2008 MERCEDES-BENZ ML SUV ECU

Occupant safety
54 G
Risk of injury
A child restraint system secured by the ISO-
FIX child seat securing system does not
provide sufficient protection for children
weighing more than 22 kg. For this reason,
do not secure children weighing more than
22 kg in a child restraint system secured by
the ISOFIX child seat securing system. If
the child weighs more than 22 kg, secure
the child restraint system using a lap-shoul-
der belt. G
Risk of injury
The child restraint system cannot perform
its protective function if is not correctly fit-
ted to a suitable vehicle seat. The child
cannot be restrained in the event of a sud-
den change of direction, heavy braking or
an accident. This may lead to serious or
even fatal injuries. For this reason, when
fitting a child restraint system, observe the
manufacturer's installation instructions
and the correct use of the child restraint
system.
On the rear seats, only use child restraint
systems with an ISOFIX child seat securing
system which have been recommended for
use in Mercedes-Benz vehicles. An incorrectly fitted child restraint system
could come loose and seriously or even
fatally injure the child or other vehicle occu-
pants. When fitting the child restraint sys-
tem, make sure that it is engaged in the
securing rings on both sides. G
Risk of injury
Please note that child restraint systems
cannot provide a protective function if they
or their retaining systems are damaged or
subjected to a load in an accident. This
could result in serious or even fatal injuries
to the secured child in the event of an acci-
dent, heavy braking or a sudden change in
direction.
For this reason, have child restraint sys-
tems and their anchorages which have
been damaged or subjected to a load in an
accident checked immediately at a quali-
fied specialist workshop.
! When fitting the child restraint system,
make sure that the seat belt for the middle
seat does not become trapped. It could
otherwise be damaged. 1
Covers
X Remove covers 1. 2
Securing rings
TopTether
TopTether provides an additional connection
between the child restraint system secured Safety
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Occupant safety
56
X
Tighten TopTether belt* 6. Comply with
the manufacturer's installation instruc-
tions.
X Move head restraint 3back down again
slightly if necessary (Y page 80). Make
sure that you do not interfere with the cor-
rect routing of TopTether belt* 6.
Child-proof locks If children are travelling in the vehicle, you can
activate the child-proof locks for the rear
doors.
Child-proof locks for the rear doors
The child-proof locks on the rear doors enable
you to secure each door individually. A locked
door cannot be opened from the inside. The
door can be opened from the outside if the
vehicle is unlocked. G
Risk of accident and injury
If children are travelling in the vehicle, acti-
vate the child-proof locks for the rear doors
and the override feature for the rear win-
dows. The children could otherwise open
doors or windows while the vehicle is in
motion and injure themselves or others. 1
To deactivate
2 To activate
X To activate: press latch2downwards.
X Make sure that the child-proof locks are
working properly.
X To deactivate: press latch1upwards.
Override feature for the rear windows G
Risk of accident and injury
If children are travelling in the vehicle, acti-
vate the child-proof locks for the rear doors
and the override feature for the rear win-
dows. The children could otherwise open
doors or windows while the vehicle is in
motion and injure themselves or others. 1
Switch
X To activate: press button 1.
Button 1engages. The rear side windows
can only be operated using the switches on
the driver's door.
X To deactivate: press button1.
Button 1pops out and is flush with the
other buttons. You can operate the rear
side windows using the switches in the rear
compartment. Safety
* optional
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Opening and closing
69
approximately six seconds until the battery
check lamp flashes twice.
The KEYLESS GO key will now function as fol-
lows:
X To unlock the driver's door: pull the door
handle on the driver's door.
X To unlock centrally: pull the door handle
on the front-passenger door or on the rear
doors.
X To lock centrally: press locking button
1 on the door handle.
Restoring the factory settings X
Press the kandj buttons simulta-
neously for approximately six seconds until
the battery check lamp flashes twice.
Locking from the luggage compart-
ment* On vehicles with KEYLESS GO* and the EASY-
PACK tailgate*, you can close the tailgate
automatically and thereby centrally lock your
vehicle (Y
page 72). Opening the doors from the inside
You can open a door from the inside at any
time, even if it has been locked. 1
Locking knob
2 Door handle
X Pull door handle 2.
If the door is locked, locking knob 1pops
up. The door is unlocked and can be
opened. Exterior spare wheel bracket*
G
Risk of accident
While the external spare wheel bracket is
folded to the side, the tail lamps may be
blocked from view. Other road users may
then fail to see you and crash into your
vehicle. Additionally, secure your vehicle
using a warning lamp or a warning triangle.
Do not drive with the spare wheel bracket
folded out.
Make sure that the spare wheel bracket is
closed correctly.
Otherwise, the freely moving spare wheel
bracket could injure people or cause an
accident.
! Do not wash vehicles equipped with an
external spare wheel bracket in an auto-
matic car wash. Controls
* optional
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Seats
761
KEYLESS GO button
2 Ignition lock
i If you switch from using the key back to
KEYLESS GO mode, the system requires 2
seconds' recognition time before you can
use the KEYLESS GO button as usual.
i You do not need to remove the KEYLESS
GO button from the ignition lock when you
leave the vehicle. Seats
Points to remember
For information about folding the rear bench
seat forward, see the "Luggage compartment
enlargement" section (Y page 194).
Depending on the vehicle's equipment, the
seats can adjusted either manually/electri-
cally or electrically*. G
Risk of injury
The seats can still be adjusted when there
is no key in the ignition lock. For this rea-
son, children should never be left unsuper-
vised in the vehicle. They could become
trapped when adjusting a seat. G
Risk of accident
Only adjust the driver's seat when the vehi-
cle is stationary. You will otherwise be dis-
tracted from the road and traffic conditions
and you could lose control of the vehicle as
a result of the seat moving. This could
cause an accident. G
Risk of injury
Make sure that nobody can become trap-
ped when you adjust the seat. Observe the notes concerning the airbag
system.
Secure children as recommended; see
"Children in the vehicle" section.
! When you move the seats, make sure that
there are no objects in the footwell or
behind the seats. Otherwise, you could
damage the seats and the objects.
! When the rear bench seat is folded for-
wards, the front seats cannot be moved to
their rearmost position. Otherwise, you
could damage the seats and the rear bench
seat.
! Make sure that the sun visor is folded up
before setting the backrest angle and head
restraint height. Otherwise, the head
restraint and sun visor could collide when
the head restraint is fully extended.
i The rear-compartment head restraints
can be removed (Y page 80).
Please contact a Mercedes-Benz Service
Centre for more information. Controls
* optional
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Seat belts
89Seat belts
Wearing seat belts
Seat belts are the most effective means of
restraining the movement of vehicle occu-
pants in the event of an accident. This
reduces the risk of vehicle occupants coming
into contact with the vehicle interior. G
Risk of injury
A seat belt which is not worn correctly, or
which has not been engaged in the seat belt
buckle correctly, cannot perform its inten-
ded protective function. Under certain cir-
cumstances this could cause severe or
even fatal injuries.
Make sure that all occupants – in particular,
pregnant women – wear their seat belt cor-
rectly at all times.
R The seat belt must pass closely over your
body and must not be twisted. You
should therefore avoid wearing bulky
clothing (e.g. a winter coat). The shoulder
belt section must be routed across the
middle of your shoulder – on no account
across your neck or under your arm – and
pulled tight against your upper body. The
lap belt must always pass across your lap
as low down as possible, i.e. over your hip joints – not across your abdomen. If
necessary, push down the belt strap
slightly and then retighten it in the roll-up
direction.
R Do not route the belt strap across sharp
or fragile objects, especially if these are
located on or in your clothing, e.g. spec-
tacles, pencils, keys, etc. The seat belt
strap could be damaged and tear in an
accident and you or other vehicle occu-
pants could be injured.
R Only one person should use each seat
belt at any one time. Children must never
travel sitting on the lap of other occu-
pants. It would not be possible to restrain
the child in the event of a sudden change
in direction, braking or an accident. This
could result in severe or even fatal inju-
ries to the child and other occupants.
R Persons less than 1.50 m tall cannot
wear the seat belts correctly. For this
reason, secure persons less than 1.50 m
tall in specially designed, suitable
restraint systems.
R Children less than 1.50 m tall or under
12 years of age cannot wear the seat
belts properly. Therefore, always secure
these children in suitable child restraint systems on suitable vehicle seats. You
can find more information under "Chil-
dren in the vehicle" in the "Safety" sec-
tion of the Owner's Manual. Follow the
manufacturer's installation instructions
when fitting the child restraint system.
R Do not secure any objects with a seat belt
if the seat belt is also being used by one
of the vehicle's occupants. G
Risk of injury
The seat belt does not offer the intended
level of protection unless the backrest is
almost vertical. Under certain circumstan-
ces this could cause severe or even fatal
injuries.
Before starting a journey, make sure that
the seat is properly adjusted and that the
backrest is almost vertical. G
Risk of injury
A dirty or damaged seat belt or a seat belt
that has been subjected to a load in an
accident or modified no longer offers the
intended level of protection. Under certain
circumstances this could cause severe or
even fatal injuries. Controls
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Seat belts
90 For this reason, check regularly that the
seat belts are not damaged or dirty.
Always have damaged seat belts or seat
belts that have been subjected to a load in
an accident replaced at a qualified special-
ist workshop. Choose a qualified specialist
workshop which has the necessary special-
ist knowledge and tools for the work
required. Mercedes-Benz recommends
that you use a Mercedes-Benz Service
Centre for this purpose.
For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends that you only use seat belts which
have been approved by Mercedes-Benz for
your vehicle. 1
Belt sash guide
2 Belt tongue
3 Buckle
4 Release button
Routing the belt X
Adjust the seat and move the backrest to
an almost vertical position (Y page 76).
X Pull the belt smoothly through belt sash
guide 1.
X Route the belt over the centre of the shoul-
der without twisting it. X
Engage belt tongue 2into buckle 3.
X If necessary, adjust the belt to the appro-
priate height (Y page 91).
X If necessary, pull upwards on the shoulder
section of the belt to tighten the belt across
your body.
Routing the belt X
Press release button 4and guide belt
tongue 2back towards belt sash guide
1. Belt warning for driver and front
passenger
The < seat belt warning lamp in the instru-
ment cluster reminds you that all occupants
should fasten their seat belts. The belt warning lamp may light up continuously
or it may flash. Additionally, there may be a
warning tone.
The < seat belt warning lamp goes out and
the warning tone ceases when the driver and
the front passenger have fastened their seat
belt.
For certain countries only: regardless of
whether the driver or the front passenger is
already secured, the 164_AKB; 5; 5, en-GB
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Side windows
100 even if you are only leaving it for a short
time. G
Risk of injury
Do not leave children unsupervised in the
vehicle, even if they are secured in a child
restraint system. The children could:
R be seriously or even fatally injured on
parts of the vehicle
R be seriously or even fatally injured by
prolonged exposure to extremely high or
extremely low temperatures
If children open a door, they could:
R seriously or even fatally injure other peo-
ple
R get out of the vehicle, thereby injuring
themselves or be seriously or even fatally
injured by a passing vehicle
Activate the child-proof locks if children are
travelling in the vehicle. They could other-
wise open doors or windows while the vehi-
cle is in motion and thereby injure them-
selves or others.
i It is also possible to open and close the
side windows from the outside using the
"Summer opening" (Y page 101) and "con- venience closing" (Y
page 102) features
respectively.
i You can disable the controls for the rear
side windows from the driver's seat
(Y page 56).
PRE-SAFE ®
* automatically closes the slid-
ing/tilting sunroof in a dangerous situation,
leaving.
The switches for all side windows are located
on the driver's door. There is also a switch on
each door for the respective side window. 1
Front left
2 Front right
3 Rear right
4 Rear left X
Make sure that the key is in position 2in
the ignition lock.
i When the key is turned to position 0or
removed from the ignition lock, it is still
possible to operate the windows until the
driver's or front-passenger door is opened,
but for no longer than five minutes.
X To open/close: press the switch down or
pull it up beyond the pressure point and
hold it until the corresponding window is in
the desired position.
X To open/close fully: press the switch
down or pull it up beyond the pressure point
and release it.
X To stop: briefly press the corresponding
switch down or pull it up.
Closing with increased force and without
the anti-entrapment feature G
Risk of injury
Make sure that nobody can become trap-
ped and possibly be seriously or fatally
injured as you close a side window with
increased force or without the anti-entrap-
ment feature. 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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