2012 MERCEDES-BENZ G-Class lights

R
Avoid high engine speeds. Drive at
appropriate engine speeds (maximum
3000 rpm).
R Do not shift the automatic transmission to
transmission position N.
R Always check the vehicle for damage after
off-road driving.
i Information about retrofitting special all-
terrain tires is available from any
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center. H
Environmental note
Protection of the environment is of primary
importance. Treat nature with respect.
Observe all prohibiting signs.
Checklist before driving off-road X
Engine oil level: check the engine oil level
and add oil if necessary.
Only then does the engine receive enough
oil when the vehicle is standing on a steep
incline.
! If the engine oil warning lamp lights up
while the vehicle is in motion, stop the
vehicle in

a safe place as soon as possible.
Check the engine oil level. The engine oil
warning lamp warning must not be ignored.
Continuing the journey while the symbol is
displayed could lead to engine damage.
X Wheel-changing tool kit: check that the
jack is

working and make sure you have the
lug wrench, a robust tow cable and a folding
spade in the vehicle.
X Wheels and tires: check the tire tread
depth and tire pressure.
X Check for damage and remove any foreign
objects, e.g. small stones, from the
wheels/tires.
X Replace any missing valve caps.
X Replace dented or damaged wheels.
X Carry a sound spare wheel. Checklist after driving off-road G
WARNING
If you notice sudden significant vibrations or
unusual handling performance or if you
suspect that damage has occurred to the
vehicle, you should activate the hazard
warning lamps, gently reduce speed and
carefully head for an area that is located at a
safe distance from the road.
Check the tires and the underside of the
vehicle for damage. If the vehicle seems
unsafe, have the vehicle towed away to the
nearest Mercedes-Benz Center or tire dealer
to be repaired.
Driving over rough terrain places greater
demands on your vehicle than driving on
normal roads. After driving off-road, check
the vehicle.

This allows you to detect damage
promptly and reduce the risk of an accident
to yourself and other road users.
X Shift the transfer case to HIGH
(Y page 145).
X Disengage the differential locks
(Y page 148).
X Clean the headlamps and rear lights and
check for damage.
X Clean the front and rear license plates.
X Clean the wheels and tires with a water jet
and remove any foreign objects.
X Clean the wheels, tires, wheel arches and
the vehicle underside with a water jet;
check for

any foreign objects and damage.
X Check whether twigs or other parts of
plants have become trapped. These
increase the risk of fire and can damage
fuel pipes, brake hoses or the rubber
bellows of the axle joints and propeller
shafts.
X After the trip, examine without fail the
entire undercarriage,

wheels, tires, brakes,
bodywork structure, steering, chassis and
exhaust system for damage. 136
Driving tips
Driving and parking

truck or a pneumatic drill could cause the
ultrasonic backing up aid to malfunction.
Minimum distance Center Approximately 8 in
(approximately 20 cm)
Corners Approximately 8 in
(approximately 20 cm)
If there is an obstacle within this range, all
warning displays flash and a warning tone
sounds. If the distance falls below the
minimum, the distance may no longer be
shown.
Warning displays
The warning display shows the distance
between the sensors and the obstacle.
The warning display is in the rear
compartment next to the rear door.
The warning display is divided into four yellow
and two red segments :. The ultrasonic
backing
up
aid is ready for use when you hear
a warning tone and segment ; lights up
briefly.
One or more segments : light up as the
vehicle approaches an obstacle, depending
on the distance from the obstacle. From the:
R
fourth segment you will hear an
intermittent warning tone
R fifth segment you will hear a faster
intermittent warning tone
R sixth segment you will hear a very fast
intermittent warning tone. This indicates
that you have now reached the minimum
distance. Driving systems
143
Driving and parking Z

independent of their respective torques.
Keep
in
mind that by engaging the differential
locks, vehicle steerability is severely
restricted.
For your own safety, the safety of others and
to prevent damage to your vehicle, the
differential locks must not be activated on
paved roads. Keep in mind that when driving
on firm road surfaces, the function of the
differentials is necessary and therefore they
must never be locked on firm road surfaces.
The steerability of the vehicle would
otherwise be lost and steering would no
longer be possible. For this reason, the
differential locks must be engaged
exclusively during off-road driving, and only
when activating the other driving systems
(4ETS, ESP ®
and LOW range off-road gear) is
no longer sufficient.
Activating the differential lock General information
G
WARNING
Never drive on firm road surfaces with
differential locks engaged. Never drive on
narrow bends

with front-axle differential locks
engaged. With differential locks engaged, the
vehicle's ability to steer is severely restricted
and the danger of accidents is therefore
higher.
Do not engage or disengage differential locks
while driving on a bend. The vehicle may
otherwise make a jerking movement. You
could thus lose control of the vehicle and
cause an accident.
If you select a differential lock, ABS, 4ETS,
ESP ®
and BAS will be deactivated.
Activate the differential locks:
R off-road
R to deactivate ABS, 4ETS, ESP ®
and BAS
while off-road
R when fording
For further information on driving off-road,
see ( Y page 134). The switches are located on the center
console.
:
Function indicator lamps (red)
;
Differential lock for the front axle
=
Differential lock for the transfer case
?
Differential lock for the rear axle
A
Activation indicator lamps (yellow)
!
Only activate the differential locks when:
R you are driving at walking pace.
R the driven wheels are not spinning.
R you are

not driving on a firm road surface.
i You can only engage the differential locks
when the transfer case is in LOW range off-
road gear (Y page 145).
i You can activate the differential locks in
the following order =, ?, ;.
Differential lock for the transfer case
X To engage: switch the transfer case to off-
road gear LOW

(Y page 145).
X Press switch =.
The yellow activation indicator lamp under
switch = lights

up when the transfer case
is in off-road gear LOW.
The å warning lamp in the instrument
panel lights up.
The red function indicator lamp above
switch = lights up when the differential is
locked.
In the multifunction display you see the: Off-road driving systems
149
Driving and parking Z

ABS not available Differential
Locked message.
The
å!÷ warning
lamps light up
in the instrument cluster.
The differential lock for the transfer case is
engaged.
4ETS, ESP ®
, BAS and ABS are deactivated.
The vehicle's ability to steer is severely
restricted. Drive carefully and accelerate
gently for optimum traction.
i You can now engage differential lock for
the rear

axle ? and differential lock for the
front axle ; as desired.
Differential lock for the rear axle
X To engage: press switch ?.
First, the yellow activation indicator lamp
lights up, followed by the red function
indicator lamp.
The differential lock for the rear axle is
engaged.
Differential lock for the front axle
X To engage: press switch ;.
First, the yellow activation indicator lamp
lights up, followed by the red function
indicator lamp.
The differential lock for the front axle is
engaged.
Deactivating the differential lock You can deactivate the differential locks in
the reverse order: ;, ?, =.
X
To simultaneously deactivate all
differential locks: press switch =.
Yellow activation indicator lamps A go
out. Red

function indicator lamps : go out
once the differential locks have
disengaged.
After approximately three seconds of
normal driving, ABS, 4ETS, ESP ®
and BAS
are activated.
The ABS not available Differential
Locked message disappears from the multifunction display and the
å, !
and ÷ warning

lamps in the instrument
cluster go out.
X Switch the transfer case to road gear
HIGH(Y page 145).
i If red function indicator lamps : do not
go out

when you disengage the differential
locks, bring the vehicle to a stop, while
paying attention to road and traffic
conditions, then begin driving again. The
load change can disengage the differential
locks. G
WARNING
Always remember to disengage the
differential locks when returning to drive on
paved roads, see "A few words about
differentials and differential locks". 150
Off-road driving systems
Driving and parking

A
&*
Press briefly:
Scrolls
back
and forth within a menu
In the Audio menu: selects a stored
station, an audio track or a video
scene
In the Telephone menu: switches to
the phone book and selects a name
or a telephone number &*
Press and hold:
In the
Audio menu: selects the
previous/next station or selects an
audio track using rapid scrolling
In the Telephone menu: starts rapid
scrolling through the phone book Multifunction display
To activate the multifunction display:
R switch on the ignition.
R switch on the lights.
R open the door.
R press the reset button on the instrument
cluster.
The multifunction display shows you values
and settings as well as possible messages. :
Display area for menus or submenus
; Status bar with outside temperature or
speed ( Y page 159)
= Transfer case position
? Selector lever position/shift range For further information on displaying the
transmission position, see (
Y page 120).154
Displays and operation
On-board computer and displays

X
Press the V or U button on the
steering wheel to select the Settings
menu.
X Press and hold the reset button on the left
of the
instrument cluster for approximately
three seconds.
A prompt appears in the multifunction
display asking you to confirm by pressing
the reset button again.
X Press the reset button again.
The settings

of most functions are restored
to the factory settings.
or
X If you want to retain the settings, do not
press the reset button a second time.
The Settings menu appears again after
approximately five seconds.
X Press the V or U button to select a
different menu.
Instrument cluster Selecting the unit of measurement for
distance
The selected unit of measurement for
distance applies to:
R
the odometer and the trip odometer
R the trip computer
R the digital speedometer
X Press the V or U button on the
steering wheel to select the Settings
menu.
X Press the & button
to select submenus.
X Press the W or X
button to select the
Inst. Cluster submenu.
X Press the & button to select Disp.
Unit Speed-/Odom.
X Press the W or X button to select
Km (kilometers) or Miles as the unit of
measurement for distance.
X Press the &, V or U button to
select a different display. Selecting the language
The Language function allows you to select
the language for the instrument cluster.
X
Press the V or U button on the
steering wheel to select the Settings
menu.
X Press the & button
to select submenus.
X Press the W or X
button to select the
Inst. cluster submenu.
X Press the & button
to select Language.
X Press the W or X
button to select the
desired language.
X Press the &, V or U button to
select a different display.
Selecting the status line display
X Press the V or U button on the
steering wheel to select the Settings
menu.
X Press the &
button
to select submenus.
X Press the W or X
button to select the
Inst. cluster submenu.
X Press the & button to select Status
line display.
X Press the W or X
button to select the
status line display: speed ( Speed) or
outside temperature ( Outside temp.).
The selected display now appears
constantly in the lower multifunction
display. When you scroll through the
Standard display menu (Y page 156), you
will see the display you have not selected.
X Press the &, V or U button to
select a different display.
Lights Adjusting the instrument cluster lighting
The instrument cluster lighting automatically
adjusts to the ambient light.
X
To brighten or to dim: turn reset button
(Y page 25) clockwise or
counterclockwise. Menus and submenus
159
On-board computer and displays Z

Lights
Display messages Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
b
Low-Beam Left
 or 
Low-Beam Right The left or right-hand low-beam headlamp is defective.
X
Visit a qualified specialist workshop. b
AUTO-Light
Inoperative The light sensor is defective. The low-beam headlamps are
switched on.
X
USA only: set the lights to manual operation in the on-board
computer ( Y page 160).
X Switch the lights on and off using the light switch.
X Visit a qualified specialist workshop. b
Turn signal rear
left Back-up bulb
on
  or  

Turn signal
rear right Back-up
bulb on The rear left-hand or rear right-hand turn signal is defective.
Another lamp has taken over its function.
X
Replace the bulb
(
Y page 94). b
Turn signal left
mirror
  or  Turn
signal right

mirror The turn signal in the left-hand or right-hand exterior mirror is
defective.
These
messages will only appear if all of the turn signal's
LEDs have failed.
X Visit a qualified specialist workshop. b
Turn signal front
left Back-up bulb
on

  or
 

Turn signal
front right Back-
up bulb on The front left-hand or front right-hand turn signal is defective.
Another lamp has taken over its function.
X
Replace the bulb
(
Y page 94). b
Brake lamp left
  or
 Brake lamp right The left or right-hand brake lamp is defective.
X
Replace the bulb (
Y page 94). b
High-mounted
brake
lamp The high-mounted brake lamp is faulty. This message will only
appear if all of the brake lamp's LEDs have failed.
X
Visit a qualified specialist workshop.168
Display messages
On-board computer and displays

Display messages Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutionsb
High-beam left or 
High-beam right The left or right-hand high beam is defective.
X
Visit a qualified specialist workshop. b
License Plate
Lamp, Left or 
License Plate
Lamp, Right There is a short circuit in the LED lamps. The LEDs have been
switched off.
X
Visit a qualified specialist workshop.
i Individual segments of the LED lamps may fail without a display
message being shown in the multifunction display. Regularly
check the license plate lamp. If necessary, visit a qualified
specialist workshop. b
Switch off lights
or remove key You have left the SmartKey in the ignition lock.
X
Remove the SmartKey from the ignition lock. b
Switch Off Lights The lights are still switched on when you leave the vehicle.
X
Turn the light switch to $ or Ã(Y page 88). b
Fog lamp left or 
fog lamp right The left-hand or right-hand front fog lamp is defective.
X
Replace the bulb ( Y page 94).b
Front Left Side
Marker Lamp or 
Front Right Side
Marker Lamp The left or right front side marker lamp is defective.
X
Replace the bulb ( Y page 94).b
Rear
fog

lamp Back-
up bulb on The rear fog lamp is defective. Another lamp has taken over its
function.
X
Replace the bulb ( Y page 94).b
Standing lamp
front
left

Back-up
bulb on or 
standing lamp
front right Back-
up bulb on The front left-hand or front right-hand standing lamp is faulty.
Another lamp has taken over its function.
X
Visit a qualified specialist workshop. Display messages
169
On-board computer and displays Z