
Load
ingthevehicle Inst
ruction labels fortires and loads G
WAR
NING Do
not over load thetir es by exc eedin gth e
spec ified loadlimit asindi catedon theTire
and Loadin gIn for mat ionplacar don the
driv er'sdoor B-pillar .Overloa dingthetires
can overhea tthem, possibly causinga
blowou t.Overloading thetires canalso result
in handling orsteering problems, orbrake
failure.
Two instruct ionlabel son your vehicle show
the maximum possibleload.
(1) TheTire andLoading Informationplacard
on the B-pillar onthe driver's side.The
Tire andLoading Informationplacard
shows themaximum permissible number
of occupants andthemaximum
permissible vehicleload.Italso contains
details ofthe tire sizes and
corresponding pressuresfortires
mounted atthe factory.
(2) The vehicle identification plateison the
B-pillar onthe driver's side.Thevehicle
identification plateinforms youofthe
gross vehicle weightrating.Itis made up
of the vehicle weight, allvehicle
occupants, thefuel andthecargo. You
can also findinformation aboutthe
maximum grossaxleweight ratingonthe
front andrear axle.
The maximum grossaxleweight ratingis
the maximum weightthatcanbecarried
by one axle (front orrear axle). Never
exceed themaximum loadorthe
maximum grossaxleweight ratingforthe
front orrear axle. :
B-pillar, driver'sside Maximum
permissible grossvehicle
weig htrat ing i
The
specifications shownonthe Tire and
Loading Informationplacard inthe
illu stration areexamples. Themaximum
permissible grossvehicle weightratingis
vehicle-specific andmay differ fromthatin
the illustration .You can find thevalid
maximum permissible grossvehicle weight
rating foryour vehicle onthe Tire and
Loading Information placard. X
The Tire andLoading Information placard
gives youdetails onmaximum permissible
gross vehicle weightrating::"Thegross
weight ofoccupant sand luggage must
never exceed XXXkilograms orXXX
pounds." 362
Loading
thevehicleWheels and tires

Exam
ple:step 1to 3 The
followin gtab leshow sexam plesonhow tocalc ulate total and cargoload capac ities with
var ying seatingcon figur ationsand num berand sizeof occ upant s.The followin gexam plesuse
a load limit of15 00 lbs. Thisis for illus trat ion purposes only. Makesure youareusin gthe
actual loadlimit foryour vehicle statedonthe vehicle’s TireandLoading Informationplacard
(Y page 363). Example
1 Example
2 Example
3 Step
1 Combined
maximum
weig htofoccupants
and cargo (datafrom
the Tire andLoading
Informat ionplacard ) 1500
lbs
(680 kg) 1500
lbs
(680 kg) 1500
lbs
(680 kg) Example
1 Example
2 Example
3 Step
2 Num
berofpeople in
the vehicle (driver
and occupants) 5 3 1
Distribution
ofthe
occupants Front
:2
Rear: 3 Front
:1
Rear: 2 Front
:1 Weight
ofthe
occupants Occupant
1:
150 lbs(68 kg)
Occupant 2:
180 lbs(82 kg)
Occupant 3:
160 lbs(73 kg)
Occupant 4:
140 lbs(63 kg)
Occupant 5:
120 lbs(54 kg) Occupant
1:
200 lbs(91 kg)
Occupant 2:
190 lbs(86 kg)
Occupant 3:
150 lbs(68 kg) Occupant
1:
150 lbs(68 kg) Gross
weightofall
occupants 750
lbs(340 kg) 540
lbs(245 kg) 150
lbs(68 kg) 364
Loading
thevehicl eWheels and tires

You
should payspec ialattent ion toroad
con dition swhen temperat uresarearound
the free zingpoint .
Merc edes- Benzrecomm endsaminimum tire
tread depth of1
/ 6in
(4 mm) forallfour winter
tires (Ypage 352)tom aint ainnorm aldriv ing
ch arac teris tic sin wint er.Win tertir es can
reduc eth ebrak ingdist anceonsnow cove red
su rfa ces incomp arison tosumme rtires.
St oppin gdist ance,howeve r,is still
con siderably greaterthan when theroad is
not covered withiceorsno w.Take
appropr iatecare when driving.
! Avoid wheelspin .This can lead todamage
to the drive train. Temp
erature G
WARNING The
temperature gradeforthis tireis
established foratire that isproperly inflated
and notoverloaded. Excessive speed,
underinflation, orexcessive loading,either
separately orincombination, cancause
excessive heatbuild-upand possible tire
failure.
The temperature gradesareA(the high est),
B, and C.Theserep resent thetire's
res istanc eto the genera tiono fheat and its
ability todissipate heatwhen testedunder
con trolled conditions onaspecified indoor
laboratory testwheel. Sustain edhigh
temper aturecancause thematerial ofthe tire
to degenerat eand reduce tirelife, and
exc essive temper aturecanlead tosudden
tire failure. Thegrade Ccorresponds toalevel
of performanc ewhich allpassenger cartires
must meet under theFederal MotorVehicle
Safety Standard No.109. Grades Band A
represent higherlevelsofperformanc eon the
laboratory testwheel thantheminimum
required bylaw. Tire
labeling Tire
labeling overview
The following markings areonthe tire in
addition tothe tire name (sales designation)
and themanufacturer 'sname: :
Uniform tireQuality Grading Standard
(Y page 371)
; DOT, TireIdent ification Number
(Y page 370)
= Maximum tireload (Ypage 365)
? Maximum tirepressure (Ypage 356)
A Manufacturer
B Tire material (Ypage 371)
C Tire size designation, load-bearing
capacity andspeed rating(Ypage 368)
D Load index (Ypage 370)
E Tire name i
Tire
data isvehicle-specif icand may
deviate fromthedata inthe example. Tir
elabeling
367Wheels and tires Z

Tire
size des ignati on,load -bea ring
cap acit yand speed ratin g :
Tire width
; Nom inalaspec tratio in%
= Tire code
? Rim diame ter
A Load bearingindex
B Spe edrating i
Tire
datais veh icle-spec ificand may
devi atefrom thedat ain theex ample .
Gener al:depen dingon theman ufacturer's
st and ards ,th esiz eimpr inted inthetir ewall
may notco ntain any letters or may contain
on elet tert hat precedes thesize description.
If there isno letter preceding thesize
description (asshown above): theseare
passenger vehicletiresaccording to
European manufacturing standards.
If "P" precedes thesize description: theseare
passenger vehicletiresaccording toU.S.
manufacturing standards.
If "LT" precedes thesize description: these
are light truck tiresaccording toU.S.
manufacturing standards.
If "T" precedes thesize description: theseare
compact emergency sparewheels athigh tire
pressure, tobe used onlytemporarily inan
emergency.
Tire width: tirewidth :shows thenominal
tire width inmillimeters.
Nominal aspectratio: aspect ratio;isthe
size ratio between thetire height andthetire
width andisshown inpercent .The aspect ratio
iscalculated bydividing thetire width by
the tire height.
Tire code: tirecode =specifies thetire type.
"R" represents radialtires."D"represents
diagonal tires,"B"represents diagonalradial
tires.
Optionally, tireswithamaximum speedof
over 149mph(240 km/h)mayhave "ZR"in
the size description dependingonthe
manufacturer (e.g.245/ 40ZR18).
Rim diamet er:rim diameter ?isthe
diameter ofthe bead seat,notthediameter
of the rim flange. Therimdiameter is
specified ininches (in).
Load bearing index:loadbearing indexA
is anumerical codewhich specifies the
maximum load-bearing capacityofatire. G
WARNING The
tireload rating mustalwaysbe atleast
half ofthe GAWR ofyour vehicle. Otherwise,
sudden tirefailure maybethe result which
could cause anaccident and/orserious injury
to you orothers.
Always replace rimsandtires withrims and
tires having thesame specifications
(designation, manufacturer andtype) as
shown onthe original part. G
WARNING Do
not overload thetires byexceeding the
specified loadlimit asindicated onthe Tire
and Loading Informationplacard onthe
driver's doorB-pillar. Overloading thetires
can overheat them,possibly causinga
blowou t.Overloading thetires canalso result
in handling orsteering problems, orbrake
failure.
Example:
The load bearing index91isequiva lenttoa
maximum loadof1356 lbs(615 kg)that the
tire can carry. Forfurther information onthe
maximum tireload inkilograms andpounds,
see (Ypage 365). 368
Tire
labeli ngWheels and tires

For
furth erinfor mationonthe loadbea ring
inde x,see Loadinde x(Ypage 370).
Speed rating: speed ratingB specifies the
approved maximum speedofthe tire. G
WARN
ING Even
when permit tedbylaw, never operate a
vehicle atspeeds greater thanthemaximum
speed ratingof the tires .
Ex ceedin gthe maximum speedforwhich tires
are rated canlead tosudden tirefailure,
causing lossofvehicle controland possibly
resultin gin an acciden tand/o rserious
personal injuryandpossible death,foryou
and forother s.
Regardless ofthe speed ratingalways
obser vethe speed limits.Dr ive care fully and
adapt yourdrivin gst yle tothe traffic
con ditio ns. Sum
mer tires Index Speed
rating Q Up
to100 mph (160km /h) R Up
to106 mph (170km /h) S Up
to112 mph (180km /h) T Up
to118 mph (190km /h) H Up
to130 mph (210km /h) V Up
to149 mph (240km /h) W Up
to168 mph (270km /h) Y Up
to186 mph (300km /h) ZR..
.Y Up
to186 mph (300km /h) ZR..
.(..Y) Abov
e186 mph (300km /h) ZR Abov
e149 mph (240km /h) R
Opt ionally, tires with amaxim umspeed of
over 149mph (240km /h) may have "ZR"
in the size desc ription depen dingonthe
manuf acturer (e.g.245 /40ZR 18). The
servicespec ification scon sist ofload
bearin gindex Aand speed rating B.
R Ifthe size desc ription ofyour tireinc ludes
"ZR" andthereare noserv ice
spec ification s,ask thetiremanuf acturer in
order tofindout themaxim umspeed.
If aserv icespec ification isavailable, the
maxim umspeed islimit edacc ordin gto the
speed rating inthe serv icespec ification .
Ex ample: 245/40ZR 18 97Y.Inthis
exam ple,"97Y"isthe serv icespec ification .
The letter"Y" repr esen tsthe speed rating
and themaxim umspeed ofthe tireis
limit edto186 mph (300km /h).
R Ev ery tirethat hasamaxim umspeed above
186 mph (300km /h) must have"ZR"inthe
size desc ription and theserv ice
spec ification mustbegiven inbrac kets.
Ex ample: 275/40ZR 18 (99 Y).The speed
rat ing "(Y)" shows thatthemaxim umspeed
of the tireis above 186mph (300km /h).
Ask thetiremanuf acturer tofindout the
maxim umspeed. All-weat
hertires and winter tires Index Speed
rating Q
M+S 29 Up
to100 mph (160km /h) T
M+S 29 Up
to118 mph (190km /h) H
M+S 29 Up
to130 mph (210km /h) V
M+S 29 Up
to149 mph (240km /h) i
Not
alltires that have theM+S
ident ification offerthe drivin g
char acterist icsofwint ertires. Wint ertires
have, inadditio ntothe M+S identificat ion,
the i snow flakesymbol onthe tire
sidewal l.Tires withthisidentificat ionfulfill
the requirements ofthe Rubber
Manufacturers Association (RMA) andthe
Rubber Association ofCanada (RAC)
regarding thetire tract iononsnow and
29 Or M+Si forwinter tires. Tir
elabeling
369Wheels and tires Z

have
been especiall ydeveloped fordriving
on snow.
An electronic speedlimiter prevents your
vehicle fromexceeding aspeed of
130 mph (210 km/h).
The speed ratingoftires mounted atthe
factory maybehigher thanthemaximum
speed thattheelectronic speedlimiter
permits.
Make surethatyour tires have therequired
speed ratingasspecified inthe "Tires"
section (Ypage 375), e.g.ifyou buy new
tires.
Further information aboutreading tiredata
can beobtained fromanyqual ified specialist
workshop, e.g.anauthorized Mercedes-Ben z
Center. Load
index i
Tire
data isvehicle-specific andmay
deviate fromthedata inthe example.
In addition tothe load bearing index,load
index :may beimprinted aftertheletters
that identify speedratingB(Ypage 368)on
the sidewa llof the tire.
R Ifno specification isgiven: notext (asinthe
example above),represents astand ard
lo ad (SL )tir e
R XL orExtra Load:rep resents arei nfor ced
tir e R
Ligh tload: represent sa light loadtire
R C, D, E:represent sa load range that
depends onthe maximum loadthatthetire
can carry atacert ainpressure DOT,
TireIdentification Number(TIN)
U.S. tireregulations prescribethatevery
manufacturer ofnew tires orretreader hasto
imprint aTIN inor on the sidewal lof each tire
produced. The
TINisaunique identificat ionnumber. The
TIN enables thetire manufacturer sto inform
purchasers ofrecalls andother safety-
relevant matters.Itmakes itpossible forthe
purchaser toeasily identify theaffect edtires.
The TINismade upofmanufacturer
identificat ioncode ;,tire size =,tire type
code ?and manufacturin gdate A. i
Tire
data isvehicle-specif icand may
deviate fromthedata inthe example.
DOT (Departm entofTransport ation):tire
symbol :indicates thatthetire complies
with therequirements ofthe U.S. Departm ent
of Transport ation.
Manufa ctureridentification code:
manufacturer identificationcode ;provides
details onthe tire manufacturer .New tires
have acode withtwosymbols. Retreaded
tires have acode withfoursymbols.
Further informationabout retreaded tires
(Y page 350).
Tire size: identifier =describes thetire size. 370
Tir
elabelingWheels and tires

Maximum
loadrating
The maximu mload rating inkilograms or
pounds isthe maximum weightforwhich a
tire isapproved. Maximu
mperm issible tirepressur e
Maximum permissible tirepressure forone
tire. Maximu
mload onone tire
Maximum loadonone tire. This iscalculated
by dividing themaximum axleload ofone axle
by two. PSI
(pounds persquar einch)
As tand arduni tofm easure fortire pressure. Aspect
ratio
Relationship betweentireheight andtire
width inpercen t. Tir
epr essure
This ispressure insidethetire applying an
outward forceto each square inchofthe tire's
surface. Thetirepressure isspecified in
pounds persquare inch(psi), inkilopascal
(kPa) orinbar. Thetirepressure shouldonly
be corr ectedwhen thetires arecold. Tir
epr essure ofcold tires
The tires arecold:
R ifthe vehicle hasbeen parked without
direct sunlight onthe tires foratleast three
hours and
R ifthe vehicle hasnotbeen driven morethan
1 mile (1.6km). Tr
ead
The part ofthe tire that comes intocon tact
with theroad. Bead
The tirebead ensures thatthetire sits
securely onthe wheel. Thereareseveral steel
wires inthe bead topreven tthe tire from
comin gloose fromthewheel rim. Sidewall
The part ofthe tire between thetread andthe
bead. Weight
ofoptional extras
The combin edweight ofthose option alext ras
that weigh morethanthereplaced standard
part andmore than2.3kilograms (5lbs).
These optionalext ras, such ashigh-
perform ancebrakes, levelcontrol, aroof rack
or ahigh-perf ormancebatter y,are not
included inthe curb weight andaccesso ry
weight. TIN
(Tire Identificat ionNum ber)
This isaunique identifierwhich canbeused
by atire manufact urertoident ifytires, for
example foraproduct recall,andthus ident ify
the purchasers. TheTINismade upofthe
manufact urer'sidentitycode, tiresize, tire
type code andthemanufact uringdate. Load
bearing index
The load bearing index(alsoloadindex) isa
code thatcontains themaximum loadbearing
capacity ofatire. Definition
ofter ms fortires and loading
373Wheels and tires Z

i Notes
onthe vehicle equipment –always
equip thevehic le:
R with tires ofthe same sizeonagiven axle
(left /right )
R with thesame typeoftires atagiven time
(summ ertires, wint ertires, MOE xtende d
tir es) i
On
the followin gpages, youcan find
inf orm ation onapprov edwheel rimsand
tir esize sfor equipping yourvehic lewith
wint ertires. Wint ertires are not available
ex fact oryasstandard equipmen tor
optional extras.
If you want toequip yourvehicle with
approved wintertires,itmay benecessary
to obtain wheelrimsinthe correspon ding
size, asthe size ofthe approved wintertires
may differ fromthestandard tires.Thisis
dependent onthe model andthe
equipment installedatthe factor y.
The tires andwheel rims,aswell asfurther
inform ation,canbeobtained ataquali fied
specialist workshop, e.g.atan authorized
Mercedes-B enzCenter. i Overview
ofabbreviations usedinthe
following tiretables:
R BA: both axles
R FA: front axle
R RA: rear axle
In the following table,thewheel/tire
combinat ionsareallocated tothe vehicle
models through variants, e.g.V1,V2etc. : V1
V2376
Wheel
andtirecombinationsWheels and tires
ML 350 BlueTEC 4MATIC ML3504MATIC