432 Practical hintsBattery
Disconnecting the battery
Depress parking brake firmly or move
gear selector lever to positionP.
Turn off all electrical consumers.
Remove SmartKey from starter switch.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:
Press the start/stop button until
the engine shuts off.
Open the driver’s door.
Warning!
G
Do not place metal objects on the battery as
this could result in a short circuit.
Use leak-proof battery only to avoid the risk
of acid burns in the event of an accident.
Warning!
G
The electro-hydraulic brake system requires
electrical power to operate.
A malfunction in the vehicle’s power supply
or electrical system may impair brake sys-
tem operation and switch it into its emer-
gency operation mode. The same applies if
battery is disconnected. To brake, the driver
must then apply significantly greater brake
pedal pressure and depress the pedal much
further to obtain the expected braking ef-
fect. If necessary, apply full pressure to the
brake pedal. Brakes may only be applied to
the front wheels. Stopping distance is in-
creased! Adjust your driving style according-
ly. For more information, refer to
“Electro-hydraulic brake system”
(page 89).
Warning!
G
With a disconnected battery
you will no longer be able to turn the
SmartKey in the starter switch and
pressing the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button on the gear selector lever will
have no effect
the gear selector lever will remain
locked in positionP
439 Practical hints
Towing the vehicle
Installing towing eye bolt
Front of vehicle
1Cover on right side of front bumper
To remove cover:
Press mark on cover in direction of ar-
row.
Lift cover off to reveal the threaded
hole for towing eye bolt.
!When towing the vehicle with all wheels
on the ground, please note the follow-
ing:
With the automatic central locking acti-
vated and the SmartKey in starter
switch position2, or KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button in position2, the ve-
hicle doors lock if the left front wheel
as well as the right rear wheel are turn-
ing at vehicle speeds of approximately
9 mph (15 km/h) or more.
Switch off the tow-away alarm (if
equipped) (
page 95).
To prevent the vehicle door locks from
locking, deactivate the automatic cen-
tral locking (page 122).
Towing of the vehicle should only be
done using the properly installed tow-
ing eye bolt. Never attach tow cable,
tow rope or tow rod to the vehicle chas-
sis, frame or suspension parts.
iThe selector lever will remain locked in
positionP and the SmartKey will not
turn in the starter switch if the battery
is disconnected or discharged. For
more information see “Battery”
(page 431) or “Jump starting”
(page 435).
Manual unlocking of the transmission
selector lever (
page 404).