The brackets for the screw-in towing eye are
located in the bumpers. They are at the rear and
at the front, under covers:.
XRemove the towing eye from the retainer
(Ypage 317).
XPress the mark on cover:inward and
remove.
XScrew in the towing eye clockwise as far as it
will go and tighten it.
Removing the towing eye
XUnscrew and remove the towing eye.
XAttach cover :to the bumper and press until
it engages.
Towing the vehicle with the rear axle
raised
Only vehicles without 4MATIC can be towed
with the rear axle raised.
!Vehicles with 4MATIC must not be towed
with either the front or the rear axle raised, as doing so will damage the transmission.
Vehicles with 4MATIC may either be towed away
with both axles on the ground or be loaded up
and transported.
!Vehicles with automatic transmission must
not be towed with the rear axle raised. The
vehicle/trailer combination may otherwise
swerve or even roll over.
Towing a vehicle with both axles on
the ground
The automatic transmission automatically shifts
to position jwhen you open the driver's or
front-passenger door or when you remove the
SmartKey from the ignition lock. It is essential to observe the following steps to ensure that the
automatic transmission remains in position i
during towing.
XMake sure that the vehicle is stationary.
XTurn the SmartKey to position 2in the igni-
tion lock.
XDepress and hold the brake pedal.
XShift the automatic transmission to position
N .
XLeave the SmartKey in position 2in the igni-
tion lock.
XRelease the brake pedal.
XRelease the electric parking brake.
XSwitch on the hazard warning lamps
(Ypage 115).
In order to signal a change of direction when
towing the vehicle with the hazard warning
lamps switched on, use the combination switch
as usual. In this case, only the indicator lamps
for the direction of travel flash. After resetting
the combination switch, the hazard warning
lamp starts flashing again.
Transporting the vehicle
4MATIC vehicles/vehicles with auto-
matic transmission
!When the vehicle is loaded for transport, the
front and rear axles must be stationary and on
the same transportation vehicle. Positioning
over the connection point of the transport
Towing and tow-starting329
Breakdown assistance
Z
