Interchanging the wheels
G
WARNING
Interchanging the front and rear wheels may
severely impair the driving characteristics if
the wheels or tyres have different dimensions.
The wheel brakes or suspension components
may also be damaged. There is a risk of acci-
dent.
Interchange front and rear wheels only if the
wheels and tyres are of the same dimensions.
!
On vehicles fitted with a tyre pressure mon-
itor, electronic components are located in the
wheel.
Tyre-fitting tools should not be applied in the
area of the valve, as this could damage the
electronic components.
Only have tyres changed at a qualified spe-
cialist workshop.
Interchanging the front and rear wheels of dif-
fering dimensions can render the general oper-
ating permit invalid.
Observe the instructions and safety notes in the
"Fitting a wheel" section (
Y
page 329).
The wear patterns on the front and rear tyres
differ depending on the operating conditions.
Interchange the wheels before a clear wear pat-
tern has formed on the tyres. Front tyres typi-
cally wear more on the shoulders and the rear
tyres in the centre.
On vehicles that have the same size front and
rear wheels, you can interchange the wheels
every 5,000 to 10,000 km depending on the
degree of tyre wear. Ensure that the direction of
rotation is maintained.
Clean the contact surfaces of the wheel and the
brake disc thoroughly every time a wheel is
interchanged. Check the tyre pressure and, if
necessary, restart the tyre pressure loss warn-
ing system (
Y
page 326) or the tyre pressure
monitor (
Y
page 328).
Direction of rotation
Tyres with a specified direction of rotation have
additional benefits, e.g. if there is a risk of aqua-
planing. These advantages can only be gained if
the tyres are fitted corresponding to the direc-
tion of rotation.
An arrow on the sidewall of the tyre indicates its
correct direction of rotation.
Storing wheels
Store wheels that are not being used in a cool,
dry and preferably dark place. Protect the tyres
against oil, grease, petrol and diesel.
Fitting a wheel
Preparing the vehicle
X
Stop the vehicle on solid, non-slippery and
level ground.
X
Apply the parking brake.
X
Move the front wheels to the straight-ahead
position.
X
Vehicles with manual transmission:
depress the clutch pedal fully and engage first
or reverse gear.
X
Vehicles with automatic transmission:
shift the automatic transmission to position
P.
X
Switch off the engine.
X
Remove the key from the ignition lock.
or, on vehicles with KEYLESS
‑
GO:
X
Open the driver's door.
The on-board electronics now have status 0.
This is the same as the key having been
removed.
X
Remove the Start/Stop button from the igni-
tion lock (
Y
page 139).
X
If included in the vehicle equipment, remove
the tyre-change tool kit from the vehicle
(
Y
page 305).
X
Safeguard the vehicle against rolling away.
i
Apart from some country-specific variants,
vehicles are not equipped with tyre-changing
tools. Some tools for changing a wheel are
specific to the vehicle. For more information
on which tools are required to perform a
wheel change on your vehicle, consult a quali-
fied specialist workshop.
Necessary tyre-changing tools may include,
for example:
R
jack
R
wheel chock
Changing a wheel
329
Wh
eels
and
ty
re
s
Z
