2009 Mercedes E-Class Owner's Manual - Page 267

Operation Tires and wheels may vary from data shown in above illustration. In addition to tire load rating, special load identification 1 may be molded into the tire sidewall following the letter designating the tire speed rating 6 (Y page 262). RNo specification given: absence of any text (like in above example) indicates a standard load (SL) tire. RXL 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". 4 Tire type code (at the option of the tire manufacturer) 5 Date 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) Tire branding symbol 1 denotes that the tire meets requirements of the U.S. Department of Transportation. or Extra Load: designates an extra load (or reinforced) tire. Load: designates a light load tire. D, E: designates load range associated with the maximum load a tire can carry at a specified pressure. RLight RC, Manufacturer's identification mark Manufacturer's identification mark 2 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, see (Y page 247). Tire size 1 DOT 2 Manufacturer's identification mark 3 Tire size Code 3 indicates the tire size. Z 265