2018 MERCEDES-BENZ S CLASS Owners Manual

Un iform Ti re Quality Grading St andards: a
uniform st andard to gr ade th e qu ality of tires
with re ga rd to tread qu alit y, tire traction and
te mp erature ch aracteristics. The qu ality grading
assessment is made by th e manufacturer fo llow‐
ing specifications from th e U. S. go ve rn ment. The
qu ality gr ade of a tire is imprinted on th e side
wa ll of th e tire.
Re commended tire pressu re : th e re commen‐
ded tire pressure is th e tire pressure specified
fo r th e tires mounted to th e ve hicle at th e fa c‐
to ry .
The tire and information ta ble con ta ins th e re c‐
ommended tire pressures fo r cold tires, th e max‐
imum permissible load and th e maximum per‐
missible ve hicle speed.
The tire pressure ta ble con ta ins th e re commen‐
ded tire pressures fo r cold tires under va ri ous
operating conditions, i.e. loading and/or speed
of th e ve hicle.
Increased ve hicle we ight due to optional
equipment: th e combined we ight of all st andard
and optional equipment av ailable fo r th e ve hicle, re ga rd less of whe th er it is actually ins ta lled on
th e ve hicle or not.
Rim: th e part of th e wheel on which th e tire is
ins ta lled.
GA WR (Gross Axle We ight Ra ting): th e GAWR
is th e maximum permissible axle load. The
actual load on an axle must ne ve r exc eed th e
gros s axle we ight ra ting. The gross axle we ight
ra ti ng
can be fo und on th e ve hicle identification
plate on th e B‑pillar on th e driver's side.
Speed ra ting: th e speed ra ting is pa rt of th e tire
identification. It specifies th e speed ra nge fo r
which a tire is appr ove d.
GV W (Gross Ve hicle We ight): th e gross ve hicle
we ight comprises th e we ight of th e ve hicle
including fuel, to ols, th e spare wheel, accesso‐
ri es ins ta lled, occupants, luggage and th e trailer
dr aw bar nose we ight, if applicable. The gros s
ve hicle we ight must not exc eed th e gross ve hicle
we ight ra ting GV WR as specified on th e ve hicle
identification plate on th e B‑pillar on th e driver's
side.
GV WR (Gross Ve hicle We ight Ra ting): th e
GV WR is th e maximum permitted gross we ight of th e fully laden ve hicle (weight of th e ve hicle
including all accessories, occupants, fuel, lug‐
ga ge and th e trailer dr aw bar nose we ight if appli‐
cable). The gros s ve hicle we ight ra ting is speci‐
fi ed on th e ve hicle identification plate on th e
B‑pillar on th e driver's side.
Maximum we ight of th e laden ve hicle: th e
maximum we ight is th e sum of th e curb we ight
of th e ve hicle, th e we ight of th e accesso ri es, th e
maximum load and th e we ight of optional equip‐
ment ins ta lled at th e fa ctor y.
Kilopascal (kPa): metric unit fo r tire pressu re .
6.9 kPa cor re sponds to 1 psi. Ano th er unit fo r
tire pressu re is bar . 10 0 ki lopascal (kPa) equals
1
bar.
Load index: in addition to th e load-bearing
index, th e load index may also be imprinted on
th e side wa ll of th e tire. This specifies th e load-
bearing capacity of th e tire more precisel y.
Curb we ight: th e we ight of a ve hicle with st and‐
ard equipment including th e maximum capacity
of fuel, oil and coolant. It also includes th e air
conditioning sy st em and optional equipment if Wheels and tires 431

th ese are ins ta lled on th e ve hicle, but does not
include passengers or luggage.
Maximum tire load: th e maximum tire load is
th e maximum permissible we ight in kilog ra ms or
lbs fo r whi ch a tire is appr ove d.
Maximum permissible tire pressure: maxi‐
mum permissible tire pressure fo r one tire.
Maximum load on one tire: maximum load on
one tire. This is calculated by dividing th e maxi‐
mum axle load of one axle by two.
PSI (pounds per square in ch ): st andard unit of
measurement fo r tire pressu re .
Aspect ra tio: ra tio between tire height and tire
width in pe rc ent.
Ti re pressure: pressure inside th e tire applying
an outward fo rc e to eve ry square inch of th e tire.
The tire pressure is specified in pounds per
square inch (psi), in kilopascals (kPa) or in bar.
The tire pressure should only be cor re cted when
th e tires are cold.
Cold tire pressure: th e tires are cold when th e
ve hicle has been par ke d fo r at lea st 3 hou rs without direct sunlight on th e tires or th e ve hicle
has been driven fo r less th an 1 mile (1.6 km).
Ti re contact sur fa ce: th e part of th e tire th at
comes into con ta ct wi th th e ro ad.
Ti re bead: th e purpose of th e tire bead is to
ensure th at th e tire sits securely on th e wheel
ri m. There are se ve ra l wire cores in th e tire bead
to pr eve nt th e t ir
e from ch anging length on th e
wheel ri m.
Side wa ll: th e part of th e tire between th e tread
and th e tire bead.
We ight of optional equipment: th e combined
we ight of th e optional equipment we ighing more
th an th e re placed st andard parts and more th an
5 lbs (2.3 kg ). This optional equipment, such as
high-per fo rm ance brakes, le ve l control sy st em, a
ro of luggage ra ck or high-per fo rm ance bat te ri es,
is not included in th e curb we ight and th e we ight
of th e accessories.
TIN (Tire Identification Nu mber): a uni qu e
identification number which can be used by a
tire manufactu re r to identify tires, fo r ex ample,
in a product re call, and th us identify th e pur‐
ch asers. The TIN is made up of th e manufactur‐ er's identity code, tire size, tire type code and
th e manufacturing date.
Load-bearing index: th e load-bearing index is a
code th at con ta ins th e maximum load-bearing
capacity of a tire.
Tr action: traction is th e grip re sulting from fric‐
tion between th e tires and th e ro ad sur fa ce.
We ar indicator: nar row bars (tread we ar bars)
th at are distributed ove r th e tire con ta ct su rf ace.
If th e tire tread is le ve l with th e bars, th e we ar
limit of 1/ 16 in (1.6 mm) has been re ached.
Distribution of ve hicle occupants: distribution
of ve hicle occupants ov er designated seat posi‐
t ions in a ve hicle.
Maximum permissible pa yl oad we ight: nomi‐
nal load and luggage load plus 15 0 lb (68 kg )
multiplied by th e number of seats in th e ve hicle.432
Wheels and tires

Changing a wheel
Note s on selecting, mounting and re placing
tires
Mercedes -A MG ve hicles: be sure to obser ve
th e no te s in th e Supplement. Otherwise, yo u
may not re cognize dangers.
Yo u can ask fo r information re ga rd ing permit te d
wheel/tire combinations at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
q
WA RNING Risk of accident due to incor‐
re ct dimensions of wheels and tires
If wheels and tires of th e wrong size are
ins ta lled, th e wheel brakes or wheel suspen‐
sion components may be damaged.

Only use tires, wheels or accessories te st ed
and appr ove d by Mercedes-Benz.
u NO TE Risk to driving saf et y from re trea‐
ded tires
Re treaded tires are nei th er te st ed nor re com‐
mended by Mercedes-Benz, since pr ev ious
damage cannot alw ay s be de te cted on
re treaded tires.
Fo r th is re ason driving saf et y canno t be guar ‐
anteed.

Obser ve th e fo llowing when selecting, mounting
and re placing tires:R
Only use tires and wheels of th e same type
(summer tires, winter tires, MOEx te nded
tires) and th e same make.R
Only mount wheels of th e same size on one
axle (left and ri ght).
It is only permissible to ins ta ll a dif fe re nt
wheel size in th e eve nt of a fl at tire in order
to drive to th e specialist wo rk shop.R
Only mount tires of th e cor re ct size onto th e
wheels. R
Ve hicles with a tire pressure monitoring
sy st em: All moun te d wheels must be equip‐
ped with functioning sensors fo r th e tire
pressure monitoring sy st em.R
At te mp eratures below 45 °F (7 °C), use win‐
te r tires or all-season tire mar ke d M+S fo r all
wheels.
Wi nter tires bearing th e M snowflake sym‐
bol in addition to th e M+S marking pr ov ide
th e best possible grip in wintry ro ad condi‐
tions. R
Fo r M+S tires, only use tires with th e same
tread. R
Obser ve th e maximum permissible speed fo r
th e M+S tire mounted.
If th is is below th e ve hicle's maximum speed,
th is must be indicated in an appropriate label
in th e driver's fi eld of vision. R
Break in new tires at moderate speeds fo r
th e fi rs t 60 miles (100 km). R
Re place th e tires af te r six ye ars at th e latest,
re ga rd less of we ar. R
When re placing with tires that do no t fe a‐
ture ru n-flat ch aracteristics: ve hicles with
MOExtended tires are not equipped with a
TIREFIT kit at th e fa ctor y. Equip th e ve hicle
with a TIREFIT kit af te r re placing with tires
th at do not fe ature ru n-flat ch aracteristics,
e.g. winter tires.
Fo r more information on wheels and tires, con‐
ta ct a qu alified specialist wo rk shop.
Be sure to also obse rv e th e fo llowing fur th er
re lated subjects: R
No te s on tire pressure ( →
page 41 4) R
Ti re and Loading In fo rm ation placard
( →
page 420) R
Ti re size designation, load-bea ri ng capacity,
speed ra ting and load ind ex ( →
page 428)R
Ti re pressure ta ble ( →
page 41 6)
Note s on inter ch anging wheels
q
WA RNING Risk of inju ry th ro ugh dif fe r‐
ent wheel sizes
Inter ch anging th e front and re ar wheels if th e
wheels or tires ha ve dif fe re nt dimensions
may se ve re ly impair th e driving ch aracteris‐
tics.
The wheel brakes or wheel suspension com‐
ponents may also be damaged.

The we ar pat te rn s on th e front and re ar wheels
dif fe r:R
Fr ont wheels we ar more on th e shoulder of
th e tire.R
Re ar wheels we ar more in th e center of th e
tire.
On ve hicles th at ha ve th e same size front and
re ar wheels, inter ch ange th e wheels according
to th e inter va ls in th e tire manufacturer's wa r‐
ra nty book in yo ur ve hicle documents. If th is is
not av ailable, inter ch ange th e tires eve ry
3000 to 6000 miles (5000 to 10 000 km),
depending on th e we ar. Ensure th at th e direction
of ro ta tion is maintained.
It is impe ra tive to obser ve th e instructions and
saf et y no te s on "Wheel ch ange" when doing so.
Note s on st oring wheelsR
Af te r re moving wheels, st ore th em in a cool,
dry and preferably dark place. R
Pr ot ect th e tires from con ta ct wi th oil, grease
or fuel. Overview of th e tire-chan ge to ol kit
Apart from some countr y- specific va ri ants, ve hi‐
cles are not equipped with a tire-change to ol kit.
Fo r more information on whi ch tire-changing
to ols are requ ired and appr ov ed fo r per fo rm ing a
wheel ch ange on yo ur ve hicle, consult a qu alified
specialist wo rk shop.
Re qu ired tire-change to ols may include, fo r
ex ample: R
Jack R
ch ock R
Lu g wrench R
Centering pin
The tire-change to ol kit is located under th e
trunk fl oor. 1
Ra tchet 2
Centering pin
3
Ja ck ing support
4
Jack
5
Lu g wrench
6
Fo lding ch ock436
Wheels and tires

Setting up th e fo lding wheel ch ock
Prepa ri ng th e ve hicle fo r a wheel ch ange
Re qu irements:R
The requ ired tire-change to ol kit is av ailable.
If yo ur ve hicle is not equipped with th e tire-
ch ange to ol kit, consult a qu alified specialist
wo rk shop to fi nd out about suitable to ols. R
The ve hicle is not on a slope. R
The ve hicle is on solid, non-slippery and le ve l
ground .

Aluminum hub cap