2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class inflation pressure

cannot
complete the attem ptedclimb, back it
dow ninr everse gear.
Do not drive along theside ofaslope. The
vehicle mightotherwiserollover. Ifin doing so
the vehicle beginstoshow aten dency toroll,
immediately steerintoaline ofgravity
(straight upordownhill).
Never letthe vehicle rollbackwards inidle.
You may losecontrol ofthe vehicle ifyou use
only theservic ebrake. Forinfor mation on
driving downhill, see"Drivin gdownhill". G
WARN
ING Vehicles
withairsuspension program:Please
be aware thatbyraising thevehicle level,the
cent erofgravity alsorises. Therefor e,alway s
ensure thatthevehicle levelisas low as
possible. Withhigher rideheight theESP®
may activat eearlier incert ainsituation s. G
WARN
ING Do
not reduce thetire inflation pressure
before driving through sand. However, ifyou
do so, remember tocorr ectthe tire inflation
pressure beforecontinuin gyour trip.Drivin g
with reduced tireinflation pressure increases
the risk oflosing control ofthe vehicle and
rolling over.
General notes Read
thissect ioncarefully beforedriving your
vehicle off-road. Practicebydriving overmore
gent leoff- road terrainfirst .
Familiarize yourselfwiththecharact eristics
of your vehicle andthegear shiftoperation
before driving through difficult terrain.
The following drivingsystems arespecially
adapted tooff- road driving:
R Off- road ABS(Ypage 61)
R AIRMA TICpackage (vehiclelevel)
(Y page 180)
R DS R(Downh illSpeed Regulation)
(Y page 208) Observe
thefollowing notes:
R Stop the vehicle beforestartingtodrive
along anoff- road route.
R For vehicles withAIRMA TICpackage:
select avehicle levelthatissuitable forthe
off- road terrain. Make surethere isalway s
sufficien tground clearanc eto preven t
damage tothe vehicle.
R Check thatitems ofluggage andloads are
stowed safelyandarewell secured
(Y page 288).
R Always keeptheengine runningand ingear
when driving onadownhill gradient.
Ac tivat eDS R(Ypage 208).
R Always keepthedoors, tailgate, windows
and sliding sunroof closedwhiledriving.
R Adapt yourspeed tothe terrain. The
rougher, steeperormore rutsonthe
terr ain, theslower yourspeed should be.
R Driv eslowly andatan even speed through
the water. Ensure thatabow wave doesnot
form asyou drive.
R Driv ewith extreme careonunkn ownoff-
road routes wherevisibility ispoor. For
safety reasons ,get out ofthe vehicle first
and survey theoff-road route.
R Look outforobstac lessuch asrock s,holes,
tree stumps andfurrows.
R Check thedepth ofwater before fording
rivers andstreams.
R When fording,do not stop anddonot
switc hoff the engin e.
R On sand, drivequickly tooverc omethe
rolling resistance. Otherwise, thevehicle
could digitself intothe sand.
R Do not jump withthevehicle asthis will
int errupt thevehicle's propulsion.
R Always keeptheengin erunn ingand ingear
when drivingon aslope.
R Do not shift theautomatic transmission to
tran smission positionN. Driving
tips
163Driving and parking Z

nece
ssary.F oreign objectscan disturb the
balance andcause vibrations.
Driving onsand G
WARNIN
G Do
not reduce thetire inflation pressure
before driving through sand.However, ifyou
do so, remember tocorrec tthe tire inflation
pressure beforecontinuing yourtrip.Drivin g
with reduced tireinflation pressure increases
the risk oflosing controlofthe vehicle and
rolling over.
Observe thefollowing ruleswhen driving on
sand:
R vehicles withtheAIRMATIC package:
select araised vehicle level.
R avoid highengine speeds.
R select ashift range appropriate tothe
terrain.
R drive quickly toovercom ethe rolling
resistance. Otherwise,thevehicle coulddig
itself intothesand.
R drive inthe track sof other vehicles if
possible. Makesurethattheruts arenot
too deep, thatthesand isfirm enough and
that your vehicle hassufficient ground
clearance.
Rut sand gravel roads Observe
thefollowing ruleswhen driving
along rutsinoff-r oad terrain oron roads with
loose gravel:
! Check thattheruts arenot too deep and
that your vehicle hassufficient clearance.
Otherwise, yourvehicle couldbedamaged
or bottom outand getstuck.
R for vehicles withAIRMATIC package:select
an increased vehiclelevel.
R avoid highengine speeds.
R select shiftrange 1. R
drive slowly .
R where rutsaretoo deep, drivewiththe
wheels ofone side onthe cent ergrassy
area, ifpossible.
Driving overobstacles !
Obstacles coulddamage thefloor ofthe
vehicle orcomponen tsof the chassis. Ask
passengers forguida ncewhen driving over
large obstacles. Thepassenger should
alwa yskeep asafe distance fromthe
vehicle whendoing soinorder toavoid
injury asaresult ofunexpect edvehicle
movement s.Aft erdriving off-road orover
obstacles, checkthevehicle forpossible
damage, especiallyto the underbody and
the componen tsof the chassis.
Observe thefollowing ruleswhen driving over
tree stumps, largestones andother
obstacles:
R raise thevehicle level.
R avoid highengine speeds.
R select shiftrange 1.
R drive veryslowly .
R drive straight overthecent erofobstacles. Driving
tips
165Driving and parking Z

Tire
s Pro
blem Po
ssible cause s/consequ encesand M So
luti ons h
USA
only:
The yellow tire pressu re
moni torwarnin glamp
(p res sure loss/
ma lfunctio n)islit.
Ca nad aonl y:
The yellow tire pressu re
moni torwarnin glamp
(p res sure loss) islit. G
Ris
kofacciden t The
tirepres sure monitorh as det ectedaloss ofpres sure inat
least oneof thetir es.
X Stop theveh icle without makingany sudde nstee ring orbra king
ma neu vers.Pa yatte ntiontothe traffic conditionsasyou doso.
X Observe theadditional displaymessages inthe multifunct ion
display .
X Check thetire pressure. Ifnecessary, correctthe tire pressure
(Y page 359).
X Ifnecessary, changeawheel (Ypage 374). h
USA
only:
The yellow tirepressure
monit orwarning lamp
(pressure loss/
malfunct ion)flashes for
60 seconds andthen
remains lit. The
tirepressure monitorisfaulty.
X Observe theadditional displaymessages inthe multifunct ion
display .
X Visit aquali fiedspecialist workshop. G
WARNIN
G Each
tire,including thespare (ifprovided), shouldbecheck edatleast every twoweeks when
cold andinflated tothe pressure recommen dedbythe vehicle manufacturer onthe Tire and
Loading Information placard onthe driver's doorB-pillar or,ifavailab le,the tire pressure label
on the inside ofthe fuel filler flap.Ifyour vehicle hastires ofad iffer entsize than thesize indic ated
on the Tire andLoadin gInf ormat ionplacard orthe tirepress urelabel, youshould determin ethe
proper tirepress ureforthosetires.
As anadded safetyfeat ure, your vehic lehas been equipped withatir epress uremon itoring
syst em(TPMS )that illuminat esalow tirepress uretelltalewhen oneormore ofyour tires are
sign ifican tlyunder inflated. Accor dingly, whenthelow tirepress uretellt aleilluminat es,you should
sto pand chec kyour tires assoon aspossible, andinflate themtothe proper pressure. Driving
on asignificant lyunderinflated tirecauses thetire tooverheat andcanlead totire failure.
Underinf lationalsoreduces fuelefficienc yand tiretread life,and may affect thevehicle's handling
and stopping ability.PleasenotethattheTPMS isnot asubstitute forproper tiremainten ance,
and itis the driver's responsibility tomaintain correcttire press ure,even ifunder inflation has
not reach edthe level totrigger illuminat ionofthe TPMS lowtirepress uretelltale.
USA only:
Your vehic lehas also been equipped withaTPMS malfun ction indic atortoindic atewhen the
syst emisnot operat ingproper ly.The TPMS malfun ction indic atoriscom bined withthelow tire
press uretellt ale. When thesyst emdete ctsa malfun ction, thetellt alewill flash forapprox imately
1m inuteand thenremain continuously illuminated. Thissequence willberepeated everytime 280
War
ning andindicator lampsin theinstr ument clusterOn-board computer and displays

i
Vehicles
equipped withMOExt endedtires
are not equi pped withaTIREFIT kitatthe
factory. Itis therefore recommended that
you addi tionally equipyou rvehicle witha
TIREF ITkit ifyou mount tiresthatdonot
feature run-flatpropert ies,e.g. winter tires.
A TIREF ITkit can beobtained froman
authoriz edMercedes- BenzCenter .
X Make surethathighway levelis
select ed25
(Y page 180).
X Stop the vehicle onsolid, non-slippery and
level ground, asfar away aspossible from
traff ic.
X Switc hon the hazard warning lamps.
X En gage theelectr icparkin gbrake manually
(Y page 156).
X Brin gthe fron twheels intothestraight-
ahead position.
X Move theDIRECT SELECT lever toP.
X Switch offthe engine.
X Vehicles withoutKEYLESS-GO: remove
the SmartK eyfrom theignition lock.
X Vehicles withKEYLESS-GO: openthe
driver's door.
The on-board electronic shave status 0,
which isthe same asthe SmartK eyhaving
been removed.
X Vehicles withKEYLESS-GO: removethe
Start /Stopbutton fromtheignition lock
(Y page 139).
X All occupants mustgetout ofthe vehicle.
Make surethatthey arenot endangered as
they doso.
X Make surethatnoone isnear thedanger
area while awheel isbeing changed.
Anyone whoisnot directly assisting inthe
wheel change should,forexample, stand
behind thebarrier.
X Get outofthe vehicle. Payattent ionto
traffic condition swhen doing so.
X Close thedriver's door.
X Unload heavyluggage. i
Only
operate thetire inflation compressor
using a12 Vsocket (Ypage 297), evenif
the ignition isturned off.
An emergency cut-offensures thattheon-
board electrical systemvoltage doesnot
drop toolow. Ifthe on-board electrical
system voltage istoo low, power tothe
socket sis automatically cutoff. This
ensures thatthere issufficient powerto
start theengine. TIREFIT
kit
Using theTIREFIT kit You
canusetheTIREFIT kittoseal small
punctures, particularly thoseinthe tire tread.
You canuseTIREFIT atoutside temperatures
down toÒ4 ‡(Ò20 †). G
WARNING TIREFIT
isalimited repairdevice. TIREFIT
cannot beused forcuts orpunctures larger
than approximately 0.16in(4 mm) andtire
damage causedbydriving withextrem elylow
tire inflation pressure, oron aflat tire, ora
damaged wheel.
Do not drive thevehicle undersuch
circumstan ces.
Contact thenearest authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center forassistance orcall Roadsi de
Assistanc e.
X Do not remove anyforeign objectswhich
have penetrated thetire, e.g.screws or
nails.
X Remove thetire seala ntbottle, the
accompanying "max.80km/h" stickerand
the tire inflation compressor fromthe
stowage wellunderneath thecargo
compartmen tfloor (Ypage 328).
25 Vehicles withtheAIRMATIC package. 330
Flat
tireBreakdown assistance

Do
not swit choff thetire inflation
com pressor during this ph ase.
X Allow thetire inflat ion compr essortorun
fo rf ive min utes. Thetireshould thenhave
att aine dapres sure ofat least 180k Pa
(1.8 bar/26 psi).
! Donot operate thetire inflation
compress orfor longer thaneight minutes
at atime without abreak. Itmay otherwise
overheat.
The tireinflation compress orcan be
operated againonceithas cooled down.
If apressure of180 kPa(1.8 bar/26 psi)has
been achieved afterfiveminutes, see
(Y page 332).
If apressure of180 kPa(1.8 bar/26 psi)has
not been achieved afterfiveminutes, see
(Y page 332).
Tire pressure ofat least 180kPa
(1.8 bar/26 psi)isnot reached If,
after fiveminutes, apressure of180 kPa
(1.8 bar/26 psi)hasnotbeen achieved:
X Switc hoff the tire inflation compress or.
X Unsc rewthefiller hose fromthevalve of
the faulty tire.
X Very slowly driveforwards orreverse
approximately 30ft(10 m).
X Pump upthe tire again. G
WARNIN
G If
after fiveminutes apressu reof180 kPa
(1.8 bar/26 psi)cannot beachie ved,thetire
is too badlydama gedtobe repa iredreliably
usi ng TIREFIT.
In this case TIREFIT cannotsealthetire
prope rly.
Do not drive anyfurther.
Contact thenearest authorized Mercede s-
Benz Center forassi stance orcall Roadsid e
Assistance. Tire
pressure of180 kPa(1.8 bar/
26 psi) isreache d X
Switch offthe tire infla tion compresso r.
X Unscrew thefiller hose fromthevalve of
the faultytire.
! After use,excess TIREFIT mayrunoutof
the filler hose. Thiscouldcaus estains.
Therefo re,placethe filler hose inthe plastic
bag whichcontained theTIREFIT kit.
X Stow thetire seal antbottle andthetire
infla tion compresso r.
X Pull away immediately . G
WARNING Do
not exceed avehicl espee dof 50 mph
(80 km/h). ATIREFIT repairisnot designed to
operate athigher speeds.
The sticker mustbeattached onthe
instrument clusterwhereitwill beeasil yseen
by the driver.
Vehicle handling characteristics ofaTIREFIT
repaired tiremay change. Adaptyourdriving
accordingly.
X Stop after driving forapproximately ten
minutes andcheck thetire pressure with
the tire inflation compressor. G
WARNING If
tire inflation pressure hasfallen below
130 kPa(1.3 bar/26 psi)donot cont inue to
drive thevehicle.
Park yourvehicle safelyawayfrom the
roadwa yand cont actthe nearest authorized
Mercedes-Benz CenterorRoad side
Assistance.
Have thedamaged tirereplaced.
X Correct thetire pressure ifit is at least
130 kPa(1.3 bar/20 psi)(fortherequired
value s,see theTire andLoading
Information placardonthe driver's side
B-pillar orthe tire pressure tableinside the
fuel filler flap). 332
Flat
tireBreakdown assistance

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