2012 MERCEDES-BENZ GL SUV Owners Manual

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

If
al ane-correctin gbrake ap plication occurs,
display :appears in the multif unctio ndis-
play.
If you leave you rlane under certain circum-
stances, the vehicle wil lbrake briefl yonone
side. Thi sisdesigned to help you brin gthe
vehicle bac kinto the original lane.
Thi sfunction is available in the range between
60 km/h and 200 km/h.
Al ane-correctin gbrake ap plication can only
be made after drivin gover asolid, recognis-
able lane marking. Before this, awarning
must be emitted by means of intermittent
vibration in the steering wheel. In addition, a
lane with lane markings on both sides must
be recognised. The brake applicatio nalso
slightly reduces drivin gspeed.
i Afurther lane-correcting brake applica-
tion can only occur after you rvehicle has
returned to the original lane.
No lane-correcting brak eapplication occurs
if:
R you clear lyand actively steer, brake, or
accelerate.
R you cut the corner on ashar pbend.
R you have switched on the tur nsignal.
R ad riving safety system intervenes ,such as
ESP ®
,P RE-SAFE ®
Brake or Active Blind
Spot Assist.
R you have adopted asporty driving style with
high cornering speed sorhigh rates of
acceler ation.
R ESP ®
is deactivated.
R the transmission is not in position D.R
on vehicles with atrail ertow hitch ,the
electrical con nectio ntot he trailer has been
correctly established.
R the Off -road program is activated (vehicles
without the ON&OFFROAD package).
R Off-road program 1or2isactivate d(vehi-
cle sw ith the ON&OFFROAD package).
R the LOW RANGE off-road gear is activated
(vehicles with the ON&OFFROAD package).
R al oss of tyr epressure or adefectiv etyre
has been detected and displayed.
Active Lane Keeping Assist doe snot detect
roa dand traffic condi tions. An inappropriate
brake application ma ybeinterrupted at any
time if:
R you stee rslightly in the opposite direction.
R you switch on the turn signal.
R you clearly brake or accelerate.
Al ane- correcting bra keapplication is inter-
rupted automatically if:
R ad riving safet ysystem intervenes, such as
ESP ®
,P RE-SAFE ®
Brake or Active Blind
Spot Assist.
R lane markings can no longe rberecognised.
Activating Active Lane Keeping Assist X
Switch on Active Lan eKeeping Assist using
the on-boar dcomputer ;todoso, select
Standard or
Adaptive (Y
page 279).
Symbol :appears in the multifunction
display.
If Standard is selected, no warnin
gvibra-
tion occur sif: Dri
ving systems
247Driving and pa rking Z

R
you have switched on the tur nsignals. In
this event ,the warnings are suppressed
for acertai nperio doft ime.
R ad riving safety syst em intervenes, such
as ABS, BAS or ESP ®
.
If Adaptive is selected, no warning vibra-
tio no ccurs if:
R yo uh aves witched on the turn si gnals.In
thi se vent, th ewarnings ar esuppr essed
for acertai nperio doft ime.
R ad riving safety syst em intervenes, such
as ABS, BAS or ESP ®
.
R yo ua ccelerate hard, e.g .kickdown.
R you brak ehard.
R you steer actively, e.g. swerv etoavoid
an obstacle or cha ngelane quickly.
R you cut the corner on ashar pbend.
Towing atrailer
If yo uattach atrailer, make sure th at you have
corre ctly established the electrical connec-
tion. This can be accomplished by checking
the trailer lighting. On-road programs (vehicles with the
ON&OFFROAD package)
Genera lnotes The on-road program
ssupport you when driv-
ing on roads and the off-road programs sup-
port you when driving off-road (Y page 253).
The following program messages remain in
the multifunction display until the corre-
sponding vehicle level has been set. Up to off-
road level 2, you can hide the program mes-
sage susing the %ora button on the
multifunc tion steerin gwheel. AUTO program
Select the AUTO program for
amore com-
for table ride under all normal driving condi-
tions.
Your selection remains stored even if you
remove the key from the ignition lock.
X Selecto rwheel : engaged:
brieflypress
selecto rwheel :.
Selector wheel :extends.
X To select: turnselector wheel :until indi-
cator lamp ;comes on.
AUTO indicator =appear sint he multi-
func tion display.
R Highwa ylevel is set.
R AD S(Adaptive Damp ingS ystem) adjusts
the comfort damping characteristics to
the current operating and driving condi-
tions.
R The automatic transmission selects the
automatic drive progra mforac omforta-
ble and efficien tdriving style. 248
Dri
ving systemsDriving and pa rking

SPORT program
Select the SPOR
Tprogram for sport ydriving
dynamics.
Your selection remains store deven if you
remove th ekey from the ignition lock.
X Selector wheel : engaged:
briefly press
selector wheel :.
Selector wheel :extends.
X To select: turnselector wheel :until indi-
cator lamp ;comes on.
SPORT indicator =appear sint he multi-
func tion display.
R High-speed level, -1 5mmcompared to
highway level, is set.
R ADS (Adaptiv eDamping System) adjusts
the sporty damping characteristics to the
current operating and driving conditions.
R The automatic transmissio nselects the
automatic driv eprogram for asporty
driving style.
R The sporty accelerator pedal curve is
selected. This mean sthat the accelera- tor pedal does not need to be depressed
as fa
rwhen accelerating.
R The sport ysteering curve is selected.
Thi sm eans that mor eeffort is required
when steering.
i Youc annot select the SPORT program if
LOW RANGE has been selected .The
Driv eprogram SPORT Not in LOW RANGE message then appears in th
emulti-
function display.
Snow program Select the snow program when driving in
snow or with snow chains.
X
Selector wheel : engaged:
briefly press
selector wheel :.
Selector wheel :extends.
X To select: turn selector wheel :until indi-
cator lamp ;comes on.
Snow indicator =appears in the multi-
function display. Driving systems
249Drivingand pa rking Z

R
Hig hway level is set.
R ADS (Adaptive Damping System) adjusts
the comfort damping characteristics to
the current operating and driving condi-
tions.
R 4ETS and the differential lock are adap-
ted for driving on snow-cover edroads.
R Th ea utomatic transmi ssion selects the
automatic drive program for acomforta-
ble and efficien tdriving style.
R Th es mooth accelerato rpedal curve is
selected. This mean sthat the accelera-
tor pedal needs to be depressed much
further when accelerating.
R The optimal gear for pulling away is
engaged.
Trailer program Select the trailer program when towing a
trailer. X
Selector wheel : engaged:
brieflypress
selecto rwheel :.
Selector wheel :extends.
X To select: turnselector wheel :until indi-
cator lamp ;comes on.
Trailer indicator =appear sint he multi-
func tion display.
R Highwa ylevel is set.
R AD S(Adaptive Damp ingS ystem) adjusts
the comfort damping characteristics to
the current operating and driving condi-
tions.
R The automatic transmission selects the
automatic drive progra mforac omforta-
ble and efficien tdriving style ,and the
shift points are optimally adjusted.
R The differential lock is engaged when
pulling away. Off-road driving systems
4MATIC (permanent all-wheel drive) G
WARNING
4MATIC cannot reduce the risk of an accident
if you drive too fast.
If ad rive whee lspins due to insufficien tgrip:
R onl ydepress the accelerator peda lasfar as
necessary when pulling away.
R accelerate less when driving.
R adapt you rdriving style to su itroa dand
traffic conditions.
! Never tow the vehicle with one axle
raised. Thi smay damage the transfer case.
Damage of this sort is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz implied warranty. All
wheels must remain either on the ground
or be fully raised. Observe the instructions
for towing the vehicle with all wheels in full
contact with the ground.
! Afunction or performanc etest should
only be carried out on atwin-axle dyna-
mometer .Before you operate th evehicle 250
Driving systemsDriving and parking

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

i
You cannot activate DS Rifthe SPORT on-
roa dprogram is activated. The ÃDSR
symbo land the Not in drive program SPORT message then appe
ar inthem ulti-
function display.
Deactivating DSR
X Press button :.
Indicator lamp ;goes out.
The à DSR symbol appears in the mul-
tifunction displa ywith the off message.
DSR switches off automatically if you drive
faster than 45 km/h. The ÃDSR symbol
appears in the multifunction displa ywith the
off message. The status indicator in the mul-
tifunction displa ygoes out. You also hear a
warnin gtone. On vehicles with the ON&OFF-
ROAD package, if you select adifferent on-
road/off-road program ,DSR is als odeactiva-
ted.
Changing th eset speed X
To increase or reduce the set speed in
1k m/h increments: briefly press the cruise control lever, up
:for ahigher set
speed or down ;for alower set speed.
The set speed appears in the multifunction
display with the ÃDSR symbol. It is also
displayed in status indicator =.
When DSR is activated, you can change the
set speed to avalue between 2km/h and
18 km/h.
i TheD SR se tspee disa lways changed in
1k m/h increments .This is regardless of
whether you press the cruise control lever
to or beyond the pressure point.
Off- road program (vehicle swithou tthe
ON&OFFROAD package) :
Off-road progra mbutton
; Off-road program indicator lamp
X To switch on: press button:.
Indicator lamp ;lights up. The Çoff-
road indicator appears in the multifunction
display.
X To switch off: press the:button.
Indicator lamp ;and the Çoff-road
indicator go out in the multifunction dis-
play.
The off-road program assists you in driving
off-road. The engine’s performanc echarac-
teristics and the gearshifting characteristics
of the automatic transmission ar eadapted for
this purpose. ABS ,ESP ®
and 4ETS programs
es pe cially adapted to off-road driving are acti-
vated. Agentle accelera torp edal curve is also
selected, i.e. the accelera torp edal must be 252
Driving systemsDriving and parking

depressed muc
hfurther in order to acceler-
ate.
Do not use the off-road program on roads that
are snow-covered or icy or if you have fitted
your vehicle with snow chains.
For information about drivin goff-road, see
(Y pag e188).
Off-road programs (vehicle swith the
ON&OFFROAD package) Gener
alnotes
The off -road program sassist you in drivi ng
off -road. The engine’s performanc echarac-
teristic sand the gearshifting characteristics
of the automati ctransmission are adapted for
this purpose .ABS ,ESP ®
and 4ET Sprograms
especiall yadapted to off -road drivin gare acti-
vated. An accele rator peda lcurve suitable for
the terrain is selected, i.e. the accelerator
pedal must be depressed further to acceler-
ate.
Do not use the off-road programs on roads
that are snow-covered or icy or if you have
fitted your vehicle with snow chains.
For information about drivin goff-road, see
(Y pag e188).
Th ef ollowin gprogram message sremai nin
the multifunction display until the corre-
sponding vehicle level has bee nset. Up to off-
road level 2, you can hide the program mes-
sages using the %or the abutton on
the multifunction steering wheel. Off
-road program 1 X
Selector wheel : engaged:
briefly press
selector wheel :.
Selector wheel :extends.
X To select: turn selector wheel :until indi-
cator lamp ;comes on.
Off-road indicator =appears in the multi-
function display.
Off-road level 1isset to +3 0mmabove the
highwa ylevel.
Off-road program 1switches to the AUTO
program if you drive faster than 110 km/h.
Select off-road program 1for easily negotia-
ble off -road terrain, e.g. for gravel or sand
surfaces or tracks. The engine's torque is
restricted to alimited degree and the drive
wheels can spin. The spinnin gofthe wheels
results in acutting action for better traction.
You can only activate off-road program 1
when driving at speeds below 100 km/ h.The
Driv eprogram OFFROAD 1Max. speed 100 km/h message appears in th
emultifunc-
tion display. Driving systems
253Drivingand pa rking Z