2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class run flat

X
Prepare thevehicle asdescribed
(Y page 329).
X Ifatrailer iscoupled tothe vehicle,
uncouple it.
X Remove thefollowing items(depending on
the vehicle's equipment) fromthestowage
well under thetrun kfloor:
R the emer gencyspare wheel26
R the lugwren ch
R the foldin gwheel chock
R the jack
R the ratchet wrench
R the alignm entbolt
X Sec ure thevehic leto prev entitfro mr olling
away .
Securing thevehicle toprevent itfrom
rolling away G
WARNIN
G Only
jackupthe vehicle onlevel ground oron
slight inclines/ declines. Thevehicle could
otherwise falloffthe jack andinjure youor
others.
If your vehicle isequipped withawheel chock,
it can befound inthe vehicle toolkit
(Y page 328).
The folding wheelchock isan additional
securing measure toprevent thevehicle from
rolling away,for example whenchanging a
wheel. X
Fold both plates upwards :.
X Fold outlower plate;.
X Guide thelugs onthe lower platefullyinto
the openings inbase plate =. Securing
thevehicle onlevel ground
X On level ground: placechock sor other
suitable itemsunder thefront andrear of
the wheel thatisdiagonally oppositethe
wheel youwish tochange. Securing
thevehicle onslight downhill gradients
X On downhill gradients: placechock sor
other suitable itemsinfront ofthe wheels
of the front andrear axle.
Raising thevehicle G
WARNIN
G When
jackingupthe vehicle, onlyusethejack
which hasbeen specifically approvedby
Mercedes-B enzforyour vehicle.
The jack isdesigned exclusively forjack ingup
the vehicle atthe jack ingpoints builtintoboth
26 Vehicles withanemergenc yspare wheel. 334
Flat
tireBreakdown assistance

system
whenthedefective wheelhasbeen
replaced withanew wheel.
Vehicles withtirepressure controlsystem:
all wheels mounted mustbeequip pedwith
function ingsensors. Thedefective wheel
should nolonger beinthe vehicle. MOExtended
tires(tires withrun-flat
propert ies)
MOExt ended tires(tires withrun-flat
properties) allowyou tocont inue driving your
vehicle evenifone ormore tiresareentirely
deflated.
MOExt ended tiresmayonlybeused in
conj unction withtheactivated tirepressure
loss warning systemorwith theactivated tire
pressure monitoring system.
The maximum permissible distancewhich
can bedriven inrun-flat modedepends onthe
load inthe vehicle. Youcandrive 50miles
(80 km) ifthe vehicle ispartiall yladen and
18 miles (30km) ifit is fully laden.
The maximum permissible distancewhich
can bedriven inrun-flat modeiscounted from
the moment thetire pressure losswarning
appea rsinthe multifunction display.
You must notexceed amaximum speedof
50 mph (80km/h). G
WARNING The
handling characteristics ofyour vehicle
deteriorate inrun-flat mode,forexample:
R when cornering
R when braking
R when accelerating rapidly
Adapt yourdriving styleaccordingly andavoid
sudden changes indirection andsudden
acceleration, aswell asdriving overobstacles
(i.e. curbs, potholes), anddriving off-road.
This isparticularly thecase when thevehicle
is heavily laden.
The maximum permissible distancethatcan
be driven inrun-flat modedepends toalarge
extent onthe loads placed onthe vehicle. It can
beshorter duetohigh speeds, aheavy
load, sudden changes indirection, theroad
surface condition, outsidetemperature, etc.,
or further ifyou drive carefully and
conservatively.
Do not cont inue todrive inrun-flat modeif:
R you hear banging noises.
R the vehicle startstoshake.
R you seesmoke andsmell rubber.
R ESP ®
is intervenin gconst antly.
R there aretears inthe sidewa llsofthe tire.
Aft erdriving inrun-flat mode,youmust have
the wheel( s)checked fordamage ata
qual ified speciali stworkshop whichhasthe
necessary specialistknowledge andtools to
carry outthework required. Thedefective tire
must bereplaced inevery case.
Mercedes-Benz recommendsthatyouusean
authorized Mercedes-Benz Centerforthis
purpose. Inparticular, workrelevant tosafety
or on safety-related systemsmustbecarried
out ataqual ified speciali stworkshop. i
When
replacing oneorall tires, make sure
that youonly usetires marked
MOExt ended andofthe specified sizefor
the vehicle. Bat
tery Importa
ntsafety notes
In order forthe battery toachieve the
maximum possibleservicelife,itmust always
be sufficiently charged.
! Have thebattery checked regularlyata
qual ified speciali stworkshop, suchasan
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Adhere tothe service intervals indicated in
the service booklet orask aqual ified
speciali stworkshop, suchasan authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Have thebattery chargechecked more
frequently ifyou usethevehicle mainlyfor 338
Bat
teryBreakdown assistance

X
Remo vetheto win geye require dfor fron tal
or rear couplin gfrom theveh icleto ol kit
(Y page 328).
The moun ting sfor therem ovabletowin geyes
are locate din thebump ers.They areatthe
front andatthe rear, under thecovers. i
Observe
theidentification labelson the
towing eyesandtheinformation panelson
using thetowing eyeswiththevehicle. The
towing eyesmust beinstalled inthe correct
positions. Installthe longer towing eyeat
the front ofthe vehicle andtheshorter
towing eyeatthe back. X
To open thecover atthe front: press
cover :inwards inthe direction ofthe
arrow atthe marking.
X To open thecover atthe rear: insert a
flat, blunt object intothecutout andlever
off cover ;from thebumper.
X Take cover :or; offthe opening.
X Screw thetowing eyeinclockwise tothe
stop andtighten it.
Removing thetowing eye X
Loosen thetowing eyeand unscrew it.
X Att ach cover :or; tothe bumper and
press untilitengages.
X Place thetowing eyeinthe vehicle toolkit. Towing
avehicle withboth axles on
th egrou nd
When havingyour vehicletowed, obser vethe
impor tantsafe tyno tes(Y page 343). G
WAR
NING The
power assistancefor thest eerin gand the
brak efor ce boos terdonot work when the
eng ineisnot running.You willthen nee d
muc hmor eeff ort tobrak eand steer the
veh icle.Adapt yourstyle ofdriving
accor dingly.
The automatic transmission automatic ally
shift sto position Pwhen youopen thedriver's
or fron t-passenger doororwhen youremov e
the Smart Keyfrom theignit ionlock .In order
to ensure thattheautomatic transmission
stays inposition Nwhen towing thevehicle,
you must observe thefollowing points:
X Make surethatthevehicle isstat ionary and
the Smart Keyinthe ignit ionlock isin
position 0.
X Turn theSmart Keytoposition 2in the
ignit ionlock .
On vehicles withKEYL ESS-GO, usethekey
inst ead ofthe Start/ Stop butto n
(Y page 139).
X Depres sand hold thebrake pedal.
X Shift theautomatic transmission to
position N.
X Release thebrake pedal.
X Release theelect ricparkin gbrake.
X Switc hon the hazard warning lamps
(Y page 111).
X Leave theSmart Keyinposition 2in the
ignit ionlock . i
When
towing withthehazard warning
lamps switchedon, use thecombin ation
switch asusual tosignal achang eof
direct ion.Inthis case, onlytheturn signals
for the desired directionflash. When the
combin ationswitch isreset ,the hazard
warning lampsstartflashing again. 344
Towing
andtow-st artingBreakdown assistance

(100
km)as they onlyreach theirfull
perfo rmanceafter thisdistan ce.
R Do not use tiresthat areexcessively worn
as the tire tract ion onwet road surfac es
decr eases significantlywhen thetread
depth isless than 1
/ 8 inc
h(3 mm).
R Replace thetiresafter sixyears atthe
latest ,regardles sof wear. Thisalso applies
to the spare wheel/em ergencyspare
wheel.
The servicelife oftire sdepends onthe
followin gfact orsamong stothe rthings:
R driving style
R tire pressure
R mileage MOExtended
tires(tires withrun-flat
proper ties)
MOExt ended tires(tires withrun-flat
properties) allowyoutocont inue driving your
vehicle evenifone ormore tiresareentirely
deflated.
MOExt ended tiresmaybeused onlyin
conj unction withtheactivated tirepressure
loss warning systemorthe activated tire
pressure monitorin gsystem andonly on
wheels specifically testedbyMercedes-Ben z.
You willfind notes ondriving with
MOExt ended tiresinthe "Breakdown
assistance" section(Ypage 338). Winter
operation Please
bearthefollow inginmind
At the onset ofwinter, haveyourvehicle
winterproofed ataqual ified specialist
workshop, e.g.atan authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center.
Observe thenotes inthe "Cha nging awheel"
section (Ypage 374). Driving
withsumm ertires
At temperatures below45‡(+7 †), the
elasticity ofsummer tiresandtherefore also
tract ionand braking capabilityare reduced
considerably —equip your vehicle with
M+S tires.Using summer tiresatvery cold
temper aturescouldcause tearstoform ,
ther eby damaging thetires perman ently.
Mercede s-Benz cann otaccept responsibility
for this type ofdamage. M+S
tires
At temper aturesbelow45‡(+7 †), use
winter tiresorall-season tires.Both types of
tire areidentified bythe M+S marking.
Only winter tiresbearing thei snowflake
symbol inaddition tothe M+S marking
provide thebest possible gripinwintry road
condit ions.Onlythese tireswillallow driving
safety systems suchasABS andESP®
to
funct ionoptimally inwinter, asthese tires
have been designed specifically fordriving on
snow.
Use M+S tiresofthe same make andtread on
all wheels tomaintain safehandling
charact eristics. G
WARNIN
G M+S
tireswithatread depth ofless than 1
/ 6
inch (4mm) must bereplaced. Theyareno
longer suitable forwinter operation.
Always observe themaximum permissible
speed specified forthe M+S tiresyouhave
mounted.
Once youhave mounted thewinter tires:
X Check thetire pressures (Ypage 357).
X Restart thetire pressure losswarning
system (Ypage 357). G
WARNIN
G If
you mount thespare wheel whendriving
with M+S tires, bearinmind thatdriving
stability willbeimpaired duetounstable 352
Winter
operationWheels and tires

corner
ingcharacte ristics caused bythe
di ffere nttire characte ristics. Adaptyour styl e
of dri ving acco rdingly .
Have thesparewhe elrep laced byanorma l
whe elwith an M+S tireatthe nearest
Merce des-Benz Center. Sno
wchai ns
For safety reasons, Merce des-Benz
recom mends thatyouonly usesnow chains
that have bee nspecially approved foryour
vehicle byMercede s-Benz ,or are ofa
corr espondin gstan dard ofquality.
! Vehicles withtheAdapt iveDampin g
Syst em(ADS):donot drive inAD SSPORT
mode ifsnow chains havebeen mount ed.
The vehicle mayother wisebedamaged.
! There isnot enough spaceforsnow
chains onsome wheel sizes.Observ ethe
infor mation under"Tiresandwheels" inthe
"Techn icalData"sect iontoavoid damage
to the vehicle orthe wheels.
R only usesnow chains whendrivingon roads
complet elycover edbysnow. Donot
exc eed themaximum permissible speedof
30 mph (50km/ h).Remove thesnow
chains assoon aspossible whenyouareno
longer drivingon snow- coveredroads.
R local regulation smay restrict theuse of
snow chains .Applicable regulation smust
be observed ifyou wish tomount snow
chains .
R snow chains mustnotbemount edon
emergen cyspare wheels.
If you intend tomount snowchains ,please
bear thefollowing pointsin mind:
R you may notattach snow chains toall
wheel-t irecombin ations;see the
infor mation under"Wheel andtire combin
ations"in the "Wheels andtires "
sect ion.
R mount snowchains onlyinpairs andonly
on the rear wheels. Observethe
manufacturer's installationinstructions.
! Ifsnow chains aremounted onthe front
wheels, thesnow chains couldgrind
against thebodyw orkorcomponen tsof the
chassis. Thiscould result indamage tothe
vehicle orthe tires.
! Vehicles withsteel wheels :if you wish
to mount snowchains onsteel wheels,
make surethatyouremove therespective
wheels' hubcaps first.Thehubcaps may
otherwise bedamaged. i
You
may wish todeactivate
ESP ®
(Y page 63)when pullingaway with
snow chains mounted. Thiswayyoucan
allow thewheels tospin inacont rolled
manner, achieving anincreased driving
force (cuttin gaction). Tire
pressur e Tire
pressur especific ations G
WARNING Follow
recommen dedtireinflation pressures.
Do not underinflate tires.Underinflated tires
wear excessively and/orunevenly, adversely
affect handling andfuel economy, andare
more likelytofail from being overheated.
Do not overinflate tires.Overinflated tirescan
adversely affecthandling andride comfort ,
wear unevenly, increasestopping distance,
and result insudden deflation (blowout)
because theyaremore likelytobecome
punctured ordamaged byroad debris,
potholes etc.
Do not overload thetires byexceeding the
specified loadlimit asindicated onthe Tire
and Loading Informationplacard onthe
driver's doorB-pillar. Overloading thetires
can overheat them,possibly causinga
blowou t.Overloading thetires canalso result Tire
pressure
353Wheels and tires
Z

Observe
therecommended tirepressures for
cold tires
R on the Tire andLoading Information placard
on the B-pillar onthe driver's side,
R in the tire pressure tableonthe inside of
the fuel filler flap,
R printed inyell ow onthe rim ofthe
emergency/collapsib lespare wheel
(depending onvehicle equipment). Underinflated
oroverinflated tires
Underinflated tires G
WARNING Follow
recommended tireinflation pressures.
Do not underinflate tires.Underinflated tires
wear excessively and/orunevenly, adversely
affect handling andfuel economy, andare
more likelytofail from being overheated.
Underinflated tirescan:
R wear excessively and/orunevenly
R adversely affectfueleconomy
R fail from being overheated
R adversely affecthandling
Overinflated tires G
WARNING Follow
recommended tireinflation pressures.
Do not overinflate tires.Overinflated tirescan
adversely affecthandling andride comfort ,
wear unevenly, increasestopping distance,
and result insudden deflation (blowout)
because theyaremore likelytobecome
punctured ordamaged byroad debris,
potholes etc.
Overinflated tirescan:
R adversely affecthandling
R wear excessively and/orunevenly
R be more likelytobecome damaged R
adversely affectridecomfort
R increase stopping distance
Maximum tirepressure G
WARNING Never
exceed themaximum tireinflation
pressure. Followrecommended tireinflation
pressures.
Do not underinflate tires.Underinflated tires
wear excessively and/orunevenly, adversely
affect handling andfuel economy, andare
more likelytofail from being overheated.
Do not overinflate tires.Overinflated tirescan
adversely affecthandling andride comfort ,
wear unevenly, increasestopping distance,
and result insudden deflation (blowout)
because theyaremore likelytobecome
punctured ordamaged byroad debris,
potholes etc. :
Maximum permittedtirepressure
(example) i
The
actual valuesfor tires arespecific to
each vehicle andmay deviate fromthe
value sin the illustration.
When adjusting thetire pressures always
observe therecommended tirepressure for
your vehicle (Ypage 353). 356
Tire
pressur eWheels and tires

Check
ingthetir epr essu res
Imp ortant safety notes G
WAR
NING Fol
low recomm ended tireinf lati onpres sures.
Do notunde rinflat etir es. Underi nflate dtir es
wear exces sively and /or unevenly,adve rsely
aff ect handlingand fuel economy, and are
mor elik ely tofail from bein gove rheated.
Do notoverinfla tetires. Overinfla tedtires can
adve rsely affect handlingand ride comfort,
wea runeve nly,incre asestop ping dista nce,
and resulti ns udden deflation (blowo ut)
bec ause they are mor elik ely tobec ome
pun ctured ordamag edbyroad debris,
pot hole set c.
Do noto verloa dthe tires byexceedi ngthe
specifi edloadlimi tasindicated onthe Tire
and Loading Information placardonthe
driver's doorB-pillar. Overloading thetires
can overheat them,possibly causinga
blowou t.Overloading thetires canalso result
in handling orsteering problems, orbrake
failu re.
Check thetire pressure atleast once amonth.
Only check andcorrect tirepressures when
the tires arecold (Ypage 353).
Checki ngtire pressures manually To
determine andsetthe correct tire
pressure, proceedasfollows:
X Remove thevalve capofthe tire that isto
be checked.
X Press thetire pressure gaugesecurely onto
the valve.
X Read thetire pressure andcompare itwith
the recommended valueonthe Tire and
Loading Information placardonthe
B-pillar onthe driver's sideofyour vehicle.
X Ifnecessary, increasethetire pressure to
the recommended value(Ypage 353).
X Ifthe tire pressure istoo high, release air
by pressing downthemetal pininthe valve
using thetipofapen, forexample. Then check
thetire pressure againusing thetire
pressure gauge.
X Screw thevalve caponto thevalve.
X Repea tthese steps forthe other tires. Tire
pressur eloss warning system
(Canada only)
Import antsafety notes While
thevehicle isin motion, thetire
pressure losswarning systemmonitors the
set tire pressure usingtherotational speedof
the wheels. Thisenables thesystem todetect
significant pressurelossinatire. Ifthe speed
of rotation ofawheel changes asaresult of
a loss ofpressure, acorresponding warning
message willappea rint he multifunction
displa y. G
WARNING If
the Check Tire Pressure Soon message
appears inthe multifunction display,one or
more tiresaresignificantly underinflated.
Stop thevehicle assoon aspossible and
inflate thetires tothe pressure specified on
the vehicle's TireandLoading Information
placard or(where available)inthe tire
pressure table.
Driving onasignificantly underinflated tire
causes thetire tooverheat andcanlead to
tire failure. Underinflation alsoreduces fuel
efficiency andtiretread life,and may affect
the vehicle's handlingandstopping ability.
Check alltires when cold,including thespare
tire, atleast once amont h.The tires should
be inflated tothe recommen dedpressure.
This information canbefound:
R on the Tire andLoading Informationplacard
on the B-pillar onthe driver's side
or
R in the table forthe tire pressure onthe
inside ofthe fuel filler flap Tire
pressure
357Wheels and tires Z

G
WARNING The
tirepressu reloss warni ngsystem does
not provid eawar ning forwrongl ysele cted tire
infla tion pressu res.Alwa ysadju sttire
infla tion pressu reaccordi ngtothe Tire and
Load ingInformation placard onthe drive r's
door B-pillaror on the tire infla tion pressu re
lab elloca tedonthe insid eof the fuel filler flap .
The tirepressu reloss warni ngsystem does
not repl ace regu larchecks ofthe tire infla tion
pressu ressince agrad ualpressu reloss in
more thanonetirecannot bedetected bythe
tire pressu reloss warning system.
The tirepressu reloss warni ngsystem isnot
abl eto issu eawar ning duetoasud den
drama ticloss oftire infla tion pressu re(e.g.
tire blow outcaus edbyaforeig nobjec t).In
this case bring thevehicle toahalt bycarefully
applying thebrakes andavoiding abrupt
steer ingmaneuver s.
The func tionofthe tire pressure losswarning
system islimited ordelayed if:
R snow chains aremount edtoyour vehicle's
tires.
R road condition sare wintr y.
R you aredriving onsand orgravel.
R you adopt avery sport ydriving style
(corn ering athigh speeds ordriving with
high rates ofaccelerat ion).
R you aretowing avery heavy orlarge trailer.
R you aredriving withaheavy load(inthe
vehicle oron the roof).
Resta rting the tirepr essure loss
warning system Restart
thetire pressure losswarning system
if you have:
R chang edthe tire pressure
R chang edthe wheels ortires
R mount newwheels ortires
X Befor erest artin g,con sult theTire and
Loading Informat ionplacard onthe
B- pillar onthe driver's sideorthe tire pressure
tableonthe inside ofthe fuel filler
flap toensure thetire pressure inall four
tires isset corr ectlyfor the curren t
operatin gcon dition s.
X Observe thenotesinthe sect ionontire
pressures (Ypage 353). G
WARN
ING The
tirepressure losswarning systemcan
only givereliable warning sif you have setthe
corr ecttire pressure.
If an incor recttirepressure isset, these
incor rectvalues willbemonit ored.
At ire with insufficientpress ureresult sin
vehic leinst ability whendriving,thus
inc reasin gthe risk ofan acc ident .
X Make surethattheSmartKey isin
posit ion2(Y page 139)int he ignition lock.
X Press the= or; button toselect the Serv. menu.
X Press the9 or: button toselect Tire
Pressure .
X Press thea button.
The Run
Flat Indicator Active Press
'OK'toRestart message
appea rsinthe multifunction display.
If you wish toconfirm therestar t:
X Press thea button.
The Tire
Pressure NowOK? message
appea rsinthe multifunction display.
X Press 9or: toselect Yes .
X Press thea button.
The Run
Flat Indicator Restarted message
appearsinthe multifunction
displa y.
Aft erateach-in period,thetire pressure
loss warning systemwillmonitor theset
tire pressures ofall four tires. 358
Tire
pressureWheels and tires