2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class flat tire

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

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

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

You
should payspec ialattent ion toroad
con dition swhen temperat uresarearound
the free zingpoint .
Merc edes- Benzrecomm endsaminimum tire
tread depth of1
/ 6in
(4 mm) forallfour winter
tires (Ypage 352)tom aint ainnorm aldriv ing
ch arac teris tic sin wint er.Win tertir es can
reduc eth ebrak ingdist anceonsnow cove red
su rfa ces incomp arison tosumme rtires.
St oppin gdist ance,howeve r,is still
con siderably greaterthan when theroad is
not covered withiceorsno w.Take
appropr iatecare when driving.
! Avoid wheelspin .This can lead todamage
to the drive train. Temp
erature G
WARNING The
temperature gradeforthis tireis
established foratire that isproperly inflated
and notoverloaded. Excessive speed,
underinflation, orexcessive loading,either
separately orincombination, cancause
excessive heatbuild-upand possible tire
failure.
The temperature gradesareA(the high est),
B, and C.Theserep resent thetire's
res istanc eto the genera tiono fheat and its
ability todissipate heatwhen testedunder
con trolled conditions onaspecified indoor
laboratory testwheel. Sustain edhigh
temper aturecancause thematerial ofthe tire
to degenerat eand reduce tirelife, and
exc essive temper aturecanlead tosudden
tire failure. Thegrade Ccorresponds toalevel
of performanc ewhich allpassenger cartires
must meet under theFederal MotorVehicle
Safety Standard No.109. Grades Band A
represent higherlevelsofperformanc eon the
laboratory testwheel thantheminimum
required bylaw. Tire
labeling Tire
labeling overview
The following markings areonthe tire in
addition tothe tire name (sales designation)
and themanufacturer 'sname: :
Uniform tireQuality Grading Standard
(Y page 371)
; DOT, TireIdent ification Number
(Y page 370)
= Maximum tireload (Ypage 365)
? Maximum tirepressure (Ypage 356)
A Manufacturer
B Tire material (Ypage 371)
C Tire size designation, load-bearing
capacity andspeed rating(Ypage 368)
D Load index (Ypage 370)
E Tire name i
Tire
data isvehicle-specif icand may
deviate fromthedata inthe example. Tir
elabeling
367Wheels and tires Z

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