2011 MERCEDES-BENZ M-CLASS SUV engine

X
Start the eng ine.
If indicator lamp ;is not lit:
X Press button :.
Indicat or lamp;flashes. Th evehicle rises
to raised level.
While th eadjustmen tistaking place, ames-
sage appears in the multifunction display,
e.g.: If you press the
%ora button on the
multifunction steerin gwheel, the message
will disappear.
Onc ethe vehicle has reached raised level,
indicator lamp ;remain slit. The Vehicle rising message disappears from the multi-
function display.
If you try to select raised level at aspeed
above 65 km/h, the Please reduce speedmessage appears.
Highway/high-speed level
! Make sure there is enough groun dclear-
ance when the vehicle is being lowered. It
could otherwise hit the ground, damaging
the underbody. X
Star tthe engine.
If indicator lamp ;is lit:
X Press button :.
Indicator lamp ;flashes. The vehicle is
adjustin gtohighway/high-speed level.
While the adjustment is taking place, ames-
sage appears in the multifunction display,
e.g.: If you press the
%ora button on the
multifunction steerin gwheel, the message
will disappear.
Onc ehighwa ylevel has been reached, indi-
cator lamp ;goes out. The Lowering mes-
sage disappears from the multifunction dis-
play.
The vehicle automatically selects highway
level if you are driving at aspeed above
80 km/ horifyou drive at aspeed between
65 km/ hand 80 km/h for around 20 sec-
onds .Depending on the ADS settin gselected
(Y page 188), the vehicle is lowered to high-
speed level at high speeds. 190
Driving systemsDriving and parking

ATTENTIO
NASSIST asse sses your level of
fatigue or lapses in conc entrati on by taki ng
the following criteri aintoa ccount:
R your personal drivin gstyle, e.g. steering
characteristics
R drivin gconditions, e.g. time, drivin gtime
The functionalit yofATTENTION ASSIST is
restricted, and warnings may be delaye dor
not occur at all:
R if the road condition is poor, e.g. if the sur-
fac eisu neven or if there are potholes
R if there is astron gside wind
R if you hav eadopt edasport ydrivin gstyle
wit hh igh corn eringspeeds or hig hrates of
acceleration
R if you are predominantly drivin gslower
than 80 km/h or faste rtha n1 80 km/h
R if you are currently using COM ANDO nline
or makin gatelephon ecall wit hit
R if th etime has been set incorrectly
R in active drivin gsituations, suc haswhen
you chang elanes or chang eyour speed
Warning an ddispla ymessages in the
multifunction display X
Activa teATTENTION ASSIST using the on-
board computer (Y page 245).
Symbol :appear sinthe mu ltifunction
display.
If ATTENTION ASSIST is active ,you will be
war nednos oonerthan 20 minutes after your
journey has begun .You will then hear an
intermittent warnin gtone twice, and the
Attentio nAssist: Drowsiness detec‐ ted message appe
arsint he multifunction
display. X
If necessary, tak eabreak.
X Press the aor% buttontoc onfirm
the message.
On long journeys, tak eregular break singood
tim etoa llow yourself to rest properly. If you
do not take abrea kand ATTENT IONA SSIST
still detects typica lindicators of fatigue or
increasing lapses in concentration, you will be
warned agai nafter 15 minutes at th eearliest.
ATTENTION ASSIST is reset and starts
assessing your tiredness again when you con-
tinue your journey if:
R you switch off the engine.
R you take off your seat belt and open the
driver' sdoor, e.g. for achange of driver sor
to take abreak. Speed Limit Assist
Important safety notes Speed Limit Assist show
syou detec teds peed
limit sint he multifunction display. Dat afrom
th en avigation system is also used for this
purpose. The displ ayappears if atraffi csign
indicatin gaspeed limit or the end of aspeed
limit is detected. If Speed Limit Assist does
not detect any traffic signs, the speed limit
from the digital road map is taken and shown
in the display.
Speed Limit Assist detect sthe traffic signs
with acamera attached behind the top of the
windscreen. :
Speed Limit Assis tcamera Driving systems
203Drivingand parking Z

the warning onl
yoccurs if the differenc ein
spee dislesst han 12 km/h.
The yellow indicator lamp goes out if reverse
gea rise ngaged. Blind Spot Assist is then
deactivated.
The brightness of the indicator/warning
lamps is adjusted automaticall yaccording to
the ambient light. G
WARNING
Blind Spot Assist is not active at speeds below
30 km/h, and the indicator lamps in the exte-
rior mirrors are yellow. Vehicles in the moni-
toring range are the nnot indicated.
Always pay attention to traffic condition sand
your surroundings .Otherwise, you may fail to
recognis edangers in time, cause an accident
and injure yoursel fand others.
Collisio nwarning
If av ehicle is detected in the mon itoring range
of Blind Spot Assis tand you switch on the turn
signal, adouble warnin gtone sounds. Red
warnin glamp :flashes .Ifthe tur nsignal
remains on, detected vehicles are indicated
by the flashing of red warnin glamp :.T here
ar enof urther warning tones.
Switching on Blind Spot Assist
X On vehicles without anavigation system,
make sure that the Becker ®
MAP PILOT is
connected; see the separate operating
instructions for Audio 20.
X Make sure that the radar senso rsystem
(Y page 249) and Blind Spot Assist
(Y page 245) are activated in the on-board
computer.
X Turn the key to position 2in the ignition
lock.
Warning lamps :ligh tupr ed in the exte-
rior mirror sfor approximately 1. 5seconds
and then tur nyellow.
Trailer towing
If you attach atrailer, make sure that yo uhave
correctly established the electrical connec-
tion. This can be accomplished by checking the trailer lighting
.Blind Spot Assist is then
deactivated. The indicator lamp in the exte-
rior mirrors lights up yellow, and the Blind Spot Assist currentl
yunavailable See Owner's Manual message appe
arsin
the multifunction display.
i You can deactivate the indicato rlamps in
the exterior mirrors.
To do so, switch off Blind Spot Assis tif:
R thek ey is in position 2in the ignition
lock.
R the engine is not running.
R the electrical connection to the trailer
has been established.
Lane Keeping Assist Important safety notes
Lan
eKeeping Assist monitor sthe area in
front of your vehicle by means of acamera at
the top of the windscreen. Lane Keeping
Assis tdetect slane markings on the road and
warns you before you leave your lane unin-
tentionally. :
Lane Keeping Assis tcamera
If you have chose nthe Displa yunit Speed-/odometer (Y
page 246) functio nin
the on-board computer and select km as the
unit of measurement, Active Lane Keeping
Assist is active from speeds of 60 km/h. If
the miles displa
yunit is selected ,the assis-
tance range begin sat40mph. 210
Driving systemsDriving and parking

up
: for ahigher set speed or down ;for
al ower set speed.
The set spee dappear sinm ultifunction dis-
play ?and is shown in status indicator
=.
i If you press the cruise con trol lever
beyon dthe pressur epoint, th eset speed
also changes in 1km/ hincrements. Off-road program (ve
hicles without
th eO N&O FFROAD package)
The off-road program assists you in driving
off-road. The engine’s performance charac-
teristics and th egearshifting chara cteristics
of th eautomatic transmission are adapted for
this purpose. ABS, ESP ®
and 4ETS programs
especially adapted to off-road driving are acti-
vated. Agentle accelera torp edal curve is also
selected, i.e. the accelera torp edal must be
depressed muc hfurther in order to acceler-
ate.
Do not use the off-road program on roads that
are snow-covered or icy or if you have fitted
your vehicle with snow chains.
For information about driving off-road, see
(Y page 166). X
To engage: press button :.
Indicator lamp ;lights up. The Çoff-
road indicator appears in the multifunction
display. X
To deactivate: press button:.
Indicator lamp ;and the Çoff-road
indicator go out in the multifunction dis-
play. Off-road program (vehicles with the
ON&OFFROAD package)
General notes The off-road programs assis
tyou in driving
off -road. The engine’s performanc echarac-
teristics and the gearshifting characteristics
of the automatic transmission ar eadapted for
this purpose. ABS, ESP ®
and 4ETS programs
especially adapted to off -road drivin gare acti-
vated. An accelerator peda lcurve suitable for
the terrain is selected, i.e. the accelerator
pedal must be depressed further to acceler-
ate.
Do not use the off-road programs on roads
that are snow-covered or icy or if you have
fitted your vehicle with snow chains.
For information about driving off-road, see
(Y page 166).
The following program messages remain in
the multifunction display until the corre-
spondin gvehicle level has been set. Up to off-
road level 2, you can hide the program mes-
sages using the %ora button on the
multifunction steering wheel.
Off-road progra m1 Select off-road program
1for gentle off -road
ter rain, e.g. for gravel or sand surfaces or
tracks. The engine's torque is restricted to a
limited degree and the drive wheels can spin,
i.e. the spinning of the wheels results in a
cutting action ,for better traction.
You can only activate off -road program 1
when driving at speeds below 100 km/ h.The
Driv eprogram OFFROAD 1Max. speed 100 km/h message appears in th
emultifunc-
tion display. 222
Off-road driving systemsDrivin
gand parking

For information abou
tdriving off-road, see
(Y page 166). Yo uwillf ind information about
driving safety systems in conjunction with
LOW RANGE in the "Saf ety" section
(Y pag e60).
Shift ranges HIGH RANGE
Roa
dposition for all nor-
ma ldriving situations LO
WR ANGE Off-road position for driv-
ing off-road and fording
The transmission ratio
between the engine and
wheels is only approx-
imatel yone third of that in
the HIGH RANGE road
pos ition. The drive torque
is correspondingly higher
as aresult.
Do not use LOW RANGE:
R on slippery road surfa-
ces, e.g. in the case of
slush
R on snow or ice-covered
roads
R if you have snow chains
on your vehicle G
WARNING
Always wait for the gear change process from
HIGH RANGE to LOW RANGE –and from LOW
RANGE to HIGH RANGE –tocomple te.Don ot
tur no ff the engine while changi nggear and
do not switc hthe automatic transmission to
anot hergear.
If you do not wait for the gear change process
to complete, it may not be cor rectly imple-
mented. Th etransfer cas emay then be in
neutral and the connection between the
engine and the drive axles may be disen-
gaged .The vehicle coul dthen mov efreely,
eve nifa gear is engaged, and coul dinadver-
tently start moving, particularly if it is on a
slope. Observe the following description in "Mes-
sages in the multifunction display". From HIGH RANG
EtoLOW RAN GE
! Only carr yout the gear change process if:
R the engine is running
R the transmission is in position N
R you are not driving above 40 km/h
X Press LOW RANGE button :.
Indicator lamp ;flashes.
If the gear change process has taken place,
indicator lamp ;lights up. The LOW
RANGE display appears in multifunction
display ?and in status indicator =.
While indicator lamp ;is flashing, you can
cancel the gear change by pressing LOW
RANGE button :again.
i You cannot switch LOW RANGE on if the
SPORT on-road program is activated; the
LO WR ANGE Not in drive program SPORT message then appears in th
emulti-
function display. 224
Off-road driving systemsDrivin
gand parking

From LOW RANGE to HIG
HRANGE
! Only carry out the gear change process if:
R the engin eisrunning
R the transmission is in position N
R you are not driving above 70 km/h
X Press LOW RANG Ebutton :.
Indicato rlamp ;flashes.
When the gear change is complete, indica-
tor lamp ;goes out. In th emultifunction
display, the LOWR ANGE Off message
appears and status indica tor=goes out.
While indica torlamp ;is flashing, you can
cancel the gear change by pressin gLOW
RANGE button :agai n.
Me ssages in th emultif un ction display
If ag ear chang eprocess ha snot been suc-
cessful, th efollowin gmessages may be dis-
played in the multifunction display:
LOW RANGE Max. speed 40 km/h :Y
ou have
been drivin gabove 40 km/h. Indicator
lamp ;also flashes.
X Drive mor eslowly to carr yout the gear
change process.
LO WR ANGE Shift to position N briefly :T
he transmission is in position D
and you ar enow drivin gatbelow 40 km/h.
X Shif tthe transmission to Nto complete the
gear change process.
LOW RANGE Shifting cancelled Please
reactivate :T
he shifting process has not
been completed.
X Maintai nall gear change condition sand
carry out the gea rchange process again.
LO WR ANGE Stop Apply parking brake :
Aw arning ton eisalso heard. The gear change
proces shas not been completed. LOW
RANGE is in the neut ralp osition .There is no
con nectio nbetween the engine and the drive
wheels.
! Do not driv eany further, otherwis eyou
coul ddamage the vehicle's drive train. X
Stop the vehicle. Take into account the
road and traffic conditions when doing this.
X Apply the electric parking brake
(Y page 161).
X Carry out the gear change process again.
If the gear change process has been carried
out, the LOWR ANGE Stop Apply park‐ ing brake message disapp
ears. ON&OFFROAD men
uint he COMAND
display (vehicles wit hthe ON&OFF-
ROA Dpackage)
Yo uc an displ ay some driving systems ,driving
programs and additional information in the
COMAND display. X
Make sure that th ekey is in position 2in
the ignition lock.
X Make sure that COMAN DOnline is activa-
ted, see the separate COMAND operating
instructions.
X Pres sthe : func tion button.
The corresponding displays appear in the
CO MAN Ddisplay:
R level control
R steering angle
R vehicle' sangle of inclination
R uphill or downhil lgradient in percentage
R on- road/off-road program selected
R condition of the differential lock for the
transfer case
R the LOW RANGE off-road gear is selected Off-road driving systems
225Drivingand parking Z

Do not exceed the maximum noseweight.
When driving with aloaded carriersystem,
always adjust your drivin gstyle to th eprevail-
ing road, traffic and weather conditions and
drive par ticularly carefully.
You can use carrier sys tems, e.g. bi cycle
racks or load-bea ringimplements on th eball
coupling. The maximum noseweight of 75 kg
applies when usin gcarrier system sontheball
coupling.
General information i
Chec kthe tyr epressure when towin ga
trailer. You will find the values in the tyre
pressure table in the fuel filler flap of the
vehicle (Y page 359).
You will find installation dimensions and loads
in the "Technical data" section
(Y page 378).
The maximum noseweight of the trailer draw-
bar on the ball coupling is 18
.H owever, the
actual noseweight must not exceed the value
given on the trailer tow hitc hortrailer identi-
ficatio nplates. The lowest weight applies.
! Use anoseweight as close as possible to
the maximum permissible noseweight .Do
not use anoseweight of less than 50 kg,
otherwise the trailer ma ycome loose.
Bear in min dthat the payload and the rear
axl eload ar ereduced by the actual nose-
weight.
Please note that when towing atrailer, PARK-
TRONIC (Y page 191) and Blind Spo tAssist
(Y page 208) ar eonly available with limita-
tions ,orn ot at all.
i On vehicles withou tlevel control, the
height of the ball couplin gwill alter accord-
ing to the load placed on the vehicle. If nec-
essary, use atrailer wit haheight-adjusta-
ble drawbar. Driving tips i
Observ ethe information on ESP ®
trailer
stabilisation (Y page 65)and on pull ing
away with atrailer. (Y page 141).
Vehicles wit hthe ON&OFFROAD package:
selec tthe trailer program (Y page 219) with
the off-road program selector wheel in the
cen treconsole.
Th em aximum permissible spee dfor vehicle/
trailer combination sdepends on the type of
trailer .Befor ebeginning the journey, check
the trailer's documents to see what the max-
imu mpermitted speed is. Observ ethe legally
prescribed maximum speed in the relevant
country.
For certai nMercedes-Ben zvehicles, the max-
imu mp ermissible rear axle load is inc reased
when towing atrailer. Refer to th e"Techni cal
data" section to fin dout whether this applies
to your vehicle. If you utilise any of the added
maximum rear axle load when towing atrailer,
th ev ehicle/trailer combination may not
exceed amaximum spee dof100 km/ hfor
reasons concer ning the operating permit.
Thi salso applies in countries in which the
permissible maximum speed for vehicle/
trailer combinations is above 100 km/h.
When towing atrailer, your vehicle's handling
characteristics will be differe ntin comparison
to when drivin gwithout atrailer and it will
consume more fuel.
On long and stee pdownhil lgradients ,you
must select shift range 1,2or 3in good time.
i This also applies if you have activated
cruise con trol, SPEEDTRONIC or DI S-
TRONIC PLUS.
This will use the brakin geffect of th eengine,
so les sbraking wil lberequired to maintain
the speed. This relieves the load on the brake
system and prevent sthe brakes from over-
heating and wearing too quickly .Ifyou need
additional braking, depress the brake pedal
repeatedly rather than con tinuously.
18 Data unavailable at time of going to print. Towing
atrailer
227Driving andparki ng Z

Driving tips
R
Maintain agreater distanc efrom th evehi-
cle in front than when driv ingw ithou ta
trailer.
R Avoid braking abruptly .Ifpossible, brake
gentl yatfirst to allow the trailer to run on.
Then, increase the brakin gforc erapidly.
R The values given for gradient-climbing
capabilities from astandstill refer to sea
level. Whe ndriving in mountainou sareas,
note that th epower outpu tofthe engine,
and consequen tlyt he vehicle' sgradient-
climbing capability ,decrease with increas-
ing altitude.
If the trailer swings from side to side:
X Do not accelerate.
X Do not coun ter-steer.
X Brake if necessary. Folding ou
tthe bal lcoupling G
WARNING
Make sure that no persons or animals are in
the pivoting range of the ball coupling. Other-
wise, they could be injured.
Before you can tow atrailer wit hyour vehicle,
you must fold out the ball coupling.
X Make sure that the vehicle is stationary.
X Open the tailgate. G
WARNING
Make sur ethat the ball coupling is engaged,
either in its folded-ou torfolded-i nposition.
The indicator lam ponthe release knob is off.
Do not pull the ball coupling release switch
when atrailer is coupled or abicycle rack is
fitted.
X Pull the release knob :until the ball cou-
pling unlocks.
The ball coupling folds out from under the
rear bumper.
The indicator lamp on the release knob
flashes. The trailer socket folds away auto-
matically. X
Press the ball coupling in the direction of
the arrow until it engages in avertical posi-
tion.
The indicator lam ponthe release knob
goes off.
The multifunc tion display shows the
Chec ktrailer hitch lock message
until th eball coupling is engaged.
X Remove the protective cap from the ball
coupling and store it in asafe place. Coupling up
atrai ler
Impor tant safety notes G
WARNI
NG
Neve rlock, unlock, open or close avehicle
door or tailgat ewhen coupling up or decou- 228
Towing
atrailerDriving and parking