk
(
page 421).
1Straps for soft top emergency opera-
tion, a pair of gloves
2Electric air pump
3Towing eye bolt
4Vehicle jack
5TIREFIT kit
6Wheel wrench
7Collapsible wheel chock
Vehicle tool kit
The vehicle tool kit is located in the storage
compartment underneath the trunk floor.
The following is included:

Towing eye bolt

Wheel wrench

Alignment bolt

Vehicle jack

Collapsible wheel chock

A pair of gloves

Straps for soft top emergency opera-
tion (CLK cabriolet only)
The spare wheel bolts are fixed at the
Minispare wheel.Removing the vehicle tool kit
Lift up trunk floor cover and engage the
handle in upper edge of trunk
(
page 421).
Example CLK coupe
1Retaining screw
2Storage well casing
Loosen retaining screw1 in the mid-
dle of storage well casing2 by turning
it counterclockwise.
Remove storage well casing2.
i(CLK cabriolet) Hex wrench:
You will find the hex wrench for manually operat-
ing the roll bars (
page 430) or the soft top
(
page 432) at the lower edge of the storage
well casing.

429 Practical hints
Unlocking/locking in an emergency
Insert the mechanical key2 into the
driver’s door lock until it stops.
Turn the mechanical key2 clockwise
to position1.
The driver’s door is locked.Manually unlocking the gear selector
lever
In case of power failure, the gear selector
lever can be manually unlocked, e.g. to tow
the vehicle.
1Tab
2tool (e.g. flat blade screwdriver)
Pull the tab1 of the covering back in
direction of the center armrest com-
partment.
Insert a tool2 (e.g. flat blade screw-
driver) into the opening.
Perform the following two steps simul-
taneously:
Push tool2 down- and forward in
the direction of the arrow.
Move gear selector lever from
positionP.
Remove the tool2 from the opening.
Push the tab1 of the covering back.
1Locking
2Mechanical key
iThis procedure does not arm the anti-theft
alarm system, nor does it lock the fuel filler flap.
iThe gear selector lever is locked again when
moving it to positionP.

440 Practical hints
Resetting activated head restraints
Resetting activated head restraints
If the active head restraints have been trig-
gered in a rear-end collision, the active
head restraints must be reset. Otherwise,
the active head restraints cannot offer any
additional protection in the event of anoth-
er rear-end collision.
You can tell that the head restraints have
been triggered when they have been
moved forward and cannot be adjusted.
1Reset tool
2Hole
3Press head restraint cushion
Take the reset tool1 out of the
Mercedes-Benz vehicle literature
pouch.
Guide reset tool1 into the hole2 be-
tween the rear head restraint cover and
the head restraint cushion.
Press the reset tool1 downward until
you hear the active head restraint re-
lease mechanism audibly engage.
Pull out reset tool1.
Firmly press the head restraint cushion
back in direction of arrow3 toward
the rear head restraint cover until it
engages.
Repeat this procedure on the active
head restraint for the second front
seat.
After resetting the active head re-
straints store the reset tool1 in the
Mercedes-Benz vehicle literature
pouch.
For information on active head restraints,
see “Active head restraints” (
page 81).
For information on head restraint adjust-
ment, see “Seats” (
page 41).
iFor your convenience, we recommend that
you have this work carried out at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
You will find the reset tool for manually operating
the active head restraints in the Mercedes-Benz
vehicle literature pouch.
Warning!G
For safety reasons, have the active head re-
straints checked at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center after a rear-end
collision.
Warning!G
When pushing back the head restraint cush-
ion, take care that your fingers do not be-
come caught between the head restraint
cushion and the cover. Failing to do so may
lead to injury.!Be careful not to damage upholstery.