GWARNING
If vehicleo ccupants are seated behind aload
protection net, they may be squeezed up
against the loa dprotection net. There is arisk
of injury,p articularlyinthe event of braking
maneuvers or abrupt changes in direction.
Never allow vehicleo ccupants to sit behind
the loa dprotection net.
The loa dprotection net borders the cargo com-
partment. It protects vehicleo ccupants from
light objects and/or luggage slipping or tipping
over. Always observe the notes on securing
loads (
Ypag e234).
You can instal lthe loa dprotection net at an
angle behind the front seats or behind the first
row of back seats.
Upperr etainer
Anchorage (example: fixed cargo tie-downr ing)
Installing
XClipthe loa dprotection net into upper retain-
ers :in such away that tensioning straps =
face the rear of the vehicle.
XPul ltensioning straps =of the loa dprotec-
tion net tightly.
XCli ph ook ?on tensioning straps =into
cargo tie-downr ingsA.
XFold tensioning element ;up.
XPullthe loos eends of tensioning straps =
downint he direction of the arrow until ten-
sioning straps =are tight.
XFold tensioning element ;downtoa chieve
the final tension on the straps.
XAfter traveling ashort distance, check that
the loa dprotection net is taut.
XRetighten, if necessary.
Removing
XFold tensioning element ;up.
Tensioning straps =are slack.
XUnclip hook ?of tensioning straps =from
cargo tie-dow nrings Aat the bottom.
XUnclip the loa dprotection net from upper
retainers :.
XRollupt he loa dprotection net and fasten it,
still rolled up, using the Velcro fasteners.
Adjusting the front seat with the load pro-
tectio nnet installed
XFold tensioning element ;on straps =
upwards.
The loa dprotection net slackens.
XCorrectly adjust the front seat.
XRe-tensio nthe loa dprotection net.
Carrier systems
GWARNING
When you loa dthe roof, the center of gravity
of the vehicler ises and the driving character-
istics change. If you exceed the maximu mroof
load, the driving characteristics, as wel las
steering and braking, wil lbegreatly impaired.
There is arisk of an accident.
Never exceed the maximu mroof loa dand
adjust you rdriving style.
238Carrier systems
Transporting loads
Tire pressure table
Tire pressure table insidethe fuel fille rflap( exam-
ple: Passenge rVan)
Tire pressure table insid ethe fuel fille rflap( exam-
ple: Cargo Van)
Yo uw illf ind the recommende dtire pressure for
various operating conditions on the insid eof
your vehicle's fuel fille rflap(
Ypage 132 )and
under "Tire pressure table "(Ypage 278).
If at ire size precedes atire pressure, the fol-
lowing tire pressure informatio niso nlyv alid for
thatt ire size.
Example: Cargo Van
Example: Passenge rVan
:
Partiall yladen vehicle
;Fully lade nvehicle
For the Passenge rVan,the vehicl eloads are
define dinthe table as different numbers of pas-
sengers and amounts of luggage.T he actual
numbe rofseats mayv ary–f or mor einforma-
tion, please refer to the vehicle's registration
documents.
The tire pressure valu egiven for partly laden
vehicles ar eminimu mvalues which offer you
good rid ecomfort. The yarenot for towing trail-
ers.
Yo uc an also us ethe tire pressure values for a
full yladen vehicle. These ar ealway spermitted
and admissible. However, in apartiall yladen
vehicle, the rid eisnot as comfortabl eand fuel
consumption is onl yminimall yreduced. In addi-
tion, wear is greate rinthe middl eofthe tire
tread.
For towing trailers ,the applicabl evalue for the
rea rtire sist he maximum tire pressure value
stated in the table insid ethe fuel fille rflap.
272Tire pressure
Wheel sand tires
Tire and LoadingInfor matio nplacard
Maximum permissible gross weight
:Maximum numbe rofseats
;Maximum permissibl egross weight
XSpecificatio nfor maximum permissibl egross
weight ;is listed in the Tire and Loading
Informatio nplacard: "The gross weight of
occupants and luggage must not exceed XXX
kilograms or XXX lbs."
The gross weight of al lvehicl eoccupants, cargo,
luggage and trailer load/noseweight (i fappli ca-
ble) must not exceed the specifie dvalue.
iThe details on the Tire and Loading Infor-
matio nplacard illustratio nareonl yane xam-
ple. The maximum permissibl egross weight is
vehicle-specific and mayd eviate fromt he
data shown here. The maximum permissible
gross weight thata ppliesto your vehicl ecan
be found on your vehicle's Tire and Loading
Informatio nplacard.
Numbe rofseats
:Maximum numbe rofseats
;Maximum permissibl egross weight Maximum numbe
rofseats:determine sthe
maximum numbe rofoccupants allowe dto
travel in the vehicle. Thi sinformatio ncan be
found on the Tire and Loading Informatio nplac-
ard.
iThe details on the Tire and Loading Infor-
matio nplacard illustratio nareonl yane xam-
ple. The numbe rofseats is vehicle-specific
and can differf romthe details shown. The
numbe rofseats in your vehicl ecan be found
on the Tire and Loading Informatio nplacard.
Determining the maximum load
Individual steps
The following step shaveb eend eveloped as
required of al lmanufacturer sunder Title 49,
Code of U.S. Federa lRegulat ions, Part 575 in
accordance with the "Nationa lTraffica nd Motor
Vehicl eSafety Act of 1966".
XStep1 :Locate the statement "The combined
weight of occupants and cargo shoul dnever
exceed XXX kg or XXX lbs." on your vehicle's
Tire and Loading Informatio nplacard.
XStep2 :Determine the combine dweigh tof
the driver and passengers thatw illbet ravel-
ing in your vehicle.
XStep3 :Subtract the combine dweigh toft he
driver and passengers fromX XX kilograms or
XXX lbs.
XStep4 :The resulting figur eequals the avail-
able amount of cargo and luggage load capa-
city .For example, if the "XXX" amount equals
1400 lb sand there will be fiv e150-pound
passengers in your vehicle, the amount of
availabl ecargo and luggage load capacity is
650 lb s(1400 Ò750 (5 x150) = 650 lbs).
XStep5 :Determine the combine dweigh tof
luggage and cargo being loaded on the vehi-
cle .For reasons of safety ,thatw eightmust
not exceed the availabl ecargo and luggage
cargo capacity calculate dinstep 4.
XStep6( ifapplicable): If your vehiclei stow-
ing atrailer, load fromt he trailer will be trans-
ferred to your vehicle. Please consul tthe Tire
and Loading Informatio nplacard, to deter-
min ehow thisr educesthe availabl ecargo and
luggage load capacity of your vehicle.
Loadin gthe vehicle279
Wheel sand tires
Z
TIN (Tire IdentificationNumber)
Auniqu eide ntificatio nnumbe rwhich can be
used by atire manufacturer to identify tires, for
exampl efor ap roduct recall ,and thusi dentify
the purchasers. The TIN is compose dofthe
manufacturer identificatio ncode, tire size, tire
model cod eand manufacturing date.
Load bearin gind ex
The load bearing index (als oloa dindex) is acode
thatc ontains the maximu mloadb eari ng capa-
city of atire.
Traction
Tractio nist he resul toffrictio nbetween the tires
and the roa dsurface.
TWR (permissibl etrailer drawbar load)
The TWRist he maximumpermissibl eweigh t
thatm ayact on the ball coupling of the trailer
tow hitch.
Wea rind icator
Narrowb ars( tread wear bars) thata redistrib-
ute doverthe tire tread. If the tire trea dislevel
with the bars, the wear limit of áin (1.6 mm)
hasb eenr eached.
Distribution of the vehicle occupants
The distributio nofvehicleoccupants ove rdes-
ignate dseatp osit ions in avehicle.
Maximum permissible payload weight
Nomina lloa da nd goods/luggage load plus
68 kg (150 lb s)multiplie dbythe number of
seats in the vehicle.
Changing wheels
Rotating the wheels
GWARNING
Interchanging the front and rear wheels may
severelyi mpair the driving characteristics if
the wheels or tires have different dimensions. The whee lbrakes or suspension components
may als obedamaged. There is arisk of acci-
dent.
Rotate front and rear wheels only if the wheels and tires are of the same dimensions.
!On vehicles equippedw ithatire pressure
monitor, electronic components are located
in the wheel.
Tire-mounting tools should not be used near
the valve .This could damage the electronic
components.
Only have tires changed at aqualified spe-
cialist workshop.
Always observe the instructions and safety
notes under "Mounting awheel" (
Ypage 287).
The wea rpatterns on the front and rear tires
differ, depending on the operating conditions.
Rotate the wheels before aclear wea rpattern
has formed on the tires. Front tires typically
wea rmore on the shoulders and the rear tires in
the center.
If you rvehicle's tire configuration allows, you
can rotate the wheels according to the intervals
in the tire manufacturer's warranty book in your
vehicled ocuments. If no warranty book is avail-
able, the tires should be rotated every 3,000 to
6,000 mile s(5,000 to 10,000 km) or earlier if
tire wea rrequires. Do not change the direction
of rotation.
Clean the contact surfaces of the whee land the
brake disc thoroughly every time awheelisr ota-
ted. Avoid oily or greas ycleaning agents.
Check the tire pressure and reactivate the tire
pressure monitor if necessary.
Directio nofrotation
Tires with aspecified directio nofrotation have
additional benefits, e.g. if there is arisk of hydro-
planing. You wil lonly gai nthese benefits if the
correct directio nofrotation is observed.
An arrow on the sidewal lofthe tire indicates its
correct directio nofrotation.
You may mount aspare whee lagainst the direc-
tion of rotation. Observe the time restriction on
use as wel lasthe speed limitation specified on
the spare wheel.
Storing wheels
Store wheels that are not being used in acool,
dry and preferably dark place. Protect the tires
from contact with oil, greas eand fuel.
286Changing wheels
Wheel sand tires