2008 MERCEDES-BENZ ML SUV parking brake

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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Off-road driving
138
X
Press the èor· button to select the
Telephone menu.
X Press the sbutton to call up the most
recently dialled number in the redial mem-
ory.
X Press the jork button to select the
desired name or number.
X Press the sbutton to start dialling. Off-road driving
Overview of off-road driving systems
The systems which are relevant for off-road
driving are explained on the following pages:
R 4MATIC (permanent four-wheel drive), for
optimum traction
R DSR (Downhill Speed Regulation), which
assists you when driving downhill
R Off-road drive program, which assists you
when driving off-road
R LOW RANGE* off-road gear for better trac-
tion off-road
R Differential locks for increased traction off-
road
You will find further information about driving
off-road in the "Operation" section
(Y page 235). 4MATIC (permanent four-wheel drive)
4MATIC ensures that all four wheels are per-
manently driven. Together with ESP ®
and
4ETS, it improves the traction of your vehicle
whenever a drive wheel spins due to insuffi-
cient grip. G
Risk of accident
4MATIC cannot reduce the risk of an acci-
dent if you drive too fast.
If a drive wheel spins due to insufficient
grip:
R Only depress the accelerator pedal as far
as necessary when pulling away.
R Accelerate less when driving.
R Adapt your driving style to suit road and
traffic conditions.
i In wintry driving conditions, the maximum
effect of 4MATIC can only be achieved if
you use winter tyres (M+S tyres), with snow
chains if necessary.
! When testing the parking brake, operate
the vehicle only briefly (for a maximum of
ten seconds) on a brake dynamometer.
When doing this, turn the key to position
0 or 1in the ignition. Failure to do this can Controls
* optional
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Off-road driving
143
X
Move the DIRECT SELECT selector
lever to Nto carry out the gear change
process.
R Shifting process cancelled Reacti-
vate
The gear change process was not carried
out.
XMaintain all gear change conditions
and carry out the gear change process
again.
R Stop vehicle. Apply parking brake
An acoustic warning will also sound. The
gear change process has not been comple-
ted. LOW RANGE is in the neutral position.
There is no connection between the engine
and the drive wheels.
! Do not drive any further, otherwise you
could damage the vehicle's drive train. X
Stop the vehicle. Take into account the
road and traffic conditions when doing
this.
X Depress the parking brake.
X Carry out the gear change process
again.
If the gear change process has been
carried out, the Stop vehicle. Apply
parking brake message disappears. Differential locks
Differential locks improve the vehicle’s trac-
tion.
If your vehicle is equipped with the Off-Road
Pro engineering package*, it is fitted with:
R A differential lock for the transfer box: this
controls the balance between the front and
rear axles.
R A differential lock for the rear axle: this
controls the balance between the wheels
and the rear axle.
4ETS (Y page 60) controls the compensation
between the wheels and the front axle. Engaging the differential locks
1
Selector wheel
2 AUTO mode
3 To engage the differential lock for the
transfer case
4 To engage the differential lock for the
transfer case and rear axle
AUTO mode
Use AUTO mode 2for all driving situations,
including driving off-road or when fording.
In AUTO mode, the differential locks are
engaged and disengaged according to driving
requirements. This guarantees sufficient trac-
tion for most driving situations with unrestric-
ted vehicle steerability. Controls
* optional
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Driving sys
tems 145Driving systems
Overview of driving systems
The vehicle's driving systems are described
on the following pages:
R Cruise control, Distronic* and Speedtronic,
which are used to control the speed of the
vehicle
R AIRMATIC package*, consisting of level
control* for individual adjustment of
ground clearance and ADS* (Adaptive
Damping System), for individual adjust-
ment of suspension tuning
R Parktronic*, which assists you in parking
and manoeuvring
R Reversing camera*, which assists you
when parking and manoeuvring
The ABS, BAS, ESP ®
, EBV and 4-ETS vehicle
safety systems and the distance warning sys-
tem* are described in the "Safety" section
(Y page 57). Cruise control
Cruise control maintains a constant road
speed for you. It brakes automatically in order
to avoid exceeding the set speed. On long and
steep downhill gradients, especially if the
vehicle is laden or towing a trailer, you must
select shift range 1,2or 3in good time. By
doing so you will make use of the braking
effect of the engine, which relieves the load
on the brake system and prevents the brakes
from overheating and wearing too quickly. 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.
Use cruise control only if road and traffic con-
ditions make it appropriate to maintain a
steady speed for a prolonged period. You can
store any road speed above 30 km/h. G
Risk of accident
Cruise control cannot take account of road
and traffic conditions.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions
even when cruise control is activated.
Cruise control is only an aid designed to
assist driving. You are responsible for the vehicle's speed and for braking in good
time.
G
Risk of accident
Do not use cruise control:
R in road and traffic conditions which do
not allow you to maintain a constant
speed (e.g. heavy traffic or winding
roads). You could otherwise cause an
accident.
R on slippery roads. Braking or accelerat-
ing could cause the drive wheels to lose
traction and the vehicle could then skid.
R when there is poor visibility, e.g. due to
fog, heavy rain or snow
Cruise control lever You can operate cruise control and variable
Speedtronic with the cruise control lever.
The LIM indicator lamp on the cruise control
lever indicates which system you have selec-
ted:
R
LIM indicator lamp off:
Cruise control is selected.
R LIM indicator lamp lit:
Variable Speedtronic is selected. Controls
* optional
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Driving sys
tems 147
X
Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you 3.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
The first time cruise control is activated it
stores the current speed or regulates the
speed of the vehicle to the previously
stored speed.
Setting a speed X
Press the cruise control lever to the pres-
sure point, up 1for a higher speed or
down 4for a lower speed.
X Keep the cruise control lever pressed until
the desired speed is reached.
X Release the cruise control lever.
The new speed is stored.
i Cruise control is not deactivated if you
depress the accelerator pedal. For exam-
ple, if you accelerate briefly to overtake,
cruise control adjusts the vehicle's speed
to the last speed stored after you have fin-
ished overtaking. Making fine adjustments in 1 km/h
increments X
Briefly press the cruise control lever to the
pressure point, up 1for a higher speed or
down 4for a lower speed.
The last speed stored is increased or
reduced.
Making adjustments in 10 km/h incre-
ments X
Briefly press the cruise control lever
beyond the pressure point, up 1for a
higher speed or down 4for a lower speed.
The last speed stored is increased or
reduced.
Deactivating cruise control There are several ways to deactivate cruise
control:
X Briefly press the cruise control lever for-
wards 6.
or
X Brake.
or X
Briefly press the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow 5.
Variable Speedtronic is selected. LIM indi-
cator lamp 2in the cruise control lever
lights up.
Cruise control is automatically deactivated if,
for example:
R you depress the parking brake
R you are driving at less than 30 km/h
R ESP ®
is intervening or you deactivate
ESP ®
.
R you shift the automatic transmission to N
while driving
If cruise control is deactivated, you will hear
a warning tone. You will see the Cruise con-
trol Off message in the multi-function dis-
play for approximately five seconds.
i The last speed stored is cleared when you
switch off the engine. Controls
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Driving sys
tems 150
R
when the parking brake is applied
R if ESP ®
is deactivated (Y page 58)
R when the automatic transmission is in posi-
tion P,Ror N
X Accelerate the vehicle to the desired
speed.
X Briefly press the cruise control lever up
1 or down 5to the pressure point.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
Distronic is activated. The vehicle main-
tains the stored speed until the distance to
the vehicle in front becomes too small.
i If you do not fully release the accelerator
pedal, the DISTRONIC Override message
appears in the multi-function display. The
distance to a slower-moving vehicle in front
will then not be governed. You will be driv-
ing at the speed you determine with the
accelerator pedal. Setting a speed X
Press the cruise control lever to the pres-
sure point, up 1for a higher speed or
down 5for a lower speed.
X Keep the cruise control lever pressed until
the desired speed is reached.
X Release the cruise control lever.
The new speed is stored.
i Deceleration of the vehicle by means of
the cruise control lever is assisted by auto-
matic application of the brakes. On long
downhill gradients, the automatic trans-
mission also shifts down.
Making adjustments in 1 km/h incre-
ments X
Briefly press the cruise control lever to the
pressure point, up 1for a higher speed or
down 5for a lower speed.
The last speed stored is increased or
reduced. Making adjustments in 10 km/h incre-
ments X
Briefly press the cruise control lever to the
pressure point, up 1for a higher speed or
down 5for a lower speed.
The last speed stored is increased or
reduced.
Storing the current speed or calling up
the last stored speed G
Risk of accident
Only select a stored speed if you know what
that speed is and whether it is suitable for
the current situation. Otherwise, sudden
acceleration or braking could endanger you
or others.
X Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you 4.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
Distronic is activated and accepts the cur-
rent speed if it is activated for the first time,
or adjusts the vehicle's speed to the last
speed stored. Controls
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Driving sys
tems 152
Distronic displays in the multi-function
display X
Select the Distronic menu on the on-board
computer (Y page 126).
Display when Distronic is deactivated
When Distronic is deactivated, you will see
the following in the multi-function display: 1
Vehicle in front, if detected
2 Distance indicator, displaying current dis-
tance to the vehicle in front
3 Specified minimum distance to the vehi-
cle in front, adjustable
4 Own vehicle
Display when Distronic is activated
When Distronic is activated, you will see the
following in the multi-function display: 1
Distronic activated
2 Stored speed
When activating Distronic and when setting
the speed, stored speed 2appears for
around 5 seconds.
Deactivating Distronic 1
To deactivate Distronic
2 LIM indicator lamp
3 To switch between Distronic and variable
Speedtronic There are several ways to deactivate Dis-
tronic:
X
Briefly press the cruise control lever for-
wards 1.
or
X Brake.
or
X Briefly press the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow 3.
Variable Speedtronic is selected. LIM indi-
cator lamp 2in the cruise control lever
lights up.
i The last speed stored remains stored until
you switch off the engine.
i Distronic is not deactivated if you depress
the accelerator pedal. If you accelerate
briefly to overtake, Distronic adjusts the
vehicle's speed to the last speed stored
after you have finished overtaking.
Distronic is automatically deactivated if:
R you depress the parking brake
R you are driving at less than 25 km/h Controls
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