2008 SMART FORTWO COUPE wheel size

Occupant safety
56
>> Safety.
i
Air bags are designed to deploy only in
certain frontal impacts (front air bags), and in
side impacts (head
thorax air bags) which
exceed preset thresholds. Only during these
events will they provide their supplemental
protection.
The driver and passenger should always wear
their seat belts. Otherwise it is not possible
for air bags to provide their supplemental
protection.
In case of other types of impacts and impacts
below air bag deployment thresholds, air bags
will not deploy. The driver and passenger will
then be protected to the extent possible by a
properly fastened seat belt. A properly fas

tened seat belt is also needed to provide the
best possible protection in a rollover.
We caution you not to rely on the presence of
the air bags in order to avoid wearing your
seat belt.
It is important to your safety and that of your
passenger that you replace deployed air bags
and repair any malfunctioning air bags to
make sure the vehicle will continue to provide
supplemental crash protection for occupants.Safety guidelines for the seat belt,
Emergency Tensioning Devices (ETDs) and
air bag
• Keep hands on the outside of the steer

ing wheel rim. Placing hands and arms
inside the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when the driver’s front air bag
inflates.
• Adjust the passenger seat as far as
possible rearward from the dashboard
when the seat is occupied.
• Occupants, especially children, should
always sit as upright as possible,
properly use the seat belts and use an
appropriately sized infant restraint,
toddler restraint, or booster seat
recommended for the size and weight
of the child.
Failure to follow these instructions can
result in severe injuries to you or other
occupants.
If you sell your vehicle, it is important
that you make the buyer aware of this
safety information. Be sure to give the
buyer this Operator’s Manual.
G
Warning!
• Damaged seat belts or seat belts that
were highly stressed in an accident
must be replaced and their anchoring
points must also be checked. Only use
seat belts installed or supplied by an
authorized smart center.
• Air bags and Emergency Tensioning
Devices (ETDs) contain Perchlorate
material, which may require special
handling and regard for the environ

ment. Check with your local govern

ment’s disposal guidelines. California
residents, see http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/
Hazardous Waste/Perchlorate/
index.cfm.

Driving safety systems
>> Safety.
75
!
Because the ESP
® operates automatically,
the engine must be turned off (key in starter
switch position0) when
• the parking brake is being tested on a
brake test dynamometer,
• the vehicle is being towed with the front
axle raised.
Active braking action through the ESP
® may
otherwise seriously damage the brake system
on the rear axle.
i
The ESP
® wi ll on l y f un cti on p ro p er ly if you
use wheels of the recommended tire size
(

page 299).
Hydraulic brake assistantThe hydraulic brake assistant operates in
emergency situations. If you apply the brakes
very quickly, the hydraulic brake assistant
automatically provides full brake boost,
thereby potentially reducing the braking
distance.
>Apply continuous full braking pressure
until the emergency braking situation is
over.
The ABS will prevent the wheels from
locking.When you release the brake pedal, the brakes
function again as normal. The hydraulic brake
assistant is then deactivated.
G
Warning!
When the hydraulic brake assistant is
malfunctioning, the brake system is still
functioning normally, but without the
additional brake boost that would nor

mally be provided during an emergency
braking maneuver. Therefore, the brak

ing distance may increase.

Seats
92
>> Controls.G
Warning!
All seat adjustments, as well as fastening
of seat belts, must be done before the
vehicle is operated.G
Warning!
When adjusting the seat, make sure that
no one becomes trapped.
Do not adjust the driver’s seat while
driving. Adjusting the seat while driving
could cause the driver to lose control of
the vehicle.
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the
seat backrest in an excessively reclined
position as this can be dangerous. You
could slide under the seat belt in a colli

sion. If you slide under the seat belt, it
could apply force at the abdomen or neck,
potentially causing serious or fatal inju

ries. The seat backrest and seat belts
provide the best restraint when the
wearer is in a position that is as upright
as possible and seat belts are properly
positioned on the body.
Your seat must be adjusted so that you
can correctly fasten your seat belt
(
page 98).
Observe the following points:
• Adjust the seat backrest until your
arms are slightly angled when holding
the steering wheel.
• Adjust the seat to a comfortable
seating position that still allows you to
reach the accelerator/brake pedal
safely. The position should be as far to
the rear as possible, consistent with
ability to properly operate controls.
• Never place hands under the seat or
near any moving parts while a seat is
being adjusted.
Failure to do so could result in an acci

dent and/or serious personal injury.
Observe the notes on the air bag system
(
page 54).
G
Warning!
Children 12 years old and under must be
seated and properly secured in an
appropriately sized infant restraint,
toddler restraint, or booster seat recom

mended for the size and weight of the
child. For additional information, see
"Children in the vehicle" (

page 65).
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries
is significantly increased if the child re

straints are not properly secured in the
vehicle and/or the child is not properly
secured in the child restraint.

Tires and wheels
182
>> Operation Contact an authorized smart center for infor

mation on tested and recommended rims and
tires for summer and winter operation. They
can also offer advice concerning tire service
and purchase.
Modifications to the brake system and wheels
and the use of spacer and brake dust rings
are not permissible.
Important guidelines• Only use sets of tires and rims of the same
type and make.
• Tires must be of the correct size for the
rim.
• Break in new tires for approximately
60 miles (100 km) at moderate speeds.
• Regularly check the tires and rims for
damage. Dented or bent rims can cause tire
inflation pressure loss and damage to the
tire beads.
• If vehicle is heavily loaded, check tire infla

tion pressure and correct as required.
• Do not allow your tires to wear down too far.
Adhesion properties on wet roads are
sharply reduced at tread depths of less
than
1/8in (3 mm).
G
Warning!
Replace rims or tires with the same des

ignation, manufacturer and type as shown
on the original part. Contact an autho

rized smart center for further informa

tion. If incorrectly sized rims and tires
are mounted:
• The wheel brakes or suspension
components can be damaged.
• The operating clearance of the wheels
and the tires may no longer be correct.
G
Warning!
Worn, old tires can cause accidents. If the
tire tread is badly worn, or if the tires
have sustained damage, replace them.
When replacing rims, only use genuine
smart wheel bolts specified for the
particular rim type. Failure to do so can
result in the bolts loosening and possibly
an accident.
Retreaded tires are not tested or recom

mended by smart, since previous damage
cannot always be recognized on retreads.
The operating safety of the vehicle can

not be assured when such tires are used.

Tires and wheels
>> Operation
185 Loading the vehicle
Two labels on your vehicle show how much
weight it may properly carry.
1) The Tire and Loading Information placard
can be found on the driver’s door B
pillar.
This placard tells you important informa

tion about the number of people that can
be in the vehicle and the total weight that
can be carried in the vehicle. It also con

tains information on the proper size and
recommended tire inflation pressures for
the original equipment tires on your vehi

cle.2) The certification label, also found on the
driver’s door B
pillar, tells you about the
gross weight capacity of your vehicle,
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 allowable
weight that can be carried by a single axle
(front or rear). Never exceed the GVWR or
GAWR for either the front axle or rear
axle.
1
Driver’s door B
pillar
Following is a discussion on how to work with
the information contained on the Tire and
Loading Information placard with regards to
loading your vehicle.

Tires and wheels
188
>> Operation The following table shows examples on how to calculate total and cargo load capacities with varying seating configurations and number and size
of occupants. The following examples use a load limit of 540 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 186).
The higher the weight of all occupants, the less cargo and luggage load capacity is available.
Example
Combined weight
limit of occupants
and cargo from
Tire and Loading
Information
placard
Number of
occupants
(driver and
passenger)
Occupants weight
Combined weight of
all occupants
Available cargo weight (total load limit
from Tire and Loading Information
placard minus combined weight of all
occupants)
1
540 lbs
2
Occupant 1: 150 lbs
Occupant 2: 180 lbs
330 lbs
540 lbs
330 lbs = 210 lbs
2
540 lbs
1
Occupant 1: 150 lbs
150 lbs
540 lbs
150 lbs = 390 lbs

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 start
ups 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.

Tires and wheels
196
>> Operation
Tire labelingBesides tire name (sales designation) and
manufacturer name, a number of markings can
be found on a tire.
Following are some explanations for the mark

ings on your vehicle’s tires:
1
Uniform Quality Grading Standards
(
page 202)
2
DOT, Tire Identification Number (TIN)
(
page 200)
3
Maximum tire load (

page 201)
4
Maximum tire inflation pressure
(
page 202)
5
Manufacturer
6
Tire ply material (

page 204)
7
Tire size designation, load and speed
rating (

page 196)
8
Load identification (

page 200)
9
Tire name
i
For illustration purposes only. Actual data
on tires are specific to each vehicle and may
vary from data shown in above illustration.
For more information, see "Rims and
tires"(

page 299).Tire size designation, load and speed rating
1
Tire width
2
Aspect ratio in %
3
Radial tire code
4
Rim diameter
5
Tire load rating
6
Tire speed rating
i
For information purposes only. Actual data
on tires are specific to each vehicle and may
vary from data shown in above illustration.