2006 MERCEDES-BENZ ML350 Open tailgate from inside

ContentsSafety and Security........................... 65
Occupant safety................................... 66
Air bags .......................................... 67
Seat belts ....................................... 73
Preventive occupant safety*
(PRE-SAFE)
®................................... 77
Children in the vehicle .................... 78
Blocking of rear door
window operation ........................... 89
Panic alarm .......................................... 91
Activating ....................................... 92
Deactivating ................................... 92
Driving safety systems ......................... 93
ABS ................................................ 93
BAS ................................................ 95
ESP
®.............................................. 95
EBP................................................. 98
4-ETS .............................................. 98
Anti-theft systems.............................. 100
Immobilizer................................... 100
Anti-theft alarm system ................ 100
Tow-away alarm ........................... 102
Controls in detail............................. 105
Locking and unlocking ....................... 106
SmartKey ..................................... 106
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ...... 110
Opening the doors
from the inside ............................. 117
Opening the tailgate ..................... 118
Closing the tailgate ...................... 120
Automatic central locking ............ 125
Locking and unlocking
from the inside ............................. 126
Seats ................................................. 128
Easy-entry/exit feature
(Vehicles with
memory function*) ....................... 128
Lumbar support............................ 130
Rear seat head restraints ............. 130
Multicontour seat* ....................... 132
Seat heating* ............................... 133Memory function* ............................. 135
Storing positions in memory ........ 136
Recalling positions
from memory ............................... 136
Storing exterior rear
view mirror parking position ........ 137
Lighting ............................................. 138
Exterior lamp switch .................... 138
Combination switch ..................... 142
Corner-illuminating
front fog lamps*........................... 143
Hazard warning flasher ................ 144
Interior lighting ............................ 145
Door entry lamps ......................... 147
Instrument cluster ............................. 148
Instrument cluster illumination .... 148
Trip odometer .............................. 149
Tachometer .................................. 149
Outside temperature indicator ..... 149

118 Controls in detailLocking and unlockingOpening the tailgate
Opening the tailgate from the outside
A minimum height clearance of 7 ft
(2.15 m) is required to open the tailgate.
The handle is located above the rear
license plate recess.
Vehicles without KEYLESS-GO*:
The vehicle must be unlocked.
Pull on the handle.
The tailgate opens.The tailgate can also be opened using the
SmartKey (
page 106).Opening the tailgate from the inside
electrically*
You can open the tailgate from the inside if
the vehicle is stationary.
A minimum height clearance of 7 ft
(2.15 m) is required to open the tailgate.
The switch is located on the door control
panel.
1Remote tailgate switch with indicator
lamp
!The tailgate swings open upwards auto-
matically. Always make sure there is
sufficient overhead clearance.
Vehicles with tailgate opening/closing
system*: To stop the opening proce-
dure, press buttonŠ on the
SmartKey. The tailgate stops moving.iIf the vehicle was previously centrally
locked, the tailgate will lock automati-
cally after closing it (
page 120). The
turn signals will flash three times to
confirm locking.

120 Controls in detailLocking and unlockingClosing the tailgate
Closing the tailgate from the inside
electrically*
In vehicles with tailgate opening/closing
system* you can close the tailgate from
the inside using the remote tailgate switch.
Press remote tailgate switch1
(page 118) until tailgate begins to
close.
The tailgate closes. The indicator lamp
in the remote tailgate switch goes out.
While the tailgate is closing an acoustic
signal sounds.
To interrupt the closing procedure:

Press or pull remote tailgate switch1. If the tailgate comes into contact with an
object while closing (e.g. luggage that has
been piled too high) the closing procedure
is stopped and the tailgate reopens.iYou can also close the tailgate by hand.
Warning!
G
Maintain sight of the area around the rear of
the vehicle while operating the tailgate with
the door mounted switch. Monitor the
closing procedure carefully to make sure no
one is in danger of being injured.
To interrupt the closing procedure, press or
pull the door mounted remote tailgate
switch.
Even with the SmartKey or the SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO* removed from the start-
er switch or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* removed from the vehicle,
the remote tailgate switch can be operated.
Therefore, do not leave children unattended
in the vehicle, or with access to an unlocked
vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehicle equip-
ment may cause an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
Warning!
G
Only drive with the tailgate closed as,
among other dangers such as blocked
visibility, exhaust fumes may enter the
vehicle interior.

121 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Closing the tailgate from the outside
manually
1Handle
Lower tailgate by pulling firmly on
handle1.

Close tailgate with hands placed flat on
it.
Closing the tailgate from the outside
(vehicles without KEYLESS-GO*)
In vehicles with tailgate opening/closing
system* you can close the tailgate sepa-
rately from the outside using the tailgate
closing switch or the Šbutton on the
SmartKey.
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the cargo
compartment opening when closing the tail-
gate. Be especially careful when small chil-
dren are around.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.Warning!
G
Only drive with the tailgate closed as,
among other dangers such as blocked
visibility, exhaust fumes may enter the
vehicle interior.
iTo prevent an inadvertent lockout, do
not place the SmartKey in the cargo
compartment.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:
To prevent a possible inadvertent lock-
out, the tailgate will open automatically
if a SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO is rec-
ognized inside the vehicle or in the car-
go compartment.iIf the vehicle was previously centrally
locked, the tailgate will lock automati-
cally after closing it. The turn signals
flash three times to confirm locking.

123 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Closing the tailgate from the outside
(vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*)
In vehicles with tailgate opening/closing
system* you can close the tailgate sepa-
rately from the outside using the tailgate
closing switch or the Šbutton on the
SmartKey.
1Tailgate closing switch
Make sure you have the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* with you.

Press tailgate closing switch 1 briefly.
The tailgate closes.If the tailgate comes into contact with an
object while closing (e.g. luggage that has
been piled too high), the closing procedure
is stopped and the tailgate reopens slight-
ly.
iYou can also close the tailgate by hand.iTo prevent a possible inadvertent lock-
out, the tailgate will open automatically
if a SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is
recognized inside the vehicle.
Warning!
G
Monitor the closing procedure carefully to
make sure no one is in danger of being in-
jured. To prevent possible personal injury,
always keep hands and fingers away from
the cargo compartment opening when clos-
ing the tailgate. Be especially careful when
small children are around. To stop the clos-
ing procedure, do one of the following:

press the tailgate closing switch1


press KEYLESS-GO locking/closing
switch


press the Šbutton on the SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO


press or pull the remote tailgate switch
(on the driver’s door)


124 Controls in detailLocking and unlocking
Closing the tailgate and locking the
vehicle from the outside (vehicles with
KEYLESS-GO*)
In vehicles with tailgate opening/closing
system and KEYLESS-GO*, you can close
the tailgate and lock the vehicle simulta-
neously from the outside using the
KEYLESS-GO* locking/closing switch.
1KEYLESS-GO* locking/closing switch
Make sure you have the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* with you.

Press switch1 briefly.The vehicle is locked and the tailgate
closes automatically. The turn signals
flash three times to confirm locking.
The locking knobs in the doors move
down. The anti-theft alarm system is
armed.
If the tailgate comes into contact with an
object while closing (e.g. luggage that has
been piled too high), the closing procedure
is stopped and the tailgate reopens
slightly.
Even with the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
removed from the vehicle, the tailgate
closing switch can be operated. Therefore,
do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Unsupervised use of vehicle equipment may
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.Warning!
G
Only drive with the tailgate closed as,
among other dangers such as blocked
visibility, exhaust fumes may enter the vehi-
cle interior.iIf the vehicle was previously centrally
locked, the tailgate will lock automati-
cally after closing it. The turn signals
will flash three times to confirm lock-
ing.
iYou can also close the tailgate by hand.iTo prevent a possible inadvertent lock-
out, the tailgate will open automatically
if a SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is
recognized inside the vehicle.


126 Controls in detailLocking and unlockingFor information on towing the vehicle, see
“Towing the vehicle” (
page 472).
You can deactivate the automatic locking
mode using the control system
(
page 172).
Locking and unlocking from the inside
You can lock or unlock the doors and the
tailgate from inside using the central lock-
ing or unlocking switch. This can be useful,
for example, if you want to lock the vehicle
before starting to drive.
The fuel filler flap cannot be locked or un-
locked with the central locking or unlock-
ing switch, respectively.The switches are located on each front
door control panel.
1Central unlocking switch
2Central locking switch
Locking

Press central locking switch2.
If all doors and the tailgate are closed,
the vehicle locks.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
iWith the passenger-side door opened,
you cannot lock the vehicle with the
central locking switch.

437 Practical hints
Unlocking/locking in an emergency
Unlocking and opening the tailgate
A minimum height clearance of 7 ft
(2.15 m) is required to open the tailgate.
If the tailgate can no longer be unlocked
and opened using the Œbutton on the
SmartKey or the KEYLESS-GO* function,
use the manual release to unlock and open
the tailgate.
The manual release is located on the inside
of the tailgate.
1Release lever
2Cover
Remove cover2 from the trim on the
tailgate.

Push release lever1 all the way to the
left.

Lift the tailgate.!Always make sure there is sufficient
overhead clearance.iIf the vehicle has previously been
locked from the outside using the
SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO*, opening the tailgate
from the inside will trigger the
anti-theft alarm system.
To cancel the alarm, do one of the
following:
With the SmartKey:

Press buttonŒ or‹ on the
SmartKey.


Insert the SmartKey in the starter
switch.
With KEYLESS-GO*:

Grasp an outside door handle.
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO
must be within 3 ft (1 m) of the ve-
hicle.
or


Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop
button.
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO
must be inside the vehicle.