2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class Owner's Manual

Problems
withtheengine Problem Possible
causes/co nsequences andM Solutions
The
engine doesnot
start. Thestarter motor
can beheard. R
There isamalfunction inthe engine electron ics.
R There isamalfunction inthe fuel supply .
X Try tostart theengine again(Ypage 140). Avoid excessively
long andfrequent attemptsto start theengine asthese willdrain
the battery.
If the engine doesnotstart after several attempt s:
X Consult aqual ified specialist workshop, e.g.anauthorized
Mercedes-B enzCenter. The
engine doesnot
start. Youcannot hear
the starter motor. The
on-board voltageistoo low because thebattery istoo weak
or discharged.
X Jump-start thevehicle (Ypage 341).
If the engine doesnotstart despite attemptsto jump-st artit:
X Consult aqual ified specialist workshop, e.g.anauthorized
Mercedes-B enzCenter. The
starter motorwasexposed toathermal loadthatwastoohigh.
X Allow thestarter motortocool down forapproximately two
minutes.
X Try tostart theengine again.
If the engine stilldoes notstart:
X Consult aqual ified specialist workshop, e.g.anauthorized
Mercedes-B enzCenter. The
engine isnot
running smoothly and
is misfiring. There
isamalfunction inthe engine electron icsoramechanical
componen tof the engine management system.
X Only depress theaccelerator pedalslightly.
X Have thecause rectifiedimmediately ataqual ified specialist
workshop, e.g.anauthorized Mercedes-B enzCenter.
Otherwise, non-combusted fuelmay getinto thecatalytic
conv erter anddamage it. The
coolant
temperature gauge
shows avalue above
248 ‡(120 †). The
coolant levelistoo low. Thecoolant istoo hotand theengine
is no longer beingcooled sufficiently.
X Stop assoon aspossible andallow theengine andthecoolant
to cool down.
X Check thecoolant level(Ypage 315). Observe thewarning
notes asyou dosoand add coolant ifnecessary. Driving
143Driving and parking Z

Aut
oma tic trans mission Imp
ortant safety notes G
WAR
NING It
is dan gerous toshif tthe automatic
transmission outofparking 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 orsomething. Onlyshiftintogear
when theengine isidling normally andwhen
your right footisfirmly onthe brake pedal. G
WARNING Keep
inmind thatturning offthe engine alone
only willshift theautomatic transmission into
neutral position Nautomatically .
Always shifttheautomatic transmission into
park position Pbefore turning offthe engine.
Otherwise thevehicle couldrollaway which
could result inan accident and/orserious
personal injury. DIREC
TSELECT lever
Over view oftrans mis sion positions The
DIRECT SELECT leve rison the right ofthe
steering column. P
Park position withparking lock
R Reverse gear
N Neutral
D Drive i
The
DIRECT SELECTlever alwaysreturns
to its original position. Thecurrent
transmission positionP,R, Nor Dappea rs
in the transmission positiondisplay
(Y page 145)inthe multifunction display.
Engagin gpar kposit ionP X
Push theDI RECT SELECT lever inthe
direc tiono farrow P. i
The
automatic transmissi onshifts
au tomatical lyinto park position Pifyou
open thedrive r'sdoor when thevehicl eis
stationary ordrivi ngatvery lowspee d,and
the transmissi onisin posi tion Dor R.
! Ifthe engine speedis too high orthe
vehicl eis moving, donot shift the
au tomatic transmissi ondire ctly from Dto
R, from Rto Dor dire ctly toP.T he
automatic transmission couldotherwise be
damaged.
Engaging parkposit ionPau tom atically Park
positionPis autom atically engaged if:
R you switchoff theeng ineusin gth e
Sm artKey and remove theSm artKey, orif
you switchoff theeng ineusin gth eSt art /
St op butt onand open oneof thefron t
door s.
R theHOL Dfun ction (Ypage 179)or
DI STRO NICPLUS(Y page 169)brak es
your vehicle untilit is statio naryand atleast
on eof thefollo wing condition sis fulf illed:
- there isasyst emmalf unction.
- there isasev ere uphill ordown hillslope .
The electric park ingbrak eis then also
applied.
Engag ingreversegear R !
Onlyshif tthe automatic transmission to
R when thevehicle isstationary. 144
Automat
ictransmissionDriving and parking

X
When thevehicle isstat ionary, depress the
brake pedal.
X Push theDIRE CTSELECT leveruppast the
first point ofresistan ce.
Shift ingtoneutr alN X
When thevehicle isstat ionary, depress the
brake pedal.
X Push theDIRE CTSELECT leverupordown
to the first point ofresistan ce.
If the engine hasbeen switched off,the
automatic transmission automatic ally
switches toN.
Rema ininginneutr alN
If the automatic transmission isto remain in
neutr alN, e.g. forwashing thevehicle incar
washes withatowing device, pleaseobserve
the following instruct ions: G
WARN
ING When
leaving theSmart Keyinthe start er
switch, donot leave children unattended in
the vehicle. Itis possible forchildren toswitch
on the ignition whichcouldresult in
unsupervised useofvehicle equipment.
Unsuperv iseduseofvehicle equipment could
result inan accident and/orserious personal
injury.
Using theSma rtKey:
R make surethattheignition isswitched on.
R when thevehicle isstat ionary, depress the
brake pedalandkeep itdepressed.
R shift toneutr alN.
R release thebrake pedal.
R ifapplied, releasetheelectr icparking
brake.
R switch offthe ignition andleave the
Smart Keyinthe ignition lock.
Using KEYLESS-GO:
R make surethattheignition isswitched on.
R when thevehicle isstat ionary, depress the
brake pedalandkeep itdepressed.
R engage parkposition P. R
release thebrake pedal.
R remove theStart/ Stop button fromthe
ignition lock.
R insert theSmart Keyinto theignition lock.
R switch onthe ignition .
R depress thebrake pedalandkeep it
depressed.
R shift toneutr alN.
R release thebrake pedal.
R ifapplied, releasetheelectr icparking
brake.
R switch offthe ignition andleave the
Smart Keyinthe ignition lock.
Shift ingtotransmission positionD X
When thevehicle isstat ionary, depress the
brake pedal.
X Push theDIRE CTSELECT leverdown past
the first point ofresistan ce. Tr
ansmission positiondisplay
The curren ttransmis sionposition isshow nin
the multifu nctio ndisplay. :
Tran smiss ionposit ion
The arrows inthe transm ission position
display showhowandintowhich
tr ansm ission positionsyoucan chan geusing
the DIRECT SELECT lever .
! Ifthe transm ission positiondisplay inthe
mult ifunc tiondisplay isnot work ing,you
should pullaway carefully tochec kwhether
the desired transmission positionis
engaged. Selecttransmission positionD.
Do not restrict theshift range. Automat
ictransmission
145Driving and parking Z

Trans
mission pos ition s B
Park
position
Do not shiftthe transmi ssion into
po sitio nP(Y page 155) unless the
veh icleis sta tionar y.The parking
lo ck sho uld not beused asabra ke
wh en parking .In additio nto
eng aging the parking lock, you
mu stalwa ysapplythe electri c
pa rking braketosec urethe
veh icle.
If the vehicleelectro nicsare
ma lfunctio ning,the transmi ssion
ma ybe locked inpo sitio nP. Hav e
the vehicleelectro nicschecked at
a qu alifi ed speci alistw orkshop,
e.g. anauthorized Mercedes-B enz
Center, immediately.
The automatic transmission shifts
to Pautomatically ifyou:
R remove theSmart Key
R switch offthe engine wheninR
or Dand open oneofthe front
doors C
Reverse
gear
Only shiftthetrans mission toR
when thevehicle isstation ary. A
Neut
ral
Do not shift thetrans mission toN
while driving. Otherwise, the
automatic transmission couldbe
damaged.
No power istrans mittedfrom the
engine tothe drive wheels.
Releasi ngthe brakes willallow you
to move thevehicle freely,e.g.to
push itor tow it.
If ESP ®
is deactivated orfaulty:
only shift thetrans mission to
position Nifthe vehicle isin danger
of skidding, e.g.onicy roads.
If you switch offthe engine using
the Smart Keyorthe Start /Stop
button ,the automatic transmission
shifts toneutral Nautomatically.
! Rolling inneutral Ncan damage
the drive train. 7
Drive
The
automatic transmission
changes gearautomatically. All
forward gearsareavaila ble. Changing
gear
The automatic transmission shiftstothe
individual gearsautomatically whenitis in
trans mission position D.Thisautomatic
gearshifting behaviorisdetermined by:
R apossible limitation ofthe shift range
R the position ofthe accelerator pedal
R the road speed 146
Automat
ictransmissionDriving and parking

Dri
vin gtips
Kickd own Use
kick down formax imum acceler ation .
X Ve hic les forUSA: fullydepr essthe
acc eler ator peda l.
The trans mis sions hifts toalower gear
depending onthe engine speed.
X Vehicles forCanada: depressthe
accelerator pedalbeyond thepressure
point.
The transmission shiftstoalower gear
depending onthe engine speed.
Rocking thevehicle free Rocking
thevehicle freebyshifting backand
forth between transmission positionsDand
R can help tofree avehicle thathasbecome
stuck inmud orsnow. Theengine
management systemofthe vehicle limits
shifting backandforth between transmission
positions Dand Rto amaximum speedof
5 mph (9km/h). Toshift back andforth
between transmission positionsDand R,
move theselector leverupand down beyond
the pressure point.
Working onthe vehicle G
WARNING When
working onthe vehicle, engagethe
electronic parkingbrakeandshift the
automatic transmission intopark position P.
Otherwise thevehicle couldrollaway which
could result inan accident and/orserious
personal injury.
Tra iler towing X
Drive inthe middle ofthe engine speed
range onuphill gradients.
X Depending onthe uphill ordownhill
gradient, shiftdown intoshift range 3or
2(Y page 147), evenifcruise controlor
DIS TRONIC PLUSareswitched on. Steering
wheelpaddleshifters You
canrestrict orderestrict theshift range
by using thesteering wheelpaddle
shifters :and ;(Y page147). i
You
canonly change gearwiththe
steering wheelpaddle shifters whenthe
transmission isin position D. Shift
ranges
Introduction In
transmission positionD,you can usethe
steering wheelpaddle shiftertorestrict or
derestrict theshift range forthe automatic
transmission (Ypage 147).
The shift range selected isshown inthe
multifunction display.The automatic
transmission shiftsonlyasfar asthe selected
gear. Driving
situations =
You
canusetheengine's braking
effect . Automat
ictransmission
147Driving and parking Z

5
To
use thebraking effectofthe
engine ondownhill gradients and
for driving:
R on steep mountain roads
R in mountain ousterrain
R in arduous conditions 4
To
use thebraking effectofthe
engine onextr emely steepdownhill
gradients andonlong downhill
stret ches Restr
icting theshift range X
Pull theleft- hand steerin gwheel paddle
shifter.
The automatic transmission shiftsdown
one gear andrestrict sthe shift range tothe
relevant gear. i
If
the engine exceeds themaximum
engine speedwhenshifting down,the
automatic transmission protectsagainst
engine damage bynot shifting down. i
If
the maximum enginespeedforthe shift
range isreached andyoucont inue to
accelerate, theautomatic transmission
shifts up,even ifthe shift range is
restrict ed.This prevents theengine from
overrevving.
Derestricting theshift range X
Pull theright-hand steeringwheelpaddle
shifter.
The shift range isderestrict ed.
Clearing theshift range restriction X
Pull and hold theright-hand steeringwheel
paddle shifteruntilDis shown againinthe
multifunction display.
The automatic transmission shiftsfromthe
current shiftrange directly toD.
or X
Use theDIRECT SELECT lever toshift the
transmission toposition D.
The automatic transmission shiftsfromthe
current shiftrange directly toD.
Selec tingtheideal shiftrange X
Pull theleft-hand steeringwheelpaddle
shifter andhold itin position.
The automatic transmission shiftstothe
gear which allowsoptimum acceleration
and deceleration. Todo this, theautomatic
transmission shiftsdownoneormore
gears. 148
Automat
ictransmissionDriving and parking

Problems
withthetransmission Problem Possible
causes/co nsequences andM Solutions
The
transm issionhas
problems shiftinggear. The
transm issionislosing oil.
X Have thetransm issioncheckedataqual ified specialist
workshop, e.g.anauthorized Mercedes-B enzCenter,
immediately. The
acceleration ability
is deteriorating.
The transm issionno
longer changes gear. The
transm issionisin emergency mode.
It is only possible toshift intosecon dgear andreverse gear.
X Stop thevehicle.
X Shift thetransm issiontoposition P.
X Switch offthe engine.
X Wait atleast 10seconds beforerestartingthe engine.
X Shift thetransm issiontoposition Dor R.
If D is selected, thetransm issionshiftsintosecon dgear; ifR is
selected, thetransm issionshiftsintoreverse gear.
X Have thetransm issioncheckedataqual ified specialist
workshop, e.g.anauthorized Mercedes-B enzCenter,
immediately. Refueling
Import
antsafety notes G
WARNING Gasoli
neand diesel fuelsarehighly flammable
and poisonous. Theyburnviolently andcan
cause serious injury.
Never allowsparks, flamesorsmoking
materials neargasoline ordiesel fuel!
Turn offthe engine beforerefueling.
Whenever youarearound gasoline ordiesel
fuel, avoid inhaling fumesandanyskin or
clothing contact.Extinguish allsmoking
materials.
Direct skincontactwith fuels andthe
inhalation offuel vapors aredamaging your
health. G
WARNING Overfilling
ofthe fuel tank maycreate
pressure inthe system whichcouldcause a
gas discharge. Thiscould cause thegasoline to
spray backoutwhen removing thefuel
pump nozzle,which couldcause personal
injury. G
WARNING Do
not filldiesel tankswith gasoline. Donot
mix diesel fuelwith gasoline. Otherwise the
fuel system andengine couldbedamaged. In
addition, thevehicle couldcatch fire.
! Donot use gasoline torefuel vehicles with
a diesel engine. Donot use diesel torefuel
vehicles withagasoline engine.Evena
small quantity ofthe wrong fuelwill
damage thefuel system andengine.
! Donot switch onthe ignition ifyou
accidentally refuelwiththewrong fuel.
Otherwise, thefuel willenter thefuel lines.
Notify aqual ified specialist workshop and
have thefuel tank andfuel lines drained
completely. Refueling
149Driving and parking Z

Gasoli
ne
Fuel grade !
You shou ldonly refuel withpremiu m-
grade unleadedgaso line, asthis avoids
dama gingthecataly ticconverter.
Flexibl efuel vehicle s,identifi ablefrom the
lab elinside thefuel filler flap ,can be
refuel edwith E85. Forfurther information
on flexib lefuel ,see "Fue l".
If engine running problemsareapparent,
have thecause checked immediatelyand
repa ired. Excess unburned fuelcan
otherwi seenter thecataly ticconverter,
lea ding tooverhea tingandpossi bly
causi ngafire.
! Use afilter when refuelingfrom afuel can.
Otherwi se,the fuel lines and/or injection
system couldbeblocked byparticl esfrom
the fuel can. i
Only
refuel withpremiu m-grade unleaded
gaso linewith aspecifi edminimu moctane
numb erof91 (avera gevalue of96 RON/
86 MON) .
You willus ua lly find informa tion abou tthe
fuel grade onthe pump. Ifyou cannot find
the label onthe pump, askthestaff for
assistance.
You canfind more information under"Fuel"
(Y page 385), orby cont acting an
authorized Mercedes-Ben zService Center
or visitin ghtt p://ww w.mbu sa.com (USA
only). Diesel
Fuel grade !
Only refuel withULTRA- LOWSULFUR
DIE SELFUE L(ULSD ,15 ppm SULF UR
MAXI MUM). Usingotherdiesel fuelscould
result inincr eased wearanddamage tothe
engin eand/or exhaust system.
Never refuelwithmarine dieselorheating
oil. Do
not mix these fuelswithdiesel fuelsand
do not use anyspecial additives, asthis
may result indamage.
! Use afilter when adding fuelfrom afuel
can. Other wise, thefuel lines and/or the
fuel inject ion system couldbeblocked by
particles fromthefuel can. i
Usually,
youwillfind infor mation about
the fuel grade onthe pump. Ifyou cann ot
find thelabel onthe gasoline pump,askthe
gas stationstaff .
You canfind more information under“Fuel”
(Y page 385),or by con tact ingan
authoriz edMercedes- BenzService Center
or visitin ghtt p://ww w.mbu sa.com (USA
only).
Low outsid etem pera tures !
Donot use gasoline torefuel vehicles with
a diesel engine.Never mixdiesel with
gasoline orkeros ene,asthis may result in
damage tothe engin eor fuel system.
Diesel fuelwith improved coldflowpropert ies
is available duringthewinter months.Furt her
infor mation onfuel propert iescan be
obtained fromoilcompan ies,e.g. atgas
stat ions. Refueling
Fuel filler flap The
fuel filler flapisunlock edorlocked
automatic allywhen youopen orclose the
vehicle withtheSmart Keyorusing KEYLE SS-
GO.
The position ofthe fuel filler capisdisplayed
in the instrument cluster8.T hearrow
next tothe filling pump indicates theside of
the vehicle. 150
RefuelingDriving and parking