2012 MERCEDES-BENZ GL SUV steering

During the adjustment, the
Lowering mes-
sage ,for example, appears in the multifunc-
tion display.
If yo upressthe % ora button on the
multifunction steeri ngwheel, the message
will disappear. Onc ehighway level has been
reached, all indicator lamps =go out.
The vehicle automatically select shighway
level if you are drivin gataspeed above
11 5k m/ horify ou drive at aspeed between
10 0k m/ hand 115 km/h for around
20 seconds. The vehicle is lowered to high-
speed level if you are travelling at higher
speeds.
Off- road levels General notes
G
WARNING
Off-road level 3isn ot permitte dfor use on
public roads. Off -road level 3gives your vehi-
cle avery high centr eofgravity. This increa-
se st he risk of the vehi clet ippin gover.
R Onl yselec toff-road level 3for drivin goff-
road in particularl yrough terrain.
R Adjust your drivin gstyle to the altered han-
dling charac teristics.
R Do not drive faster than 20 km/h.
R Avoid sudden majo rsteering movements.
R Take account of th ealtered handling char-
acteristics. Only select an off-road level if this is appro-
priate for road conditions. Otherwise, fuel
consumption may increase and handling per-
formanc
emay be affected.
X Start the engine.
X Selector wheel : engaged:
briefly press
selector wheel :.
Selector wheel :extends.
X To raise: turn selector wheel :clock-
wise ;.
The vehicle is raised.
or
X To lower: turn selector wheel :anti-
clockwise ?.
The vehicle is lowered.
Indicator lamps =for the desired off-road
level flash:
R Off-road level 1: the lower indicator lamp
flashes.
R Off-road level 2: the lower and centre indi-
cator lamps flash.
R Off-road level 3: all three indicator lamps
flash.
The vehicle is being adjusted to the off-road
level selected .Assoon as an off-road leve lis
reached, th ecorresponding indicator lamp
stops flashing and lights up constantly.
Raising th evehicle
During the adjustment, the Vehicleris‐ ing message
,for example, appear sint he
multifunc tion display.
The vehicle rises from highway leve ltooff-
roa dlevel 1. Driving systems
209Driving and parking Z

If yo
upressthe % ora button on the
multifunction steering wheel, the messa ge
wil ldisappear.
i Up to off-road level 2, you can hide the
messages using the %ora button
on the multif unctio nsteering wheel.
Once off-road level 2has been reached, the
lower and centr eindicator lamps of the selec-
tor wheel are on. While the adjustment from off-road level
2to
off -ro ad level 3istaking place, you will see a
message such as the following in the multi-
function displ ay:Vehicle rising Max. speed 20 km/h .
The Max. speed 20 km/h message draws
your attentio ntothe maximum speed permit-
ted for off-road level 3.
Onc eoff-roa dlevel 3has been reached, you
will see amessage shown in whit eint he mul-
ti fu nction display, for example: Max.spee
d20k m/h .
If yo udrive above 20 km/h wit hoff-road level
3, you wil lsee the followi ngmessage in red
in th emultifunction display: Lowering Max.
spee
d20k m/h. i
Youc annot clear these messages.
You also hear awarnin gtone. The vehicle is
lowered and off-road leve l3iscancelled.
If you continue to increase your speed, the
red message continues to be shown in the
multifunction displ ay.T he newl yset level is
not displayed until the vehicle has been set
to alevel suitable for the curren tspeed. Lowering the vehicle
If you maintain or reduc
eyour speed, you will
see amessage in white in the display while
the vehicle is being lowered, such as the fol-
lowing: Lowering Max. spee d20km/h Th
ev ehicle is lowered to off-road level 2.
If you select an off-road level when driving at
too high aspeed, the Please reduce speed message appears in the multifunction
display.
You can select the following:
R Off-road level 1atspeeds up to
10 0k m/h
R Off-road level 2atspeeds up to 65 km/h
R Off -road leve l3atspeeds up to 20 km/h
If you are drivin gabove 80 km/ hordrive
between 65 km/h and 80 km/h for longer
than 20 seconds ,off-roa dlevel 2will be can-
celled. The vehicle is lowered to off-road
level 1.
You will see amessage in the mul tifunction
display, for example: Lowering .
If you are drivin gabove 11 5km/ hordrive at
as peed between 10 0km/ hand 115 km/h
for longer than 20 seconds ,off-road level 1
wil lbec ancelled. Dependin gonthe vehicle's
speed and the ADS mode selected
(Y page 212), the vehicle is automatically
lowered to highway or high-spee dlevel.
You will see amessage in the multifunction
display, for example: Lowering .210
Driving systemsDriving and parking

If yo
upressthe % ora button on the
multifunction steering wheel, the messa ge
wil ldisappear.
Once highway level has been reached, indi-
cator lamp ;goes out. The beinglow‐ ered messa
gedisappears from the multi-
function display.
The vehicle autom atically adjusts to highway
level when you:
R drive faster than 80 km/ hor
R driv eatas peed between 65 km/ hand
80 km/h for approximatel y20seconds.
Dependin gonthe ADS setting selected
(Y page 212), the vehicle is lowered to high-
speed level at high speeds. AM
GR IDE CONTROL sports suspen-
sion
Vehicl elevel The vehicle automatically sets the vehicle
level at the rear axle. Rea raxle level control
ensures the best poss iblesuspension and
that the ground clearanc eremains const ant
even when the vehicle is loaded .This
improves drivin gsafety and fuel consump-
tion.
Suspensio ntuning General notes
Th
ee lectronically controlled damping system
works continuously. This improves driving
safety and ride comfort.
The damping is tuned individually to each
wheel and depends on:
R your drivin gstyle, e.g. sporty
R the road surface conditio n,e.g .bum ps
R your individual selection of Sport, Sport +
or Comfort
If you select Sport or Sport +mode and
restar tthe engine, the suspension setting
revert stoComfort mode. Spor
tmode The firmer suspension tuning in Sport mode
ensures even better contact with the road.
Select this mode when employing
asporty
driving style, e.g. on windin gcountry roads.
X Press the :button once.
Indica torlamp ;lights up. You have selec-
ted Sport mode.
The AMGR ide Control SPORT message
appears in th emultifunction display.
Sport +mode
The very firm settin gofthe suspension tuning
in Spor t+mode ensures the best possible
con tact with the road .Select this mode only
when driving on rac ecircuits.
If indicator lamps =and ;are off:
X Press button :twice.
Indicator lamps =and ;light up. You
have selected Sport +mode.
The AMG Ride Control SPORT + message
appear sint he multifunc tion display.
If indicator lamp ;lights up:
X Press the :button once.
Secon dindicato rlamp =lights up. You
have selected Sport +mode.
The AMG Ride Control SPORT + message
appear sint he multifunc tion display.
Comfort mode
In comfor tmode, the drivin gcharacteristics
of your vehicle ar emore comfortable .There-
fore, selec tthis mode if you prefer amore Driving systems
215Driving and parking Z

G
WARNING
Th ef ront of th evehicle will veer out in the
direction of the oncoming traffic during the
parking operation. In some cases the vehic le
wil lalsot ake you onto sections of the oncom-
ing lane during the parking procedure.
You are responsibl efor safet yatall times and
must pay attention to any road users
approaching or passing. Stop the vehicle if
necessary or cancel the Activ eParking Assist
parking procedure. G
WARNING
Make sure that no persons or animals are in
the manoeuvring range. Otherwise, they
coul dbei njured.
! If unavoidable ,you should driv eover
obstacles such as kerb sslowly and not at
as har pangle .Otherwi se,you ma ydamage
the wheels or tyre s.
Activ eParking Ass isti sane lectroni cparking
aid with ultrasound. Ultrasoun disused to
mea surethe road on bothsides of th evehicle.
As uitable parking space is indicated by the
parking symbol. Activ esteering intervention
can assis tyou during parking. You ma yalso
use PARKTRONIC (Y page 216). When PARK-
TRONIC is switched off, Active Parking Assist
is also unavailable.
Use Active Parking Assist for parkin gspaces:
R that are parallel to the direction of travel
R that are on straight roads, not bends
R that are on the same level as the road, e.g.
not on the pavement
Parking tips:
R on narrow roads, driv easclosely as possi-
ble past the parkin gspace.
R parking spaces that are littered, overgrown
or partially occupied by trailer drawbars
might be identified incor rectly or not at all.
R snowfall or heavy rain may lea dtoap arking
space being measured inaccurately. R
pay attention to the PARKTRONIC
(Y page 217 )warning message sduring the
parking procedure.
R at any time, you can intervene in the steer-
ing procedure to correc tit. Active Parking
Assist will then be cancelled.
R when transporting aload which protrudes
from your vehicle, you should not use
Active Parkin gAssist.
R when snow chains or an emergenc yspare
wheel are fit ted, you should not use Active
Parking Assist here either.
R mak esure that the tyre pressures are
always correct. This has adirec tinfluence
on the parking characteristics of the vehi-
cle.
R the wa yyourv ehicle is positioned in the
parking space after parking is dependent
on various factor s. Theseinclude the posi-
tion and shape of the vehicles parked in
front and behind it and the conditions of the
location. It may be the case that Active
Parking Assist guides you too far into a
parking space, or not far enoug hinto it. In
some cases, it may also lead you across or
onto the kerb. If necessary, you should can-
cel the parking procedure with Active Park-
ing Assist.
R you can also engage forward gea rprema-
turely. Th evehicle redirects and does not
driv easf ar into the parking space. Should
ag ear be changed too earl ytoa chieve a
sensible parkin gposition ,the parkin gpro-
cedure will be cancelled.
Detectin gparking spaces :
Detected parking space on the left
; Parking symbol
= Detected parking space on the right 220
Driving systemsDri
ving 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

X
Shift the transmissio ntoposition Dwhile
the vehicle is stationary.
Active Parkin gAssist immediately steer sin
the othe rdirection.
The Park Assist active Accelerate and brake Observe surroundings mes-
sage appears in the multifunction display.
i You will achieve the best results by wait-
ing for the steerin gprocedure to complete
before pulling awa y.
X Drive forwards and be ready to brake at all
times.
X Stop as soo nasPARKTRONIC sounds the
continuous warning tone, if not before.
The ParkAssist active Select R Observe surroundings message appears in
th em ultifunction display.
Further transmissio nshift sm ay be neces-
sary.
As soon as the parking procedure is com-
plete, the Park Assist switched off mes-
sage appears in the multifunc tion display.
PARKTRONIC is still available.
X Manoeuvr eifnecessary.
X Alway sobserv ethe warnin gmessages dis-
played by PARKTRONI C(Ypage 217).
Parking tips:
R on narrow roads, driv easclosely as possi-
ble past the parkin gspace.
R parking spaces that are littered, overgrown
or partially occupied by trailer drawbars
might be identified incor rectly or not at all.
R snowfall or heavy rain may lea dtoap arking
space being measured inaccurately.
R the way your vehicle is positioned in the
parking space after parking is dependent
on various factors. Thes einclude the posi-
tion and shape of the vehicles parked in
front and behind it and the condi tions of the
location .Insome cases, Active Parking
Assist ma yguide you too far into aparking
space, or not far enough into it. In some
cases, it may also lead you across or onto
the kerb. If necessary, you should cancel the parking procedure with Active Parking
Assis
t.
R you can also engag eforward gear prema-
turely. The vehicle redirects and does not
drive as far int othe parkin gspace. Should
ag ear be changed too early, the parking
procedure will be cancelled. Asensible
parkin gposition can no longer be achieved
from this position.
Exiting aparkin gspace G
WARNING
Active Parking Assist doe snot monitor street
traffic .Insome cases, the vehicle will also
tak eyou onto section softhe oncoming lane
when exitin gaparking space.
You are responsible for safety at all times and
must pay attention to any road users
approaching or passing. Stop the vehicle if
necessary or cancel Active Parking Assis t.
Activ eParking Assis tcan only assis tyou with
exitin gaparking space if you have parked the
vehicle using Active Parking Assis t.
X Start the engine.
X Switch on the turn signal on the side facing
the street.
X Shift the transmission to position Dor R.
The Star tPark Assist? Yes: OK No: %
message appears in th emultifunction
display.
X To cancel the procedure: press the
% button on the multifunction steering
wheel or pull away.
or
X To exit aparkin gspace usin gActive
Parking Assist: press theabutton on
the multifunction steering wheel.
The Park Assis tactive Accelerate and brake Observe surroundings mes-
sage appear sinthe multifuncti on display.
X Releas ethe multifunction steeri ngwheel.
X Revers ethe vehi cleo rdrive forwards, being
ready to brake at all times .Donot exceed
am aximum spee dofapproximately 222
Driving systemsDriving and parking

10 km/h wh
enexiting aparking space.
Otherwise ,Active Parking Assist will be
cancel led.
X Stop as soon as PARK TRONIC sounds the
continuous warning tone, if not before.
X Shif tthe transmission to position Dor Ras
req uired wh ilet he vehicle is stationary.
Activ eParking Assis timmediatel ysteers in
the othe rdirection.
i You will achieve the best results by wait-
ing for the steering procedure to complete
before pulling away.
If you rever seafter activation, the steering
wheel is moved to the straight-ahead posi-
tion.
X Drive forwards or reverse the vehicle, being
read ytob rake at al ltimes.
X Stop as soon as PARKTRONIC sounds the
continuou swarning tone, if not before.
X Drive forwards and revers easinstructed by
the PARKTRONI Cwarning displays.
Once you have exite dthe parkin gspace com-
pletely, the steering wheel is moved to the
straight-ahead position. You hea ratonea nd
the message Park Assist switched off appear
sinthe multifuncti on display. You will
then have to steer and merg eintot raffic on
you rown. PARKTRONI Cisstill available.
Cancelling Active Parking Assist X
Stop the movemen tofthe multifunction
steeri ngwheel or steer yourself.
Activ eParking Assist will be cancelled at
once. The Park Assist cancelled mes-
sage appears in the multifunction display.
or
X Press the PARKTRONI Cbutton on the
centr econsole (Y page 218).
PARKTRONI Cisswitched off and Active
Parking Assist is immediately cancelled.
The Park Assist cancelled message
appears in the multifunction display. Activ
eParking Assist is cancelled automati-
cally if:
R parking using Activ eParking Assist is no
longer possible.
R you are drivin gfaster than 10 km/h.
R aw heel spin sand ESP ®
intervenes or fails.
The ÷ warnin glamp lights up in the
instrumen tcluster.
Aw arning ton esounds. The par king symbol
disappears and the multifunction display
shows the ParkA ssist cancelled mes-
sage.
When Activ eParking Assist is cancelled, you
must steer again yourself.
Towing atrailer For vehicles with
atrailer to whitch, the min-
imum length for parking spaces is slightly
increased.
If yo uhavea ttache datrailer to your vehicle,
yo us houl dnot us eActiv eParking Assist.
Once the electrica lconnection is established
between your vehicl eand the trailer, Active
Parking Assist is no longer available .PARK-
TRONIC is deactivated for the rear area. Reversin
gcamera
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Mak esure that no persons or animals are in
the manoeuvring range. Otherwise, they
could be injured. G
WARNING
The reversing camera is only an aid and may
sho wad istorted view of obstacles, show
them incorrectly or not at all. The reversing
camer aisnotas ubstitute for paying atten-
tion. The camera cannot sho wobject sinthe
following areas: Driving systems
223Driving and parking
Z

To deactivate:
the reversing camera is deac-
tivated if you:
R sh iftt he transmission to position P
R drive for wards 10 m
R shift th etransmission from Rto another
positio n(after 15 seconds)
R driv eforwards at aspee dofover
10 km/h
Display sintheCOMAN Ddisplay G
WARNING
Usin gthe reversing camera ca nbedangerous
if you are colour-blind or if your abilit ytodis-
tinguish colours is impaired.
Only use th ereversing camera if you can see
and distinguish between all th ecoloured
guide lines that are displayed by the reversing
camera in the COMAN Ddisplay. G
WARNING
Please note that object snot at groun dlevel
may appear to be further away than they
actually are. These include:
R the bumper of avehicle that is parked
behind your vehicle
R at railer drawbar
R theb all coupling of atrailer tow hitch
R thet ail-end of alorry
R slanted posts
The lines are only guides, not accurate meas-
urements of the distance to an obstacle.
Therefore, you should never pass the red line
when approachin ganobstacle. You could oth-
erwise cause an accident and injur eyourself
and others. :
White guide line without turnin gthe steer-
ing wheel, vehicle widt hincluding the
exterior mirrors (static)
; Yellow guid eline at adistance of approx-
imately 4.0 mfrom th erear of the vehic le
= Red guide line for the vehicl ewidth includ-
ing the exterior mirrors, for current steer-
ing whee langle (dynamic)
? Yellow lane marking the course the tyres
willtake at the current steering wheel
angle (dynamic) A
Yellow guide line at adistance of approx-
imately 1.0 mfrom th erear of the vehic le
B Veh icle centr eaxle (marker ass istance)
C Bumper
D Red guide line at adistance of approx-
imately 0.2 5mfrom th erear of the vehic le
Th eg uide lines are sho wn whenthe trans-
mission is in position R.
The distance specifications only apply to
object sthat ar eatground level. Dri
ving systems
225Driving and pa rking Z