2012 MERCEDES-BENZ GL SUV brakes

SPEEDTRONIC
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Never depress the brake peda lcontinuously
while the vehicle is in motion, e.g. never cause
the brakes to rub by applying constant slight
pedal pressure. This causes the brake system
to overheat, increases the brakin gdistance
and can lead to the brakes failing completely. G
WARNING
Do not change down for additional engine
braking on aslippery road surface. This could
cause the drive wheels to lose their grip and
the vehicle could skid. G
WARNING
SPEEDTRONI Cisonly an aid designe dto
assis tdriving. Yo uare responsibl efor the
vehicle' sspeed and for braking in good time. G
WARNING
If there is achange of drivers, advise the new
driver of the limit speed stored.
Only use variable SPE EDTRONI Cifyou will not
have to accelerate suddenl ytoaspeed above
that stored as the limit speed. You could oth-
erwise cause an accident.
You can only exceed the limit speed stored if
you deactivate variable SPE EDTRONIC:
R using the cruise control lever
R by depressin gthe accelerator pedal
beyon dthe pressure point (kickdown)
It is not possible to deactivate variable
SPE EDTRONI Cbybraking.
General notes SPE
EDTRONIC brakes automatically so that
you do not exceed the set speed. On long and
steep downhil lgradients ,especially if the
vehicle is laden or towing atrailer, yo umust
select shift range 1,2or 3in good time. By
doing so, you will make use of the braking
effect of the engine. This relieves the load on the brake system and prevent
sthe brakes
from overheating and wearing too quickly .If
you need additional braking, depres sthe
brake pedal repeatedly rather than con tinu-
ously.
You can set avariable or permanent limit
speed:
R variable for speedlimits, e.g. in built-up
areas
R permanent for long-term speed restric-
tions, e.g. when drivin gwith winter tyres
fitted (Y page 198)
i The speed indicated in the speedometer
may differ slightly from the limit speed
stored.
Variable SPEEDTRONIC Cruise control lever
:
To activate or increase speed
; LIMi ndicato rlamp
= To activate at the current speed/last
stored speed
? To activate or reduce speed
A To switch between cruise control or DIS-
TRONIC PLUS and variable SPEEDTRONIC
B To deactivate variable SPEEDTRONIC
With the cruise control lever, you can operate
cruise control or DISTRONIC PLUS and vari-
able SPEEDTRONIC.
X To switch between variable SPEED-
TRONIC and cruise control/DISTRONIC
PLUS: press the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow A.196
Driving systemsDriving and parking

G
WARNING
DISTRONIC PLUS canno ttake account of road
and traffic conditions. If DISTRONI Cdoes not
recognise or no longer recognises the vehicle
in front, do not activate DISTRONIC or, if it is
alr eady active, deactivate it. This is especially
the case:
R befor ecorners
R on filter lanes
R when changing to alane with faster moving
traffic
R in comple xdriving situations or where lanes
are diverte d,e.g. at roadworks on amotor-
way
DISTRONIC PLU Sotherwise maintains the
current spe ed setbyyou or accelerates up to
the set speed.
DISTRONIC PLU Scannot take account of
weather conditions. Deactivate, or do not
activate, DISTRONI CPLUS:
R if th eroads are slippery, snow-covered or
icy .The wheels coul dlose their grip when
brakin goraccelerating .The vehicle could
star ttos kid.
R if the sensors are dirty or there is poo rvis-
ibility, e.g. due to snow, rain or fog. Dis-
tance control may be impaired.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions
even when DISTRONIC PLU Sisactivate d.
Otherwise, you ma yfail to recognise dangers
in time, caus eanaccident and injure yourself
and others. G
WARNING
DISTRONIC PLUS brake syourvehicle up to a
maximu mof4m /s2
depending on its speed.
This corresponds to approximately 40% of
your vehicle's maximum braking power. You
must als oapply the brakes yourself if this
braking power is not sufficient.
If DISTRONI CPLUS detect sarisk of collision
with avehicle in front, an intermit tent warning
tone sounds. In addition, the ·distance
warning lamp in the instrument cluste rlights
up. Brak etoavoidac ollision. G
WAR
NING
The vehicle can be braked when DISTRONIC
PLUS is activated. For this reason, deactivate
DISTRONIC PLUS if the vehicle is to be set in
motion by othe rmeans (e.g. in acar wash or
by towing).
The radar senso rsystem is switched off auto-
matically in the vicinity of radio teles cope
facilities (Y page 433).
If you want DISTRONIC PLUS to assist you,
the radar sensor syste mmust be activated
(Y page 283 )and operational.
General notes DISTRONIC PLUS regulates the speed and
automati
cally helps you maintain the dis-
tanc etot he vehicle detected in front. DI S-
TRONIC PLU Sbrake sautomatically so that
the set spee disnot exceeded.
On long and steep downhil lgradients, espe-
ciall yifthe vehicle is laden or towing atrailer,
yo um ust select shift range 1,2or 3in good
time. By doing so, you will make use of the
braking effec tofthe engine. This relieves the
load on the brake system and prevents the
brakes from overheating and wearing too
quickly.
If DI STRONIC PLUS detects aslower-moving
vehicle in front ,your vehicle is braked in order
to maintain the preset distance to the vehicle
in front.
If ther eisnov ehicle in front ,DISTRONIC
PLUS operate sinthe sam eway as cruise
control in the spee drange between
30 km/h and 200 km/h. If avehicle is driving
in fron tofyou, DI STRONIC operates in the
speed range betwee n0km/h and
200 km/h.
Do not us eDISTRONIC PLUS on roa dswith
steep gradients. Driving systems
199Drivinga nd parking Z

cle's distance from oth
ervehicle s, the speed
bein gdrive nand for braking in goo dtime. X
If the vehicle in front pulls away: remove
your foot from the brake pedal.
X Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you ;or press it up :or down =.
or
X Accelerate briefly.
Your vehicle pulls away and adapts its
speed to that of the vehicle in front.
If there is no vehicle in front, DISTRONIC
PLUS operates in the same way as cruise
control.
If DISTRONIC PLUS detects that the vehicle
in fron thas slowed down, it brakes your vehi-
cle. In this way, the distanc eyou have selec-
ted is maintained.
If DI STRONIC PLUS detects afaster-moving
vehicle in front, it increases the driving speed.
However, the vehicle is only accelerated up
to the spee dyou have stored.
Changing lanes G
WARNING
DI ST RONIC PLUS and Active Blind Spot Assist
are only an aid designed to assist driving.
The ydon ot relieve you of the responsibility
of payin gattention. The driver remains fully
responsible for the vehicle's distance from
other vehicles, the vehicle's speed and for
braking in good time. Always pay attention to
traffic conditions and your surroundings. Oth-
erwise, you may fail to recognise dangers in time, cause an accident and injure yourself
and others.
If you change to the overtakin glane, DIS-
TRONIC PLUS supports you if:
R you are driving faster than 60 km/h.
R DISTRONIC PLUS is maintaining the dis-
tance to avehicle in front.
R you switc honthe respective tur nsignals.
R DISTRONIC PLU Sdoes not detec tadanger
of collision.
If these condition sare met, your vehicl eis
accelerated. Acceleration will be interrupted
if changing lanes takes too long or if the dis-
tance between your vehicle and the vehicle in
front becomes too small.
i When changing lanes, DISTRONIC PLUS
monitors the left lane for left-hand-drive
vehicles and the right lane for right-hand-
drive vehicles.
Vehicles with COMAND Online Example: roundabout
i
The following function is not operational
in all countries.
DISTRONIC PLUS uses additional information
from your navigation system so that it can
adapt to certain traffic situations. This is the
case if, while following avehicle, DI STRONIC
PLUS is active and you:
R approach or drive around aroundabout
R approach aT-junction
R turn off at amotorway exit 202
Driving systemsDriving and pa
rking

Even if the vehicl
einfront leaves th edetec-
tion range ,DIST RONICP LUSt emporarily
maintains the curren tdriving spee dand does
not accelerate. This is base donthe current
map data in the navigation system.
The current spee dismaintained:
R approximately 10 second sbefore the
roundabout/ T-junctio nand approximately
1.5 second swhen drivin gonaroundabout.
R approximately 12 second sbefor ereaching
am otorway exit and approximately
4s econds after the motorway exit.
Af terw ards, the vehicle accelerates back to
the set spee dyou specified.
Stopping G
WARNING
Never get out of the vehicle when DISTRONIC
PLU Sisa ctivated.
DISTRONIC PLUS must als onever be oper-
ated, activated or deactivated by apassenger
or from outside the vehicle.
DISTRONI CPLUS does no treplace the elec-
tri cp arking brake and must not be used for
parking.
The DISTRONI CPLUS brakin geffect is can-
celle dand the vehicl ecan start moving if:
R DISTRONI CPLUS is deactivate dusing the
cruise con trollever.
R you accelerate.
R there is amalfunction in the system or an
interruption in the power supply ,e.g. bat-
tery failure.
R the electrical system in the engine com-
partment, the battery or the fuses are tam-
pere dwith.
R the battery is disconnected.
If you wish to leave the vehicle or park it,
deactivate DISTRONIC PLU Sand secure the
vehicl eagainst rolling away.
If DI STRONIC PLUS detects that the vehicle
in front is stopping, it brakes your vehicle until
it is stationary. Once your vehicle is stationary, it remains
stationary and you do not need to depres
sthe
brake.
Af terat ime, the electric parkin gbrake
secure sthe vehicle and relieves the service
brake.
Depending on the specifie dminimum dis-
tance, your vehicle will come to astandstill at
as ufficient distance behind the vehicle in
front .The specifie dminimum distance is set
using the control on the cruise control lever.
The electric parkin gbrake secure sthe vehicle
automatically if DI STRONIC PLUS is activated
and:
R the driver's doo risopen and the driver's
seat belt is unfastened.
R the engine is switched off ,unles sitisa uto-
matically switched off by the ECO start/
stop function.
R as ystem fault occurs.
R the powe rsupply is not sufficient.
On steep uphill or downhill inclines or if there
is am alfunction, the transmission may also
be automatically shifted into position P.
Setting aspeed X
Press the cruise control lever up :for a
high er spee dordown;for alower speed.
X Keep the cruise contr ol leverpresse duntil
the desired speed is reached.
X Release the cruise contro llever.
The new speed is stored. DI STRONIC PLUS
is activated and adjusts the vehicle's speed
to the new speed stored. Driving systems
203Drivingand parking Z

comfortable driving style. Select comfort
mod
ealsow hend riving fas tonstraightroads,
e.g. on straight str etche sofm otorway.
X Press button :repeatedly unt ilindicator
lamps =and ;go out.
Yo uh aves elec ted Comfort mode.
The AMG Ride Control COMFORT mes-
sage appears in the multifunctio ndisplay. PARKTRONIC
Important safety notes G
WAR
NING
PARKTRONI Cisonly an aid and may not
detect all obs tacles .Itisnotas ubstitut efor
attentive driving.
You are alway sresponsible for safet yand
must continue to pay attention to your imme-
diate surroundings whe nparking and
manoeuvring. You could otherwise endanger
yourself and others. G
WARNING
Make sure that no persons or animals are in
the manoeuvrin grange. Otherwise, they
could be injured.
PARKTRONI Cisanelectronic parking aid with
ultrasonic sensors. It indicates visuallyand
audibl ythe distanc ebetween your vehicle
and an object.
PARKTRONIC is activated automaticall yif
you:
R switch on the ignition
R shift the transmission to position D,Ror N
R release the electri cparking brake
PARKTRONIC is deactivated at speeds above
18 km/h. It is reactivated at lower speeds.
PARKTRONIC monitor sthe ar ea arou ndyour
vehicle using six sensor sint he front bumper
an df our sensor sint he rear bumper. :
Example :sensor sint he front bumper,
left-hand side
Range of th esensors General notes
! When parking ,pay particular attention to
object sabov eorbelow th esensors, such
as flower pot sortrailer drawbars. PARK-
TRONIC does no tdetec tsuch objects when
they are in the immediate vicinity of the
vehicle. You could damage the vehicle or
the objec ts.
The sensors ma ynot detect sno wand
object swhich absor bultrasonic sources.
Ultrasonic sources, such as an automatic
car wash, alorry' scompressed-ai rbrakes
or ap neumatic drill, could cause PARK-
TRONI Ctom alfunction.
PARKTRONI Cmay not function correctly on
uneven terrain. 216
Driving systemsDriving and parking

Active Parking Ass
isti ss witched on automat-
icall ywhend riving forwards .The system is
operational at speeds of up to approximately
35 km/h. While in operation, the system inde-
pendently locates and measures parking
spaces on both sides of the vehicle. When
drivin gatspeeds below 30 km/ h,you will see
the parking symbol as astatus indicato rinthe
instrumen tcluster .Active Parking Ass ist only
display sparking spaces on the front-
pass enger sid easstandard .Parking spaces
on the driver' sside are displayed as soon as
th et urns ignal on the driver' sside is activa-
ted. To park on the driver' sside, you must
leave the driver' sside tur nsignal switched
on. This must remain switched on until you
acknowledge the use of Activ eParking Assist
by pressing the abutton on the multi-
function steerin gwheel.
When aparking space has been detected, an
arrow towards the right or the left also
appears.
Activ eParking Assist will only detect parking
spaces:
R that are parallel to the direction of travel
R that are at least 1. 5mwide
R that are at least 1. 3mlonger than your
vehicle
Ap arking space is displayed while you are
driving past it, and until you are approx-
imately 15 maway from it.
Parking G
WARNING
PARKTRONI Cand Activ eParking Assist are
merely parking aids and may not detec tall
obstacles. They do not reliev eyou of the
responsibili tyof payin gattention.
You are always responsible for safety and
must continue to pay attention to your imme-
diate surroundings when parking and
manoeuvring. You could, otherwise, endanger
yoursel fand others. G
WARNING
Whe nparking, you need to make sure that no
obstacles are located in the vicinity of the
vehicle durin gthe entire opera tion. Active
Parking Assist does not reliev eyou of the
responsibili tyof payin gattention. It merely
aids you by intervenin gactively in the steer-
ing.
To stop the vehi cleo ravoi dana ccident you
need to apply the brakes yourself.
X Stop the vehi clew hen the par king space
symbo lshows the desired par king space in
the instrumen tcluster.
X Shif tthe transmission to position R.
The Star tPark Assist? Yes: OK No: %
message appe arsint he multifunction
display.
X To cancel th eprocedure: press the
% button on the multifunction steering
whee lorp ull away.
or
X To par kusing Active Parking Assist:
press the abutton on the multifunction
steeri ngwheel.
The Park Assist active Accelerate and brake Observe surroundings mes-
sage appears in the multifunction display.
X Release the multifunction steerin gwheel.
X Reverse the vehicle, being ready to brake
at all times. When reversi ng,d rive at a
spee dbelow 10 km /h.O therwise, Active
Parking Assist will be cancelled.
i In tigh tparking spaces, you will achieve
the best parking results by backin gupas
far as possible .When doing so, also
observe the PARKTRONIC messages.
X Stop as soon as PARKTRONIC sound sthe
continuous warnin gtone, if not before.
Manoeuvrin gmay be required in tight park-
ing spaces.
The Park Assist active Select D Observe surroundings message appears in
the multifunction display. Driving systems
221Driving and parking Z

for the vehicle's speed, brak
inging ood time,
and steering correctly. Always adapt your
drivin gstyle to suit the prevailing road and
weather conditions .Always pay attention to
traffic condition sand your surroundings. Oth-
erwise, you may fail to recognise dange rsin
time, cause an accident and injure yourself
and others.
General notes Activ
eLane Keepin gAssist monitor sthe area
in fr ontof your vehicle by mea nsofac am-
era :at the top of the windscreen .Active
Lane Keepin gAssist detect slane markings on
the road and warn syou before you leav eyour
lane unintentionally .Ifyou do no treact to the
warning, alane-correctin gapplication of the
brakes can brin gthe vehicle bac kinto the
original lane.
If you select km on the on-board computer in
the Displa yunit Speed-/odometer: functio
n(Ypage 28 0),A ctive Lane Keeping
Assist is activated starting at aspeed of
60 km/h. If the miles display unit is selected,
the assistanc erange begins at 40 mph.
Warning vibration in the steering wheel
Aw arning may be given if afront wheel
passes ove ralane marking. It will warn you
by means of intermitten tvibration in the
steering wheel for up to 1.5 seconds.
In order that you are warned only when nec-
essary and in good time if you cross the lane
marking, the system recognises certain con-
ditions and warns you accordingly. The warnin
gvibration occur searlier if:
R you approach the outer lane markin gona
bend.
R the road has ver ywide lanes, e.g. amotor-
way.
R the system recognises solid lane markings.
The warnin gvibration occur slater if:
R the road has narrow lanes.
R you cut the corner on abend.
Lane-correcting brak eapplication G
WARNING
Active Lane Keeping Assist doe snot keep
your vehicle in its lane. It is only an aid
designed to assist driving. It is not asubstitute
for attentive driving. Corrective brakin gmay
not alway sbesufficien ttoreturnyour vehicle
to its original lane. In such cases, you must
steer the vehicle yourself to ensur ethat it
does not leav ethe lane.
Ac tive Lane Keeping Assist cannot detec tthe
curren ttraffic situatio norother road users.
Ensure at all times that there is sufficient lat-
eral distance between you and othe rroad
users or obstacles. In rar ecases, broken lines
or certain structures on the road surface may
be detected by the system as solid lane mark-
ings. You can, for example, countersteer gen-
tly at any time to cancel inappropriate braking
action, e.g. if you intentionally drive across a
solid lane marking.
Active Lane Keeping Assis tcannot take
weather conditions into account.
You are responsible for the vehicle's speed,
correc tsteering and for braking in good time.
Alway sadapt yo ur driving style to suit the
prevailing road and weather conditions.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions and
your surroundings. Otherwise, you may fail to
recognise dangers in time, cause an accident
and injure yourself and others. 246
Driving systemsDrivin
gand pa rking

on such
adynamometer, pleas econsult a
qualified workshop. You coul dotherwise
damage the drive train or the brake system.
4MATIC ensures that all four wheels are per-
manently driven. Togethe rwith ESP ®
and
4ETS, it improves the trac tion of your vehicle
whenever adrive whee lspins due to insuffi-
cient grip.
i In wintr ydriving conditions ,the maximum
effect of 4MATIC can only be achieved if
you use winter tyres (M+ Styres), with snow
chain sifn eces sary.
Fo rfurther information on "Driving off-road",
see (Y page 188).
DSR (Downhill Speed Regulation) Important safet
ynotes G
WARNING
DS Riso nlyana id designed to assist you when
drivin gdownhill .You are responsible for keep-
ing control of the vehicle and for assessing
whether the downhil lgradient can be man-
aged.
When activating DSR th evehicle may brake
suddenly due to DSR inter vening. Thi sis
dependent on the downhill gradien tand the
difference between the current speed and the
speed set. DSR may not alway sbeable to
keep to the set speed, depending on road sur-
fac eand tyre conditions .You coul dlose con-
trol of the vehicle and cause an accident.
Selec taset speed suitable for the prevailing
conditions and when necessary, apply the
brakes manually. G
WARNING
If you depress the accelerator pedal wit hDSR
activated, the nthe set speed can be excee-
ded. Drive downhill with specia lcare and
alway skeep in min dthat DSR brakes the vehi-
cle as soon as you remove your foot from the
accelerator pedal. The vehicle ma ybrake sud-
denly due to DSR intervening, depending on
th ed ownhill gradient and the differen ce between the current speed and the set speed.
You could lose control of the vehicl
eand
cause an accident.
DSR assists you whe ndriving downhill. It
keeps th espeed of travel at the speed set on
the on-boar dcomputer .The steeper the
downhill gradient ,the greater the DS Rbrak-
ing effect on th evehicle. When driving on flat
stretches of road or on an uphill gradient, the
DSR braking effect is minima lornon-existent.
DSR con trols the set speed when it is active
and the automatic transmission is in the D,
R or Nposition .Bya ccelerating or braking,
you can always drive at ahigher or alower
speed than that set on the on-boar dcom-
puter.
Further information about "Driving off-road"
(Y page 188).
Activating DSR Example: vehicles wit
hthe ON&OFFROAD package
: DSR button
; DSR indicator lamp
X Press button :.
Indicator lamp ;lights up.
The à DSR symbol appear sint he mul-
tifunction display.
You can only activate DS Rwhen drivin gat
speeds below 40 km /h.
If the current vehicle speed is too high, the
à DSR symbol appears in the multifunc-
tion display with the Max.speed 40 km/h message. Drivin
gsystems
251Drivingand pa rking Z