RDo not drive with tireswhich have too little
trea ddepth,ast hissignificantl yreduce sthe
tractio nonw etroads (hydroplaning).
RReplace the tire safter 6y ears at the latest,
regardless of wear .Thisa lsoa pplies to the
spar ewheel .
Operatio ninwinter
General notes
Hav eyourv ehicl ewinterproofed at aquali fied
specialis tworkshop at the onse tofwinter.
Onlyu sewheels with tire sizes approved by
Mercedes-Benz.
Prior to the onse tofwinter, ensur ethats now
chains ar estowed in the vehicl e(
Ypage 270).
Snow chains canno tbem ounted on al lwheel /
tire combinations. Observe the restrictions on
the us eofsnow chains under "Wheel/tir ecom-
binations" (
Ypage 291).
Als oo bserve the note sinthe "Changing a
wheel" sectio n(
Ypage 286).
Driving with summe rtires
At temperatures belo w45‡(+7 †),summer
tire slos ee last icity and therefore tractio nand
braking power. Chang ethe tire sonyourvehicle
to M+S tire s. Usingsumme rtires at very cold
temperatures could cause tears to form,
thereby damaging the tires permanently.
Mercedes-Benz cannot accept responsibility for
this type of damage.
M+S tires
GWARNING
Wheel and tire dimensions as wel lasthe type
of tire can vary betwee nthe spare whee land
the whee ltobereplaced. When the spare
whee lismounted, driving characteristics may
be severelya ffected. There is arisk of an acci-
dent.
In order to reduce risks:
Ryou should therefore adapt you rdriving
style and drive carefully.
Rnever mount more than one spare wheel
that differs from the whee ltobereplaced.
Ronly use aspare whee lthat differs from the
whee ltober eplaced for ashort time.
Rhave aspare whee lthat differs from the
whee lthat has been changed replaced at
the nearest qualified specialist workshop.
You must observe the correct whee land
tire dimensions as wel lasthe whee ltype.
GWARNING
M+S tires with atire tread depth of less than
ã in (4 mm) are not suitable for use in winter
and do not provid esufficient traction. There is
ar isk of an accident.
M+S tires with atread depth of less than ãin
(4 mm) must be replaced immediately.
Use winter tires or all-season tires at tempera-
tures below4 5‡(+7 †). Both types of tire are
identified by the M+S marking.
Only winter tires bearing the isnowflake
symbo linaddition to the M+S marking provide
the best possible grip in wintry road conditions.
Only these tires wil lallow driving safety systems
such as ABS and ESP
®to function optimally in
winter. These tires have been developed specif-
ically for driving in snow.
For safe driving, use M+S tires of the same make
and tread pattern on all wheels.
Always observe the maximu mpermissible
speed specified for the M+S tires you have
mounted.
If you mount M+S tires that have alower maxi-
mum permissibl espeed than the maximum
design speed of the vehicle, affix acorrespond-
ing warning label in the driver' sfieldofv ision.
You can obtai nthis at aqualified specialist work-
shop.
Once you have mounted the winter tires:
XCheck the tire pressure (Ypage 270).
XRestart the tire pressure monitor
(Ypage 277).
Operation in winter269
Wheel sand tires
Z
Snow chains
GWARNING
If snow chains are installed to the front
wheels, they may drag against the vehicle
body or chassis components. This could
cause damage to the vehicle or the tires.
There is arisk of an accident.
To avoid hazardous situations:
Rnever install snow chains to the front
wheels
Ralways install snow chains in pairs to the
rear wheels.
GWARNING
If you drive too fast with snow chains moun-
ted, they may snap. As aresult, you could
injure others and damage the vehicle. There is
ar isk of an accident.
Observe the maximum permissible speed for
operation with snow chains.
Observe the country-specific laws and regula-
tions for operation with snow chains.
!Check the snow chains for damage before
mounting them. Damaged or worn snow
chains may snap and damage the following
components:
Rwheel
Rwheel housing
Rwheel suspension
For this reason, you must use only snow
chains that are free of defects. Observe the
manufacturer's mounting instructions.
!Vehicles with steel wheels: if you mount
snow chains on steel wheels, you may dam-
age the hub caps. Remove the hub caps from
the relevant wheels before mounting the
snow chains.
Snow chains increase traction on roads in wintry conditions.
For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends that you only use snow chains or traction
aids which have been approved for Mercedes-
Benz vehicles. The snow chains or traction aids
must be of class Uormeet the SAE type U
specification. Information about snow chains can be obtained
from any Mercedes-Benz Commercial Van Cen-
ter.
When mounting snow chains, please bear the
following points in mind:
RSnow chains cannot be mounted on all
wheel/tire combinations
.When mounting the
snow chains, note the permissible tire and
snow chain dimensions. Observe the restric-
tions on the use of snow chains under
"Wheel/tire combinations "(
Ypage 291).
RMount snow chains only in pairs and only to
the rear wheels. Observe the manufacturer's
mounting instructions.
ROnly use snow chains when the road is cov-
ered byalaye rofs now. Remove the snow
chains as soon as possible when you come to
ar oad that is not snow-covered.
RThe use of snow chains may be restricted by
local regulations. Observe the appropriate
regulations before mounting snow chains.
RWhen driving with snow chains installed, do
not exceed the maximum permissible speed
of 30 mph (50 km/h).
RCheck the tension of the chains after adis-
tance of approximately 0.5 miles (1.0 km).
You may wish to deactivate ESP
®when pulling
away with snow chains installed (Ypage 64).
This allowst he wheels to spin in acontrolled
manner, achieving an increased driving force
(cut tinga ction).
Tire pressure
Tire pressures pecifications
Important safety notes
GWARNING
Underinflated or overinflated tires pose the
following risks:
Rthe tires may burst, especially as the load
and vehicle speed increase.
Rthe tires may wear excessively and/or
unevenly, which may greatly impair tire
traction.
Rthe driving characteristics, as well as steer-
ing and braking, may be greatly impaired.
There is arisk of an accident.
270Tire pressure
Wheels and tires
