2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class rims

Check
listbefor edr iving off-road X
Engine oillevel: check theen gin eoil and
add oilifne ces sary.
When drivingonsteep grad ients,th eoil
leve lmust besuff iciently high toensure a
co rrect oilsupply inthev ehicle.
X DEF tank (BlueTEC vehicles): checkthe
fluid level and,ifnec essary, refilltothe
maximum (13l)(Y page 152).
X Wheel-changing toolkit:chec kthat the
jack isworkin gand make sureyouhave the
lug wrenc h,arobust towcable andafolding
spade inthe vehicle.
X Wheels andtires: chec kthe tire tread
depth andtirepressure.
X Check fordamage andremove anyforeign
objec ts,e.g. small stones,from the
wheels/tir es.
X Replace anymissing valvecaps.
X Replace dentedordamaged wheels.
X Rims: dentedorbent rimscanresult ina
loss oftire pressure anddamage thetire
bead. Therefor e,chec kyour rims before
driving off-road andreplace themas
required.
! Ifthe engine oilwarning lamplights up
while thevehicle isin motion ,stop the
vehicle inasafe place assoon aspossible.
Check theengine oillevel. Theengine oil
warning lampwarning mustnotbeignored.
Continuing thejourney whilethesymbol is
display edcould leadtoengine damage.
Checklist afterdriving off-road G
WARNIN
G If
you notic esudden significant vibrationsor
unusual handling performanc eor ifyou
suspect thatdamage hasoccurred tothe
vehicle, youshould activate thehazard
warning lamps,gentlyreduce speedand
carefully headforanarea thatislocated ata
safe distance fromtheroad.
Check thetires andtheunderside ofthe
vehicle fordamage. Ifthe vehicle seems unsafe,
havethevehicle towedawaytothe
nearest Mercedes-B enzCenter ortire dealer
to be repaired.
! Ifyou detect damage tothe vehicle after
driving off-road, havethevehicle checked
immediately ataquali fiedspecialist
workshop.
Drivin gover rough terrain placesgreater
demands onyour vehicle thandriving on
normal roads.Afterdriving off-road, check
the vehicle. Thisallows youtodetect damage
promptly andreduce therisk ofan accident
to yourself andother roadusers.
X Deact ivateDSR(Ypage 208).
X Vehicles withtheAIRMATIC package:
lower thevehicle toaride height suitable
for the road condit ions,e.g.tothe
highway /high-speed level.
X Clean theheadlamps andrear lights and
check fordamage.
X Clean thefront andrear license plates.
X Clean thewheels/tires withawater jetand
remove anyforeign objects.
X Clean thewheels, wheelarches andthe
vehicle underside withawater jet;check
for any foreign objectsand damage.
X Check whether twigsorother partsof
plants havebecome trapped. These
increase therisk offire and candamage
fuel pipes, brakehoses orthe rubber
bellows ofthe axle jointsand propeller
shafts.
X Aft erthe trip, examine withoutfailthe
entire undercarriage, wheels,tires,brakes,
bodywork structure,steerin g,chassis and
exhaust systemfordamage.
X Aft erdriving forexten dedperiods across
sand, mud,gravel, waterorinsimilarly dirty
condit ions,havethebrake discs, wheels,
brake pads/linings andaxle jointscheck ed
and cleaned.
X Ifyou detect strongvibrations afteroff-road
travel, checkforforeign objectsin the
wheels anddrive trainandremove themif 164
Driving
tipsDriving and parking

Trans
portingthe vehic le
The towingeyes ortra iler tow hitch can be
us ed topullthe vehicleonto atra iler or
tra nsp orte rif yo uwi sh totra nsp ortit.
X Tu rn the Sma rtKeyto positio n2 in the
ig niti onlock.
X Shi ftthe automa tictransmi ssion to
po sitio nN.
As soon asthe vehic leisloade d:
X Pre vent thevehiclefro mr olling awayby
apply ingthe electric parking brake.
X Shift theautomatic transmission to
position P.
X Turn theSmart Keytoposition 0in the
ignition lockandremove theSmart Key
from theignition lock.
X Secure thevehicle.
! Only lashthevehicle downbythe wheels
or wheel rims,notbyparts ofthe vehicle
such asaxle orsteerin gcompon ents.
Otherwise, thevehicle couldbedamaged. Notes
for4MATIC vehicles
! Vehicles with4MATIC mustnotbetowed
with either thefront orthe rear axle raised,
as doing sowill damage thetrans mission.
If the vehicle hastrans mission damage or
damage tothe front orrear axle, have it
trans ported onatrans porter ortrailer.
In the event ofdam agetothe electrical
system
If the battery isdefectiv e,the automatic
trans mission willbelocked inposition P.To
shift theautomatic transmission toposition
N, you must provide powertothe vehicle's
electric alsystem inthe same wayaswhen
jump-st arting(Ypage 341).
Have thevehicle transported onatrans porter
or trailer. Recovering
avehicle that ha sbecome
stu ck
! Pull away smoothly, slowly, andina
st raigh tline when pulling outavehic lethat
has beco mestuck .Ex cess ivetract ive
power coulddamage thevehic les.
If the drive wheels havebecomestuck in
loose ormuddy ground,pull thevehic leout
with extreme caution,particularly ifit is
laden.
Neve rattemp ttorecover astuck vehicle with
a trailer attached.
Pull outthevehicle backwards, ifpossible
using thetrack sit made whenitbecame
stuck . Tow-star
ting(emergency starting)
! Vehicles withautomatic transmission
must notbestart edbytow-st arting. This
could otherwise damagethetrans mission. Fuses
Import
antsafety notes G
WARNIN
G Only
usefuses thathave been approved for
Mercedes-B enzvehicles andthat have the
correc tfuse rating forthe systems
conc erned. Donot attempt torepair orbridge
faulty fuses. Usingfusesthathave notbeen
approved orattempt ingtorepair orbridge
faulty fusescould cause thefuse tobe
overloaded andresult inaf ire. Have thecause
tr aced andrectified ataqualified specialist
work shop.
The fuses inyour vehic leserv eto clos edown
faulty circuits. Ifaf use blows ,all the
co mpo nentson thecir cuit andtheir fun ction s
st op oper ating.
Blo wn fuse smust berep lace dwithfuses of
the same rating, which youcan recogn izeby Fuses
345Breakdown assistance Z

Useful
information
i This
Operat or'sManual describesall
models andallstan dard andoption al
equipment ofyour vehicle available atthe
time ofpublication ofthe Operat or's
Manual. Country-specificdiffer encesare
possible. Pleasenotethat your vehicle may
not beequipped withallfeature s
descr ibed. Thisalso applies tosafet y-
related systemsand func tions. i
Please
readtheinfor mation onqualified
specialist workshops(Ypage 25). Impor
tant safet ynotes Consult
anauthoriz edMerc edes-B enzCent er
if you require information onapproved and
recom mende dtires andwheels forsummer
and winteroperation .Advice onpurchasin g
and carin gfor tires isalso available there. G
WARN
ING Replace
rimsortires withthesame
designat ion,manufac turerandtype asshown
on the original part.Forfurther infor mation
con tact anauthoriz edMerced es-BenzCente r.
If inco rrectlysized rimsandtires are
mount ed,the wheel brakes orsuspension
compon entscan bedamaged. Also,the
operatin gclearanc eof the wheels andthe
tires maynolonger becorr ect. G
WARN
ING Worn
,old tires cancause acciden ts.Ifthe tire
tread isworn tominimum treaddepth, orif
the tires have sustaine ddamage, replace
them .
When replacin grims, onlyusegenuine
Mercede s-Benz wheel boltsspecified forthe
partic ularrimtype. Failure todo socan result
in the bolts loosenin gand possibly an
acciden t.
Retreaded tiresarenot testedor
recom mended byMercede s-Benz ,sinc e
previous damagecannotalways be recog
nized on retr eads. Theoperatin gsafety
of the vehicle cannotbe assured whensuch
tires areused. G
WARN
ING If
you feel asudden significantvibration or
ride disturban ce,oryou suspect thatpossible
damage toyour vehicle hasoccurred, you
should turnonthe hazard warning flashers,
carefully slowdown, anddrive withcaution to
an area which isasafe distan cefrom theroad.
Inspe ctthe tires andthevehicle underbody
for possible damage. Ifthe vehicle appears
unsafe, havethevehicle towedtothe nearest
authoriz edMercede s-Benz Cente ror tire
dealer forrepairs. G
WARN
ING Do
not drive withaflat tire. Aflat tire affect s
the ability tosteer orbrake thevehicle. You
might losecontrolof the vehicle. Continued
drivin gwith aflat tire ordrivin gat high speed
with aflat tire willcause excessive heatbuild-
up and possibly afire. i
Furt
herinfor mation aboutTiresand
wheels canbeobtained fromany
authoriz edMercede s-Benz Cente r. Oper
ation Not
eson driving
R Ifthe vehicle isheavily laden,checkthe tire
pressures andcorrect themifnecessary.
R When parking yourvehicle, makesurethat
the tires donot getdeformed bythe curb
or other obstacles. Ifit is necessary todrive
over curbs, speedhumps orsimilar
elevations, trytodo soslowly andatan
obtuse angle.Otherwise, thetires,
particularly thesidewa lls,can get
damaged. 350
Operat
ionWheels and tires

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

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

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