2017 MERCEDES-BENZ CLS Owners Manual

C
B-pillar, driver's side
Maximum permissible gross vehicle
weight rating
X
Specification for maximum gross vehicle
weight C is listed in the Tire and Loading
Information placard: "The combined weight of
occupants and cargo should never exceed
XXX kilograms or XXX lbs."
The gross weight of all vehicle occupants, load
and luggage must not exceed the specified
value.
i The specifications shown on the Tire and
Loading Information placard in the illustration
are examples. The maximum permissible
gross vehicle weight rating is vehicle-specific
and may differ from that in the illustration.
You can find the valid maximum permissible
gross vehicle weight rating for your vehicle on
the Tire and Loading Information placard. Number of seats
Maximum number of seats C indicates the
maximum number of occupants allowed to
travel in the vehicle. This information can be
found on the Tire and Loading Information plac-
ard.
i The specifications shown on the Tire and
Loading Information placard in the illustration
are examples. The number of seats is vehicle-
specific and can differ from the details shown.
The number of seats in your vehicle can be
found on the Tire and Loading Information
placard.
Determining the correct load limit
Step-by-step instructions The following steps have been developed as
required of all manufacturers under Title 49,
Code of U.S. Federal Regulations, Part 575 pur-
suant to the "National Traffic and Motor Vehicle
Safety Act of 1966". X
Step 1: Locate the statement "The combined
weight of occupants and cargo should never
exceed XXX kg or XXX lbs." on your vehicle’s
Tire and Loading Information placard. X
Step 2: Determine the combined weight of
the driver and passengers that will be riding in
your vehicle. X
Step 3: Subtract the combined weight of the
driver and passengers from XXX kilograms or
XXX lbs. X
Step 4: The resulting figure equals the avail-
able amount of cargo and luggage load capa-
city. For example, if the "XXX" amount equals
1400 lbs an d there will be five 150-lb pas-
sengers in your vehicle, the amount of avail-Loading the vehicle 303
Wheels and tires Z

able cargo and luggage load capacity is
650 lbs (1400 - 750 (5 x 150) = 650 lbs). X
Step 5: Determine the combined weight of
luggage and cargo being loaded on the vehi- cle. That weight may not safely exceed the
available cargo and luggage load capacity cal-
culated in step 4.
Example: steps 1 to 3 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
1500 lbs (680 kg). This is for illustration purposes only. Make sure you are using the actual load
limit for your vehicle stated on your vehicle's Tire and Loading Information placard ( Y
page 302).
The greater the combined weight of the occupants, the lower the maximum luggage load.
Step 1
Example 1 Example 2 Example 3
Combined maximum
weight of occupants
and cargo (data from
the Tire and Loading
Information placard) 1500 lbs (680 kg) 1500 lbs (680 kg) 1500 lbs (680 kg)
Step 2
Example 1 Example 2 Example 3
Number of people in
the vehicle (driver and
occupants) 5 3 1
Distribution of the
occupants Front: 2
Rear: 3 Front: 1
Rear: 2 Front: 1
Weight of the occu-
pants 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 weight of all
occupants 750 lbs (340 kg) 540 lbs (245 kg) 150 lbs (68 kg)304
Loading the vehicle
Wheels and tires

Step 3
Example 1 Example 2 Example 3
Permissible load (maxi-
mum gross vehicle
weight rating from the
Tire and Loading Infor-
mation placard minus
the gross weight of all
occupants) 1500 lbs (680 kg)

All passenger car tires must conform to the stat-
utory safety requirements in addition to these
grades.
i The actual values for tires are vehicle-spe-
cific and may deviate from the values in the
illustration.
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, however, and
may depart significantly from the norm due to
variations in driving habits, service practices
and differences in road characteristics and cli-
mate.
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.
! Avoid wheelspin. This can lead to damage to
the drive train.
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 meas-
ured under controlled conditions on specified
government test surfaces of asphalt and con-
crete. 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 surfaces.
You should pay special attention to road condi-
tions when temperatures are around freezing
point.
Mercedes-Benz recommends a minimum tread
depth of

Tire labeling
Overview
C
Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards
( Y
page 310)D
Department of Transportation, Tire Identifi-
cation Number ( Y
page 309)

flange. The rim diameter is specified in
inches (in).
Load-bearing index: load-bearing index

The speed rating of tires mounted at the factory
may be higher than the maximum speed that the
electronic speed limiter permits.
Make sure that your tires have the required
speed rating, e.g. when buying new tires. The
required speed rating for your vehicle can be
found in the "Tires" section ( Y
page 317).
Further information about reading tire data can
be obtained from any qualified specialist work-
shop.
Load index
In addition to the load bearing index, load
index C may be imprinted after the letters that
identify speed index

requirements of the U.S. Department of Trans-
portation.
Manufacturer identification code: manufac-
turer identification code D provides details on
the tire manufacturer. New tires have a code
with two symbols. Retreaded tires have a code
with four symbols.
For further information about retreaded tires,
see ( Y
page 317).
Tire size: identifier