No
teson noise orunusua lhand lingcharac‐
te rist ics
Mak esur eth er ear eno vibr ations, noisesor
unusual handling charact eristic swhen theve hi‐
cle isin mo tion. Thismayindicat eth at the
wheels ortires aredamag ed.Hidde ntir edam‐
ag ecould alsobecausin gth eunusual handling
ch aract eristic s.
If yo ususp ectthat atir eis malf unctionin g,
re duce your spee dimm ediat elyand have the
tir es and wheelsch eckedat aqu alif ied spec ialist
wo rkshop. No
teson regular lyinspect ingwheels and
tir es &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju rythro ugh dam‐
ag ed tires
Dam aged tires can caus etir epr ess ureloss . #
Chec kth etir es regular lyforsigns of
dama geand replace anydamag edtires
immediat ely. &
WARNIN GRisk ofhydroplaning dueto
insuf ficie nttiretrea d
Insu fficien ttir etread willresult inreduced
tir egr ip.
In hea vyrain or slush therisk ofhydroplaning
is incr eased, inpar ticular wherespeed isno t
adap tedto suit thecon ditions . #
Thus, yousho uld regular lych eckth e
tr ea dde pthand thecon dition ofthe
tr ea dacr oss theent ire widt hof all tires.
Minimum tread depthfor:
R Summ ertires: 00CEin(3 mm)
R M+S tires: 00CFin (4mm) #
Forsaf etyre ason s,replace thetir es
bef oreth eleg ally -prescr ibed limit for
th eminimum tread depthisreac hed. Car
ryout thefo llo wing checks on allwheels reg‐
ular ly,at leas tonce amont hor as requ ired, for
ex am ple, prior toalon gjo ur ne yor drivin gof f-
ro ad:
R Chec kth etir epr essur e(/ page366). R
Visual lyinspect wheelsandtires fordama ge.
R Chec kth eva lve caps.
R Visual checkof thetir etread depthand the
tir econt actsurface across theent ire widt h.
The minimum tread depthforsummer tires is
00CE in(3 mm) andforwint ertires 00CF in
(4 mm). Six
mar ks1 showwher eth ebar indicat ors
(ar row )ar eint egr ated intoth etir etread. They
ar evisible onceatread depthofappr oximat ely
00CD in(1.6 mm) hasbeen reac hed. Whee
lsand tires 365
No
teson sno wch ains &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent dueto inc or‐
re ct mou nting ofsno wch ains
If yo uha ve mount edsno wch ains tothefront
wheels, thesno wch ains maydr ag agains t
th eve hicle body orchassis components.
This couldcaus edamag eto theve hicle or
th etir es. #
Nevermount snowch ains onthefront
wheels. #
Onlymount snowch ains onthere ar
wheels inpair s. *
NO
TEDama getothewheel trim from
mount edsno wch ains If
sn ow chains aremoun tedto steel wheels,
th ewheel trims can bedamag ed. #
Remo vethewheel trims ofsteel wheels
bef oremount ingsnowch ains . Obse
rveth efo llo wing when usingthesno w
ch ains :
R Snow chains areon lype rm issible forcer tain
wheel/t ire com binat ions.Yo ucan obtain
inf ormat ionabout this from anaut hor ized
Mer cedes -Benz Cent er.
R Forsaf etyre ason s,on lyuse snow chains that
ha ve been specif icallyapproved foryo ur
ve hicle byMer cedes-Ben z,or sno wch ains
wit hth esame qualit yst andar d.
R Ifsn ow chains areins talled, themaximum
per missible speedis30 mph(50 km/h).
R Vehicl eswith Activ ePa rking Assis t:Do
no tuse Parking AssistPA RK TRONI Cwhen
sn ow chains have been installed.
R Vehicl eswith AIRBO DY CONT ROLor
MA GIC BODY CONT ROL:Ifsn ow chains are
ins talled, onlydrive at raised vehicle leve l.
% Youcan deac tivateES P®
to pull away
( / pag e15 3).Thi sal lo ws thewheels to
spin, achie ving anincr eased driving forc e. Ti
re pres sur e No
teson tirepr essur e &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent dueto insuf ‐
fi cie ntor excess ive tir epr ess ure
Under inflate dor ove rinf late dtir es pose the
fo llo wing risk s:
R The tires ma ybur st,especiall yas the
load andvehicle speed increase.
R The tires ma ywe arexc essiv elyand/or
une venly, whic hma ygr ea tly impair tire
traction .
R The drivin gch aract eristic s,as wellas
st eer ing and braking, maybe greatl y
im pair ed. #
Com plywithth ere comme ndedtire
pr ess ureand checkth etir epr essur eof
all tires including thespar ewheel regu‐
lar ly:
R atleas tonce amont h
R when theload chang es 366
Wheelsand tires
R
beforeembar kingon along erjour ney
R ifoper ating condition sch ang e,e.g .of f-
ro ad drivin g #
Adjus tth etir epr essur eas neces sary. Ti
re pressur ewhic his toohigh ortoolow can:
R Shor tenth eser vice life of thetir es.
R Cause increased tiredamag e.
R Adversely affect drivi ng charact eristic sand
th us drivin gsaf ety, e.g. due tohydroplaning. &
WARNIN GRisk ofan acci dent dueto
insuf ficie nttirepr ess ure
Ti re swit hpr essur eth at istoolow can over‐
heat andburstas are sult.
In addition, they also sufferfr om excessiv e
and/or irre gular wear,whic hcan significan tly
im pair thebr aking proper tiesand thehan‐
dling charact eristic s. #
Avoid excessiv elylow tirepr essur esin
all thetir es, including thespar ewheel. Ti
re pressur ewhic his toolow can cause:
R Tire malfu nctions asare sult ofove rheating
R Impair edhandling charact eristic s
R Irre gular wear
R Incr eased fuelconsum ption &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent from exces‐
siv etir epr ess ure
Ti re swit hexc essiv elyhigh pressur ecan
bur stbecause they aredamag edmor eeasil y
by highw ayfill, po tholes etc.
In addition, they also sufferfr om irre gular
we ar,whic hcan significan tly im pair thebr ak‐
ing proper tiesand thehandling charact eris‐
tic s. #
Avoid excessiv elyhigh tirepr essur esin
all thetir es, including thespar ewheel. Ti
re pressur ewhic his toohigh cancause:
R Increased brakin gdis tance
R Impaired handl ing charact eristic s
R Irre gular wear R
Impair eddrivin gcom fort
R Sus ceptibility to damag e &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent caused by
re peat eddrop intirepr essur e
If th etir epr essur edr ops repeat edly,th e
wheel, valve or tirema ybe damag ed.
Insuf ficie nttirepr ess urecan causethetir es
to bur st. #
Inspect thetir efo rsigns offore ign
obje cts. #
Chec kwhe ther thewheel orvalve has a
leak . #
Ifyo uar eunab leto rectify thedamag e,
con tact aqu alif ied spec ialistwo rkshop. Yo
ucan find informa tionon tirepr ess urefo rth e
ve hicle's fact or y-ins talled tires on thefo llo wing
labels:
R Tire and Loadi ngInfo rm atio nplacar don the
B‑pil larof your vehicle (/page37 2).
R Tire pressur eta ble ontheinside ofthefuel
fi ller flap (/ page36 8). Whee
lsand tires 36
7
Obser
vethemaximum tirepr essur e
(/ page37 8).
Us easu itabl epr es su re gaug eto checkth etir e
pr essur e.The outerappear anceofatir edoes
no tper mit anyre liable conclusion aboutthetir e
pr essur e.
Onl ycor rect tirepr ess ure whe nth etir es are
cold. Condition sfo rcold tires:
R The vehicle hasbeen parkedwit hth etir es
out ofdir ect sunlight forat lea stthre ehour s.
R The vehicle hastrave led less than 1mile
(1 .6 km ).
The vehicle's tires heat upwhen driving. Asthe
te mp eratur eof thetir es incr eases, sotoodoes
th etir epr essur e.
Ve hicl eswith atir epr ess uremonit oring sys‐
te m: Youcan also checkth etir epr essur eusing
th eon- board computer.
The tirepr essur ere comme ndedforincr ease d
loa d/spee din thetir epr essur eta ble can affect
th eride comf ort. &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent dueto
uns uitable accessories ontireva lve
If yo umoun tuns uitable accessories onto tire
va lves, thetir eva lves ma ybe ove rloaded and
malfunct ion,whic hcan cause aloss oftire
pr essur e.Afterm arke ttir epr es su re monit or‐
ing systems willcause thetir eva lve to
re main open, depending onthedesign. This
can also result inaloss oftirepr essur e. #
Onlyscr ew standar dva lve caps orvalve
cap sspe cifica llyapprove dby
Mer cedes-Ben zfo ryo ur vehicle onto
th etir eva lve. Ti
re pres sur etab le The
tirepr ess ureta ble ison theinside ofthe
fuel filler flap.
% The datasho wnintheimag esisexam ple
dat a. If
on eor mor etir esiz es prece deatir epr essur e,
th efo llo wing tirepr essur einf ormatio nis onl y
va lid forth ose tiresizes andtheir respectiv e
load condition.
The load conditions "partially laden" and"fully
laden" aredef ined intheta ble fordif fere nt num ‐
be rs of passeng ersand amounts oflugg age. The
actual number ofseats maydif ferfr om this. 368
Wheels andtires
Some
tirepr ess ureta bles onlysho wtherim
diame terins tead ofthecom pletetiresize, e.g.
R1 8.The rim dia me teris par tof thetir esize and
can befound onthetir eside wall(/ page37 9).
R Tire and Loadi ngInfo rm atio nplacar d
(/ page37 2)
R Maxi mum tirepr essu re(/ pag e37 8) Ch
ecking tirepr es sur esmanua lly #
Read thetir epr essur efo rth ecur rent operat‐
ing cond itions from theTire and Loadi ng
In fo rm atio nplacar dor thetir epr essur e
ta ble. Obser vetheno teson tirepr essur e. #
Remo vetheva lve cap ofthetir eto be
ch ecked. #
Press thetir epr essur ega ug esec urelyon to
th eva lve. #
Read thetir epr essur e. #
Ifth etir epr essur eis lowe rth an there com‐
mend edvalue, increase thetir epr essur eto
th ere comme ndedvalue. #
Ifth etir epr essur eis higher than there com‐
mend edvalue, release air.To do so, press
do wn theme talpin intheva lve, e.g. using
th etip ofapen forex am ple. Then checkth e
tir epr es su re again usin gth etir epr essur e
ga ug e. #
Screw theva lve cap ontoth eva lve.
Fu rther relat ed subje cts:
R Noteson tirepr essur e(/ page366) R
Tire pressur eta ble (/ page368 )
R Tire and Loadi ngInfo rm atio nplacar d
(/ page37 2) Ti
re pres sur emoni toring system Fu
nction ofthetir epr essur emoni toring sys‐
te m &
DANG ER Risk ofacc iden tdue toinc or‐
re ct tirepr ess ure
Eac htir e, incl uding thespar e(if prov ided),
should becheckedmont hlywhen coldand
inf lated totheinf lation pressur ere comme n‐
ded bytheve hicle manuf actureron theve hi‐
cle placar dor tireinf lation pressur elabel .(If
yo ur vehicle hastires ofadif fere nt size than
th esize indicat edon theve hicle placar dor
tir einf lation pressur elabel ,yo usho uld deter‐
mine thepr oper tireinf lation pressur efo r
th ose tires.)
As anadded safetyfe atur e,your vehicle has
been equipped withatir epr essur emonit or‐
ing system (TPMS) that illumin ates alow tire Whee
lsand tires 369
pr
essur ete lltale when oneormor eof your
tir es issign ifican tly und er-in flat ed. Accor d‐
ing ly,whe nth elow tirepr essur ete lltale illu‐
min ates, yousho uld stop and checkyo ur
tir es assoo nas poss ible, andinflateth em to
th epr oper pressur e.Driving onasignif i‐
cant lyunder -inflated tirecauses thetir eto
ove rheat and canlead totirefa ilur e.Un der -
inf lation alsoreduces fuelefficie ncy and tire
tr ea dlife ,and mayaf fect theve hicle's han‐
dling andstopping ability.Please note that
th eTPMS isno ta subs titutefo rpr oper tire
maint enance, anditis thedr iver's responsi‐
bility tomaint aincorrect tirepr ess ure, eve n
if under -inflatio nhas notre ac hed theleve lto
tr ig ge rill umina tionoftheTPMS low tirepr es‐
sur ete lltale.
Yo ur vehicle hasalso been equipped witha
TPMS malfunction indicatortoindic ateth at
th esy stem isno toper ating proper ly.The
TPMS malfunct ionindicat oriscombin edwith
th elow tirepr essur ete lltale. When thesy s‐
te m detects amal functi on,theindicat or
lam pwill flash forapp roxima tely one minu te and
then remain continuously illumina ted.
This sequence willcontinue upon subseq uent
ve hicle star t-ups aslon gas themalfunct ion
ex ists.
When themalfunct ionindicat orisillumina‐
te d, thesy stem mayno tbe able todetect or
sig nal low tirepr ess ureas intende d.TPM S
mal functi onsmayoccu rfo ra va riet yof rea‐
son s,inc ludin gth eins tallation ofreplace‐
ment oralternat etir es orwheels ontheve hi‐
cle that prev ent theTPMS from func tioning
pr oper ly.
Alw aysch eckth eTPMS malfunct iontelltale
af te rre placing oneormor etir es orwheels
on your vehicle toensur eth at there place‐
ment oralternat etir es and wheels allowthe
TPMS tocontinu eto function proper ly. The
system checks thetir epr essur eand thetir e
te mp eratur eof thetir es installed totheve hicle
by means ofatir epr essu resensor .
The tirepr essur eand thetir ete mp eratur e
appear inthemultifunc tiondispla y
(/ page37 1). If
th er eis asubs tantia lpr ess ureloss orifth e
tir ete mp eratur eis exc essiv e,youwill bewarned
in thefo llo wing ways:
R viadisp lay messa ges(/ page44 8)
R via th e0077 warning lam pin theins trument
clus ter
The tirepr essur emonit oring system isonl yan
aid. Itis thedr iver's responsibili tyto setth etir e
pr essur eto there comme ndedcoldtirepr ess ure
su itab leforth eoper ating situation .
In mos tcases, thetir epr essur emonit oring sys‐
te m wil lau tomatical lyupd ateth ene wrefere nce
va lues afte ryo uha ve chang edthetir epr essur e.
Yo ucan ,ho we ver,also updat eth ere fere nce val‐
ues byrestar tin gth etir epr essur emonit oring
sy stem manuall y(/ page37 1).
Sy stem limit s
The system maybe impair edorma yno tfunc tion
in thefo llo wing situat ions:
R thetir epr essur ehas been setincor rectl y
R ther eis asudden pressur eloss caused, for
ex am ple, byafo re ign obje ctpene tratin gth e
tir e 37
0
Wheels andtires
sur
esarewit hin thespecif iedrang e. The cur‐
re nt tirepr ess ures areth en accep tedas ref‐
er ence values andmon itor ed.
Mak esur eto obser vethefo llo wing further rela‐
te dsubjec t:
R Noteson tirepr essur e(/ page366) Loading
theve hicl e No
teson Tire and Loading Information plac‐
ar d &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent from overloa‐
ded tires
Ov erloaded tires ma yove rheat and burstas a
con sequenc e.Ov erloaded tires can also
im pair thesteer ing and handling charact eris‐
tic sand lead tobrak efa ilur e. #
Obser vetheload-bear ingcapacity of
th etir es. #
The load-bear ingcapacity mustbe at
leas thalf thegr oss axle weight rating of
th eve hicle. #
Neverove rload thetir es by exc eeding
th emaximum load. The
Tire and Loadi ngInfo rm atio nplacar dis on
th eB-pillar onthedr iver's side oftheve hicle. 1
Tire and Loadi ngInfo rm atio nplacar d %
The datasho wnintheillus tration isexam ple
dat a.
The Tire and Loadi ngInfo rm atio nplacar dsho ws:
R Maximum numberofseats 2accor dingto
th emaximum numberofpeople permitt edto
tr ave lin theve hicle.
R Maximum permissible load3com prises the
gr os swe ight ofall vehicle occupants, load
and luggage. 37
2
Wheels andtires
and
one-h alftim esaswellon thego vernment
te st trac kas atir egr ad ed 100.
The relativ eper form anc eof tires depen dsupon
th eactual conditions oftheir use, howe ver,and
ma ydepar tsign ifican tly from thenor mdue to
va riatio nsindrivin ghabit s,ser vicepr act icesand
dif fere nces inroad charact eristic sand climate
con dition s.
Tr actio ngr ade &
DANG ER Risk ofacc iden tdue toinade‐
qu atetract ion
The tract ion grade assig nedtothis tireis
based onstra ight -ahead brakin gtract ion
te sts, and does notinclude either acceler a‐
tion, corner ing, hydroplaning orpeak traction
ch aract eristic s. #
Alw aysadap tyo ur drivin gst yle and
dr ive at aspeed tosuit thepr ev ailin g
traf fic and weather condition s. *
NO
TEDama getothedr ivet ra in from
wheelspin #
Avoid wheelspin. The
traction classes, from highes tto lowe st,ar e
AA ,A, Band C.Tho segrad es repr esent thetir e's
ability tostop onwetpa vement asmeasu red
und ercontro lled condition son spec ified govern‐
ment test sur faces ofasp haltand concr ete. A
tir emar kedC ma yha ve poor traction perform ‐
anc e.
Te mp eratur egr ade &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent from tire
ove rheating andtirefa ilur e
The temp eratur egr ade forth is tireis es tab‐
lished fora tir eth at isproper lyinflat ed and
no tove rloaded. Excessiv espeed, underinfla‐
tion, orexc essiv eloading, either separ ately
or incombin ation,cancause excessiv eheat
build-up andpossible tirefa ilur e. #
Obser vethere comme ndedtirepr es‐
su resand regular lych eckth etir epr es‐ sur
eof all tires including thespar e
wheel. #
Adjus tth etir epr essur eas neces sary. The
temp eratur egr ades areA (the highes t),B
and C.The yre pr esent thetir e's resis tance tothe
ge ner ation ofhea tand itsability todissipat e
heat when tested under controlled conditions on
a specif iedindoor laborator yte st wheel. Sus‐
ta ined hightemp eratur ecan cause themat erial
of thetir eto deg ener ateand reduce tirelife, and
exc essiv ete mp eratur ecan lead tosudden tire
fa ilur e.Grade Ccor responds toaleve lof per‐
fo rm anc ewhic hall passe nger car tires mus t
mee tunde rth eFe der alMo torSaf etySt andar d
No. 109. Grade sB and Arepr esent higher leve ls
of per form anc eon thelabor ator yte st wheel
th an theminimum requ ired bylaw. DO
T,Tire Iden tificat ionNumbe r(TI N) US
tirere gulations stipulat eth at eve rytire man‐
uf actu reror retrea de rmu stimprint aTIN inor
on theside wallof eac htir epr oduced. Wheels
andtires 37
7