2012 MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS ESTATE towing

The left-hand and right-hand rear seat backr-
ests can be folded down separately to
increase the boot capacity.
Folding the seat backrest forwards
!
Before you fold down the rear seat back-
rest, remove the side head restraints for
the integrated child seat; see the "Side
head restraints for integrated child seat"
section. The side head restraints could oth-
erwise be damaged. i
Vehicles with memory function: when you
fold one or both parts of the rear seat back-
rest forwards, the respective fronts eat
moves forward slightly, when necessary, in
order to avoid contact.
X Vehicles without memory function: if nec-
essary, move the driver's or front-
passenger seat forwards.
X Open the boot.
X Pull right-hand or left-hand rear seat back-
rest release handle :.
The corresponding rear seat backrest is
released.
The head restraints for the seat backrests
in the rear compartment lower. X
Fold rear seat backrest ;forwards.
X Move the driver's or front-passenger seat
back if necessary.
Folding back the seat backrest G
WARNING
Make sure that the rear seat backrest is cor-
rectly engaged. Otherwise, vehicle occupants
could be injured by objects being thrown
around if you:
R brake sharply
R change direction suddenly
R are involved in an accident
If the rear seat backrest is not engaged, this
will be shown in the multifunction display in
the instrument cluster.
! Make sure that the seat belt does not
become trapped when folding the rear seat
backrest back. Otherwise, it could be dam-
aged. 316
Stowage areasStowing and features

X
Move the driver's or front-passenger seat
forward if necessary.
X Fold rear seat backrest :back until it
engages.
X Adjust the head restraints if necessary
(Y page 110).
X Move the driver's or front-passenger seat
back if necessary.
i You should always engage the rear seat
backrests if you do not need the through-
loading feature. This will prevent unauthor-
ised access to the boot from the vehicle
interior. EASY-PACK through-loading facility in
the rear bench seat (Estate)
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Do not carry heavy or hard objects inside the
vehicle or in the luggage compartmen tunless
they are secured.
Otherwise, you and othe rvehicle occupants
could be injured by objects being thrown
around the vehicle in the event of sharp brak-
ing, a sudden change in direction or an acci-
dent.
When using the enlarged luggage compart-
ment, always clip in the safety net. G
WARNING
Always drive with the tailgate closed. Exhaust
fumes could otherwise enter the vehicle inte-
rior.
Folding the rear seat backrest forward !
Before you fold down the rear seat back-
rest, remove the side head restraints for
the integrated child seat; see the "Side
head restraints for integrated child seat"
section. The side head restraints could oth-
erwise be damaged. !
When folding the rear seat backrest for-
wards, ensure that there are no items lying
on the seat cushions .These items could
otherwise be damaged or could themselves
damage the rear seats. The left-hand and right-hand rear seat backr-
ests can be folded forwards separately to
increase the luggage compartmentc
apacity.
The combined luggage cover and ne tcan
remain installed.
i When you fold one or bot hparts of the
rear seat backrests forwards, the headr-
ests are also lowered if necessary. In the
case of vehicles with memory function, the
respective fron tseat is moved forwards
slightly to avoid contact with the seat
behind it. Stowage areas
317Stowing and features Z

X
Vehicles without memory function: if nec-
essary, move the driver's or front-
passenger seat forwards.
X Pull the left-hand or right-hand release han-
dle at the rear in load compartment :or
at the side beside backrests ;.
The corresponding backrest folds for-
wards.
X Pull back the left or right release lever in
the luggage compartment :.
The corresponding backrest folds for-
wards.
X Move the driver's or front-passenger seat
back if necessary.
Folding the rear seat backrest back G
WARNING
Make sure that the rear seat backrest is cor-
rectly engaged. Otherwise, vehicle occupants
could be injured by objects being thrown
around if you:
R brake sharply
R change direction suddenly
R are involved in an accident
If the rear seat backrest is not engaged, this
will be shown in the multifunction display in
the instrument cluster.
! Make sure that the seat belt does not
become trapped when folding the rear seat
backrest back. Otherwise, it could be dam-
aged. X
Move the driver's or front-passenger seat
forward if necessary.
X Fold seat backrest :back until it engages.
X Adjust the head restraints if necessary
(Y page 110).
X Move the driver's or front-passenger seat
back if necessary. Securing
aload
Plastic hooks (Saloon) On vehicles without a through-loading feature
in the rear bench seat, six plastic hooks are
fitted to the boot floor. You can use these to
attach the luggage securing fixture, which is
available as an accessory.
Lashing eyelets General notes
G
WARNING
Distribute the load on the lashing eyelets
evenly.
Otherwise, vehicle occupants could be
injured by objects being thrown around if you:
R brake sharply
R change directio nsuddenly
R are involved in an accident
Please observe the loading guidelines. 318
Stowage areasStowing and featu
res

Observe the following notes on securing
loads:
R
secure the load using the lashing eyelets.
R do not use elastic straps or nets to secure
a load, as these are only 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.
Boot/luggage compartment Saloon
:
Lashing eyelets Estate
:
Lashing eyelets
There are six lashing eyelets in the boot/lug-
gage compartment.
Bag hook G
WARNING
Only hang light loads on the bag holders. Do
not use them to transport heavy, sharp-edged
or fragile objects. When braking sharply, changing direction quickly or in the event of
an accident, the bag hooks will not secure the
items sufficiently. This could result in injury to
yourselforo
thers.
! The bag hoo kcan bear a maximum load
of 3 kg. Do not use it to secure a load. Saloon
X
Pull bag hook ;down by tab :. Estate
X
To open: press bag hook :(arrow).
Bag hook :slides out.
X To close: press bag hook :until it
engages. EASY-PACK luggage compartment
cover
Important safety notes G
WARNING
The luggage compartmen tcover is not a
restraint system. Secure the load under the Stowage areas
319Stowing and features
Z

luggage compartmen
tcover 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 backrest into the passenger compart-
ment, for instance during heavy braking, sud-
den changes of direction or in the event of an
accident .You could cause 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. Do not place heavy
objects on top of the luggage compartment
cover.
The luggage compartment cover and the
safety net are attached to anchorages on the
right and left in the luggage compartment as
a combined luggage cover and net.
When the tailgate is opened, the luggage
compartment cover is automatically raised to
make loading easier. It is automatically low-
ered again when the tailgate is closed.
When the luggage compartment cover is clip-
ped in, there should be no objects obstructing
the downwards movement of the cover in the
luggage compartment when the tailgate is
closed. The luggage compartment cover will
otherwise be raised again.
Extending and retracting the luggage
compartment cover X
To extend: pull luggage compartment
cover :back by grab handle ;and clip
it into the retainers on the left and right. X
To retract: unhook luggage compartment
cover :from the retainers on the left and
right and guide it forwards by grab han-
dle ;until it is fully retracted.
Fitting and removing the combined lug-
gage cover and net You can reach the combined luggage cover
and net to install and remove it from the lug-
gage compartment and, with the seat back-
rest folded forwards, from the left-hand rear
door.
X
Make sure that the safety net and the lug-
gage compartment cover are rolled up.
X To remove: press button ;.
X Fold the combined luggage cover and net
forwards on the left-hand side with the seat
backrest folded forwards, and fold it back-
wards with the seat backrest folded up. 320
Stowage areasStowing and features

X
First, detach the combined luggage cover
and net from left-hand catch :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 luggage cover and net
into the left-hand fixture and push it into
catch :until the combined luggage cover
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.
Attaching the combined luggage cover
and net to the rear seat backrest !
If you have attached the combined lug-
gage cover and net to arear seat backrest
that is folded forwards, do not fold the
backrest back. X
Fold the left and right seat backrest for-
wards (Y page 317).
X Inser tcombined luggage cover and net ;
into two guides :and push it up to the
stop in the direction of the arrow. Safety net (Estate)
Important safety notes G
WARNING
The safety net cannot secure heavy loads. You
should therefore always 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, a sudden change of direction or an
accident. G
WARNING
In the event of sharp braking, a sudden
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.
Safety net without luggage compart-
ment enlargement X
Pull the safety net up by tab :and hook it
into eyelets ;. Stowage areas
321Stowing and features Z

Safety net with luggage compartment
enlargement
X
Make sure that the safety net is attached
to the rear seat backrest (Y page 320).
X Guide the safety net up by tab :and hook
it into eyelets ;. Coat hooks on the tailgate
G
WARNING
The tailgate may close if too great a load is
placed on the coat hooks.
This could cause 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 hook EASY-PACK boot box
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Only load the EASY-PACK convenience box to
the maximum permissible load of 10 kg. To
prevent overloading, the floor of the box
moves down onto the boot floor mat when
loaded with more than approx. 5kg.
Do not transpor tsharp-edged and fragile
objects in the box.
Otherwise, e.g. in the event of a rapid change
of direction or heavy braking, the objects
could be thrown out of the EASY-PACK con-
venience box and injure you and others.
! When the EASY-PACK convenience box is
pulled out, no objects may be placed on the
frame of the box or pushed onto the frame
from above. Otherwise, the box could be
damaged.
Adjusting the height to any position G
WARNING
Make sure that your hands are not inside the
EASY-PACK convenience box when the load
surface moves up. Otherwise, you could be
injured. X
Pull the box out by handle :in the direc-
tion of the arrow all the way to the stop.
X Lowering the load surface:p ush the
centre of load surface ;down by hand in
the direction of the arrow until load sur- 322
Stowage areasStowing and featu
res

face
;has reached the desired position
and the box is the desired size.
X To raise the load surface: press switch
=.
Load surface ;of the box moves up auto-
matically.
X To stow the box: push the box in by han-
dle :all the way to the stop.
Removing and fitting X
To install: insert retainer ;of box :into
slots = X
Raise box :and press hooks Ainto
anchorage ?as far as they will go.
X Turn left-hand rotating catch Bclockwise
and right-hand rotating catch Banti-clock-
wise by 90°.
X To remove: turn left-hand rotating catch
B anti-clockwise and right-hand rotating
catch Bclockwise by 90°.
X Move box :downwards and pull it out
from anchorages ?. i
Store the EASY-PACK boot box on a flat
surface after removal, e.g. on a suitable
shelf. EASY-PACK load-securing kit (Estate)
Components and storage The EASY-PACK load-securing kit allows you
to use you
rluggage compartmen tfor a variety
of purposes. The accessory parts are located
under the luggage compartment floor.
X Open the EASY-PACK folding luggage-com-
partment floor (Y page 326). EASY-PACK load-securing kit accessory parts
:
Telescopic rod
; Bag containing the brackets and luggage
holder
= Folding box
Inserting the brackets into the loading
rail G
WARNING
Distribute the load on the lashing eyelets
evenly.
Otherwise, vehicle occupants could be
injured by objects being thrown around if you:
R brake sharply
R change direction suddenly
R are involved in an accident
Please observe the loading guidelines. Stowage areas
323Stowing and features Z