2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class engine

G
WARNING Wash
ersolve nt/antifreeze ishigh ly
flamma ble.Donot spill washer solvent/
antifreez eon hot engine parts,because itmay
ignite andburn. Youcould beseriously
burned.
! Attemperatures belowfreezin g:alwa ys
fill the washer fluidreservoir withamix of
water andwindshield washerconcentrate
(e.g. MBWinterF it).There isotherwise a
risk ofdamaging thewindshield washer
system/headlamp cleaningsystem.
! Only usewasher fluidconcentratewhich
is suitable forplastic lenses. Unsuitable
washer fluidconc entratecould damage the
plastic lensesofthe headlamps.
! Donot add distilled orde-ionized waterto
the washer fluidcontainer. Otherwise, the
level sensor maybedamaged. i
Add
windshield washerconcentrate, e.g.
MB SummerF it,to the washer fluidallyear
round. Example:
washerfluidreservoir
X Mix thewindshield washerfluidina
cont ainer beforehand.
X At temp eratures above freezing: fillthe
washer fluidreservoir withamixof water
and winds hieldwasher concentrate (e.g.
MB Summ erFit).
X At tem peratur es below freezing: fillthe
washer fluidreser voirwith amixof water
and winds hieldwasher concentrate (e.g.
MB Wint erFit).Adapt themixingratioto the outs
idetem perat ure.Forinform ation on
the mixing ratio(Y page 390).
X To open: pullcap:upwards bythe tab.
X Add theprem ixedwasher fluid.
X To close: presscap:ontothe filler neck
unt ilit eng ages.
Br ake fluid level !
Ifyou notice that thebrak efluid level in
the brak efluid reser voirhasfallen tothe
MIN mark orless, checkthe brak esyst em
immed iatelyforleaks. Alsocheckthe
thick ness ofthe brake linings. Contact a
qual ified specialist workshop, e.g.an
authorized Mercedes-Ben zCent er
immediately.
Do not add brake fluid.Thisdoes not
corr ectthe error.
Only checkthe brake fluidlevel when the
vehicle isstationary andonalevel surface.
In order tocheck thebrake fluidlevel, the
cover above thebrake fluidreservoir mustbe
removed. X
Remove seal;inthe area around
cover :inthe direction ofthe arrow. 316
Engi
necompar tmentMaintenance and care

X
Raise cover :atthefron t.
X Pull outcover :inthedir ection ofthe
arr ow. The
brak efluid levelisco rrec tifiti sbetween
MIN marking ?and MAX marking =onthe
brake fluidreservoir.
Cover :isinstalled inthe reverse order.
When doingso,make surethattheguide sof
cover :engage inthe slots inthe bulkhead . Maintenance
Service
interval display
Service messages Information
onthe type ofservice andservice
intervals (seeseparate ServiceBooklet).
You canobtain further information froman
authorized Mercedes-Benz Centerorat
http: //www.mbusa.com (USAonly).
The service interval message informsyouof
the next service duedate. The
multifunction displayshows aservice
message forseveral seconds, e.g.: Next
Service ADue in..Days Service
ADue Service
AExceeded by... Days The
letter indicates whichservice isdue. A
stands
foraminor service and B for
amajor
service. Anumber oranother lettermaybe
displa yedafter theletter. Thisfigure indicates
any necessary additionalmaintenance work
to be performed.
You canobtain further information froman
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
The service interval displaydoes nottake into
account anyperiods oftime during whichthe
battery isdisconn ected.
Maintaining thetime-depen dentservice
schedule:
X Note down theservice duedate display ed
in the multifunct iondisplay before
disconn ectingthe battery.
or
X Subtract thebattery disconn ectionperiods
from theservice dateshown onthe display
after recon nectingthe battery. i
The
service intervaldisplay doesnot
provide anyinformat ionregarding the
engine's oillevel. Observe thenoteson the
engine oillevel (Ypage 313).
Hiding aserv ice mes sage X
Pres sth e% ora buttononthe
st eerin gwheel.
Displa yingservice messages X
Swit chon theign itio n.
X Pres s= or; onthest eerin gwheel
to selec tthe Serv. menu.
X Press 9or: toselect the ASSYST
PLUS submenu
andpress atoconfirm .
The service duedate appea rsinthe
multifunction display. Maintenance
317Maintenance and care Z

If
the vehicle isvery dirty, pre-wa shitbefore
cleaning itin an automa ticcar was h.
! Incar was hes with atowing mechanism,
make surethattheautoma tictransmission
is in transmission positionN, otherwis ethe
vehicle couldbedama ged.
R Vehicle swith aSmartKey:
Do not remove theSmartKey fromthe
ignition lock.Donot open thedriver's
door orfront-passenger doorwhen the
engine isswitched off.Otherwise ,the
automa tictransmission selectspark
positio nP automa ticallyand locks the
whee ls.You canprevent thisbyshifting
the automa tictransmission toN
beforeha nd.
R Vehicle swith KEYLESS- GO:
Do not open thedriver's doororfront-
passe ngerdoor when theengine is
switched off.Otherwise ,the automa tic
transmission selectsparkpositio nP
automa ticallyand locks thewhee ls.
Observe thefollo wing tomake surethatthe
automa tictransmission staysinpositio nN:
X Make surethevehicle isstationary andthe
ignition isswitched off.
X Turn theSmartKey topositio n
2 (Y page 139)inthe ignition lock.
Use theSmartKey insteadofthe Start/
Stop button onvehicle swith KEYLESS- GO.
X Depress andhold thebrake pedal.
X Shift theautoma tictransmission to
positio nN.
X Rel ease thebrake pedal.
X Rel ease theelectric parking brake.
X Switch offthe ignition andleavethe
SmartKey inthe ignition lock.
! Make surethat: R
the side window sand thesliding sunroof
are fullyclosed.
R the ventilation/hea tingisswitched off
(the OFF button hasbeen pressed ).
R the windshi eldwiperswitch isin positio n
0.
Otherwise ,the vehicle mightbedama ged.
After using anautoma ticcar was h,wip eoff
wax from thewindshi eldand thewiper
bla des. Thiswillprevent smearsandreduce
wip ing noises causedby residu eon the
windshi eld.
Washing byhand In
some countries, washing byhand isonly
all owed atspecia llyequ ippe dwas hing bays.
Observe thelega lrequi rements inall
countries concerned.
X Do not use hotwater anddonot was hthe
vehicle indirect sunlight.
X Use asoft sponge toclean.
X Use amild cleaning agent,suchasacar
shampo oapp roved byMercedes-Benz.
X Thorou ghlyhose down thevehicle witha
gentle jetofwater.
X Do not point thewater jetdirectly towards
the airinlet.
X Use plenty ofwater andrinse outthe
sponge frequently.
X Rinse thevehicle withclean water anddry
thoroughl ywith achamois.
X Do not letthe cleaning agentdryonthe
pai ntwork.
When usingthevehicle inwinter, remove all
traces ofroad saltdepos itscareful lyand as
soon aspossi ble.
Pow erwashe rs G
WARNING Do
not use powe rwasher swith circular -jet
no zzles (dirt grinders )to cle anyour vehicle,in
part icular thetir es. You couldot her wise
damage thetir es and caus ean acc iden t. Car
e
319Maintenance and care Z

i
Vehicles
equipped withMOExt endedtires
are not equi pped withaTIREFIT kitatthe
factory. Itis therefore recommended that
you addi tionally equipyou rvehicle witha
TIREF ITkit ifyou mount tiresthatdonot
feature run-flatpropert ies,e.g. winter tires.
A TIREF ITkit can beobtained froman
authoriz edMercedes- BenzCenter .
X Make surethathighway levelis
select ed25
(Y page 180).
X Stop the vehicle onsolid, non-slippery and
level ground, asfar away aspossible from
traff ic.
X Switc hon the hazard warning lamps.
X En gage theelectr icparkin gbrake manually
(Y page 156).
X Brin gthe fron twheels intothestraight-
ahead position.
X Move theDIRECT SELECT lever toP.
X Switch offthe engine.
X Vehicles withoutKEYLESS-GO: remove
the SmartK eyfrom theignition lock.
X Vehicles withKEYLESS-GO: openthe
driver's door.
The on-board electronic shave status 0,
which isthe same asthe SmartK eyhaving
been removed.
X Vehicles withKEYLESS-GO: removethe
Start /Stopbutton fromtheignition lock
(Y page 139).
X All occupants mustgetout ofthe vehicle.
Make surethatthey arenot endangered as
they doso.
X Make surethatnoone isnear thedanger
area while awheel isbeing changed.
Anyone whoisnot directly assisting inthe
wheel change should,forexample, stand
behind thebarrier.
X Get outofthe vehicle. Payattent ionto
traffic condition swhen doing so.
X Close thedriver's door.
X Unload heavyluggage. i
Only
operate thetire inflation compressor
using a12 Vsocket (Ypage 297), evenif
the ignition isturned off.
An emergency cut-offensures thattheon-
board electrical systemvoltage doesnot
drop toolow. Ifthe on-board electrical
system voltage istoo low, power tothe
socket sis automatically cutoff. This
ensures thatthere issufficient powerto
start theengine. TIREFIT
kit
Using theTIREFIT kit You
canusetheTIREFIT kittoseal small
punctures, particularly thoseinthe tire tread.
You canuseTIREFIT atoutside temperatures
down toÒ4 ‡(Ò20 †). G
WARNING TIREFIT
isalimited repairdevice. TIREFIT
cannot beused forcuts orpunctures larger
than approximately 0.16in(4 mm) andtire
damage causedbydriving withextrem elylow
tire inflation pressure, oron aflat tire, ora
damaged wheel.
Do not drive thevehicle undersuch
circumstan ces.
Contact thenearest authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center forassistance orcall Roadsi de
Assistanc e.
X Do not remove anyforeign objectswhich
have penetrated thetire, e.g.screws or
nails.
X Remove thetire seala ntbottle, the
accompanying "max.80km/h" stickerand
the tire inflation compressor fromthe
stowage wellunderneath thecargo
compartmen tfloor (Ypage 328).
25 Vehicles withtheAIRMATIC package. 330
Flat
tireBreakdown assistance

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

Jump
-starting G
WARNING Failure
tofollow thesedirections willcause damage tothe electronic componen ts,and canlead
to abattery explosion andsevere injuryordeath.
Never leanover batteries whileconnecting orjump startin g.You might getinjured.
Battery fluidcontains sulfuric acid.Donot allow thisfluid tocome incont actwith eyes, skinor
clothing. Incase itdoes, immediately flushaffected areawithwater, andseek medical helpif
necessary.
Ab attery will also producehydro gengas, whichis flam mable andexplosiv e.Keep flamesor
spar ksaway from battery, avoid improper connectiono fjumpe rcables, smoking,etc.
At tempt ingtojum pstart afroz en bat tery can result initexp lodin g,caus ingpers onalinj ury.
Read allinstruct ionsbefo reproc eedin g.
! Avoid repe atedand lengthy start ing attempt s.Ot her wise, non-com bust edfuel may
damage thecat alytic converter27
and creat earisk offire.
Do notu se arapid-charging devicetostart theengine.
Make surethejumper cablesarenot damage d.
Make surethejumper cablesarenot touching anyother metal objects whentheyare
conn ected tothe battery.
If your vehicle's batteryisdischarged, theengine canbejump-start edfrom another vehicle
or from asecond batteryusingjumper cables.
Observe thefollowi ngpoints:
X The battery isnot accessible inall vehicles. Ifthe other vehicle's batteryisnot accessible,
jump-start thevehicle usingasecond batteryorajump- start ing device.
X On lyjum p-start theveh iclewhen theen gin eis co ldand thecat alyti cconvert ersystem has
cooled down28
.
X Do not start theengine ifthe battery isfroz en.Let the battery thawfirst.
X Jump-start ingmay onlybeperformed frombatteries withanominal voltageof12 V.
X Only usejumper cableswhichhaveasufficient cross-section andinsulated terminalclamps.
X Make surethatthejumper cablescannotcome intocontactwith parts, suchasthe pulley
or the fan. These partsmove whentheengine isstart edand while itis runnin g.
X Ifthe battery isfully discharged, leavethebattery thatisbeing usedtojump-st artconn ected
for afew minutes beforeattempt ingtostart .This charges theempty battery alittle. i
Jumper
cablesandfurther information aboutjump-st artingcanbeobtained fromany
authorized Mercedes-Ben zCent er,for example.
X Make surethatthetwo vehicles donot touch.
X Secure thevehicle byapplying theelectr icparkin gbrake.
X Shift thetran smission toposition P.
27 Only vehicles withagasoline engine.
28 Only vehicles withagasoline engine. Jum
p-starting
341Breakdown assistance Z

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