2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class light

Indi
catorand warning displa y :
Yellow indicat orlamp/ redwarn inglamp
When ActiveBlin dSpo tAssist isactivated,
indicator lamp:lights upyell ow inthe
exterior mirrorsuptoav ehicle speed of
20 mph (30km/ h).When thevehicle speed
exc eeds 20mph (30km/ h),the indicat or
lamp goesoutand Active Blind SpotAssist is
ready foruse.
When yourspeed exceeds approximat ely
20 mph (30km/ h),warning lamp:lights up
red onthe corr espondin gside whenever a
vehicle isdetec tedinthe blind spot
monit oringrange. Thiswarning isalway s
given when avehicle enters the blind spot
monit oringrange frombehind orfrom the
side. When youarepassing anothervehicle,
the warning isemitt edonly ifthe differen ce
in speed isless than 7mph (12km/ h).
The yellow indicatorlamp goesoutifrevers e
gear isengaged. Inthis event ,Ac tive Blind
Spot Assist isno longer active.
The brightn essofthe indicat or/warn ing
lamps isadjusted automatic allyaccor dingto
the ambient light. G
WARN
ING Act
iveBlind SpotAssist isnot active atspeeds
lower than20mph (30km/ h).The indicat or
lamps inthe exterior mirror sare yellow.
Vehicles inthe monit oringrange arethen not
indicat ed.
Always payatten tiontotraff iccon ditions and
your surroundin gs.Other wise,youmay failto recogn
izedangers intime, cause anacciden t
and injur eyourself andother s.
Visua land audible collision warnings
If you switch onthe appropriate turnsignals
and avehicle isdetec tedinthe side
monit oringrange, youwillreceive avisual and
acoustic collisionwarning. Youwillhear a
double warning toneand redwarning
lamp :flashes. Ifthe turn signal remains on,
vehicles detectedareindicat edbythe
flashing ofred warning lamp:.Thereareno
further warning tones.
Course-correcting brakeapplication
If Act ive Blind SpotAssist detectsa risk ofa
lateral collision inthe monitorin grange, a
course-corr ectingbrakeapplication iscarried
out. This ismeant toassist youinavoiding a
collision.
The course-corr ectingbrakeapplication is
availa bleinthe range between 20mph
(30 km/h) and120 mph (200 km/h).
If acourse-corr ectingbrakeapplication
occurs, redwarning lamp:flashes inthe
exterior mirrorandthefollowing isshown in
the multifunction display,for example: G
WARNING Act
ive Blind SpotAssist isonly anaid
designed toassist driving. Itis not asubstitute
for attent ivedriving. Insome cases, the
course-corr ectingbrakeapplication isnot
sufficient toavoid acollision. Insuch acase,
you must steer, brakeoraccelerate.
In very rarecases, thesystem may
erroneously detectadanger ofcollision inthe
area ofcrash barriers orsimilar laneborders
and apply thebrakes. ActiveBlind SpotAssist
does notdetect alltraffic situations androad 204
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

user
s.Alwa ysmak esure that there is
suff icientdist anceon theside forother traff ic
or obst acles.An inap propriat ebrak e
applic ationm aybe interr upte dat any timeif
you steer sligh tlyintheoppos itedire ction or
acc eler ate.
You arerespon sible fordriv ingatappro priate
spee ds,brak ingingood time,and steeri ng
cor rectly. Always adaptyourdrivingstyle to
suit theprev ailingroad andweat her
con dition s.Always payattent ion totraff ic
con dition sand your surroundings. Other wise,
you may failtorec ogn izedang ersintim e,
caus ean acc iden tand inju reyoursel fand
othe rs.
The rewillbe either nooronl ya we ak cou rse-
corr ectingbra keapplica tionif:
R there arevehi cles orobsta cles,e.g.crash
barri ers,locatedonboth sidesof you r
vehi cle.
R avehi cleapp roache syou tooclose lyat the
side .
R you have adopted asporty drivingstyle with
high cornering speeds.
R you clearlybrake oraccel erate.
R adrivi ngsafe tysys tem intervenes, e.g.
ESP ®
or PRE-SAFE ®
Brake.
R ESP ®
is swi tched off.
R the off-road programisswitched on.
R aloss oftire pressure oradefective tireis
detected.
Switching onActive BlindSpotAssist
X Make surethattheradar sensor system
(Y page 236)andActive Blind SpotAssist
(Y page 232)areactivated inthe on-board
computer.
X Turn theSmartKey toposition 2in the
ignition lock.
Warning lamps:light upred inthe
exterior mirrorsforapproximately 1.5
seconds andthen turnyellow. Tra
iler towing
When youattach atrailer, makesureyouhave
correct lyestablished theelectrical
conn ection. Thiscanbeaccomplished by
checkin gthe trailer lighting. ActiveBlind Spot
Assist isthen deactivated. Theindicator lamp
lights upyell owinthe exterior mirrorsandthe Active
BlindSpotAssist Currently Unavailable
SeeOperator's Manual message
appearsinthe multifunction
displa y.
Active LaneKeeping Assis t Importa
ntsafety notes
Act iveLane Keeping Assistmonitors thearea
in front ofyour vehicle bymeans ofacamera
at the top ofthe windshiel d.Act ive Lane
Keeping Assistdetects lanemarkings onthe
road andwarns youbefore youleave your
lane unintent ionally.Ify ou do not react tothe
warning, alane-cor rectingapplication ofthe
brakes canbring thevehicle backintothe
original lane. :
Active Lane Keeping Assistcamera
If you have selected the Display
Unit Speed-/Odome
ter (Y
page 233)functionin
the on-board computer andselect km as
the
unit ofmeasurement, Active Lane Keeping
Assist isactive fromspeeds of60 km/ h.If
the miles display
unitisselected, the
assistance rangebegins at40 mph. G
WARNIN
G Act
ive Lane Keeping Assistdoesnotkeep
your vehicle inits lane. Itis only anaid and Driving
systems
205Driving and parking
Z

may
detect thelane markings onthe road
incorrectly ornot atall.
The system maybeimpa iredormay not
function if:
R severa lor no lane markings forasingle lane
are present.
R there ispoor visibility, e.g. due to
insuffi cientillumina tionofthe road, ordue
to snow, rain,fogorspray .
R there isgla re, e.g. from oncoming traffic,
the sun, orreflection fromother vehicles.
R the winds hieldis dirty, fogged upor
covered, forinstance byasticker, inthe
vicinity ofthe camera .
R the lane markings areworn away,dark or
covered up,e.g. bydirt orsnow.
R the dista ncetothe vehicl ein front istoo
smal land thelane markings thuscannot be
detected.
R the lane markings onthe road areunclea r,
e.g. near roadw orks.
R the lane markings changequickly, e.g.
lanes branch off,cross oneanother or
merge.
R the road isnarrow andwindi ng.
Active LaneKeepi ngAssist cannot detect
road andtraffic conditions. Itis not a
subs titute forattentive driving.You are
responsi bleforthe vehicl e'sspeed ,braking in
good time, andsteering correctly. Always
ada ptyou rdriving styletosui tthe prevailing
road andweather conditions .Always pay
att ent ion totraffic condition sand your
surro undin gs.Oth erwise, youmay failto
rec ogn izedanger sin tim e,cause anacc ident
and injure yourself andothers.
War ning vibration inthesteer ingwheel
A warnin gcan begiven when afro ntwheel
passes overalane mark ing.You willbe
warned bymean sof intermit tentvibrat ionin
the steerin gwheel forupto1.5s econ ds.
In order thatyouarewarned onlywhen
nec essary andingood timeifyou cross the lane
markin g,the system recognizescertain
con ditions andwarns youaccor dingly.
The warning vibration occursearlier if:
R you approach theouter lanemarkin gon a
bend.
R the road hasvery wide lanes, e.g.a
freeway.
R the system recognizessolid lanemarkin gs.
The warning vibration occurslater if:
R the road hasnarrow lanes.
R you cutthe corn eron abend.
Lane-corr ectingbrakeapp lication
If you leave yourlaneunder certain
circ umstan cesthevehicle willbrake briefly
on one side. Thisismeant toassist youin
bringin gthe vehicle backtothe original lane.
This functionisavailable inthe range between
40 mph and120 mph (60km/ hto
200 km/h).
A lane-c orrectingbrake application canonly
be made afterdriving overasolid,
recogn izablelanemarkin g.Befor ethis, a
warning mustbegiven bymeans of
int ermit tentvibrat ioninthe steerin gwheel.
In additio n,alane with lanemark ingsonbot h
sides mustberec ogn ized. Thebrak e
applicat ionalso slight lyreduc esvehic le
speed.
If alane- correctingbrak eapplicat ionoccurs,
the followin g,for exam ple,appears inthe
mult ifunc tiondisplay: i
A
furt her lane- correctingbrak e
applicat ioncan only occurafteryour
vehic lehas returne dto the origin allane. 206
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

G
WARNING Active
LaneKeepi ngAssist doesnotkeep
you rvehicle inits lane. Itis only anaid
designed toassist driving. Itis not asubstit ute
for atten tivedriving. Insome cases, thelane-
corr ecting brake application isnot sufficien t
to bring yourvehicle backtothe original lane.
In such cases, youmust steer thevehicle
yourself toensure thatitdoes notleave the
lane.
Act ive Lane Keeping Assistdoesnotdetect
road andtraff iccon ditions .Always makesure
that thereissuffic ientdistanceto the side for
oth ertraffic orobst acles. Inrare cases ,
unc lear mark ingsorpart icular struct ures on
the roadway canberec ogn ized assolid lane
mark ings.Aninap propriate brakeapplica tion,
e.g .after intentional lydrivi ngover asoli dlane
marking, maybeinterrup tedatany time by
steering slightly inthe oppo sitedirection.
Active LaneKeepingAssist cannot take
wea ther conditio nsinto accou nt.
You arerespo nsiblefor the drivi ngat
app ropri atespee ds,braki ngingood time, and
steering correctly .Always adapt yourdrivin g
style tosuit theprev ailing roadandweathe r
con dition s.Always payattent ion totraffic
con dition sand your surro undin gs.Oth erwise,
you may failtorec ogn izedanger sin tim e,
cause anacc ident andinjure yourself and
oth ers.
No lane- correctingbrak eapplication occurs
if:
R you clearly andactiv elysteer ,brake or
acceler ate.
R you cutthe corn eron asharp bend.
R you switc hon the turn signals.
R adrivin gsafety system interven es,e.g.
ES P®
,PRE-S AFE®
Brak eor Active Blind
Spot Assist .
R you have adopted asport ydrivin gstyle with
high cornering speeds orhigh rates of
acceler ation. R
on vehicles withatrailer towhitch,the
elect ricalconnection tothe trailer hasbeen
corr ectlyestablished.
R ES P®
is switc hedoff.
R the tran smission isnot inposition D.
R the off-road program isswitc hedon.
R aloss oftire pressure oradefect ivetire has
been detec tedand displayed.
Ac tive Lane Keeping Assistdoesnotdetec t
traf ficsituation sor road users. An
inappropriat ebrake application maybe
int errupt edatany time ifyou:
R steer slightly inthe opposite direction.
R use aturn signal.
R clearly brakeoracceler ate.
Al ane -corr ect ing brak eapplic ationis
int errupt edautom atically if:
R adrivin gsafet ysyst eminterve nes,e.g.
ES P®
,PRE- SAFE®
Br ake orActiveBlin d
Spot Assist.
R lane mark ingscannolong erbe rec ogn ized.
Switch ingonActive LaneKeeping Assist X
Swit chon ActiveLane Keepin gAss istusing
the on-board computer ;to do so, selec t Stan
dard or Adap
tive (Y
page 233).
Symbo l: appears inthe mult ifunc tion
display.
If Stan
dard is
selec ted,nowarnin g
vibrat ionoccurs if:
R you switc hon the turns ignals .Int his
event, thewarnings aresuppressed fora
certain periodoftime.
R adriving safetysystem interven es,such
as ABS ,BAS orESP ®
.
If Adaptive is
selected, nowarning
vibration occursif: Driving
systems
207Driving 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

control
,cau sing anacci dent and/or serious
per sona linju ryto youand othe rs.Do not
swi tch onDSR inasitu ation whe rerap id
dece lerati oncou ldresu ltin alos sof vehi cle
control .
DSR control sthe setspeedwhe nitisactive
and theautomatic transmission isin the D,
R or Nposition. Youcandrive atahigher or
a lower speed thanthatsetonthe on-board
computer atany time byaccelerating or
braking. G
WARNING If
you depress theaccelerator pedalwithDSR
activated, thevehicle candrive faster thanthe
programmed setspeed. Youshould therefore
drive downhill withparticular cautionasit
could leadtoan accident and/orserious
injury toyou orothers. Keepinmind thatas
soon asyou remove yourfootfrom the
accelerator pedalwithDSR switched on,DSR
will start regula tingthevehicle's speed
including useofbrakes ifrequired. Depending
on the programmed setspeed, actualvehicle
speed andgradient, DSRcancause the
vehicle toslow down rapidly.Sudden and
unexpected deceleration canresult inloss of
vehicle control,causing anaccident and/or
serious personal injurytoyou and others.
For information ondriving off-road, see
(Y page 162).
Activating/deac tivatingDSR Activating
You
canonly activate DSRifyou aredriving
at 25 mph (40km/h) orslower. X
Press button :.
Indicator lamp;lights up.
The followi ngmessages appearint he
multifunction displayand inthe status
indicator, forexample: If
the driving speedistoo fast, theDSR
symbol andthe Max.
Speed 25mph (Canada
: 40
km/h )
message appearint he
multifunction display. i
You
cannot activate DSRifthe SPORT on-
road program isactivated. TheDSR symbol
and the Not
inDrive Program SPORT message
thenappea rint he multifunction
displa y.
Deactivating
X Press button :.
Indicator lamp;goes out.
The DSR symbol appearsinthe
multifunction displaywith the Off
message.
DSR isdeactivated automatically ifyou are
driving fasterthan30mph (Canada :
45 km/h). TheDSR symbol appearsinthe
multifunction displaywith the Off message.
Stat usindicator =goes out.Youalso hear a
warning. Off-r
oaddriving systems
209Driving and parking Z

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

G
WARNING Do
not disconnect atrail erwith anengag ed
overru nbrake. Otherwi se,you rhand could
bec ome trapped between thebumpe rand
trai lerd rawb ar.
Observe themaximu mpermissible trailer
dimension s(width andlengt h).
Most federal statesand allCanadian
provin cesrequire bylaw:
R safety chains between thetowing vehicle
and thetrailer. Thechains should becross -
wound underthetrailer drawbar. Theymust
be fasten edtothe vehicle's trailer
coupling, nottothe bumper orthe axle.
Allow forenough playinthe chains to
facilitat eturn ingtight corners.
R aseparate brakesystem forcert aintypes
of trailer.
R asafety switch forbraked trailers. Check
the specific legalrequirement sapplicable
to your federal state.
If the trailer detaches fromthetowing
vehicle, thesafety switch applies the
trailer's brakes.
! Donot connectthe trailer's brakesystem
(if featured) tothe hydrau licbrake system
of the towing vehicle, asthe latter is
equipp edwith ananti-lock brakesystem.
Doing sowill result inaloss offunct ionof
the brake systems ofboth thevehicle and
the trailer.
X Make surethattheautomatic transmission
is set toposition P.
X Apply thevehicle's electricparking brake.
X Start theengine.
X Vehicles withtheAIRMATIC package:
select highway level.
X Vehicles withtheadaptive damping
system: setADS toAUTO orCOMF.
X Switch offthe engine.
X Close alldoors andthetailgate.
X Coupl eup the trailer.
X Est ablish allelectrical connections. i
Vehicles
withtheAIRMATIC package:
if you couple upatrailer, thevehicle always
remains athighway level.When coupling up
a trailer, please observe thefollowing:
R ifhighway levelhasnotbeen set
manually ,the vehicle willautomatically
sink tohighway levelassoon asit
reaches aspeed of5m ph(8km/ h).
R high-spe edlevel isnot available.
These restrictions apply toall access ories
powered through acon nection tothe trailer
power socketofyour vehicle, e.g.abicycle
carrier . Towing
atrail er
Th ere arenum erouslega lreq uirem ents
conce rning the towingofatra iler, e.g.speed
rest rictions. Make surethatyour vehicle/
trailer combin ationcomplies withthelocal
requiremen tsnot only inyour areaof
residen cebut also atany location towhich
you aretrav eling. Thepolice andlocal
authorit iescan provide reliableinformation .
Please observe thefollowing whentowinga
trailer:
R To acquaint yourselfwithdrivin gwith a
trailer andwith theresultin gchang esto
handling, youshould practicecorn ering,
stoppin gand backin gup inatraf fic-free
location .
R Befor edrivin g,chec k:
- the trailer towhitch
- the safety switchfor braked trailers
- the safety chains
- the elect ricalconnection s
- the lights
- the wheels
R Adj ust the exterior mirror sto provide an
unobst ructedview ofthe rear sectionofthe
trailer.
R Ifthe trailer features electronic ally
con trolled brakes, pullaway thevehicle/
trailer combin ationcarefully, manually 216
Tr
ailer towingDriving and parking