The mountings for the removable towing eyes
are located in the bumpers. They are at the
front and at the rear under the covers.
X Remove the towing eye from the vehicle
tool kit (Y page 345).
X Pull cover :out of the bumper in the
direction of the arrow by inserting your fin-
gers into the recess.
X Press the mark on cover ;inwards in the
direction of the arrow.
X Remove cover ;from the opening.
X Screw the towing eye in clockwise to the
stop and tighten it.
Removing the towing eye X
Loosen the towing eye and unscrew it.
X Position cover :on top of the bumper and
press it in at the bottom until it engages.
X Attach cover ;to the bumper and press
until it engages.
X Place the towing eye in the vehicle tool kit. Towing the vehicle with the rear axle
raised
! The ignition must be switched off if you
are towing the vehicle with the rear axle
raised. Intervention by ESP ®
could other-
wise damage the brake system.
Only possible on vehicles without
4MATIC.
X Switch on the hazard warning lamps
(Y page 126).
X Turn the key in the ignition lock to position
0 and remove the key from the ignition
lock.
X When leaving the vehicle, take the key or
the KEYLESS-GO key with you.
When towing your vehicle with the rear axle
raised, it is important that you observe the
safety instructions (Y page 357). Towing the vehicle with both axles on
the ground
It is important that you observe the safety
instructions when towing away your vehicle
(Y page 357).
The automatic transmission automatically
shifts to position Pwhen you open the driver's
or front-passenger door or when you remove the key from the ignition lock. In order to
ensure that the automatic transmission stays
in position Nwhen towing the vehicle, you
must observe the following points:
X Make sure that the vehicle is stationary and
that the key is in position 0in the ignition
lock.
X Turn the key to position 2in the ignition
lock.
On vehicles with KEYLESS-GO, use the key instead of the Start/Stop button
(Y page 159).
X Depress and hold the brake pedal.
X Shift the automatic transmission to posi-
tion N.
X Release the brake pedal.
X Release the parking brake.
X Switch on the hazard warning lamps
(Y page 126).
X Leave the key in position 2in the ignition
lock.
i When towing with the hazard warning
lamps switched on, use the combination
switch as usual to signal a change of direc- tion. In this case, only the turn signals for
the desired direction flash. When you reset
the combination switch, the hazard warn-
ing lamps start flashing again. Transporting the vehicle
! You may only secure the vehicle by the
wheels, not by parts of the vehicle such as
axle or steering components. Otherwise,
the vehicle could be damaged. Towing and tow-starting
359Breakdown assistance Z
Interchanging the front and rear wheels of
differing dimensions can render the general
operating permit invalid.
Observe the instructions and safety notes in
the "Fitting a wheel" section (Y page 374).
The wear patterns on the front and rear tyres differ depending on the operating conditions.Interchange the wheels before a clear wear
pattern has formed on the tyres. Front tyres
typically wear more on the shoulders and the
rear tyres in the centre.
On vehicles that have the same size front and rear wheels, you can interchange the wheels
every 5,000 to 10,000 km depending on the
degree of tyre wear. Ensure that the direction
of rotation is maintained.
Clean the contact surfaces of the wheel and
the brake disc thoroughly every time a wheel
is interchanged. Check the tyre pressure and, if necessary, restart the tyre pressure loss
warning system or the tyre pressure monitor. Direction of rotation
Tyres with a specified direction of rotation
have additional benefits, e.g. if there is a risk of aquaplaning. You will only gain these ben-
efits if the correct direction of rotation is
observed.
An arrow on the sidewall of the tyre indicates
its correct direction of rotation. Storing wheels
Store wheels that are not being used in a cool,
dry and preferably dark place. Protect the
tyres against oil, grease, petrol and diesel. Cleaning the wheels
G
WARNING
The water jet of circular-jet nozzles (dirt grind- ers) can cause damage not visible from the
outside to tyres or chassis components. Com- ponents damaged in this way can unexpect-
edly fail. There is a risk of an accident.
Do not use high-pressure cleaners with circu- lar-jet nozzles to clean the vehicle. Have dam-aged tyres or chassis components replaced
immediately. Fitting a wheel
Preparing the vehicle X
Stop the vehicle on solid, non-slippery and
level ground.
X Apply the parking brake.
X Move the front wheels to the straight-
ahead position.
X Shift the transmission to position P.
X Vehicles with AIRMATIC: make sure that
"normal" vehicle level is selected
(Y page 202).
X Switch off the engine.
X Vehicles without KEYLESS-GO: remove
the key from the ignition lock.
X Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO: open the
driver's door.
The on-board electronics now have status
0. This is the same as the key having been
removed.
X Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO: remove the
Start/Stop button from the ignition lock
(Y page 159).
X If included in the vehicle equipment,
remove the tyre-change tool kit from the
vehicle (Y page 345).
X Secure the vehicle to prevent it from rolling
away.
i Apart from some country-specific var-
iants, vehicles are not equipped with tyre-
changing tools. Some tools for changing a
wheel are specific to the vehicle. For more information on which tools are required to
perform a wheel change on your vehicle,
consult a qualified specialist workshop. 374
Changing a wheelWheels and tyres
