Well today was quite a scary drive. It was my first day driving my E300 in snow and it was the worst time managing a vehicle in the snow that I have ever experienced. It was only about 2.5 inches of snow. I put 120# of bagged sand in the trunk last week, however, it feels as though the weight does not provide any traction assistance. The ARS light on the dash sure blinked a lot this morning. Even at 20mph the rear kept on wanting to come around the front. Except for one front wheel drive car many years ago I have driven rear wheel drive so I am rather used to then in the snow, but my E300 in the snow is like nothing else I have ever driven.
My wife said that she is done driving the car until spring.

Should I get another set of rims for narrow tires?
More weight in the truck?
Any other thoughts....
Thanks.

Just drove my E300 and no real probelms. Of course I have newer tires and ESP which is different from yours. However the solution is to get a set of 4 snow tires and wheels from Tire Rack like a Bridgestone Blizzak and your problems will be solved.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

It's kind of ironic that a German car would handle so poorly in the snow. I mean....Germany gets some crazy snowy weather.

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1982 240D.
My name is Michael, and I am an 18 year old binge-drinkin', cigar-smokin', novel-writin', all around unsavory and unnattractive guy. I tell long-winded stories, and I only shave once a week, although I've had to do it every day since I was 16.

Two words:

SNOW TIRES!

Yes, as the others have said here tires are the key. I have a set of 4 snows on a spare set of wheels and have no problems at all with my E300 and don't cart around any sand. I think also there are some all season tires which are better than others in the snow so maybe your tires are just not really good in the snow and you wouldn't have trouble with a good set of all seasons. I have found really dramatic differences in how tires make a car handle in the snow. I had a Cadillac Caterra which was TERRIBLE in the snow on the Goodyear all seasons...but as soon as I put a set of Michelin snows on the back it was like a different car altogether. My wifes AWD C240 has Pirelli all seasons on it and handles fine without any need for snows. I think those pirellis are good all season tires but I still went for snows on my RWD E300.

Also, try the "W" mode in the transmission instead of the "S" mode. This starts you off in second gear and adjusts the shifts to keep the rear wheels from spinning. I find it helpful too.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

snow tires are great, but i would use the excuse to get later model 4-matic. diesels tend to have a little to much torque from a dead stop to get traction. post '97's with winter mode helps some. are you setting the tranny for second gear take off?

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g-wagen

Try a rear wheel drive BMW in the snow sometime.

Nothing as bad as rwd Volvo's.

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82 300D....went to MB heaven
90 350 SDL....excercising con rods

Try driving a 91 Firebird puting 410 HP at the wheels riding on stiff suspension and 245 50 ZR 16 Goodyear Eagle GSC tires and 3.73 ration or even 4.100. They will spin on the snow even in idle at 750 rpm.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Michelin Arctic Alpin is the way to go. I've had blizzaks which are o.k., but the Alpin tires handle exceptionally well.

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Ed
-1984 Mercedes 190D 2.2 5-speed gray market(bought@30,000 miles) (Sold back to original owner@170,000 miles)
-1999 Mercedes E300DT (245,000 miles)
-1999 Mercedes S500 Grand Edition (80,000 miles)

It's not the car, it's the driver. I think some winter driving lessons are in order.

click the switch from summer to winter .....S.....W....starts in 2nd gear

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2003 SLK 230 (85000)
1999 E300 Turbo Diesel (388,000)
1991 350SD Turbo Diesel (185,000)

CORRECTION...
Nothing is as bad as a nervous yuppie soccer mom in a Ford Exploder or som cocky dumbass in a Chevy suburban (hey! lookitatme! Igot4wd - dont know how to drive it, but i paid 40k) with bald under- inflated summer tires in that first snow of the year where the wet snow packs into the asphalt like peanut butter on a toasty English muffin .....mmmm hungry.

Already been said... BUY SNOW TIRES
For $500-600, they are are cheaper than the insurance deductable you pay when you slide into the guy in the next intersection and will give you tons of security and confidence when you drive every day.

My 1998 rolls on 4 Nokians(ALWAYS BUY 4, never 2) .
No issues on 3 inches of snow on thanksgiving - all 125 miles to Grandma's house. A little noisier, I lose 1.5 mpg, but tremendously safer.

Phil

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Phil
Previously loved
variety, but I miss the 99 F350 PSD- 37k, traded, damn

Current stable
98 E-300 TurboDiesel, 253k
http://www.facebook.com/people/Philip-Underwood/762882374

MB made ESP standard on all its cars in 1999. You both have 1999 E300s, so why is yours different from his? They should both have ESP. Correct me if/where I am wrong.

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver

I was very pleased w/ my first snow drive in my 90 350sdl! Lots better than a rwd volvo. 225/55/16 AS tires.

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82 300D....went to MB heaven
90 350 SDL....excercising con rods