2008 MERCEDES-BENZ S550 4MATIC rims

Contents
Where will I find ...? ........................... 668
First aid kit ................................... 668
Vehicle jack, vehicle tool kit,
luggage bowl, Minispare wheel .... 668
Unlocking/locking in an emergency .. 671
Unlocking the vehicle ................... 671
Locking the vehicle ...................... 672
Mechanically releasing the
electronic parking brake .............. 673
Opening/closing in an emergency..... 674
Power tilt/sliding sunroof or
panorama roof with
power tilt/sliding panel*.............. 674
Resetting activated head restraints ... 675
Replacing SmartKey batteries ........... 676
Replacing bulbs ................................. 678
Bulbs ............................................ 679
Replacing bulbs for front lamps ... 680
Replacing wiper blades ...................... 684
Placing wiper arms in vertical
position ........................................ 684
Removing wiper blades ................ 685
Installing wiper blades................. 685
Flat tire .............................................. 686
Preparing the vehicle ................... 686
Mounting the spare wheel............ 686Batteries ............................................. 692
Disconnecting starter battery ....... 694
Removing starter battery .............. 695
Charging battery ........................... 695
Reinstalling starter battery ........... 696
Reconnecting starter battery ........ 696
Jump starting ...................................... 697
Towing the vehicle .............................. 700
Installing towing eye bolt .............. 703
Fuses .................................................. 704
Fuse boxes in engine
compartment ................................ 705
Fuse boxes in passenger
compartment ................................ 706
Emergency engine shut-down ....... 707
Technical data.................................. 709
Parts service....................................... 710
Warranty coverage ............................. 711
Loss of Service and Warranty
Information Booklet ...................... 711
Identification labels ............................ 712
Layout of poly-V-belt drive .................. 714
S 550 ............................................ 714
S 63 AMG ..................................... 714S 600 and S 65 AMG .................... 714
Engine ................................................ 715
Rims and tires .................................... 718
Same size tires ............................. 719
Mixed size tires ............................. 720
Spare wheel .................................. 721
Electrical system ................................ 722
Main dimensions and weights ............ 723
Main dimensions........................... 723
Weights......................................... 723
Fuels, coolants, lubricants, etc. .......... 724
Capacities ..................................... 724
Engine oils .................................... 728
Engine oil additives ....................... 728
Air conditioning refrigerant ........... 728
Brake fluid .................................... 728
Premium unleaded gasoline.......... 729
Fuel requirements......................... 729
Gasoline additives......................... 730
Coolants ....................................... 730
Windshield washer system and
headlamp cleaning system ........... 733
Index................................................. 735

25 At a glance
Exterior view
ItemPage
1Trunk

Unlocking

Opening and closing

Minispare wheel

Vehicle tool kit
479
479
686
668
2Rear lamps679
3Rear window, defrosting473
4Fuel filler flap
Gasoline538
729
5Doors

Locking and unlocking

Opening and closing
332
332
ItemPage
6Exterior rear view mirror
Parking position361
364
7Towing the vehicle700
8Rims and tires

Checking tire inflation
pressure

Minispare wheel

Flat tire
718
560
670
686
9Hood, opening
Engine oil
Coolant541
543
547
ItemPage
aHeadlamp cleaning system375
bFront lamps679
cWindshield wipers
Wiper blades, replacing
Wiper blades, cleaning381
684
592
dWindow, cleaning592
eRoofs

Power tilt/sliding sunroof

Panorama roof with power
tilt/sliding panel*
486
489

44 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Safety guidelines for the seat belt,
emergency tensioning device and
air bag
Warning!G

Damaged seat belts or seat belt that
were highly stressed in an accident
must be replaced and their anchoring
points must also be checked. Only use
seat belts installed or supplied by an au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center.

Air bags and pyrotechnic emergency
tensioning devices (ETDs) are designed
to function on a one-time-only basis. An
air bag or ETD that is deployed must be
replaced. PRE-SAFE
® has electrically
operated reversible pre-tensioners in
addition to the pyrotechnic ETDs.

Do not pass seat belt over sharp edges.
They could tear.

Do not make any modification that could
change the effectiveness of the seat
belts.

Do not bleach or dye seat belts as this
may severely weaken them. In a crash
they may not be able to provide ade-
quate protection.

No modifications of any kind may be
made to any components or wiring of
the SRS. This includes changing or re-
moving any component or part of the
SRS, the installation of additional trim
material, badges, etc. over the steering
wheel hub, front passenger front air bag
cover, outboard sides of the seat back-
rests, door trim panels, or door frame
trims, and installation of additional
electrical/electronic equipment on or
near SRS components and wiring. Keep
area between air bags and occupants
free from objects (e.g. packages, purs-
es, umbrellas, etc.).

Do not hang items such as coat hangers
from the coat hooks or handles over the
door. These items may turn into projec-
tiles and cause head and other injuries
when the window curtain air bag is
deployed.

Air bag system components will be hot
after an air bag has inflated. Do not
touch.

Never place your feet on the instrument
panel, dashboard, or on the seat. Always
keep both feet on the floor in front of the
seat.

In addition, improper repair work on the
SRS creates a risk of rendering the SRS
inoperative or causing unintended air
bag deployment. Work on the SRS must
therefore only be performed by qualified
technicians. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.

For your protection and the protection
of others, when scrapping the air bag
unit or emergency tensioning device,
our safety instructions must be fol-
lowed. These instructions are available
from any authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.

455 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Warning!G
Make sure no persons or animals are in the
area in which you are maneuvering. You
could otherwise injure them.
Warning!G
The Dynamic Rear View Monitor may not
function if:

the trunk lid is not completely closed

it is raining or snowing heavily, or if
there is thick fog

in a very dark area

the camera is exposed to very strong
white light (white stripes may appear on
the COMAND display)

the surrounding area is lit with fluores-
cent light (the COMAND display can
flicker)

there is a sudden change in tempera-
ture, for example when you drive out of
the cold into a heated garage in winter
(lens condensation)

outside temperatures are very high (lens
condensation)

the camera lens is dirty or covered, see
“Cleaning the Dynamic Rear View
Monitor lens*” (
page 590)

the rear of your vehicle is damaged. In
this case, have the position and setting
of the camera checked by a qualified
technician. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Do not use the Dynamic Rear View Monitor
if the roads are icy, slippery or covered with
snow. The vehicle could slip causing the ac-
tual vehicle position to deviate from the one
shown on the COMAND display.
This may cause injury to you or others, or
damage the vehicle or objects.
Mounting tires/rims of other specification
than the original equipment tires/rims may
impair the function of the Dynamic Rear
View Monitor. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.

550 Operation
Tires and wheels
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center for information on tested and
recommended rims and tires for summer
and winter operation. They can also offer
advice concerning tire service and
purchase.Important guidelines

Only use sets of tires and rims of the
same type and make.

Tires must be of the correct size for the
rim.

Break in new tires for approximately
60 miles (100 km) at moderate
speeds.

Regularly check the tires and rims for
damage. Dented or bent rims can
cause tire inflation pressure loss and
damage to the tire beads.

If vehicle is heavily loaded, check tire
inflation pressure and correct as
required.

Do not allow your tires to wear down
too far. Adhesion properties on wet
roads are sharply reduced at tread
depths of less than
1/8in (3 mm).

When replacing individual tires, you
should mount new tires on the front
wheels first (on vehicles with
same-sized wheels all around).
Warning!G
Replace rims or tires with the same designa-
tion, manufacturer and type as shown on the
original part. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center for further informa-
tion. If incorrectly sized rims and tires are
mounted:

The wheel brakes or suspension
components can be damaged.

The operating clearance of the wheels
and the tires may no longer be correct.
Warning!G
Worn, old tires can cause accidents. If the
tire tread is badly worn, or if the tires have
sustained damage, replace them.
When replacing rims, only use genuine
Mercedes-Benz wheel bolts specified for the
particular rim type. Failure to do so can
result in the bolts loosening and possibly an
accident.
Retreaded tires are not tested or recom-
mended by Mercedes-Benz, since previous
damage cannot always be recognized on re-
treads. The operating safety of the vehicle
cannot be assured when such tires are used.

568 Operation
Tires and wheels
1Uniform Quality Grading Standards
(
page 574)
2DOT, Tire Identification Number (TIN)
(
page 572)
3Maximum tire load (
page 573)
4Maximum tire inflation pressure
(
page 573)
5Manufacturer
6Tire ply material (
page 575)
7Tire size designation, load and speed
rating (
page 568)
8Load identification (
page 571)
9Tire nameTire size designation, load and speed
rating
1Tire width
2Aspect ratio in %
3Radial tire code
4Rim diameter
5Tire load rating
6Tire speed ratingGeneral:
Depending on the design standards used,
the tire size molded into the sidewall may
have no letter or a letter preceding the tire
size designation.
No letter preceding the size designation
(as illustrated above): Passenger car tire
based on European design standards.
Letter “P” preceding the size designation:
Passenger car tire based on U.S. design
standards.
Letter “LT” preceding the size designation:
Light Truck tire based on U.S. design
standards.
Letter “T” preceding the size designation:
Temporary spare tires which are high
pressure compact spares designed for
temporary emergency use only.
iFor illustration purposes only. Actual data
on tires are specific to each vehicle and may vary
from data shown in above illustration.
For more information, see “Rims and tires”
(
page 718).
iFor illustration purposes only. Actual data
on tires are specific to each vehicle and may vary
from data shown in above illustration.

569 Operation
Tires and wheels
Tire width
The tire width1 (
page 568) indicates
the nominal tire width in mm.
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio2 (
page 568) is the
dimensional relationship between tire
section height and section width and is
expressed in percentage. The aspect ratio
is arrived at by dividing section height by
section width.
Tire code
The tire code3 (
page 568) indicates
the tire construction type. The “R” stands
for radial tire type. Letter “D” means diag-
onal or bias ply construction; letter “B”
means belted-bias ply construction.
At the tire manufacturer’s option, any tire
with a speed capability above 149 mph
(240 km/h) can include a “ZR” in the size
designation (for example: 245/40 ZR 18).
For additional information, see “Tire speed
rating” (
page 570).Rim diameter
The rim diameter4 (
page 568) is the
diameter of the bead seat, not the
diameter of the rim edge. Rim diameter is
indicated in inches (in).
Tire load rating
The tire load rating5 (
page 568) is a
numerical code associated with the
maximum load a tire can support.
For example, a load rating of 91 corre-
sponds to a maximum load of 1 356 lbs
(615 kg) the tire is designed to support.
See also “Maximum tire load”
(
page 573) where the maximum load as-
sociated with the load index is indicated in
kilograms and lbs.
Warning!G
The tire load rating must always be at least
half of the GAWR (
page 576) of your vehi-
cle. Otherwise, tire failure may be the result
which may cause an accident and/or seri-
ous personal injury to you or others.
Always replace rims and tires with the same
designation, manufacturer and type as
shown on the original part.
Warning!G
Do not overload the tires by exceeding the
specified load limit or total load limit as indi-
cated on the Tire and Loading Information
placard located on the driver’s door B-pillar
(
page 553). Overloading the tires can
overheat them, possibly causing a blowout.
Overloading the tires can also result in han-
dling or steering problems, or brake failure.

579 Operation
Tires and wheels
Tire rotation can be performed on vehicles
with tires of the same dimension all
around. If your vehicle is equipped with
tires of the same dimension all around,
tires can be rotated, observing a
front-to-rear rotation pattern that will
maintain the intended rotation (spinning)
direction of the tire (
page 553).
In some cases, such as when your vehicle
is equipped with mixed-size tires (different
tire dimension front vs. rear), tire rotation
is not possible.
If applicable to your vehicle’s tire configu-
ration, tires can be rotated according to
the tire manufacturer’s recommended in-
tervals in the tire manufacturer’s warranty
pamphlet located in your vehicle literature
portfolio. If none is available, tires should
be rotated every 3 000 to 6 000 miles
(5 000 to 10 000 km), or sooner if neces-
sary, according to the degree of tire wear.
The same rotation (spinning) direction
must be maintained (
page 553). Rotate tires before the characteristic tire
wear pattern becomes visible (shoulder
wear on front tires and tread center wear
on rear tires).
Thoroughly clean the mounting face of
wheels and brake disks, i.e. the inner side
of the wheels/tires, during each rotation.
Check for and ensure proper tire inflation
pressure.
For information on wheel change, see the
“Practical hints” section (
page 686).
Warning!G
Have the tightening torque checked after
changing a wheel. Wheels could become
loose if not tightened with a torque of
110 lb-ft (150 Nm).
Only use Genuine Mercedes-Benz wheel
bolts specified for your vehicle’s rims.