Wheels and tyres 330
are equally spaced around the tyre tread. Certain marks on the tyre walls (for
example, the letters “TWI” or other symbols) indicate the position of the wear
indicators.
Tread wear indicators indicate if a tyre is worn. Tyres must always be replaced
before the tyre tread has worn to the level of the indicator.
WARNING
Driving with worn tyres is dangerous, and may lead to loss of control of the
vehicle with serious consequences.
xTyres must be replaced before the wear indicators are at the same level
as the tread pattern.
xWorn tyres have significantly reduced grip, especially on wet surfaces,
increasing the risk of “aquaplaning”.
xWorn tyres make control of the vehicle more difficult in normal or diffi-
cult driving conditions, increasing the braking distance and the risk of
skidding.
Damaged tyres
Damage to wheels and tyres is often not immediately visible. If you notice
unusual vibration or the car pulling to one side, this may indicate that one of
the tyres is damaged Ÿ.
xSlow down immediately if you think you have a damaged wheel.
xCheck the wheels and tyres for damage.
xIf tyres are worn, stop driving and seek qualified assistance.
xIf there is no visible exterior damage, drive slowly and carefully to the
nearest qualified workshop and have the vehicle checked.Foreign bodies in the tyre
xDo not remove foreign bodies if they have penetrated through the tyre
wall!
xYou should obtain professional assistance immediately.
The sealant at the lower part of the tyre tread wraps around the foreign body
and provisionally seals the tyre.
Wear of tyres
The wear of tyres depends on a number of factors, for example:
xDriving style.
xUnbalanced wheels.
xRunning gear settings.
Driving style: driving round bends fast or sudden acceleration or braking
speed up the wear of tyres. When the driving style is normal, if the tyres wear
too quickly, have the running gear settings checked at a qualified workshop.
Wheel run-out: The wheels on new vehicles are balanced. However, certain
circumstances may lead to imbalance (run-out), which is detected as vibra-
tions in the steering wheel. Run-out leads to wear of the steering and suspen-
sion. In the event of run out, the wheels should be balanced again. When a
new wheel is fitted, it should be balanced again.
Running gear settings: an incorrectly positioned running gear increases the
wear of tyres and affects your safety while driving. If tyres wear too quickly,
have the wheel alignment checked at a specialist workshop.
WARNING
If you notice unusual vibration or the car pulls to one side while driving,
this may indicate that one of the tyres is damaged.
xReduce speed immediately and stop, while observing the highway
code.
xCheck the wheels and tyres for damage.
Index 410
Damaged tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Errors in wheel alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Foreign bodies in the tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Interchanging tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
New tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Older tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Replacing tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Run-flat tyre codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Run-out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Serial number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Snow chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Speed rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333, 334
Storing tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Tyre code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Tyre identification number (TIN) . . . . . . . . . 334
Tyre load rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Tyre pressure sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Tyre pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Tyres with directional tread pattern . . 325, 334
Valve caps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Wear indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Wear of tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Wheel balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Wheel rims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Winter tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Windows
See "Electric windows" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Windscreen
Heat-insulating glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Windscreen heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Windscreen washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Windscreen washer water
Checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Topping up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Windscreen wiper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Windscreen wiper lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Windscreen wiper fluid
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Windscreen wipers
Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Headlight washer system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Heated windscreen washer jets . . . . . . . . . 126
Lifting the wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Rain sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Replacing the wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Service position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Special features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Windscreen wipers service position . . . . . . . . 127
Windscreen with metal coating . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Windscreen with reflective infrared coating . . 123
Wing mirrors
Driving with a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Winter
Additional heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Menu configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Winter driving
Driving with a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Filter pre-heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Winter-grade diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298Winter operation
Headlight washers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Heated windscreen washer jets . . . . . . . . . 126
Salt on the roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Winter tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
All-wheel drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Speed limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Winter-grade diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298