Only winter tires bearing the
i
snowflake
symbol in addition to the M+S marking pro-
vide the best possible grip in wintry road con-
ditions.
Only these tires will allow driving safety sys-
tems such as ABS and ESP
®
to function opti-
mally in winter. These tires have been devel-
oped specifically for driving in snow.
Use M+S tires of the same make and tread on
all wheels to maintain safe handling charac-
teristics.
Always observe the maximum permissible
speed specified for the M+S tires you have
mounted.
When you have mounted the M+S tires:
X
Check the tire pressures (
Y
page 351).
X
Vehicles for Canada: restart the tire pres-
sure loss warning system (
Y
page 352).
X
Restart the tire pressure monitor
(
Y
page 355).
Information about driving with an emergency
spare wheel (
Y
page 379).
Snow chains
G
WARNING
If snow chains are installed to the front
wheels, they may drag against the vehicle
body or chassis components. This could
cause damage to the vehicle or the tires.
There is a risk of an accident.
To avoid hazardous situations:
R
never install snow chains to the front
wheels
R
always install snow chains in pairs to the
rear wheels.
!
On vehicles with AIRMATIC, you must
drive at raised vehicle level if snow chains
have been mounted. The vehicle may oth-
erwise be damaged.
!
On some tire sizes there is not enough
space for snow chains. To avoid damage to
the vehicle or tires, observe the "Wheel and
tire combinations" section under "Tires and
wheels".
For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends that you only use snow chains that
have been specially approved for your vehicle
by Mercedes-Benz, or are of a corresponding
standard of quality. For more information,
contact a qualified specialist workshop.
If you intend to mount snow chains, please
bear the following points in mind:
R
Snow chains may not be mounted on all
wheel/tire combinations. Permissible
wheel-tire combinations (
Y
page 372).
R
Only use snow chains when driving on
roads completely covered by snow.
Remove the snow chains as soon as possi-
ble when you come to a road that is not
snow-covered.
R
Local regulations may restrict the use of
snow chains. Observe the appropriate reg-
ulations if you wish to mount snow chains.
R
Do not exceed the maximum permissible
speed of 30 mph (50 km/h).
i
You may wish to deactivate ESP
®
when
pulling away with snow chains installed:
R
All vehicles (except AMG vehicles)
(
Y
page 76)
R
AMG vehicles: (
Y
page 77)
You can thereby allow the wheels to spin in
a controlled manner, achieving an
increased driving force (cutting action).
Information about driving with an emergency
spare wheel (
Y
page 379).
Winter operation
347
Wheels
and
tires
Z
