Mercedes-Benz 2009 CLS-Class Operator's Manual page 226

Operation
Tires and wheels
DOT, Tire Identification Number (TIN)
U.S. tire regulations require each new tire
manufacturer or tire retreader to mold a TIN
into or onto a sidewall of each tire produced.
The TIN is a unique identifier which facilitates
efforts by tire manufactures to notify pur-
chasers in recall situations or other safety
matters concerning tires and gives purchas-
ers the means to easily identify such tires.
The TIN is comprised of "Manufacturer's iden-
tification mark", "Tire size", "Tire type code"
and "Date of manufacture".
DOT
1
Manufacturer's identification mark
2
Tire size
3
Tire type code (at the option of the tire
4
manufacturer)
224
Date of manufacture
5
i For illustration purposes only. Actual data
on tires are specific to each vehicle and
may vary from data shown in above illus-
tration.
DOT (Department of Transportation)
Tire branding symbol denotes that the tire
1
meets requirements of the U.S. Department
of Transportation.
Manufacturer's identification mark
Manufacturer's identification mark
denotes the tire manufacturer.
New tires have a mark with two symbols.
Retreaded tires have a mark with four sym-
bols. For more information on retreaded tires,
see ( Y page 204).
Tire size
Code indicates the tire size.
3
Tire type code
Tire type code may, at the option of the
4
manufacturer, be used as a descriptive code
for identifying significant characteristics of
the tire.
Date of manufacture
The date of manufacture
week and year of manufacture.
The first two figures identify the week, start-
ing with "01" to represent the first full week
of the calendar year. The second two figures
represent the year.
For example, "3202" represents the 32nd
week of 2002.
2
Maximum tire load
G Warning!
Do not overload the tires by exceeding the
specified load limit as indicated on the Tire
and Loading Information placard on the
driver's door B-pillar. Overloading the tires
can overheat them, possibly causing a
blowout. Overloading the tires can also
result in handling or steering problems, or
brake failure.
identifies the
5