In a frontal crash, your body would move
too far forward. That would increase the
chance of head and neck injuries. The seat
belt would also apply too much force to the
ribs or abdomen, which could severely
injure internal organs such as your liver or
spleen.
Adjust the seat belt so that the shoulder
section is located as close as possible to
the middle of the shoulder. It should not
touch the neck. Never pass the shoulder
portion of the seat belt under your arm.
R Position the lap belt as low as possible on
your hips and not across the abdomen. If
the lap belt is positioned across your abdo-
men, it could cause serious injuries in a
crash.
R Never wear seat belts over rigid or breaka-
ble objects in or on your clothing, such as
eyeglasses, pens, keys etc., as these might
cause injuries.
R Make sure the seat belt is always fitted
snugly. Take special care of this when wear- ing loose clothing.
R 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 at the same time.
R Seat belts should not be worn twisted. In a
crash, you would not have the full width of
the seat belt to distribute impact forces.
The twisted seat belt against your body
could cause injuries.
R 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.
R Place the seat backrest in a position that is
as upright as possible.
R Check your seat belt during travel to make
sure it is properly positioned.
R 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.
R When using a seat belt to secure infant
restraints, toddler restraints, or children in
booster seats, always follow the child seat
manufacturer's instructions. G
WARNING
Do not pass seat belts over sharp edges. They
could tear.
Do not allow the seat belt to get caught in the door or in the seat adjustment mechanism.
This could damage the seat belt.
Never attempt to make modifications to seat
belts. This could impair the effectiveness of
the seat belts.
Fastening seat belts G
WARNING
According to accident statistics, children are
safer when properly restrained on the rear
seats than on the front-passenger seat. Thus, we strongly recommend that children be
placed in the rear seat whenever possible.
Regardless of seating position, children 12
years old and under must be seated and prop- erly secured in an appropriately sized child
restraint system or booster seat recommen-
ded for the size and weight of the child. For
additional information, see the "Children in
the vehicle" section.
A child's risk of serious or fatal injuries is sig-
nificantly increased if the child restraints are
not properly secured in the vehicle and/or the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint. Occupant safety
55Safety Z
Cornering, going into and coming out of a
bend The ability of DISTRONIC PLUS to detect vehi-
cles when cornering is limited. Your vehicle
may brake unexpectedly or late.
Vehicles traveling on a different line DISTRONIC PLUS may not detect vehicles
traveling on a different line. The distance to
the vehicle in front will be too short.
Other vehicles changing lanes DISTRONIC PLUS has not detected the vehi-
cle cutting in yet. The distance to this vehicle
will be too short.
Narrow vehicles DISTRONIC PLUS has not yet detected the
vehicle in front on the edge of the road,
because of its narrow width. The distance to
the vehicle in front will be too short.
Obstructions and stationary vehicles
DISTRONIC PLUS does not brake for obsta-
cles or stationary vehicles. If, for example, the
detected vehicle turns a corner and reveals
an obstacle or stationary vehicle, DISTRONIC PLUS will not brake for these. Driving systems
167Driving and parking Z
tics, e.g. pulling to one side. This may indi-
cate that the wheels or tires are damaged.If you suspect that a tire is defective,
reduce your speed immediately. Stop the
vehicle as soon as possible to check the
wheels and tires for damage. Hidden tire
damage could also be causing the unusual
handling characteristics. If you find no
signs of damage, have the tires and wheels
checked at a qualified specialist workshop.
R When parking your vehicle, make sure that
the tires do not get deformed by the curb or other obstacles. If it is necessary to drive
over curbs, speed humps or similar eleva-
tions, try to do so slowly and at an obtuse
angle. Otherwise, the tires, particularly the
sidewalls, may be damaged. Regular checking of wheels and tires
G
WARNING
Damaged tires can cause tire inflation pres-
sure loss. As a result, you could lose control of your vehicle. There is a risk of accident.
Check the tires regularly for signs of damage
and replace any damaged tires immediately.
R Regularly check the wheels and tires of
your vehicle for damage at least once a
month, as well as after driving off-road or
on rough roads. Damaged wheels can
cause a loss of tire pressure. Pay particular
attention to damage such as:
- cuts in the tires
- punctures
- tears in the tires
- bulges on tires
- deformation or severe corrosion on
wheels
R Regularly check the tire tread depth and
the condition of the tread across the whole width of the tire (Y page 303). If necessary,
turn the front wheels to full lock in order to inspect the inner side of the tire surface. R
All wheels must have a valve cap to protect
the valve against dirt and moisture. Do notmount anything onto the valve other than
the standard valve cap or other valve caps
approved by Mercedes-Benz for your vehi-
cle. Do not use any other valve caps or sys-tems, e.g. tire pressure monitoring sys-
tems.
R Regularly check the pressure of all the tires
including the emergency spare wheel or the
spare wheel, particularly prior to long trips, and correct the pressure as necessary
(Y page 306).
Observe the notes on the emergency spare
wheel (Y page 338).
The service life of tires depends, among other things, on the following factors:
R Driving style
R Tire pressure
R Distance covered Important safety notes on the tire
tread
G
WARNING
Insufficient tire tread will reduce tire traction.
The tire is no longer able to dissipate water.
This means that on wet road surfaces, the risk of hydroplaning increases, in particular where speed is not adapted to suit the driving con-
ditions. There is a risk of accident.
If the tire pressure is too high or too low, tires
may exhibit different levels of wear at differ-
ent locations on the tire tread. Thus, you
should regularly check the tread depth and
the condition of the tread across the entire
width of all tires.
Minimum tire tread depth for:
R Summer tires: 00CEin (3 mm)
R M+S tires: 00CFin (4 mm)
For safety reasons, replace the tires before
the legally prescribed limit for the minimum
tire tread depth is reached. Operation
303Wheels and tires Z
Uniform Tire Quality Grading Stand-
ards Overview of Tire Quality Grading
Standards
Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards are
U.S. government specifications. Their pur-
pose is to provide drivers with uniform relia-
ble information on tire performance data. tire manufacturers have to grade tires using three
performance factors: tread wear 0043, tire trac-
tion 0044and heat resistance 0087. All tires sold
in North America are provided with the cor-
responding quality class mark on the sidewall of the tire, even though these regulations do
not apply to Canada.
i The actual values for tires are vehicle-
specific and may deviate from the values in
the illustration.
Where applicable, the tire grading informa-
tion can be found on the tire sidewall between
the tread shoulder and maximum tire width.
For example: Treadwear Traction Temperature
200 AA A
All passenger car tires must conform to the
statutory 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
U.S. government course. For example, a tire
graded 150 would wear one and one-half
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, how-
ever, and may depart significantly from the
norm, due to variations in driving habits, ser-
vice practices and differences in road char-
acteristics and climate conditions. Traction
G
WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this tire is
based on straight-ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include acceleration, cor- nering, hydroplaning, or peak traction char-
acteristics.
The traction grades, from highest to lowest,
are AA, A, B, and C. Those grades represent
the tire's ability to stop on a wet surface as
measured under controlled conditions on
specified government test surfaces of asphalt
and concrete. A tire marked C may have poor
traction performance.
The safe speed on a wet, snow covered or icy road is always lower than on dry road surfa-
ces.
You should pay special attention to road con-
ditions when temperatures are around the
freezing point.
Mercedes-Benz recommends a minimum
tread depth of 00CFin (4 mm) for all four winter
tires (Y page 305) to maintain normal driving
characteristics in winter. Winter tires can
reduce the braking distance on snow-covered surfaces in comparison with summer tires.
Stopping distance, however, is still consider-
ably greater than when the road is not cov- Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards
317Wheels and tires Z
Tire size designation, load-bearing
capacity and speed rating 0043
Tire width
0044 Nominal aspect ratio in %
0087 Tire code
0085 Rim diameter
0083 Load bearing index
0084 Speed rating
i Tire data is vehicle-specific and may devi-
ate from the data in the example.
General: depending on the manufacturer's
standards, the size imprinted in the tire wall
may not contain any letters or may contain
one letter that precedes the size description.
If there is no letter preceding the size descrip-
tion (as shown above): these are passenger
vehicle tires according to European manufac-
turing standards.
If "P" precedes the size description: these are passenger vehicle tires according to U.S.
manufacturing standards.
If "LT" precedes the size description: these
are light truck tires according to U.S. manu-
facturing standards.
If "T" precedes the size description: these are
compact emergency spare wheels at high tire pressure, to be used only temporarily in an
emergency.
Tire width: tire width0043shows the nominal
tire width in millimeters.
Height-width ratio: aspect ratio0044is the
size ratio between the tire height and tire
width and is shown in percent. The aspect ratio is calculated by dividing the tire width by
the tire height.
Tire code: tire code0087specifies the tire type.
"R" represents radial tires; "D" represents
diagonal tires; "B" represents diagonal radial
tires.
Optionally, tires with a maximum speed of
over 149 mph (240 km/h) may have "ZR" in
the size description, depending on the man-
ufacturer (e.g. 245/40 ZR 18).
Rim diameter: rim diameter0085is the diam-
eter of the bead seat, not the diameter of the
rim flange. The rim diameter is specified in
inches (in).
Load-bearing index: load-bearing index0083
is a numerical code that specifies the maxi-
mum load-bearing capacity of a tire.
Do not overload the tires by exceeding the
specified load limit. The maximum permissi-
ble load can be found on the vehicle's Tire and Loading Information placard on the B-pillar on
the driver's side (Y page 312).
Example:
Load-bearing index 91 indicates a maximum
load of 1,356 lb (615 kg) that the tires can
bear. For further information on the maximum
tire load in kilograms and lbs, see
(Y page 316).
For further information on the load bearing
index, see "Load index" (Y page 321).
Speed rating: speed rating0084specifies the
approved maximum speed of the tire. G
WARNING
Exceeding the stated tire load-bearing capa-
city and the approved maximum speed could
lead to tire damage or the tire bursting. There is a risk of accident.
Therefore, only use tire types and sizes
approved for your vehicle model. Observe the
tire load rating and speed rating required for
your vehicle.
Regardless of the speed rating, always
observe the speed limits. Drive carefully and Tire labeling
319Wheels and tires Z
Aspect ratio
Relationship between tire height and tire
width in percent. Tire pressure
This is pressure inside the tire applying an
outward force to each square inch of the tire's
surface. The tire pressure is specified in
pounds per square inch (psi), in kilopascal
(kPa) or in bar. The tire pressure should only
be corrected when the tires are cold. Tire pressure of cold tires
The tires are cold:
R if the vehicle has been parked without
direct sunlight on the tires for at least three
hours and
R if the vehicle has not been driven further
than 1 mile (1.6 km) Tread
The part of the tire that comes into contact
with the road. Bead
The tire bead ensures that the tire sits
securely on the wheel. There are several steel
wires in the bead to prevent the tire from
coming loose from the wheel rim. Sidewall
The part of the tire between the tread and the
bead. Weight of optional extras
The combined weight of those optional extras
that weigh more than the replaced standard
parts and more than 2.3 kg (5 lbs). These optional extras, such as high-performance
brakes, level control, a roof rack or a high-
performance battery, are not included in the
curb weight and the weight of the accesso-
ries.
TIN (Tire Identification Number)
This is a unique identifier which can be used
by a tire manufacturer to identify tires, for
example for a product recall, and thus identify the purchasers. The TIN is made up of the
manufacturer's identity code, tire size, tire
type code and the manufacturing date. Load bearing index
The load bearing index (also load index) is a
code that contains the maximum load bearing capacity of a tire. Traction
Traction is the result of friction between the
tires and the road surface. Treadwear indicators
Narrow bars (tread wear bars) that are dis-
tributed over the tire tread. If the tire tread is level with the bars, the wear limit of 00CDin
(1.6 mm) has been reached. Occupant distribution
The distribution of occupants in a vehicle at
their designated seating positions. Total load limit
Nominal load and luggage load plus 68 kg
(150 lbs) multiplied by the number of seats in the vehicle. 324
Definition of ter
ms for tires and loadingWheels and tires
Missing values were not available at time of
going to print. All models (except
for AMG vehicles)
Vehicle length
182.4 in (4633 mm)
Vehicle width
including exterior
mirrors
78.6 in (1997 mm)
Vehicle height
Wheelbase
108.7 in (2760 mm)
Turning radius
36.1 ft (11.01
m) Maximum roof load
220 lb (100 kg)
Maximum trunk
load
220 lb (100 kg)
C 63 AMG
Vehicle length
185.1 in (4702 mm)
Vehicle width
including exterior
mirrors 78.6 in (1997 mm)
Vehicle height
54.8 in (1391 mm)
Wheelbase
108.9 in (2765 mm)
Turning radius
36.4 ft (11.10
m) Maximum roof load
220 lb (100 kg)
Maximum trunk
load
220 lb (100 kg)350
Vehicle dataTechnical data