Winter operation
361
At temperatures below +7 †, use winter tyres
or all-season tyres. Both types of tyre are
identified by the M+S marking.
To avoid hazardous situations:
R
R
never fit snow chains on the rear wheels
always fit snow chains in pairs to the front
wheels.
Only winter tyres 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 tyres will allow driving
safety systems such as ABS and ESP® to
function optimally in winter. These tyres have
been developed specifically for driving in
snow.
! Vehicles with steel wheels: if you fit
snow chains on steel wheels, you may dam-
age the hub caps. Remove the hub caps
from the relevant wheels before fitting the
snow chains.
For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends that you only use snow chains that
have been specifically approved for your vehi-
cle by Mercedes-Benz, or that are of a corre-
sponding standard of quality. For more infor-
mation, please contact a qualified specialist
workshop.
Use M+S tyres 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 tyres you have
fitted.
If you fit M+S tyres that have a lower maxi-
mum permissible speed than that of the vehi-
cle, affix an appropriate warning sign in the
driver's field of vision. This can be obtained at
a qualified specialist workshop.
Under these circumstances, you should also
restrict the maximum speed of the vehicle
using permanent SPEEDTRONIC so that it
does not exceed the maximum permissible
speed for the M+S tyres (Y page 196).
If you intend to fit snow chains, please bear
the following points in mind:
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snow chains cannot be fitted to all wheel-
tyre combinations. Permissible wheel-tyre
combinations (Y page 372).
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only use snow chains if the road surface is
completely snow-covered. Remove the
snow chains as soon as possible when you
come to a road that is not snow-covered.
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local regulations may restrict the use of
When you have fitted the M+S tyres:
snow chains. Observe the appropriate reg-
ulations if you wish to fit snow chains.
X
Check the tyre pressures (Y page 362).
X
Restart the tyre pressure loss warning sys-
R
do not exceed the maximum permissible
tem (Y page 364).
speed of 50 km/h.
X
Restart the tyre pressure monitor
R
when snow chains are fitted, never use
(Y page 366).
Active Parking Assist (Y page 212).
You may wish to deactivate ESP® (Y page 73)
when pulling away with snow chains fitted.
This way you can allow the wheels to spin in a
controlled manner, achieving increased driv-
ing force (cutting action).
Information about driving with an emergency
spare wheel (Y page 389).
Snow chains
Information about driving with an emergency
spare wheel (Y page 389).
WARNING
G
If snow chains are fitted to the rear wheels,
they may scrape against the vehicle body or
chassis components. This could cause dam-
age to the vehicle or the tyres. There is a risk
of an accident.
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English 
