2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class workshop

short
tripsorifyou leave itstanding idlefor
a lengthy period.
Only replace abattery withabattery thathas
been recommended byMercedes-Benz .
Consult anauthorized Mercedes-Benz Center
if you wish toleave yourvehicle parkedfora
long period oftime. G
WARNING Comply
withsafety precautions andtake
protective measureswhenhandling batteries. Risk
ofexplosion Fire,
naked flames and
smoking areprohibited
when handling thebattery.
Avoid creating sparks. Battery
acidiscaustic.
Avoid contactwith theskin,
eyes orclothing.
Wear suitable protective
clothing, inparticular
gloves, anapron andaface
mask.
Immediately rinseacid
splashes offwith clean
water. Consult adoctor if
necessary. Wear
eyeprotection . Keep
children away. Observe
thisOperator's
Manual . H
Environmental
note Batteries
containdangerous
substances. Itis agai nstthe
law todispose ofthem with
the household rubbish.They must
becollected separately
and recycled toprotect the
environmen t. Dispose
ofbatteries inan
environmen tallyfriendly
manner. Returndischarged
batteries toaqual ified
speciali stworkshop, e.g.an
authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center, ortoaspecial
collection pointforold
batteries. G
WARNING Failure
tofollow theseinstruct ionscanresult
in severe injuryordeath.
Never leanover batteries whileconnecting.
You might getinjured.
Battery fluidcontains sulfuric acid.Donot
allow thisfluid tocome incont actwith eyes,
skin orclothing. Incase itdoes, immediately
flush affected areawithwater andseek
medical helpifnecessary.
Ab attery will also produce hydro gengas,
whic his flam mable andexplosiv e.Keep
flam esorspar ksaway from battery, avoid
impr oper connectionof jum per cable s,
smo kinget c. G
WAR
NING Do
notp lace anymetalobje ctson the batt ery
as this could result inashor tcircuit .
Use leak- proof batteries onlytoavoid therisk
of acid burnsin the even tof an acc ident .
Take carethatyoudonot becom estat ically
char ged, e.g.bywearin gsynt het icclo thingor
rubb ing again sttextiles .For this reason, you
also should notpull orpush thebattery over
carpets orother synthet icmaterials.
Never touchthebattery first.First, touch the
outside bodyofthe vehicle inorder torelease
any possible electrostaticcharges.
Do not rub thebattery withrags orcloths. The
battery couldexplode iftouched dueto Bat
tery
339Breakdown assistance
Z

electr
ostaticcharge ordue tospark
format ion.
! Befor eworkin gon the batter y,e.g.
loosenin gthe batter yterm inals, switch off
the engine andremove theSmart Keyfrom
the ignition .Onv ehicles withKEYLE SS-GO,
make surethattheignition isswitch edoff.
Check thatallthe indicat orlamps inthe
inst rument clusterareoff. You may
other wisedestr oyelectr oniccompon ents,
such asthe altern ator.
! Like other batter ies,thevehicle battery
may discharge overtime ifyou donot use
the vehicle. Inthis case have thebatter y
chec kedataqualified specialist workshop,
such asan authoriz edMercedes- Benz
Center .You can also charge thebattery
with acharger recomm endedbyMercedes-
Benz .Cont act anauthorized Mercedes-
Benz Center formore inform ation.
The battery andthecover ofthe positive
termin alclamp mustbeinstalled securely
during operation. i
Remove
theSmart Keyifyou park the
vehicle anddonot require anyelectric al
consumer s.The vehicle willthen usevery
little energy, thusconser vingbattery
power.
Mercedes-B enzrecomm endsthatyoudonot
carry outwork onbatteries yourself,e.g.
removing orcharging. Alwayshavethiswork
performed ataquali fiedspecialist workshop,
e.g. anauthorized Mercedes-B enzCenter. Charging
thebatt ery G
WARNIN
G Never
charge abattery stillinstalled inthe
vehicle unlessabattery charger unitapproved
by Mercedes-B enzisbeing used.Gases may
escape duringcharging andcause explosions
that may result inpaint damage, corrosion or
personal injury. Ab
attery charge runit spe cially ad apted for
Mer cedes-Be nzveh icles and teste dand
ap pro ved byMer cedes-Be nzisava ilab leas an
acce ssory.It pe rmi tsthe charging ofthe
ba ttery inits installed po sitio n.Co ntact an
au thor izedMer cedes-B enzCenter forfurther
info rma tiona nd ava ilab ility .
Ch arg ethe battery inacco rdance with the
sep arateins truc tions for the battery charger. G
WAR
NING The
reisaris ko facid burns during the
cha rging pro cess dueto the gases which
esca pefrom thebattery .Donot lean over the
battery duringthecharging process. G
WARNING Batt
eryacid iscaustic. Avoidcontactwith the
skin, eyesorclothin g.
! Only charge theinstalled batterywitha
battery charger whichhasbeen testedand
approved byMercedes-B enz.These battery
chargers allowthebattery tobe charged
while stillinstalled.
! Only usebattery chargers witha
maximum chargingvoltageof14.8 V.
! Only charge thebattery usingthejump-
start ingconn ection point.
The jump-st artingconnection pointisin the
engine compartm ent(Ypage 341).
X Open thehood (Ypage 312).
X Connect thebattery charger tothe positive
termin aland earth pointinthe same order
as when connectin gthe donor battery in
the jump-st artingprocedure
(Y page 341).
X Read thebattery charger's operating
instr uctions beforecharging thebattery. 340
Bat
teryBreakdown assistance

X
Turn theSmart Keytoposition 0(Y page 139)inthe ignition lockandremove it.On vehicles
with KEYLE SS-GO, make suretheignition isswitched off(Ypage 139). Allindicator lamps
in the instr ument cluster mustbeoff.
X Switc hoff allelectric alcons umers (e.g.radio, blower, etc.).
X Open thehood (Ypage 312). Position
numberBidentifies thecharged batteryofthe other vehicle oran equivalent jump-
start ingdevice.
X Slide cover :ofpositive terminal; inthe direction ofthe arrow.
X Connec tpositive terminal; onyour vehicle topositive terminal= ofdonor battery B
using thejumper cable,beginning withyour ownbattery.
X Start theengine ofthe donor vehicle andrunitat idling speed.
X Connect negative terminal? ofdonor battery Btoearth pointAofyour vehicle using
the jumper cable,connectin gthe jumper cabletodonor battery Bfirst.
X Start theengine.
X Allow theengine torun forafew minutes beforedisconn ectingthe jumper cable.
X First ,remove thejumper cablefromearth pointAand negative terminal?, then from
positive terminal; and positive terminal=, each timedisconn ectingfrom thecont acts
on your ownvehicle first.
X Aft erremoving thejumper cable,closecover :onpositive terminal;.
X Have thebattery checkedataquali fiedspecialist workshop, e.g.anauthorized Mercedes-
Benz Center. Thejump-st artingprocedure isnot astandard operating state;therefor e,have
the battery checked. 342
Jum
p-startingBreakdown assistance

Tow
ingand tow-starti ng Impo
rtant safety notes G
WA
RNING If
yo utow thevehicle, youmu stusearig id
tow ingbarif:
R the engine isnot running.
R there isabrake system malfunction.
R there isamal function inthe pow ersup ply
or the vehicl e'selectrical system .
The pow erassi stance forthe steering andthe
brake forcebooste rdo not work when the
engine isnot running. Youwillneed more
force tosteer andbrake, youmay have to
depre ssthe brake pedalwith maximu mforce.
Before towing away,make surethatthe
steering canbemoved andisnot locked.
If you tow ortow-st artanother vehicle,its
weight mustnotexceed themaximum
permissible grossvehicle weightofyour
vehicle. G
WARNING The
vehicle isbraked whentheHOLD function
or DIS TRONIC PLUSisactivated. Therefore,
deactivate HOLDandDISTRONIC PLUSifthe
vehicle isto be towed.
It is better tohave thevehicle transported
than tohave ittowed.
! You may onlytowthevehicle amaximum
distance of30 miles (50km). Atowing
speed of30 mph (50km/ h)must notbe
exceeded.
For towing distances over30miles
(50 km), thevehicle mustloaded ontoa
trans porter.
! Make surethattheelectric parking brake
is released. Ifthe electric parking brakeis
faulty, visitaquali fiedspecialist workshop.
! Only secure thetow rope ortow baratthe
towing eyes.Otherwise, thevehicle could
be damaged. !
Donot use thetowing eyeforrecovery,
as this could damage thevehicle. Ifin
doubt, recover thevehicle withacrane.
! When towing, pullaway slowly and
smoothly. Ifthe tract ivepower istoo high,
the vehicles couldbedamaged.
! Donot tow with sling-t ypeequipment.
This could damage thevehicle.
! When towing vehicles withKEYLE SS-GO,
use thekey instead ofthe Start /Stop
button .Othe rwise, the automa tic
tra nsmi ssion mayshi ftto positio nP wh en
the driver 'sor fro nt-pa ssenge rdo or are
op ene d,wh ich cou ldlead todama getothe
tra nsmi ssion.
! Vehicle swi th diffe renti allocks: make
su re tha tthe differential locksarein
automatic mode.Whentowing, the
differential locksmustnotbeswitched on
by hand. Thiscould otherwise damagethe
transmission.
If the vehicle hassuffered transmission
damage, haveittransport edon atransport er
or trailer.
The automatic transmission mustbein
position Nwhen thevehicle isbeing towed.
The battery mustbeconn ected andcharged.
Otherwise, you:
R cannot turntheSmartK eytoposition 2in
the ignition lock
R cannot shifttheautomatic transmission to
position N i
Before
thevehicle istowed, switchoffthe
automatic lockingfeature(Ypage 235).
You could otherwise belocked outwhen
pushing ortowing thevehicle. Installing/
removingthetowing eye
Installing thetowing eye Vehicles
withatrailer towhitch: ifpossible,
secure thetowing deviceonthe trailer tow
hitch (Ypage 210). Towing
andtow-star ting
343Breakdown assistance Z

the
colorand value. Th efuse rating sare listed
in thefuse allocation chart .
If ane wly inserted fuse alsoblows ,have the
caus etrace dand rectified ataqualif ied
spec ialist workshop,e.g. an auth orized
Mer cedes- BenzCent er.
! Only usefuses thathave been approved
for Mercedes- Benzvehicles andwhich
have thecorr ectfuse ratingfor the system
con cern ed.For thefuse boxes inthe engin e
compart mentandunder therear bench
seat, onlyusefuses withthesuffix "S".
Other wise, compon entsor systems could
be damaged. Befor
echanging afuse
X Park thevehicle andapply theelectr ic
parkin gbrake.
X Switc hoff allelectr icalconsumers.
X Remove theSmart Keyfrom theignition
lock.
The fuses arelocated invarious fuseboxes:
R fuse boxonthe fron t-passenger sideofthe
dashboard
R fuse boxinthe engin ecompart mentonthe
right- hand sideofthe vehicle, whenviewed
in the direct ionoftravel
R fuse boxunder therear bench seat
The fuse allocation chartislocated inthe fuse
box under therear bench seat(Ypage 347). Dashboar
dfuse box
! Donot use apoint edobjec tsuch asa
sc rewd river to open theco ver inthe
dash board.You could damag eth e
dash boardor theco ver . X
To open :pull cover :outwards inthe
dire ction ofthearr ow and remove it.
X To close: clipin co ver :atthef ront ofthe
das hboa rd.
X Fold cover :inwa rdsuntil itengag es. Fuse
boxinthe enginecompart ment
X Open thehood (Ypag e312). X
Remo veany existing moisturefrom the
fuse boxusing adry cloth.
X To open :open clamp s;.
X Fold cover :upw ards inthe direction of
the arrow andremove it.
! Make surethatnomoistu recan enter the
fuse boxwhen thecover isopen.
X To clo se: check whethe rthe seal islying
correct lyin cover :.
X Insert cover:into theretainers atthe side
of the fuse box.
X Fold down cover :and close clamps ;. 346
FusesBreakdown assistance

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 Consult
anauthoriz edMerc edes-B enzCent er
if you require information onapproved and
recom mende dtires andwheels forsummer
and winteroperation .Advice onpurchasin g
and carin gfor tires isalso available there. G
WARN
ING Replace
rimsortires withthesame
designat ion,manufac turerandtype asshown
on the original part.Forfurther infor mation
con tact anauthoriz edMerced es-BenzCente r.
If inco rrectlysized rimsandtires are
mount ed,the wheel brakes orsuspension
compon entscan bedamaged. Also,the
operatin gclearanc eof the wheels andthe
tires maynolonger becorr ect. G
WARN
ING Worn
,old tires cancause acciden ts.Ifthe tire
tread isworn tominimum treaddepth, orif
the tires have sustaine ddamage, replace
them .
When replacin grims, onlyusegenuine
Mercede s-Benz wheel boltsspecified forthe
partic ularrimtype. Failure todo socan result
in the bolts loosenin gand possibly an
acciden t.
Retreaded tiresarenot testedor
recom mended byMercede s-Benz ,sinc e
previous damagecannotalways be recog
nized on retr eads. Theoperatin gsafety
of the vehicle cannotbe assured whensuch
tires areused. G
WARN
ING If
you feel asudden significantvibration or
ride disturban ce,oryou suspect thatpossible
damage toyour vehicle hasoccurred, you
should turnonthe hazard warning flashers,
carefully slowdown, anddrive withcaution to
an area which isasafe distan cefrom theroad.
Inspe ctthe tires andthevehicle underbody
for possible damage. Ifthe vehicle appears
unsafe, havethevehicle towedtothe nearest
authoriz edMercede s-Benz Cente ror tire
dealer forrepairs. G
WARN
ING Do
not drive withaflat tire. Aflat tire affect s
the ability tosteer orbrake thevehicle. You
might losecontrolof the vehicle. Continued
drivin gwith aflat tire ordrivin gat high speed
with aflat tire willcause excessive heatbuild-
up and possibly afire. i
Furt
herinfor mation aboutTiresand
wheels canbeobtained fromany
authoriz edMercede s-Benz Cente r. Oper
ation Not
eson driving
R Ifthe vehicle isheavily laden,checkthe tire
pressures andcorrect themifnecessary.
R When parking yourvehicle, makesurethat
the tires donot getdeformed bythe curb
or other obstacles. Ifit is necessary todrive
over curbs, speedhumps orsimilar
elevations, trytodo soslowly andatan
obtuse angle.Otherwise, thetires,
particularly thesidewa lls,can get
damaged. 350
Operat
ionWheels and tires

(100
km)as they onlyreach theirfull
perfo rmanceafter thisdistan ce.
R Do not use tiresthat areexcessively worn
as the tire tract ion onwet road surfac es
decr eases significantlywhen thetread
depth isless than 1
/ 8 inc
h(3 mm).
R Replace thetiresafter sixyears atthe
latest ,regardles sof wear. Thisalso applies
to the spare wheel/em ergencyspare
wheel.
The servicelife oftire sdepends onthe
followin gfact orsamong stothe rthings:
R driving style
R tire pressure
R mileage MOExtended
tires(tires withrun-flat
proper ties)
MOExt ended tires(tires withrun-flat
properties) allowyoutocont inue driving your
vehicle evenifone ormore tiresareentirely
deflated.
MOExt ended tiresmaybeused onlyin
conj unction withtheactivated tirepressure
loss warning systemorthe activated tire
pressure monitorin gsystem andonly on
wheels specifically testedbyMercedes-Ben z.
You willfind notes ondriving with
MOExt ended tiresinthe "Breakdown
assistance" section(Ypage 338). Winter
operation Please
bearthefollow inginmind
At the onset ofwinter, haveyourvehicle
winterproofed ataqual ified specialist
workshop, e.g.atan authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center.
Observe thenotes inthe "Cha nging awheel"
section (Ypage 374). Driving
withsumm ertires
At temperatures below45‡(+7 †), the
elasticity ofsummer tiresandtherefore also
tract ionand braking capabilityare reduced
considerably —equip your vehicle with
M+S tires.Using summer tiresatvery cold
temper aturescouldcause tearstoform ,
ther eby damaging thetires perman ently.
Mercede s-Benz cann otaccept responsibility
for this type ofdamage. M+S
tires
At temper aturesbelow45‡(+7 †), use
winter tiresorall-season tires.Both types of
tire areidentified bythe M+S marking.
Only winter tiresbearing thei snowflake
symbol inaddition tothe M+S marking
provide thebest possible gripinwintry road
condit ions.Onlythese tireswillallow driving
safety systems suchasABS andESP®
to
funct ionoptimally inwinter, asthese tires
have been designed specifically fordriving on
snow.
Use M+S tiresofthe same make andtread on
all wheels tomaintain safehandling
charact eristics. G
WARNIN
G M+S
tireswithatread depth ofless than 1
/ 6
inch (4mm) must bereplaced. Theyareno
longer suitable forwinter operation.
Always observe themaximum permissible
speed specified forthe M+S tiresyouhave
mounted.
Once youhave mounted thewinter tires:
X Check thetire pressures (Ypage 357).
X Restart thetire pressure losswarning
system (Ypage 357). G
WARNIN
G If
you mount thespare wheel whendriving
with M+S tires, bearinmind thatdriving
stability willbeimpaired duetounstable 352
Winter
operationWheels and tires

If
the tire pressu reshave been settothe
lowe rvalues forlight erloads and/or lower
road speeds,thepres suressho uld beres et
to thehigh ervalues :
R ifyou want todriv ewit han increas edload
and /or
R ifyou want todriv eat high erroad speeds. i
The
tirepres suresfor increas edloads
and /or high erroad speeds,sho wninthe
tir epres sure table,may have ane gat ive
eff ect ondriv ingcomf ort . i
For
trailer towing ,adj ust thetir epres sure
of therear tires tothemax imum tire
pres sure value state don thet able inside
th efuel fillerflap.
Opt ion 3)The tirepr essur efor the
emer gency/collap siblesparewheel
(depen dingonvehic leequipmen t)can be
foun d:
R prin tedinyellow onthe rim ofthe
emer gency/c ollapsible sparewheel
R in the "Wheel andtirecom binat ions"
sect ion(Ypage 375)in this manual
R on the Tire andLoadin gIn for mat ionplacard
on the B-pillar onthe drive r'sside.
If the tirepress ureisnot setcorrectly, this
can lead toan exc essiv ebuild upofheat and
a sudde nloss ofpressure.
For further information,consult aquali fied
specialist workshop, e.g.anauthorized
Mercedes-B enzCenter. Import
antnotes ontire pressur e G
WARNIN
G Should
thetire pressure droprepeatedly:
R check thetire forforeign bodies.
R check whether thewheel islosing airorthe
valve isleaking.
R make surethatonly avalve capapproved
by Mercedes-B enzisused onthe tire valve.
Tire pressures thataretoo low have a
negative effectonvehicle safety,whichcould
lead youtocause anaccident .
To test tirepressure, useasuitable tire
pressure gauge.Theouter appearance ofa
tire does notpermit anyreliable conclusion
about thetire pressure. Onvehicles equipped
with theelectron ictire pressure monitoring
system, thetire pressure canbecheck ed
using theon-board computer.
The tiretemperat ureand pressure increase
when thevehicle isin motion .This is
dependent onthe driving speedandtheload.
Therefore, youshould onlycorrect tire
pressures whenthetires arecold.
The tires arecold:
R ifthe vehicle hasbeen parked without
direct sunlight onthe tires foratleast three
hours and
R ifthe vehicle hasnotbeen driven morethan
1 mile (1.6km).
The tiretemperature changesdepending on
the outside temperature, thevehicle speed
and thetire load. Ifthe tire temperature
changes by18 ‡(10 †),the tire pressure
changes byapproximately 10kPa (0.1 bar/
1.5 psi). Take thisinto account when
check ingthe pressure ofwarm tiresandonly
correct thetire pressure ifit is too low forthe
current operating conditions.Ifyou check the
tire pressure whenthetires arewarm, the
resulting valuewillbehigher thanifthe tires
were cold.Thisisnormal. Donot reduce the
tire pressure tothe value specified forcold
tires. Thetirepressure wouldotherwise be
too low. Tire
pressure
355Wheels and tires Z