Mercedes-Benz C-Class 2014 Owner's Manual page 286

Towing a trailer
Important safety notes
WARNING
G
The braking system can overheat if you leave
your foot on the brake pedal while driving.
This increases the braking distance and could
even cause the braking system to fail. There is
a risk of an accident.
Never use the brake pedal as a footrest. Do
not simultaneously depress both the brake
pedal and the accelerator pedal while driving.
G WARNING
You could lose control of the vehicle/trailer
combination if it begins to swerve. The vehi-
cle/trailer combination could even overturn.
There is a risk of an accident.
On no account should you attempt to
straighten out the vehicle/trailer combina-
tion by increasing speed. Decrease your
speed and do not countersteer. Brake if nec-
essary.
G WARNING
If the maximum the permissible load for a car-
rier system is exceeded, the carrier could
come loose from the vehicle and endanger
other road users. There is a risk of an accident
and injury.
Never exceed the permissible noseweight
when using a carrier.
Exceeding the maximum permissible nose-
weight of the trailer drawbar on the ball cou-
pling may cause damage to the following:
your vehicle
R
the trailer
R
the ball coupling
R
the trailer tow hitch
R
The vehicle/trailer combination could
become unstable.
If the noseweight used is lower than the min-
imum permissible noseweight, the vehicle/
trailer combination could also become unsta-
ble.
To avoid hazardous situations:
make sure to check the noseweight before
R
each journey.
use a drawbar noseweight as close as pos-
R
sible to the maximum noseweight.
do not exceed the maximum permissible
R
noseweight.
do not use a noseweight lower than the
R
minimum permissible trailer drawbar nose-
weight.
Make sure that the following values are not
exceeded:
the permissible trailer drawbar noseweight
R
the permissible trailer load
R
the permissible rear axle load of the towing
R
vehicle
the maximum permissible gross vehicle
R
weight of both the towing vehicle and the
trailer
The applicable permissible values, which
must not be exceeded, can be found:
in your vehicle documents
R
on the identification plates of the trailer tow
R
hitch and the trailer
on the vehicle identification plate
R
If the values differ, the lowest value applies.
You will find the values approved by the man-
ufacturer on the vehicle identification plates
and those for the towing vehicle under "Tech-
nical data" ( page 478).
Y
G WARNING
If you release the ball coupling or it does not
engage correctly when folding in, it will swing
out. Within pivoting range of the ball coupling,
there is an increased risk of an accident and
injury.
Only release the ball coupling if the pivoting
range is unobstructed. Always make sure that
the ball coupling engages when folding in.
Towing a trailer
Z
283