Page 256 of 298

G WARNING
During the charging process ,ab attery produces hydrogen gas. If as hort circui to ccurs or sparks
are created ,t he hydrogen gas can ignite. There is ar isk of an explosion.R
Make sure that the positive terminal of ac onnected battery does not come into contact with
vehicl ep arts.R
Never place metal objects or tools on ab attery.R
It is important that you observe the described order of the battery terminal sw hen connecting
and disconnecting ab attery.R
When jump-starting, make sure that the battery pole sw ith identical polarity are connected.R
It is particularl yi mportant to observe the described order when connecting and disconnecting
the jumper cables. R
Never connect or disconnect the battery terminal sw hile the engine is running.
G WARNING
Ad ischarged battery can freeze at temperatures below freezing point. When jump-starting the
vehicl eorc harging the battery ,g ase sc an escap ef rom the battery .T here is ar isk of an explosion.
Allow the frozen battery to thaw out before charging it or jump-starting.
! Avoid repeated and lengthy starting attempts. Otherwise, the catalytic converter coul db e
damaged by the non-combusted fuel.
If the indicator/warning lamp sdon ot light up at low temperatures, it is very likel yt hat the dis-
charge db attery has frozen. In this case, you may neither charge the battery nor jump-start the
vehicle. The service life of at hawed-out battery may be shorter. The starting characteristics can be
impaired ,p articularl yatl ow temperatures. Have the thawed-out battery checked at aq ualified
specialist workshop.
Do not start the vehicl eu sing ar api dc harging device. If you rv ehicle's battery is discharged, the
engine can be jump-started from another vehicl eorf rom as econd battery using jumper cables.
Observe the following points: R
The battery is not accessible in all vehicles. If the other vehicle's battery is not accessible ,j ump-
start the vehicl eu sing as econd battery or aj ump-starting device.R
You may only jump-start the vehicl ew hen the engine and exhaust system are cold.R
Do not start the engine if the battery is frozen. Let the battery thaw first. R
Only jump-start from batterie sw ith a12Vv oltag er ating.R
Only use jumper cables which have as ufficient cross-section and insulated terminal clamps.R
If the battery is full yd ischarged, leave the battery that is being used to jump-start connected for
af ew minutes before attempting to start. This charge st he battery slightly.R
Make sure that the two vehicles do not touch.
Make sure that: R
The jumper cables are not damaged. R
Bare parts of the terminal clamp do not come into contact with other metal parts while the jumper
cables are connected to the ba ttery.R
The jumper cables cannot come into contact with parts which can move when the engine is
running, such as the V-belt pulley or the fan. X
Secure the vehicl ebya pplying the electric parking brake.X
Shift the transmission to position ] .254
Jump-starting
Breakdown assistance
Page 258 of 298

Towin ga nd tow-starting
Important safety notes
G WARNING
When towing or tow-startin ga nothe rv ehicle
and its weight is greate rt ha nt he permissible
gross weight of your vehicle, the: R
the towing ey ec ould detach itselfR
the vehicle/trailer combinatio nc ould roll-
over.
There is ar is kofana ccident.
When towing or tow-startin ga nothe rv ehicle,
its weight shoul dn ot be greate rt ha nt he per-
missibl eg ross weight of your vehicle.
Detail sont he permissibl eg ross vehicl ew eigh t
of your vehicl ec an be found on the vehicl ei de n-
tification plate ( Y
page 289).
! When Activ eB rake Assist, Distance Pilot
DISTRONI Cort he HOLD functio ni sa ctivated,
the vehicl eb rakes automaticall yinc ertain
situations.
To avoi dd amag etot he vehicle, deactivate
these system sint he following or similar sit-
uations: R
when towing the vehicle R
in the car wash
! Onl ys ecur et he tow rop eort ow ba ratt he
towing eyes. Otherwise, the vehicl ec ould be
damaged.
! Do not us et he towing ey ef or recovery, this
could damage the vehicle. If in doubt, recover
the vehicl ew it hac rane.
! When towing ,p ul la wa ys lowly and
smoothly. If the tractiv ep ower is too high, the
vehicles could be damaged.
! Do not tow with sling-typ ee quipment .T h is
could damage the vehicle.
! When towing away vehicles with KEYLESS-
GO ,u se the key instea doft he Start/Stop
button. The automatic transmission ma yo th-
erwis es hift to position ] when yo uo pe nt he
driver's or front-passenge rd oo r, which could
damage the transmission. ! Make sure tha tt he electri cp ar kin gb rake is
released .Ift he electri cp ar kin gb rake is faulty,
visit aq uali fied specialis tw or kshop.
! The vehicl ec an be towed am ax imum of
30 miles (50km). The towing spee dof30m ph
(50 km/h )m us tn ot be exceeded.
If the vehicl eh as to be towed mor et han
30 miles (50km), the entire vehicl em us tb e
raised and transported.
! If yo ut ow or tow-start anothe rv ehicle, its
weight must not exceed the maximum per-
missibl eg ross vehicl ew eigh tofy ou rv ehicle.
It is better to have the vehicl et ransporte dt han
to have it towed away.
The automatic transmission must be in position
\\ when the vehicl eisb ei ng towed away.
The battery must be connected and charged.
Otherwise, you: R
canno tt ur nt he SmartKe ytop osit ion H in
the ignition lock. R
canno ts hift the automatic transmission to
position \\ .
Deactivate the automatic locking featur eb ef o re
th
e vehicl eist owed ( Y
page 173) .Y ou could
otherwis ebel oc ked ou tw he np us hing or towing
the vehicle.
Installing/removin gt he towin ge ye
Installing the towin ge ye
G WARNING
The exhaust tai lp ip em ay be ver yh ot. There is
ar is kofb ur ns when removing the rea rc over.
Do not touch the exhaust pipe .T ak ep ar ticular
car ew he nr emoving the rea rc over.256
Towin ga nd tow-starting
Breakdow na ssistance
Page 282 of 298

Weight of optional extras The combined weight of those optiona le xtras
that weigh more than the replaced standard
parts and more than 2.3 kg (5 lbs) .T hese
optiona le xtras, such as high-performance
brakes ,l eve lc ontrol, ar oof rack or ah igh-per-
formance battery ,a re not included in the curb
weight and the weight of the accessories.
TIN (Tire Identification Number) This is au nique identifier which can be use db y
at ire manufacturer to identify tires, for example
for ap roduct recall, and thus identify the pur-
chasers. The TIN is made up of the manufactur-
er's identity code, tire size, tire type code and
the manufacturing date.
Load bearin gi ndexThe loa db earing index (also loa di ndex) is ac ode
that contains the maximu ml oa db earing capa-
city of at ire.
Traction Tractio nist he result of friction between the tires
and the road surface.
Treadwear indicators Narrow bars (tread wea rb ars )t hat are distrib-
uted over the tire tread. If the tire tread is level
with the bars ,t he wea rl imi to f