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
If
you wish tocancel theres tart:
X Pre ssthe% button.
or
X Ifth e Tir
ePre ssureNow OK? mes
sage
appear s,pre ss9 or: tosele ct Can
cel .
X Pre ssthea button.
The tirepre ssur evalues store dat thelast
res tartw illcon tinue tobe mon itored. Tir
epr essur emonit or
Imp ortant safety notes If
atir epress uremon itorsyst emisinst alled,
the vehic le'swheels havesensors that
mon itorthetirepress uresinall four tires. The
tir epress uremon itorwarns youifthe
press uredrops inone ormor eof the tires. The
tir epress uremon itoronly functionsif the
cor rectwheel electronic sunits areinstalled
on allwheels.
The tirepressure monitorhasayell ow
warning lampinthe instrumen tcluster for
indicating pressureloss/malfunction s(USA)
or pressure loss(Canada ).Whether the
warning lampflashes orlights upindicates
whether atire pressure istoo low orthe tire
pressure monitorin gsystem is
malfunctionin g:
R ifthe warning lampislit cont inuously ,the
tire pressure onone ormore tiresis
significantly toolow. Thetirepressure
monitor isnot malfunctionin g.
R USA only: ifthe warning lampflashes for
60 seconds andthen remains litconst antly,
the tire pressure monitorismalfunctionin g. G
WARNING Each
tire,including thespare (ifprovided),
should becheck edatleast once amont h
when coldandinflated tothe pressure
recommen dedbythe vehicle manufacturer
on the Tire andLoading Informationplacard
on the driver's doorB-pillar orthe tire
pressure labelonthe inside ofthe fuel filler flap.
Ifyour vehicle hastires ofadifferent size
than thesize indicated onthe Tire andLoading
Inform ationplacard orthe tire pressure label,
you should determine theproper tirepressure
for those tires.
As anadded safetyfeature, yourvehicle has
been equipp edwith atire pressure monitorin g
system (TPMS)thatilluminates alow tire
pressure telltalewhenoneormore ofyour
tires aresignificantly underinflated.
Acc ordingly, whenthelow tirepressure
telltale illuminates, youshould stopandcheck
your tires assoon aspossible, andinflate
them tothe proper pressure. Drivingona
significantly underinflated tirecauses thetire
to overheat andcanlead totire failure.
Underinflation alsoreduces fuelefficiency
and tiretread life,and may affect thevehicle's
handling andstopping ability.
Please notethattheTPMS isnot asubstitute
for proper tiremaintenanc e,and itis the
driver's responsibility tomaintain correcttire
pressure, evenifunderinflation hasnot
reached thelevel totrigger illumination ofthe
TPMS lowtirepressure telltale.
USA only:
Your vehicle hasalso been equipp edwith a
TPMS malfunction indicatortoindicate when
the system isnot operating properly.The
TPMS malfunction indicatoriscombined with
the low tirepressure telltale.Whenthe
system detects amalfunction, thetelltale will
flash forapproximately oneminute andthen
remain continuously illuminated. This
sequence willberepeated everytimethe
vehicle isstarted aslong asthe malfunction
exists.
When themalfunction indicatorisillu minated,
the system maynotbeable todetect orsignal
low tirepressure asintended. TPMS
malfunctions mayoccur foravariety of
reasons, including theinstallation of
incompatible replacementoralternate tires
or wheels onthe vehicle thatprevent the
TPMS fromfunctioning properly. Always
check theTPMS malfunction telltaleafter Tire
pressure
359Wheels and tires
Z
repla
cingoneormore tiresorwhee lson you r
vehicl eto ensure thattherepla cement or
alterna tetires andwhee lsall ow the TPMS to
continue tofunction properly. i
USA
only:
If the tire pressu remonitor is
malfu nctioning, itmay take more than
10 minutes forthe tire pressu rewarni ng
lamp toinform youofthe malfu nction by
flas hing for60seconds andthen remai ning
lit.
When themalfu nction hasbeen rectified ,
the tire pressu rewarni nglamp goesout
after drivingfor afew minutes.
Information ontire pressu resisdisp layed in
the multi function display.After afew minutes
of drivi ng,the current tirepress ureofeach
tire isshow nint he multifunction display. i
The
tirepressure valuesindicated bythe
on-board computer maydiffer fromthose
measured atagas station withapressure
gauge. Thetirepressures shownbythe on-
board computer refertothose measured at
sea level. Athigh altitudes, thetire pressure
values indicated byapressure gaugeare
higher thanthose shown bythe on-board
computer. Inthis case, donot reduce the
tire pressures. i
The
operation ofthe tire pressure monitor
can beaffected byinterfer encefromradio
transmit tingequipment (e.g.radio
headphones, two-wayradios)thatmay be
being operated inor near thevehicle. i
USA
only:
This device complies withPart15ofthe
FCC Rules. Operation issubject tothe
following twocondition s:
1. This device maynotcause interfer ence,
and
2. this device mustaccept anyinterfer ence
received, includinginterferencethatmay
cause undesired operation. Any
unauthorized modificationtothis
device couldvoidtheuser’s authority to
operate theequipment. i
Canada
only:
This device complies withRSS-2 10of
Industry Canada.Operation issubjec tto
the followi ng two cond itions :
1. Thisde vice ma ynot causeinte rferenc e,
and
2. thi sde vice mu stacc eptany inte rference
rece ived,incl uding inte rference thatm ay
caus eunde sired oper ationofthe device.
Any unauthorized modificationtothis
device couldvoidtheuser’s authority to
operate theequipment.
Checking tirepressur eelec tronically X
Make surethattheSmartK eyisin position
2 (Y page 139)inthe ignition lock.
X Press the= or; button onthe
steering wheeltoselect the Serv. menu.
X Press the9 or: button toselect Tire
Pressure .
X Press thea button.
The current tirepressure foreach wheel will
be displa yedinthe multifunction display.
If the vehicle hasbeen parked forlonger than
20 minutes, the Tire
pressure willbe displayed
afterdriving afew minutes message
appearsinthe displa y.
Aft erateach-in period,thetire pressure
monitor automatically recognizesnew wheels
or new sensors. Ifac lear allocat ionofthe tire
press urevalues tothe indiv idual wheels isnot
possible ,the Tire
Pressure Monitor Acti
ve mess
ageisshown instead ofthe tire
press uredisplay. Thetirepress uresare
already beingmonitored. i
If
aspare wheel/ emergencyspare wheel
is moun ted,thesyst emmay continue to
show thetirepress ureofthe wheel thathas
been removedforafew minutes .If this
occ urs, notethat thevalue displayed for
the posit ionwhere thespare tireis 360
Tir
epr essur eWheels and tires
mounted
isnot thesame asthe spare
whee l/emerg encyspare wheel'scurrent
tire pressu re.
Tire pressure monitorwarning
message s If
the tire pressu remonitor detectsa
signifi cantpressu reloss onone ormore tires,
a warni ngmessa geisshow nint he
multifunction display.Aw arning tone also
soun dsand thetir epres sure warninglamp
light sup intheins trumen tcluster .
Eac htir ethat isaffec tedbyasign ificant loss
of press ureishighligh tedwith acolor .
If the Corr
ect Tire Pressure mess
age
appears inthe mult ifunc tiondisplay:
X Check thetirepress ureonallfour wheels
and correctit ifnec essary. i
If
the wheel positionsonthe vehic leare
int erc hang ed,the tirepress uresmaybe
displayed forthe wron gposit ionsfora
shor ttime. Thisisrec tified afterafew
min utes ofdrivin g,and thetirepress ures
are displayed forthe correctpositions.
Restar tingthetire pressur emonitor G
WARNIN
G It
is the driver's responsibility toset the tire
pressure tothe recommen dedcold tire
pressure. Underinflatedtiresaffect theability
to steer orbrake thevehicle. Youmight lose
cont rolover thevehicle.
When yourestart thetire pressure monitor,
all existin gwarning messages aredeleted and
the warning lampsgoout. Themonit oruses
the current lyset tire pressures asthe
referen cevalues formonit oring. Inmost
cases, thetire pressure monitoringsystem
recogn izesthenew referen cevalues
automatically. However,
youcan also define referen ce
values manually asdescribed here:
X Set thetire pressure (Ypage 353)tothe
value recomm endedforthe correspon ding
driving situation onthe Tire andLoading
Infor mation placard onthe driver's side
B-pillar.
Additional tirepressure valuesfordriving
at high speeds orwith heavy loadscanbe
found inthe tire pressure tableonthe
inside ofthe fuel filler flap.
X Make surethatthetire pressure iscorrec t
on allfour wheels.
X Make surethattheSmart Keyisin position
2 in the ignition lock.
X Press the= or; button onthe
steerin gwheel toselect the Serv. menu.
X Press the9 or: button toselect Tire
Pressure .
X Press thea button .
The multifunct iondisplay showsthe
current tirepressure ofthe individual tires
or the Tire
pressure willbe displayed
afterdriving afew minutes message.
X Press the: button .
The Use
Current Pressures asNew Reference
Values message
appearsin
the multifunct iondisplay .
If you wish toconfirm theresta rt:
X Press thea button .
The Tire
Press. Monitor Restarted message
appearsinthe multifunct ion
display .
Aft erdriving forafew minutes, thesystem
check swhether thecurrent tirepressures
are within thespecified range.Thenew tire
pressures arethen accepted asreferen ce
values andmonit ored.
If you wish tocancel theresta rt:
X Press the% button .
The tirepressure valuesstored atthe last
restart willcont inue tobe monit ored. Tir
epr essure
361Wheels and tires Z
Tire
size des ignati on,load -bea ring
cap acit yand speed ratin g :
Tire width
; Nom inalaspec tratio in%
= Tire code
? Rim diame ter
A Load bearingindex
B Spe edrating i
Tire
datais veh icle-spec ificand may
devi atefrom thedat ain theex ample .
Gener al:depen dingon theman ufacturer's
st and ards ,th esiz eimpr inted inthetir ewall
may notco ntain any letters or may contain
on elet tert hat precedes thesize description.
If there isno letter preceding thesize
description (asshown above): theseare
passenger vehicletiresaccording to
European manufacturing standards.
If "P" precedes thesize description: theseare
passenger vehicletiresaccording toU.S.
manufacturing standards.
If "LT" precedes thesize description: these
are light truck tiresaccording toU.S.
manufacturing standards.
If "T" precedes thesize description: theseare
compact emergency sparewheels athigh tire
pressure, tobe used onlytemporarily inan
emergency.
Tire width: tirewidth :shows thenominal
tire width inmillimeters.
Nominal aspectratio: aspect ratio;isthe
size ratio between thetire height andthetire
width andisshown inpercent .The aspect ratio
iscalculated bydividing thetire width by
the tire height.
Tire code: tirecode =specifies thetire type.
"R" represents radialtires."D"represents
diagonal tires,"B"represents diagonalradial
tires.
Optionally, tireswithamaximum speedof
over 149mph(240 km/h)mayhave "ZR"in
the size description dependingonthe
manufacturer (e.g.245/ 40ZR18).
Rim diamet er:rim diameter ?isthe
diameter ofthe bead seat,notthediameter
of the rim flange. Therimdiameter is
specified ininches (in).
Load bearing index:loadbearing indexA
is anumerical codewhich specifies the
maximum load-bearing capacityofatire. G
WARNING The
tireload rating mustalwaysbe atleast
half ofthe GAWR ofyour vehicle. Otherwise,
sudden tirefailure maybethe result which
could cause anaccident and/orserious injury
to you orothers.
Always replace rimsandtires withrims and
tires having thesame specifications
(designation, manufacturer andtype) as
shown onthe original part. G
WARNING 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
in handling orsteering problems, orbrake
failure.
Example:
The load bearing index91isequiva lenttoa
maximum loadof1356 lbs(615 kg)that the
tire can carry. Forfurther information onthe
maximum tireload inkilograms andpounds,
see (Ypage 365). 368
Tire
labeli ngWheels and tires
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