2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class change time

Cert
ainengin esyst ems aredesi gned tokeep
th eleve lof pois onous compo nentsin ex haust
fum eswit hin legal limits.
Thes esyst ems onlywork atpeak efficie ncy
when they are main tainedex act lyin
acc ordanc ewit hth eman ufacturer's
spec ifications.Fo rthis reason, allwork onthe
engine mustbecarried outonly byqual ified
and authorized Mercedes-Ben ztechn icians.
The engin esett ings must notbechanged in
any circumstan ces.Furthermor e,all specific
servic ework must becarried outatregular
int ervals andinaccor dance withthe
Mercedes- Benzservic erequirement s.Det ails
can befound inthe Serv iceBook let. Engine
oil
! Vehicles withadiesel particle filter:
If the vehic leismost lydriven forshort
distan ces,itis possible thatmalfun ctions
may occurduring theautomat icclean ingof
the diesel particle filter. This canlead to
engin edamage. Therefore,ifyou frequen tly
drive short distan ces,make suretodrive
on highways orinter- urban roadsfor20
minut esatleast every 310miles (500km). Br
akes
Imp ortant safet ynotes G
WARN
ING On
slippery roadsurfac es,nev erdowns hiftin
order toobtain brakingact ion. This could
result indrive wheel slipand reduce dvehic le
con trol. Your vehic le'sABSwill notpreve nt
this type ofloss ofcon trol. G
WARN
ING Make
surethatyoudonot endan gerother
road users whenyouapply thebrake s. Downhill
gradient s !
Onlong andsteep gradien ts,you must
reduce theload onthe brake sby shift ing
early toalower gear.Thisallows youtotak e
advant ageofthe engin ebrakin geffe ctand
helps avoidoverheatin gand excessive
wear ofthe brake s.
When youtakeadvant ageofthe engin e
brakin geffe ct,a drive wheel maynotturn
for some time,e.g. onaslippery road
surfac e.This could cause damage tothe
drive train. This type ofdamage isnot
cov ered bythe Merc edes- Benzwarrant y.
Hea vyand lightload s G
WAR
NING De
pre ssin gth ebrak epedal constant lyres ults
in ex ces siveand premat urewear tothebrak e
pads.
It may alsocauseth ebrak estoove rheat,
ser iously impairingth eir effect iven ess.Itm ay
th en notb epossible tostop thevehicle in
sufficien ttime toavoid anacciden t.
If the brakes havebeen subject edtoaheavy
load, donot stop thevehicle immediately, but
drive onfor ashort while. Thisallows the
airflow tocool thebrakes morequickly.
Wet roads G
WARN
ING Aft
erdriving inheavy rainforsome time
without applying thebrakes orthro ugh water
deep enough towet brake compon ents,the
first braking actionmaybesomewhat
reduced. Youhave todepress thebrake pedal
more firmly. Maintain asafe distanc efrom
vehicles infron t.
Aft erdriving onawet road orhaving the
vehicle washed, brakefirmlywhilepaying
atten tiontothe traff iccon ditions .This will
warm upthe brake discs, thereby dryingthem
more quickly andprotec tingthem against
corr osion. Driving
tips
159Driving and parking Z

This
style ofdriving prevent s:
R the vehicle fromlifting offthe ground onthe
brow ofahill
R the vehicle fromtraveling tooquickly down
the other side
Driving downhill R
Drive slowly.
R Do not drive atan angle down steep
inclines. Steer into theline offall and drive
with thefron twheels aligned straight.
Otherwise, thevehicle couldslipsidewa ys,
tip and rollover.
R Before tackling steepdownhill gradients,
select shiftrange 1.
R Act ivate DSR. Ifthis isnot sufficient, brake
gently. Whendoingso,make surethatthe
vehicle isfacing inthe direction ofthe line
of fall.
R Check thatthebrakes areworking normally
after along downhill stretch. i
The
special off-road ABS settin genables
a precise, briefandrepeated lockingofthe
front wheels, causing themtodig into the
loose earth. Beaware thatthefront wheels
easily skidacross theground surface if
completely brakedandtherefore losetheir
abili tyto steer. Driving
systems Cruise
control
Import antsafety notes G
WARNING The
cruise controlisaconven iencesystem
designed toassist thedriver during vehicle
operation. Thedriver isand must always
remain responsible forthe vehicle's speed
and forsafe brake operation.
Only usethecruise controlifthe road, traffic,
and weather condition smake itadvisabl eto
travel ataconst antspeed. R
The useofthe cruise controlcan be
dangerous onwinding roadsorinheavy
traffic because condition sdo not allow safe
driving ataconst antspeed.
R The useofthe cruise controlcan be
dangerous onslippery roads.Rapid
changes intire tract ioncan result inwheel
spin andloss ofcont rol.
R Deactivate thecruise controlwhen driving
in fog.
The "Resu me"funct ionshould onlybe
operated ifthe driver isfully aware ofthe
previously setspeed andwishes toresume
this particular presetspeed. G
WARNING The
cruise controlbrakes automatically so
that thesetspeed isnot exceeded.
General notes Cruise
controlmaintains aconst antroad
speed foryou. Itbrakes automatically inorder
to avoid exceeding thesetspeed. Onlong and
steep downhill gradients, especiallyif the
vehicle isladen ortowing atrailer, youmust
select shiftrange 1,2or 3in good time. By
doing so,you willmake useofthe braking
effect ofthe engine, whichrelieves theload
on the brake system andprevents thebrakes
from overheating andwearing tooquickly.
Use cruise controlonly ifroad andtraffic
condition smake itappropriate tomaintain a
steady speedforaprolonged period.Youcan
set any road speed above20mph
(30 km/h). i
Cruise
controlshould notbeactivated
during off-road driving. Driving
systems
167Driving and parking Z

X
Sel ect the Dis
tanceDisplay functi
on
us ing the on-bo ardcomp uter
(Y page 232) . i
Yo
uwi llsee thestore dspe edfor abou t
fiv eseco ndswhen youacti vate DISTR ONIC
PLU S.
Dri vin gwi th DISTRONI CPL US Pul
ling awa y
X Ifthe vehic lein fron tpulls away: remove
you rfoot from thebrake pedal.
X Briefly pullthecruise controllever
(Y page 172)towards you.
or
X Acc elerate briefly.
Your vehicle pullsaway andadapts its
speed tothat ofthe vehicle infront .
Driving G
WARNIN
G If
you depress thebrake, DISTRONIC PLUSis
deactivated unlessyourvehicle isstation ary.
DIS TRONIC PLUSthennolonger brakes your
vehicle. Insuch cases, controlthe distance
from vehicles travelling infront withthebrake
alone. Youcould otherwise causeanaccident
and thereby injureyourself andothers. The
driver remains fullyresponsible forthe
vehicle's distancefromother vehicles, the
speed beingdriven andforbraking ingood
time.
If there isno vehicle infront ,DIS TRONIC
PLUS operates inthe same wayascruise
cont rol.
If DIS TRONIC PLUSdetect sthat thevehicle
in front hasslowed down,itbrakes your
vehicle. Inthis way, thedistance youhave
selected ismaintained.
If DIS TRONIC PLUSdetect sthat thevehicle
in front hasincreased speed,itincreases your
driving speed,butonly uptothe speed you
have stored. Changing
lanes
If you wish tochange tothe passing lane(in
count rieswith right- hand traffic ,the passing
lane isthe left- hand lane), DISTRONIC PLUS
supports youif:
R you aredriving fasterthan40mph
(60 km/ h).
R DIS TRONIC PLUSismaintainin gthe
distance toavehicle infront .
R you switch onthe appropriate turnsignals.
R DIS TRONIC PLUSdoesnotdetect adanger
of collision.
If these condit ionsaremet, yourvehicle is
accelerated. Acceleration willbeinter rupted
if changing lanestakes toolong orifthe
distance between yourvehicle andthe
vehicle infront becomes toosmall. G
WARNIN
G DIS
TRONIC PLUSandActiveBlind SpotAssist
are only aidsdesigned toassist driving.
They donot relieve youofthe responsibility
of paying attention.Thedriver remains fully
responsible forthe vehicle's distancefrom
other vehicles, thevehicle's speedandfor
braking ingood time. Always payatten tionto
traffic conditionsandyour surroundings.
Otherwise, youmay failtorecogn izedangers
in time, cause anaccident andinjure yourself
and others.
Vehicles withCOMAND i
The
following functionisnot operational
in all count ries.
DIS TRONIC PLUSusesadditional information
from yournavigation systemsothat itcan
react appropriately tocert aintraffic
situations. Thisisthe case if,while following
a vehicle, DISTRONIC PLUSisactive andyou:
R approach ordrive through atraffic circle
R approach aTinter section
R turn offatafreeway exit
Even ifthe vehicle infront leaves the
detect ionrange, DISTRONIC PLUS
temporarily maintainsthecurrent driving 174
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

Problems
withPARKTRONIC Problem Possible
causes/co nsequences andM Solutions
Only
thered segments
in the PARKTRONIC
warning displaysare lit.
You also hear awarning
tone forapproximately
two seconds.
PARKTRONIC is
deactivated after
approximately
20 seconds, andthe
indicator lampinthe
PARKTRONIC button
lights up. PARKTRONIC
hasmalfunction edand hasswitched off.
X Ifproblems persist,havePARKTRONIC checkedataqual ified
specialist workshop. Only
thered segments
in the PARKTRONIC
warning displaysare lit.
PARKTRONIC is
deactivated after
approximately 20
seconds. The
PARKTRONIC sensorsaredirty orthere isinterf erence.
X Clea nthe PARKTRONIC sensors(Ypage 322).
X Switch theignition backon. The
problem maybecaused byan extern alsource ofradio or
ultrasound waves.
X See ifPARKTRONIC functionsinadifferent location. Active
Parking Assist
Import antsafety notes Act
ive Parking Assistisan electronic parking
aid with ultrasound. Ultrasoundisused to
measure theroad onboth sides ofthe vehicle.
As uitable parkingspac eis ind icat edbythe
park ingsymb ol.Active steer ing interv ention
can assis tyou during parking. Youmay also
use PARKTRONIC (Ypage 183). When
PARKTRONIC isswitched off,Active Parking
Assist isalso unavailab le. G
WARNIN
G Act
iveParking Assistismerely anaid and may
sometimes recommendparking spacesthat
are not suitable forparking. Forexample,
these might bespaces whereparking is
prohibited, driveways,unsuitablesurfaces,
etc. Act
ive Parking Assistmeasures theparking
space asyou drive pastit.Any later changes
to the parking spacearenot taken into
account .For instan ce,this may bethe case
when thevehicle parkedinfront ofor behind
the space changes itsposition orwhen an
obstacle ismoved intotheparking space.
Act ive Parking Assistdoesnotrelieve youof
the responsibility ofpaying attention.Ifyou
rely solely onAct ive Parking Assist,you could
cause anaccident andinjure yourself and
others.
You arealway sresponsible forsafety and
must continue topay atten tiontoyour
immediate surroundings whenparking and
maneuvering. 186
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

G
WARNING Objects
locatedabovethe heig htrange of
Active Parking Assistwillnot bedetected
when theparki ngspace ismeasu red.These
are not taken intoaccount whentheparki ng
proced ureiscalcu lated,e.g. overha nging
loa ds, tail sections orloa ding ramps ofgood s
vehicl es.Insome circumsta nces,Active
Parking Assistmaytherefore guide you into
the parki ngspace tooearly.This may leadto
a colli sion. Forthis reaso n,you shou ldavoi d
usi ng Active Parking Assistinsuch situations. G
WARNING The
front ofthe vehicl ewil lveer outinthe
dire ction ofthe oncoming trafficduringthe
parki ngopera tion.Insome cases, thevehicl e
wil lals otake youonto sections ofthe
oncoming laneduringthe parki ngproced ure.
You arerespo nsiblefor safety atall times and
must payattention toany road users
app roachi ngorpass ing.Stop thevehicl eif
necessa ryor cancel theActive Parking Assist
parki ngproced ure. G
WARNING Make
surenoperso nsoranima lsare inor
near thearea inwhi chyou areparki ng/
maneu vering. Otherwi se,they couldbe
injured .
Use Active Parking Assistforparki ngspa ces:
R that arepara llelto the direction oftravel
R that areonstraig htroad s,not bends
R that areonthe same levelas the road ,e.g.
not onthe pave ment
Parking tips:
R on narrow roads,drive pastthe parking
space asclose aspossible.
R parking spacesthatarelittered, overgrown
or partially occupied bytrailer drawba rs
might beidentified incorrectlyornot atall.
R snowfall orheavy rainmay lead toaparking
space beingmeasured inaccurately. R
pay attent iontothe PARKTRONIC
(Y page 184)warning messages duringthe
parking procedure.
R you can interven ein the steering procedure
to correct itat any time. Active Parking
Assist willthen becanceled.
R when transport ingaload which protrudes
from yourvehicle, youshould notuse
Act ive Parking Assist.
R never useActiveParking Assistwhensnow
chains oran emergency sparewheel are
mounted.
R make surethatthetire pressures are
alwa yscorrect .This has adirec tinflu ence
on the parking characteri stics ofthe
veh icle.
R the wayyo ur veh icleis po sitio ned inthe
pa rking spaceafter parking isde pende nt
on vario us factors .These include the
position andshape ofthe vehicles parked
in front andbehind itand thecondition sof
the location. Insome cases, Active Parking
Assist mayguide youtoofarinto aparking
space, ornot farenough intoit.Insome
cases, itmay alsolead youacross oronto
the curb. Ifnecessary, youshould abortthe
parking procedure withActive Parking
Assist.
R you can also engage forward gear
prematurely. Thevehicle redirects and
does notdrive asfar into theparking space.
Should thegear change occurtoosoon to
achieve asensible parkingposition, the
parking procedure willbeaborted.
! Ifunavoidabl e,you should driveover
obstacles suchascurbs slowly andnotat
a sharp angle. Otherwise, youmay damage
the wheels ortires.
Detecting aparking space Active
ParkingAssist isswi tched on
au tomatica llywhe ndriving forwards.The
system isopera tional atspee dsofup to
app roximatel y22 mph (35km/h). Whilein
opera tion,thesystem independently locates Drivi
ngsystems
187Driving and parking Z

Rear
viewcame ra
Impo rtant safetynotes The
rearview came raisan opt ical park ingand
mane uverin gaid. Itshows thearea behin d
your vehic lewith guide linesinthe COMA ND
display. G
WARN
ING Make
surethatnoperso nsoranimals arein
the mane uverin grang e.Oth erwise, they
could beinjured.
The rear view came raisin the handle onthe
tailgat e. :
Rear viewcame ra
View throu ghthecam era The
area behin dthe vehic leisdisplayed ina
mirr or-inv erted mann er,asinthe rear- view
mirr or. G
WARN
ING The
rear view came raisonly anaid and may
display obstacles
R fro madistort edperspect ive
R inacc urately
R may notdisplay obstaclesatall The
rear view camera doesnotrelieve youof
the respon sibility tobe cautious. Takecare
and paycareful attention. Therear view
camera maynotshow objectswhich are
R very close tothe rear bumper
R under therear bumper
R above thetailgate handle
You arerespon sibleforsafety atall times and
must continue topay attention tothe
immediate surroundingswhen parkin gand
maneuver ing.This includes thearea behind,
in fron tof,and besidethe vehicl e.Otherwi se
you couldendange ryourself and/or others. G
WARNING Under
thefollowing circumstances,therear
view camera willnotfunct ion,orwill funct ion
in alimited manner :
R the tailgate isopen
R in heavy rain,snow orfog
R at night orinvery dark places
R ifthe camera isexposed tovery bright light
R ifthe area islit by fluorescent lightorLED
lighting (thedisplay mayflicker)
R ifthere isasudden changeintemperature,
e.g. when driving intoaheated garagein
winter
R ifthe camera lensisdirty orobstruct ed
R ifthe rear ofyour vehicle isdamaged. Inthis
event ,have thecamera position andsetting
check edataquali fiedspecialist workshop.
Mercedes-B enzrecommen dsthat youuse
an authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter for
this purpose.
Do not use therear view camera inthese
types ofsituation. Youcould otherwise injure
others ordamage objectsand your vehicle
while youareparking. 190
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

ATT
ENTI ONASSIST asses ses your level of
fa tig ue orlaps es inconce ntrationb yta king
th efo llowi ngcriteri ainto acc oun t:
R your person aldri vin gst yle, e.g. steer ing
ch arac teris tics
R dri vin gco nd ition s,e.g. time, drivin gtime
The function alit yof ATTENTI ON ASSIST is
res trict ed and warn ings may bedelaye dor
no toc cur atall:
R ifth ero ad cond ition ispoo r,e.g. ifth e
sur faceis une ven orifth ere arepotholes
R ifth ere isast ro ng side wind
R ifyou haveadop tedaspo rty dri vin gst yle
wit hhig hco rneri ng spe eds orhig hrat es of
acc eler ation
R ifyou predom inant lydri ve atspe eds under
50 mph (80km/h)or over 11 2mph
(18 0km /h)
R ifyou arecurren tly usin gCOMA NDor
mak ing ate leph onecal lwit hit
R ifthe timehas been setincorrect ly
R in act ive drivin gsit uation s,such aswhen
you chan gelanes orchan geyour speed
War ning anddisplaymessa gesinthe
mu ltifunct iondisp lay X
Ac tivate ATTENTION ASSIS Tusing theon-
board computer (Ypage 232).
Symbo l: appears inthe mult ifunc tion
display.
If ATT ENTION ASSIS Tis act ive, you willbe
warne dno soon erthan 20min utes afteryour
jour ney hasbegun. Youwillthenhear an
int ermit tentwarning tonetwice, andthe Att
ention Assist:Dro wsiness Det
ected mess
ageappears inthe
mult ifunction display. X
Ifnec essar y,tak eabreak .
X Pres sa or% tocon firm the
mess age.
On longjo urn eys, takeregular breaksin good
tim eto allow yourse lfto rest prop erly. Ifyou
do not takeabreak andATTENTION ASSIST
st ill det ectstypic alindi cators offat igue or
inc reasin glapses incon centratio n,you willbe
warn edagain after15 min utes attheearlies t.
ATT ENTION ASSIST isrese twhen you
con tinue your journ eyand start sasses sing
your tiredn ess again if:
R you switchoff theeng ine.
R you takeoff your seatbeltandopen the
driv er's door ,e.g .for achange ofdrivers or
to take abreak. Night
ViewAssist Plus
Import antsafety notes In
addition tothe illumination providedbythe
normal headlamps, NightViewAssist Plus
uses infrared lighttoilluminate theroad. The
Night ViewAssist Pluscamera picksupthe
infrared lightanddisplay sag ray scale image
in COMAND. Theimag edisp layed in
COMAND correspondstoaroad litup byhigh -
bea mheadlamps. Thisenables youtosee the
road's course andanyobstac lesingood time.
If pedestrian recognitionisactiv ated,
pedestrian srecogn izedbythe system are
highlighted inthe Night ViewAssist Plus
display. G
WARN
ING Night
ViewAssist Plusisonly anaid designed
to assist driving. Itis not asubstit utefor
atten tivedriving. Donot rely solely onthe
Night ViewAssist Plusdisplay. Continueto
look through thewindshield. Youare
respon sibleforsafety andmust drivein
accor dance withtrafficcon ditions .You could
otherwise putyourself andothers indanger. Driving
systems
195Driving and parking
Z

Problems
withNight ViewAssist Plus Problem Possible
causes/co nsequences andM Solutions
The
picture qualityof
Night ViewAssist Plus
has deteriorated. The
windshield wipersaresmearing thewindshield.
X Repla cethe wiper blades (Ypage 119). The
windshield issmeared afterthevehicle hasbeen cleaned ina
car wash.
X Clea nthe windshield (Ypage 321). There
iswindshield chipdamage inthe camera's fieldofvision.
X Repla cethe windshield. The
windshield isfogged upon the inside.
X Defrost thewindshield (Ypage 132). The
windshield isiced up.
X De-ice thewindshield (Ypage 131). There
isdirt onthe inside ofthe windshield.
X Clea nthe inside ofthe windshield (Ypage 321). Lane
Tracking package
General notes The
Lane Tracking packageconsistsof Blind
Spot Assist (Ypage 198)andLane Keeping
Assist (Ypage 200).
Blind SpotAssist Import
antsafety notes
Blind SpotAssist usesaradar sensor system
to monitor theareas onboth sides ofyour
vehicle. Itsupports youfrom speeds of
approximately 20mph (30km/h) .A warning
displa yin the exterior mirrorsdrawsyour
attent iontovehicles detectedinthe
monitored area.Ifyou then switch onthe
corresponding turnsignal tochange lane,you
will also receive anoptical andaudible
collision warning. BlindSpotAssist uses
sensors inthe rear bumper formonitorin g
purposes. G
WARNING Blind
SpotAssist isonly anaid designed to
assist driving. Itmay failtodetect some
vehicles andisno substitute forattent ive
driving.
Blind SpotAssist cannot detectroadand
traffic condition s.Itmay failtodetect narrow
vehicles, suchasmotorc yclesorbicycles, or
may onlydetect themtoolate.
Monitoring maybeaffected bydirty sensors,
stron gspray orpoor visibili tycaused bysnow,
rain ormist, forexample. Inthis case, vehicles
are detected lateornot atall.
Always payattent iontotraffic condition sand
your surroundings. Otherwise,youmay failto
recogniz edangers intime, cause anaccident
and injure yourself andothers. i
USA
only:
This device hasbeen approved bythe FCC
as a“Vehicular RadarSyst em” .The radar
sensor isinten dedforuse inan automotive
radar system only.Removal, tampering, or198
Driving
systemsDriving and parking