2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class ESP

have
been especiall ydeveloped fordriving
on snow.
An electronic speedlimiter prevents your
vehicle fromexceeding aspeed of
130 mph (210 km/h).
The speed ratingoftires mounted atthe
factory maybehigher thanthemaximum
speed thattheelectronic speedlimiter
permits.
Make surethatyour tires have therequired
speed ratingasspecified inthe "Tires"
section (Ypage 375), e.g.ifyou buy new
tires.
Further information aboutreading tiredata
can beobtained fromanyqual ified specialist
workshop, e.g.anauthorized Mercedes-Ben z
Center. Load
index i
Tire
data isvehicle-specific andmay
deviate fromthedata inthe example.
In addition tothe load bearing index,load
index :may beimprinted aftertheletters
that identify speedratingB(Ypage 368)on
the sidewa llof the tire.
R Ifno specification isgiven: notext (asinthe
example above),represents astand ard
lo ad (SL )tir e
R XL orExtra Load:rep resents arei nfor ced
tir e R
Ligh tload: represent sa light loadtire
R C, D, E:represent sa load range that
depends onthe maximum loadthatthetire
can carry atacert ainpressure DOT,
TireIdentification Number(TIN)
U.S. tireregulations prescribethatevery
manufacturer ofnew tires orretreader hasto
imprint aTIN inor on the sidewal lof each tire
produced. The
TINisaunique identificat ionnumber. The
TIN enables thetire manufacturer sto inform
purchasers ofrecalls andother safety-
relevant matters.Itmakes itpossible forthe
purchaser toeasily identify theaffect edtires.
The TINismade upofmanufacturer
identificat ioncode ;,tire size =,tire type
code ?and manufacturin gdate A. i
Tire
data isvehicle-specif icand may
deviate fromthedata inthe example.
DOT (Departm entofTransport ation):tire
symbol :indicates thatthetire complies
with therequirements ofthe U.S. Departm ent
of Transport ation.
Manufa ctureridentification code:
manufacturer identificationcode ;provides
details onthe tire manufacturer .New tires
have acode withtwosymbols. Retreaded
tires have acode withfoursymbols.
Further informationabout retreaded tires
(Y page 350).
Tire size: identifier =describes thetire size. 370
Tir
elabelingWheels and tires

Tire
type code: tiretypecod e? can be
us ed bythe manuf actu rerasacod eto
de scri bespe cificcharacteristics ofthe tire.
Date ofmanuf acture:date ofmanufacture
A provides information abouttheage ofa
tire. Thefirst andsecond positions represent
the week ofmanufacture, startingwith "01"
for the first calendar week.Positions three
and four represent theyear ofmanufacture.
For example, atire that ismarked with
"3208", wasmanufactured inweek 32in
2008. Tire
character istics i
Tire
data isvehicle-specific andmay
deviate fromthedata inthe example.
This information describesthetire cord and
the number oflay ers insidewa ll: and under
the tread ;. Defini
tionofterm sfor tires and
loading Tire
plycomposition andmaterial
used
Describes thenumber ofplies orthe number
of lay ers ofrubber-coated fabricinthe tire
tread andsidewa ll.These aremade ofsteel,
nylon, polyester andother materials. Bar
Metric unitfortire pressure. Thereare
14.5 038pounds persquare inch(psi) to
1b ar; there are100k ilopasc als(kPa) to
1 bar. DOT
(Depar tment ofTransp ortation)
DO Tmark edtires fulfill therequire mentsof
the Unit edStates Depar tment of
Tran sport ation. Nor
maloccupa ntweight
The numb erofocc upant sthe vehic leis
design edtoseat ,mult iplied by68 kilog rams
(15 0lbs). Uniform
TireQualit yGra ding
Sta ndar ds
Au nifo rmstanda rdtogra dethe quality of
tire swi th reg ards totrea dqu ality ,tire trac tion
and temp eraturecha racteri stics. Rating sar e
de term inedby tire manuf actu rersus ing U.S.
gov ernm enttesti ngpro ced ures. The rating s
ar emol dedinto theside wa llof the tire. Rec
omme ndedtire pres sure
The reco mme ndedtire pressu reappliesto
the tiresmou nted atthe factory .
The Tire and Loading Info rma tionp lacard
con tain sthe recomm endedtir epress uresfor
cold tires on afully loaded vehicleand forthe
maxim umperm issible vehiclespeed.
The tirepress uretable contain sthe
rec omm endedtir epress uresforcold tires
under various operatingcon ditio ns,i.e.
diff erin gload andspeed conditio ns. Definition
ofter ms fortires and loading
371Wheels and tires Z

Incr
ease dvehicle weight dueto
opt ional equipm ent
This isthecom binedweight ofall standar d
and optionalequipm entavailable forthe
veh icle,regar dless ofwhet heritis act ually
ins talle don theveh icle ornot. Rim
This isthepart ofthew heel onwhich thetire
is mounted. GAWR
(Gross AxleWeight Rating)
The GAWR isthe maximum permissible axle
weight. Theactual loadonanaxle must never
exceed thegross axleweight rating.The
gross axleweight ratingcanbefound onthe
vehicle identification plateonthe B-pillar on
the driver's side. Speed
rating
The speed ratingispart ofthe tire
identification. Itspecifies thespeed rangefor
which thetire isapproved. GTW
(Gross Trailer Weight)
The GTW isthe weight ofatrailer including
the weight ofthe load, luggage,accessories
etc. onthe trailer. GVW
(Gross Vehicle Weight)
The gross vehicle weightcomprises the
weight ofthe vehicle including fuel,tools, the
spare wheel, accessories installed,
occupants, luggageand thedrawba r
noseweight, ifappli cable. Thegross vehicle
weight mustnotexceed thegross vehicle
weight ratingGVWR asspecified onthe
vehicle identification plateonthe Bpillar on
the drive r'sside. GV
WR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating)
The GVWR isthe maxim umperm issible gross
weight ofafully loaded vehicle(th eweight of
the vehic leinc luding allacc essor ies,
occ upant s,fuel, luggage andthedrawbar
nos eweight ,if applicable). Thegros svehic le
weight rating isspec ified onthe vehic le
ident ification plateonthe B-pillar onthe
drive r'sside. Max
imumload edvehicle weight
The maximum weight isthesum ofthecur b
weight oftheveh icle,th eweight ofthe
acc esso ries,th eto tal load limit andthe
weight oftheopt ionalequipm entinstalle dat
th efac tory. Kilopa
scal(kPa)
Met ricunit fortirepres sure. 6.9kP ais the
equivale ntof1psi .An other unit fortire
pres sure isbar. Thereare 100k ilopasc als
(kPa) to1b ar. Load
index
In addit iontotheload beari ngind ex,th eload
ind exmay alsobeimpr inted on thesidew all
of thetir e. This spec ifiesthe load bearing
capacity moreprecisely. Curb
weight
The weight ofavehicle withstandard
equipment includingthemaximum capacity
of fuel, oiland coolant. Italso includes theair-
condition ingsystem andoptional equipment
if these areinstalled inthe vehicle, butdoes
not include passengers orlugga ge. 372
Defin
itionofterm sfor tires andloadingWheels and tires

Trac
tion
Tra ctio nis the resultof frictio nbe twe enthe
tire sand theroadsu rfa ce. TWR
(Tongue We ight Ratin g)
The TWRsp eci fiesthe maxim um permi ssible
we ight tha tthe ball coupling ofthe trailer tow
hitch cansupport. Tread
wearindicators
Narrow bars(tread wearbars) thatare
distributed overthetire tread. Ifthe tire tread
is level withthebars, thewear limitof1
/ 16 in
(1.6 mm) hasbeen reached. Occupant
distribution
The distribution ofoccupants inavehicle at
their designated seatingpositions. Total
loadlimit
Rated cargoandlugga geload plus
68 kilograms (150lbs)times thevehicle's
designated seatingcapacity. Changing
awhee l Fl
at tire
The "Brea kdown assistance" section
(Y pag e329) contains informationandnotes
on how todea lwith afla ttire. Italso provides
inst ruct ions onchan gingawheel ormoun ting
the spare wheel/ emergencyspare wheel. Inter
chang ingthewheels G
WARN
ING Rotat
efro ntand rear wheels onlyifthe tires
are ofthe same dimen sion. If
your vehic leisequipped withmixed-s ize
tir es (diff eren ttire dimen sionsfro ntvs. rear),
tir erot ation isnot possible . G
WARN
ING Have
thetightening torque chec kedafter
chan gingawheel. Thewheels couldcome
loose ifthe yare not tightenedtoator que of
110 lb-ft(150 Nm).
Only usegenuin eMerc edes- Benzwheel bolts
specified foryour vehicle's rims.
The wear pattern son the front andrear tires
differ, depending onthe operating conditions.
Rotate thewheels beforeaclear wearpattern
has formed onthe tires. Front tirestypically
wear more onthe shoulders andtherear tires
in the cent er.
If your vehicle's tireconfiguration allows,you
can rotate thewheels according tothe
intervals inthe tire manufacturer's warranty
book inyour vehicle documents. Ifthis isnot
availa ble,thetires should thenbereplaced
every 3000to6000 miles
(5000 to10,000 km),orearl ierifthe tire wea r
requ iresthis. Donot change thedirection of
whee lrotation.
Cle anthe contact surfacesofthe whee land
the brake discthoroug hlyevery timeawhee l
is interchanged .Check thetire pressures.
Inform ationonchanging awheel and
mounting thespare wheel (Ypage 333).
! Onvehicles equippedwith atire pressure
monitor, electronic componentsare
located inthe wheel.
Tire-mountin gtools should notbeused
near thevalve. Thiscould damage the
electronic components.
Always havethetires changed ataqual ified
specialist workshop, e.g.anauthorized
Mercedes-Ben zCent er. 374
Changing
awhee lWheels and tires

Dir
ect ion ofrotation
Tir es wit haspe cifie ddir ection ofrotation
hav eaddit ionalben efits, e.g. ifth ere isaris k
of hydr oplaning .Y ou will only gain these
benefits ifthe correc tdirection ofrotat ionis
maintained.
An arrow onthe sidewal lof the tire indicates
its correc tdirection ofrotat ion.
You may mount aspare wheel/emergenc y
spare wheel against thedirection ofrotat ion.
Observe thetime restriction onuse aswell as
the speed limitspecified onthe spare wheel/
emergenc yspare wheel. Storing
wheels
Stor ewheels thatarenot being usedinacool,
dry and preferably darkplace. Protectthe
tires from oil,grease, gasoline anddiesel. Cleanin
gthe wheel s G
WARNING Do
not use power washers withcircular-jet
nozz les(dirt grinders) toclean yourvehicle, in
particular thetires. Youcould otherwise
damage thetires andcause anaccident. Wheel
andtirecombinations Please
bearthefollow inginmind
! For safety reasons, Mercedes-Ben z
recommen dsthat youonly useTires and
wheels whichhavebeen approved by
Mercedes-Ben zspecific allyforyour
vehicle. These
tireshave been specially adaptedfor
use with thecontrolsystems ,such asABS
or ESP®
,and aremark edasfollows:
R MO =Mercedes- BenzOriginal
R MOE =Mercedes- BenzOrigi nal Extended
(tires featuringrun-flat characteristics)
R MO1 =Mercedes- BenzOriginal (only
certain AMGtires)
Mercede s-BenzOriginalExtended tires
may onlybeuse don whee lsthat have been
speci ficallyapp roved byMercede s-Benz.
Only usetires, wheelsor accesso ries
tested andapproved byMercede s-Benz.
Certa inchara cteristics, e.g.handl ing,
vehicl enoise emissionsorfuel
consumptio n,may otherwi sebe adve rsely
affected. Inadd ition, when drivingwith a
loa d,tire dime nsion variations couldcaus e
the tires tocome intocontact withthe
body work andaxle components. Thiscould
resu ltin dama getothe tires orthe vehicl e.
Mercede s-Benzaccepts noliabil ity for
dama geresu lting from theuse oftires,
whee lsor accesso riesother thanthose
tested andapproved.
Further informati onabo uttires, wheelsand
app roved combina tionscanbeobtai ned
from anyauthorized Mercede s-Benz
Center. i
The
Tire andLoad Information placard
with therecommende dtire pressu resis
attached tothe B-pill aron the drive r'sside .
Further informati onabo utdrivi ngathigh
spee dsordrivi ngwith vehicl eloa dsthat are
lig hter than themaximu mvehicle loadcan
be found inthe tire pressure tableonthe
inside ofthe fuel filler flap.Check tire
pressures regularly,andonly when thetires
are cold. Comply withthemaint enanc e
recom mendat ionsofthe tire manufact urer
in the vehicle documen twallet .
For further inform ationon ther ecomm ended
tire inflation pressure andontire pressures
for specific drivingconditions (Ypage 353). Wheel
andtirecombinations
375Wheels and tires Z

i Notes
onthe vehicle equipment –always
equip thevehic le:
R with tires ofthe same sizeonagiven axle
(left /right )
R with thesame typeoftires atagiven time
(summ ertires, wint ertires, MOE xtende d
tir es) i
On
the followin gpages, youcan find
inf orm ation onapprov edwheel rimsand
tir esize sfor equipping yourvehic lewith
wint ertires. Wint ertires are not available
ex fact oryasstandard equipmen tor
optional extras.
If you want toequip yourvehicle with
approved wintertires,itmay benecessary
to obtain wheelrimsinthe correspon ding
size, asthe size ofthe approved wintertires
may differ fromthestandard tires.Thisis
dependent onthe model andthe
equipment installedatthe factor y.
The tires andwheel rims,aswell asfurther
inform ation,canbeobtained ataquali fied
specialist workshop, e.g.atan authorized
Mercedes-B enzCenter. i Overview
ofabbreviations usedinthe
following tiretables:
R BA: both axles
R FA: front axle
R RA: rear axle
In the following table,thewheel/tire
combinat ionsareallocated tothe vehicle
models through variants, e.g.V1,V2etc. : V1
V2376
Wheel
andtirecombinationsWheels and tires


ML 350 BlueTEC 4MATIC ML3504MATIC

i
The
data shown onthe identific ationplate
is example data.Thisdata isdifferent for
every vehicle andcandeviate fromthedata
shown here.Youcanfind thedata
applicable toyour vehicle onthe vehicle's
identific ationplate. Vehicle
identification number(VIN)
The vehicle identific ationnumber (VIN)can
be found inthe following locations:
R on the vehicle identific ationplate
(Y page 381)
R at the lower edgeofthe windshield
(Y page 382)
In addition tobeing stamped onthe vehicle
identific ationplate, thevehicle identific ation
number (VIN)isalso stamped ontothe vehicle
body. Itis located inthe lower partofthe
right- hand A-pillar. X
Open thefron tright -han ddoor.
X Open cover: inthe direc tionofthe arrow
and remo veit.
You willsee thevehic leident ification
numb er(VIN ). Engine
number :
Emission control inf orm ation plate,
inc luding thecertificat ion ofbot hfeder al
and Californ ianemiss ionsstandard s
; Engine numb er(stamped intothe
cr ank case)
= VIN (onthe lower edgeofthe windsh ield) Serv
iceprodu ctsand capa cities Imp
ortant safety notes
Ser viceproduc tsinc lude thefollowin g:
R fuels (e.g.gasolin e,diese l)
R addit ivesforexhaust gasaftert reat men t
(D EF )
R lubric ants(e. g.en gin eoil, trans mis sion oil)
R co olan t
R brak efluid
R wind shieldwashe rfluid
Vehic lecom pone ntsand theirrespe ctive
lubrican tsmust match.You should therefore
only useproduc tsthat have been tested and
approv edbyMerc edes- Benz.
In for mat ionontes ted and approv edproduc ts
can beobt ained ataMerc edes- BenzCent er
or on the Internet athtt p://
www.mbusa.com (USAonly). G
WARN
ING Comply
withallvalid regulations withrespect
to handling, storingand disposing ofservic e
fluids. Otherwise, youcould endanger
person sor the envir onmen t. 382
Service
products andcapa citiesTechnical data

Low
outsidetem peratur es DE
Ffreez esatate mper atureof
appro ximatel y12 ‡(–1 1†). The vehicle is
equipped withaDE Fp rehea tingsystem when
it lea ves thefactory. Winteroperationis
therefore alsogua ranteed attempera tures
Additive s !
Only useDEF inaccorda ncewith ISO
22241. Donot use additives withDEFand
do not dilute DEF with water. This may
destroy theBlue TEC exhau stgas
aftertrea tmentsystem.
Purity Assuri
ngthe puri tyof DEF isparticu larly
importa ntwith respe ctto avoi ding
malfu nctions inthe exhau stgas
aftertrea tmentsystem.
If DEF ispump edout ofthe DEF tank, e.g.
duri ngrepa irwork, itmust notbereturned to
the tank. Thepurityof the fluidcan nolonger
be gua ranteed.
! Impuri tiesinDEF (e.g. duetoother
service products,cleaning agents ordus t)
lea dto:
R increase demiss ionvalu es
R dama getothe catal yticconverter
R engine damage
R malfu nctions inthe Blue TEC exhau stgas
aftertrea tmentsystem Eng
ineoil
Ple ase bear thefollowing inmind The
engine oilsare matched tothe
performa nceofMercede s-Benzengines and
service intervals.You shou ldtherefore only
use engine oilsand oilfilters thatare
app roved forvehicl eswith maintenance
systems . For
alist ofapp roved engine oilsand oilfilters,
consult anauthorized Mercede s-BenzCenter
or go tothe Internet site
http://www.mbu sa.com(USAonly).
! Never useengine oiloran oilfilter ofa
speci ficatio nothe rthan isnecessary to
fulfill theprescribed serviceintervals. Do
not change theengine oiloroil filter in
order toachieve longerreplacement
intervals thanthose prescribed. Youcould
otherwise causeengine damage ordamage
to the exhaust gasaftertr eatment .
Follow theinstruct ionsinthe service
interval displayregarding theoilchange.
the exhaust gasaftertr eatment .
The table shows whichengine oilshave been
approved foryour vehicle. Model Engine
model MB
Approval
642 228
.51,
229 .31,
229 .51 276 229
.5 i
MB
approval isindicat edon the oil
con tainer s.
Addit ives !
This could damage theengin e.
Engine oilviscosity Viscosit
ydescribes theflow charact eristics
of afluid. Ifan engin eoil has ahigh viscos ity,
this means thatitis thic k;alow viscos ity
means thatitis thin .
Select anengin eoil with anSAE(viscosi ty)
class ification suitable forthe preva iling
outsi detempera tures.Thefollowi ngtable
show sthe correct SAEclass ification tobe
use d.The low-temperatu rechara cteristics of
engine oilscan deteri orate signifi cantly, e.g. 388
Servic
eproducts andcapaci tiesTechnical data

4MATIC
ML 350 4MATIC
ML3 50 BlueTEC
Otherwise,youmaydamagetheengineand
Donotuseanyadditivesintheengineoil.
below12 ‡ (–11 †).