2012 MERCEDES-BENZ GL SUV Owners Manual

Driving abroad
An extensiv
eMercedes- BenzService network
is als oavailable in othe rcoun tries. The
Service Hotline's curren ttelephone numbers
for use when you are abroa dare to be found
in th e"Mercedes-Ben zService2 4h"s ection
of the Ser vice Boo klet. AdBlue
®
service display
i For BlueTE Cvehicles only.
To fun ction properly, BlueTEC exhaust gas
after treatmen tmust be operated with the
reducing agent AdBlue ®
.A dBlue ®
is topped
up as part of the service. Under normal oper-
atin gconditions, afull tank of AdBlue ®
should
last until the nex tservice due date.
Depending on how and where the vehicle is
used, ther emay be an increase in the
AdBlue ®
consumption, resulting in the next
servic edue date being brought forward.
Certain display messages sho wthat
AdBlue ®
must be topped up, e.g.
Refill AdBlue Se eOwner's Manual Refill AdBlue No start in: .. km
Aw
arning ton ealso sounds.
You can no longer start th eenginew hen the
AdBlue ®
supply has been used up
(Y page 306).
Top up AdBlue ®
(Y page 178).
Before taking atripw ithy our vehicle outside
Europe, have th eAdBlue ®
suppl ychec kedat
aq ualified specialist workshop. If necessary,
have AdBlue ®
topped up. Before alonger stay
outside of Europe, consult aqualified special-
ist workshop.
Obser vethe note sonA dBlue ®
(Y page 427).
You can obtain further informatio nabout
BlueTE Cexhaus tgas aftertreatment and
AdBlue ®
from any Mercedes-Benz Service
Centre. Care
General notes
H
Environmental note
Dispos eofempty packaging and cleaning
cloths in an envi ronmentally responsible man-
ner.
! For cleani ngyour vehicle, do not use any
of the following:
R dry, rough or hard cloths
R abrasive cleaning agents
R solvents
R cleaning agents containin gsolvents
Do not scrub.
Do not touc hthe surfaces or protective
films with har dobjects, e.g. aring or ice
scraper .You coul dotherwis escratc hor
damage the surfaces and protectiv efilm.
! Do not park up the vehicle for an extended
period straight after cleaning it, particularly
after having cleaned the wheels with wheel
cleaner .Wheel cleaner scould cause
increased corrosion of the brake discs and
brake pads/linings. For this reason, you
should drive for afew minutes after clean-
ing. Brakin gheats the brak ediscs and the
brake pads/linings, thus drying them. The
vehicle can then be parked up.
Regula rcare of your vehicle is aconditio nfor
retaining th equalit yint he long term.
Us ec arep roducts and cleani ngagent srec-
ommended and approved by Mercedes-Benz. Washin
gthe veh iclea nd cleaning the
paintwork
Automatic car wash G
WA
RNING
Brakin gefficienc yisreduced after washing
th ev ehicle .This coul dcause an accident. For
this reason, following acar wash, drive with
particular care until the brakes are dry. 366
CareMaintenance and care

G
WARNING
Th ev ehicle is braked when the HOL Dfunction
or DISTRONIC PLUS is activated. Therefore,
deactivate the HOLD function and DISTRONIC
PLUS before the vehicl eiswashed in an auto-
matic car wash.
! Make sure that:
R the side windows and sliding sunroof are
closed completely.
R the blower for the ventilation/heating is
switched off (OFF button is depressed).
R the windscreen wiper switch is at posi-
tion 0.
The vehicl ecould otherwise be dam aged.
! In car washes with atowing mechanism,
make sure that the automatic transmission
is in transmission position N,otherwise the
vehicl ecould be dam aged.
R Vehicles with akey:
do not remove the key from the igniti on
lock. Do not open the driver's door or
front-passenge rdoor when the engin eis
switched off .Otherwise, the automatic
transmission selects park position P
automatically and locks the wheels. You
can prevent this by shiftin gthe auto-
matic transmission to Nbeforehand.
R Vehicles with KEYL ESS-GO:
do not ope nthe driver's door or front-
passenger door when the engin eis
switched off .Otherwise, the automatic
transmission selects park position P
automatically and locks the wheels.
Observe the following to make sure that the
automatic transmission stays in position N:
X Make sure the vehicle is statio naryand the
ignition is switched off.
X Turn the key to position 2(Y page 159 )in
the ignitio nlock.
Use the key instead of the Start/S topb ut-
ton on vehicles with KEYLESS-GO.
X Depress and hold the brake pedal. X
Shift the automatic transmissio ntoposi-
tion N.
X Release the brake pedal.
X Release the electric parkin gbrake.
X Switch off th eignition and leav ethe key in
the ignition lock.
You can wash the vehicle in an automatic car
wash from the ver ystart.
Wash off excess dirt before cleaning the vehi-
cle in an automatic car wash.
After using an automatic car wash ,wipe off
wax from the windscreen and the wiper
blades. This will prevent smears and reduce
wiping noises caused by residue on the wind-
screen.
Washing by hand In some countries, washing by hand is only
allowe
datspecially equipped washing bays.
Observe the legal requirement sfor each indi-
vidual coun try.
X Do not use hot water and do not wash the
vehicle in direct sunlight.
X Use asoft sponge to clean.
X Use amild cleaning agent, such as acar
shampoo approved by Mercedes-Benz.
X Thoroughly hos edown the vehicle with a
gentl ejet of water.
X Do not point the water jet directly towards
the air inlets.
X Use plenty of water and rinse out the
sponge frequently.
X Rinse the vehicle with clean water and dry
thoroughly with achamois.
X Do not let the cleanin gagent dry on the
paintwork.
When using the vehicle in winter, remove all
traces of roa dsalt deposits carefully and as
soon as possible. Care
367Maintenance and care Z

High-pressure cl
eaning equipment G
WARNING
Do not use high-pressure cleaner swith circu-
lar-jet nozzles (dirt grinders) to clean your
vehicle ,inparticular the tyres. You could oth-
erwise damage the tyres and cause an acci-
dent.
! Always maintain adistance of at least
30 cm between the vehicle and the high-
pressure cleaner nozzle. Information about
the correc tdistanc eisavailable from the
equipment manufacturer.
Move the high-pressure cleane rnozzle
around when cleanin gyour vehicle.
Do not aim directly at any of the following:
R tyres
R door gaps, roof gaps, join tsetc.
R electrical components
R battery
R connectors
R lights
R seals
R trim elements
R ven tilation slots
Damaged seals or electrical components
can lead to leaks or failures.
Cleanin gthe paintwork !
Do not affix:
R stickers
R films
R magnetic plate sorsimilar items
to painted surfaces. You could otherwise
damage the paintwork.
Scratches, corrosive deposits, areas affected
by corrosion and damage caused by inade-
quate care cannot always be completely
repaired. In such cases, visit aqualified spe-
cialist workshop. X
Remove impurities immediately, where
possible, whils tavoiding rubbing to ohard.
X Soak insect remains with insect remover
and rinse off the treated areas afterwards.
X Soak bird droppings with water and rinse
off the treated areas afterwards.
X Remove coolant, brake fluid, tree resin,
oils, fuels and greases by rubbing gently
with acloth soaked in petroleum ether or
lighter fluid.
X Use tar remover to remov etar stains.
X Use silicone remover to remove wax.
Care and treatment of mat tpaintwork !
Never polis hthe vehicle or the light alloy
wheels. Polishin gmakes the paintwork
shiny.
! The following may cause the paint to
become shiny and thus reduce the matt
effect:
R Vigorous rubbing with unsuitable mate-
rials.
R Frequent use of car washes.
R Washing the vehicle in direct sunlight.
! Never use paint cleaner, buffing or pol-
ishing products, or glos spreserver, e.g.
wax .These product sare onl ysuitable for
high-glos ssurfaces. Thei ruse on vehicles
wit hm att finish leads to considerable sur-
face damage (shiny, spotted areas).
Always have paintwork repairs performed
at aq ualified specialist workshop, e.g. a
Mercedes-Ben zService Centre.
! Do not use wash programs with ahot wax
treatmen tunder any circumstances.
Observe thes enotes if your vehicle has a
clea rmatt finish. This will help you to avoid
damage to the paintwork due to incorrect
treatment.
Thes enotes also apply to light-alloy wheels
with aclear matt finish. 368
CareMaintenance and care

i
The vehicle should preferably be washed
by hand using asoft sponge, car shampoo
and plent yofwater.
i Use only insect remover and car shampoo
from the range of recommended and
approved Mercedes -Benz care products. Cleaning vehicle parts
Cleaning the wheels !
Do not use acidic wheel cleaning products
to remove brake dust. Thi scould damage
wheel bolts and brake components.
! Do not par kupthe vehicle for an extended
period straight after cleanin git, particularly
after having cleaned the wheels with wheel
cleaner. Wheel cleaners could cause
increased corrosion of the brake discs and
brake pads/linings .For this reason, you
should drive for afew minutes after clean-
ing. Brakin gheats the brak ediscs and the
brake pads/linings, thus drying them. The
vehicle can then be parked up.
Cleaning the windows G
WARNING
Switc hoff the windscree nwipers and remove
the key from the ignition lock before cleaning
the windscreen or the wiper blades. On vehi-
cles with KEYL ESS-GO, pres sthe Start/S top
button repeatedly until all indicator lamps in
the instrumen tcluster have gone off. The
windscreen wipers could otherwise move and
injur eyou.
! Do not use dry cloths, abrasive products,
solven tsor cleanin gagents con taining sol-
vent stoc lean the inside of the windows.
Do not touch the insides of the windows
with hard objects, e.g. an ice scraper or
ring. There is otherwise arisk of damaging
the windows.
! Clean the water drainage channels of the
windscreen and the rear window at regular intervals. Deposits such as leaves, petals
and pollen may under certain circumstan-
ces prevent water from drainin
gaway. This
can lead to corrosion damage and damage
to electronic components.
X Clean the inside and outside of the win-
dows with adamp cloth and acleaning
agent that is recommended and approved
by Mercedes-Benz.
Cleanin gthe wiper blades G
WARNING
Switch off the windscree nwipers and remove
the key from the ignition lock before cleaning
the windscreen or the wiper blades. On vehi-
cles with KEYLESS-GO, press the Star t/Stop
butto nrepeatedly unti lall indicator lamps in
the instrumen tcluster have gone off. The
windscreen wipers could otherwise move and
injur eyou.
! Do not pull on the wiper blade. Otherwise,
the wiper blade could be damaged.
! Do not clean wiper blades too often and
do not rub them too hard. Otherwise, the
graphit ecoatin gcould be damaged. This
coul dcause wiper noise.
! Hold the wiper arm securely when folding
back. The windscreen could be damaged if
the wiper arm hits against it suddenly.
X Fold the wiper arms away from the wind-
screen.
X Clea nthe wiper blades carefully usin ga
damp cloth.
X Fold the windscreen wipers back again
befor eswitching on the ignition.
Cleanin gthe exterio rlighting !
Only use cleaning agents or cleaning
cloths that are suitable for plastic lenses.
Unsuitable cleaning agents or cleaning
cloths could scratc hordamage the plastic
lenses of the exterior lighting. Care
369Maintenance and care Z

X
Clean the plastic lenses of the exterior
lighting using awet sponge and amild
cleanin gagent, e.g. Mercedes-Ben zcar
shampoo or cleanin gcloths.
Mirror turn signal !
Only use cleanin gagents or cleaning
cloth sthat ar esuitable for plastic lenses.
Unsuitable cleanin gagents or cleaning
cloth scoul dscratch or damag ethe plastic
lenses of th emirror tur nsignals.
X Clean the plastic lenses of the mir rort urn
signals in the exterior mirror housin gusing
aw et sponge and mild cleaning agent ,e.g.
Mercedes -Ben zc ar shampoo or cleaning
cloths.
Cleaning th esensors !
If you clean th esensor swithah igh-pres-
sure cleaner, mak esure that you keep a
distanc eofatl east 30 cm between the
vehicle and th ehigh-pressure cleane rnoz-
zle. Information about the correc tdistance
is available from the equipment manufac-
turer. X
Clean sensors :of the drivin gsystems
with water, car shampo oand asoft cloth. Cleaning th
ereversing camera !
Do not clean the camer alens and the area
around the reversin gcamera with ahigh-
pressure cleaner. X
Use clear water and asoft clot htoclean
camera lens :.
Cleaning the 360° camera !
Do not clean the camera lens and the area
around the 360 °camera with ahigh-pres-
sure cleaner.360 X
Make sure that the vehicle is stationary and
that the key is in position 2in the ignition
lock.
X To open the cover of the 360° camer a:
with COMAND Online activated, press the
W button.
X Select System by turning
cVdthe
COMAND controller and press Wto con-
firm.
X Select 360° camera and press
Wto con-
firm. 370
CareMaintenanc
eand care

X
Select Open camera cover and press
W
to confirm.
Th ec over of the 360° cam erao pens.
X To clean the 360° cam era: clean camera
lens :with clean water and asoft cloth.
i If you ar etravelling faster th an30 km/h
or if the key is in po sition 0or 1in the igni-
tion lock, the cove rofthe 360° cam era
close sautomatically.
Cleaning th eexhaust pipe !
Do not clean the exh aust pipe with acidic
cleaning agents, such as sanitar yorwheel
clea ners.
Impurities combined wit hthe effect sofroad
grit and corrosiv eenvironmental factors may
cause flash rust to for monthe surface. You
can restore the original shine of the exhaust
pip ebyc leaning it regularly ,especiall yinw in-
ter and after washing.
X Clean the exhaust pipe with achrome care
produc ttested and approved by Mercedes-
Benz.
Cleaning the trailer tow hitch H
Environmental note
Dispose of oily and greasy clot hs in an envi-
ronmentally-re sponsible manner.
! Do not clea nthe ball couplin gwithahigh-
pressure cleaner. Do not use solvents.
! Observe the not eoncare provided by the
trailer manufac turer. Th
eb all coupling must be cleaned if it
becomes dirty or corroded.
X Remove rust on the ball of the ball coupling,
e.g. with awire brush.
X Remove dirt with aclean, lint-free clot hor
ab rush.
X After cleaning, lightly oi lorg rease ball cou-
pling :.
X Check that th evehicle' strailer to whitchis
workin gproperly.
i Youc an also have the maintenanc ework
on the ball coupling and the trailer tow hitch
carried out by aqualified specialist work-
shop. Interior care
Cleaning the display !
For cleaning, do not use any of the fol-
lowing:
R alcohol-based thinner or petrol
R abrasive cleaning agents
R commercially-available househol dclean-
ing agents
These may damage the display surface. Do
not put pressure on the display surface
when cleaning. This could lead to irrepara-
ble damage to the display.
X Befor ecleanin gthe display, make sur ethat
it is switc hed offand has cooled down.
X Clean the display surface using acommer-
cially available microfibre clot hand TFT/
LCD display cleaner.
X Dry the display surface using adry micro-
fibre cloth.
Cleanin gNight View Assist Plus !
Never clean the camera lens. When clean-
ing the field of vision of the driving systems,
mak esure that you do not spray glass
cleaner on the camera lens. If the camera Care
371Maintenance and care Z

lens is dirty, visit
aqualified specialist work-
shop. X
Fold down the camera cover by recess :.X
Use asoft clot htoclean the windscreen in
fron tofc amera ;.
Cleaning th eplastic trim G
WAR
NING
Whe ncleaning the steerin gwheel boss and
dashboard, do not use cockpit sprays or
clea ning agents containing solvents. Cleani ng
agent scontaining solvent scause the surface
to become porous, and as aresult plastic
part smay break away and be thrown around
the interior when an airbag is deployed, which
may result in severe injuries.
! Do not affix the following to plastic surfa-
ces:
R stickers
R films
R scented oil bottles or similar items
You could otherwise damage the plastic. !
Do not allow cosmetics, insect repellent
or sunscreen to come in contact with the
plastic trim .This maintain sthe high-quality
look of the surfaces.
X Wipe the plastic trim with adamp, lint-free
cloth, e.g. amicrofibre cloth.
X Heavy soiling: use car care and cleaning
products recommended and approved by
Mercedes-Benz.
The surface may change colour tempora-
rily. Wait until the surface is dry again.
Cleanin gthe steering whee land gear or
selector lever X
Thoroughl ywipe with adamp cloth or use
leather care agents that have been recom-
mended and approved by Mercedes-Benz.
Cleanin gwooden trim and trim ele-
ments !
Do not use solvent-based cleaning agents
such as tar remover, wheel cleaners, pol-
ishes or waxes. There is otherwise arisk of
damaging the surface.
X Wipe the wooden trim and trim elements
with adamp, lint-free cloth, e.g. amicrofi-
bre cloth.
X Heavy soiling: use car care and cleaning
products recommended and approved by
Mercedes-Benz.
Cleanin gthe seat covers !
Observe th efollowin gwhen cleaning:
R clea ngenuin eleather covers carefully
with adamp cloth and then wipe the cov-
ers down with adry cloth .Make sure that
the leather does not become soaked .It
may otherwise become rough and
cracked .Only use leather care agents
that have bee ntested and approved by 372
CareMaintenance and care

Mercedes-Benz. You can obtai
nthese
from aqualified specialist workshop.
R clean artificial leather covers with acloth
moistened with asolution con taining
1%d etergen t(e.g. washing-up liquid).
R clean clot hcover switham icrofibre cloth
moistened with asolution containing
1%d etergen t(e.g. washing-up liquid).
Rub carefully, and always wipe entire
seat sections to avoid leaving visible
lines. Leav ethe seat to dry afterwards.
Cleanin gresults depend on the type of
dirt and how long it has been there.
R clean DI NAMIC Acover swithadamp
cloth. Make sure that you wipe entire
seat sections to avoid leaving visible
lines.
! Do not use microfibre cloths to clean gen-
uine leather, artificial leather or DINAMICA
covers. If used often ,these can damage the
cover.
i Notethat regular car eisessential to
make sur ethat the appearanc eand com-
fort of the covers are retained over time.
Cleaning the seat belts !
Do not clean the sea tbelts using chemical
cleanin gagents .Don ot dry the seatbelts
at tempera turesabove 80 †orbye xposing
them to direc tsunlight.
X Use clean ,lukewarm water and soap solu-
tion.
Cleanin gthe roo flining and carpets X
Roof lining: if it is verydirty, use asoft
brush or dry shampoo.
X Carpets: use the carpe tand textile clean-
ing agents recommend edand approved by
Mercedes-Benz. Care
373Maintenance and care Z