2012 MERCEDES-BENZ A-CLASS HATCHBACK automatic transmission

Vehicles with a TIREFIT kit: the towing eye
is located under the tyre inflation compres-
sor.
X Press the mark on cover :inwards in the
direction of the arrow.
X Remove cover :from the opening.
X Screw the towing eye in clockwise to the
stop and tighten it.
Vehicles with a trailer tow hitch do not have a bracket for the screw-in towing eye at the
back. If you intend to use the vehicle for tow- ing, fold out the ball coupling (Y page 203)
and secure the towbar to it.
Removing the towing eye X
Loosen the towing eye and unscrew it.
X Attach cover :to the bumper and press
until it engages.
X Place the towing eye in the stowage well
under the luggage compartment floor
(Y page 299).
X Vehicles with a TIREFIT kit: replace the tyre
inflation compressor. Towing the vehicle with the front axle
raised
Only vehicles without 4MATIC can be
towed with the front axle raised.
! Vehicles with 4MATIC must not be towed
with the front or rear axle raised; otherwise, the transmission may be damaged.
Vehicles with 4MATIC may either be towed
away with both axles on the ground or be loa-
ded up and transported.
! The ignition must be switched off if you
are towing the vehicle with the front axle
raised. Intervention by ESP ®
could other-
wise damage the brake system.
X Turn the key to position 2in the ignition
lock.
X When the vehicle is stationary, depress the
brake pedal and keep it depressed. X
Vehicles with manual transmission:
depress the clutch pedal fully and shift to
neutral.
or
X Vehicles with automatic transmission:
shift the automatic transmission to posi-
tion P.
X Release the brake pedal.
X Release the electric parking brake.
X Deactivate automatic locking (Y page 223).
X Switch on the hazard warning lamps
(Y page 108).
X Turn the key in the ignition lock to position
0 and leave the key in the ignition lock.
When towing your vehicle with the front axle
raised, it is important that you observe the
safety instructions (Y page 310). Towing the vehicle with both axles on
the ground G
WARNING
The power assistance for the steering and the brake force booster do not work when the
engine is not running. You will then need
much more effort to brake and steer the vehi-
cle. Adapt your style of driving accordingly.
i In order to signal a change of direction
when towing with the hazard warning lamps switched on, use the combination switch asusual. In this case, only the turn signals for
the desired direction flash. When you reset
the combination switch, the hazard warn-
ing lamps start flashing again. 312
Towing and tow-startingBreakdown assistance

Vehicles with automatic transmission:
the
automatic transmission automatically shifts
to position Pwhen you open the driver's or
front-passenger door or when you remove the
key from the ignition lock. In order to ensure that the automatic transmission stays in posi- tion Nwhen towing the vehicle, you must
observe the following points:
X Make sure that the vehicle is stationary.
X Turn the key to position 2in the ignition
lock.
X Depress and hold the brake pedal.
X Shift the automatic transmission to posi-
tion N.
Vehicles with manual transmission: X Turn the key to position 2in the ignition
lock.
X Depress and hold the brake pedal.
X Engage neutral.
Vehicles with manual or automatic trans- mission:
X Leave the key in position 2in the ignition
lock.
X Release the brake pedal.
X Release the electric parking brake.
X Switch on the hazard warning lamps
(Y page 108).
It is important that you observe the safety
instructions when towing away your vehicle
(Y page 310). Transporting the vehicle
! Only lash the vehicle down by the wheels
or wheel rims, not by parts of the vehicle
such as axle or steering components. Oth-
erwise, the vehicle could be damaged. X
Vehicles with manual transmission:
shift to neutral.
X Vehicles with automatic transmission:
turn the key to position 2in the ignition
lock.
X Move the transmission to position N.
As soon as the vehicle is loaded: X Prevent the vehicle from rolling away by
applying the electric parking brake.
X Vehicles with manual transmission:
engage first or reverse gear.
X Vehicles with automatic transmission:
shift the transmission to position P.
X Turn the key to position 0in the ignition
lock and remove it.
X Secure the vehicle.
The towing eyes or trailer tow hitch can be
used to pull the vehicle onto a trailer or trans-
porter if you wish to transport it. Notes for 4MATIC vehicles
! Vehicles with 4MATIC must not be towed
with the front or rear axle raised; otherwise,
the transmission may be damaged.
Vehicles with 4MATIC may only be either
towed away with both axles on the ground or be loaded up and transported.
If the vehicle has transmission damage or
damage to the front or rear axle, have it trans-
ported on a transporter or trailer.
In the event of damage to the electrical
system
If the battery is defective, the automatic
transmission will be locked in position P. To
shift the automatic transmission to position
N, you must provide power to the vehicle's
electrical system in the same way as when
jump-starting (Y page 308).
Have the vehicle transported on a transporter
or trailer. Towing and tow-starting
313Breakdown assistance Z

Tow-starting (emergency engine
starting)
! Do not tow-start vehicles with automatic
transmission. You could otherwise damage the automatic transmission.
Before tow-starting, the following conditions
must be fulfilled:
R the battery is connected.
R the engine has cooled down.
R the exhaust system has cooled down.
X Switch on the hazard warning lamps
(Y page 108).
X Fit the towing eye (Y page 311).
X Secure the rigid towing bar or the towing
rope.
X Depress and hold the brake pedal.
X Turn the key to position 2in the ignition
lock.
X Depress the clutch pedal and keep it
depressed.
X Engage neutral.
X Release the brake pedal.
X Tow-start the vehicle.
X Engage second gear.
X Release the clutch pedal slowly without
depressing the accelerator pedal.
The engine is started.
X Depress the clutch pedal and shift to neu-
tral.
X Stop at a suitable place.
X Secure the vehicle by applying the electric
parking brake.
X Remove the rigid towing bar or towing rope.
X Remove the towing eye (Y page 312).
X Switch off the hazard warning lamps.
When tow-starting, it is important that you
observe the safety instructions (Y page 310)
and the legal requirements for the relevant
countries. Electrical fuses
Important safety notes
G
WARNING
If you manipulate, bridge or replace a faulty
fuse with a fuse of a higher amperage, the
electric cables could be overloaded. This may result in a fire. There is a risk of an accident
and injury.
Always replace faulty fuses with specified new fuses of the correct amperage.
! Only use fuses that have been approved
for Mercedes-Benz vehicles and which
have the correct fuse rating for the system concerned. Only use fuses marked with an
"S". Components or systems could other-
wise be damaged.
The fuses in your vehicle serve to disconnect faulty circuits. If a fuse blows, all the compo-
nents on the circuit and their functions will
fail.
Blown fuses must be replaced with fuses of
the same rating, which you can recognise by
the colour and fuse rating. The fuse ratings
are listed in the fuse allocation chart.
If the newly inserted fuse also blows, have the cause traced and rectified at a qualified spe-
cialist workshop, e.g. a Mercedes-Benz Ser-
vice Centre. Before replacing a fuse
X Secure the vehicle against rolling away
(Y page 162).
X Switch off all electrical consumers.
X Turn the key to position 0in the ignition
lock and remove it (Y page 143). All indi-
cator lamps in the instrument cluster must be off.
The fuses are located in various fuse boxes:
R fuse box in the engine compartment on the
left-hand side of the vehicle, when viewed
in the direction of travel
R fuse box in the front-passenger footwell 314
Electrical fusesBreakdown assistance

Do not use high-pressure cleaners with circu-
lar-jet nozzles to clean the vehicle. Have dam-aged tyres or chassis components replaced
immediately. Fitting a wheel
Preparing the vehicle X
Stop the vehicle on solid, non-slippery and
level ground.
X Apply the electric parking brake manually
(Y page 163).
X Bring the front wheels into the straight-
ahead position.
X Vehicles with manual transmission:
engage first or reverse gear.
X Vehicles with automatic transmission:
move the DIRECT SELECT lever to P.
X Switch off the engine.
X Remove the key from the ignition lock.
X If a trailer is coupled to the vehicle, uncou-
ple it.
X If included in the vehicle equipment,
remove the tyre-change tool kit from the
vehicle.
X Secure the vehicle to prevent it from rolling
away.
i Apart from certain country-specific varia-
tions, vehicles are not equipped with a tyre-
change tool kit. For information on which
tools are required to perform a wheel
change on your vehicle, consult a
Mercedes-Benz Service Centre.
Necessary wheel-changing tools can
include, for example:
R Jack
R Wheel chock
R Wheel wrench Securing the vehicle against rolling
away
If your vehicle is equipped with a wheel chock,
it can be found in the tyre-change tool kit
(Y page 299).
The folding wheel chock is an additional
securing measure to prevent the vehicle from
rolling away, for example when changing a
wheel.
X Fold both plates upwards :.
X Fold out lower plate ;.
X Guide the lugs on the lower plate fully into
the openings in base plate =. Securing the vehicle on level ground
X On level ground: place chocks or other
suitable items under the front and rear of
the wheel that is diagonally opposite the
wheel you wish to change. Changing a
wheel
325Wheels an d tyres Z

Engine oil
General notes When handling engine oil, observe the impor-
tant safety notes on service products
(Y page 338).
The quality of the engine oil is decisive for the function and service life of an engine. After
extensive tests, Mercedes-Benz approves
engine oils that correspond to the current
technical standard.
Therefore, only Mercedes-Benz approved
engine oils may be used in Mercedes-Benz
engines.
Further information on tested and approved
engine oils can be obtained from any
Mercedes-Benz Service Centre. Mercedes-
Benz recommends that you have the oil
change carried out at a qualified specialist
workshop.
Mercedes-Benz approval is indicated on the
oil container by the inscription "MB Approval"
and the corresponding designation, e.g. MB
Approval 229.51.
You can call up an overview of approved
engine oils on the Internet at
http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com by enter-
ing the designation, e.g. 229.5.
The table shows which engine oils have been
approved for your vehicle.
Missing values were not available at the time of going to print. Petrol engines MB Approval
All models
229.5 Diesel engines with a
diesel particle filter MB Approval
A 180 CDI BlueEFFI-
CIENCY, manual trans-
mission
A 180 CDI BlueEFFI-
CIENCY, automatic
transmission
A 200 CDI BlueEFFI-
CIENCY
A 220 CDI BlueEFFI-
CIENCY
228.51,
229.31, 229.51 Diesel engines without
a diesel particle filter MB Approval
A 180 CDI BlueEFFI-
CIENCY, manual trans-
mission
A 180 CDI BlueEFFI-
CIENCY, automatic
transmission
A 200 CDI BlueEFFI-
CIENCY
A 220 CDI BlueEFFI-
CIENCY
228.3, 228.5,
228.51, 229.3,
229.31, 229.5, 229.51 i
If the engine oils listed in the table are not
available, you may add the following engine
oils until the next oil change:
R vehicles with a petrol engine: MB
Approval 229.1 or ACEA A3
R vehicles with a diesel engine: MB
Approval 229.1, 229.3, 229.5 or
ACEA C3
This may only be added once and the
amount must not be greater than 1.0 l.
Capacities The following values refer to an oil change,
including the oil filter.Service products and capacities
343Technical data Z

Model Replacement
amount A 180 BlueEFFICIENCY
A 200 BlueEFFICIENCY 5.8 l
A 250 BlueEFFICIENCY
5.6 l
A 180 CDI BlueEFFI-
CIENCY, manual trans-
mission 4.5 l
A 180 CDI BlueEFFI-
CIENCY, automatic
transmission
A 200 CDI BlueEFFI-
CIENCY
A 220 CDI BlueEFFI-
CIENCY 7.0 l
A 45 AMG 4MATIC
5.5 l
Additives
!
Do not use any additives with the engine
oil. This could damage the engine.
Engine oil viscosity Viscosity describes the flow characteristics
of a fluid. If an engine oil has a high viscosity
rating, it flows slowly; the lower the viscosity,
the faster it flows.
Engine oil selection is based on the respective outside temperatures and in accordance with
the SAE classification (viscosity). The table
shows you which SAE classifications are to be
used. The low-temperature properties of engine oils can be significantly impaired dur-
ing operation due to, for example, ageing or
soot and fuel accretion. It is therefore
strongly recommended to observe regular oil
changes using an approved engine oil with the
appropriate SAE classification. Brake fluid
G
WARNING
The brake fluid continuously absorbs mois-
ture from the air. This results in the boiling
point of the brake fluid lowering. If the boiling
point of the brake fluid is too low, vapour
pockets may form when the brakes are sub-
jected to a heavy load. This would impair brak- ing efficiency. There is a risk of an accident.
Have the brake fluid renewed at the prescri-
bed intervals.
When handling brake fluid, observe the
important safety notes on service products
(Y page 338).
The brake fluid change intervals can be found in the Service Booklet.
Only use brake fluid approved by Mercedes-
Benz according to MB Approval 331.0.
Information about approved brake fluid can
be obtained at any qualified specialist work-
shop or on the Internet at:
http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com.
i Have the brake fluid regularly replaced at
a qualified specialist workshop. Coolant
Important safety notes G
WARNING
If antifreeze comes into contact with hot com- ponents in the engine compartment, it may
ignite. There is a risk of fire and injury.
Let the engine cool down before you top up
the antifreeze. Make sure that antifreeze is
not spilled next to the filler neck. Thoroughly 344
Service products and capacitiesTechnical data

Trailer loads
Vehicles with manual transmission !
Use a drawbar noseweight as close as possible to the maximum permissible noseweight.
Do not use a noseweight of less than 50kg, otherwise the trailer may come loose.
Note that the payload and the rear axle load are reduced by the actual payload. Permissible
trailer load,
braked 18 Permissible
trailer load,
braked 19 Permissible
trailer load, unbraked Maximum
drawbar nose-
weight 20 Permissible
rear axle
load when towing a trailer A 180
21 1500 kg 1200 kg 685 kg 75 kg 985 kg
A 200
21 1500 kg 1400 kg 685 kg 75 kg 980 kg
A 180 CDI
21 1500 kg 1200 kg 695 kg 75 kg 980 kg
A 200 CDI
21 1500 kg 1500 kg 720 kg 75 kg 975 kg
The actual noseweight may not be higher than the value which is given. The value can be found
on the trailer tow hitch or trailer identification plates. The lowest weight applies.
You can attach carrier systems, e.g. bicycle racks or load-bearing implements, on the ball
coupling. The maximum noseweight of 75 kg applies when using carrier systems on the ball
coupling.
Vehicles with automatic transmission !
Use a drawbar noseweight as close as possible to the maximum permissible noseweight.
Do not use a noseweight of less than 50kg, otherwise the trailer may come loose.
Note that the payload and the rear axle load are reduced by the actual payload.
Trailer towing is not permissible on the following models:
R A 45 AMG 4MATIC
R Vehicles with the AMG Sports package
18 At a minimum gradient-climbing capability of 8% from a standstill.
19 At a minimum gradient-climbing capability of 12% from a standstill.
20 The drawbar noseweight is not included in the trailer load.
21 BlueEFFICIENCY Trailer tow hitch
349Technical data Z