2011 MERCEDES-BENZ M-CLASS SUV tow

X
Unscre wthe cap from the opening on top
of AdBlue ®
refill canister ;.
X Plac edisposable hose :on the opening
of AdBlue ®
refill canister ;and screw it
on clockwise until hand-tight.
i Disposable hose :remains closed until
you fasten disposable hose :to the
AdBlue ®
filler neck of the vehicle. X
Place disposable hose :on the filler neck
on the vehicle and screw it on clockwise
until hand-tight. When you feel resistance,
disposable hose :is sufficiently secured.
! Do not tighten disposable hose :with
too muc hforce. Disposabl ehose :may
otherwise be destroyed.
X Lif tu pa nd tip AdBlue ®
refill canister ;.
i Filling stops whe nthe AdBlue ®
tan kis
completely fille d.Do no tfill the AdBlue ®
tank any further. AdBlue ®
refill canis-
ter ;can be removed when it has been
only partially emptied. X
Turn disposable hose :on the filler neck
of the vehicle anti-clockwise and remov eit.
X Turn disposable hose :on the opening of
AdBlue ®
refill canister ;anti-clockwise
and remove it.
X Reseal AdBlue ®
refill canister ;with the
cap.
AdBlue ®
refill bottle AdBlue
®
refill bottle scan be obtained at many
filling stations or at aMercedes-Benz Service
Cent re.R efill bottles without athreaded seal
offer no protection against overfilling.
AdBlue ®
could leak out as aresult of overfill-
ing. Mercedes-Ben zoffers special refi llbot-
tles with athrea deds eal. You can obtain
these from any Mercedes-Ben zService
Centre. X
Unscrew the protectiv ecap from AdBlue ®
refill bottle :.
X Place AdBlue ®
refill bottle :on the filler
neck as sho wn andscre witonh and-tight.
! Screw on the AdBlue ®
refill bottle only
hand-t ight.Itm ay other wise be destroyed.
X Press AdBlue ®
refil lbottle : toward sthe
fille rneck.
The AdBlue ®
tank is filled. Thi scould last
up to one min ute.
i Whe nAdBlue ®
refill bottle :is no longer
pressed, filling stops and the bottle may be
taken off again after being only partially
emptied. Refuelling
159Drivingand parking Z

X
Release AdBlue ®
refill bottle :.
X Turn AdBlue ®
refill bottle :anti-clockwise
and remove it.
X Screw the protective cap onto AdBlue ®
refill bottle :again.
Closing th eAdBlue ®
filler cap and fuel
filler flap X
Fit AdBlue ®
filler cap ;on the filler neck
and tur nitclockwise.
X To close th efuel filler flap ,press it in the
di rectio nofarrow:.
X Drive faster than 15 km/h.
The Refill AdBlue See Owner' sMan‐ ual messag
egoeso ut after approximately
on em inute.
i If the Refill AdBlue See Owner's Manual messag
eremain sinthe mu ltifunc-
tion display, you mus ttop up with more
AdBlue ®
. Parking
Important safety notes
G
WARNING
Only remove the key from the ignition lock
when the vehicle is stationary, as you can not
steer the vehicle when the key is removed.
Never leav echildren unsupervised in the vehi-
cle. They might release the electric parking
brake. This coul dlead to aserious or fatal
accident. G
WAR
NING
Under no circumstances should the exhaust
system come into contact with flammable
materials such as dry grass or petrol ,for
example. Do not par kthe vehicle on dry grass-
lan dorh arvested grain fields. The hot exhaust
system could otherwise ignite the flammable
material and set the vehicle on fire.
To ensure that the vehicle is secured against
rolling away unintentionally:
R the electric parking brake must be applied.
R the transmission must be in position Pand
the key must be removed from the ignition
lock.
R on steep uphill or downhill gradients, turn
the fron twheels towards the kerb. Switching of
fthe engine
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Neve rswitch off the engine while the vehicle
is in motion.
There is no brake boost for the service brake
if the engine is not running. If the ignition is
switched off, there is also no power assis-
tance for the steering.
You will require considerably more effort to
steer and brake and you could therefore lose
control of the vehicle and cause an accident.
X Apply the electric parking brake.
X Shift the transmission to position P.
Using the key X
Turn the key to position 0in the ignition
lock and remove it.
The immobiliser is activated.
i If you switch the engine off with the trans-
mission in position Ror D,t he automatic
transmission shift stoNautomatically. 160
ParkingDriving and parking

G
WARNING
Make sure tha tother road user sare not
endang ered by your braking.
Downhill gradients On long and steep downhill gradients, espe-
cially if the vehicle is laden or towing
atrailer,
yo um ust select shift range 1,2or 3in good
time.
i This als oapplies if you have activated
cruise control, SPEEDTRONIC or DIS-
TRONIC PLUS.
This will use the braking effect of the engine,
so less braking will be required to maintain
the speed. This relieves the load on the brake
system and prevents the brakes from over-
heating and wearing too quickly.
Heavy and light loads G
WARNING
Never depress the brak epeda lconti nuously
while the vehicle is in motion, e.g. never cause
the brakes to rub by apply ingc onstant slight
pedal pressure. This causes the brake system
to overheat, increases the brakin gdistance
and can lead to the brakes failing completely.
If the brakes have been subjected to aheavy
load, do not stop the vehicle immediately ,but
drive on for ashort while. This allow sthe air-
flo wtoc ool the brakes mor equickly.
If the brakes have been used only moderately,
you should occasionally test their effective-
ness. To do this, brake more firmly from a
higher speed. This improves the grip of the
brakes.
Wet road surface If driving in heavy rain for
aprolonged period
of time without braking, there may be a
delayed reaction from th ebrake swhen brak-
ing for the first time. This ma yalso occur after
the vehicle has been washed. You have to depress the brake pedal more
firmly. Maintain
agreater distance from the
vehicl einfront.
After driving on awet road or havin gthe vehi-
cle washed, brake firml ywhile paying atten-
tion to the traffic conditions. This will warm
up the brake discs, thereby drying them more
quickly and protectin gthem against corro-
sion.
Limited braking perfo rmance on salt-
treated roads G
WARNING
The layer of salt on the brake discs and the
brake pads/linings may cause adelay in the
braking effect ,resultin ginas ignifican tlyl on-
ger brakin gdistance, which could lead to an
accident.
To avoid this danger, you should:
R occasionally brake carefully, without put-
ting other road users at risk, when you are
drivin gons alted roads. This helps to
remove any salt that may have started to
build up on the brake discs and the brake
pads/linings.
R maintain agreater distance to th evehicle
ahead and driv ewith particular care.
R carefully apply the brakes at the end of a
trip and immediately after commencing a
new trip, so that salt residues are removed
from the brake discs.
New brake pads/linin gs G
WARNING
New brak epads/linings only reach their opti-
mum braking effect after several hundred kil-
ometres of driving. Before this optimum brak-
ing effect is reached, you shoul dcompensate
for the reduced brakin geffect by applying
greate rpressure when braking .This also
applies after the brake discs or the brake
pads/linings hav ebeen replaced.
For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends that you only have brak epads/linings Driving tips
163Drivingand parking Z

Off-road driving
Important safet ynotes G
WARNING
Driv eslowly in rough terrain with which you
are unfamiliar. This will allow you to detect
unexpected obstacles more easily and, there-
fore, to reduce the risk of an accident.
Do not make U-turns on mountain roads. Oth-
erwise, the vehicle could tip over. If aslope is
too steep for the vehicle, drive back in reverse
gear.
Do not drive at an angle up steep inclines.
Otherwise, the vehicle could tip over. If you
drive up asteep incline at an angle and the
vehicle threatens to overturn, stee rinto the
line of fall immediately.
Never allo wthe vehicle to roll backwards. The
brakin geffect of the engine canno tbeu tilised
in neutral. If you only use the service brake,
you could los econtrol of the vehicle. G
WARNING
Grains of sand, particles of dirt and other
abrasiv ematerials can enter the brake sys-
tem. This can lead to excessive wear and
unpredictable braking efficiency.
After the brakes have been expose dtodirty
conditions ,have them checked and cleaned
at aq ualified specialist workshop ,e.g. a
Mercedes-Benz Service Cent re.O therwise,
there is arisk that braking power may be
insufficient in the event of an emergency, or
that the braking effec tmay be unpredictable. G
WARNING
Damage to the vehicle creates the risk of an
accident for yourself and other road users. If
in doubt, have your vehicle chec kedataq uali-
fied specialist workshop which has the nec-
essary specialist knowledg eand tool stocarry
out the work required. Mercedes-Benz rec-
ommends that you use aMercedes-Benz
Servic eCentr efor this purpose. General notes Read this section befor
edriving your vehicle
off- road. Practise by travelling over more gen-
tle off-road terrain first.
The following driving systems are specially
adapted to off-road driving:
R Off-road program (vehicles without the
ON&OFFROAD package) (Y page 222)
R Off-road program 1and 2(vehicles wit hthe
ON&OFFROAD package) (Y page 222)
R LOW RANGE off-road gear (vehicles with
the ON&OFFROAD package)
(Y page 223)
R Differential lock (vehicles wit hthe
ON&OFFROAD package) (Y page 223)
R Off-road AB S(Ypage 61)
R Off-road 4ETS (Y page 64)
R Off-road ESP ®
(Y page 65)
R AIRMATI Cpackag e(veh icle level)
(Y pag e188)
R DSR (Downh illS peed Regulation)
(Y page 220)
Observe the following notes:
R stop your vehicle and, if necessary, select
the off-road program (Y page 222)orthe
LOW RANGE off -road gear (Y page 223)
befor edriving off-road.
R select avehicle level suitable for the off-
road ter rain. Make sure ther eisalways suf-
ficien tground clearance to prevent dam-
ag etot he vehicle.
R chec kthat item sofluggage and loads are
stowe dsafely and are well secured
(Y page 300).
R always keep the engine running and in gear
when driving on adownhil lgradient. Acti-
vate DSR (Y page 220).
R drive slowly and evenly ,ifnecessar yata
walking pace.
R ensure that the wheels are in contact with
the ground at all times.
R drive with extreme care on unknown off-
road routes where visibility is poor. For 166
Driving tipsDriving and parking

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

erwise, the vehicle could slip sideways, tip
and over turn.
R Before tackling steep downhill gradients,
select shift range 1.
R Activat eDSR. If this is not suffici ent, brake
gently. Whe ndoing so, make sure that the
vehicle is facing in the direction of the line
of fall.
R Check that the brakes ar eworking normally
after along downhil lstretch.
i Off-road ABS is activated when the off-
road program or LOW RANGE off-road gear
is selected.
At speeds belo w30km/h, th efront wheels
lock cyclicall yduring braking. The digging-
in effect achieved in the process reduces
the stopping distance when driving off-
road. The steerability of the vehicle is con-
siderably reduced if the wheel slock. Driving systems
Cruise control
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Do not change down for additiona lengine
braking on aslippery road surface. This could
cause the drive wheels to lose their grip and
the vehicle could skid. G
WARNING
Cruise control cannot take account of road
and traffic conditions.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions
even when cruise control is activated.
Cruise control is only an aid designed to assist
driving. You are responsible for the vehicle's
speed and for braking in good time. G
WARNING
Do not use cruise control
R in traffic conditions that do not allow you to
drive at aconstant speed (e.g. heavy traffic or winding roads). You may otherwise
cause an accident.
R on slipper yroads. The driv ewheels may
lose their grip when brakin goraccelerating
and the vehicle may skid.
R whe nthere is low visibility, e.g. due to fog,
heav yrain or snow.
General notes Cruise control maintains
aconstant road
speed for you. It brakes automatically in order
to avoid exceeding the set speed. On long and
steep downhil lgradients ,especially if the
vehicle is laden or towing atrailer, yo umust
select shift range 1,2or 3in good time. By
doing so, you will make use of the braking
effect of the engine. This relieves the load on
the brake system and prevent sthe brakes
from overheating and wearing too quickly.
Use cruise con trol only if roa dand traffic con-
ditions make it appropriate to maintain a
steady speed for aprolonged period. Yo ucan
store any road spee dabove 30 km/h.
Cruise contro llever :
To activate or increase speed
; LIMi ndicato rlamp
= To activate at the current speed/last
stored speed
? To activate or reduce speed
A To switch between cruise control and var-
iable SPEEDTRONIC
B To deactivate cruise control 170
Driving systemsDriving and parking

You can operat
ecruise control and variable
SPEEDTRONIC with th ecruise control lever.
X To switc hbetween variable SPEED-
TRONIC and cruise control: press the
cruis econtrol leve rinthe direction of arrow
A.
LI Mi ndicator lamp ;on the cruise control
lever indicates which function you have selec-
ted:
R LIM indic ator lamp ; off:
cruis econtrol
is selected.
R LIM indic ator lamp ; on:
variable
SPEEDTRONIC is selected.
When you activate cruis econtrol, the stored
speed is shown in the multifunction display
for fiv eseconds .Inthe multifunction display,
the segments between the stored speed and
the maximum speed light up.
Activation conditions To activate cruise con
trol, all of the following
activation condition smust be fulfilled:
R your vehicle must not be secured by the
electric parking brake.
R you must be driving faster than 30 km/h.
R ESP ®
must be switched on, but not inter-
vening.
R the transmission must be in position D.
R DSR must be deactivated.
R Off-road program 2must be deactivated
(vehicles with the ON&OFFROAD package).
R the cruise control function must be selec-
ted (Y page 170).
Activating cruise control You can accept the current spee
difyou are
drivin gfaster than 30 km/h. X
Accelerate the vehicle to the desired
speed.
X Briefly press the cruise control lever
up : or down ?.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
Cruise control is activated. The vehicle
automatically maintains the stored speed.
i Cruise control may be unable to maintain
the stored spee donuphill gradients. The
stored speed is resumed when the gradient
evens out. Cruise control maintain sthe
stored speed on downhill gradient sby
automatically applying the brakes.
Activating at the current speed/last
stored speed G
WARNING
Only call up astored speed if you know what
that speed is and if it is suitable for the current
traffic and driving situation. You can other-
wise endanger yoursel forothers by uninten-
tionall ytriggering sudden acceleration or
braking.
X Briefly pull th ecruis econtrol leve rtowards
you =.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
The first tim ecruis econtrol is activated, it
stores the curren tspeed or regulates the
speed of the vehicle to the previously
stored speed.
Setting aspeed X
Press the cruise control lever up :for a
high er spee dordown?for alower speed.
X Keep the cruise contr ol leverpresse duntil
the desired speed is reached.
X Release the cruise contro llever.
The new speed is stored. Driving systems
171Drivingand parking Z

vehicl
eisladen or towing atrailer, yo umust
select shift range 1,2or 3in good time. By
doing so, you wil lmake use of the braking
effect of the engine. This relieves the loa don
the brake syste mand prevents the brakes
from overheating and wearing too quickly. If
you need additiona lbraking, depress the
brake peda lrepeatedly rather than continu-
ously.
You can set avariable or permanent limit
speed:
R variable for speedlimits, e.g. in built-up
areas
R permanent for long-term spee drestric-
tions, e.g. when driv ingw ith winter tyres
fitted (Y page174)
i Thes pee dindicated in the spe edometer
ma ydiffer slightly from the limit speed
sto red.
Variable SPEEDTRONIC Cruise control lever
:
To acti vate or increase speed
; LIM indicator lamp
= To activate at the curren tspeed/last
stored speed
? To acti vate or reduce speed
A To switch between cruise control and var-
iable SPEEDTRONIC
B To deactivate variable SPEEDTRONIC
With the cruise control lever, you can operate
cruise control or DISTRONIC PLUS and vari-
able SPEEDTRONIC. X
To switch between variable SPEED-
TRONIC and cruise control/DISTRONIC
PLUS: press the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow A.
LIM indicator lamp ;on the cruise control
lever indicates which function you have selec-
ted:
R LIM indicator lamp ; off:
cruise control
or DISTRONIC PLUS is selected.
R LIM indicator lamp ; on:
variable
SPEEDTRONIC is selected.
You can use the cruise control lever to limit
the speed to any speed above 30 km/ hwhile
the engin eisrunning.
Activating variable SPEEDTRONIC
You can use the cruise control lever to limit
the spee dtoany speed above 30 km/h while
the engine is running.
X Briefly pres sthe cruise con trollever
up : or down ?.
The curren tspeed is stored and shown in
the multifunction display.
The segment sinthe multifunction display
light up from the star tofthe scal euptot he
stored speed.
Activating at th ecurren tspeed/last
store dspeed G
WARNING
Only select astored speed if you know what
that speed is and whether it is suitable for the
current driving and traffic situation. Other-
wise ,sudden braking could endanger you or
others.
X Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you =.
Setting aspeed
X Press the cruise contro llev er up :for a
higher speed or down ?for alower speed.
X Keep th ecruis econtr ol leve rpresse duntil
the desired speed is reached. Drivin
gsystems
173Drivingand park ing Z