Important notes on tire pressure
GWARNING
If the tire pressure drops repeatedly, the
wheel, valve or tire may be damaged. Tire
pressure that is too low may result in a tire
blow-out. There is a risk of an accident.
RCheck the tire for foreign objects.
RCheck whether the wheel is losing air or
the valve is leaking.
If you are unable to rectify the damage, con-
tact a qualified specialist workshop.
GWARNING
If you fit unsuitable accessories onto tire
valves, the tire valves may be overloaded
and malfunction, which can cause tire pres-
sure loss. Due to their design, retrofitted tire
pressure monitors keep the tire valve open.
This can also result in tire pressure loss.
There is a risk of an accident.
Only screw the standard valve cap or other
valve caps approved by Mercedes-Benz for
your vehicle onto the tire valve.
Use a suitable pressure gauge to check thetire pressure. The outer appearance of a tiredoes not permit any reliable conclusion aboutthe tire pressure. On vehicles equipped withthe electronic tire pressure monitor, the tirepressure can be checked in the on-board com-puter.
The tire temperature and pressure increasewhen the vehicle is in motion. This is depend-ent on the driving speed and the load.
Therefore, you should only correct tire pres-sures when the tires are cold.
The tires are cold:
Rif the vehicle has been parked with the tiresout of direct sunlight for at least three hoursand
Rif the vehicle has not been driven furtherthan 1 mile (1.6 km)
The tire temperature changes depending onthe outside temperature, the vehicle speedand the tire load. If the tire temperaturechanges by 18 ‡ (10 †), the tire pressurechanges by approximately 10 kPa (0.1 bar/1.5 psi). Take this into account when checking
the pressure of warm tires. Only correct thetire pressure if it is too low for the currentoperating conditions. If you check the tirepressure when the tires are warm, the result-ing value will be higher than if the tires werecold. This is normal. Do not reduce the tirepressure to the value specified for cold tires.The tire pressure would otherwise be too low.
Observe the recommended tire pressures forcold tires:
Ron the Tire and Loading Information placardon the B-pillar on the driver's side
Rin the tire pressure table on the inside of thefuel filler flap
Underinflated or overinflated tires
Underinflated tires
GWARNING
Tires with pressure that is too low can over-
heat and burst as a consequence. In addi-
tion, they also suffer from excessive and/or
irregular wear, which can severely impair the
braking properties and the driving character-
istics. There is a risk of an accident.
Avoid tire pressures that are too low in all
the tires, including the spare wheel.
Underinflated tires may:
Roverheat, leading to tire defects
Radversely affect handling
Rwear excessively and/or unevenly
Rhave an adverse effect on fuel consumption
Overinflated tires
GWARNING
Tires with excessively high pressure can
burst because they are damaged more eas-
ily by road debris, potholes etc. In addition,
they also suffer from irregular wear, which
can severely impair the braking properties
and the driving characteristics. There is a
risk of an accident.
Avoid tire pressures that are too high in all
the tires, including the spare wheel.
298Tire pressure
Wheels and ti res
Important safety notes
GWARNING
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
should be checked at least once a month
when cold and inflated to the pressure rec-
ommended by the vehicle manufacturer on
the Tire and Loading Information placard on
the driver's door B-pillar or the tire pressure
label on the inside of the fuel filler flap. If
your vehicle has tires of a different size than
the size indicated on the Tire and Loading
Information placard or the tire pressure
label, you should determine the proper tire
pressure for those tires.
As an added safety feature, your vehicle has
been equipped with a tire pressure monitor-
ing system (TPMS) that illuminates a low tire
pressure telltale when one or more of your
tires are significantly underinflated. Accord-
ingly, when the low tire pressure telltale illu-
minates, you should stop and check your
tires as soon as possible, and inflate them to
the proper pressure. Driving on a signifi-
cantly underinflated tire causes the tire to
overheat and can lead to tire failure. Under-
inflation also reduces fuel efficiency and tire
tread life, and may affect the vehicle's han-
dling and stopping ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a substi-
tute for proper tire maintenance, and it is
the driver's responsibility to maintain cor-
rect tire pressure, even if underinflation has
not reached the level to trigger illumination
of the TPMS low tire pressure telltale.
USA only:
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a
TPMS malfunction indicator to indicate if the
system is not operating properly. The TPMS
malfunction indicator is combined with the
low tire pressure telltale. When the system
detects a malfunction, the warning lamp will
flash for approximately a minute and then
remain continuously illuminated. This
sequence will be repeated every time the
vehicle is started as long as the malfunction
exists.
When the malfunction indicator is illumina-
ted, the system may not be able to detect or
signal low tire pressure as intended. TPMS
malfunctions may occur for a variety of rea-
sons, including the mounting of incompati-
ble replacement or alternate tires or wheels
on the vehicle that prevent the TPMS from
functioning properly. Always check the
TPMS malfunction telltale after replacing
one or more tires or wheels on your vehicle
to ensure that the replacement or alternate
tires and wheels allow the TPMS to continue
to function properly.
It is the driver's responsibility to set the tirepressure to that recommended for cold tireswhich is suitable for the operating situation(Ypage 296). Note that the correct tire pres-sure for the current operating situation mustfirst be taught-in to the tire pressure monitor.If a substantial loss of pressure occurs, thewarning threshold for the warning message isaligned to the taught-in reference values.Restart the tire pressure monitor after adjust-ing the pressure of the cold tires(Ypage 301). The current pressures aresaved as new reference values. As a result, awarning message will appear if the tire pres-sure drops significantly.
The tire pressure monitor does not warn you ofan incorrectly set tire pressure. Observe thenotes on the recommended tire pressure(Ypage 296).
The tire pressure monitor is not able to warnyou of a sudden loss of pressure, e.g. if thetire is penetrated by a foreign object. In theevent of a sudden loss of pressure, bring thevehicle to a halt by braking carefully. Avoidabrupt steering movements.
The tire pressure monitor has a yellow warninglamp in the instrument cluster for indicatingpressure loss or a malfunction. Whether thewarning lamp flashes or lights up indicateswhether a tire pressure is too low or the tirepressure monitor is malfunctioning:
Rif the warning lamp is lit continuously, thetire pressure on one or more tires is signifi-cantly too low. The tire pressure monitor isnot malfunctioning.
Rif the warning lamp flashes for approx-imately a minute and then remains lit con-
300Tire pressure
Wheels and ti res
stantly, the tire pressure monitor is malfunc-tioning.
In addition to the warning lamp, a messageappears in the multifunction display. Observethe information on display messages(Ypage 227).
It may take up to ten minutes for a malfunc-tion of the tire pressure monitor to be indica-ted. A malfunction will be indicated by the tirepressure warning lamp flashing for approx-imately one minute and then remaining lit.When the malfunction has been rectified, thetire pressure warning lamp goes out after afew minutes of driving.
The tire pressure values indicated by the on-board computer may differ from those meas-ured at a gas station with a pressure gage. Thetire pressures shown by the on-board com-puter refer to those measured at sea level. Athigh altitudes, the tire pressure values indica-ted by a pressure gage are higher than thoseshown by the on-board computer. In this case,do not reduce the tire pressures.
The operation of the tire pressure monitor canbe affected by interference from radio trans-mitting equipment (e.g. radio headphones,two-way radios) that may be being operated inor near the vehicle.
Checking the tire pressure electroni-
cally
XMake sure that the SmartKey is in position H(Ypage 126) in the ignition lock.
XPress the Yor ebutton on the steer-ing wheel to select theServ.Serv.menu.
XPress the cor dbutton to selectTire PressureTire Pressure.
XPress v.The current tire pressure of each tire isshown in the multifunction display.
If the vehicle has been parked for over20 minutes, theTire pressure will beTire pressure will bedisplayed after driving a few minutesdisplayed after driving a few minutesmessage appears.
After a teach-in process, the tire pressuremonitor automatically detects new wheels ornew sensors. As long as a clear allocation ofthe tire pressure value to the individual wheelsis not possible, theTire Pressure MonitorTire Pressure MonitorActiveActivedisplay message is shown instead ofthe tire pressure display. The tire pressuresare already being monitored.
Tire pressure monitor warning mes-
sages
The tire pressure monitor detects a pressureloss in one or more tires:
RIf the tire pressure monitor detects a pres-sure loss in one or more tires, a warningmessage is shown in the multifunction dis-play. The yellow tire pressure warning lampthen lights up.
RIf thePlease Correct Tire PressurePlease Correct Tire Pressuremessage appears in the multifunction dis-play, the tire pressure in at least one tire istoo low. The tire pressure must be correctedwhen the opportunity arises.
RIf theCheck TiresCheck Tiresmessage appears in themultifunction display, the tire pressure in atleast one tire has dropped significantly. Thetires must be checked.
RIf theWarning Tire MalfunctionWarning Tire Malfunctionmes-sage appears in the multifunction display,the tire pressure in at least one tire hasdropped suddenly. The tires must bechecked.
Observe the instructions and safety notes inthe display messages in the "Tires" section(Ypage 227).
If the wheel positions on the vehicle are rota-ted, the tire pressures may be displayed forthe wrong positions for a short time. This isrectified after a few minutes of driving, and thetire pressures are displayed for the correctpositions.
Restarting the tire pressure monitor
When you restart the tire pressure monitor, allexisting warning messages are deleted and thewarning lamps go out. The monitor uses thecurrently set tire pressures as the referencevalues for monitoring. In most cases, the tirepressure monitor will automatically detect thenew reference values after you have changedthe tire pressure. However, you can also setreference values manually as described here.The tire pressure monitor then monitors thenew tire pressure values.
XSet the tire pressure to the value recom-mended for the corresponding driving situa-tion on the Tire and Loading Informationplacard on the driver's side B-pillar(Ypage 296).
Tire pressure301
Wheels and tires
Z
wall of the tire. You will find this after the let-ter that identifies the speed rating(Ypage 307).
RIf no specification is given: no text (as in theexample above), represents a standard load(SL) tire
RXL or Extra Load: represents a reinforcedtire
RLight Load: represents a light load tire
RC, D, E: represents a load range thatdepends on the maximum load that the tirecan carry at a certain pressure
iTire data is vehicle-specific and may devi-ate from the data in the example.
Maximum load rating
Maximum tire load Cis the maximum permis-sible weight for which the tire is approved.
Do not overload the tires by exceeding thespecified load limit. The maximum permissibleload can be found on the vehicle's Tire andLoading Information placard on the B-pillar onthe driver's side (Ypage 303).
iThe actual values for tires are vehicle-spe-cific and may deviate from the values in theillustration.
DOT, Tire Identification Number (TIN)
US tire regulations stipulate that every tiremanufacturer or retreader must imprint a TINin or on the sidewall of each tire produced.
The TIN is a unique identification number. TheTIN enables the tire manufacturers or retread-ers to inform purchasers of recalls and othersafety-relevant matters. It makes it possiblefor the purchaser to easily identify the affectedtires.
The TIN is made up of manufacturer identifica-tion code D, tire size
Maximum loaded vehicle weight
The maximum weight is the sum of:
Rthe curb weight of the vehicle
Rthe weight of the accessories
Rthe load limit
Rthe weight of the factory installed optionalequipment
Kilopascal (kPa)
Metric unit for tire pressure. 6.9 kPa corre-sponds to 1 psi. Another unit for tire pressureis bar. 100 kilopascals (kPa) are the equivalentof 1 bar.
Load index
In addition to the load-bearing index, the loadindex may also be imprinted on the sidewall ofthe tire. This specifies the load-bearing capa-city more precisely.
Curb weight
The weight of a vehicle with standard equip-ment including the maximum capacity of fuel,oil and coolant. It also includes the air-condi-tioning system and optional equipment if theseare installed in the vehicle, but does notinclude passengers or luggage.
Maximum load rating
The maximum load rating is the maximum per-missible weight in kilograms or lbs for which atire is approved.
Maximum permissible tire pressure
Maximum permissible tire pressure for onetire.
Maximum load on one tire
Maximum load on one tire. This is calculatedby dividing the maximum axle load of one axleby two.
PSI (pounds per square inch)
A standard unit of measure for tire pressure.
Aspect ratio
Relationship between tire height and tire widthin percent.
Tire pressure
This is pressure inside the tire applying an out-ward force to each square inch of the tire'ssurface. The tire pressure is specified in
pounds per square inch (psi), in kilopascal(kPa) or in bar. The tire pressure should onlybe corrected when the tires are cold.
Cold tire pressure
The tires are cold:
Rif the vehicle has been parked with the tiresout of direct sunlight for at least three hoursand
Rif the vehicle has not been driven furtherthan 1 mile (1.6 km)
Tread
The part of the tire that comes into contactwith the road.
Bead
The tire bead ensures that the tire sitssecurely on the wheel. There are several steelwires in the bead to prevent the tire from com-ing loose from the wheel rim.
Sidewall
The part of the tire between the tread and thebead.
Weight of optional extras
The combined weight of those optional extrasthat weigh more than the replaced standardparts and more than 2.3 kg (5 lbs). Theseoptional extras, such as high-performancebrakes, level control, a roof rack or a high-per-formance battery, are not included in the curbweight and the weight of the accessories.
TIN (Tire Identification Number)
This is a unique identifier which can be usedby a tire manufacturer to identify tires, forexample for a product recall, and thus identifythe purchasers. The TIN is made up of themanufacturer's identity code, tire size, tiretype code and the manufacturing date.
Load bearing index
The load bearing index (also load index) is acode that contains the maximum load bearingcapacity of a tire.
Traction
Traction is the result of friction between thetires and the road surface.
312All about wheels and tires
Wheels and tires