2008 SMART FORTWO COUPE top
[x] Cancel search: topPage 190 of 314
Tires and wheels
>> Operation
189
Certification label
Even after careful determination of the
combined weight of all occupants and cargo as
to not exceed the permissible load limit, you
must make sure that 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 certification label can
be found on the driver’s door Bpillar, see
"Technical data" (
page 293).
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) means:
the total weight of the vehicle, all occupants,
and all cargo must never exceed the GVWR.
Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) means:
the total allowable weight that can be carried
by a single axle (front or rear).To assure that your vehicle does not exceed
the maximum permissible weight limits (GVWR
and GAWR for front and rear axle), have the
loaded vehicle (including driver, passenger,
and all cargo) weighed on a suitable commer
cial scale.
Recommended tire inflation
pressure
Your vehicle is equipped with the Tire and
Loading Information placard located on the
driver’s door Bpillar (
page 185).
The tire inflation pressure should be checked
regularly and should only be adjusted on cold
tires. The tires can be considered cold if the
vehicle has been parked for at least 3 hours
or driven less than 1 mile (1.6 km).
G
Warning!
Follow recommended tire inflation
pressures.
Do not underinflate tires. Underinflated
tires wear excessively and/or unevenly,
adversely affect handling and fuel econ
omy, and are more likely to fail from being
overheated.
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 as indicated on
the Tire and Loading Information placard
on the driver’s door Bpillar. Overload
ing the tires can overheat them, possibly
causing a blowout. Overloading the tires
can also result in handling or steering
problems, or brake failure.
Page 192 of 314
Tires and wheels
>> Operation
191 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 con
sidered cold if the vehicle has been parked
for at least 3 hours or driven less than 1 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
3 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 inflation pressure. Other
wise, 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 recommended tire
inflation pressure on the Tire and Loading
Information placard on the driver’s door
Bpillar (
page 185). If necessary, add air
to achieve the recommended tire inflation
pressure.
i
If 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.
>Install the valve cap.
>Repeat this procedure for each tire.
G
Warning!
Follow recommended tire inflation
pressures.
Do not underinflate tires. Underinflated
tires wear excessively and/or unevenly,
adversely affect handling and fuel econ
omy, and are more likely to fail from being
overheated.
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 as indicated on
the Tire and Loading Information placard
on the driver’s door Bpillar. Overload
ing the tires can overheat them, possibly
causing a blowout. Overloading the tires
can also result in handling or steering
problems, or brake failure.
Page 194 of 314
Tires and wheels
>> Operation
193
i
If a condition causing the TPMS to
malfunction develops, it may take up to
10 minutes for the system to signal a malfunc
tion using the TPMS telltale flashing and illu
mination sequence.
The telltale extinguishes after a few minutes
driving if the malfunction has been corrected.
G
Warning!
Each tire should be checked monthly
when cold and inflated to the inflation
pressure recommended by the vehicle
manufacturer on the Tire and Loading
Information placard. If your vehicle has
tires of a different size than the size in
dicated on the Tire and Loading Informa
tion placard, you should determine the
proper tire inflation pressure for those
tires.
As an added safety feature, your vehicle
has been equipped with a tire pressure
monitoring system (TPMS) that illumi
nates a low tire pressure telltale when
one or more of your tires is significantly
underinflated.
Accordingly, when the low tire pressure
telltale illuminates, you should stop and
check your tires as soon as possible, and
inflate them to the proper pressure.
Driving on a significantly underinflated
tire causes the tire to overheat and can
lead to tire failure.
Underinflation also reduces fuel effi
ciency and tire tread life, and may affect
the vehicle’s handling and stopping
ability. Please note that the TPMS is not a
substitute for proper tire maintenance,
and it is the driver’s responsibility to
maintain correct tire pressure, even if
underinflation has not reached the level
to trigger illumination of the TPMS low
tire pressure telltale.
Your vehicle has also been equipped with
a TPMS malfunction indicator to indicate
when the system is not operating
properly. The TPMS malfunction indicator
is combined with the low tire pressure
telltale. When the system detects a
malfunction, the telltale will flash for
approximately 1 minute and then remain
continuously illuminated.
This sequence will continue upon subse
quent vehicle startups as long as the
malfunction exists. When the malfunction
indicator is illuminated, the system may
not be able to detect or signal low tire
pressure as intended.
TPMS malfunctions may occur for a vari
ety of reasons, including the installation
of incompatible replacement or alternate
tires or wheels on the vehicle that pre
vent the TPMS from functioning properly.
Always check the TPMS malfunction tell
tale after replacing one or more tires or
wheels on your vehicle to ensure that the
replacement or alternate tires and
wheels allow the TPMS to continue to
function properly.
Page 196 of 314
Tires and wheels
>> Operation
195
>Press Restarting TPMS button1.
>The combination low tire pressure/TPMS
malfunction telltale in the instrument
cluster (
page 34) flashes for approxi
mately 5 seconds and then goes out.
After driving a few minutes the system
verifies that the current tire inflation
pressures are within the system’s specified
range. Afterwards the current tire inflation
pressures are accepted as reference
pressures and then monitored.Potential problems associated with
underinflated and overinflated tires
Underinflated tires
Underinflated tires can:
• cause excessive and uneven tire wear
• adversely affect fuel economy
• lead to tire failure from being overheated
• adversely affect handling characteristicsOverinflated tires
Overinflated tires can:
• adversely affect handling characteristics
• cause uneven tire wear
• be more prone to damage from road
hazards
• adversely affect ride comfort
• increase stopping distance
G
Warning!
Follow recommended tire inflation
pressures.
Do not underinflate tires. Underinflated
tires wear excessively and/or unevenly,
adversely affect handling and fuel econ
omy, and are more likely to fail from being
overheated.
G
Warning!
Follow recommended tire inflation
pressures.
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.
Page 203 of 314
Tires and wheels
202
>> Operation Maximum tire inflation pressure
1
Maximum permissible tire inflation
pressure
i
For illustration purposes only. Actual data
on tires are specific to each vehicle and may
vary from data shown in above illustration.
This is the maximum permissible tire inflation
pressure for the tire.Always follow the recommended tire inflation
pressure (
page 189) for proper tire infla
tion.Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards
(U.S. vehicles)
Tire manufacturers are required to grade
tires based on three performance factors:
treadwear, traction and temperature resis
tance.
1
Treadwear
2
Traction
3
Temperature resistance
i
For illustration purposes only. Actual data
on tires are specific to each vehicle and may
vary from data shown in above illustration.
G
Warning!
Never exceed the max. tire inflation
pressure. Follow recommended tire
inflation pressures.
Do not underinflate tires. Underinflated
tires wear excessively and/or unevenly,
adversely affect handling and fuel econ
omy, and are more likely to fail from being
overheated.
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.
Page 204 of 314
Tires and wheels
>> Operation
203
Quality grades can be found, where applica
ble, on the tire sidewall between tread shoul
der and maximum section width. For example:
All passenger car tires must conform to fed
eral safety requirements in addition to these
grades.
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified
government test course.
For example, a tire graded 150 would wear
one and onehalf (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 lowest,
are AA, A, B, and C. Those grades represent
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 performance.
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (the highest),
B, and C, representing the tire’s resistance to
the generation of heat and its ability to
dissipate heat when tested under controlled
conditions on a specified indoor laboratory
test wheel.Sustained high temperature can cause the
material of the tire to degenerate and reduce
tire life, and excessive temperature can lead
to sudden tire failure. The grade C corre
sponds to a level of performance which all
passenger car tires must meet under the
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
No. 109. Grades B and A represent higher
levels of performance on the laboratory test
wheel than the minimum required by law.
Treadwear
Traction
Temperature
200
AA
A
G
Warning!
The traction grade assigned to this tire is
based on straightahead braking trac
tion tests, and does not include acceler
ation, cornering, hydroplaning, or peak
traction characteristics.
G
Warning!
The temperature grade for this tire is
established for a tire that is properly
inflated and not overloaded. Excessive
speed, underinflation, or excessive load
ing, either separately or in combination,
can cause excessive heat buildup and
possible tire failure.
Page 214 of 314
Driving instructions
>> Operation
213
High and low stresses
After hard braking, it is advisable to drive on
for some time, rather than immediately park,
so that the air stream will cool down the
brakes faster.
If your brake system is normally only
subjected to moderate loads, you should
occasionally test the effectiveness of the
brakes by applying abovenormal braking
pressure at higher speeds. This will also
enhance the grip of the brake pads.Wet road surfaceTo help prevent brake disk corrosion after
driving on wet road surfaces (particularly
salted roads), it is advisable to brake the
vehicle with considerable force prior to park
ing. The heat generated serves to dry the
brakes.
Limited braking effect on salted roads
Remember that the effect of the brakes can be
limited on salted road surfaces. A layer of salt
can form on brake disks and brake pads, con
siderably reducing the friction between the
brake disk and the brake pad. The effect is
most noticeable after long trips without brak
ing, e.g. on the highway, and after the vehicle
has been parked for several hours.G
Warning!
Resting your foot on the brake pedal will
cause excessive and premature wear of
the brake pads.
It can also result in the brakes overheat
ing, thereby significantly reducing their
effectiveness and your ability to stop the
vehicle in sufficient time to avoid an ac
cident.
G
Warning!
Make sure not to endanger any other
road users when carrying out these
braking maneuvers.G
Warning!
After driving in heavy rain for some time
without applying the brakes or through
water deep enough to wet brake compo
nents, the first braking action may be
somewhat reduced and increased pedal
pressure may be necessary to obtain
expected braking effect. Maintain a safe
distance from vehicles in front.
G
Warning!
Make sure not to endanger any other
road users when carrying out these
braking maneuvers.
Page 216 of 314
Driving instructions
>> Operation
215 Drive sensibly save fuel
Fuel consumption, to a great extent, depends
on driving habits and operating conditions.
To save fuel you should:
• Shift gears in a timely manner.
• Avoid frequent acceleration and decelera
tion.
• Keep tires at the recommended inflation
pressures.
• Remove carriers* when not in use.
• Remove unnecessary loads.
• Allow engine to warm up under low load use.
• Have all maintenance work performed at the
intervals specified in the Maintenance
Booklet and as required by the Maintenance
System. Contact an authorized smart cen
ter.
Fuel consumption is also increased by driving
in cold weather, in stopandgo traffic, on
short trips, and in hilly areas.
Catalytic converterYour smart is equipped with monolithictype
catalytic converter, an important element in
conjunction with the oxygen sensors to
achieve substantial control of the pollutants
in the exhaust emissions. Keep your vehicle in
proper operating condition by following our
recommended maintenance instructions as
outlined in your Maintenance Booklet.
G
Warning
The catalytic converter can become very
hot. Coming into contact with the catalytic
converter could result in burns.
Note the following:
• Do not remove the protective heat
guards.
• Do not apply any underseal.
• As with any vehicle, do not idle, park, or
operate this vehicle in areas where
combustible materials such as grass,
hay, or leaves can come into contact
with the hot exhaust system, as these
materials could be ignited and cause a
vehicle fire.