2011 MERCEDES-BENZ M-CLASS SUV towing

Usefu
linfor mation ............................ 332
Wher ewillIfind...? ........................... 332
Flat ty re............................................. 334
Ba ttery ............................................... 343
Jump-starting .................................... 348
Towing and tow-starting ..................349
Electrica lfuses ................................. 352 331Break
down assista nce

X
Pull tab :upwards.
X Remove fir eextinguisher ;.
i Have the fire extinguisher refille dafter
each us eand checked every one or two
years. It may otherwis efail in an emer-
gency.
Observe the legal requirement sinall coun-
tries concerned. Vehicle tool kit
Notes The vehicle tool kit can be foun
dinthe stow-
age well under the luggage compar tment
fl oor.
i Vehi cles without a"Minispare" emer-
gency spar ewheel ar enot equipped with
the tools needed to change awheel when
the yleave the fac tory, e.g .ajack. Country-
spe cificd ifferences are possible. Some
tools for changing awheel ar especific to
the vehicle. To obtain tools approved for
your vehicle, visit aqualified specialist
workshop, e.g. aMercedes-Benz Service
Centre.
Vehicles with aTIREFIT kit X
Lif tthe luggage compartmen tfloor up
(Y page 305). :
Wheel wrench
; Jack
= Tyre sealant filler bottle
? Centrin gpin
A Tyre inflation compressor
B Foldin gwheel chock
C War ning triangle
D Ratchet rin gspanner
E Towing eye
Vehicles with a"Min ispare" emerg ency
spare wheel X
Lift the luggage compartm entfloor up
(Y pag e305).
X Remove "M inispare" emergency spare
whee l(Ypag e334). Example
:vehicle with a"Minispare" emergency
spar ewheel and AIRMATIC
: Foldin gwheel chock
; Wheel wrench
= Cent ring pin
? Towing eye Where wil
lIfind...?
333Breakdownassista nce

X
Switch off al lelec trical consumers (e.g. radio ,blow er, etc.).
X Ope nthe bonnet (Y page 318). Position number
Bidentifies the charged battery of the other vehicle or an equivalent jump-
startin gdevice.
X Slide cover :of positiv eterminal ;in the direction of the arrow.
X Connect positiv eterminal ;on your vehicle to positiv eterminal =of donor battery B
using the jum plead, beginning with your own battery.
X Start the engine of the donor vehicle and run it at idling speed.
X Connect negative terminal ?of donor battery Bto eart hpoint Aof your vehicle using
the jum plead, connectin gthe jum plead to donor battery Bfirst.
X Start the engine.
X Allow the engine to run for afew minutes befor edisconnecting the jump lead.
X First, remov ethe jum plead from eart hpoint Aand negative terminal ?,then from positive
terminal ;and positive terminal =,each time disconnecting from the contacts on your
own vehicle first.
X After removing the jump lead, close cover :on positive terminal ;.
X Have the battery checked at aqualified specialist workshop, e.g. aMercedes-Ben zService
Cent re.T he jump-star ting procedure is not astandard operatin gstate; therefore, have the
battery checked. Towing and tow-starting
Important safet
ynotes
Observe the legal requirements for the rele-
vant countries when towing. G
WARNING
If you tow the vehicle, you must use arigid
towing bar if: Towing and tow-starting
349Breakdown assis tance
Z

R
the engine is not running.
R there is abrake syst emmalfunction.
R there isam alfunction in the power supply
or the vehicle' selectrical system.
The power assistance for the steering and the
brake forc ebooster do not work when the
engin eisnot running. You will need more
force to steer and brake, you may have to
depress the brake pedal with maximu mforce.
Before towin gaway ,make sure that the steer-
ing can be moved and is not locked.
If you tow or tow-star tanothe rvehicle, its
weight must not exceed the maximu mper-
missible gross vehicle weight of your vehicle. G
WARNING
The vehicle is braked when the HOL Dfunction
or DISTRONIC PLUS is activated. Therefore,
deactivate HOLD and DISTRONIC PLUS if the
vehicle is to be towed.
It is better to have the vehicle transported
than to have it towed.
! You may tow the vehicle for amaximum
of 50 km. Atowing speed of 50 km/h must
not be exceeded.
For towin gdistances over 50 km, the entire
vehicle must be lifted up and transported.
! Make sure that the electric parkin gbrake
is released. If th eelectric parkin gbrake is
faulty, visit aqualified specialist workshop.
! Only secure the tow rope or towing bar to
the towing eyes. The vehicle may otherwise
be damaged.
! Do not use the towing eye for recovery,
as this could damage the vehicle. If in
doubt, recover the vehicle with acrane.
! When towing, pull awa yslowly and
smoothly. If the trac tivepower is too high,
the vehicles could be damaged.
! To tow vehicles with KEYLESS-GO, use
the key instead of the Star t/Stop button.
Th ea utomatic transmission may otherwise switch to position
Pwhen you open the
driver' sorfront-passenger door which
could damag ethe transmission.
! Vehicles with differential locks: make
sur ethe differential lock sare in automatic
mode. Th edifferential locks must not be
switched on by hand when towing the vehi-
cle. The transmission may otherwise be
damaged.
If the vehicle has suffered transmission dam-
age, have it transported on atransporter or
trailer.
Th ea utomatic transmission must be in posi-
tion Nwhen the vehicle is being towed.
The battery must be connected and charged.
Otherwise, you:
R cannot turn the key in the ignition lock to
position 2
R cannot shift the automatic transmission to
position N
i Before the vehicle is towed, switch off the
automatic locking feature (Y page 249).
You could otherwis ebelockedout when
pushing or towing the vehicle.
Deactivate tow-away protection
(Y page 69) before the vehicle is towed. Fitting/removing the towing eye
Fitting the towing eye Vehicles with
atrailer to whitch: if you intend
to use the vehicle for towing, fold out the ball
coupling and connect the towbar to it
(Y page 228).
X Remove the towing eye from the vehicle
tool kit (Y page 333).
The mountings for the removable towing eyes
are located in the bumpers. They are at the
front and at the rear ,under the covers. 350
Towing and tow-startingBreakdow
nassistance

X
To ope nthe cove ratthe front: press the
mark on cover :inw ards in the direction
of the arrow.
X To open the cover at the rear: insert a
flat ,blunt object into the cutout and lever
cover ;out of the bumper.
X Take cover :or; off the opening.
X Screw the towing eye in clockwise to the
stop and tighten it.
Removin gthe tow inge ye X
Loose nthe towing eye and unscrew it.
X Attach cover :or; to the bumper and
press until it engages.
X Plac ethe towing eye in the vehicle tool kit. Towing th
evehicle with both axles on
the ground
It is importan tthat you observe the safety
instructions when towing away your vehicle
(Y page 349). G
WARNING
The power assistanc efor the steering and the
brake force booster do not work when the
engin eisnot running. You will then need much mor
eeffort to brak eand stee rthe vehi-
cle. Adap tyour style of driving accordingly.
The automatic transmission automatically
shifts to position Pwhen you open the driver's
or front-passenger door or when you remove
the key from the ignition lock. In order to
ensur ethat the automatic transmission stays
in position Nwhen towing the vehicle, you
must observe the followin gpoints:
X Make sure that the vehicle is stationar yand
that the key in the ignition lock is in position
0.
X Turn the key to position 2in the ignition
lock.
On vehicles with KEYLESS-GO, use the key
instead of the Start/Stop button
(Y pag e139).
X Depres sand hol dthe brake pedal.
X Shif tthe automatic transmission to posi-
tion N.
X Release the brake pedal.
X Release the electric parkin gbrake.
X Switch on th ehazard warning lamps
(Y page 109).
X Leave the key in position 2in the ignition
lock.
i When towing with the hazard warning
lamps switched on, use the combination
switch as usua ltosignal achange of direc-
tion .Int his case ,only the turn signals for
the desired direction flash .When the com-
bination switc hisreset, the hazar dwarning
lamps start flashing again. Transporting the vehicle
The towing eyes or trailer tow hitch can be
used to pull the vehicle onto atrailer or trans-
porter if yo uwish to transport it.
X Turn the key to position 2in the ignition
lock.
X Shift the automatic transmission to posi-
tion N. Towing and tow-starting
351Breakdownassis tance Z

R
you are drivin gonsandorg ravel.
R yo ua dopt averys porty driv ings tyle (cor-
nering at hig hspeeds or driv ingw ith high
rates of acceleration).
R you are towing avery heavy or lar getrailer.
R you are driving with aheavy load (in the
vehic le oron the roof).
Restarting th etyre pressure lo sswarn-
ing system Restart the tyre press
urel oss warnin gsystem
if you have:
R changed the tyre press ure
R changed the whe elso rtyres
R fitted new wheels or tyres
X Before restarting, consult the table of tyre
press ures on the inside of the fuel filler flap
to ensur ethat the tyr epressure in all four
tyre siss et correctly for the respective
operating conditions.
X Observ ethe notes in the section on tyre
pressures (Y page 359). G
WARNING
The tyr epressure loss warn ings ystem can
only give reliabl ewarnings if you have set the
correct tyre pressure.
If an incorrect tyre pressure is set, these
incorrect values wil lbemonitored.
At yre with insufficient pressure results in
vehicle instability when driving, thu sincreas-
ing the risk of an accident.
X Make sure that the key is in pos i-
tion 2(Ypage139) in the igniti onlock.
X Press =or; on the steering wheel
to select the Serv. menu.
X Press 9or: to select Tyre pres‐ sure .
X Press the abutton.
The RunF lat Indicato ractive Restart with OK message ap
pears in the
multifunction display. If you wis
htoconfirm the restart:
X Press the abutton.
The Tyre press. no wOK? message
ap pe ars in the multifunction display.
X Press the 9or: button to select
Yes .
X Press the abutton.
The RunF lat Indicato rrestarted message ap
pears in the multifunction dis-
play.
After ateach-in period, the tyr epressure
loss warn ings ystem wil lmonitor the set
tyr ep ressures of all fou rtyres.
If you wis htocancel the restart:
X Press the %button.
or
X If the Tyre press. now OK? message
appears ,press 9 or: to select
Cancel .
X Press the abutton.
Th et yre press urev alues stored at the last
restart wil lcontinue to be monitored. Tyre pressur
emonitor
Important safety notes If
at yre press urem onitor system is fitted, the
vehicle's wheels have sensor sfitted that
monitor the tyre pressures in all four tyres.
The tyre pressure monitor warns you when
the pressure drops in one or more of the
tyres. The tyre pressure monitor only func-
tions if the correct sensors are fitted to all
wheels. G
WARNING
The tyre pressure monitor does not warn you
of an incorrectly set tyre pressure. The table
on the inside of the fuel filler flap wil lhelp you
decide whether the tyre pressures should be
correc ted.
The tyr epressure monitor is not abl etow arn
you of asudden loss of pressure, e.g. if the Tyr
epressure
361Wheels and tyres
Z

Fuel
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Fuel is highly flammable. Fire, naked flames
and smokin gare therefore prohibi tedw hen
handlin gfuels.
Swit choff th eenginea nd the auxiliary hea ting
before refuelling. G
WARNING
Do not come int ocontact with fu els.
It is hazardous to your healt hifyour skin
comes int odirect contact wit hfuels or you
breathe in fuel vapours.
Tank capacity Total capacity
32 Of whic
hreserv efuel !
Do not use petrol to refuel vehicles with a
diesel engine. Do not use diesel to refuel
vehicles with apetrol engine. Even small
amounts of the wron gfuel result in damage
to the fuel system and the engine.
Further information on refuelling and on fuels
(Y page 152).
Notes on fuel consumption The vehicle will use more fuel than usua
lin
the follow ings ituations:
R at very low outside temperatures
R in urban traffic
R on short journeys
R when towing atrailer
R in mountainou sterrain
i Only for certain countries: you can find
the curren tconsumption and emission val-
ues of your vehicle in the COC documents (EU CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMITY). These
documents ar
edelivered with your vehicle.
The consumption figures were in each case
based on the currently applicable version:
R for vehicles up to and including the EURO
4s tandard ,inaccordanc ewithEUD irec-
tive 80/1268/ECC
R for vehicles above the EURO 5standard,
in accordance with Regulatio n(EC) No.
715/2007
Deviations from these value smay occur
under normal operating conditions.
! Do not use any fuel additives, as they can
cause malfunctions and engine damage. H
Environmental note
CO 2(carbon dioxide) is the gas which scien-
tists believe to be principally responsibl efor
global warmin g(the greenhouse effect). Your
vehicle's CO 2emissions are directly related
to fuel consumptio nand therefore depend on:
R efficient use of the fuel by the engine
R driving style
R othe rnon-technical factors, such as envi-
ronmental influences or road conditions
You can minimise your vehicle' sCO
2emis-
sions by driving carefull yand having it serv-
iced regularly. AdBlue
®
Important safety notes i
For BlueTEC vehicles only.
AdBlue ®
is an on-flammable, non-toxic, col-
ourless, odourless and water-soluble fluid.
! Surfaces which have com einto contact
with AdBlue ®
whil erefilling should be
rinsed immediately with water ,orremove
AdBlue ®
with amoist clot hand cold water.
If AdBlue ®
has alread ycrystallised, us ea
sponge and cold water to clean the area.
32 Missing value swere not available at time of going to print. 374
Service products and capacitiesTechnical data

All models
Wheelbase
2915 mm
Unladen weight
Maximu
mroofload 10
0kg Vehicle height
178
8mm Ground clearance
191 mm
1796 mm
Ground clearance
202 mm
Tailg
ateo pening dimensions Models with: :
Opening
height ;
Maximum
headroom Stee
lsuspen-
sion 2195 mm 1987 mm
Steel suspen-
sion
33 2187 mm 1980 mm
AIRMATIC
package
34 2140 –
2215 mm 1931 –
2006 mm Traile
rtow hitch Mounting dimensions
G
WARNING
Only have atrailer tow hitch retrofit tedata
qualified specialist workshop which has the
necessary specialist knowledge and tools to
carry out the work required. Mercedes-Benz
recommends that you use aMercedes-Benz
Ser vice Centre for thi spurpose. In particular,
work relevant to safety or on safety-related
systems must be carried out at aqualified
specialist workshop.
! If you have atrailer to whitchr etrofit ted,
changes to the cooling system and drive
train may be necessary, depending on the
vehicle type.
observe the anchorage points on th echas-
sis frame.
! trailer tow hitc hfitted retrospectively with-
out changing the engine cooling system
and the drive train ,the braked and
unbraked tota ltowing weight (trailer
weight plus load weight) is reduced. Miss-
ing values wer enot available at tim eof
going to print. If higher towin gweight sare
used ,this can result in damage to your
vehi cle's engine. An ydamage that may
33
34 On vehicles with the ON&OFFROAD package, the value increases by 30 mm. 378
Trailer tow hitchTechnica
ldata
ML 250 BlueTEC 4MATIC
ML 350 4MATIC
Vehicle height
ML
350 BlueTEC 4MATICC
ML 250 BlueTEC 4MATIC:if you have a
If you have
atrailer to whitchr etrofit ted,
ML 25 0BlueTE C4MATIC.