2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class flat tire

Break
down
see Flattire
see Towing away
Bu lbs
see Changin gbulbs C
Califor
nia
Impo rtant notice forretail
cust omer sand lesse es.................... 22
Call ingupamalfunc tion
see Displ aymessa ges
Capac ities
see Techni caldata
Car
see Vehi cle
Care
Carpets .......................................... 325
Ca rwa sh ....... .............. .............. ..... 318
Displ ay........................................... 323
Exterior lights ................................ 322
Gea rorselecto rlever .................... 324
Matte finish................................... 320
Nigh tView AssistPlus ................... 323
Notes ............................................. 318
Pai nt.............................................. 320
Pla stic trim .................................... 323
Pow erwa sher ................................ 319
Rea rview came ra.......................... 322
Roo flini ng ....... ............................ ...325
Seat belt........................................ 324
Seat cover ..................................... 324
Sensors ......................................... 322
Steering wheel............................... 324
Trim pieces .................................... 324
Was hing byhand ........................... 319
Whee ls........................................... 320
Windo ws........................................ 321
Wip erbla des .................................. 321
Wood entrim .................................. 324
Cargo compartm entcover ............... 289
Cargo compartm entenlargemen t... 287
Cargo compartm entfloor
Openi ng/closi ng............................ 292
Stowag ewell(under) ..................... 292Cargo
net
Attaching ....................................... 290
Importa ntsafe tyinforma tion......... 290
Cargo tiedow nrings ......................... 288
Car wash (care) ................................. 318
CD player/ CDchang er(on-bo ard
co mputer) .......................................... 230
Ce llphone
see Mobi lephone
Ce nter conso le
Lowe rsect ion .................................. 33
Uppe rsect ion .................................. 32
Ce ntral locking
Automa ticlocking (on-board
compu ter)...................................... 235
Locking/u nlocking(SmartKe y)........ 72
Chang ingbulb s
Brake lamps ................................... 117
High-b eamheadlamps ................... 116
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 114
Low-b eamheadlamps .................... 116
Overvi ewofbul btypes .................. 115
Parki nglamps ................................ 116
Rem oving/re placing thecover
(front wheelarch) .......................... 115
Side marker lamps ......................... 117
Standing lamps (front) ................... 116
Chi ld-proof locks
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................... 59
Rea rdoors ....................................... 59
Chi ldren
In the vehi cle................................... 54
Res traint systems ............................ 54
Chi ldseat
LATCH-typ e(ISOFIX) childsea t
anchors .................................... ...... .. 57
Specia lseat belt retractor ............... 56
Top Tether ....................................... 58
Ci garette lighter ................................ 296
Cl eani ng
Trai lertow hitch ............................. 322
Cli mate control
3-zone automatic climatecontrol ..126
Control lingautomatica lly............... 129
Coo ling with aird ehumidification ..128
Defrosting thewindows ................. 132
Defrosting thewindshi eld.............. 131 6
In
dex

Notes
onoillevel /consumption ....313
Visco sity........................................ 388
ESP ®
(E lec tronic Stability
Program) 4ETS ................................................ 63
Deactiva ting/activa ting................... 64
Displ aymessa ge............................ 239
Function/notes ................................63
Importa ntsafe tyinforma tion........... 63
Trai lerstabi lization ........................... 64
Warni nglamp ....... .......................... 273
Exhaus tchec k................................... 158
Exte riorlighting
see Ligh ts
Exte riormirrors
Adjusting ....................................... 103
Dippi ng(automa tic)....................... 104
Fold ingin/ou t(auto maticall y)....... 104
Fold ingin/ou t(electr ically) ........... 103
Fold inginwhe nlockin g(on-board
computer) ...................................... 237
Out ofposi tion (trou bleshoo ting) ...104
Setting ........................................... 103
Storing settings (memory
function) ........................................ 105
Storing theparking position .......... 104
Eye glas sescompartm ent................. 285 F
Fi
lle rc ap
see Fuel filler flap
Fi rst-aid kit....... .............. .................... 328
Fl at tire
Cha nging awhe el/mo unting the
spa rewhe el................................... 333
MOExtended run-flatsyst em ......... 338
Prep aring the vehi cle..................... 329
Ra ising the vehi cle......................... 334
TIR EFIT kit....... ...............................330
Fl oo rmat .............................................3 08
Fo ldin gthe rear benchseat
forw ards/bac k.................................. 287
Fo rding
Off-road ......................................... 161
On floo ded road s........................... 161
Fron twindsh ield
see Winds hield Fuel
Addit ives........................................ 387
Displayin gthe curr ent
con sumpt ion.................................. 227
Displ aying the range ...................... 227
Driving tips.................................... 158
Flexi blefuel vehicles ...................... 385
Fuel gauge....................................... 29
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 385
Premi um-gra deunle adedgas oline .3 85
Prob lem(malfunction) ................... 152
Ref ueling ....... ..................... ............ 149
Specifi cations ................................ 386
Tank content/reserve fuel............. 384
Fue lfill er flap
Openi ng/closi ng............................ 150
Fue lfilte r(dis play mess age)............ 257
Fue llev el
Ca lling up the range (on-boa rd
compu ter)...................................... 227
Fue ltank
Ca paci ty........................................ 384
Prob lem(malfunction) ................... 152
Fuse s
Allo cation chart............................. 346
Before changing............................. 346
Dashb oardfusebox....................... 346
Fuse boxinthe engine
compa rtment ................................. 346
Fuse boxunde rrear bench seat....347
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 345 G
Garage
dooropener
Cl eari ngthe memory ..................... 308
Notes ............................................. 305
Openi ng/closi ngthe gara gedoor ..308
Progra mming (button inthe rear -
view mirror) ................................... 306
Gasol ine............................................. 150
Gear orsel ector lever(clean ing
guide lines) ......................................... 324
Genui neMerce des-Be nzparts ......... 380
Glo vebox ........................................... 285
GTW (Gros sTrailer Weight)
(defi nition) ......................................... 37210
In
dex

Tire
pres sure
Ca lling up(on-bo ardcomp uter)..... 359
Che cking manually ........................ 357
Displ aymessa ge............................ 263
Maxi mum ....................................... 356
Notes ............................................. 355
Not reach ed(TIR EFIT) .................... 332
Press ureloss warning .................... 357
Rea ched (TIREFIT) .......................... 332
Reco mmended ...............................353
Tire pressure monitoring system
Function/notes ............................. 359
Res tarting ...................................... 361
Warni nglamp ....... ....... .............. ..... 280
Tires
Aspect ratio(definitio n)................. 373
Averag ewei ght ofthe vehi cle
occup ants(definitio n).................... 371
Bar (definitio n)............................... 371
Cha racteri stics.............................. 371
Che cking ........................................ 351
Definiti onofterms ......................... 371
Direction ofrotatio n...................... 375
Displ aymessa ge............................ 263
Distrib utionofthe vehicle
occupants (definition) .................... 374
DOT, TireIdentifi cationNumber
(TIN) .................. ...... ................ .......3 70
DOT (Depa rtment of
Transp ortation)(de finitio n)............ 371
GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating)
(de finitio n)..................................... 372
GTW (Gross TrailerWei ght)
(de finitio n)..................................... 372
GVW (Gross VehicleWei ght)
(de finitio n)..................................... 372
GVW R(G ross VehicleWei ght
Ra ting) (definitio n)......................... 372
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 350
Increase dvehi cleweight due to
optio nalequ ipme nt(de finitio n)...... 372
Kil opa scal (kPa)(de finitio n)........... 372
Lab eling (ove rview )........................ 367
Load bearing index (definitio n)...... 373
Load index ..................................... 370
Load index (definitio n)................... 372
Maxi mum loaded vehicleweight
(de finitio n)..................................... 372Maxi
mum loadon atire
(de finitio n)..................................... 373
Maxi mum permi ssibletire
press ure(definitio n)....... .............. ..373
Maxi mum tireload......................... 365
Maxi mum tireload(de finitio n)....... 373
Optio nalequ ipme ntwei ght
(de finitio n)..................................... 373
PSI (pounds persquare inch)
(de finitio n)..................................... 373
Rep lacing ....................................... 374
Service life..................................... 351
Side wall(de finitio n)....................... 373
Speed rating(definitio n)................ 372
Storing ........................................... 375
Structure andchara cteristics
(de finitio n)..................................... 371
Temp erature.................................. 367
TIN (Tire Identifi cationNumber)
(de finitio n)..................................... 373
Tire bead(definit ion)...................... 373
Tire press ure(definiti on)................ 373
Tire press ures(recom mended )...... 371
Tire size (data) ............................... 375
Tire size designatio n,loa d-bea ring
capa city, speedrating .................... 368
Tire tread ....................................... 351
Tire tread (definitio n)..................... 373
Total loadlim it(de finitio n)............. 374
Tracti on......................................... 366
Tracti on(de finitio n)....................... 374
Trea dwear ..................................... 366
TWR (permissi bletrail erdra wba r
nosew eight) (definitio n)................. 374
Uniform TireQualityGrading
Standard s...................................... 366
Uniform TireQualityGrading
Standard s(definit ion).................... 371
Unla denweight (definiti on)............ 372
Wea rindi cato r(definit ion)............. 374
Whee lrim (defin ition).................... 372
see Flat tire
Top Tether ............................................ 58
Towi ng
Importa ntsafe tygui del ines ........... 343
Install ingthe towi ngeye................ 343
Rem oving thetowi ngeye. .............. 344 18
In
dex

Dri
vin gon wet road s
Hy dropl aning If
wat erhas accumula tedto ace rtain dept h
on thero ad sur face,there isadan ger of
hydr oplaning occur ring,eve nif:
R you drive atlow spee ds.
R the tires have adequa tetread depth.
For this reas on,inthe event ofhea vyrainor
in conditio nsinwhi chhyd ropl aning canoccur
you must driveinthe followi ngmanner:
R low eryou rspeed
R avoid ruts
R brake carefully
Driving onflooded roads !
Donot drive through flooded areas.
Check thedepth ofany water before driving
thr ough it.Driv eslowly through standing
water. Otherwise, water mayenterthe
vehicle interior orthe engin ecompart ment.
This candamage theelect ronic
compon entsin the engin eorthe automatic
transmission. Watercanalso bedrawn in
by the engine's airsuction nozzlesand this
can cause engine damage. i
Vehicles
withtheAIRMATIC package:
Set theraised levelbefore driving through
standing water.
Off-r oadfording Fording
depth Steel-spring
vehicles 20
in.
(50 cm) Vehicles
withtheAIRMATIC
package Raise
dlevel 20
in.
(50 cm) R
Est ablish howdeep thewater isand the
characterist icsofthe body ofwater before
fording.
R Vehicles withtheAIRMATIC package:
Select thehighest possible vehiclelevel.
R Restrict theshift range to1or 2.
R Avoid highengine speeds.
R Ent erand exitthewater ataflat place and
at asteady walking pace.
! Under nocircumst ancesshould you
accelerate beforeenteringthe water. The
bow wave could cause watertoenter and
damage theengine andother assemblies.
R Drive slowly andatan even speed through
the water.
R Do not stop.
! Donot open anyofthe vehicle's doors
while fording. Otherwise, watercouldget
into thevehicle interior anddamage the
vehicle's electronic sand interior
equipment.
R Water offersahigh degree ofresistance,
and theground isslippery andinsome
cases unstable. Therefore, itis difficult and
dangerous topull away inthe water.
R Ensure thatabow wave doesnotform as
you drive.
R Clea nany mud from thetire tread after
fording.
R Apply thebrakes todry them afterfording. Driving
tips
161Driving and parking Z

cannot
complete the attem ptedclimb, back it
dow ninr everse gear.
Do not drive along theside ofaslope. The
vehicle mightotherwiserollover. Ifin doing so
the vehicle beginstoshow aten dency toroll,
immediately steerintoaline ofgravity
(straight upordownhill).
Never letthe vehicle rollbackwards inidle.
You may losecontrol ofthe vehicle ifyou use
only theservic ebrake. Forinfor mation on
driving downhill, see"Drivin gdownhill". G
WARN
ING Vehicles
withairsuspension program:Please
be aware thatbyraising thevehicle level,the
cent erofgravity alsorises. Therefor e,alway s
ensure thatthevehicle levelisas low as
possible. Withhigher rideheight theESP®
may activat eearlier incert ainsituation s. G
WARN
ING Do
not reduce thetire inflation pressure
before driving through sand. However, ifyou
do so, remember tocorr ectthe tire inflation
pressure beforecontinuin gyour trip.Drivin g
with reduced tireinflation pressure increases
the risk oflosing control ofthe vehicle and
rolling over.
General notes Read
thissect ioncarefully beforedriving your
vehicle off-road. Practicebydriving overmore
gent leoff- road terrainfirst .
Familiarize yourselfwiththecharact eristics
of your vehicle andthegear shiftoperation
before driving through difficult terrain.
The following drivingsystems arespecially
adapted tooff- road driving:
R Off- road ABS(Ypage 61)
R AIRMA TICpackage (vehiclelevel)
(Y page 180)
R DS R(Downh illSpeed Regulation)
(Y page 208) Observe
thefollowing notes:
R Stop the vehicle beforestartingtodrive
along anoff- road route.
R For vehicles withAIRMA TICpackage:
select avehicle levelthatissuitable forthe
off- road terrain. Make surethere isalway s
sufficien tground clearanc eto preven t
damage tothe vehicle.
R Check thatitems ofluggage andloads are
stowed safelyandarewell secured
(Y page 288).
R Always keeptheengine runningand ingear
when driving onadownhill gradient.
Ac tivat eDS R(Ypage 208).
R Always keepthedoors, tailgate, windows
and sliding sunroof closedwhiledriving.
R Adapt yourspeed tothe terrain. The
rougher, steeperormore rutsonthe
terr ain, theslower yourspeed should be.
R Driv eslowly andatan even speed through
the water. Ensure thatabow wave doesnot
form asyou drive.
R Driv ewith extreme careonunkn ownoff-
road routes wherevisibility ispoor. For
safety reasons ,get out ofthe vehicle first
and survey theoff-road route.
R Look outforobstac lessuch asrock s,holes,
tree stumps andfurrows.
R Check thedepth ofwater before fording
rivers andstreams.
R When fording,do not stop anddonot
switc hoff the engin e.
R On sand, drivequickly tooverc omethe
rolling resistance. Otherwise, thevehicle
could digitself intothe sand.
R Do not jump withthevehicle asthis will
int errupt thevehicle's propulsion.
R Always keeptheengin erunn ingand ingear
when drivingon aslope.
R Do not shift theautomatic transmission to
tran smission positionN. Driving
tips
163Driving and parking Z

nece
ssary.F oreign objectscan disturb the
balance andcause vibrations.
Driving onsand G
WARNIN
G Do
not reduce thetire inflation pressure
before driving through sand.However, ifyou
do so, remember tocorrec tthe tire inflation
pressure beforecontinuing yourtrip.Drivin g
with reduced tireinflation pressure increases
the risk oflosing controlofthe vehicle and
rolling over.
Observe thefollowing ruleswhen driving on
sand:
R vehicles withtheAIRMATIC package:
select araised vehicle level.
R avoid highengine speeds.
R select ashift range appropriate tothe
terrain.
R drive quickly toovercom ethe rolling
resistance. Otherwise,thevehicle coulddig
itself intothesand.
R drive inthe track sof other vehicles if
possible. Makesurethattheruts arenot
too deep, thatthesand isfirm enough and
that your vehicle hassufficient ground
clearance.
Rut sand gravel roads Observe
thefollowing ruleswhen driving
along rutsinoff-r oad terrain oron roads with
loose gravel:
! Check thattheruts arenot too deep and
that your vehicle hassufficient clearance.
Otherwise, yourvehicle couldbedamaged
or bottom outand getstuck.
R for vehicles withAIRMATIC package:select
an increased vehiclelevel.
R avoid highengine speeds.
R select shiftrange 1. R
drive slowly .
R where rutsaretoo deep, drivewiththe
wheels ofone side onthe cent ergrassy
area, ifpossible.
Driving overobstacles !
Obstacles coulddamage thefloor ofthe
vehicle orcomponen tsof the chassis. Ask
passengers forguida ncewhen driving over
large obstacles. Thepassenger should
alwa yskeep asafe distance fromthe
vehicle whendoing soinorder toavoid
injury asaresult ofunexpect edvehicle
movement s.Aft erdriving off-road orover
obstacles, checkthevehicle forpossible
damage, especiallyto the underbody and
the componen tsof the chassis.
Observe thefollowing ruleswhen driving over
tree stumps, largestones andother
obstacles:
R raise thevehicle level.
R avoid highengine speeds.
R select shiftrange 1.
R drive veryslowly .
R drive straight overthecent erofobstacles. Driving
tips
165Driving and parking Z

R
you switchon thetur ns ignals .Int his
event, thewarnings aresuppressed fora
certain periodoftime.
R adriving safetysystem interven es,e.g.
ABS ,BAS orESP ®
.
R you accelerate hard,e.g.kickdown.
R you brake hard.
R you steer actively, e.g.swerve toavoid
an obstacle orchange lanequickly.
R you cutthe corner onasharp bend.
Tra iler towing
When youattach atrailer, makesureyouhave
correct lyestablished theelectrical
conn ection. Thiscanbeaccomplished by
check ingthe trailer lighting. Off-r
oaddriving systems 4MATIC
(permanentfour-wheel drive)
4MATIC ensuresthatallfour wheels are
permanent lydriven. Together withESP®
and
4ETS, itimproves thetract ionofyour vehicle
whenever adrive wheel spinsdueto
insufficient grip. G
WARNING If
adrive wheel isspinning duetoinsufficient
tract ion:
R While driving off,apply aslittle throttleas
possible.
R While driving, easeupon the accelerator
pedal.
R Adapt yourspeed anddriving styletothe
prevailing roadcondition s.
Failure toobserve theseguidelinescould
cause thevehicle toskid.
The 4MATIC cannotprevent accidents
resulting fromexcessive speed.
! Never towthevehicle withoneaxle
raised. Thismay damage thetransf ercase.
Damage ofthis sort isnot covered bythe
Mercedes-Ben zLimited Warranty. All
wheels mustremain eitheronthe ground or
be fully raised. Observe theinstruct ions
for towing thevehicle withallwheels infull
cont actwith theground. i
In
wintry driving condition s,the maximum
effect of4MATIC canonly beachieved if
you usewinter tires(M+S tires ),wi th snow
chai nsifnecessa ry.
! Function orperfo rmance testsmayonly
be perfo rmed ona2-axle dynamome ter.If
you wish tooper atethe vehi cleonsuch a
dy namome ter,please consul tan
auth orizedMer cedes-Ben zCent er
beforehan d.You could otherwisedamage
the drive trainorthe brake system.
For infor mation aboutdriving off-road, see
(Y page 162). DSR
(Dow nhillSpeed Regulat ion)
Impor tantsafet ynotes DS
Rassists youwhen driving downhill. It
keeps thespeed oftravel atthe speed seton
the on-board comput er.The steeper the
downhill gradient,the greater theDSR
brakin geffec tonthe vehicle. Whendriving on
flat stret ches ofroad oron anuphill gradient,
the DSR braking effectisminimal ornon-
existent . G
WARNING Downhill
SpeedRegulation (DSR) isa
conven iencesystem designed toassist the
driver during vehicle operation. Thesystem
settin gmust beappropriate tothe
topographical andweather condition s
encount ered,which canchange quickly. The
driver isresponsible forthe vehicle speedand
for safe brake operation atall times.
Depending onthe programmed speed,actual
vehicle speedandgradient, switching onDSR
while driving cancause thevehicle toslow
down rapidly ,and youmay hear asound,
caused bythe activation ofthe vehicle's brake
system through DSR.Sudden andunexpected
deceleration canresult inloss ofvehicle 208
Off-r
oaddriving systemsDriving and parking

Disp
laymessa ges Poss
iblecauses/c onseq uences and M Solu
tions Cru
ise Control Ino
perative Cruis
eco ntrol isdef ective.
X Vis itaqualif iedspecialist wor kshop . Cru
ise Control ---
mph Ac
ondition foractivatin gcruise controlhas notbeen fulfilled.
You attempt edtosave aspeed ofless than 20mph (30km/ h).
X Ifthe situation allows,drivefaster than20mph (30k m/h )and
save thespee d.
X Check theactivati onconditions forcruise control
(Y pag e167). Tires
G
WARNING Do
not drive withaflat tire. Aflat tire affects theability tosteer orbrake thevehicl e.You may
lose control ofthe vehicl e.Continue ddrivi ngwith aflat tire willcause excessive heatbuild-up
and possi blyafire. G
WARNING Follo
wrecommended tireinfla tion pressu res.
Do not underi nflatetires.Underinfla tedtires wearexcess ivelyand /or unevenl y,ad vers elyaff ect
ha ndl ing and fueleco nomy ,and aremore likel yto failfrom being overheated.
Do not overinflate tire s.Ove rinflated tirescan advers elyaff ect handl ing and ridecomfo rt,we ar
une venl y,incre asestop ping dista nce, andresulti ns udden deflation (blowo ut)bec ause they are
mor elik ely tobec ome punctured ordamag edbyroad debris,pot hole set c. Disp
laymes sages Possi
blecauses/cons equences andM Solu
tions Tir
epre ssu res wil
lbe dis played aft
erdrivin ga few
minute s The
tirepres sure monitorismeasuring thetire pressure.
X Drive on.
The tirepressures appearint he multifunction displayafter you
have been drivingfor afew minutes . Tire Press. Monito
r Inoper
ative The
tirepress uremonitor isdefecti ve.
X Visi taqu alified specialist workshop. Tire Press. Monito
r Inoper
ative No Wheel
Sensor s The
wheels mounteddo not have asuitable tirepressure sensor.
The tirepressure monitorisdeactiv ated.
X Mount wheels withsuitable tirepressure sensors.
The tirepressure monitorisactiv ated automatic allyafter drivin g
for afew minut es. Display
messages
263On-board computer and displays Z