2008 MERCEDES-BENZ ML SUV Owners Manual

Side windows
102 Convenience closing
When you lock the vehicle, you can simulta-
neously close the:
R side windows
R sliding/tilting sunroof* G
Risk of injury
Make sure nobody can become trapped
when using the convenience closing fea-
ture. Proceed as follows if there is a risk of
entrapment:
With the key:
R release the jbutton.
R press and hold the kbutton until the
side windows and the sliding/tilting sun-
roof* open again.
With KEYLESS GO*:
R release the locking button on the door
handle.
R pull the door handle immediately and
hold it.
The side windows and the sliding/tilting
sunroof* open. With the key
X
Point the tip of the key at the driver's door
handle.
X Lock the vehicle with the jbutton.
X Press and hold the jbutton until the
side windows and the sliding/tilting sun-
roof* are fully closed.
X Make sure that all the side windows and the
sliding/tilting sunroof* are closed. With KEYLESS GO* 1
Locking button on the door handle
X Keep locking button 1on the door handle
pressed until the side windows and the slid-
ing/tilting sunroof* are fully closed.
X Make sure that all the side windows and the
sliding/tilting sunroof* are closed. Controls
* optional
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Driving and pa
rking 103Driving and parking
Starting the engine
G
Risk of accident
Do not keep any objects in the driver's foot-
well. If you use a floormat or carpet in the
driver's footwell, make sure that they are
correctly secured and that there is suffi-
cient clearance for the pedals.
Objects could otherwise get between the
pedals in the event of sudden braking or
acceleration. You may then no longer be
able to brake, change gear or accelerate as
intended. This may result in an accident and
injury. G
Risk of poisoning
Never leave the engine running in enclosed
spaces. The exhaust gases contain carbon
monoxide. Inhaling exhaust fumes consti-
tutes a health hazard and could lead to loss
of consciousness or even death.
! Do not depress the accelerator pedal
when starting the engine. i
If you depress the brake when starting the
engine, pedal travel will be unusually long
and there will be less pedal resistance.
Automatic transmission P
Park position with parking lock
N To select neutral
R To select reverse gear
D To select drive
X Before starting, make sure Pis selected.
i The engine can also be started when the
DIRECT SELECT selector lever is in position
N.
Further information about the automatic
transmission (Y page 107). Starting the engine with the key X
To start a petrol engine: turn the key to
position 3in the ignition lock (Y page 75)
and release it.
The engine starts automatically.
X To start a diesel engine: turn the key to
position 2in the ignition lock (Y page 75).
The q preglow indicator lamp in the
instrument cluster lights up.
X When the qpreglow indicator lamp
goes out, turn the key to position
3 (Y page 75) and release it.
The engine starts automatically.
i You can start the engine without preglow
if the engine is warm.
Starting the engine with KEYLESS GO* G
Risk of injury
Your vehicle can be started using a valid
KEYLESS GO key*. For this reason, children
should never be left unsupervised in the
vehicle. Always take the KEYLESS GO
key* with you when leaving the vehicle,
even if you are only leaving it for a short
time. Cont
rols
* optional
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Driving and pa
rking 104
The KEYLESS GO button can be used to start
the vehicle without inserting the key in the
ignition lock. 1
KEYLESS GO button
X Depress the brake pedal.
The selector lever lock is released.
X Petrol engine: press KEYLESS GO button
1 once.
The engine starts automatically.
X Diesel engine: press KEYLESS GO button
1 once.
Preglow is activated and the engine starts
automatically.
i You can start the engine without preglow
if the engine is warm: X
Press and hold KEYLESS GO button
1 until the engine is running. Pulling away
! Warm up the engine quickly. Do not use
the engine's full performance until it has
reached operating temperature.
Only shift into reverse gear when the vehi-
cle is stationary.
Where possible, avoid spinning the drive
wheels when pulling away on slippery
roads. You could otherwise damage the
drive train.
! AMG vehicles: at low engine tempera-
tures (below +20 °C), the maximum engine
speed is limited in order to protect the
engine. Avoid driving at full throttle when
the engine is cold in order to protect the
engine and maintain smooth engine oper-
ation.
i The vehicle locks centrally once you have
pulled away. The locking knobs in the doors
drop down.
You can open the doors from the inside at
any time. You can also deactivate the automatic lock-
ing feature (Y page 132).
i It is only possible to move the selector
lever to the desired position if you depress
the brake pedal. Only then is the selector
lever lock released.
X Depress the brake pedal and hold it down.
X Pull the parking brake release handle to
release the parking brake.
X Move the selector lever to position Dor R.
i Wait until the shift process is completed
before pulling away.
X Release the brake pedal.
X Carefully depress the accelerator pedal.
i Upshifts take place at higher engine
speeds after a cold start. This helps the
catalytic converter to reach its operating
temperature more quickly. Controls
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Driving and pa
rking 105Hill start assist
Hill start assist helps you when pulling away
on uphill gradients of more than 5°. G
Risk of accident
Hill start assist is not a parking brake. It
does not prevent the vehicle from rolling
away.
When parking, always depress the parking
brake and set the automatic transmission
to P.
X To pull away on an uphill slope, release the
brake and depress the accelerator pedal.
The hill start assist continues to hold the
braking pressure for up to one second. This
allows you to pull away evenly without the
vehicle rolling back.
i The brake pedal remains in the depressed
position until the hill start assist releases
the braking pressure.
Hill start assist will not function if:
R you are pulling away on a downhill gradient
R the automatic transmission is in neutral N
R the parking brake is applied
R ESP ®
is deactivated due to a malfunction Parking
G
Risk of accident
Only remove the key from the ignition lock
when the vehicle is stationary as you can-
not steer the vehicle with the key removed.
Never leave children unsupervised in the
vehicle. They could release the parking
brake. This could lead to a serious or fatal
accident. G
Risk of fire
Make sure that the exhaust system does
not under any circumstances come into
contact with easily ignitable material such
as dry grass or petrol. The material could
otherwise ignite and set the vehicle on fire. Parking brake 1
Release handle
2 Parking brake
X To apply: depress parking brake 2firmly.
The 3 warning lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up if the engine is running.
i On steep slopes, turn the front wheels
towards the kerb.
X To release: depress the brake pedal and
keep it depressed.
The selector lever lock is released.
X Pull release handle 1.
The 3 warning lamp in the instrument
cluster goes out. Controls
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Transmission
106 Switching off the engine
G
Risk of accident
If the engine is not running, there is no
power assistance for the steering and
brakes. Steering and braking then takes
much more effort.
As a result, you might lose control of the
vehicle, cause an accident and injure your-
self and others.
Do not switch off the engine while driving.
X Move the selector lever to P.
Using the key
X Turn the key to position 0(Y page 75) in
the ignition lock and remove it.
The immobiliser is activated.
i If you switch off the engine using the key
and then remove the key or open one of the
front doors, the automatic transmission will
shift to park position P. Using KEYLESS GO*
X
Press and hold the KEYLESS GO button
(Y page 75).
The engine stops and all the indicator
lamps in the instrument cluster go out
(Y page 26).
i If you use the KEYLESS GO button to
switch off the engine, the automatic trans-
mission shifts to N. If you then open the
driver's or front-passenger door, the auto-
matic transmission shifts to P. Transmission
Notes on the transmission
G
Risk of accident
The movement of the pedals must not be
impaired in any way. Do not keep any
objects in the driver's footwell. Make sure
that floormats or carpets are correctly
secured and that there is sufficient clear-
ance for the pedals. G
Risk of accident
Do not change down for additional engine
braking on a slippery road surface. This
could cause the drive wheels to lose their
grip and the vehicle could skid. This could
cause you to lose control of your vehicle
and cause an accident. Controls
* optional
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Transmission
107Automatic transmission
! Warm up the engine quickly. Do not use
the engine's full performance until it has
reached operating temperature.
Only shift the automatic transmission to R
or Pwhen the vehicle is stationary.
Where possible, avoid spinning the drive
wheels when pulling away on slippery
roads. You could otherwise damage the
drive train.
The DIRECT SELECT selector lever is on the
right of the steering column. Gearshift pattern
P
Park position with selector lever lock
N To select neutral
R To select reverse gear
D To select drive i
The DIRECT SELECT selector lever always
returns to its original position. The current
transmission position P,N, R, or Dappears
in the transmission position display
(Y page 108).
Shifting to neutral N X
Push the DIRECT SELECT selector lever up
or down to the first point of resistance.
Engaging reverse gear R X
Push the DIRECT SELECT selector lever up
past the first point of resistance.
Shifting to transmission position D X
Push the DIRECT SELECT selector lever
down past the first point of resistance.
Engaging park position P X
Push the DIRECT SELECT selector lever in
the direction of the arrow P.
i Depress the brake and push the DIRECT
SELECT selector lever up or down to disen-
gage park position.
If you want to switch from the park position
directly to reverse gear, depress the brake and push the DIRECT SELECT selector lever
up past the first point of resistance.
If you want to switch from the park position
directly to the transmission position,
depress the brake and push the DIRECT
SELECT selector lever down past the first
point of resistance.
! If the engine speed is too high, do not shift
the automatic transmission directly from
D to R, from Rto Dor directly to P. The
automatic transmission could otherwise be
damaged.
Changing gears The automatic transmission shifts into indi-
vidual gears automatically. This automatic
gearshifting behaviour is determined by:
R
the transmission position D(Y page 108)
with shift ranges 6,5,4,3,2and
1 (Y page 108)
R the selected drive program
(S/M)* (Ypage 111), on the ML 63 AMG
(C/S/M) (Ypage 112)
R the position of the accelerator pedal
(Y page 109)
R the road speed Controls
* optional
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Transmission
108
In transmission position
D(Y page 109), you
can influence the gearshifts made by the
automatic transmission by using the DIRECT
SELECT steering wheel gearshift buttons to:
R restrict the shift range
R change gear yourself on vehicles with the
manual gearshift program (S/M)*
R change gear yourself on the ML 63 AMG
with the manual gearshift program
(S/C/M)*
Transmission display The current transmission position and drive
program appear in the display. !
If the transmission display is not working,
you should pull away carefully to check
whether the desired gear is selected. Ide-
ally, you should select transmission posi-
tion Dand drive program S*. On AMG vehicles, select gearshift program
C. Do
not restrict the shift range.
Transmission positions ì Park position
Prevents the vehicle from rolling
away when stopped. Only select
P
when your vehicle is stationary.
If you switch off the engine using
the key and then remove the key or
open one of the front doors, the
automatic transmission will auto-
matically shift to park position P.
If you switch off the engine using
the KEYLESS GO button* and open
the driver's door, the automatic
transmission will automatically
shift to park position P. í Reverse gear
Only shift the automatic transmis-
sion to
Rwhen the vehicle is sta-
tionary. ë Neutral
Do not shift the automatic trans-
mission to
Nwhile you are driving.
The automatic transmission could
otherwise be damaged.
If you switch off the engine using
the key or the KEYLESS GO but-
ton*, the automatic transmission
will automatically shift to neutral
N.
If ESP ®
is deactivated or faulty,
only shift the automatic transmis-
sion to Nif the vehicle is in danger
of skidding, e.g. on icy roads. ê Drive
The automatic transmission
changes gear automatically. All
forward gears are available.
Shift ranges
In transmission position
D, you can use the
DIRECT SELECT steering wheel gearshift but-
tons (Y page 109) to restrict or derestrict the
shift range for the automatic transmission.
i If the maximum engine speed for the shift
range is reached and you continue to accel-
erate, the automatic transmission shifts up Controls
* optional
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Transmission
109
in order to prevent the engine from over-
revving, even if the shift range is restricted. Driving situation
è The braking effect of the engine can
be used in this position.
ç To use the braking effect of the
engine on downhill gradients and
for driving:
R
on steep mountain roads
R in mountainous terrain
R in arduous conditions æ To use the braking effect of the
engine on extremely steep downhill
gradients and long downhill
stretches
Restricting the shift range
X
Press the left-hand button on the steering
wheel (Y page 109).
The set shift range appears in the multi-
function display. Derestricting the shift range
X
Press the right-hand button on the steering
wheel (Y page 109).
The set shift range appears in the multi-
function display.
Driving tips Accelerator pedal position
Your style of driving influences how the auto-
matic transmission shifts gear:
R
little throttle: early upshifts
R more throttle: late upshifts
Kickdown
Use kickdown for maximum acceleration.
X Depress the accelerator pedal beyond the
pressure point.
The transmission shifts to a lower gear
depending on the engine speed.
X Ease off the accelerator pedal once the
desired speed is reached.
The automatic transmission shifts back up. Trailer towing
X
Drive in the middle of the engine speed
range on uphill gradients.
X Shift down to shift range 3or 2depending
on the incline of the uphill or downhill gra-
dient (Y page 108), even if cruise control is
activated. DIRECT SELECT steering wheel gear-
shift buttons
You can restrict or derestrict the shift range
using the DIRECT SELECT steering wheel
gearshift buttons. In the manual drive pro-
gram, you can use the DIRECT SELECT steer-
ing wheel gearshift buttons or DIRECT
SELECT steering wheel gearshift paddles to
change gears.
i You can only use all the functions of the
DIRECT SELECT steering wheel gearshift
buttons in drive program Monce the vehi-
cle has reached its operating temperature. Controls
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