
safety reasons, get out of the vehicle first
and survey the off-road route.
R chec kthe depth of water before fording
river sand streams.
R loo kout for obstacle ssuch as rocks, holes,
tree stumps and furrows.
R take care when turning on an uphil lor
downhill slope and when turning at sharp
angles. The vehicle could otherwise tip
over.
R always keep the side windows and the pan-
oram asliding sunroof closed during the
journey.
R do not stray from marked routes or paths.
i Information abou tretrofitting special all-
ter rain tyres is available from any
Mercedes-Benz Service Centre. H
Environmental note
Protection of the environmen tisofprimary
importance .Trea tnature with respect.
Observe all prohibiting signs.
Checklist before drivin goff-road X
Engine oi llevel: checkthe engin eoil and
top it up if necessary.
When drivin gonsteep gradients, the oil
level must be sufficiently hig htoensure a
correct oil supply in the vehicle.
X AdBlue ®
tank (BlueTEC vehicl es):check
the fluid leve land, if necessary, refill to the
maximum (13 l) (Y page157).
X Tyre-chang etool kit: check that the jack
is working and make sure you have the
wheelbrace, arobust tow cabl eand afold-
ing spade in the vehicle.
X Wheels and tyres: checkthe tyr etread
depth and tyre pressure.
X Check for damag eand remove any foreign
objects, e.g. small stones, from the
wheels/tyres.
X Repl acea ny missing valve caps. X
Repl aced ented or damaged wheels.
X Wheels: dented or bent wheels can lead to
al oss of tyr epressure and damag etot he
tyr eb ead. Before driving off-road, check
the wheels and replace them if necessary.
Checklist after driving off-road !
If you detect damage to the vehicle after
driving off-road, have the vehicle checked
immediately at aqualified specialist work-
shop.
Driving over rough terrain places greater
demands on your vehicle than driving on nor-
mal roads. After driving off-road, check the
vehicle. This allow syou to detec tdamage
promptly and reduce the risk of an accident
to yourself and other road users.
X Vehicles with the ON&OFFROAD pack-
age: activate the on-road program
(Y page 222).
X Vehicles without the ON&OFFROAD
package: deactivate the on-road program
(Y page 222).
X Deactivate the LOW RANGE off-road gear
(Y page 223).
X Deactivate DSR (Y page 220).
X Lower the vehicle level again to alevel suit-
able to the road conditions, e.g. to the high-
way/high-speed level.
X Clean the headlamps and rear lights and
check for damage.
X Clean the front and rear licence plates.
X Clean the wheels/tyres with awater jet and
remove any foreign objects.
X Clea nthe wheels, wheel arches and the
vehicle underside with awater jet; check
for any foreign objects and damage.
X Check whethe rtwigs or other parts of
plants have become trapped. These
increase the risk of fire and can damage
fuel pipes, brake hose sorthe rubber bel-
lows of the axl ejoint sand propeller shafts.
X After the trip, examine without fail the
entire undercarriage, wheels ,tyres, brakes, Driving tips
167Drivingand park ing Z

The table shows approach and departure
angles :and ;when the vehicle is loaded
and ready to drive.
For vehicles with steel springs, loaded and
ready to driv emeans: afull tank, all fluids
topped up and the driver is in the vehicle.
On vehicles with the AIRMATI Cpackag eor
the ON&OFFROAD package, load suptothe
maximu mpermissible load have no influence
on approach/departur eangles. :
: 13
;
Steel-sp
rung
vehicles 26
°14 25
°15 25
°16 Vehicles with
th
eA IRMATIC
package Highway level
23° 22°
22°
17 Raised level
28° 27° 27°
Vehicles with
th
eO N&O FF-
ROA Dpackage Highway level
23° 22°
22°
17 Off-roa
dleve l1 26° 25° 25°
Off-road level 2
28° 27° 27°
Off-road level 3
31° 29° 29°
R
Follo wthe lineoff all when driving on slopes
and steep inclines.
R Before driving on extreme uphill and down-
hill gradients ,select th eoff-roa dprogram
(Y page 222) or the LOW RANGE off-road
gear (Y page 223).
R Observ ethe warnings fo roff-roa ddriving
(Y page 166).
R Drive slowly. R
Accelerat egentl yand mak esure that the
wheels are gripping.
R Avoid high engin espeeds, excep twhen
drivin gons andy and muddy routes with
high driving resistance.
R Select ashift range appropriate to the gra-
dient.
R Before tacklin gsteep downhill gradients,
select shift range 1.
Maximum gradient-climbin gcapability On good road surfaces and wit
hthe LOW
RANGE off-road gear selected, the full gradi-
ent -climbing capability is available.
i If the load on the front axle is reduced
when pulling away on asteep uphill slope,
the front wheels have atendency to spin.
4ETS recognises this and brakes the
wheels accordingly. The rear wheel torque
is increased and it is easier to pull away.
Brow of hill When driving up an uphill gradient, slightly
reduc epressure on th eaccelerator immedi-
atel ybefor ereachin gthe brow of the hill.
Make use of the vehicle' sown impetus to
travel over the brow.
This style of driving prevents:
R the vehicle from lifting off the ground on the
brow of ahill
R the vehicle from travelling too quickly down
the other side
Driving downhill R
Driv eslowly.
R Do not drive at an angle down steep
inclines. Steer into the line of fall and drive
with the front wheels aligned straight. Oth-
13
14
15
16
17 Drivin
gtips
169Driving and park ing Z
The ML 25
0BlueTEC 4MATIC model has an approach angle of 25°.
The ML 250 BlueTEC 4MATIC model with AMG bodystyling has an approach angle of 24°.
The ML 250 BlueTEC 4MATIC model has adeparture angle of 24°.
With AMG bodystyling.
The ML 35 04MATI Cmodel has adeparture angle of 23°.

You can place your mobile phone in the
mobile phone bracket (Y
page 310), or set
up aB luetooth ®
connection to the audio sys-
tem or COMAN DOnline(see the separate
operating instructions).
i You ca nobtain fur ther information about
suitabl emobile phones and connecting
mobile phones via Bluetooth ®
:
R in any Mercedes Ben zServic eCentre
R on the Internet at http://
www.mercedes-benz.com/connect G
WAR
NING
Observe the lega lrequir ements of the country
in which you are cur rently drivin gregarding
the use of mobile phones in the vehicle.
If it is permitted to use mobile phones while
the vehicle is in motion, you should only use
the mw hen the roa dand traffic conditio ns
allow. Otherwise, you may be distrac tedf rom
th et raffic conditions, caus eanaccident and
injure yourself and others.
X Switch on the mobile phone and audi osys-
tem or COMAND Online (see the separate
operating instructions).
X Press the =or; button on the steer-
ing whee ltoselect the Tel men
u.
Yo uw ills ee one of the following display mes-
sage sint he multifunction display:
R Please enter PIN :t
he mobile phone has
been placed in the mobile phone bracket
and the PIN has not been entered.
X Enter the PIN usin gthe mobile phone, LIN-
GUATRONIC ,the audio system or
COMAN DOnline.
The mobil ephone will search for anetwor k.
R Telephon eready or th
ename of the net-
work provider: the mobile phone has found
an etwor kand is ready to receive.
R Telephone No Service :non
etwor kis
available, or the mobile phone is searching
for anetwor k. Accepting
acall If someone call
syou when you are in the
Tel menu,
adisplay message appears in the
multifunction display ,for example: X
Press the 6button on the steering
wheel to accept an incomin gcall.
If you are not in the Tel menu, you can still
accept acall.
Rejecting or ending acall X
Press the ~buttonont he steer ing
wheel.
If you are not in the Tel menu, you can still
reject or end acall.
Dialling anumbe rfrom the phone book If you
rmobile phone is able to receive calls,
you can search for and dial anumber from the
phone book in the audio system or COMAND
Online at any time.
X Press the =or; button on the steer-
ing wheel to select the Tel menu.
X Press the 9,:ora button to call
up the phone book.
X Press the 9or: button to select the
desired name.
To start scrolling rapidly ,pres sand hol dthe
9 or: button for longer than one
second. After ashort time, the rapid scroll
speeds up.
Rapid scrolling stops when you release the
button or reach the end of the list. Menu
sand submenus
243On-boardcomput er anddisplays Z

Displa
ymessages Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
!
Cl
ean the fuel fil‐
ter Vehicles with
adiesel engine: there is water in th efuel filter. The
water mus tbedrained off.
X Visit aqualified specialist workshop. Ø
Refill AdBlue See
Owner'
sManual Th
eA dBlue ®
level has fallen below the reser verange. Awarning
ton ealso sounds.
X Hav eAdBlue ®
refill ed as soon as possible at aqualified spe-
cialist workshop.
or
X Refill AdBlue ®
yourself as soo naspossible (Y page 157). Ø
Re
fill AdBlue No start in ..km Th
eA dBlue ®
level is onl ysufficient for the indicated distance. A
warning ton ealso sounds.
X Hav eAdBlue ®
refill ed as soon as possible at aqualified spe-
cialist workshop.
or
X Refill AdBlue ®
yourself immediately (Y page 157).Ø
Re
fill AdBlue Eng.
start not possible Th
eA dBlue ®
tank is empty. Awarning ton ealso sounds. You can
no longer start th eengine.
X Consult aqualified specialist workshop immediately.
or
X Refill AdBlue ®
yourself immediately (Y page 157).Ø
Ch
eckA dBlue See Owner'
sManual Th
eA dBlue ®
system is malfunctioning. Awarning ton ealso
sounds.
X Visi taq ualifieds pecialist workshop. Ø
Eng.
start not pos‐
sibl
ein. .km Th
eA dBlue ®
system is malfunctioning. Awarning ton ealso
sounds.
X Visit aqualified specialist workshop immediately. Ø
Eng.
start not pos‐
sible The AdBlue
®
system is malfunctioning. Awarning ton ealso
sounds. You can no longer start the engine.
X Consult aqualified specialist workshop immediately. 268
Display messagesOn-board computer and displays

The bottles are neither secured nor prevented
from tippin gover. Therefore ,donot plac eany
ope ndrink con tainers in the stowage com-
partments.
Cup holder in the front centre console You can remov
ethe rubber ma tofthe cup
holder to clea nit. Clean them with clean,
lukewarm water only. :
Cup holders
; Cover
X To open: slidecover ;to its foremost
position.
Tem perature-controlled cup holder in
the front centre console G
WARNING
When you use the warming function, the metal
insert of the cup holder is heated. Therefore,
do not touch the cup holder insert. Otherwise,
you might burn yourself.
The tem perature-c ontrolle dcup holde rcan
be used to keep cold drinks cold and hot
drinks hot.
You can remove the rubber mat of the cup
holder to clean it. Clean them with clean,
lukewar mwater only. :
Cup holders
; Residua lheat indicator lamp
= Button
X Tur nthe key to position 2in the ignition
lock.
X To switch on th ecooling function: press
and hold button =until the blue indicator
lamp on the button lights up.
X To switch on the heating function: press
and hold button =until the red indicator
lamp on the button lights up.
X To switch off the function: press and hold
button =until the indicator lamp on the
button goes out.
When the heating func tion is used, residual
heat indicator lamp ;lights up abov eacer-
tain temperature. This mean sthat the metal
inser tofthe cup holder is hot.
Cu ph older in the rear seat armrest !
Do not sit on or support your body weight
on the rear seat armrest when it is folded
down, as you could otherwise damage it. Features
307Stowingandfeatu res Z

healt
hofothers. Using an exterior aerial takes
into account current scientific discussions
relating to the possibl ehealth risk posed by
electromagnetic fields.
Mercedes-Ben zrecom mends the use of an
approved exterior aerial .This ensures:
R optimal mobile phone reception quality in
the vehicle
R mutua linfluences between the vehicle
electronics and mobil ephones ar emini-
mised
An exterior aerial has the following advan-
tages:
R it conducts the electromagnetic fields gen-
erated by awireless device to the exterior.
R the field strengt hinthe vehicle interior is
lower than in avehicle that does not have
an exterior aerial.
i There are various mobile phone brac kets
that may be fitted to your vehicle ;insome
cases, these ar ecountry-specific.
i Even if your vehicle is equipped with con-
venience telephony, you can connec ta
Blueto oth®
capable mobil ephone to Audio
20 or COMAND Online via the Bluetooth ®
interfac e.
More information on suitabl emobilephones,
mobile phone brackets and on connecting
Bluetooth ®
capable mobile phones to Audio
20 or COMAND Online can be obtained:
R at your Merc edes-Ben zServ iceC entre
R on the Internet at http://www.mercedes-
benz.com/connect
i The functions and service savailab lewhen
you use the phone depend on you rmobile
phone model and service provider. Inserting th
emobile phone X
Open the telephone compartment
(Y page 298).
X If required by the design of the mobile
phone bracket ,instal lthe slidin gadapter
(Y page 312).
X Insert the mobile phone into the mobile
phone bracket (see the separat emobile
phone bracke tinstallatio ninstructions).
If the mobil ephone is inser tedint he mobile
phone bracket ,you can speak to the person
you ar ecalling using the hands-free system.
i On some mobile phone brackets, you first
have to connect the mobile phone via Blue-
tooth ®
to am obile phone bracke t(see the
separate operating inst ructions for the
mobile phone bracke t).
On these mobile phone brackets, the
mobile phone does not hav etobeinserted
into the bracket for you to be able to use
the telephone functions .Inthis case ,the
charging func tion and aerial func tion are
not available.
Operating th emobile phone You can operate the telephone using the
6 and~ button sonthe multifunc tion
steering wheel. You can operate other mobile
phone func tions via the on-boar dcomputer
(Y page 242).
If you tak ethe key out of the ignition lock ,the
mobile phone stay sonb ut you can no longer
use the hands-free system.
If you are making acall and you would like to
take the key out of the ignition lock, first
remove the mobile phone from the bracket.
Otherwise, the call will be ended.
i When amobile phone bracke tisu sed that
is con nected to the mobile phone via Blue-
tooth ®
:ify ou wan ttocontinue acall in
"Private mode", you have to perform the
necessary steps on the mobile phone (see Features
311Stowingandfeatures Z

Maintainin
gthe time-dependen tservice
schedule:
X Not edown the service due date displayed
in the multifunc tion display befor ediscon-
necting the battery.
or
X Subtract the battery disconnection periods
from the servic edate shown on the displ ay
after reconnecting the battery.
i The ASSYST PLUS service interval displ ay
does not show any information on the
engine oil level .Observ ethe notes on the
engin eoil level (Y page 320).
Hiding aservice message X
Pres sthe % ora button on th esteer-
ing wheel.
Displaying service messages X
Switch th eignitio non.
X Press =or; on the steering wheel
to select the Serv. menu.
X Press 9or: to select the ASSYST PLUS submenu and press
ato confirm.
The service du edatea ppears in the multi-
function display.
Points to remember Resettin
gthe ASSYS TPLUS service inter-
val display
Aq ualified specialist workshop, e.g. a
Mercedes -Ben zS ervice Cent re,w ill reset the
ASSYST PLU Sservic einterval display after
the service work has bee ncarried out.
You can obtain further information ,e.g.
regarding servic ework,from aMercedes-
Benz Ser vice Centre or directly from
Mercedes-Benz.
! If the ASSYST PLUS servic einterval dis-
play has bee ninadvertently reset, this set-
ting can be corrected at aMercedes-Benz
Ser vice Centre. Have servic
ework carried out as described
in the Ser vice Boo klet. This may otherwise
lead to inc reased wear and damage to the
major assemblies or the vehicle.
Driving abroad
An extensive Mercedes -Ben zS ervice network
is also available in other coun tries. The
Service Hotline's curren ttelephone numbers
for use when you are abroa dare to be found
in th e"Mercedes-Ben zService24h" section
of the Ser vice Boo klet. AdBlue
®
service indicator
i For BlueTE Cvehicles only.
The BlueTE Cexhaus tgas aftertreatment
must be operated with the reducing agent
AdBlue ®
in order for it to function correctly.
Under normal operating conditions, afull tank
of AdBlue ®
should last until the nex tservice
due date.
Depending on how and where the vehicle is
used, there may be an inc rease in the
AdBlue ®
consumption, resulting in the next
servic edue date being brought forward.
Certain display messages sho wthat
AdBlue ®
must be topped up, e.g.
Refill AdBlue at worksh opSee Owner’s Manual
Refill AdBlue at worksho
pNostart in .. km
Aw
arning signal also sounds.
You can no longer star tthe engin ewhen the
AdBlue ®
supply has been used up
(Y page 268).
Top up AdBlue ®
(Y page 157).
Before taking atripw ithy our vehicle outside
Europe, have th eAdBlue ®
suppl ychec kedat
aq ualified specialist workshop. If necessary,
have the AdBlue ®
topped up. Before using
your vehicle for an extended period in coun-
tries outside Europe, con tact aq ualified spe-
cialist workshop.
Obser vethe note sonAdBlue®
(Y page 374). Maintenance
323Maintenanceand care Z

You can obtain fur
ther information about
BlueTE Cexhaus tgas aftertreatmen tand
AdBlue ®
from any Mercedes-Benz Service
Centre. Care
Note
sonc are
Regular care of your vehicle is aconditio nfor
retaining th equalit yint he long term.
Us ec arep roducts and cleani ngagent srec-
ommended and approved by Mercedes-Benz.
! For cleanin gyour vehicle ,donot useany
of the following:
R dry ,rough or hard cloths
R abrasive cleanin gagents
R solvents
R cleanin gagents con taining solvents
Do not scrub.
Do not touch the surfaces or protective
film swith hard objects, e.g. aring or ice
scraper .You coul dotherwis escratch or
damag ethe surfaces and protective film. H
Environmenta
lnote
Dispose of empty packaging and cleaning
cloths in an environmentally responsible man-
ner.
! Do not park up the vehicle for an extended
period straight after cleaning it, particular ly
after having cleaned the wheels with wheel
cleaner. Whee lcleaners could cause
increased corrosion of the brake discs and
brake pads/linings. For this reason, you
should drive for afew minutes after clean-
ing. Brakin gheats the brak ediscs and the
brake pads/linings, thus drying them. The
vehicle can then be parked up. Care of the exterior
Automatic car wash G
WARNING
Braking efficiency is reduced after washing
the vehicle. This could cause an accident. For
this reason, following acar wash, drive with
particular care until the brakes are dry.
You can wash the vehicle in an automatic car
wash from the very start.
If the vehicle is very dirty, pre-wash it before
cleaning it in an automatic car wash.
! In car washe swithatowing mechanism,
make sure that the automatic transmission
is in transmission position N,otherwis ethe
vehicle could be damaged.
R Vehicles with akey:
do not remove the key from the ignition
lock. Do not open the driver' sdoor or
front-passenger door when the engin eis
switched off .Otherwise, the automatic
transmission selects park position P
automaticall yand locks the wheels .You
can prevent this by shifting the auto-
matic transmission to Nbeforehand.
R Vehicles with KEYLE SS-GO:
do not ope nthe driver's door or front-
passenger door when the engin eis
switched off .Otherwise, the automatic
transmission selects park position P
automaticall yand locks the wheels.
Observe the following to make sure that the
automati ctransmission stays in position N:
X Make sure th evehicle is stationary and the
ignition is switched off.
X Turn the key to position 2(Y page 139) in
the ignition lock.
Use the key instead of the Start/Stop but-
ton on vehicles with KEYLE SS-GO.
X Depres sand hol dthe brake pedal.
X Shif tthe automatic transmission to posi-
tion N.
X Release the brake pedal. 324
CareMaintenance and care