Winter Operation - Mercedes-Benz G-Class Operator's Manual

Winter operation

308
Selecting, mounting and replacing
tires
Only mount tires and wheels of the same
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type and make.
Only mount approved tires of the correct
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size onto the wheels.
Tires are supplied with a protective layer
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from the factory. Break in new tires at mod-
erate speeds for the first 60 miles
(100 km). They only reach their full per-
formance after this distance.
Do not drive with tires which have too little
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tread depth, as this significantly reduces
the traction on wet roads (hydroplaning).
Replace the tires after six years at the lat-
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est, regardless of wear. This also applies to
the spare wheel.
Winter operation
General notes
Have your vehicle winterproofed at a qualified
specialist workshop at the onset of winter.
Observe the notes in the "Changing a wheel"
section ( page 327).
Y
Driving with summer tires
At temperatures below 45 ‡ (+7 †), summer
tires lose elasticity and therefore traction and
braking power. Change the tires on your vehi-
cle to M+S tires. Using summer tires at very
cold temperatures could cause cracks to
form, thereby damaging the tires perma-
nently. Mercedes-Benz cannot accept
responsibility for this type of damage.
M+S tires
G WARNING
M+S tires with a tire tread depth of less than
ã in (4 mm) are not suitable for use in winter
and do not provide sufficient traction. There is
a risk of an accident.
M+S tires with a tread depth of less than ã in
(4 mm) must be replaced immediately.
G WARNING
Wheel and tire dimensions as well as the type
of tire can vary between the spare wheel and
the wheel to be replaced. When the spare
wheel is mounted, driving characteristics may
be severely affected. There is a risk of an acci-
dent.
In order to reduce risks:
you should therefore adapt your driving
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style and drive carefully.
never mount more than one spare wheel
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that differs from the wheel to be replaced.
only use a spare wheel that differs from the
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wheel to be replaced for a short time.
do not deactivate ESP
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have a spare wheel that differs from the
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wheel that has been changed replaced at
the nearest qualified specialist workshop.
You must observe the correct wheel and
tire dimensions as well as the wheel type.
Do not exceed a maximum speed of 50 mph
(80 km/h) if a spare wheel of a different size
is installed.
At temperatures below 45 ‡ (+7 †), use all-
season tires or winter tires. Both types of tire
are identified by the M+S marking.
Not all tires with the M+S marking provide the
driving characteristics of winter tires. In addi-
tion to the M+S marking, winter tires also
have the i snowflake symbol on the tire
wall. Tires with this marking fulfill the require-
ments of the Rubber Manufacturers Associa-
tion (RMA) and the Rubber Association of
Canada (RAC) regarding snow traction, and
were specially developed for driving on snow.
Only these tires will allow driving safety sys-
tems such as ABS and ESP
mally in winter, since these tires have been
designed specifically for driving on snow.
Use M+S tires of the same make and tread on
all wheels to maintain safe handling charac-
teristics.
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