2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class ESP

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

Cha
nging theset speed When
DSRis act ivat ed, theset spee dcan be
ch ang edtoavalue between 1mphand
10 mph (Canada: between2km/ hand
18 km/ h)during thejourn ey. X
To increase ordecreas ethe setspeed
in 1mp h(Canada :1k m/h )
in cre men ts:pre ssthe cruise contr ollever
to the point ofres istanc ebri efly
up wa rds :for ahi gh er sets peed orbriefly
downwards ;for alower setspeed.
The setspeed appears inmultifun ction
display ?and isshown instat usindicat or
=. i
The
setspeed alsochang esin1m ph
(Canada: 1km/ h)incr ement sif you press
the controllever beyond thepoint of
resist ance. Tr
ailer towing Not
eson towing atrail er
Imp orta ntsaf ety notes G
WA
RNI NG Wh
entow ingatra iler, inco rrectequipme nt
and driving stylecou ldcauseyo uto lose
contr olof the vehicle.
To wing inco rrectly ornot observi ng this
Op era tor' sMa nua lcou ldlead todama geto
the vehicleand /or seriou sinju ries .O bserve
the following guidelines toensure safetrailer
towing . Contac
ta Mercedes -BenzCenter ifyou need
furt her explanat ionofthe infor mation
con tained inthis Operator 'sManual. G
WARN
ING Using
aball coupling otherthantheone
delivered withthevehicle mayplace toomuch
str ain onthe trailer towhitch.This applies
especially ifthe ball coupling inquestion is
longer orangled differen tly.Asaresult, the
vehicle maybedamaged andthetrailer may
come loosewhiledriving .Handl ing
ch arac terist ics may beimpair edand therear
axle may beove rload ed.This couldlead toan
acc iden twith serious oreven fatalinj uries.
There fore,please observethe followin g:
R only installthe ball couplin gdelivered with
the vehicle.
R make surethattheball coupling iscorr ectly
inst alled andsecured beforedriving.
R do not make anymodificat ionstothe ball
coupling orthe trailer towhitch . G
WARN
ING When
backin gup the vehicle towards the
trailer, makesurethere isnobody between
the trailer andthevehicle.
Couple anduncouple thetrailer carefully. If
you donot couple thetrailer tothe towing
vehicle correctly,the trailer couldbecome
detached.
Make surethatthefollowing valuesarenot
exceeded:
R the permissible trailerdrawbar noseweight
R the permissible trailerload
R the permissible rearaxle load ofthe towing
vehicle
R the maximum permissible grossvehicle
weight ofboth thetowing vehicle andthe
trailer
You willfind theapplicable permissible
values, whichmustnotbeexceeded, inthe
vehicle documen ts. 210
Tr
ailer towingDriving and parking

You
willfindthe values approve dby the
manuf acturer onthe vehic leident ification
plates andthosefor the towin gvehic lein the
"Techn icaldata" section. G
WARN
ING When
towingatrailer, yourvehic le'shandlin g
char acterist icswill bediffe rentinc omparison
with when driving without atrail er.
The vehicl e/trail ercombina tion:
R isheavi er
R isrestricted inits accele rationand
grad ient-climbi ngcapa bility
R has anincrease dbraking distance
R isaffected morebystrong crosswi nds
R dema ndsmore sensitive steering
R has alarg erturning circle
As aresul t,the handl ingchara cteristics may
be impa iredandyoumay losecontrol ofthe
vehicl e.This could leadto an accide ntwith
serio usoreven fatalinjurie s.
When towing atrail er,alw aysadju styou r
speed tothe current roadandweather
conditions. Donot exceed themaximu m
permis siblespeed foryou rvehicle/t railer
combin ation. G
WARN
ING Never
depress thebrake pedalcontinuously
while thevehicle isin motion ,e.g. never cause
the brakes torub byapplying constant slight
pedal pressure. Thiscauses thebrake system
to overheat ,incr eases thebraking distance
and canlead tothe brakes failingcomplet ely. G
WARN
ING Under
nocirc umstan cestrytostraight enthe
vehicle/ trailercombin ationbyincr easing the
speed. General
information R
Do not exceed thelegally prescribed
maximum speedforvehicle/t railer
combin ationsinthe relevant country.
This lowers therisk ofan acciden t.
R Only installan approved trailercoupling on
your vehicle.
Furt herinfor mation onavailabil ityand on
inst allation isavailable fromanyauthorized
Mercedes- BenzCenter .
R The bumpers ofyour vehicle arenot
suitable forinst alling detachable trailer
couplings.
R Do not installhired trailer couplings or
other detachable trailercouplings onthe
bumpers ofyour vehicle.
R To reduce therisk ofdamage tothe ball
coupling, removeitfrom theball coupling
recess whennotinuse. i
When
towing atrailer, setthe tire
pressure onthe rear axle ofthe towing
vehicle foramaximum load;seethetire
pressure tableinthe fuel filler flap
(Y page 371).
You willfind installation dimension sand loads
in the "Technic aldata" section
(Y page 391).
The maximum noseweight ofthe trailer
drawbar onthe ball coupling is16
.However,
the actual noseweight mustnotexceed the
value given onthe trailer towhitchor trailer
identif ication plates.Thelowest weight
applies.
! Use adrawbar noseweight asclose as
possible tothe maximum permissible
noseweight .Donot use anoseweight of
less than theminimum permissible
noseweight, asthe trailer mayotherwise
come loose. Missing valueswerenot
availa bleattime ofgoing toprint.
Note thatthepayloa dand therear axle load
are reduced bythe actual payload.
16 Missing valuesunavailable attime ofgoing toprint. Tr
ailer towing
211Driving and parking Z

Please
notethat when towing atrailer,
PARKTRONIC (Ypage 183)andBlind Spot
Assist (Ypage 198)areonly availabl ewith
limitations ,or not atall. i
On
vehicles withoutlevelcontrol,the
height ofthe ball coupling willalter
accordin gto the load placed onthe vehicle.
If necess ary,useatrailer withaheight-
adjustable drawbar.
Driving tips i
Observe
theinform ationonESP®
trailer
stabilization (Ypage 64)and onpulling
away withatrailer. (Ypage 141).
The maximum permissible speedforvehicle/
trailer combinat ionsdepends onthe type of
trailer. Before beginnin gthe journ ey,check
the trailer's document sto see what the
maximum permittedspeed is.Observe the
legally prescribed maximumspeedinthe
relevant country.
For cert ainMercedes- Benzvehicles, the
maximum permissible rearaxle load is
incr eased whentowing atrailer. Refertothe
"Technical data"sectiontofind outwhether
this applies toyour vehicle. Ifyou utilize any
of the added maximum rearaxle load when
towing atrailer, thevehicle/t railer
combinat ionmay notexceed amaximum
speed of60 mph(100 km/h)for reasons
conc ernin gthe operating permit.Thisalso
applies incount riesinwhich thepermissible
maximum speedforvehicle/t railer
combinat ionsisabove 60mph(100 km/h).
When towing atrailer, yourvehicle's handling
charact eristics willbedifferen tinc omparison
with when driving without atrail er.
On long andsteep downhill gradients, you
must selectshift range 1,2or 3in good time. i
This
alsoapp liesif you have activated
cruise control orDISTRONIC PLUS.
This willuse thebraking effectofthe engine,
so that lessbraking willbe requ iredto
maintai nthe speed. Thisrelieves theload on
the brake system andprevents thebrakes from
overheating andwearing tooquickly. If
you need additional braking,depressthe
brake pedalrepeatedly ratherthan
cont inuously .
Driving tips R
Maintain agreater distance fromthe
vehicle infront thanwhen driving without a
trailer.
R Avoid braking abruptly. Ifpossible, brake
gently atfirst toallow thetrailer torun on.
Then, increase thebraking forcerapidly .
R The values givenforgradient-c limbing
capabil itiesfrom astandst illrefer tosea
level. When driving inmountainous areas,
note thatthepower output ofthe engine,
and consequent lythe vehicle's gradient-
climbing capability,decrease with
increasing altitude.
If the trailer swings fromsidetoside:
X Do not accelerate.
X Do not counter- steer.
X Brake ifnecessary. Assemblin
gthe ball coupling
! Mercedes-Ben zrecomm endsthatyou
have theball coupling assembled ata
qualified specialist workshop.Only a
qualified specialist workshophas the
nec essary specialist knowledge andtools
to carry outthework required. Youcould
other wiseincorrectlyassemble theball
coupling ortight enthe nut with the
incor recttorque. Thiscould leadtothe ball
coupling andtheball coupling carrier
becomin gdetached whiletowing atrailer.
As aresult, youcould cause anacciden t.
Therefor e,have theball coupling
assembled ataqualified specialist
worksho p.
If the assembled ballcoupling hasbeen
permanen tlymount edon the vehicle, have
the ball coupling regularly checkedfor 212
Tr
ailer towingDriving and parking

Inst
alling thebal lcoup ling G
WAR
NING If
th eveh icle/t raile rco mbin ation isno t
sec ured ,th etrailer maycome loos e.As a
res ult,you could caus ean acc iden t.
Ther efore, mak esur eth at theball couplin gis
sec ured withth ebolt suppl iedand the
co rrespo nding spring cotter. G
WAR
NING The
ballcouplin gcan bedamag edifth enut is
ti ght ened on theball couplin gwiththe
inc orre cttor que. Thiscould cause thetrailer
to detac hwhile drivingand anacc ident could
occ uras aresult .
There fore,please observethe followin g:
R do not exceed themaxim umperm itted
nos eweight ofthe ball couplin g,the trailer
couplin gand thetrailer towhitch.
R when installing, always usearetainin gring
between thenut and themount ingsurface
of the ball coupling carrier.
R ifthe assembled ballcoupling hasbeen
permanen tlymount edon the vehicle, have
the ball coupling regularly checkedfor
corr ectinst allation andtorque ataqualified
specialist workshop.
R check thatthethread underthenut isof
the corr ectlengt h.
The detachable ballcoupling islocated inthe
stowage wellunder thecargo compart ment
floor (Ypage 292).
X Open thecargo compart mentfloor
(Y page 292). Ball
coupling andballcoupling stowagewell
(example)
X Remove ballcoupling :with thebolt and
spring cotter from ballcoupling stowage
well ;. Protec
tivecap
X Pull protec tivecap=inthe direct ionofthe
arrow, outofthe ball coupling recess.
X Place protec tivecap=into theball
coupling stowagewell. Ball
coupling recess 214
Tr
ailer towingDriving and parking

Hole
inthe ballcoup lingand ballcoup lingreces s
X Insert theballcoup ling hori zontall yinto ball
coup ling reces s? inthe direction ofthe
arro w,until theholein ba llcoup ling A and
the holein ba llcoup ling reces sB align. Bolt
X
Slid ebol tC allthe wayinto theholein the
ba llcoup ling reces sand theballcoup ling. Bolt
andspringcotter
X Secure theboltusing spring cotterD. Correctly
installedandsecured ballcoupling
X Check theball coupling, boltandspring
cott erfor correct installation. G
WARNING If
the ball coupling isnot correct lyinstalled
and secured, theball coupling andthetrailer
could come loose. Asaresult, youcould
cause anaccident.
Therefore, pleaseobserve thefollowi ng:
R Make surethattheball coupling issecured
with thebolt suppli edand the
corresponding springcotter.
R Ifthe ball coupling cannotbecorrect ly
mounted, removetheball coupling. Under
these circumstanc es,the ball coupling
must notbeused fortrailer towing.
Have theentire trailer towhitch checked ata
qual ified speciali stworkshop. Coupling
upatra iler G
WARNING Vehicles
withairsuspension program:While
you arecoupling ordecoupli ngatrailer, make
sure nobody locksorunlocks thevehicle and/
or opens orcloses doorsorthe tailgate.
The vehicle's levelcould change andyou
could endanger yourselfand/o rothe rsas a
res ult.
Ma kesure tha tyou do not operate theADS
switch orthe vehicle levelcontrolsystem
when coupling/decoupling thetrailer. Tr
ailer towing
215Driving and parking Z

When
youdecouple thetrailer, thevehicle is
tempor arilyraised because thesprings are
relieved ofload. Beespecially carefulduring
this process, asyou could otherwise injure
yourself and/orothers.Make sure that any
pers onsrem ainin gin theveh icle donotp ress
the switches forvehicl elevel control orthe
ADS.
X Remo vethe trail ercabl eand decou plethe
trail er.
X Switch offthe engine. Permissi
bletrailer loadsanddrawbar
nos eweig hts
Weig htspec ifications The
gross trailerwei ght iscalcu lated by
add ingthe weight ofthe trail erto the weight
of the loadand equipme nton the trail er.
Maximu mgross vehicl ewei ght: 17
.
The maximu mpermissible trailerdrawbar
noseweight isthe maximum weightwith
which thetrailer drawbar canbeloaded: 17
Threshold forMercedes- Benzapproved
trailer towhitches.
Loading atrail er R
Wh enload ing the trailer, makesure tha t
nei the rthe permissible grossweight ofthe
trailer northegross vehicle weightare
exceeded. Thepermissible grossvehicle
weight isindicated onthe identification
plate onthe B-pillar onthe driver's sideof
the vehicle.
You canfind themaximum permissible
values onthe type plates ofyour vehicle
and thetrailer. Always observe thelowest
respective valuewhen determining the
maximum weightwithwhich youcan load
the vehicle andthetrailer.
R The trailer drawba rload onthe ball coupling
must beadded tothe rear axle load toavoid exceeding
thepermissible grossaxle
weight. Thepermissible grossvehicle
weight isindicated onthe identificat ion
plate onthe B-pillar onthe driver's sideof
the vehicle. i
Mercedes-B
enzrecomm endsloading the
trailer sothat thedrawbar noseweight
remains between 8%and 15% ofthe
permissible grosstrailer weight. i
The
weight ofadditional accessories,
passengers, andcargo reduces the
permissible trailerloadanddrawbar
noseweight foryour vehicle.
Checking thevehicle andtrailer weight R
To check thattheweights ofthe towing
vehicle andthetrailer comply withthe
maximum permissible values,havethe
vehicle/t railercombinat ion(including the
driver, passengers, andcargo withafully
laden trailer) weighed onacalibrated
weighbridge.
R Check thegross axleweight ratingofthe
front andrear axles, thegross weight ofthe
trailer andtrailer drawbar noseweight. Removing
theball coupling
X Remove thespring cotter.
X Remove thebolt from theball coupling
recess.
X Remove theball coupling fromtheball
coupling recess.
X Clean theball coupling ifit is dirty.
Infor mation oncleaning andcare ofthe trailer
tow hitch canbefound at(Y page 322). Storing
theball coupling G
WARNIN
G Do
not carry theball coupling inthe vehicle
interior ifit is not secured.
17 Missing valueswerenotavailabl eattime ofgoing toprin t. 218
Tr
ailer towingDriving and parking

Useful
information
i This
Operat or'sManual describesall
models andallstan dard andoption al
equipment ofyour vehicle available atthe
time ofpublication ofthe Operat or's
Manual. Country-specificdiffer encesare
possible. Pleasenotethat your vehicle may
not beequipped withallfeature s
descr ibed. Thisalso applies tosafet y-
related systemsand func tions. i
Please
readtheinfor mation onqualified
specialist workshops(Ypage 25). Impor
tant safet ynotes You
willfind anillustrat ionofthe instrumen t
clust erinthe "Ataglance" section
(Y page 29). G
WARN
ING A
driver' satt ent ion tothe road andtraffic
con dition smust always behis/her primary
focus whendriving.
For your safetyand thesafet yof other s,
select ingfeature sthr ough themultifun ction
steer ingwheel should onlybedone bythe
driver whentrafficand road condition spermit
it to be done safely.
Bear inmind thatataspeed ofjust 30mph
(approxim ately50km/ h),your vehic leis
cove ringadistan ceof44 feet (approxim ately
14 m)every second. G
WARN
ING No
messages willbedisplayed ifeither the
inst rumen tclust eror the multif unction
display isinoper ative.
As aresult, youwillnotbeable tosee
info rmat ionabout yourdrivin gcon dition s,
such as
R speed
R outside temperatur e
R warnin g/indicato rlamps R
malf unction/ warn ingmes sages
R failur eof any systems
Dr ivin gch arac terist ics may beimpair ed.
If you must continue todriv e,do sowith added
caut ion.Contac tana uth oriz edMer cedes-
Ben zCent eras soon aspossible. G
WARN
ING Malfunct
ionand warning messages areonly
indicat edfor cert ainsystems andare
inten tionally notvery detailed. The
malfunct ionand warning messages are
simply areminder withrespect tothe
operation ofcert ainsystems. Theydonot
replace theowner's and/ordriver's
respons ibilitytomaint ainthe vehicle's
operatin gsafety. Haveallrequired
maint enanc eand safety checksperform edon
the vehicle. Bringthe vehicle toan authorized
Mercedes- BenzCenter toaddress the
malfunct ionand warning messages. Displays
andopera tion Coolant
temperaturedispla y G
WARN
ING Drivin
gwhen yourengine isoverheat edcan
cause somefluidswhich mayhave leaked into
the engine compart menttocatc hfire. You
could beseriously burned.
St eam from anoverheat edengine cancause
serious burnswhich canoccur justbyopening
the engine hood.Stay away fromtheengine
if you seeorhear steam comingfrom it.
St op the vehicle inasafe location awayfrom
other traffic.Turn offthe engine, getout ofthe
vehicle anddonot stand nearthevehicle until
the engine hascooled down.
The coolant temperaturegauge isin the
inst rument clusteronthe right- hand side.
Under normaloperatin gcon ditions andwith
the specified coolantlevel,thecoolant
temper aturemayriseto248 ‡(120 †). 222
Displays
andopera tionOn-board computer and displays