2011 MERCEDES-BENZ M-CLASS SUV tow

Usefu
linfor mati on
i This Owner's Manual describes all models
and all standard and optional equipment
available to your vehicle at the time of pub-
lication of the Owner's Manual. Country-
specific deviation sare possible .Please
not ethat your vehicle ma ynot be equipped
with all featur es described. This also
applies to safety-releva ntsystems and
functions.
i Please read the information on qualified
specialist workshops (Y page 24).Loading guidelines
G
WARNING
Secur eand position the load as described in
the loading guidelines.
Otherwise, vehicl eoccupan tscould
be injured by the loa dbeingthrown around in
th ee vent of sharp braking ,asudden change
in directio noranaccident.
You wil lfind further information in the "Secur-
ing aload" section.
Even if you follow all the loadin gguidelines,
the load will increase the risk of injury in the
event of an accident. G
WARNING
Keep the tailgate closed when the engine is
running. Otherwise, you could be poisoned by
exhaust fumes enterin gthe vehicle.
The handling characteristics of aladen vehi-
cle are dependent on the distribution of the
load within the vehicle. For this reason, you
should observe the following notes when
transporting aload:
R when transpor ting aload, never exceed the
maximum permissible gross vehicle weight or the permissible axle loads for the vehicle
(includin goccupants).
R position heavy loads as far forward saspos-
sible and as low down in the load compart-
men tasp ossible.
R the load must not protrude abov ethe upper
edge of the seat backrests.
R always plac ethe load against the rea ror
front seat backrests .Make sure that the
seat backrests are securely locked into
place.
R hook in the safety net when loading.
R always place the load behind unoccupied
seats if possible.
R secure the load with sufficiently stron gand
wear-resistant lashing material. Pad sharp
edges for protection.
i Load restraints are available at any quali-
fied specialis tworkshop, e.g. aMercedes-
Benz Servic eCentre. Stowage areas
Stowage compartments
Important safety notes G
WARNING
The stowage compartments must be closed
when item sare store dinthem. Luggage nets
ar en ot designed to secur eheavy item sof
luggage.
You or other vehicle occupant scould be
injure dbyo bjectsbeing thrown around if you:
R brak esharply
R change direction suddenly
R arei nvolved in an accident
Sharp-edge dand fragile object smust not be
placed in the luggag enet. 296
Stowage areasStowing and features

Fron
tstowage compartments Glove compartment
i
The glove compartment can be cooled
(Y page 135). X
To open: pull handle :and open glove
compartment flap ;.
X To close: fold glove compartment flap ;
upwards until it engages.
The glove compartmen tcan only be locked
and unloc kedu singthe emergenc ykey ele-
ment. 1
Glove compartmen tunlocked
2 Glove compartment locked
Ap artition for stowin gflat object sislocated
in th eupper sectio nofthe glov ecompart-
ment. It can be removed to increase the stow-
age space in the glove compartment. X
To remove: pull out partition :forwards
X To install: insert partition :and push it
back until it engages.
Spectacles compartment X
To open: press marking :.
Stowage compartment in th ecentre con-
sole X
To open: slide cover :forwards.
Stowage compartment ;appears. Stowage areas
297Stowingandfeatures Z

Stowage compa
rtment/telephone com-
partment under the armrest
i Depending on the vehicle's equipment, a
USB port and an AUX-I Njack or aMedia
In terf ace are installed in the stowage com-
partment .AMedia In terface is auniversal
interface for portable audi oequipment, e.g.
for an iPod ®
or MP3 player (see the sepa-
rat eA udio or COMAND operating instruc-
tions).
i There is aremovable stowage tray in the
storage compartment, in which objects
such as an iPod ®
can be stored. X
To open: pull handle :upwards.
The armrest folds out.
Rea rstowage compartments Stowage compartment in the rear centre
cons ole X
To open: briefly pres sthe stowage com-
partment marking.
The stowage compartmen topens. i
Depending on the vehicle's equipmen t,
there may be ope nstowag espaces above
and below the stowage compartment. Luggage nets
G
WAR
NING
Only place lightweight obje ctsint he luggage
net .Don ot use it to transport heavy ,sharp-
edged or fragile objects. The luggag enet can-
not secur ethe objects sufficiently in the event
of an accident.
Luggage net sare locate dinthe front-
passenger footwell and on the bac kofthe
driver 'sand the front-passenger seat. Through-loading facility in the rear
compartment
The through-loading facility is opened from
the luggag ecompartmen t. X
Unlatch th erear seat back rests and tilt
them in the cargo/load position.
X Fold down the rea rseat armrest.
X Pull the centr ehead restraint on the rear
benc hseat int othe uppermost position
(Y page 94).
X Slide release cat ch: to the left and swing
flap ;to the left until it is lying on the rear
sid eoft he rea rbenc hseat. 298
Stowage areasStowing and fea
tures

X
Push cover =forwar duntil it is lying on the
rear sea tarmrest. Enlargin
gthe luggag ecompartment
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Do not carr yheavy or hard object sinsid ethe
vehicle or in the luggag ecompartmen tunless
they are secured.
Otherwise, you and othe rvehicle occupants
could be injured by object sbeing thrown
around the vehicle in the event of sharp brak-
ing, asudden change in direction or an acci-
dent.
When using the luggag ecompartment
enlargement, you should always clip in the
safet ynet,ifath and. G
WARNING
Always drive with the tailgat eclosed. Exhaust
fumes could otherwise enter the vehicle inte-
rior. G
WARNING
Do not fold the backrest ont othe folded-down
seat cushi ons.Ift he seat cushi ons arefolded
down, luggage can be thrown over the back-
rest int othe passenger compar tment,e.g.
duri ngheav ybraking ,sudden changes of
direction or in the even tofanaccident.You
coul dcause an accident or cause injury to
yourself and others. !
Fold the seat cushion upwards before
folding the rear benc hseat forward. Other-
wise, the back rests ma ybedamaged.
When the backrest is folded forwards, the
fron tseats can notb em oved to their rear-
most position .Otherwi se,the fr ontseats
and the rea rbenc hseat could be damaged.
The left -hand and right-hand rear seat backr-
ests can be folded forwards separately to
increase the luggag ecompartmen tcapacity.
Folding the rear bench seat forwards i
If the driver' sorfront-passenge rseat is
set for alarger person, it maynot be pos-
sibl etof old the rea rbench seat forwards.
In this case, mov ethe fron tseats as far
forwar daspossible.
X Move the head restraint stothe lowest
position (Y page 95).
X Fold seat cushion :upwards. X
Pull release cat ch; upwards in the direc-
tion of the arrow until the backrest is com-
pletely unlocked. Stowag
eareas
299Stowing andfeatures Z

!
The backrest is heavy .Therefore, exer-
cise car ewhen folding it down. Make sure
that the head restraint sare pushed all the
way in so that th ebackrests and seat cush-
ions are not damaged.
X Fold the backrest forwards until it reaches
the luggage compartment position. X
Guide seat belts ;under respective
clips :.
Folding the rear benc hseat back X
Fold seat backrest ;back until it engages.
X Swin gseat cushion :back.
X Pull up and adjus tthe head restraint sif
necessary (Y page95). G
WARNING
Mak esure that the seat backrest and the seat
cushion are correctly engage dinposition. Securing
aload
Lashing eyelets G
WARNING
Distribut ethe load on thelashing eyelets
evenly.
Otherwise, vehicle occupant scould be
injure dbyo bjectsbein gthrown ar oundify ou:
R bra kesharply
R change directio nsuddenly
R are involved in an accident
Please observ ethe loading guidelines.
Observ ethe following notes on securing
loads:
R secur ethe load using the la shingeyelets.
R do not use elasti cstraps or nets to secure
al oad, as these ar eonly intended as an
anti-slip protection for light loads.
R do not route lashing materials across sharp
edges or corners.
R pad sharp edges for protection.
There are four lashing eyelets in the lugg age
compartment. Before using th elashing eye-
lets on the fron tright-han dside of the luggage
compartment, the luggage net must be
pushed down. :
Lashin geyelets
Ba gh ook G
WARNING
Only hang light loads on the bag holders. Do
not use them to transpor theavy ,sharp-edged 300
Stowage areasStowing and features

or fragile objec
ts.W hen brakin gsharply,
changing direction quickly or in the even tof
an accident ,the bag hooks will not secur ethe
item ssufficiently. This could result in injury to
yourself or others.
! The bag hoo kcan bear amaximum load
of 3k g. Do not use it to secur eaload.
There is abag hook in the luggag ecompart-
men tont he left-hand side. X
Press bag hook marking :.
X Tur nbag hook :until it engages.
Securing hooks Only secure lightweight luggag
eitems (max-
imum 4kg) on the mounti nghooks. There ar
etwo securing hooks :on each side
of the luggage compart ment. Luggag
ecompartment cover
Important safety notes G
WARNING
The luggage compartment cover is not a
restraint system. Secur ethe load unde rthe
luggag ecompart ment cover by suitable
means. Make sure that the luggage compart-
ment cover is engaged securely. If luggage is
not sufficiently secured, it can be thrown over
the backres tinto the passenger compart-
ment, for instance during heavy braking, sud-
den change sofdirection or in the event of an
accident .You coul dcause an accident or
cause injury to yourself and others.
! When loading the vehicle, make sure that
you do not stack the load in the luggage
compartment higher than the lower edge of
the side windows .Donot plac eheavy
object sontop of the luggage compartment
cover.
Al uggage compartment cover or acombined
luggage cover and net (luggage compar tment
cove rwith safety net) is attached, depending
on equipment, behind the rear bench seat
backrest.
Extending and retracting the luggage
compa rtment cover X
To extend: pull the luggage compartment
cover back by grab handle :and clip it
int or etainers ;on the left and right. Stowage areas
301Stowingandfeatur es Z

X
To retract: unhook the luggage compart-
ment cove rfrom retainers ;on th eleft
and right and guid eitforwards by grab han-
dle :untilit is full yretract ed.
Fitting/removing luggag ecom part-
men tcover (without integrated safety
net) X
To remov e:make sure th at luggage com-
partment cover :is rolle dup.
X Press in en dcap = of luggage compart-
men tcover :on th eright or left side in
th ed irection of th earrow and pres slug-
gage compartment cover :intoa nchor-
age ;opposit eit.
X Remov eluggage compartment cover :.
X To fit: set luggage compar tment cover:
on the right or left -hand side in anchor-
age ;.
X Push in opposite end cap =of luggage
compartment cover :in the direction of
the arrow and insert luggag ecompartment
cover :intoo pposite anchorage ;.
Fitting/removing combined luggage
cover and net (luggage compartment
cover with integra teds afety net) Yo
uc an install and remove the combined lug-
gage cover and net from the luggag ecom-
partment.
X Make sure that the safet ynet and the lug-
gage compartmen tcover ar erolled up. X
To remove: press button ;.
X Swin gthe combined luggage cover and net
in the direction of the arrow.
X First ,detac hthe combined luggage cover
and net from left-hand cat ch: and then
remove it from right-hand fixture =.
X To install: push the combined luggage
cover and net up to the stop into right-hand
fixture =.
X Place the combined luggag ecover and net
int ot he left-hand fix tureand push it into
catch :until the combined luggag ecover
and net engages audibly. X
Make sure that red lock status indica-
tor ?is no longer visible. The combined
luggage cover and net will otherwise not be
locked in place. 302
Stowage areasStowing and features

Safety net in th
ecombined luggage
cover and net
Important safety notes G
WARNING
The safety net cannot secure heavy loads. You
should therefor ealways lash down the load.
You could otherwise be injured by objects
which have not been sufficiently secured
being thrown around in the event of sharp
braking, asudden change of direction or an
accident. G
WARNING
In the event of sharp braking, asudden
change of direction, or an accident, light loads
can be thrown about.
This could result in injury to yourself or others.
Therefore, if you are transporting light loads,
use the safety net.
Attaching the safety net X
Pull the safety net up by tab :and hoo kit
into eyelets ;using both hands. Coat hook
sonthe tailgate G
WARNING
Th et ailgate may close if too great aload is
placed on the coat hooks.
This coul dcause you or others to be trapped
and injured. If you use the coat hooks
,only hang light
clothing on them. Make sure that nobody can
become trapped. :
Coat hooks EASY-PACK load-securing kit
Components and storage Th
eE ASY-PACK load-securing kit allo wsyou
to use your luggag ecompartmen tfor av ariety
of purposes .The accessory parts ar elocated
under the luggage compartment floor.
X Open the luggage compartment floor
(Y page 305). EASY-PACK load-securin
gkit accessory parts
: Bag containing the bracket sand luggage
holder
; Telescopic rod Stowage areas
303Stowingand fe atures Z