Winter Operation - SMART 2016 fortwo Owner's Manual

Winter operation

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tears in the tires
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bulges on tires
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deformation or severe corrosion on wheels
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Regularly check the tire tread depth and the
condition of the tread across the whole width
of the tire ( page 172). If necessary, turn the
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front wheels to full lock in order to inspect
the inner side of the tire surface.
All wheels must have a valve cap to protect the
valve against dirt and moisture. Do not fit
anything onto the valve other than the stand-
ard valve cap or other valve caps approved for
your vehicle by smart. Do not use any other
valve caps or systems, e.g. tire pressure mon-
itoring systems.
Regularly check the pressure of all the tires
particularly prior to long trips. Adjust the
tire pressure as necessary (
The service life of tires depends, among
other things, on the following factors:
Driving style
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Tire pressure
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Distance covered
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Notes on tire profile
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WARNING
Insufficient tire tread will reduce tire
traction. The tire is no longer able to dis-
sipate water. This means that on wet road
surfaces, the risk of hydroplaning increa-
ses, in particular where speed is not adap-
ted to suit the driving conditions. There is
a risk of accident.
If the tire pressure is too high or too low,
tires may exhibit different levels of wear
at different locations on the tire tread.
Thus, you should regularly check the tread
depth and the condition of the tread across
the entire width of all tires.
Minimum tire tread depth for:
Summer tires: â in (3 mm)
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M+S tires: ã in (4 mm)
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For safety reasons, replace the tires before
the legally prescribed limit for the mini-
mum tire tread depth is reached.
Indicator : shows which position the bar
marking (arrow) for tread wear is integrated
into the tire tread.
Treadwear indicators (TWI) are required by
law. Six indicators are positioned on the tire
tread. They are visible once a tread depth of
page 174).
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approximately á in (1.6 mm) has been
reached. If this is the case, the tire is so worn
that it must be replaced.
Selecting, mounting and replacing
tires
Only mount tires and wheels of the same
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type and make.
Exception: it is permissible to fit a dif-
ferent type or make in the event of a flat
tire.
Only mount tires of the correct size onto the
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wheels.
After fitting new tires, run them in at mod-
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erate speeds for the first 60 miles (100 km),
as they only reach their full performance
after this distance.
Do not drive with tires which have too little
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tread depth, as this significantly reduces
the traction on wet roads (hydroplaning).
Replace the tires after six years at the lat-
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est, regardless of wear.
Winter operation
General notes
Have your vehicle winterproofed at a quali-
fied specialist workshop at the onset of win-
ter.
Observe the notes in the "Changing a wheel"
section ( page 189).
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