2012 MERCEDES-BENZ GL SUV warning

ESP
®
(Electronic Stability Program)
Important safety notes i
Observ ethe "Important safety notes "sec-
tio n(Ypage 61). G
WARNING
If ESP ®
is mal functioning, ESP ®
is unable to
stabilis ethe vehicle. In addition, othe rdriving
safety systems are switche doff. This increa-
se st he risk of skiddi ngand an accident.
Driv eonc arefully. Have ESP ®
checked at a
qualified specialis tworkshop.
! Only operat ethe vehicle for amaximum
of ten seconds on abrake dynamometer.
Switch off th eignition.
Application of the brakes by ESP ®
ma yoth-
erwise destroy the brake system.
! Afunction or performanc etest should
only be carried out on atwin-axle dyna-
mometer .Before you operate th evehicle
on such adynamometer, pleas econsult a
qualified workshop. You coul dotherwise
damage the drive train or the brake system.
ESP ®
is deactivated if the åwarning lamp
in the instrument cluster lights up continu-
ousl ywhen the engin eisrunning.
If the ÷ warning lamp and the åwarn-
ing lamp are lit continuously, ESP ®
is not
available due to amalfunction.
Observe the information on warning lamps
(Y page 329 )and display message swhich
ma ybes hown in the inst rument cluster
(Y page 291).
If ESP ®
detects that th evehicle is deviating
from the direction desired by the driver, one
or mor ewheels ar ebrake dtos tabilise the
vehicle .The engin eoutput is also modified to
keep the vehicle on the desired course within
physical limits. ESP ®
assists the driver when
pulling away on wet or slippery roads. ESP ®
can also stabilise the vehicle during braking.
If ESP ®
intervenes, the ÷ESP®
warning
lamp flashes in the instrument cluster. If ESP
®
intervenes:
X Do not deactivate ESP ®
under any circum-
stances.
X When pulling away ,only depress the accel-
erator pedal as far as is necessary.
X Adapt your driving style to suit the prevail-
ing road and weather condi tions.
i Only use wheels with the recommended
tyr es izes. Only then will ESP ®
func tion
properly.
4ETS (Electronic Traction System) Traction con
trol is par tofESP®
.
Tractio ncontrol brakes the drive wheels indi-
vidually if they spin. This enables you to pull
away and accelerate on slipper ysurfaces, for
example if the road surface is slippery on one
side .Ina ddition, mor edrive torqu eistrans-
ferre dtot he wheel or wheels with traction.
Traction con trol remains active if you deacti-
vate ESP ®
.
In appropriate drivin gsituations, activate the
off-road program:
X Vehicles without the ON&OFFROAD pack-
age (Y page 252)
X Vehicles with the ON&OFFROAD package
(Y page 253)
Off- road 4ETS (Electronic Traction Sys-
tem) A4
ETS syste mspecifically suited to off -road
ter rain is activated automatically onc ethe off-
roa dprogram is acti vated on:
R Vehicle swithout the ON&OFFROA Dpack-
age (Y page 252)
R Vehicles with the ON&OFFROAD package
(Y page 253) 66
Driving safety systemsSafety

Deactivating/activating ESP
®G
WARNING
If you deactivat eESP®
,E SP ®
no longer sta-
bilises the vehicle. There is an increased risk
of skidding and an accident.
Only deactivat eESP®
in th esituation sdescri-
bed in th efollowing. X
To switch off: press button:.
The å ESP®
OF Fw arnin glamp in the
instrumen tcluster lights up.
X To switch on: press button:.
The å ESP®
OFF warnin glamp in the
instrumen tcluster goes out.
ESP ®
is activated automatically when the
engin eisstarted.
The ECO start/stop fun ction switches the
engin eoff automaticall yifthe vehi cles tops
moving. When pulling away again, the engine
start sautomatically. ESP ®
remain sinits pre-
viousl yselected status. Example: if ESP ®
was
deactiva tedb efor ethe engine was switched
off ,ESP ®
remains deactivated when the
engine is switched on again.
If ESP ®
is deactivated and one or more wheels
start to spin, the ÷ESP®
warning lamp in
th ei nstrumen tcluster flashes. In such situa-
tions, ESP ®
will not stabilise th evehicle. It may be best to deact
ivateESP®
in the fol-
lowing situations:
R when using sno wchains
R in deep snow
R on sand or gravel
If you deactivate ESP ®
:
R ESP ®
no longe rimproves driving stab ility.
R traction control is still activated.
R ESP ®
still provides support when you
brake.
R engine torque is not limited and the drive
wheels are abl etospin. The spinnin gofthe
wheels resu ltsinac utting action for better
traction.
Off-roa dESP® An ESP
®
syste mspecif icall ys uited to off-road
terrain is activated automatically once the off-
road progra misactivate don:
R Vehicles without the ON&OFFROAD pack-
age (Y page252)
R Vehicles wit hthe ON&OFFROAD package
(Y page 253)
Off-road ESP ®
intervenes with adelay if there
is oversteerin gorundersteering ,thus improv-
ing traction.
ESP ®
trailer stabilisation G
WARNING
If roa dand weather conditions are poor,
trailer stabilis ation will not be able to prevent
the vehicle/trailer combination from swerv-
ing. Trailers with ahigh centre of gravit ycan
tip over before ESP ®
can detect this. There is
ar isk of an accident.
Always adap tyour driving style to the prevail-
ing road and weather conditions.
If your vehicle/trailer combination begins to
lurch, you can only stabilise the vehicle/
trailer combination by depressin gthe brake
firmly. Driving safety systems
67Safety Z

In this situation, ESP
®
assist syou and can
detec tifthe vehicle/trailer combination
begins to lurch. ESP ®
slows the vehicle down
by brakin gand limiting the engine outp ut until
the vehicle/trailer combinatio nhas stabi-
lised.
Trailer stabilisation is active above speeds of
about 60 km/h.
Trailer stabilisation does not work if ESP ®
is
deactivated or disabled because of amal-
function.
Crosswin dAssist Strong crosswinds can cause your vehicle to
deviate from astraight course. The crosswind
driving assistance function integrated into
ESP ®
significantly reduces thes eeffects.
ESP ®
intervene sautomatically according to
the direction and intensity of the crosswinds
affecting your vehicle.
When driving on straight roads or gentle
bends ,your vehicle is kept safel yonc ourse
by astabilising brake intervention.
Crosswind driving assistance is active above
av ehicle speed of 80 km /h.
Crosswind driving assistance does not work
if ESP ®
is deactivated or disabled because of
am alfunction. EBD (electronic brake force distribu-
tion)
i Observe the "Importan tsafety notes" sec-
tion (Y page 61). G
WARNING
If EBD has malfunctioned, the rear wheels can
still lock, e.g. under full braking. This increa-
ses the risk of skidding and an accident.
You should therefor eadapt your driving style
to the different handling characteristics. Have
the brak esystem checked at aqualified spe-
cialist workshop. Observe information regarding indicator and
warning lamps (Y
page 327) as well as dis-
play messages (Y page 293).
EBD monitors and controls the brake pres-
sure on the rear wheels to improve driving
stability while braking. ADAPTIVE BRAKE
ADAPTIVE BRAKE enhances braking safety
and offers increased braking comfort. In addi-
tion to the braking function, ADAPTIVE BRAKE
also has the HOLD function (Y page 211) and
hill start assist (Y page 162). PRE-SAFE
®
Brake
i Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (Y page 61).
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake is only available in vehicles
with DISTRONIC PLUS.
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake can help you to minimise
the risk of acollision with avehicle in front or
reduc ethe effect sofsuchacollision .IfPRE-
SAFE ®
Brake has detected arisk of collision,
you will be warned visually and acoustically
as well as by automatic braking. PRE-SAFE ®
Brake cannot prevent acollision withou tyour
interven tion.
This func tion will issue awarning if:
R at speeds of around 30 km/ horm ore over
several seconds, the distance maintained
to the vehicle travellin ginfront is insuffi-
cient.
The · distance warning lamp then lights
up in th einstrument cluster.
R at as peed of approximately 7km/h or
high er,y ou ver yquickly approach avehicle
in front.
An intermittent warning tone will then
sound and the ·distance warning lamp
will light up in the instrumen tcluster. 68
Driving safety systemsSafety

X
Brake immediatel yinorder to increas ethe
distanc efrom th evehicle in front.
or
X Take evasive actio nprovided it is safe to do
so.
From aspeed of approxim ately 7km/h ,ifthe
driver and passengers hav efastened their
seat belts, PRE-SAFE ®
Brake can brake the
vehicl eautom atically at speeds up to approx-
imatel y200 km/h.
Due to the nature of the sy stem, particu larly
comp licate ddriving conditions may cause
unneces sary warnings or th eunneces sary
interventi onof PRE-SAFE ®
Brake.
You can stop PRE-SAFE ®
Brake interventi on
at any time by:
R depressing the accelerato rpedal further
R activa ting kickdown
R releasing the brake pedal.
The braking action of PRE-SAFE ®
Brak eis
ended automatically if:
R you manoeuvr etoavoidthe obstacle.
R ther eisnol onger any danger of arear-end
collision.
R ther eisnol onger an obstacle detected in
fron tofy our vehicle.
If you have activa tedD SR (Y page 25 1)PRE-
SAFE ®
Brak eisa lso deactiva ted.
With the help of the rada rsensor system,
PRE- SAFE ®
Brake can detect obstacles that
are in front of your vehicle for an extended
period of time.
At speed suptoapproximately 70 km/h, PRE-
SAFE ®
Brak ecan also detect stationary
obstacles such as stopped or parked vehi-
cles.
If you approach an obstacle and PRE-SAFE ®
Brak edetects arisk of acollision ,the system
will aler tyou both visually and acoustically .If
you do not brake or take evasive action, the
syste mwill warn you by automatically braking
the vehicle gently. If ther eisanincreased risk
of collision, preventativ epassenger protec-
tion measures (PRE-SAFE ®
)a re activated (Y
page 45). If, at speeds ove r30km/h, arisk
of collision remains and you do not brake,
take evasive action or significantly acceler-
ate, automatic brakin gmay be performed up
to alevel of automatic emergency braking.
Automatic emergency brakin gisnot per-
formed until immediately prior to an accident
that can no longer be avoided. G
WARNING
PRE- SAFE®
Brake wil linitiall ybrake your vehi-
cle by apartial application of the brakes if a
danger of collisio nisd etected. There may be
ac ollision unless you also brake. Automatic
emergency brakin gcannot preven tacolli-
sion. There is arisk of an accident.
Always apply the brakes yourself and try to
take evasive action. G
WARNING
PRE-SAFE ®
Brak ecannot alway sclearly iden-
tify objects and complex traf ficc onditions.
In these cases, PRE- SAFE®
Brake may:
R give an unnecessary warning and then
brake the vehicle
R neithe rgive awarning nor intervene
There is arisk of an accident.
Always pay particular attention to the traf fic
situation and be ready to brake, especiall yif
PRE- SAFE®
Brake warns you. Terminate the
intervention in anon-critical driving situation.
In particular, the detection of obstacles can
be impaired if ther eis:
R dir tont he sensor soranything els ecover-
ing the sensors
R snow or heav yrain
R interference by other radar sources
R the possibility of strong radar reflections,
for example, in multi-storey car parks
R an arrow vehicle travellin ginfront, e.g .a
motorcycle
R av ehicle travellin ginfront on adifferent
line Drivin
gsafety systems
69Safety Z

G
WARNING
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake does not react:
R to people or animals
R to oncoming vehicles
R to crossing traffic
R when cornering
As aresult, PRE-SAFE ®
Brake may neither
give warnings nor intervene in all critical sit-
uations. There is arisk of an accident.
Always pay caref ulattention to the traffic sit-
uation and be read ytobrake.
In order to maintai nthe appropriate distance
to the vehicle in front and thus preven tacol-
lision, you must apply the brake syourself.
X To activate/deactiva te:activate or deac-
tivate PRE-SAFE ®
Brake in the on-board
computer (Y page 278).
When PRE-SAFE ®
Brake is activated, the
Ä symbol appears in multifunction dis-
play ,asl ong as the HOL Dfunction is deac-
tivated (Y page 211). On vehicles with the
Active Parking Assis tdriving system, the
Ä symbo lisdisplayed when position P
is engaged or you are drivin gfaster than
35 km/h.
For PRE-SAFE ®
Brake to assis tyou when driv-
ing, the radar sensor system must be
switched on (Y page 283) and be opera-
tional.
The radar sensor system is switched off auto-
matically in the vicinit yofradio telescope
facilities in the following vehicles:
R vehicles with COMAND Online and naviga-
tion
R vehicles with Audio 20 and Becker ®
MAP
PILOT
Becker ®
MAP PILOT must be connected;
see the separate operating instructions. The radar senso
rsystem must be switched off
using the on-board computer in the vicinity of
radio telescope facilities in the following vehi-
cles:
R vehicles without COMAND Online and nav-
igation
R vehicles without Audio 20 and Becker ®
MAP PILOT
R vehicles for Australia
For information on switching off the radar
sensor syste musing the on-boar dcomputer,
see (Y page 283).
Following damage to the front end of the vehi-
cle, have the configuration and operation of
the radar sensor schecked at aqualified spe-
cialist workshop. This also applies to colli-
sions at slow speeds where there is no visible
damage to the front of the vehicle. STEER CONTROL
i Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (Y page 61).
STEE RCONTROL helps you by transmittin ga
noticeable steering force to the steering
wheel in the direction require dfor vehicle
stabilisation.
This steering suppor tisprovide dinparticular
if:
R both right wheel sorboth left wheels ar eon
aw et or slippery road surface when you
brake.
R the vehicle starts to skid.
If there is an ESP ®
malfunction ,you will not
receive any steering suppor tfrom STEER
CONTROL. Powe rsteering will ,however, con-
tinue to func tion. 70
Driving safety systemsSafety

Usefu
linfor mati on
i This Owner's Manual describes all mod-
els, series and optional equipment for your
vehicle that were available at the time of
going to press. National variation sare pos-
sible. Note that your vehicl emay not be
equippe dwith all of the function sdescri-
bed. This is also the case for system sand
functions relevant to safety.
i Read the information on qualified special-
ist workshops: (Y page25). Key
Impo
rtantsafety notes G
WARNING
Only for the Unite dKingdom: if the vehicle
has been locked with the key or with KEY-
LESS-GO, the double lock function is activa-
ted as standard. It is then not possible to open
the doors from inside the vehicle.
Therefore, do not leave any people behind in
the vehicle, particularly children ,elderly peo-
ple or people requirin gspecial assistance. As
ar esult, they may not be able to free them-
selves in the even tofanemergency. They
could be seriously or eve nfatally injured by
prolonged exposure to extremely high or low
temperatures, for example. In this case, res-
cuing peopl efrom outsid ethe vehicle is diffi-
cult.
Deac tivate th einterior motion sensor before
you lock the vehicle. The doors can then be
opened from the inside after the vehicl ehas
been locked from the outside. G
WARNING
If children are left unsupervised in the vehicle,
they could: R
open adoor from inside the vehicle at any
time, even if it has been locked
R star tthe vehicle usin gakey which has been
left in the vehicle
R release the electric parking brake
They could thereby endanger themselves and
others. Never leave children unsupervised in
the vehicle. Alway stake the key with you
when leaving the vehicle, even if you are only
leaving it for ashort time. G
WARNING
If ak ey rin gistoo heavy or too large, the
weight actin gonthe key coul dcause it to turn
in the ignition lock or catc honthe steering
wheel. This coul dcause the engine to be
switched off suddenly. You may lose control
of the vehicle and cause an accident. Do not
attac hany heavy or large key rings to the key
that is inserted in the ignition.
R Do not keep the key:
-electronic devices, e.g. amobile phone
or anothe rkey
- metallic objects, e.g. coins or metal film
- metallic objects, e.g. ametal case.
This can affect the key' sfunctionality.
Do not keep the KEYLESS-GO key in the tem-
perature-controlled cup holder. Otherwise,
the KEYLESS-GO key will not be detected.
Keep the key away from strong magnetic
fields. Otherwise, the remot econtrol function
coul dbea ffected. 76
KeyOpenin
gand closing

X
Push release cat ch: in the direction of
the arrow and at the same time, remove
emergenc ykey element ;from the key. Ba
ttery of the key
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Batteries are toxic and contain caustic sub-
stances. For this reason, keep batteries out of
the reach of children.
If ab attery has been swallowed, visit adoctor
immediately. H
Environment
alnote Bat
teri es contain pollutants.
It is illegal to dispose of them
with the household rubbish.
They must be collec teds ep-
arately and disposed of in an
environmen tally responsible
recycling system. Dispose of batteries in an
environmentally responsible
manner
.Take discharged
batteries to aqualified spe-
cialist workshop or to acol-
lection point for used batter-
ies.
Mercedes-Benz recommends that you have
the batteries replaced at aqualified specialist
workshop. Checking the battery X
Press the &or% button.
The battery is working properly if battery
check lamp :lights up briefly.
The battery is discharge difbattery check
lamp :does not light up briefly.
X Change the battery (Y page 79).
i If the key battery is checked within the
signal reception range of the vehicle, press-
ing the &or% button:
R locks or
R unlocks the vehicle
i You can get abattery at any qualified spe-
cialist workshop.
Replacing the battery You require
aCR20253Vc ell battery.
X Take the emergenc ykey elemen tout of the
key (Y page 78). :
Battery compartment cover
; Emergency key element Key
79Openin gand closing Z

Problem Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
The engin
ecannot be
started using the key. The on-board voltage is too low.
X
Switch off non-essential consumers, e.g. seat heating or interior
lighting ,and try to start the engine again.
If this doe snot work:
X Check the starter battery and charge it if necessary
(Y page 384).
or
X Jump-start the vehicle (Y page 386).
or
X Consult aqualified specialist workshop. The engine cannot be
started using KEYLESS-
GO. The key is in the
vehicle. Ad
oor is open. Therefore, the key can notb ed etected as easily.
X Close the door and tr ytostart the vehicle again. There is interferenc
efrom apowerfu lsource of radio waves.
X Start your vehicle with the key in the ignition lock. Doors
Important safety notes
G
WARNING
Only fo rthe Unite dKingdom: if the vehicle
has been locked with the key or with KEY-
LESS-GO, the double lock func tion is activa-
ted as standard. It is then not possible to open
the doors from inside the vehicle.
Therefore, do not leav eany people behind in
the vehicle, particularly children, elderly peo-
ple or people requiring special assistance .As
ar esult, they may not be able to free them-
selves in the event of an emergency. They
could be seriously or even fatally injured by
prolonged exposur etoextremely hig horlow
tempera tures, for example. In this case ,res-
cuin gpeople from outside the vehicle is diffi-
cult.
Deac tivate the interior motion sensor before
you lock the vehicle .The doors can then be
opened from the insid eafter the vehicl ehas
been locked from the outside. G
WARNING
If children are left unsupervised in the vehicle,
they could:
R open adoor from inside the vehicle at any
time, even if it has been locked
R star tthe vehicle usin gakey which has been
left in the vehicle
R release the electric parking brake
They could thereby endanger themselves and
others. Never leave children unsupervised in
the vehicle. Alway stake the key with you
when leaving the vehicle, even if you are only
leaving it for ashort time. Unlocking and opening th
edoors
from the inside
For all countries except the United King-
dom: you can open adoor from inside the
vehicle even if it has been locked.
If the vehicle has been locked with the key or
with KEYLESS -GO, opening adoor from the
inside will trigger the anti-thef talarm system.
Switch off the alarm (Y page 71).82
DoorsOpening and closing