2021 MERCEDES-BENZ GLS Owners Manual

Ti
re labeling Ov
ervie wof tirelabeling 1
Uniform Tire Qua lityGradi ng Standar d
(/ page36 7)
2 DOT,Tire Identif ication Number
(/ page368)
3 Maximu mtireloa d(/ page369)
4 Maximu mtirepr essu re(/ pag e369 ) 5
Manuf acturer
6 Char acteristics ofthetir e(/ page37 0)
7 Tire size designation, load-bearing cap acity,
spe edrating andload index(/ pag e37 0)
8 Tire nam e
% The data sho wnintheimag eis exam ple
dat a. Ti
re Quality Grading In
accor dance withth eUS Depar tmentof Trans ‐
por tatio n's "Uni form Tire Qua lityGradi ng Stand‐
ar ds", tireman ufact urersar ere qu ired tograde
th eir tires on thebasis ofthefo llo wing thre eper‐
fo rm anc efa ct or s: 1
Tread weargrade
2 Tract ion grade
3 Temp eratur egr ade
% The datasho wnintheillus tration isexam ple
dat a.
% The classificat ion isno tleg allyst ipulat edfor
Canad a,but itis ge ner ally stat ed.
Tr ead weargrade
The tread weargrade isacom parativ era ting
ba sedon thewe arrate ofthetir ewhen tested
under controlled conditions onaspecif iedtest
tr ac kof theUS Depar tmentof Trans portatio n.
Fo rex am ple, atir egr aded 150wo uld wearone Whee
lsand tires 36
7

and
one-h alftim esaswellon thego vernment
te st trac kas atir egr ad ed 100.
The relativ eper form anc eof tires depen dsupon
th eactual conditions oftheir use, howe ver,and
ma ydepar tsign ifican tly from thenor mdue to
va riatio nsindrivin ghabit s,ser vicepr act icesand
dif fere nces inroad charact eristic sand climate
con dition s.
Tr actio ngr ade &
DANG ER Risk ofacc iden tdue toinade‐
qu atetract ion
The tract ion grade assig nedtothis tireis
based onstra ight -ahead brakin gtract ion
te sts, and does notinclude either acceler a‐
tion, corner ing, hydroplaning orpeak traction
ch aract eristic s. #
Alw aysadap tyo ur drivin gst yle and
dr ive at aspeed tosuit thepr ev ailin g
traf fic and weather condition s. *
NO
TEDama getothedr ivet ra in from
wheelspin #
Avoid wheelspin. The
traction classes, from highes tto lowe st,ar e
AA ,A, Band C.Tho segrad es repr esent thetir e's
ability tostop onwetpa vement asmeasu red
unde rco ntro lled condition son spec ified govern‐
ment test sur faces ofasp haltand concr ete. A
tir emar kedC ma yha ve poor traction perform ‐
anc e.
Te mp eratur egr ade &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent from tire
ove rheating andtirefa ilur e
The temp eratur egr ade forth is tireis es tab‐
lished fora tir eth at isproper lyinflat ed and
no tove rloaded. Excessiv espeed, underinfla‐
tion, orexc essiv eloading, either separ ately
or incombin ation,cancause excessiv eheat
build-up andpossible tirefa ilur e. #
Obser vethere comme ndedtirepr es‐
su resand regular lych eckth etir epr es‐ sur
eof all tires including thespar e
wheel. #
Adjus tth etir epr essur eas neces sary. The
temp eratur egr ades areA (the highes t),B
and C.The yre pr esent thetir e's resis tance tothe
ge ner ation ofhea tand itsability todissipat e
heat when tested under controlled conditions on
a specif iedindoor laborator yte st wheel. Sus‐
ta ined hightemp eratur ecan cause themat erial
of thetir eto deg ener ateand reduce tirelife, and
exc essiv ete mp eratur ecan lead tosudden tire
fa ilur e.Grade Ccor responds toaleve lof per‐
fo rm anc ewhic hall passe nger car tires mus t
mee tunde rth eFe der alMo torSaf etySt andar d
No. 109. Grade sB and Arepr esent higher leve ls
of per form anc eon thelabor ator yte st wheel
th an theminimum requ ired bylaw. DO
T,Tire Iden tificat ionNumbe r(TI N) US
tirere gulations stipulat eth at eve rytire man‐
uf actu reror retrea de rmu stimprint aTIN inor
on theside wallof eac htir epr oduced. 368
Wheels andtires

%
The datasho wnintheimag eis exam ple
dat a.
The TINisauniq ueiden tificat ion num berto
ident ifytires and comprises thefo llo wing:
R DOT(Depar tment ofTranspo rtation ):tir e
symb olmar ks1 indic atingth at thetir e
com plies withth ere qu iremen tsof theUS
Depar tmentof Trans portatio n.
R Man ufac tur eride ntificat ion code: manu‐
fa ctur eridentif ication code 2cont ains
de tails ofthetir emanuf acturer.Ne wtires
ha ve acod ewit htw osymbo ls.Retrea de d
tir es have acod ewit hfo ur symb ols.Further
inf ormation onretrea de dtir es (/ page 375). R
Tire size: identif ier3 descr ibesthetir e
size.
R Tire type code: tiretyp ecod e4 can be
us ed bythemanuf actureras acode to
descr ibespecif icch aract eristic sof thetir e.
R Manuf acturingdate:manuf acturingdate
5 prov ides informatio nabout theag eof a
tir e. The 1stand 2nd position sre pr esent the
cal enda rwe ek and the3r dand 4thposition s
st at eth eye ar ofman ufact ure(e. g."32 08"
re pr esent sth e32n dwe ek of2008 ). Inf
ormat iononthema xim um tireload %
The datasho wnintheimag eis exam ple
dat a.
Max imum tireload 1isthemaximum permissi‐
ble weight forwhi chthetir eis appr oved.
Do notove rload thetir es by exceed ingthespeci‐
fi ed load limit. Themaximum permissible load
can befound ontheve hicle's Tire and Loadi ng
In fo rm atio nplacar don theB-pillar onthedr iv‐
er's side (/page363). Specif
ications formaxi mum tirepr es sur e %
The data sho wnintheimag eis exam ple
dat a. Whee
lsand tires 369

Ne
verexc eed maximum tirepr essur e1 speci‐
fi ed forth etir e. Inf
ormat ionontirech aract eristics %
The datasho wnintheimag eis exam ple
dat a.
This informat iondesc ribes thetype oftirecor d
and thenumber oflaye rs inside wall1 and
under tiretread 2. Ti
re size designation, load-bearingcapacity ,
speed ratin gand load inde x &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju rythro ugh exceed‐
ing thespecif iedtireload rating orthe
per missible speedrating
Ex cee ding thespecif iedtireload rating or
th eper missible speedrating mayle ad totire
da ma geand tothetir es bur sting. #
Ther efor e, onl yuse tiretypes andsizes
appr ovedfo ryo ur vehicle model. #
Obser vethetir eload rating andspee d
ra ting requ ired foryo ur vehicle. 1
Preceding letter
2 Nominal tirewidt hin millime ters
3 Aspe ctratio in%
4 Tire code
5 Rim diame ter
6 Load-be aring inde x
7 Speed rating
8 Loadind ex
% The datasho wnintheimag eis exam ple
dat a.
In fo rm atio nabout readin gtir edat acan be
obt aine dfrom anyqu alif ied spec ialistwo rkshop. 37
0
Wheels andtires

Pr
eceding letter 1 1:
R Without :passeng ervehicle tires accor dingto
Eur opeanma nuf actu ring standar ds.
R "P": passe nger vehicle tires accor dingtoUS
manuf acturingstandar ds.
R "LT": light truc ktir es acc ordin gto US manu‐
fa ctur ingstandar ds.
R "T": com pact emer gency sparewheels with
high tirepr essur eth at areon lyde signe dfo r
te mp orar yuse inan emer gency .
As pec tra tio 3 3:
Ra tio betwee ntir ehe ight and tirewi dthin pe r‐
cent (tire height divided bytirewi dth).
Tir eco de 4 4
(tire type ):
R "R"ra dial tire
R "D": bias plytire
R "B": bias beltedtires
R "ZR": radial tirewit hamaximum speedabove
14 9mp h(2 40 km/h) (optional) Rim
diame ter5 5:
The diam eter ofthebead seat(notth ediame ter
of therim flang e).The rim dia me teris specif ied
in inc hes (in).
Load-be aring inde x6 6:
Numer icalcode that spec ifies themaximum
load-bear ingcapacity ofatir e(e.g. "91" cor re‐
sponds to1356 lbs (615 kg)).
The load-bear ingcapacity ofthetir emus tbe at
leas thalf theper missible axleload ofyour vehi‐
cle. Donotove rload thetir es by exc eeding the
specif iedload limit.
See also:
R Maximum permissible loadontheTire and
Loadi ngInfo rm atio nplacar d(/ page36 3)
R Max imum tireload (/page36 9)
R Load index
Speed ratin g7 7:
Spe cifiesth eappr oved maximum speedofthe
tir e. %
Anelectr onicsp ee dlimi terpr eve nts your
ve hicle from exceeding aspeed of130mp h
(2 10 km/h) .
Ma kesur eth at your tires have there qu ired
speed rating .Yo ucan obtain informat iononthe
re qu ired speed rating from anauthor ized
Mer cedes-B enzCent er.
Summ ertires Inde
xS peedra tin g
Qu pto 100mp h(1 60 km/h)
Ru pto 106mp h(170 km/h)
Su pto 112mp h(1 80 km/h)
Tu pto 118mp h(1 90 km/h)
Hu pto 130mp h(210 km/h)
Vu pto 149mp h(2 40 km/h)
Wu pto 168mp h(2 70 km/h)
Yu pto 186mp h(3 00 km/h) Whee
lsand tires 37
1

Inde
xS peedra tin g
ZR ...Y 4
upto186mp h(3 00 km/h)
ZR ...(..Y) 4
over18 6mp h(3 00 km/h)
ZR 4
over14 9mp h(2 40 km/h) R
Specifying thespeed rating asthe"ZR" index
in tirecode 4isop tion alfortir es up to
18 6mp h(3 00 km/h) .
R Ifyo ur tireco de 4 includes "ZR"andther e
is no speed rating 7,find outwh atthemax‐
imum speed isfrom thetir emanuf acturer.
R Ifload-bear inginde x6 and speed rating 7
ar ein brac kets, themaximum speedrating of
yo ur tireis abo ve186mp h(300 km/h). To
fi nd outth emaximum speed,askthetir e
manuf acturer. All-w
eather tires and wint ertires Inde
xS peedra tin g
Q M+S 5
upto100mp h(1 60 km/h)
T M+S 5
upto118mp h(190 km/h)
H M+S 5
upto130mp h(210 km/h)
V M+S 5
upto149mp h(2 40 km/h) Wi
nter tires bear the004D snowflak esymbol
and fulfillthere qu iremen tsof theRu bber Manu‐
fa ctur ersAssoci ation (RMA) andtheRu bber
Assoc iation ofCanada (RAC)rega rding thetir e
tra ction onsno w.
Load index8 8:
R Nospec ificat ion given: standar dload (SL)
tir e
R "XL" or"Ex tra Load": extra load tireor rein‐
fo rc ed tire
R "Light Load": lightloadtire R
"C", "D", "E":aload rang eth at depen dson
th emaximum loadthat thetir ecan carryata
cer tain pressur e Def
inition ofterm sfo rtir es and loadin g
Ti re stru ctu reand charact eristics :descr ibes
th enumber oflaye rs or thenumber ofrubber -
coat edbelts inthetir econ tact surface and the
tir ewa ll.These aremade ofsteel, nylon, poly‐
es terand other materials.
Bar: metric unit fortir epr essu re.
14 .5038 pounds persquar einc h(p si) and
10 0kilop ascal(kP a)istheeq uiv alent ofone bar.
DO T(Depar tment ofTranspo rtation ):DO T-
mar kedtir es fulf illthere qu iremen tsof the
US Depar tment ofTrans portatio n.
Av erag ewe ight oftheve hicl eoc cupants: the
num berof vehicle occupants forwhi chtheve hi‐
cle isdesigned, multiplied by150lb (68 kg).
4 "ZR" stat ed inthetir ecode.
5 Or "M+S 004D" forwint ertires 37
2
Wheels andtires

Un
ifor m Tire Quality Grading Standar ds:a
unif orm standar dto grade thequ alit yof tires
wit hre ga rd totrea dqu alit y,tiretracti onand
te mp eratur ech aract eristic s.The qualit ygr adin g
asses smentismade bythemanuf acturerfollo w‐
ing spec ificat ions from theU. S. government. The
qu alit ygr ade ofatir eis im print ed on theside
wa llof thetir e.
Re comm endedtir epr essu re:th ere comme n‐
ded tirepr ess ureis thetir epr essur especif ied
fo rth etir es mount edtotheve hicle atthefa c‐
to ry.
The tireand information table con tains there c‐
omme ndedtirepr ess ures forcold tires, themax‐
imum permissible loadandthemaximum per‐
missible vehicle speed.
The tirepr essur eta ble con tains there comme n‐
ded tirepr ess ures forcold tires under various
oper ating condit ions,i.e.loading and/orspeed
of theve hicle.
Incr eased vehicl ewe ight duetooptiona l
eq uip ment :th ecombin edweight ofall standar d
and optio nal equipme ntavailable forth eve hicle, re
ga rdless ofwhe ther itis actually installed on
th eve hicle ornot.
Rim: thepar tof thewheel onwhic hth etir eis
ins talled.
GA WR (Gross AxleWe ight Ratin g):th eGA WR
is themaximum permissible axleload. The
actual loadonanaxle mustne verexc eed the
gr os saxle weight rating .The gross axlewe ight
ra ting canbefound ontheve hicle identif ication
plat eon theB‑pillar onthedr iver's side.
Speed ratin g:thespeed rating ispa rtof thetir e
identif ication .It specif iesthespeed rang efo r
whic hatir eis appr oved.
GV W(Gr oss Vehicl eWe ight ):th egr oss vehicle
we ight comprises thewe ight oftheve hicle
including fuel,tools, thespar ewheel, accesso‐
ri es installed, occupant s,lugg ageand thetrailer
dr aw bar nose weight ,if applicable. Thegros s
ve hicle weight mustno texc eed thegr oss vehicle
we ight rating GVWR asspecif iedontheve hicle
identif ication plateon theB‑pillar onthedr iver's
side.
GV WR (Gross Vehicl eWe ight Ratin g):th e
GV WR isthemaximum permitt edgross weight of
thefully laden vehicle (weight oftheve hicle
including allaccessor ies,occupants, fuel,lug‐
ga ge and thetrailer draw bar nose weight ifappli‐
cable). Thegros sve hicle weight rating issp eci ‐
fi ed on theve hicle identif ication plateon the
B‑pil laron thedr iver's side.
Maxim umweight ofthelad envehicl e:the
maximu mwe ight isthesum ofthecurb weight
of theve hicle, thewe ight oftheaccesso ries, the
maximu mloa dand thewe ight ofoption aleq uip‐
men tins talled atthefa ct or y.
Kilop ascal(kP a):metric unit fortir epr essu re.
6.9 kPacor responds to1psi .Ano ther unit for
tir epr es su re isbar .10 0kilop ascal(kP a)equals
1 bar .
Lo ad inde x:inadd ition totheload-bear ing
inde x,theload indexma yalso beimprint ed on
th eside wallof thetir e. This specif iestheload-
bear ingcapacity ofthetir emor epr ecisel y.
Cur bwe ight :th ewe ight ofave hicle withstand‐
ar deq uipme ntinc ludin gth emaximum capacity
of fuel, oiland coolant .It also includes theair
con ditionin gsy stem and option aleq uipment if Wheels
andtires 37
3

th
ese areins talled ontheve hicle, butdoes not
include passeng ersor lugg age.
Maximum tireload: themaximum tireload is
th emaximum permissible weight inkilog rams or
lbs forwhi chatir eis appr oved.
Maxim umpermissible tirepr essur e:maxi‐
mum permissible tirepr essur efo rone tire.
Maximum loadonone tire: maximu mloa don
one tire. This iscalcu lated bydividing themaxi‐
mum axleload ofone axle bytwo.
PSI (pounds persquar ein ch ):standar dunit of
meas uremen tfo rtir epr essu re.
Aspe ctratio :ra tio betwee ntire height and tire
wi dthin pe rcent .
Ti re pres sur e:press ureinsi dethetir eappl ying
an outw ardfo rc eto eve rysquar einc hof thetir e.
The tirepr essur eis specif iedinpounds per
sq uar einc h(psi), inkilopascals (kPa)or inbar .
The tirepr essur eshould onlybe cor rected whe n
th etir es arecold.
Cold tirepr essur e:thetir es arecold when the
ve hicle hasbeen parkedfo rat lea st3hou rs wit
hout direct sunli ghtonthetir es ortheve hicle
has been driven forless than 1mile (1.6 km ).
Ti re contact surface: thepar tof thetir eth at
com esintocon tact with thero ad.
Ti re bead: thepur pose ofthetir ebead isto
ensur eth at thetir esits secur elyon thewheel
ri m. Ther ear ese veralwir ecor esinthetir ebead
to preve ntthetir efrom chang inglengthon the
wheel rim.
Side wall:thepar tof thetir ebe tween thetread
and thetir ebead.
We ight ofoptiona leq uipm ent:th ecombin ed
we ight oftheop tion aleq uipment weighin gmor e
th an there placed standar dpar tsand moreth an
5 lbs (2.3kg ).This optional equipment, suchas
high-per form anc ebr ak es, leve lcon trol system, a
ro of lugg agera ck orhigh-per form anc ebat teries,
is no tincluded inthecurb weight andthewe ight
of theaccessor ies.
TIN (Tire Identif ication Numbe r):auni que
ident ificat ion numb erwhic hcan beused bya
tir ema nuf actu rerto ident ifytires, forex am ple,
in apr oduc tre cal l,and thus iden tifyth epur‐
ch aser s.The TINismade upofthemanuf actur‐ er's
identit ycode, tiresize, tiretype code and
th emanuf acturingdate.
Load-bear inginde x:theload-bear inginde xis a
code that con tains themaximum load-bearing
capacity ofatir e.
Tr actio n:traction isthegr ip resulting from fric‐
tion between thetir es and thero ad sur face.
We arindi cator:nar row bars(tr ead wearbar s)
th at aredis tribut edove rth etir econ tact surface.
If th etir etread isleve lwit hth ebar s,thewe ar
limit of1/ 16 in(1.6 mm) hasbeen reac hed.
Dis tribut ionofvehicl eoc cupants: distribu tion
of vehicle occupants over designat edseat posi‐
tion sin ave hicle.
Maximum permissible payload weight :nom i‐
nal load andluggageload plus150lb (68 kg)
multip liedby thenumber ofseats intheve hicle. 37
4
Wheels andtires