2006 MERCEDES-BENZ ML500 REAR SEATS

Contents
Introduction.......................................... 9
Product information ................................ 9
Operator’s Manual ............................... 10
Service and warranty information .. 10
Important notice for California
retail buyers and lessees of
Mercedes-Benz automobiles .......... 11
Maintenance .................................. 12
Roadside Assistance ...................... 12
Change of address or ownership.... 13
Operating your vehicle
outside the USA or Canada ............ 13
Where to find it .................................... 15
Symbols ............................................... 16
Operating safety .................................. 17
Proper use of the vehicle ............... 17
Problems with your vehicle .................. 18
Reporting safety defects...................... 19
Reporting safety defects ................ 19
Vehicle data recording......................... 20
Information regarding electronic
recording devices........................... 20
At a glance.......................................... 21
Cockpit ................................................. 22
Instrument cluster ................................ 24
Multifunction steering wheel ................ 26
Center console ..................................... 27
Upper part ...................................... 27
Lower part ...................................... 28
Overhead control panel ........................ 29
Door control panel................................ 30
Getting started................................... 31
Unlocking ............................................. 32
Unlocking with the SmartKey ......... 32
Unlocking with KEYLESS-GO*......... 33
Starter switch positions .................. 34
Adjusting .............................................. 38
Seats .............................................. 38
Steering wheel ................................ 41
Mirrors ............................................ 43
Driving .................................................. 46
Fastening the seat belts ................. 46
Starting the engine ......................... 49
Parking brake ................................. 52
Driving ............................................ 52
Switching on headlamps ................. 54
Turn signals .................................... 54
Windshield wipers ........................... 55
Rear window wiper/washer ............ 57
Problems while driving.................... 58
Parking and locking .............................. 60
Parking brake ................................. 61
Switching off headlamps................. 62
Turning off engine ........................... 62

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

38 Getting startedAdjustingSeatsWarning!
G
All seat, head restraint, steering wheel, and
rear view mirror adjustments, as well as fas-
tening of seat belts, must be done before
the vehicle is put into motion.Warning!
G
Do not adjust the driver’s seat while driving.
Adjusting the seat while driving could cause
the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
back in an excessively reclined position as
this can be dangerous. You could slide un-
der the seat belt in a collision. If you slide
under it, the belt would apply force at the ab-
domen or neck. That could cause serious or
fatal injuries. The seat backrest and seat
belts provide the best restraint when the
wearer is in a nearly upright position and
belts are properly positioned on the body.
Your seat must be adjusted so that you can
correctly fasten your seat belt (
page 39).
Never place hands under the seat or near
any moving parts while a seat is being
adjusted.
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.
Even with the SmartKey or the SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO* removed from the
starter switch or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* removed from the vehicle,
the power seats can be operated when the
respective door is open.
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
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing position. Thus, we strongly recommend
that children be placed in the rear seats
whenever possible. Regardless of seating
position, children 12 years old and under
must be seated and properly secured in an
appropriate infant, or toddler restraint, or
booster seat recommended for the size and
weight of the child. For additional
information, see “Children in the vehicle”
(page 78).
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle
and/or the child is not properly secured in
the child restraint.

39 Getting started
Adjusting
Seat adjustment
The seat adjustment switch is located on
the entry side of each front seat base.
1 Head restraint height*
2Seat cushion tilt
3Seat height
4Backrest tilt
5Seat fore and aft adjustment
Switch on the ignition (
page 34).
or

Open the respective door.Seat fore and aft adjustment

Press the switch forward or backward
in the direction of arrow5.
Adjust seat to a comfortable seating
position that still allows you to reach
the accelerator/brake pedal safely.
The position should be as far to the rear
as possible, consistent with ability to
properly operate controls.
Seat height

Press the switch up or down in the
direction of arrow3.
!When moving the seat, make sure
there are no items in the footwell or
behind the seat. Otherwise you could
damage the seat.
When the rear bench seat is folded for-
ward, the front seats cannot be moved
to the rearmost position. Otherwise
you could damage the front seats and
the rear bench seat.!When adjusting the backrest tilt and
head restraint height, make sure that
the sun visor is folded up. If the head
restraint is in the uppermost position, it
could hit and damage the sun visor.
iThe memory function* (
page 135)
lets you store the setting for the seat
positions together with the setting for
the steering wheel and the exterior rear
view mirrors.

46 Getting startedDrivingFastening the seat beltsWarning!
G
Do not lay any objects in the driver’s foot-
well. Be careful that floor mats or carpets in
the driver’s footwell have sufficient clear-
ance for the pedals.
During sudden driving or braking maneu-
vers, the objects could get caught between
the pedals. You could then no longer brake
or accelerate.Warning!
G
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure your passengers are
properly restrained, even those sitting in the
rear and pregnant women.
Failure to wear and properly fasten and po-
sition your seat belt greatly increases your
risk of injuries and their likely severity in an
accident. You and your passengers should
always wear seat belts.
If you are ever in an accident, your injuries
can be considerably more severe without
your seat belt properly buckled. Without
your seat belt buckled, you are much more
likely to hit the interior of the vehicle or be
ejected from it. You can be seriously injured
or killed.
In the same crash, the possibility of injury or
death is lessened if you are wearing your
seat belt. The air bags can only provide the
protection they were designed to afford if
the occupants are using their seat belts
(page 66).
Warning!
G
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing position. Thus, we strongly recommend
that children be placed in the rear seats.
Regardless of seating position, children
12 years old and under must be seated and
properly secured in an appropriate infant, or
toddler restraint, or booster seat recom-
mended for the size and weight of the child.
For additional information, see “Children in
the vehicle” (
page 78).
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle
and/or the child is not properly secured in
the child restraint.

76 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
exceeded 15 mph (25 km/h) if either
the driver’s or front passenger’s seat
belt remains unfastened.
If the driver’s or front passenger’s seat
belt remains unfastened after
60 seconds, the seat belt telltale<
stops flashing and the warning chime
stops sounding. The seat belt
telltale< then continues to be illu-
minated for as long as either the driv-
er’s or front passenger’s seat belt are
not fastened.
The seat belt telltale< will only go out
if both the driver’s and the front passen-
ger’s seat belt (with the front passenger
seat occupied) are fastened, or the vehicle
is standing still and a front door is opened.
For more information, see “Practical hints”
(
page 401).Emergency tensioning device (ETD),
seat belt force limiter
The seat belts for the front and rear outer
seats are equipped with emergency ten-
sioning devices and belt force limiters.
The ETD is designed to activate in the
following cases:


in frontal or rear-end impacts
exceeding a preset severity level


in certain vehicle rollovers


if the restraint systems are operational
and functioning correctly, see
1indicator lamp (
page 390)In an impact, emergency tensioning
devices remove slack from the belts in
such a way that the seat belts fit more
snugly against the body. Belt force limiters,
when activated, are employed to help
reduce the peak force exerted by the seat
belts on occupants during a crash.
iThe ETDs for the front seats will only
activate if the front seat belt is fas-
tened (latch plate properly inserted
into buckle).
The ETDs for the rear outer seats will
activate with or without the respective
seat belt fastened.
Warning!
G
A pyrotechnic emergency tensioning device
(ETD) that was activated must be replaced.
When disposing of the pyrotechnic emer-
gency tensioning device, our safety instruc-
tions must be followed. These are available
at your authorized Mercedes-Benz Light
Truck Center.
PRE-SAFE* has electrically operated
reversible pre-tensioners that do not require
replacement after activation.

79 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
A statement by the child restraint manu-
facturer of compliance with this standard
can be found on the instruction label on
the restraint and in the instruction manual
provided with the restraint.
When using any infant or child restraint
system, make sure to carefully read and
follow all manufacturer’s instructions for
installation and use.
Please read and observe warning labels af-
fixed to the inside of the vehicle and to
infant or child restraints.Warning!
G
Never release the seat belt buckle while the
vehicle is in motion, since the special seat
belt retractor will be deactivated.
Warning!
G
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing position. Thus, we strongly recommend
that children be placed in the rear seats
whenever possible. Regardless of seating
position, children 12 years old and under
must be seated and properly secured in an
appropriate infant or child restraint
recommended for the size and weight of the
child.
The infant or child restraint must be properly
secured with the vehicle’s seat belt, the seat
belt and top tether strap, or lower anchors
and top tether strap, fully in accordance
with the child seat manufacturer’s
instructions.
Children can be killed or seriously injured by
an inflating air bag. Note the following im-
portant information when circumstances
require you to place a child in the front
passenger seat:

Your vehicle is equipped with air bag
technology designed to turn off the front
passenger front air bag in your vehicle
when the OCS senses the weight of a
typical 12-month-old child or less along
with the weight of a standard
appropriate child restraint on the front
passenger seat.


A child in a rear-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat will be serious-
ly injured or even killed if the front
passenger front air bag inflates in a
collision which could occur under some
circumstances, even with the air bag
technology installed in your vehicle. The
only means to completely eliminate this
risk is to never place a child in a rear-fac-
ing child restraint in the front seat. We
therefore strongly recommend that you
always place a child in a rear-facing
child restraint in the back seat.


80 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety

If you must install a rear-facing child
restraint on the front passenger seat be-
cause circumstances require you to do
so, make sure that the
59indicator lamp is illuminat-
ed, indicating that the front passenger
front air bag is deactivated. Should the
59indicator lamp not illumi-
nate or go out while the restraint is in-
stalled, please check installation.
Periodically check the
59indicator lamp while driv-
ing to make sure the lamp is illuminated.
If the 59indicator lamp goes
out or remains out, do not transport a
child on the front passenger seat until
the system has been repaired. A child in
a rear-facing child restraint on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured
or even killed if the front passenger front
air bag inflates.


If you have to place a child in a
forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger seat, move the seat as
far back as possible, use the proper
child restraint recommended for the
age, size and weight of the child, and se-
cure child restraint with the vehicle’s
seat belt according to the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions. For
children larger than the typical
12-month-old child, the front passenger
front air bag may or may not be
activated (
page 82).
Warning!
G
Infants and small children should never
share a seat belt with another occupant.
During an accident, they could be crushed
between the occupant and seat belt.
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle
and/or the child is not properly secured in
the child restraint.
Children too big for a toddler restraint must
ride in seats using regular seat belts. Posi-
tion shoulder belt across chest and shoul-
der, not face or neck. A booster seat may be
necessary to achieve proper belt positioning
for children from 41 lbs until they reach a
height where a lap/shoulder belt fits
properly without a booster.