2011 MERCEDES-BENZ M-CLASS SUV tow

Problems wit
htrailer towing Problem Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
The released ball cou-
pling cannot be
engaged. X
Visit aqualified specialist workshop. The ball coupling does
not unlock, even
though:
R the vehicle is station-
ary.
R no trailer cable is
connected.
R the release knob to
unlock the ball cou-
pling has been pulled
for more than asec-
ond. The on-boar
dvoltage is insufficient.
X Start the engine.
If the ball coupling still does not unlock:
X Visit aqualified specialist workshop. 232
Towin
gatrailerDriving and parking

Displa
ymessages Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
!
Pa
rkingb rake See Owner'
sManual Th
ey ellow !warning lamp lights up.
The electric parkin gbrak eism alfunctioning.
To apply:
X Switc hoffthe ignition.
X Press the electric parking brake handle fo ratleast 10 seconds.
X Shif tthe transmission to P.
X Consult aqualified specialist worksho p. The yellow
!warnin glamp and the red !indicator lamp
are lit.
The electric parking brake is malfunctioning.
To release:
X Switch off the ignitio nand turn it back on.
X Releas ethe electric parkin gbrake manu ally.
or
X Release the electric parkin gbrake automatically (Y page 161).
If the yellow !warning lamp remains lit or continues to flash:
X Do not drive on.
X Consult aqualified specialist worksho p. The red
!indicator lam pflashes and the yellow !warning
lamp is lit.
The electric parkin gbrake is malfunctioning.
To rel ease:
X Switch off the ignitio nand turn it back on.
X Releas ethe electric parkin gbrake manu ally.
To apply:
X Switch off the ignitio nand turn it back on.
X Appl ythe electric parkin gbrake manu ally.
If the red !indicator lamp continues to flash:
X Do not drive on.
X Secur ethe vehicle against rolling away (Y page 338).
X Shif tthe transmission to P.
X Tur nthe front wheels towards the kerb.
X Consult aqualified specialist worksho p. Display messages
257On-boardcomputer and displays Z

Displa
ymessages Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
b
Ma
lfunction See Owner'
sManual Th
ee xter ior lighting is faulty.
X Visit aqualified specialist workshop. Vehicles with trailer tow hitch:
afuse may have blown.
X Check the fuses (Y page 352).
X If necessary, replac ethe blown fuse. Observe the warnin gnotes
as you do so.
If the display message continues to be displayed:
X Visit aqualified specialist workshop. b
AUTO
lights inoper‐
ative The light sensor is faulty.
X
Visit aqualified specialist workshop. b
Switch of
flights Th
elights are still switched on when you leave the vehicle. A
warnin gtonea lso sounds.
X Turn the light switc htoÃ. Adaptive Main-beam
Assist inoperative Adap
tive Highbea mAssist is faulty.
X Visit aqualified specialist workshop. Adaptive Main-beam
Assist currently
unavailabl
eSee Owner's Manual Adap
tive Highbea mAssist is deac tivated and temporarily inoper-
ati ve.P ossible causes:
R the windscreen is dir tyinthec amera's field of vision.
R visibility is impaired due to heavy rain, snow or fog.
X Clean the windscreen.
If the system detect sthat the cam era is fullyoperational again,
the Adaptive Main-bea mAssist availabl eagain message
is displayed.
Adap tive Highbea mAssist is operationa lagain. Displa
ymessages
265On-board comp uter and displays Z

Driving systems
Display messages Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
À
At
tention Assist: Drowsines
sdetec‐ ted Base
donspecific criteria, ATTENTION ASSIST has determined that
th ed river is tired or paying less attention. Awarning ton ealso
sounds.
X If necessary, tak eabreak.
During long journeys, tak eregular break singood tim esoyou get
enough rest. À
At
tention Assist inoperative ATTENTION ASSIST ha
sfailed.
X Visit aquali fieds pecialist workshop. Á
Please
reduce speed You can
notc hang ethe vehicle level. Possible causes:
R you ar edriving to ofast for the selected vehicle level.
R you are towing atrailer.
R thet railer-coupling socket is being used ,e.g. for abicycle rack.
X Driv emore slowly and then select the desire dvehicle level
again.
R Vehicles with the ON&OFFROA Dpackage (Y page 183)
R Vehicles with the AIRMATI Cpackage (Y page 189)
X Observ ethe notes ontowing atrailer (Y page 226). Á
Co
mpressor is cool‐
ing Yo
uh ave selected ahigher vehicle level. The compressor first
needs to cool down because of frequen tlevel changes.
X Driv einam anner appropriate for the curren tvehicle level.
X Make sure that ther eissufficien tground cle arance.
X Allow the compresso rtocool down.
When the compressor has cooled down, the display message
disappears. The vehicle then con tinues rising to the selected
level. Á
Malfunction AIRMATIC is faulty.
X
Drive as appropriate for the current vehicl elevel, but do not
exceed 80 km /h.
X Make sur ethat ther eissufficient ground clearance.
X Have the vehicle checked at aqualified specialist workshop. The Active Curve System is faulty. The vehicle's handling charac-
teristics may be affected.
X Do not exceed amaximum spee dof80k m/h.
X Have th evehicle checked at aqualified specialist workshop. Display messages
269On-boardcomputer anddispl ays Z

Displa
ymessages Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
Bl
indS potA ssist currently unavail‐
abl
eS ee Owner's Manual or
Ac tive Blind Spo
tAssist currently unavail‐
abl
eS ee Owner's Manual Blind Spot Assist or Active Blind Spot Assis
tist emporaril yinop-
erative .Possible causes:
R you have established the electrical con nectio nbetween the
trailer and your vehicle.
R the sensors are dirty.
R function is impaired due to heavy rai norsnow.
R the radar sensor system is outside the operating temperature
range.
R the radar sensor system is temporarily inoperative, e.g. due to
electromagnetic radiation emitted by nearby TV or radio sta-
tions or other sources of electromagnetic radiation.
The yellow 9indicator lamps also light up in the exterior mir-
rors.
X Whe ntowing atrailer, con firm th edisplay message with a.
If you are drivin gwithout atrailer and th edisplay message does
not disappear:
X Pull over and stop the vehicle safely as soon as possible ,paying
attention to road and traffic conditions.
X Apply the electric parking brake.
X Clean the sensors (Y page 327).
X Restart the engine.
If the system detect sthat the sensor sare full yoperational, the
display message disappears.
Blin dSpot Assist or Active Blin dSpot Assist is operational again. Blin
dSpot Assist inopera‐
tive or
Active Blind Spot Assist inoper‐
ative Blind Spot Assist or Active Blind Spot Assist is faulty.
Th ey ellow 9indicator lamps also light up in the exterior mir-
rors.
X Visit aqualified specialist workshop. Park Assist
cancelled The driver'
sdoor is open and the driver' sseat belt has not been
fastened.
X Repeat the parking process with the seat belt fastened and the
driver' sdoor closed. You have inadvertently touched the multifunc
tion steerin gwheel
while steerin gintervention was active.
X While steerin gintervention is active, make sure that the multi-
function steerin gwheel is not touched. 274
Displa
ymessagesOn-board compu tera nd displays

Warnin
gand indicator lamps in th einstrument cluster Seat belts
Problem Possible causes/consequence
sand M Solutions
7
Only for certain coun-
tries: the red seat belt
warning lamp lights up
for six seconds after
the engine starts. The seat belt warning lamp reminds the driver and fron
tpassenger
to fasten their seat belts.
X Fasten your seat belt (Y page 46).7
Only for cer
tain coun-
tries: the red seat belt
warnin glamp lights up
after the engine starts.
In addition, awarning
tone sounds for up to
six seconds. G
Risk of injury
The driver' sseat belt is not fastened.
X Fasten your seat belt (Y page 46).
The warning ton eceases. 7
The red seat belt warn-
ing lam
plights up after
the engine starts, as
soon as the driver's or
the front-passenger
door is closed. G
Risk of injury
The driver or front passenger has not fastened their seat belt.
X Fasten your seat belt (Y page 46).
The warnin glamp goes out. G
Risk of injury
There are object sonthe front-passenger seat.
X Remove the objec tsfrom th efront-passenger seat and stow
them in asecur eplace.
The warnin glamp goes out. 284
Warnin
gand indicator lam psin the instrument clusterOn-board compu tera nd displays

Problem Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
7
The red seat belt warn-
ing lam pflashes and an
intermitten taudible
warning sounds. G
Ris
kofi njury
The driver or fron tpassenger has not fastened their seat belt. At
th es am etime, yo uare dr ivingfaster than25k m/h or have briefly
driven faster than 25 km/h.
X Fasten your seat belt (Y page 46).
Th ew arning lamp goes out and the intermittent warning tone
ceases. G
Risk of injury
There are objects on the front-passenger seat. At the same time,
you are driving faster than 25 km/h or have briefly driven faster
than 25 km/h.
X Remove the objects from the front-passenger seat and stow
them in asecur eplace.
The warnin glamp goes out and the intermittent warning tone
ceases. Safety systems
Problem Possible causes/consequence
sand M Solutions
J
The yellow brak
esys-
tem warning lamp
lights up while the
engine is running. G
Risk of accident
The brake syste mism alfunctionin gand the braking characteris-
tics may be affected.
X If the multifunctio ndispla yshows adispla ymessage, please
observ ethis.
X Drive on carefully.
X Visit aqualified specialist workshop. J
The red brake system
warning lamp comes on
while the engine is run-
ning. Awarning tone
also sounds. G
Risk of accident
The brake boosting effect is malfunctionin gand the braking char-
acteristics may be affected.
X Pull over and sto pthe vehicle safely as soon as possible, paying
attention to roa dand traffic conditions. Do not continue driving
under any circumstances.
X Appl ythe electric parkin gbrake.
X Consult aqualified specialist workshop.
X Observe the additional displa ymessages in the multifunction
display. Wa
rning and indicator lamp sinthe instrument cluster
285On-boardcomputerand disp lays Z

Usefu
linfor mation ............................ 296
Loading guidelines ............................296
Stowage areas .................................. 296
Features ............................................. 306 295Stowing
andfeatures