Advice
Service life of tyres Fig. 232
Tyre tread wear indicators. Fig. 233
Diagram for changing wheels. The useful life of tyres is dependent on tyre
pr
e
s
sure, driving style and fitting.
Wear indicators
The original tyres on your vehicle have
1.6 mm high “tread wear indicators”
››› Fig. 232, running across the tread. De- pending on the make, there will be 6 to 8 of
them evenly
spaced around the tyre. Mark-
ings on the tyre sidewall (for instance the let-
ters “TWI” or other symbols) indicate the po-
sitions of the tread wear indicators. The mini-
mum tread depth required by law is 1.6 mm
(measured in the tread grooves next to the
tread wear indicators). Worn tyres must be re-
placed. Different figures may apply in export
countries ››› .
T y
r
e pressure
Incorrect tyre pressure causes premature
wear and could cause tyre blow-out. For this
reason, the tyre pressure should be checked
at least once per month ››› page 275.
Driving style
Fast cornering, heavy acceleration and hard
braking all increase tyre wear.
Changing wheels around
If the front tyres are worn considerably more
than the rear ones it is advisable to change
them around as shown ››› Fig. 233. The use-
ful life of all the tyres will then be about the
same time.
Wheel balance
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced.
However, various factors encountered in nor-
mal driving can cause them to become unbal-
anced, which results in steering vibration. Unbalanced wheels should be rebalanced, as
they otherw
ise cause excessive wear on
steering, suspension and tyres. A wheel must
also be rebalanced when a new tyre is fitted.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect running gear alignment causes ex-
cessive tyre wear, impairing the safety of the
vehicle. If tyres show excessive wear, you
should have the wheel alignment checked by
a Technical Service. WARNING
There is a serious danger of accidents if a tyre
bur s
ts during driving!
● The tyres must be replaced at the latest
when the trea
d wear indicators are worn
››› page 276. Failure to follow this instruction
could result in an accident. Worn tyres do not
grip well at high speeds on wet roads. There
is also a greater risk of “aquaplaning”.
● At continuously high speeds, a tyre with in-
sufficient
pressure flexes more. This causes it
to overheat. This can cause tread separation
and tyre blow-out. Risk of accident. Always
observe the recommended tyre pressures.
● If tyres show excessive wear, you should
have the ru
nning gear checked by a Technical
Service.
● Keep chemicals such as oil, fuel and brake
fluid awa
y from tyres.
● Damaged wheels and tyres must be re-
plac
ed immediately! 276
Advice
Wheel bolts The design of wheel bolts is matched to the
rims. If diff
er
ent wheel rims are fitted, the
correct wheel bolts with the right length and
correctly shaped bolt heads must be used.
This ensures that wheels are fitted securely
and that the brake system functions correctly.
In certain circumstances, you should not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle, even if it
is the same model ››› page 247. WARNING
If the wheel bolts are not tightened correctly,
the wheel c ou
ld become loose while driving.
Risk of accident.
● The wheel bolts must be clean and turn
eas
ily. Never apply grease or oil to them.
● Use only wheel bolts which belong to the
wheel.
● If the pr
escribed torque of the wheel bolts
is t
oo low, they could loosen whilst the vehi-
cle is in motion. Risk of accident! If the tight-
ening torque is too high, the wheel bolts and
threads can be damaged. CAUTION
The prescribed tightening torque for wheel
bolt s
for steel and alloy wheels is 120 Nm. Tyre monitoring indicator*
Fig. 234
Centre console: tyre monitoring sys-
t em b
utt
on. The tyre monitoring system compares wheel
r
ev
o
lutions alongside the wheel diameter of
each wheel, with help from the ESC. If the di-
ameter of a wheel changes, the tyre monitor-
ing indicator lights up . The wheel diame-
ter changes when:
● Tyre pressure is insufficient.
● The tyre structure is damaged.
● The vehicle is unbalanced because of a
load.
● The wheel
s of one axle are under more
pres
sure (for example, driving with a trailer or
on steep slopes).
● The vehicle is fitted with snow chains.
● The temporary spare wheel is fitted.
● The wheel on one axle is changed. Tyre pressure adjustment
After modif
ying tyre pressure or changing any
wheels, the new tyre pressure must be stored
in the Easy Connect system with the but-
t on and the S
ET
TINGS function button
› ›
›
page 34.
In vehicles without a radio, press and hold
down the button ››› Fig. 234, with the
ignition on, until an acoustic signal is heard.
If the wheels are under excessive load (for ex-
ample, driving with a trailer or heavy load),
the tyre pressure must be increased to the
recommended value for a full load (see the
sticker on the back of the left front door
frame). If the tyre monitor system button is
pressed down, the new tyre pressures are
confirmed.
The tyre pressure control lamp lights up
If the tyre pressure of a wheel is much lower
than the value set by the driver, then the tyre
pressure control lamp ››› will light up.
WARNING
● When the tyr e pr
essure control lamp lights
up, reduce speed immediately and avoid any
sudden turning or braking manoeuvre. Stop
when possible, and check the tyre pressure
and status.
● The driver is responsible for maintaining
correct
tyre pressures. For this reason, tyre
pressure must be regularly checked. 278
Wheels
●
Under cer t
ain circumstances (e.g. when
driving in a sporty manner, in winter condi-
tions or on a dirt track) the tyre control lamp
may light up belatedly or may function incor-
rectly. Note
If the battery is disconnected, the yellow
w arnin g l
amp lights up after turning the
ignition on. This should turn off after a brief
journey. Spare wheel (temporary spare
wheel)*
Loc
ation and u
se of the temporary
spare wheel Fig. 235
In the luggage compartment: re-
mo v
e the s
ubwoofer. The temporary spare wheel is stored under
the floor p
anel
in the lug
gage compartment
and is attached by a thumbnut.
How to use the temporary spare wheel
If you ever have a punctured tyre or loss of
pressure, the temporary spare wheel is only
intended for temporary use until you reach a
workshop. Change it for a duty wheel as soon
as possible. Please note the following restrictions when
usin
g the temporary spare wheel. This tem-
porary spare wheel has been specially de-
signed for your vehicle, thus, it cannot be
changed with the temporary spare wheel
from another vehicle.
No other type of tyre (normal summer or win-
ter tyre) may be fitted on the compact tempo-
rary spare wheel rim.
Snow chains
For technical reasons, snow chains must not
be used on the temporary spare wheel.
If you have a puncture on one of the front
wheels when using snow chains, fit the tem-
porary spare wheel in place of one of the rear
wheels. Fit the snow chains on the rear wheel
that you have removed and replace the punc-
tured front wheel with this wheel.
Getting the spare wheel out of vehicles with
the Beats Audio ®
sound system (6 speakers
with 1 subwoofer)*
Disassemble the subwoofer's floor panel
(carpet) as follows:
● Pull the carpet upwards to remove it.
● Disconnect the cable for the subwoofer
speak
er ›››
Fig. 235 1 .
● Turn the securing wheel anti-clockwise 2 .
● Remove the s ub
woofer
speaker and the
spare wheel. »
279
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety
Advice
● When r ep
l
acing the spare wheel, place the
subwoofer speaker in the direction indicated
by the arrow and with the word “FRONT” fac-
ing forward.
● Reconnect the speaker cable and firmly ro-
tate the sec
uring wheel clockwise so that the
subwoofer system and wheel are firmly in
place. WARNING
● Aft er fittin
g the temporary spare wheel,
check the tyre pressures as soon as possible.
Failure to do so may cause an accident. The
tyre pressure is listed on the back of the left
front door frame.
● Do not drive at over 80 km/h (50 mph)
when the temporar
y spare wheel is fitted on
the vehicle: risk of accident!
● Avoid heavy acceleration, hard braking and
fas
t cornering: risk of accident!
● Never use more than one temporary spare
wheel at the s
ame time, risk of accident.
● No other type of tyre (normal summer or
winter ty
re) may be fitted on the compact
temporary spare wheel rim. Winter service
W int
er ty
resIn winter conditions winter tyres will consid-
er
ab
ly
improve the vehicle's handling. The design of summer tyres (width, rubber com-
pound, tre
ad pattern) gives less grip on ice
and snow.
Winter tyres must be inflated to a pressure of
0.2 bar (2.9 psi/20 kPa) higher than the pres-
sures specified for summer tyres (see the
sticker on the back of the left front door
frame).
Winter tyres must be fitted on all four wheels.
Information on permitted winter tyre sizes
can be found in the vehicle's registration
documentation. Use only radial winter tyres.
All tyre sizes listed in the vehicle documenta-
tion also apply to winter tyres.
Winter tyres lose their effectiveness when the
tread is worn down to a depth of 4 mm.
The speed rating code ››› page 277, New
tyres and wheels determines the following
speed limits for winter tyres: ››› max. 160 km/h (99 mph)
m
ax. 180 km/h (112 mph)
m ax. 190 km/h (118 mph)
m
ax. 210 km/h (130 mph)
In some countries, vehicles which can exceed
the speed rating of the fitted tyre must have
an appropriate sticker in the driver's field of
view. These stickers are available from your
technical service. The legal requirements of
each country must be followed. Q
S
T
H Do not have winter tyres fitted for unnecessa-
rily lon
g periods. Vehicles with summer tyres
handle better when the roads are free of
snow and ice.
If you have a flat tyre, please refer to the
notes on the spare wheel ››› page 277, New
tyres and wheels . WARNING
The maximum speed for the winter tyres must
not be e x
ceeded. Otherwise, this could lead
to damage and risk of accident. For the sake of the environment
Fit your summer tyres again as soon as possi-
bl e.
They are quieter, do not wear so quickly
and reduce fuel consumption. 280
Technical specifications
Drawbar loads
The maximum permitt ed dr
a
wbar load on the
ball joint of the towing bracket must not ex-
ceed 50 kg.
In the interest of road safety, we recommend
that you always tow approaching the maxi-
mum drawbar load. The response of the trail-
er on the road will be poor, if the drawbar
load is too small.
If the maximum permissible drawbar load
cannot be met (e.g. with small, empty and
light-weight single axle trailers or tandem
axle trailers with a wheelbase of less than 1
metre), a minimum of 4% of the actual trailer
weight is legally required for the drawbar
load. WARNING
● For s af
ety reasons, you should not drive at
speeds above 80 km/h (50 mph) when towing
a trailer. This also applies in countries where
higher speeds are permitted.
● Never exceed the maximum trailer weights
or the drawb
ar load. If the permissible axle
load or the permissible total weight is excee-
ded, the driving characteristics of the vehicle
may change, leading to accidents, injuries
and damage to the vehicle. Wheels
Ty
r
e pressure, snow chains and wheel
bolts Tyre pressure
The stic
k
er with the tyre pressure values can
be found on the back of the left front door
frame. The tyre pressure values given there
are for cold tyres. Do not reduce the slightly
raised pressures of warm tyres ››› .
The pre s
sure for winter tyres is 0.2 bar higher
than that of summer tyres (2.9 psi / 20 kPa).
Snow chains
Snow chains may be fitted only to the front
wheels, and only for the following tyres:
185/70 R14Chains with links of maximum 13.5
mm
185/65 R15Chains with links of maximum 13.5
mm
195/55 R16Chains with links of maximum 9 mm Wheel bolts
Af
t
er the wheel
s have been changed, the
tightening torque of the wheel bolts should
be checked as soon as possible with a torque
wrench ››› . The tightening torque for steel
and al lo
y
wheels is 120 Nm. WARNING
● Check the ty
re pressure at least once per
month. Checking the tyre pressure is very im-
portant. If the tyre pressure is too high or too
low, there is an increased danger of accidents
- particularly at high speeds.
● If the tightening torque of the wheel bolts
is t
oo low, they could loosen while the vehi-
cle is in motion. Risk of accident! If the tight-
ening torque is too high, the wheel bolts and
threads can be damaged. Note
We recommend that you ask your Technical
Serv ic
e for information about appropriate
wheel, tyre and snow chain size. 283
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety
Index
Tyre Mobility Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 components
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
99
inflating a tyre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
sealing a tyre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Tyre Mobility System see Anti-puncture kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Tyre pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276, 283
Tyre profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Tyre repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Tyre repair kit see Anti-puncture kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
new tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275, 276, 278
service life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
wear indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
with directional tread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
with directional tread pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Tyre tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Tyre wear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
U Unfastening your seat belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Unfasten the seat belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Unlocking and locking by remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
with Keyless Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
with the central lock button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Unlocking manually rear lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Upholstery: cleaning alcantara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
upholstery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
USB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
USB/AUX-IN Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 V
Vanity mirr or . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Vehicle data label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
identification data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
identification number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
raising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
unlocking and locking with Keyless Access . . 135
vehicle identification number . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Vehicle battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60, 272 assisted starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
connecting and disconnecting . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
disconnect and connect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
electrolyte level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
winter conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Vehicle care windscreen wipers service position . . . . . . . . . 73
Vehicle documentation compartment . . . . . . . . 158
Vehicle interior monitoring and anti-tow system 140 activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Vehicle paint code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Vehicle paintwork maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
polishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
products for vehicle maintenance . . . . . . . . . . 248
Vehicle seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Vehicle tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Vehicle underbody protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Vehicle washing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Ventilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Ventilation slits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 W
Warning and c ontrol lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
adaptive cruise control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
applying the brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
audible warning signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
engine management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
engine pre-heating/fault system . . . . . . . . . . . 203
gear change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
instrument panel display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
seat belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Start-Stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Warning messages red . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
yellow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Warning symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 see also Control and warning lamps . . . . . . . . 122
Warning triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Washing care of the vehicle exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Washing the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 adhesive sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
high pressure cleaners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
What negatively affects driving safety? . . . . . . . . 75
Wheel balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Wheel bolts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67, 283 anti-theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
caps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
tightening torque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69, 278
Wheel cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274, 283 central wheel trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65, 66
chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
new wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
removing and fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
307