2011 MERCEDES-BENZ M-CLASS SUV change time

Crossing vehicles
DISTRONIC PLU
Smay mistakenly detect
vehicles that are crossin gyour lane .Activat-
ing DISTRONIC PLUS at traffi cligh ts with
crossing traffic, for example, could cause
your vehicle to pull away unintentionally. Leve
lcon trol (vehicle switht he
ON&OFFROA Dpackage)
Importan tsafety notes Leve
lcontrol adapts the vehicle level auto-
matically to the current operating and driving
situation. Thi sresults in reduced fuel con-
sumption and improved handling.
Make changes to the vehicle level whil ethe
vehicle is in motion. Thi senable sthe vehicle
to adjus ttothe new level as quickly as pos-
sible.
The vehicle level ma ychange visibly if you
par kthe vehicle and the outside temperature
changes. If the temperatur edrops, th evehi-
cle level lowers; with an increase in temper-
ature, the vehicle level rises.
If you unloc kthe vehicle or open adoor, the
vehicle begins to compensate for load dis-
crepancies while still parked. However, for
significant leve lchanges, e.g. after the vehi-
cle has been stationar yfor along period, the
engin emust be on. For safety reasons, the
vehicle is only lowered when the doors are
closed .Lowering is interrupted if adoor is
opened; it con tinues once the doo rhas been
closed. G
WARNING
Make sure that nobody is near the wheel arch
or vehicle underside when you make achange
to the vehicle level. Otherwise, you or others
ma ybet rapped. G
WARNING
Always select as lo wavehicle level as possi-
ble. If the vehicle level is high, the vehicle
centre of gravity shifts upwards. This increa-
ses the risk of the vehicle tipping over.
Adapt your driving style to suit the vehicle
level. ESP ®
can notreduce the risk of an acci-
dent if you driv etoo fast .ESP ®
cannot over-
ride the laws of physics.
! When driving on extremely roug hterrain,
select ahigh vehicle level in good time.
Make sure there is always sufficient ground
clearance to prevent damage to the vehi-
cle.
For information about drivin goff-road, see
(Y pag e166).
Basi csettings The exten
ttowhich the vehicle is raised or
lowered depend sonthe basic setting selec-
ted.
Select:
R Highway/high-spee dlevel for driving on
normal roads
R Off -road level 1for drivin goneasily nego-
tiable off-road terrain
R Off-road level 2for drivin gonnormal off-
roa dterrain
R Off -road level 3for freeing the vehicle from
especially difficult off -road terrain at low
speeds
The individual vehicle levels differ from high-
way level as follows:
R Highway level: +/– 0mm
R High-speed level: –15 mm
R Off-road leve l1:30mma bove highway
level Driving systems
183Drivingand parking Z

selected (Y
page 188), the Ac tiveCurve Sys-
tem also changes the setting.
If you select ADS comfort mode:
R rolling movement is reduced in the event of
changing surface undulations.
R the roll angle when cornering is reduced.
R the driving style is agile.
If you select ADS sport mode:
R the roll angle is reduced significantly.
R the driving style is even more agile.
Leve lcontrol Import
ants afety notes
Leve lcontrol adapts the vehicle leve lauto-
matically to the current operating and driving
situation. This results in reduced fuel con-
sumption and improved handling.
If you select ADS comfort mode
(Y page 188), the vehicle is lowered to high-
spee dlevel as the speed increases. As the
vehicle decelerates, the vehicle is raised back
up to highway level.
If you select ADS sport mode (Y page 188),
the vehicle skips highway level and lowers
directly to high-speed level dependin gonthe
basic setting (Y page 189).
Make changes to the vehicle level while the
vehicle is in motion. This enables the vehicle
to adjust to the new level as quickly as pos-
sible.
The vehicle level ma ychange visibly if you
par kthe vehicle and the outside temperature
changes. If the temperature drops, the vehi-
cle level lowers; with an increase in temper-
ature, the vehicle level rises.
If you unlock the vehicle or open adoor, the
vehicle begins to compensat efor load dis-
crepancies while still parked. However, for
significant leve lchanges, e.g. after the vehi-
cle has been stationary for along period, the
engin emust be on. For safety reasons, the
vehicle is only lowered when the doors are
closed .Lowering is interrupted if adoor is opened; it con
tinues once the doo rhas been
closed. G
WARNING
Make sure that nobody is near the wheel arch
or vehicle underside when you make achange
to the vehicle level. Otherwise, you or others
ma ybet rapped. G
WARNING
Always select as lo wavehicle level as possi-
ble. If the vehicle level is high, the vehicle
centre of gravity shifts upwards. This increa-
ses the risk of the vehicle tipping over.
Adapt your driving style to suit the vehicle
level. ESP ®
cannot reduc ethe risk of an acci-
dent if you drive too fast. ESP ®
cannot over-
rid ethe laws of physics.
! When driving on extremel yrough terrain,
select ahigh vehicle level in good time.
Make sure there is always sufficient ground
clearance to prevent damage to the vehi-
cle.
For information abou tdriving off-roa d, see
( Y page 166).
Basic settings
The exten ttowhich the vehicle is rai sedor
lowered depends on the basic setting selec-
ted. Select raised level for off-road driving or
highway/high-spee dlevel for normal roads.
The indiv idua lvehicle levels differ from high-
way level as follows:
R Highway level: +/ –0mm
R High-speed level: –15 mm
R Raised level: +60 mm
Raise dlevel
Only select raise dlevel if this is appropriate
for the road conditions. Otherwise, fuel con-
sumption may increase and handling may be
affected. Driving systems
189Drivingand parking Z

Problems wit
hPARKTRONIC Problem Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
Only the red segments
in the PARKTRONIC
warning display sare lit.
Yo ua lso hear awarning
tone for approximately
two seconds.
PARKTRONIC is deacti-
vated after approx-
imately 20 seconds,
and the indicator lamp
in the PARKTRONIC
button lights up. PARKTRONIC has malfunctioned and has switched off.
X If problems persist, have PARKTRONIC checked at aqualified
specialist workshop. Only the red segments
in the PARKTRONIC
warning display sare lit.
PARKTRONIC is deacti-
vate dafter approx-
imatel y20seconds. The PARKTRONI
Csensors are dirt yorthere is interference.
X Clean the PARKTRONI Csensors (Y page 327).
X Switch the ignition back on. The problem may be caused by an exter
nalsource of radio or
ultrasoun dwaves.
X See if PARKTRONIC functions in adifferent location. Active Parking Assist
Important safet ynotes Active Parking Assist is an electronic parking
aid with ultrasound. Ultrasound is used to
measure the road on both sides of the vehicle.
As uitable parking space is indicated by the
parking symbol. Activ esteering intervention
can assis tyou during parking. You ma yalso
use PARKTRONIC (Y page 191). When PARK-
TRONIC is switched off, Active Parking Assist
is also unavailable. G
WARNING
Active Parkin gAssist is merely an aid and may
sometimes recommen dparking spaces that
are not suitable for parking. For example,
these might be spaces where parking is pro-
hibited ,driveways, unsuitabl esurfaces, etc.
Active Parking Assis tmeasures the parking
space as you driv epast it. Any later changes to the parking space are not taken into
account .For insta nce,this ma ybethe case
when the vehicle parked in front of or behind
the space changes its position or when an
obstacle is moved int othe parkin gspace.
Active Parking Assist does not reliev eyou of
the responsibilit yofpaying attention. If you
rely solel yonA ctive Parkin gAssist ,you could
cause an accident and injure yourself and oth-
ers.
You are always responsible for safet yand
must continue to pay attention to your imme-
diate surroundings whe nparking and
manoeuvring. G
WARNING
Objects located above the heigh trange of
Active Parking Assis twill not be detected
when the parking space is measured. These
are not taken into account when the parking 194
Drivin
gsystemsDrivin gand parking

procedure is calculated, e. g. overhanging
loads, tail sections or loading ramps of goods
vehicles. In some cir
cumstances, Active Park-
ing Assist may therefore guide you into the
parking space too early. Thi smay lead to a
collision. For this reason, you shoul davoid
using Active Parking Assist in such situatio ns.G
WARNING
Th ef ront of th evehicle will veer out in the
direc tion of the oncomin gtraffic during the
parking operatio n. Insome cases the vehicle
will also take you onto section softhe oncom-
ing lan eduring the parking procedure.
You are responsible for safety at all times and
must pay attention to any road users
approaching or passing. Stop the vehicle if
necessary or cancel the Active Parking Assist
parking procedure. G
WARNING
Make sure that no persons or animals are in
the manoeuvring range. Otherwise, they
could be injured.
Use Active Parking Assis tfor parkin gspaces:
R that are parallel to the direction of travel
R that are on straight roads, not bends
R that are on the same level as the road, e.g.
not on the pavement
Parking tips:
R on narrow roads, driv easclosely as possi-
ble past the parkin gspace.
R parking spaces that are littered, overgrown
or partially occupied by trailer drawbars
might be identified incor rectly or not at all.
R snowfall or heavy rain may lea dtoap arking
space being measured inaccurately.
R pay attention to the PARKTRONIC
(Y page 192 )warning message sduring the
parking procedure.
R you can intervene in the steering procedure
to correc titatany time. Active Parking
Assist will then be cancelled. R
whe ntransporting aload which protrudes
from your vehicle, you should not use
Active Parkin gAssist.
R never use Ac tive Parkin gAssist when snow
chains or an emergenc yspare wheel are
fit ted.
R mak esure that the tyre pressures are
always correct. This has adirec tinfluence
on the parking characteristics of the vehi-
cle.
R the wa yyourv ehicle is positioned in the
parking space after parking is dependent
on various factor s. Theseinclude the posi-
tion and shape of the vehicles parked in
front and behind it and the conditions of the
location. In some cases, Active Parking
Assist may guid eyou too far int oaparking
space, or not far enough into it. In some
cases, it may also lead you across or onto
the kerb. If necessary, you should abort the
parking procedure with Active Parking
Assist.
R you can also engage forward gear prema-
turely. The vehicle redirects and does not
drive as far into the parking space. Should
ag ear be changed too earl ytoa chieve a
sensible parkin gposition ,the parkin gpro-
cedure wil lbeaborted.
! If unavoidable, you should driv eover
obstacles such as kerb sslowly and not at
as har pangle .Otherwise, you may damage
the wheels or tyres.
Detectin gparking spaces Active Parking Assis
tiss witched on automat-
ically when driving forwards. The system is
operational at speed sofuptoa pproximately
35 km/h. While in operation, the system inde-
pendently locates and measures parking
spaces on both sides of the vehicle. When
driving at speeds below 30 km/ h,you will see
the parking symbol as astatus indicato rinthe
instrumen tcluster. Activ eParking Assist only
displays parking spaces on the front-
passe nger side as standar d.Parking spaces
on the driver' sside are displayed as soon as Driving systems
195Drivingand parking Z

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

G
WARNING
Lane Keeping Assis tdoes not keep your vehi-
cle in its lane. It is only an aid and may detect
the lane markings on the road incorrectly or
not at all.
The system may be impaired or may not func-
tion if:
R there is poor visibility, e.g. due to insuffi-
cient illumination of the road, or due to
snow, rain, fog or spray.
R there is glare, e.g. from oncoming traffic,
the sun, or reflection from other vehicles.
R the windscreen is dirty, misted up or cov-
ered, for instance by asticker, in the vicinity
of the camera
R several or no lane markings for asingle lane
are present.
R the lane markings are worn away, dark or
covered up, e.g. by dirt or snow.
R the distanc etothe vehicle in fron tistoo
smal land the lane markings thus cannot be
detected.
R the lane markings on the road are unclear,
e.g. near roadworks.
R the lane markings change quickly ,e.g.
lanes branch off, cross one another or
merge.
R the road is narrow and winding.
Lane Keeping Assist cannot detect road and
traffic conditions. It is not asubstitute for
attentive driving. You are responsible for the
vehicle's speed, braking in good time, and
steering correctly. Always adapt your driving
style to suit the prevailing road and weather
conditions. Always pay attention to traffic
conditions and your surroundings. Otherwise,
you may fail to recognise dangers in time,
cause an accident and injure yourself and oth-
er s.
Aw arning may be given if afront wheel
pass esover alane marking. It will warn you
by mean sofintermitten tvibration in the
steerin gwheel for up to 1. 5seconds. Activating Lane Keeping Assist
X
Swit chon Activ eLane Keeping Assis tusing
the on-boar dcompu ter;to do so, select
Standa rd or
Adapti ve (
Y page 24 5).
Symbol :appears in the multifunction
display.
If you drive at speed sabove 60 km/ hand
lane markings are dete cted, symbol :is
highlighted. Lan eKeeping Assist is ready
for use.
Standard
If Standa rd is selected, no warnin
gvibration
occur sif:
R you have switche donthe tur nsignals. In
this event ,the warnings ar esuppressed for
ac ertain period of time.
R ad riving safety system intervenes, such as
ABS, BAS or ESP ®
.
Adaptive
If Adaptive is selected, no warning vibration
occurs if:
R yo uh ave switched on the turn signals .In
this event ,the warnings ar esuppressed for
ac ertain period of time.
R ad riving safety system intervenes, such as
ABS, BAS or ESP ®
.
R yo ua ccelerate hard ,e.g. kickdown.
R you brake hard.
R you steer actively, e.g. swerve to avoid an
obstacle or chang elane quickly.
R you cut the corner on ashar pbend.
In order that you are warned only when nec-
essary and in good tim eifyou cross the lane
marking, the system recognises cer tain con-
ditions and warns you accordingly. Drivin
gsystems
211Drivingand park ing Z

The warnin
gvibration occur searlier if:
R you approach the outer lane markin gona
bend.
R the road has ver ywide lanes, e.g. amotor-
way.
R the system recognises solid lane markings.
The warnin gvibration occur slater if:
R the road has narrow lanes.
R you cut the corner on abend. Active Driving Assistance package
General notes The Active Drivin
gAssistanc epackage con-
sists of DISTRONIC PLUS (Y page 174), Active
Blind Spot Assis t(Ypage 212) and Active
Lan eKeeping Assist (Y page 215).
Active Blind Spot Assist Important safety notes
Active Blin dSpot Assist uses aradar sensor
system to monitor the side areas of your vehi-
cle which are in back of the driver. Awarning
display in the exter iormirror sdraws your
attention to vehicles detected in the moni-
tored area. If you then switch on the corre-
sponding turn signal to change lane, you will
also receive an optical and audible collision
warning. If arisk of lateral collision is detec-
ted, corrective brakin gmay help you avoid a
collision. To support the course-correcting
brake application, Active Blind Spot Assist
also uses the forward-facin gradar senso rsys-
tem. Active Blind Spot Assist supports you
from aspeed of approximately 30 km/h. G
WARNING
Active Blin dSpot Assist is only an aid and may
detect vehicles/obstacles incor rectly or not
at all. Th
es ystem may be impaired or may not func-
tion if:
R there is poo rvisibility, e.g. due to snow,
rain, fog or spray.
R the rear and/or fron tsensors are dirty.
Active Blin dSpot Assist may not detect nar-
row vehicles, such as motor cycles or bicycles,
or only detect the mtoo late. It can notd etect
vehicles which are overtaken at asmall dis-
tance and then enter th eblind spot area.
Active Blind Spot Assist cannot detect road
and traffic conditions. It is not asubstitute for
attentive driving. You are responsible for the
vehicle's speed, braking in good time, and
steering correctly. Always adapt your driving
style to suit the prevailing road and weather
conditions. Always pay attention to traffic
conditions and your surroundings. Otherwise,
you may fail to recognise dangers in time,
cause an accident and injure yourself and oth-
ers.
The radar sensor syste misautomatically
deactivated near radio telescope facilities
(Y page 380).
For Active Blind Spot Assis ttoassist you
when driving, the radar sensor syste mmust
be activated (Y page 249)and operational.
Monitoring range
Active Blind Spot Assist monitors the area up
to three metres behind your vehicl eand
directl ynext to your vehicle as shown in the
diagram. For this purpose, Active Blin dSpot
Assist uses rada rsensors in the rear bumper. 212
Driving systemsDriving and parking

R
the lane markings change quickly, e.g.
lanes branch off, cros sone anothe ror
merge.
R ther oad is narrow and winding.
Active Lane Keeping Assist cannot detect
road and traffic conditions. It is not asubsti-
tute for attentive driving.Y ou are responsible
for the vehicle's speed ,braking in good time,
and steering correctly .Always adapt your
driving style to sui tthe prevailing roa dand
weather conditions. Alway spay attention to
traffic condition sand your surroundings. Oth-
erwise, you may fail to recognise dange rsin
time, cause an accident and injure yourself
and others.
Warning vibra tion in th esteering wheel
Aw arnin gmay be given if afront wheel
passes ove ralane mar king. You will then be
warned by means of an intermittent vibration
in the steering wheel for up to 1. 5seconds.
In order that you are warned only when nec-
essary and in good tim eifyou cross the lane
marking, the system recognises cer tain con-
ditions and warns you accordingly.
The warnin gvibration occur searlier if:
R you approach the outer lane markin gona
bend.
R the road has ver ywide lanes, e.g. amotor-
way.
R the system recognises solid lane markings.
The warnin gvibration occur slater if:
R the road has narrow lanes.
R you cut the corner on abend.
Lane-correcting brak eapplication
If you leave your lane unde rcertain cir cum-
stances, the vehicle will brake briefl yonone
side. Thi sisdesigned to help you brin gthe
vehicle bac kinto the original lane.
Thi sfunction is available in the range between
60 km/ hand 200 km/h.
Al ane-correctin gbrake applicatio ncan only
be made after driving over asolid, recognis-
able lane marking. Befor ethis, awarning must be emitted by means of intermittent
vibration in the steering wheel. In addition, a
lane with lane markings on both sides must
be recognised. The brake application also
slightly reduces driving speed.
If al ane-correcting brake application occurs,
the following appears in the multifunction dis-
play: i
Afurther lane-correcting brake applica-
tion can only occur after your vehicle has
returned to the original lane. G
WARNING
Active Lane Keeping Assis tdoes not keep
your vehicle in its lane. It is only an aid
designed to assist driving. It is not asubstitute
for attentive driving. Corrective braking may
not always be sufficient to return your vehicle
to its original lane. In such cases, you must
steer the vehicle yourself to ensure that it
does not leave the lane.
Active Lane Keeping Assis tcannot detect the
current traffic situation or other road users.
Ensure at all times that there is sufficient lat-
eral distance between you and other road
users or obstacles .Inrare cases, broken lines
or certain structures on the road surface may
be detected by the system as solid lane mark-
ings. You can, for example, countersteer gen-
tly at any time to cancel inappropriate braking
action, e.g. if you intentionally drive across a
solid lane marking.
Active Lane Keeping Assis tcannot take
weather conditions into account.
You are responsible for the vehicle's speed,
correct steering and for braking in good time.
Always adapt your driving style to suit the
prevailing road and weather conditions.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions and 216
Driving systemsDrivin
gand parking