2003 MERCEDES-BENZ ML500 ESP

162 Controls in detailUseful featuresOnce the emergency call is in progress, the
indicator lamp in the SOS button will begin
to flash. The message
EMERGENCY CALL –
CONNECTING CALL
appears in the MCS dis-
play. When the connection is established,
the message
EMERGENCY CALL –
CALL CONNECTED
appears in the MCS dis-
play. All information relevant to the emer-
gency, such as the location of the vehicle
(determined by the GPS satellite location
system), vehicle model, identification num-
ber and color are generated.
A voice connection between the Response
Center and the occupants of the vehicle
will be established automatically soon af-
ter the emergency call has been initiated.
When a voice connection is established the
audio system mutes and the message
TELE AID – EMERGENCY CALL ACTIVE
ap-
pears in the MCS display. The Response
Center will attempt to determine more pre-
cisely the nature of the accident provided
they can speak to an occupant of the vehi-
cle.The Tele Aid system is available if:


it has been activated and is operation-
al. Activation requires a subscription
for monitoring services, connection
and cellular air time


the relevant cellular phone network
and GPS signals are available and pass
the information on to the response cen-
ter.iLocation of the vehicle on a map is only
possible if the vehicle is able to receive
signals from the GPS satellite network
and pass the information on to the re-
sponse center.
Warning!
G
If the indicator lamp in the SOS button is il-
luminated continuously and there was no
voice connection to the Response Center
established, then the Tele Aid system could
not initiate an emergency call (e.g. the rele-
vant cellular phone network is not available).
The message
EMERGENCY CALL –
Call FAILED appears in the MCS display
for approx. 10 seconds.
Should this occur, assistance must be sum-
moned by other means.

163 Controls in detail
Useful features
Initiating an emergency call manually
1Cover
2SOS button
Briefly press on cover1.
The cover will open.

Press SOS button2 briefly.
The indicator lamp in SOS button2 will
flash until the emergency call is con-
cluded.

Wait for a voice connection to the Re-
sponse Center.

Close cover1 after the emergency call
is concluded.Roadside Assistance button
•
1Cover
2Roadside Assistance button
•

Briefly press on cover1.
The cover will open.

Press and hold the button2 (for longer
than 2 seconds)
A call to a Mercedes-Benz Roadside As-
sistance dispatcher will be initiated.
The button will flash while the call is in
progress. The message
ROADSIDE AS-
SISTANCE – CONNECTING CALL
will ap-
pear in the MCS display.
Warning!
G
If you feel at any way in jeopardy when in the
vehicle (e.g. smoke or fire in the vehicle, ve-
hicle in a dangerous road location), please
do not wait for voice contact after you have
pressed the emergency button. Carefully
leave the vehicle and move to a safe loca-
tion. The Response Center will automatically
contact local emergency officials with the
vehicle’s approximate location if they re-
ceive an automatic SOS signal and cannot
make voice contact with the vehicle occu-
pants.

165 Controls in detail
Useful features
Information button
¡
1Cover
2Information button
¡

Briefly press on cover1.
The cover will open.

Press and hold the button (for longer
than 2 seconds).
A call to the Customer Assistance Cen-
ter will be initiated. The button will
flash while the call is in progress. The
message
INFO – CONNECTING CALL
will
appear in the MCS display.When the connection is established, the
message
INFO – CALL CONNECTED
appears
in the MCS display. The Tele Aid system
will transmit data generating the vehicle
identification number, model, color and lo-
cation (subject to availability of cellular
and GPS signals).
A voice connection between the Customer
Assistance Center representative and the
occupants of the vehicle will be estab-
lished. When a voice connection is estab-
lished the audio system mutes and the
message
TELE AID – INFO CALL ACTIVE

appears in the MCS display. Information
regarding the operation of your vehicle, the
nearest Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center
or Mercedes-Benz USA products and ser-
vices is available to you. If the indicator lamp in the Roadside
Assistance button
•
is illuminated
continuously and there was no voice
connection to the Response Center es-
tablished, then the Tele Aid system
could not initiate a Roadside Assis-
tance call (e.g. the relevant cellular
phone network was not available). The
message
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE –
CALL FAILED
appears in the MCS dis-
play.
Roadside Assistance calls can be ter-
minated using the END Button on the
MCS unit.
iWhile the call is connected, you can
change to navigation menu by pressing
NAVI button on the MCS unit.

166 Controls in detailUseful featuresFor more details concerning the Tele Aid
system, please visit www.mbusa.com and
use your ID and password (sent to you sep-
arately) to learn more (USA only).Upgrade signals
The Tele Aid system processes calls using
the following priority.


Automatic emergency – First priority


Manual emergency – Second priority


Roadside assistance – Third priority


Information – Fourth priority
Should a higher priority call be initiated
while you are connected, an upgrade (al-
ternating) tone will be heard and the ap-
propriate indicator lamp will flash. If
certain information such as vehicle identi-
fication number or customer information is
not available, the operator may need to re-
transmit.
During this time you will hear a beep and
voice contact will be interrupted. Voice
contact will resume once the retransmis-
sion is completed. Once a call is conclud-
ed, a beep will be heard and the
appropriate indicator lamp will stop flash-
ing. The MCS system operation will re-
sume.
iThe indicator lamp in the Information
button
¡
remains illuminated in red
for approx. 10 seconds during the sys-
tem self-check after turning key in the
steering lock to position2 (together
with the SOS button and the Roadside
Assistance button
•
).
See system self-check (page 160)
when the indicator lamp does not light
up in red or stays on longer than ap-
proximately 10 seconds.
If the indicator lamp in the Information
button
¡
is illuminated continuous-
ly and there was no voice connection to
the Response Center established, then
the Tele Aid system could not initiate
an Information call (e.g. the relevant
cellular phone network is not avail-
able).
The message
INFO CALL FAILED
ap-
pears in the MCS display.
Information calls can be terminated us-
ing the END button on the MCS.
!If the indicator lamps do not start flash-
ing after pressing one of the buttons or
remains illuminated (in red) at any
time, the Tele Aid system has detected
a fault or the service is not currently ac-
tive, and may not initiate a call. Visit
your Mercedes-Benz Center and have
the system checked or contact the Re-
sponse Center at 1-800-756-9018 (in
the USA) or 1-888-923-8367 (in Cana-
da) as soon as possible.

167 Controls in detail
Useful features
Remote door unlock
In case you have locked your vehicle unin-
tentionally (e.g. key inside vehicle), and no
other key is available:
Contact the Mercedes-Benz Response
Center at 1-800-756-9018 (in the USA)
or 1-888-923-8367 (in Canada).
You will be asked to provide your pass-
word which you provided when you
completed the subscriber agreement.

Then return to your vehicle and pull
outside handle of the liftgate for mini-
mum of 20 seconds until the SOS but-
ton is flashing.
The message
EMERGENCY CALL –
CALL CONNECTED appears in the MCS
display.
As an alternative, you may unlock the vehi-
cle via Internet using the ID and password
sent to you shortly after the completion of
your acquaintance call.
!If the indicator lamp continues to flash
or the system does not reset, contact
the Response Center at
1-800-756-9018 (in the USA) or
1-888-923-8367 (in Canada), or Mer-
cedes-Benz Customer Assistance at
1-800-FOR-MERCedes
(1-800-367-6372) in the USA or Cus-
tomer Service at 1-800-387-0100 in
Canada.iThe indicator lamp in the respective
button flashes until the call is conclud-
ed. Calls can only be terminated by a
Response Center or Customer Assis-
tance Center representative, except
Roadside Assistance and Information
calls, which can also be terminated by
using the END button on the MCS unit.
iWhen a Tele Aid call has been initiated,
the MCS system audio is muted and
the selected mode (radio, tape or CD)
pauses. The optional cellular phone (if
installed) switches off. If you must use
this phone, the vehicle must be parked.
Disconnect the coiled cord and place
the call. The navigation system (if en-
gaged) will continue to run. A pop-up
window will appear in the MCS display
to indicate that a Tele Aid call is in
progress.

168 Controls in detailUseful featuresThe Response Center will then unlock your
vehicle with the remote door unlocking
feature.Stolen vehicle tracking services
In the event your vehicle was stolen:

Report the incident to the police
The police will issue a numbered inci-
dent report.

Pass this number on to the
Mercedes-Benz Response Center along
with your password issued to you when
you subscribed to the service.
The Response Center will then attempt
to covertly contact the vehicle’s Tele
Aid system. Once the vehicle is locat-
ed, the Response Center will contact
the local law enforcement and you. The
vehicle’s location will only be provided
to law enforcement.
Garage door opener
The built-in remote control is capable of
operating up to three separately controlled
objects.
1Hand-held remote control trans-
mitter
2, 3, 4Signal transmitter key
5Indicator lamp
iThe remote door unlock feature is avail-
able if the relevant cellular phone net-
work is available.
The SOS button will flash and the mes-
sage
EMERGENCY CALL –
CALL CONNECTED
will appear in the MCS
display to indicate receipt of the door
unlock command.
Once the vehicle is unlocked, a Re-
sponse Center specialist will attempt
to establish voice contact with the ve-
hicle occupants.
If the outside liftgate handle was pulled
for more than 20 seconds before door
unlock authorization was received by
the Response Center, you must wait
15 minutes before pressing the outside
liftgate handle again.

176 Controls in detailUseful featuresCountry
Press MODE2 (
page 172) repeated-
ly until the country display appears in
the trip computer display3.

Press and hold RESET1 a minimum of
five seconds to change the country unit
system.
Canada units system selection
You can choose between CAN-English or
CAN-French.Setting CAN-English

Press RESET1 repeatedly until CAN is
displayed.

Press MODE2 to select
–ENG
.

Press MODE2 again to set CAN-En-
glish.Setting CAN-French

Press RESET1 repeatedly until CAN is
displayed.

Press MODE2. –ENG
is displayed.

Press RESET1 to select
–Fr
.

Press MODE2 to set CAN-French.
The language selected determines how the
various displays are presented, see table.
Display
Language
Date
Cardinal points
Fuel consumption
Distance remaining
GEr
German
DD.MM
Süd, Nord, Ost, West
l/100 km
Kilometer
GB
English
MM.DD
South, North, East, West
mi/gal (Imperial)
Miles
ESP
Spain
DD.MM
Sur, Norte, Este, Oeste
l/100 km
Kilometer
Fr
French
DD.MM
Sud, Nord, Est, Ouest
l/100 km
Kilometer
USA
American
MM.DD
South, North, East, West
mi/gal (US)
Miles
CAN-ENG
American
MM.DD
South, North, East, West
l/100 km
Kilometer
CAN-Fr
French
DD.MM
Sud, Nord, Est, Ouest
l/100 km
Kilometer

181 Operation
Driving instructions
Install only brake pads and brake fluid rec-
ommended by Mercedes-Benz.
After hard braking, it is advisable to drive
on for some time, rather than immediately
parking, so the air stream will cool down
the brakes faster.
Driving off
Apply the brakes to test them briefly after
driving off. Perform this procedure only
when the road is clear of other traffic.
Warm up the engine smoothly. Do not
place full load on the engine until the oper-
ating temperature has been reached.
When starting off on a slippery surface, do
not allow one drive wheel to spin for an ex-
tended period with the ESP switched off.
Doing so may cause serious damage to the
drivetrain which is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Warning!
G
If other than recommended brake pads are
installed, or other than recommended brake
fluid is used, the braking properties of the
vehicle can be degraded to an extent that
safe braking is substantially impaired. This
could result in an accident.
!When driving down long and steep
grades, relieve the load on the brakes
by shifting into a lower gear to use the
engine’s braking power. This helps
prevent overheating of the brakes and
reduces brake pad wear.