2012 MERCEDES-BENZ GL SUV ground clearance

Checklist after driving off-road
!
If you detect damag etothe vehicl eafter
dri ving off-road, have the vehicle checked
immediately at aqualified specialist work-
shop.
X Vehicles with th eON&O FFROAD pack-
age: activat ethe on-road program
(Y page 253).
X Vehicles without th eON&O FFROAD
package: deactivate the on- road program
(Y page 252).
X Deac tivate the LOW RANGE off-roa dgear
(Y page 254).
X Deactiva teDS R(Ypage 251).
X Lowe rthe vehicle level again to alevel suit-
able to the road conditions, e.g. to the high-
way/high-speed level.
X Clean the headlamps and rear lights and
check for damage.
X Clean the front and rear licence plates.
X Clean the wheels/tyres with awater jet and
remove any foreign objects.
X Clea nthe wheels, wheel arches and the
vehicle underside with awater jet; check
for any foreign objects and damage.
X Check whethe rtwigs or other parts of
plants have become trapped. These
increase the risk of fire and can damage
fuel pipes, brake hose sorthe rubber bel-
lows of the axl ejoint sand propeller shafts.
X After the trip, examine without fail the
entire undercarriage, wheels ,tyres, brakes,
bodywork structure, steering, chassis and
exhaus tsystem for damage.
X After driving for extended period sacross
sand ,mud, gravel, water or in similarly dirty
conditions, have the brake discs, wheels,
brake pads/lining sand axle joints checked
and cleaned.
X If you detect strong vibrations after off-road
travel, check for foreig nobject sinthe
wheels and drive train and remove them if
necessary. Foreign objec ts candisturb the
balance and cause vibrations. Driving over rough terrain places greater
demands on your vehicle than drivin
gonnor-
ma lroads. Af terd riving off- road, check the
vehicle. This allow syou to detec tdamage
promptly and reduce the risk of an accident
to yourself and other road users.
Driving on sand Observe the following rules when driving on
sand:
R
vehicle swith the ON&OFFROAD pack-
age: select off- road program 1
(Y page 253).
R vehicle swithou tthe ON&OFFROAD
package: select theoff-road program
(Y pag e252).
R select ahigher vehicle level.
R select ashift range appropriate to the ter-
rain.
R drive quickly to overcom ethe rolling resist-
ance. Otherwise, the vehicle' swheels
could becom estuck in loose ground.
R drive in the track sofother vehicle sifpos-
sible. Make sure that:
- the tyr eruts are not too deep.
- the sand is sufficiently firm.
- the ground clearance of the vehicle is
sufficient.
Tyr eruts and gravel roads !
Check that th eruts are not too deep and
that your vehicle has sufficient clearance.
Otherwise, your vehicle could be damaged
or bottom out and get stuck.
Observe the following rules when driving
along ruts in off-road terrain or on roads with
loos egravel:
R Activate th eoff-road program
(Y pag e252).
R Vehicle swith the AIRMATIC package:
select araised vehicle level.
R Avoid high engine speeds.
R Restrict the shift range to 1.190
Driving tipsDriving and parking

clearance. You will oth
erwise damag ethe
vehicle.
Lev elcontro ladapt sthe vehicle level auto-
matically to the current operating and driving
situation. Thi sresults in reduced fuel con-
sumption and improved handling.
Make changes to the vehicle level whil ethe
vehicle is in motion. Thi senable sthe vehicle
to adjus ttothe new level as quickly as pos-
sible.
The vehicle level ma ychange visibly if you
par kthe vehicle and the outside temperature
changes. If the temperatur edrops, th evehi-
cle level lowers; with an increase in temper-
ature, the vehicle level rises.
If you unloc kthe vehicle or open adoor, the
vehicle begins to compensate for load dis-
crepancies while still parked. However, for
significant leve lchanges, e.g. after the vehi-
cle has been stationar yfor along period, the
engin emust be running. For safety reasons,
the vehicle is only lowered when the doors are
closed .Lowering is interrupted if adoor is
opened; it con tinues once the doo rhas been
closed.
For information about driving off-road, see
(Y page 188).
Basic settings The exten
ttowhich the vehicle is raised or
lowered depend sonthe basic setting selec-
ted.
Select:
R Highway/high-spee dlevel for driving on
normal roads
R Off -road level 1for drivin goneasily nego-
tiable off-road terrain
R Off-road level 2for drivin gonnormal off-
roa dterrain
R Off -road level 3for freeing the vehicle from
especially difficult off -road terrain at low
speeds The individual vehicle levels differ from high-
way level as follows:
R
highway level: +/– 0mm
R high-spee dlevel: –1 5mm
R off-road leve l1:30mma bove highway level
R off-road level 2: 60 mm above highway level
R off-road level 3: 90 mm above highway level
Highway/high-speed level !
Make sure there is enough groun dclear-
ance when the vehicle is being lowered. It
could otherwise hit the ground, damaging
the underbody. :
Selector wheel
; To raise the level
= Indicator lamps
? To lower the level
X Star tthe engine.
X Selector wheel : engaged:
brieflypress
selecto rwheel :.
Selector wheel :extends.
If one or mor eindicato rlamps =are on:
X Turn selector wheel :anti-clockwise ?
until all indicator lamps =that are lit start
to flash.
The vehicle is lowered to highway level. As
soon as the next lowes tlevel is reached,
the indicator lam pstops flashing and goes
out. 208
Drivin
gsystemsDrivin gand pa rking

Active Curve System
The Active Curv
eSyste muses activ estabil-
isers to optimis eboth drivin gcomfort and
vehicle agility. Depending on the ADS mode
selected (Y page 212), the Active Curve Sys-
tem also changes the setting.
If you select ADS comfor tmode:
R rolling movemen tisr educed in the even tof
changing surface undul ations.
R the roll angle when cornering is reduced.
R the drivin gstyle is agile.
If you select ADS sport mode:
R the roll angle is reduced significantly.
R the driving style is even more agile.
Leve lcontrol Import
ants afety notes G
WARNING
Mak esure that nobody is near the wheel arch
or vehicle underside when you make achange
to the vehicle level. Otherwise, you or others
ma ybet rapped. G
WARNING
Always select as lo wavehicle level as possi-
ble. If the vehicle level is high, the vehicle
centre of gravity shifts upwards. This increa-
ses the risk of the vehicle tipping over.
Adapt your driving style to suit the vehicle
level. ESP ®
cannot reduc ethe risk of an acci-
dent if you drive too fast. ESP ®
cannot over-
rid ethe laws of physics.
! When driving on extremel yrough terrain,
select ahigh vehicle level in good time.
Make sure there is always sufficient ground
clearance. You will otherwise damage the
vehicle.
Genera lnotes
Further information abou t"Driving off-road"
(Y page 188).
Level control adapts the vehicle level auto-
matically to the current operating and driving situation. Thi
sresults in reduced fuel con-
sumption and improved handling.
If you select ADS comfor tmode
(Y page 212), the vehicle is lowered to high-
speed leve lasthe speed increases. As the
vehicle decelerates, the vehicle is raised back
up to highway level.
If you selec tADS sport mode (Y page 212),
the vehicle skip shighwa ylevel and lowers
directly to high-speed level dependin gonthe
basic setting (Y page 213).
Make changes to the vehicle level while the
vehicle is in motion. This enables the vehicle
to adjust to the new level as quickly as pos-
sible.
The vehicle level ma ychange visibly if you
par kthe vehicle and the outside temperature
changes. If the temperature drops, the vehi-
cle level lowers; with an increase in temper-
ature, the vehicle level rises.
If you unlock the vehicle or open adoor, the
vehicle begins to compensat efor load dis-
crepancies while still parked. However, for
significant leve lchanges, e.g. after the vehi-
cle has been stationary for along period, the
engin emust be running. For safety reasons,
the vehicle is only lowered when the doors are
closed .Lowering is interrupted if adoor is
opened; it con tinues once the doo rhas been
closed.
Basic settings
The extent to which the vehicle is raised or
lowered depends on the basic setting selec-
ted. Select raised level for off-road driving or
highway/high-speed level for normal roads.
The individua lvehicle levels differ from high-
way level as follows:
R highway level: +/ –0mm
R high-spee dlevel: –1 5mm
R raised level :+60 mm Driving systems
213Driving and parking Z

Driving systems
Display messages Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
À
At
tention Assist: Tak
eab reak! Base
doncertai ncrite ria, ATTENTION ASSIST ha sdetecte dfatigue
or alack of con centration on the part of the driver. Awarning tone
als os ounds.
X If necessary, tak eabreak.
During long journe ys,take regular breaks in goo dtime so that you
get enoug hrest. À
Attention Assist
inoperative ATTENTION ASSIS
Tisinoperative.
X Visi taq ualifieds pecialist workshop. Á
Please
reduce speed You can
notc hang ethe vehicle level. Possible causes:
R you ar edriving to ofast for the selected vehicle level.
R you are towing atrailer.
R thet railer-coupling socket is being used ,e.g. for abicycle rack.
X Driv emore slowly and then select the desire dvehicle level
again.
R Vehicles with the ON&OFFROA Dpackage (Y page 207)
R Vehicles with the AIRMATI Cpackage (Y page 213)
X Observ ethe notes on towing atrailer (Y page 257). Á
Co
mpressor is cool‐
ing Yo
uh ave selected ahigher vehicle level. The compressor first
needs to cool down because of frequen tlevel changes.
X Driv einam anner appropriate for the curren tvehicle level.
X Make sure that ther eissufficien tground cle arance.
X Allow the compresso rtocool down.
When the compressor has cooled down, the display message
disappears. The vehicle then con tinues rising to the selected
level. Á
Malfunction AIRMATIC is faulty.
X
Drive as appropriate for the current vehicl elevel, but do not
exceed 80 km /h.
X Make sur ethat ther eissufficient ground clearance.
X Have the vehicle checked at aqualified specialist workshop. Display messages
307On-board computer and displays Z