2008 Mercedes S-Class Owner's Manual - Page 573

Operation Tires and wheels Light Load: designates a light load tire. C, D, E: designates load range associated with the maximum load a tire can carry at a specified pressure. 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 purchasers in recall situations or other safety matters concerning tires and gives purchasers the means to easily identify such tires. The TIN is comprised of "Manufacturer's identification mark", "Tire size", "Tire type code" and "Date of manufacture". Manufacturer's identification mark The manufacturer's identification mark 2 ( page 572) denotes the tire manufacturer. New tires have a mark with two symbols. Retreaded tires have a mark with four symbols. For more information on retreaded tires ( page 550). 1 DOT 2 Manufacturer's identification mark 3 Tire size 4 Tire type code (at the option of the tire manufacturer) 5 Date of manufacture Tire size The code 3 ( page 572) indicates the tire size. Tire type code The code 4 ( page 572) may, at the option of the manufacturer, be used as a descriptive code for identifying significant characteristics of the tire. Date of manufacture The date of manufacture 5 ( page 572) identifies the week and year of manufacture. i For illustration purposes only. Actual data on tires are specific to each vehicle and may vary from data shown in above illustration. DOT (Department of Transportation) A tire branding symbol 1 ( page 572) which denotes the tire meets requirements of the U.S. Department of Transportation. 572