2008 MERCEDES-BENZ ML320 child lock

66 Getting started
Parking and locking
Step firmly on parking brake pedal1.
When the engine is running, the
warning lamp; (USA only) or3
(Canada only) in the instrument cluster
comes on.
Switching off headlamps
Turn the exterior lamp switch toM
(
page 59).
For more information, see “Lighting”
(
page 135).
Turning off the engine
Shift the automatic transmission to
positionP (
page 185).
Apply the parking brake (page 65).
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. Children could release the
parking brake and/or shift the automatic
transmission out of positionP, either of
which could result in an accident and/or
serious personal injury.
Warning!G
Getting out of your vehicle with the
automatic transmission not fully engaged in
positionP is dangerous. Also, when parked
on an incline, positionP alone may not
prevent your vehicle from moving, possibly
hitting people or objects.
Always set the parking brake in addition to
shifting to positionP (
page 185).
When parked on an incline, also turn front
wheel towards the road curb.
iIf the engine cannot be turned off as
described, see “Emergency engine shut-down”
(
page 506).
Warning!G
Do not turn off the engine before the vehicle
has come to a complete stop. With the en-
gine not running, there is no power assis-
tance for the brake and steering systems. In
this case, it is important to keep in mind that
a considerably higher degree of effort is nec-
essary to brake and steer the vehicle.
iAlways set the parking brake in addition to
shifting the automatic transmission to positionP
(
page 185).
When parked on an incline, also turn front wheel
towards the road curb.

68 Getting started
Parking and locking
Releasing seat belts
Press the seat belt release button
(
page 52).
Allow the retractor to completely re-
wind the seat belt by guiding the latch
plate.
Locking
Exit the vehicle and close all doors and
the tailgate.
!Make sure the seat belt retracts fully so that
the seat belt and/or latch plate cannot get
caught or pinched in the door or in the seat
mechanism. This can damage the seat belt and
impair the effectiveness of the seat belt, and/or
cause damage to the door and/or door trim
panel. Such damage is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Damaged seat belts must be replaced. Contact
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck
Center.
Warning!G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the door
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Before closing doors, make sure there is no
possibility of someone getting caught in a
door during closing.
Warning!G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* with you, and
lock your vehicle. Do not leave children un-
attended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. A child’s unsupervised
access to a vehicle could result in an
accident and/or serious personal injury.
iThe exterior lamps switch off automatically
when you remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch or open the driver’s door.
When the parking lamps or the rear fog lamp are
switched on and you remove the SmartKey from
the starter switch and open the driver’s door, an
acoustic signal sounds.
In addition the message
Switch Off Lights
appears in the multifunction display.
Switch off the parking lamps or the rear fog
lamp.
!Failure to switch off the parking lamps or the
rear fog lamp when leaving the vehicle may
result in a discharged battery.

90 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Infant and child restraint systems
We recommend all infants and children be
properly restrained at all times while the
vehicle is in motion.
All lap-shoulder belts except the driver’s
seat belt have special seat belt retractors
for secure fastening of child restraints.
To fasten a child restraint, follow child
restraint instructions for mounting. Then
pull the shoulder belt out completely and
let it retract. During seat belt retraction, a
ratcheting sound can be heard to indicate
that the special seat belt retractor is acti-
vated. The belt is now locked. Push down
on child restraint to take up any slack.
To deactivate, release seat belt buckle and
let seat belt retract completely. To deacti-
vate the special seat belt retractor for the
front passenger seat, the front passenger
seat must be in the most backward posi-
tion. The seat belt can again be used in the
usual manner.The use of infant or child restraints is re-
quired by law in all 50 states, the District
of Columbia, the U.S. territories and all
Canadian provinces.Do not expose the child restraint system to
direct sunlight. The child restraint system’s
metal parts, for example, could become very
hot, and the child could be burned on these
parts.
If children open a door, they could

injure other persons

get out of the car and injure themselves
or be injured by following traffic
Do not carry heavy or hard objects in the
passenger or cargo compartment unless
they are firmly secured in place. For more in-
formation, see “Loading” (
page 266) and
“Useful features” (
page 279).
Unsecured or improperly positioned cargo
increases a child’s risk of injury in the event
of

strong braking maneuvers

sudden changes of direction

an accident
Warning!G
Never release the seat belt buckle while the
vehicle is in motion, since the special seat
belt retractor will be deactivated.
iFor information on child seats with mounting
fittings for tether anchorages, see “Installation
of infant and child restraint system”
(
page 94).
For information on LATCH-type child seat
mounts, see “Child seat anchors – LATCH type”
(
page 93).


95 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Move the respective head restraint to
its uppermost position (
page 128).
2Anchorage ring
3Hook
4Top tether strap
Guide top tether strap4 between
head restraint and top of seat backrest.
Securely fasten hook3, which is part
of the tether strap4, to anchorage
ring2.
Make sure

the top tether strap is not twisted

the head restraint is installed and
positioned such that the top tether
strap can pass freely between the
head restraint and top of seat back-
rest

top tether strap is positioned be-
tween the seat backrest and the
cargo compartment cover blind (if
installed)

the top tether strap is positioned
between the seat backrest and the
cargo net* (if installed)
Lower the head restraint if necessary
(
page 128).
Make sure the top tether strap can
pass freely between the head restraint
and top of seat backrest.
Install the child restraint system and
tighten the top tether strap according
to the child restraint manufacturer’s in-
structions.
Warning!G
After installing top tether straps, make sure
that the seat backrests are in an upright po-
sition and are properly locked. Check for
secure locking by pushing and pulling on the
seat backrests. If a seat backrest is not
properly locked, the seat backrest could
fold. The child seat would no longer be prop-
erly supported or positioned to provide its
intended benefit.

96 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Blocking of rear door window operation
With the override switch you can disable
the rear side window switches in the rear
door panels.The override switch is located on the
driver’s door control panel.
1Override switch
For more information on power windows,
see “Power windows” (
page 235).Disabling
Press override switch1 until it engag-
es.
The switch engages in the recessed
position.
The rear door windows can no longer
be operated using the switches located
in the rear doors.
Enabling
Press override switch1 once more.
The switch disengages from its
recessed position back to its original
position.
The rear door windows can again be
operated using the switches located in
the rear doors.
Warning!G
Activate the override switch when children
are riding in the back seats of the vehicle.
The children could otherwise injure them-
selves, e.g. by becoming trapped in the win-
dow opening.
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. A child’s unsupervised
access to a vehicle could result in an
accident and/or serious personal injury.
iOperating the rear door windows using the
switches located on the door control panel of the
driver’s door is still possible.

111 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Warning!G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take it
with you and lock the vehicle. Do not leave
children unattended in the vehicle, or with
access to an unlocked vehicle. It is possible
for children to open a locked door from the
inside, which could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
!To prevent possible malfunction, avoid
exposing the SmartKey to high levels of electro-
magnetic radiation.
iUSA only:
This device complies with Part 15 of the
FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful
interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.
Any unauthorized modification to this device
could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.
iCanada only:
This device complies with RSS-210 of Industry
Canada. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation of the device.
Any unauthorized modification to this device
could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.
iYou can also open and close

the door windows

the tilt/sliding sunroof
using the SmartKey, see “Summer opening fea-
ture” (
page 237) and see “Convenience clos-
ing feature” (
page 238).
!If you cannot lock or unlock the vehicle with
the SmartKey, the batteries in the SmartKey are
discharged, the SmartKey is malfunctioning, or
the vehicle battery is drained.

Check the batteries in the SmartKey and
replace them if necessary (
page 461).

Use the mechanical key to unlock the
driver’s door (
page 455).

Lock the vehicle as described in the
“Practical hints” section (
page 456).

Have the vehicle battery and the vehicle
battery connections checked (
page 489).
If the SmartKey is malfunctioning, contact
Roadside Assistance or an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.

114 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Warning!G
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* with you and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. A child’s unsupervised
access to a vehicle could result in an
accident and/or serious personal injury.
!To prevent possible malfunction, avoid
exposing the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO to high
levels of electromagnetic radiation.
iUSA only:
This device complies with Part 15 of the
FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful interfer-
ence, and
(2) this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.
Any unauthorized modification to this device
could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.
iCanada only:
This device complies with RSS-210 of Industry
Canada. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation of the device.
Any unauthorized modification to this device
could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.
iYou can also open and close

the door windows

the tilt/sliding sunroof
using the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO, see
“Summer opening feature” (
page 237) and
see “Convenience closing feature”
(
page 238).
!If you cannot lock or unlock the vehicle with
the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO, the batteries in
the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO are discharged,
the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO is malfunction-
ing or the vehicle battery is drained.

Check the batteries in the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO (
page 118) and replace
them if necessary (
page 461).

Use the mechanical key to unlock the
driver’s door (
page 455).

Lock the vehicle as described in the “Practi-
cal hints” section (
page 456).

Have the vehicle battery and the vehicle
battery connections checked (
page 489).
If the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO is malfunc-
tioning, contact Roadside Assistance or an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.

120 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Tailgate
Opening the tailgate from the outside
The handle is located above the rear
license plate recess.
Pull on the handle.
The tailgate opens slightly.
Pull tailgate upwards to open.Closing the tailgate from the outside
1Handle
Lower tailgate by pulling firmly on
handle1.
Close tailgate with hands placed flat on
it.
Once the tailgate touches the latch,
the tailgate will pull itself shut automat-
ically.
iVehicles without KEYLESS-GO*:
The vehicle must be unlocked (
page 38).
Warning!G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the cargo
compartment opening when closing the
tailgate. Be especially careful when small
children 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. A child’s unsupervised
access to a vehicle could result in an
accident and/or serious personal injury.
iTo prevent an inadvertent lockout, do not
place the SmartKey in the cargo compartment.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*: To prevent a
possible inadvertent lockout, the tailgate will
open automatically if a SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO is recognized inside the vehicle.
iIf the vehicle was previously centrally locked
with the SmartKey or KEYLESS-GO*, the tailgate
will lock automatically after closing it. The turn
signals flash three times to confirm locking.