9!30 Helpful hints
Tyres and wheels
Tyre condition
Check tyres at regular intervals, e.g. for:
! external damage,
! ageing,
! foreign bodies in the tread,
! cracks, bulges,
! one!sided or irregular tread wear.
Tyre tread
Do not undercut the minimum tread depth
of 3 millimetres (1/8 in) for summer tyres
and 4 millimetres (3/16 in) for winter
tyres.
Along with increasing tyre wear, the
tyres' grip and car's handling character!
istics deteriorate, particularly on wet or
snow!covered roads. You should therefore
change tyres before they undercut the
minimum tread depth.
You should measure the tread depth with a
tread depth gauge, available from a qual!
ified specialist workshop such as a smart
center.
Wear indicators integrated into the edge
of the tread provide an additional visual
sign as to whether the tyres need to be
changed or not. These indicators, howev!
er, do not form narrow, continuous pat!
terns until the depth of the remaining
tread to the base of the tread groove has
reached 1.6 millimetres (1/16 in). If you
can see this indicator, the tyre must be
replaced without delay.
Tyres continue to age even if they are
used little or not at all. The operating
safety and roadworthiness of all tyres
gradually decreases. You should there!
fore replace tyres that were manufac!
tured more than six years ago.
The date of production is indicated in
the DOT number, which is displayed on
the side of every tyre. Since 2000, the
last two digits denote the tyre's year of
production, preceded by two digits indi!
cating the tyre's week of production
(WWYY).
Danger of injury!
Always make sure the tyre tread is
adequate. Too shallow a tyre tread will
reduce the tyres' grip considerably and
increase the risk of aquaplaning on wet
or slushy roads and at high speeds. The
tyre's tread will then no longer be able
to cut through the water. You could lose
control over your vehicle, cause an ac!
cident and injure yourself or others.
Accident risk!
Note that cracks, bulges or exter!
nal damage could cause the tyre to
burst. You could lose control over your
vehicle as a result, cause an accident
and injure yourself or others. All tyres
exhibiting such defects should be re!
placed without delay.
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