2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class Owner's Manual

!
Close theairvent ifyou donot wish to
cool theglove boxoryou have notswitched
on cooling withairdehumid ification.
Moisture-sensitive itemsstored inthe
glove boxcould otherwise bedamage d. :
Airvent thumbwheel
; Airvent
X To open: turnthumbwheel :counter-
clockwise.
X To clos e:turn thumbwheel :clockwise. Setting
therear- compart mentair
vents
Setting thecenter ventsinthe rear
compart ment Example:
centerventsinthe rear compartment
with rearcontr olpanel
: Rear-compartment airvent thumbwheel
; Rear-compartment airvent, right
= Rear controlpanel
? Rear-compartment airvent, left X
To open/c lose:turn thumbwheel :upor
down.
Setting therear- compart mentsideair
vents These
rear-compartment sideairvents are
only available ifyour vehicle has3-zone
automatic climatecontrol. :
B-pillar airvent
; Thumbwhe elfor B-pillar airvent
X To open/c lose:turn thumbwheel ;tothe
left orright. Setting
theairvents
135Climate control Z

136

Useful
information........ .......... .......... 138
Br eaking-in notes.............................. 138
Driving ............................................... 138
Autom atictransm ission ................... 144
Refueling .................. .......................... 149
Par king .................. ............................. 155
Driving tips........................................ 157
Driving systems................................ 167
Off-r oaddriving system s.................. 208
Tr ailer towing .................................... 210 137Driving 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). Br
eaking-in notes The
first 1000 miles (1500 km)
The more youlook after theengin ewhen itis
new, themore satisfiedyou willbewith its
perfor mancein the future.
R Driv eat varying vehiclespeeds andengin e
speeds forthe first 1000miles (1500km)
for this reason .
R Avo idovers trainingthe vehicle duringthis
period, e.g.drivin gat full throttle.
R Change gearingood time, atthe latest
when thetach omet erneedle is⅔o fthe
way tothe red area inthe tachomet er
displa y.
R Do not manually shifttoalower gearto
brake thevehicle.
R Only select shiftranges 3,2or 1when
driving slowly,e.g. inmountainous terrain.
Aft er1000 miles(1500 km),you can increase
the engine speedgraduall yand bring the
vehicle uptofull speed. i
You
should alsoobserve thesenoteson
runnin gin ifthe engine orparts ofthe drive
train onyour vehicle havebeen replaced. i
Always
observe therespect ivespeed
restr iction s. Driving
Import
antsafety notes G
WARNIN
G Make
sureabsolutely noobject sare
obstruct ingthe pedals' rangeofmovemen t.
Keep thedriver's footwell clearofall
obstacles. Ifthere areany floormats or
carpets inthe footwell, makesurethepedals
still have sufficient clearance.
During sudden drivingorbraking maneuvers
the object scould getcaught between the
pedals. Youcould thennolonger brakeor
accelerate. Thiscould leadtoaccident sand
injury. G
WARNIN
G On
slippery roadsurfaces, neverdownshift in
order toobtain braking action.Thiscould
result indrive wheel slipand reduced vehicle
cont rol.Your vehicle's ABSwillnotprevent
this type ofloss ofcont rol. G
WARNIN
G It
is dangerous toshift theautomatic
transm issionoutofparking position Por
neutral position Nifthe engine speedis
higher thanidlespeed. Ifyour footisnot firmly
on the brake pedal, thevehicle could
accelerate quicklyforward orinreverse. You
could losecontrolofthe vehicle andhit
someone orsomethin g.Only shiftintogear
when theengine isidling normally andwhen
your right footisfirmly onthe brake pedal.
! Warm upthe engine quickly. Donot use
the engine's fullperformanc euntil ithas
reached operating temperature.
Only shifttheautomatic transmission to
the desired driveposition whenthevehicle
is station ary.
Where possible, avoidspinnin gthe drive
wheels whenpulling awayonslippery
roads. Youcould otherwise damagethe
drive train. 138
DrivingDriving and parking

Smar
tKeypositions
Smar tKey g
Toremove theSmartK ey
1 Power supply forsome consumers, such
as the windshield wipers
2 Ignition (powersupplyforallconsumers)
and drive position
3 Tostart theengine
As soon asthe ignition isswitched on,allthe
indicator lampsinthe instrumen tcluster light
up. Ifan indic atorlamp doesnotgoout after
the engineisstart ed orifit light sup while the
vehic leisin mot ion, see(Ypage 271).
If the SmartKey isin posit ion0in the ignit ion
lock foranext ende dperiod oftim e,itcan no
long erbe turned inthe ignit ionlock .The
steering isthen locked. Tounlock, remove the
SmartK eyand reinsert itinto theignition lock.
The steering islocked whenyouremove the
SmartK eyfrom theignition lock.
X Remove theSmartK eywhen theengine is
switched off.
The starter battery couldotherwise be
discharged.
If you cannot turntheSmartK eyinthe ignition
lock, thestarter battery maynotbecharged
sufficiently.
X Check thestarter battery andrecharge itif
necessary (Ypage 340).
or
X Jump-start thevehicle (Ypage 341). i
The
SmartK eycan beturned inthe
ignition lockeven ifit is not thecorrect
SmartK eyfor the vehicle. Theignition isnot
switched on.The engine cannot bestarted.
KEY LESS-GO General
informat ion
Vehicles withKEYLE SS-GO are equipp edwith
aS martKey featuringanintegrated KEYLESS-
GO function andadetacha bleStart/St op
button.
The Start/St opbutton mustbeinserted inthe
ignitio nlock andtheKEYLESS-GO keymust
be inthe vehicl e.
Pressi ngthe Start/St opbutton severaltimes
in successi oncorrespond sto the differe nt
SmartKey positions inthe ignitio nlock. This
is only thecase ifyou arenot depressing the
brake pedal.
If you depress thebrake pedalandpress the
Start /Stopbutton ,the engine starts
immediately.
The Start /Stopbutton canberemoved from
the ignition lock.Then, youcan insert the
Smart Keyinto theignition lock. i
You
donot have toremove theStart /Stop
button fromtheignition lockwhen you
leave thevehicle. However, youshould
alwa ystake theSmart Keywith youwhen
leaving thevehicle. Thevehicle canbe
start edwith theStart /Stopbutton andthe
electric alequipment canbeoperated while
the Smart Keyisin the vehicle. Driving
139Driving and parking Z

X
Insert Start/S topbutton :into ignition
lock ;. i
When
youinsert Start/S topbutton :
into ignition lock;,thesystem requiresa
detection timeofapp roximately two
seconds beforeyoucan useStart/S top
button :. Start/St
opbutton
= USA only
? Cana daonly
X Positio n0: ifStart/S topbutton :has not
yet been pressed ,this corresponds tothe
SmartKey beingremoved fromtheignition.
X Positio n1: press Start/S topbutton :
once.
You cannow activate thewindshi eld
wip ers, forexampl e. i
If
you press Start/S topbutton :twice
when inthis positio n,the powe rsupply is
deac tivat ed again .
X Pos ition 2(ign ition ):pre ssStart /S top
but ton: twice. i
If
you pressStart /S topbut ton: once
when inthis posi tion and thedriv er'sdoor
is open ,th epower supplyis deac tivat ed
again .
As soo nasthe ignition isswitched on,allthe
indicator lampsinthe instrument clusterlight
up. Ifan indicator lampdoesnotgoout after
the engine isstarted orifit lights upwhile the
vehicle isin motion, see(Ypage 271). Star
ting theengin e
Importa ntsafety notes G
WARNING Inhalation
ofexhaust gasishazardous toyour
health. Allexhaust gascont ains carbon
monoxide (CO),andinhaling itcan cause
unconsciousness andpossible death.
Do not run theengine inconfined areas(such
as agarage) whicharenot properly ventilated.
If you think thatexhaust gasfumes are
entering thevehicle whiledriving, havethe
cause determined andcorrect ed
immediately .Ify ou must driveunder these
condit ions,drive onlywith atleast one
window fullyopen atall times. i
Vehicles
withagasoline engine:the
catalytic converter preheats forupto30
seconds afteracold start.Durin gth is time,
th een gin esoun dmay bediff ere nt.
Aut oma tic trans mission X
Sh ift thetrans mis sion toposi tion P.
The trans mis sion position disp layinthe
mult ifunction disp laysho wsP
(Y page 145). i
You
canalso start theen gin ewhen the
tr ans mis sion isin posi tion N.
St artin gpr ocedu rewith theSm artKey X
To star tag asolineeng ine:turn the
SmartKey toposi tion 3in the ignition lock
(Y pag e139) andrelease itas soon asthe
engine isrunning.
X To start adiesel engine: turnthe
Smar tKey toposit ion2in the ignit ionlock
(Y page 139).
The % preglow indicatorlamp inthe
inst rumen tcluster lightsup.
X When the% preglo windic atorlamp
goes out,turnthe SmartK eytoposition 3
(Y page 139)andrelease itas soon asthe
engine isrunning. 140
DrivingDriving and parking

i
You
canstartthe engine without preglow
if the engine iswarm. i
You
canalso usethetouch-st artfunct ion.
To do this, turntheSmartK eytoposition 3
(Y page 139)andrelease itimmediately.
The engine thenstarts automatically .
Using KEYLESS-GO tostar tthe eng ine G
WARNING As
long asthe SmartKey isin you rvehicle, the
vehicle canbestart ed.Therefor e,never leave
children unattended inthe vehicle, asthey
could otherwiseacciden tallystart theengine.
When leaving thevehicle, alwaystake the
Smart Keywith youand lock thevehicle. Do
not leave children unattended inthe vehicle,
or with access toan unlock edvehicle. A
child's unsupervised accesstoavehicle could
result inan acciden tand/o rserious personal
injury. i
The
Start/ Stop button canbeused to
start thevehicle without insertingthe
Smart Keyintothe ignition lock.TheStart/
St op button mustbeinsert edinto the
ignition lockandtheSmart Keymust bein
the vehicle.
X Depress thebrake pedalandkeep it
depressed.
X To star tag asolineeng ine:press the
Start/Stop button(Ypag e139) once.
The engine starts.
X To start adiesel engine: presstheStart/
St op butt on(Ypage 139)onc e.
Preglow isact ivated andtheengin estar ts. Pulling
away
Autom atic transm ission G
WARN
ING It
is danger oustoshift theautomat ic
tr ansm ission outofparkin gposition Por
neutral position Nifthe engine speedis higher
thanidlespeed. Ifyour footisnot firmly
on the brake pedal, thevehicle could
accelerate quicklyforward orinreverse. You
could losecontrolofthe vehicle andhit
someone orsomethin g.Only shiftintogear
when theengine isidling normally andwhen
your right footisfirmly onthe brake pedal. i
It
is only possible toshift thetrans mission
from position Pto the desired position if
you depress thebrake pedal. Onlythenis
the parking lockreleased. Ifyou donot
depress thebrake pedal, youcan move the
DIRECT SELECT lever buttheparking lock
remains engaged.
X Depress thebrake pedalandkeep it
depressed.
X Shift thetrans mission toposition Dor R
(Y page 144).
X Relea sethe brake pedal.
X Carefully depresstheaccelerator pedal.
The electric parking brake(Ypage 156)is
automatically released.
The redF (USAonly)or! (Canada
only) indicator lampinthe instr ument
cluster goesout. i
The
vehicle lockscentrally once youhave
pulled away.The locking knobsinthe doors
drop down.
You canopen thedoors fromtheinside at
any time.
You canalso deactivate theautomatic
locking feature(Ypage 235). i
Upshifts
takeplace athigher engine
speeds afteracold start. Thishelps the
catalytic convertertoreach itsoperating
temperature morequickly.
Pulling awaywithatra iler To
ensure thatyoudonot rollbackwards
when pullingaway onanuphill slope, engage
the electric parking brake. Driving
141Driving and parking Z

X
Press andhold handle :.
The electr icparking brakecontinues to
brake andprevent thevehicle fromrolling
backwards.
The redF (USAonly)or! (Canada
only) indicator lampinthe instrument
cluster remains lit.
X Depress theaccelerator pedal.
X As soon asthe vehicle/t railercombinat ion
is held bythe driving forceofthe engine,
release lever:.
The electr icparking brakeisreleased.
The redF (USAonly)or! (Canada
only) indicator lampinthe instrument
cluster goesout.
Hill star tassist Hill
start assist helpsyouwhen pulling away
forwards orinreverse onanuphill gradient.
It holds thevehicle forashort timeafter you
have removed yourfootfrom thebrake pedal.
This gives youenough timetomove yourfoot
from thebrake pedaltothe accelerat orpedal
and depress itbefore thevehicle beginsto
roll. G
WARN
ING Never
leavethevehicle whenitis held byhill
start assist. Afterapproximately onesecon d,
hill start assist willnolonger brakeyour
vehicle anditcould rollaway. X
Take yourfootoffthe brake pedal. i
Onc
eyou have taken yourfootoffthe
brake pedal, thevehicle isheld foraround
one secon d.
X Pull away .
Hill start assist willnotfunc tion if:
R you arepulling awayonalevel roadora
downhill gradient.
R the tran smission isin position N.
R the electr icparking brakeisapplied.
R ES P®
is malfunct ioning. 142
DrivingDriving and parking