
R
cond ition of the LOW RAN GEoff-r oad
gear
R the on-roa dtraile rprogram is selected Tow
inga trailer Note
sont owingatrailer
Important safety notes G
WARNING
When reversing the vehicl etowards the
trailer, make sure there is nobod ybetween
the trailer and the vehicle.
Couple and uncoupl ethe trailer carefully .If
you do not couple the trailer to the towing
vehicle correctly, the trailer coul dbecome
detached.
Make sure that the following values are not
exceeded:
R the permissible trailer drawbar noseweight
R the permissible trailer load
R the permissible rear axle load of the towing
vehicle
R the maximu mpermissible gross vehicle
weight of both the towing vehicle and the
trailer
You will fin dthe applicable permissible val-
ues, whic hmust not be exceeded ,inthe vehi-
cle documen ts.
You will find the values approved by the man-
ufacturer on the vehicle identification plates
and those for the towing vehicle in the "Tech-
nical data" section. G
WARNING
If the Checktrailer hitch locking mechanism message appears in th
emulti-
function display while the vehicle is in motion,
pull over immediately and check whethe rthe
ball coupling is correctly engaged. G
WARNING
When towin gatrailer, you rvehicle' shandling
characteristics will be different in comparison
to when driving without atrailer.
Th ev ehicle/ trailer combination:
R is heavier
R is restricted in its acceleration and gradi-
ent-climbin gcapability
R has an increased braking distance
R is affected more by stron gcrosswinds
R demand smore sensitive steering
R has alarger turnin gcircle
As aresult, the handlin gcharacteristic smay
be impaired and you may lose control of the
vehicle. This could lead to an accident with
serious or even fatal injuries.
When towing atrailer, alway sadjust your
speed to the current road and weather con-
ditions. Do not exceed the maximum permis-
sible speed for your vehicle/trailer combina-
tion. G
WARNING
Never depress the brak epedal continuously
while the vehicle is in motion ,e.g. never cause
the brakes to rub by applying cons tant slight
pedal pressure. Thi scauses the brake system
to overheat, increases the braking distance
and can lead to the brakes failing completely. G
WARNING
On no account shoul dyou attempt to dra wthe
vehicle/ trailer combination out by increasing
speed. G
WARNING
If you exceed the maximum noseweight when
using acarrier system on the ball coupling:
R the carrier system may be thrown around.
R the ball coupling and the carrier system
may become detached from the vehicle.
As aresult, you may injure others or cause an
accident. 226
Towing
atrailerDriving and parking

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

Vehicles with the AIRMATIC package
X
Make sure tha tthe transmission is in posi-
tion P.
X Engage the electric parkin gbrake.
X Start th eengine.
X Clos ethe doors and tailgate.
X Secur ethe trailer against rolling away.
X Remove the trailer cable and decouple the
trailer.
X Switc hoff th eengine. Folding in the ball coupling
i Fold the ball coupling back in if you are
not using the trailer tow hitch.
X Make sure that the vehicl eisstationary and
the trailer cables are disconnected.
X Place the protective cap on the ball cou-
pling.
X Ope nthe tailgate. X
Pull the release knob :until the ball cou-
plin gunlocks.
The ball coupling folds dow nfrom under the
rea rbumper. The indicator lamp on the
release knob flashes. X
Press the ball coupling in the direction of
the arrow until it engage saudibly behind
the bumper.
The indicator lamp on the release knob
goes out and the messag einthe multifunc-
tion display disappears. Trailer power supply
When it leaves the factory ,your vehicle's
trailer socket is equipped with apermanent
power supply and apower supply that is
switched on via the ignition lock.
The permanen tpower supply is supplied via
trailer socket pin 9.
The power supply that is switched on via the
ignition lock is supplied via trailer socket pin
10.
! You can con nect consumers with apower
ratin gofupto2 40Wtot he permanent
power supply and up to 18 0Wto the power
supply that is switched on via the ignition
lock.
You must not charge atrailer battery using
th ep ower supply.
The trailer's permanen tpower supply is
switched off in the even toflow vehicle supply
voltage and after six hour satthe latest.
You can obtai nfurther information about
installing the trailer electrics from aqualified
specialist workshop, e.g. aMercedes-Benz
Ser vice Centre. 230
Towing
atrailerDriving and parking

X
To switc hthe conn ected powe rsupply
on or off: turn thekey in the ignition lock
to position 2or 0respectivel y. Bulb failure indi
cator for LE Dlamps
i If LED lamps are fitte dinthe trailer, an
error message ma yappear in the multi-
function display even if there is no fault. The
reason for the error message may be that
the current has fallen below the minimum
of 50 milliamper es(mA).
To ensure reliabl eoperation of the bul bfailure
indicator, each LED chai ninthe trailer lighting
must be guaranteed aminimum current of
50 mA. Trailer with 7-pin connector
Genera linforma tion If your trailer has
a7-pin connector, you can
connect it to the 13-pin socket on the ball
coupling using an adapter or, if necessary, an
adapter cable .Both of these can be obtained
at aq ualified specialist workshop, e.g. at a
Mercedes-Ben zService Centre.
Fitting the adapter X
Open the socket cover.
X Insert the connector with lug :into
groove ;on the socket and tur nthe con-
nec torc lockwise to the stop. X
Let the cover engage.
X If you are using an adapter cable, secure
the cable to the trailer with cable ties.
! Make sure that there is sufficient cable
play so that the cable cannot become
detached when cornering. Towing
atrailer
231Driving andparki ng Z

Usefu
linfor mation ............................ 234
Important safet ynotes .................... 234
Displays and oper ation .................... 234
Menu sand submenus ...................... 238
Displa ymessages ............................. 253
Wa rning and indicator lamp sinthe
instrumen tcluster ............................ 284 233On-boar
dcompu ter and displays

Usefu
linfor mati on
i This Owner's Manual describes all models
and all standard and optional equipment
available to your vehicle at the time of pub-
lication of the Owner's Manual. Country-
specific deviation sare possible .Please
not ethat your vehicle ma ynot be equipped
with all featur es described. This also
applies to safety-releva ntsystems and
functions.
i Please read the information on qualified
specialist workshops (Y page 24).Important safet
ynotes
You will fin danillustration of th einstrument
cluste rinthe "A taglance "section
(Y page 30). G
WARNING
Only use th eon-bo ardc omputer wh en road
and traffic condition spermit .You would oth-
erwise be distracted and unable to concen-
trate properly on driving, and coul dcause an
accident. G
WARNING
No message swill be displayed if either the
instrument cluster or the multifunction dis-
play is inoperative.
As aresult, you will not be able to see infor-
mation about your driving conditions, such as
speed, outside temperature, warning and indi-
cator lamps, display messages or system fail-
ures. Drivin gcharacteristic smay be impaired.
Adjust your driving style and vehicle speed
accordingly.
Contact aqualified specialist workshop
immediately. G
WARNING
The on-board computer only records and dis-
plays malfunctions and warnings from certain
systems. For this reason, you should always make sure that your vehicle is safe to use. You
could otherwis
ecause an accident by driving
an unsafe vehicle. G
WARNING
The operating safety of your vehicle could be
impaired if maintenance work is carried out
incorrectly. This could cause you to lose con-
trol of your vehicle and cause an accident.
Moreover, the safety systems may no longer
be able to protect you or others as they are
designed to do.
Always have service work carried out at a
qualified specialis tworkshop. Displays and operation
Coolant tempera
tureg auge
Th ec oolant temperatur egauge is in the
instrument cluster on the right-hand side.
Under normal operating conditions and with
the specified coolant level, the coolant tem-
perature may rise to 120 †.
At high outside temperatures and when driv-
ing uphill, the coolant temperature may rise
to the end of the scale. Rev counter
The red band in the rev counter indicates the
engine's overrevvin grange.
! Do not drive in the overrevving range.
Doing so will damage the engine.
The fuel supply is interrupted to protect the
engine when the red band is reached. Outside temperature display
The outside temperature display is in the mul-
tifunction display (Y page 236). G
WARNING
At temperatures just above freezing point, the
street may be icy, especially in wooded areas 234
Displays and operationOn-board computer and displays

or on bridges. If you do not adapt your driving
style to the conditions, the vehicle coul dskid.
For this reason, adapt your driving style and
speed to the weather conditions.
Changes in the outside temperature are dis-
playe dafter ashort delay. Speedometer wit
hsegments
The segment sinthe speedometer indicate
whic hspeed range is available.
Cruise control (Y page 170) activated:
The segment slight up from the stored speed
to the maximum speed.
Variable SPEEDTRONI C(Ypage 172) activa-
ted:
The segment slight up from the start of the
scale to the selected limit speed.
DISTRONIC PLU S(Ypage 174) activated:
One or two segment sinthe set speed range
light up.
DI ST RONIC PLUS detects avehicle in front:
The segment sbetween the speed of the vehi-
cle in front and the stored speed light up. Opera
ting th eon-board computer
Overview The on-board computer is activated as soon
as you tur nthe key to position 1in the ignition
lock.
You can con trol the multifunc tion display and
the settings in the on-boar dcomputer using
the button sonthe multifunc tion steering
wheel. :
Multifunc tion display
; Switches on LINGUATRONIC ;see the sep-
arate operating instructions
= Right control panel
? Leftcontrol panel
A Bac kbutton
Left control panel =
; R
Call supt he men uand menu bar 9
:
Pres
sbriefly:
R Scrolls throug hlists
R Select sasubmenu or function
R In the Audio menu: selects a
stored station, an audio track or
av ideo scene
R In the Tel (telephone) menu:
switches to the phone book and
selects aname or telephone
number Displays and operation
235On-boardcomputer and displays Z

9
:
Press and hold:
R
In the Audio menu: select
sthe
previous/next station or selects
an audio track or avideo scene
using rapid scrolling
R In the Tel (telephone) menu:
starts rapid scrolling through the
phone book a R
Confirms selection/display mes-
sage
R In the Tel (telephone) menu:
switches to the telephone book
and starts dialling the selected
number
R In the Audio menu: stops the
station search func tion at the
desire dstation Right control panel
~ R
Rejects or ends acall
R Exit stelephone book/redial
memory 6 R
Makes or accepts acall
R Switches to the redial memory W
X R
Adjusts the volume 8 R
Mute Back button
%
Press briefly:
R
Back
R Switches off LINGUATRONIC
R Hides display message sorcalls
up the last Trip menu function
used
R Exit sthe telephone book/redial
memory %
Press and hold:
R
Calls up the standar ddisplay in
the Trip menu
Multifunction display
Values and settings as well as display mes-
sages are shown in the multifunction display. :
Time
; Outside temperature or speed
(Ypage 246)
= Description field
? Menu bar
A Driv eprogram
B Transmission position
X To sho wmenu bar ?:press the =
or ; button on the steering wheel. 236
Displays and operationOn-board computer and displays