Do I Need Snow Chains on Both Front and Rear Wheels with a 2005 Mercedes-Benz All-Wheel Drive

Updated 12/08/2009 | Published 12/07/2009

Question:

My ML500 is 4WD. Do I need two pairs of this chain?

asked by: Gen

Expert Reply:

I do not believe Mercedes-Benz does selectable 4-Wheel Drive like a pick-up truck or off-road vehicle does, but I am not sure. 4-Wheel drive systems allow you to turn off the drive power to the front wheels when not needed. This is done by a switch or knob on the dash, or a shifter on the floor along the transmission tunnel. If it does have a selectable 4-Wheel Drive, then no, you would not have to have chains on the front.

Most luxury imports, Mercedes, BMW and Lexus for example, use permanent All-Wheel Drive or AWD, and Merceds offers the 4-Matic system on some vehicles. These all use variants of the All-Wheel Drive system. If I understand it correctly, the 4-Matic system works like a selectable 4-Wheel Drive system, except the car computer controls when the front wheels are engaged, not the driver. With either a true AWD or 4-Matic system, I would recommend snow chains on both the front and rear, because there will always be power applied to the front in an AWD and the driver cannot control when power goes to the front in a 4-Matic.

expert reply by: Patrick B