2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class fluid

When
the Remainin
gStarts: 16 message
is shown inthe multifunc tiondisplay, youcan
start theengine 16more times. IfDE Fis not
added, itwill notbepossible torestar tthe
engine. Fillthe DEF tank withapprox. 1gal
(3.8 l)DEF ,or have itfilled ataqual ified
specialist workshop. i
If
you drive thevehicle fasterthan10mph
(16 km/h), the Check
Additive See Operator's
Manual message
goesoff
after approximately oneminute.
Further information aboutBlueTEC exhaust
gas aftertr eatment andDEF isavaila bleatany
authorized Mercedes-Ben zCent er.
Adding DEF G
WARN
ING Make
sure
R DE Fdoes notcome intocontact with skin,
eyes, orcloth ing
R to keep DEFout ofthe reach ofchildren
If you and/or othershave come intocontact
with DEF:
R IfDE Fhas gotteninto contact with eyes,
flush withplenty ofwater immediately and
seek medical help.
R Clean affectedskin immediately withplenty
of water.
R IfDE Fw asswallowe d,rin se mout h
imm ediat elywith plentyof wate rand drink
pl enty ofwa ter. Consu ltaphy sicia n. G
WAR
NING If
yo uop en the DEF tank cap,sma llamo unts
of amm oniavap orma ybe released .This
depends inparticular upontheage ofthe DEF .
Ammon iavapors haveapungent odorandare
particularly irritatingto:
R skin
R mucous membranes
R eyes You
may experience aburning sensation in
your eyes, noseandthroat, aswell as
coughing andwatering ofthe eyes.
Do not inhale anyammonia vaporsthatmay
be released. Fillthe DEF tank onlyinwell-
ventilated areas.
! Only useDEF inaccordance with
ISO 22241 .Do not mix anyadditives with
DEF ,and donot dilute DEFwith water. This
may destroy theBlueTEC exhaustgas
aftertr eatment system.
! The vehicle mustbeparked onlevel
ground tofill the DEF tank.The DEF tank
can only befilled asinten dedwith the
vehicle parkedonalevel surface. This
avoids falselevelreadings. Fillingthetank
is not permitted ifthe vehicle isnot parked
on alevel surface. Thereisadanger of
overfilling, whichcouldresult indamage to
componen tsof the BlueTEC exhaustgas
aftertr eatment .
If the outside temperature islower than
Ò11 †,damage mayoccur whenadding DEF.
If DEF isfrozen andthere isan active warning
indicator, addingmaynotbepossible. Park
the vehicle inawarmer place,e.g.inagarage,
until DEFhasbecome fluidagain. Fillingis
then possible again.Alternatively, havethe
DEF tank refilled ataqual ified specialist
workshop.
! Rinse surfaces thathave come into
cont actwith DEFimmediately withwater or
remove DEFusing adamp clothandcold
water. Ifthe DEF hasalread ycrystallized,
use asponge andcold water toclean it.DEF
residues crystallize aftertimeand
cont aminate theaffected surfaces.
! DEF isnot afuel additive andmust notbe
added tothe fuel tank .If DEF isadded to
the fuel tank ,this canlead toengine
damage.
Further information onDEF (Ypage 387). Refueling
153Driving and parking Z

Limi
tedbraking performa nce onsalt -
tr eat edroa ds G
WAR
NING The
layer ofsalt ontheb rake discs andthe
brake pads/linings maycauseadelay inthe
brakin geffec t,resultin gin asignific antly
longer brakingdistanc e,which couldleadto
an acciden t.
To avoid thisdanger, youshould:
R occ asionally brakecarefully, without
puttin gother roadusers atrisk, when you
are driving onsalted roads. Thishelps to
remov eany salt that may have startedto
build upon the brake discsandthebrake
pads/linin gs.
R maint ainagreater distancetothe vehicle
ahead anddrive withparticular care.
R carefully applythebrakes atthe end ofa
trip and immediately aftercommen cinga
new trip,sothat saltresidues areremoved
from thebrake discs.
Servicing thebrakes !
Ifthe red brake warning lamplights upin
the instr ument cluster andyouhear a
warning tonewhile theengine isrunnin g,
the brake fluidlevel maybetoo low.
Observe additional warningmessages in
the multifunct iondisplay .
The brake fluidlevel maybetoo low due to
brake padwear orleaking brakelines.
Have thebrake system checked
immediately. Thiswork should becarried
out atan authorized Mercedes-B enz
Center.
All check sand mainten ancework onthe
brake system mustbecarried outata
quali fiedspecialist workshop only.Have this
work carried outatan authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center.
Have thebrake padsreplaced andthebrake
fluid renewed ataquali fiedspecialist
workshop, e.g.anauthorized Mercedes-B enz
Center. G
WARNING If
brake padsorbrake fluidother thanthose
recommen dedareused, thebraking
properties ofthe vehicle canbedegraded to
an exten tthat safe braking issubstantially
impaired. Thiscould result inan accident.
! Afunct ionorperformance testshould
only becarried outona2 -axl e
dy nam ome ter.Ifyo uar eplanni ngtohave
the vehicleteste don such ady nam ome ter,
conta ctan author izedMer cedes-B enz
Ce nter toobtainfu rthe rinfo rma tionfir st.
Othe rwise, youcou ldda ma gethe drive
trai nor the brakesystem .
! Asthe ESP ®
sy stem opera tes
au toma tically, the engineand theigniti on
mu stbe switch edoff (Sma rtKeyin po sitio n
0 or 1in the igniti onlock orStar t/Stop
bu tton inpo sitio n0 or 1) wh ile the electri c
pa rking brakeisbe ing teste don abra ke
dy nam ome ter(ma ximu m10secon ds).
Brak ingtrigger edautomatic allybyESP®
may seriously damagethebrake system.
If your brake system issubject onlyto
moderate loads,youshould testthe
func tionality ofyour brakes atregular
int ervals bypressing firmlyonthe brake pedal
at high speeds. Thisimproves thegrip ofthe
brake pads. G
WARN
ING Make
surethatyoudonot endanger other
road users whenyouapply thebrakes.
You canfind adescript ionofBrak eAssist
(BAS )on (Ypage 61)orofBA SPLUS on
(Y page 62). 160
Driving
tipsDriving and parking

Check
listbefor edr iving off-road X
Engine oillevel: check theen gin eoil and
add oilifne ces sary.
When drivingonsteep grad ients,th eoil
leve lmust besuff iciently high toensure a
co rrect oilsupply inthev ehicle.
X DEF tank (BlueTEC vehicles): checkthe
fluid level and,ifnec essary, refilltothe
maximum (13l)(Y page 152).
X Wheel-changing toolkit:chec kthat the
jack isworkin gand make sureyouhave the
lug wrenc h,arobust towcable andafolding
spade inthe vehicle.
X Wheels andtires: chec kthe tire tread
depth andtirepressure.
X Check fordamage andremove anyforeign
objec ts,e.g. small stones,from the
wheels/tir es.
X Replace anymissing valvecaps.
X Replace dentedordamaged wheels.
X Rims: dentedorbent rimscanresult ina
loss oftire pressure anddamage thetire
bead. Therefor e,chec kyour rims before
driving off-road andreplace themas
required.
! Ifthe engine oilwarning lamplights up
while thevehicle isin motion ,stop the
vehicle inasafe place assoon aspossible.
Check theengine oillevel. Theengine oil
warning lampwarning mustnotbeignored.
Continuing thejourney whilethesymbol is
display edcould leadtoengine damage.
Checklist afterdriving off-road G
WARNIN
G If
you notic esudden significant vibrationsor
unusual handling performanc eor ifyou
suspect thatdamage hasoccurred tothe
vehicle, youshould activate thehazard
warning lamps,gentlyreduce speedand
carefully headforanarea thatislocated ata
safe distance fromtheroad.
Check thetires andtheunderside ofthe
vehicle fordamage. Ifthe vehicle seems unsafe,
havethevehicle towedawaytothe
nearest Mercedes-B enzCenter ortire dealer
to be repaired.
! Ifyou detect damage tothe vehicle after
driving off-road, havethevehicle checked
immediately ataquali fiedspecialist
workshop.
Drivin gover rough terrain placesgreater
demands onyour vehicle thandriving on
normal roads.Afterdriving off-road, check
the vehicle. Thisallows youtodetect damage
promptly andreduce therisk ofan accident
to yourself andother roadusers.
X Deact ivateDSR(Ypage 208).
X Vehicles withtheAIRMATIC package:
lower thevehicle toaride height suitable
for the road condit ions,e.g.tothe
highway /high-speed level.
X Clean theheadlamps andrear lights and
check fordamage.
X Clean thefront andrear license plates.
X Clean thewheels/tires withawater jetand
remove anyforeign objects.
X Clean thewheels, wheelarches andthe
vehicle underside withawater jet;check
for any foreign objectsand damage.
X Check whether twigsorother partsof
plants havebecome trapped. These
increase therisk offire and candamage
fuel pipes, brakehoses orthe rubber
bellows ofthe axle jointsand propeller
shafts.
X Aft erthe trip, examine withoutfailthe
entire undercarriage, wheels,tires,brakes,
bodywork structure,steerin g,chassis and
exhaust systemfordamage.
X Aft erdriving forexten dedperiods across
sand, mud,gravel, waterorinsimilarly dirty
condit ions,havethebrake discs, wheels,
brake pads/linings andaxle jointscheck ed
and cleaned.
X Ifyou detect strongvibrations afteroff-road
travel, checkforforeign objectsin the
wheels anddrive trainandremove themif 164
Driving
tipsDriving 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). Impor
tant safet ynotes You
willfind anillustrat ionofthe instrumen t
clust erinthe "Ataglance" section
(Y page 29). G
WARN
ING A
driver' satt ent ion tothe road andtraffic
con dition smust always behis/her primary
focus whendriving.
For your safetyand thesafet yof other s,
select ingfeature sthr ough themultifun ction
steer ingwheel should onlybedone bythe
driver whentrafficand road condition spermit
it to be done safely.
Bear inmind thatataspeed ofjust 30mph
(approxim ately50km/ h),your vehic leis
cove ringadistan ceof44 feet (approxim ately
14 m)every second. G
WARN
ING No
messages willbedisplayed ifeither the
inst rumen tclust eror the multif unction
display isinoper ative.
As aresult, youwillnotbeable tosee
info rmat ionabout yourdrivin gcon dition s,
such as
R speed
R outside temperatur e
R warnin g/indicato rlamps R
malf unction/ warn ingmes sages
R failur eof any systems
Dr ivin gch arac terist ics may beimpair ed.
If you must continue todriv e,do sowith added
caut ion.Contac tana uth oriz edMer cedes-
Ben zCent eras soon aspossible. G
WARN
ING Malfunct
ionand warning messages areonly
indicat edfor cert ainsystems andare
inten tionally notvery detailed. The
malfunct ionand warning messages are
simply areminder withrespect tothe
operation ofcert ainsystems. Theydonot
replace theowner's and/ordriver's
respons ibilitytomaint ainthe vehicle's
operatin gsafety. Haveallrequired
maint enanc eand safety checksperform edon
the vehicle. Bringthe vehicle toan authorized
Mercedes- BenzCenter toaddress the
malfunct ionand warning messages. Displays
andopera tion Coolant
temperaturedispla y G
WARN
ING Drivin
gwhen yourengine isoverheat edcan
cause somefluidswhich mayhave leaked into
the engine compart menttocatc hfire. You
could beseriously burned.
St eam from anoverheat edengine cancause
serious burnswhich canoccur justbyopening
the engine hood.Stay away fromtheengine
if you seeorhear steam comingfrom it.
St op the vehicle inasafe location awayfrom
other traffic.Turn offthe engine, getout ofthe
vehicle anddonot stand nearthevehicle until
the engine hascooled down.
The coolant temperaturegauge isin the
inst rument clusteronthe right- hand side.
Under normaloperatin gcon ditions andwith
the specified coolantlevel,thecoolant
temper aturemayriseto248 ‡(120 †). 222
Displays
andopera tionOn-board computer and displays

Disp
laymessa ges Poss
iblecauses/c onseq uences and M Solu
tions The
displaymes sage ison lysho wnwhile theveh icleis in mot ion.
The yello w! warning lamp lightsup and thered F (USA
on ly)/ ! (Canadaonly) indic ato rlamp flashes.
It is no tp ossible toapply theelectric parking brakemanually .
X Shift thetrans mission toP.
X Visit aquali fiedspecialist workshop. F(USA
only)!(Canada
only)
Turn
Onthe Ignition
to Release
the Parking
Brake The
redF (USAonly)/ !(Canada only)indicator lamplights
up.
You attempt edtorelease theelectric parking brakewhilethe
ignition wasswitched off.
X Smar tKey: turntheSmart Keytoposition 1in the ignition lock.
X KEYL ESS-GO: switchonthe ignition. $(USA
only)J(Canada
only)
Check
BrakeFluid Level G
Risk
ofaccident There
isnot enough brakefluidinthe brake fluidreservoir.
Additionally, thered $ (USAonly)/ J(Canada only)
warning lamplights upinthe instr ument cluster andawarning
ton esounds.
X Pull over andstop thevehicle safelyassoon aspossible, paying
atten tiontoroad andtraffic conditions.Donot cont inue driving
under anycircumst ances.
X En gage theelectric parking brake.
X Consult aquali fiedspecialist workshop.
X Do not add brake fluid.Thiswillnotrect ifythe malfunct ion. G
WARNIN
G Drivin
gwith themessage Check Brake Fluid Level display
edcan result inan accident .Have
your brakesyst emcheck edimm ediat ely.
Do notadd brake fluidbefore checkingthe brake system. Overfillingthebrake fluidreserv oircan
result inspilling brakefluidonhot engin eparts andthebrake fluidcatching fire.Youcanbe
seriously burned. 244
Display
messagesOn-board computer and displays

Disp
laymessa ges Poss
iblecauses/c onseq uences and M Solu
tions ?
Coo
lantLev elLow Sto
pVeh icl eTur n Eng
ine Off The
coolan tistoo hot.
X Pull over andstop thevehicle safelyandswitch offthe engine,
pay ing attent iontoroad andtraffic conditions.
X Make surethattheairsuppl yto the engine radiatorisnot
blocked, e.g.bysnow, slushorice.
X Wait untilthedispla ymessage disappearsbefore restarting the
engine. Otherwise, thereisarisk ofengine damage .
X Pay attent iontothe coolant temperature display.
X Ifthe temperature increasesagain,visit aqual ified speciali st
workshop immediately . The
poly-V-belt mayhave torn.
X Pull over andstop thevehicle safelyandswitch offthe engine,
pay ing attent iontoroad andtraffic conditions.
X Open thehood.
X Check whether thepoly-V-belt istorn.
If the poly-V-belt istorn:
! Donot cont inue driving. Theengine couldotherwise overheat.
X Consult aqual ified speciali stworkshop.
If the poly-V-belt isnot dam aged:
X Wait untilthedispla ymessage disappearsbefore restarting the
engine. Otherwise, thereisarisk ofengine damage .
X Pay attent iontothe coolant temperature display.
X Visit aqual ified speciali stworkshop. G
WARNING Driving
whenyourengine isoverheated cancause somefluidswhich mayhave leaked intothe
engine compartment tocatch fire.Youcould beseriously burned.
Steam fromanoverheated enginecancause serious burnswhich canoccur justbyopening the
engine hood.Stayawayfrom theengine ifyou seeorhear steam coming fromit.
Stop thevehicle inasafe location awayfrom other traffic. Turnoffthe engine, getout ofthe
vehicle anddonot stand nearthevehicle untiltheengine hascooled down.
! Ifthe coolant temperature exceeds248‡(120 †)donot cont inue driving. Theengine will
otherwise bedamage d. Dis
play messages
255On-board computer and displays Z

Disp
laymessa ges Poss
iblecauses/c onseq uences and M Solu
tions Pho
neNoSer vice Your
vehicleis out side thene twork provider'strans mitter/
rec eiverran ge.
X Wait untilth emob ilepho neoper ationalread iness sym bol
appea rsinthemult ifunction disp lay. ¥
Che
ckWasher Fluid The
wash erflui dlev elin thew asher fluidreservoir has dropped
below themin imum .
X Ad dwashe rfluid (Y page 315). Sma
rtKey Displa
ymessag es Possibl
ecaus es/conseq uencesandM Solut
ions +
Key
DoesNot Bel
ong toVehicle You
have putthewron gSm artKey intheign itio nlock.
X Use thecorrec tSmart Key. +
Take Your Key from
Ignition The
Smart Keyisin the ignition lock.
X Remove theSmart Key. +
Obtain
aNew Key The
Smart Keyneeds tobe replaced.
X Visit aquali fiedspecialist workshop. +
Replace Key Battery The
batteries ofthe KEYLE SS-GO key aredischarged.
X Change thebatteries (Ypage 75). +
Don't
Forget Your Key The
display message isshown foramaximum of60 seconds and
is only areminder.
You have opened thedriver's doorwiththeengine switched off.
The KEYLE SS-GO key isnot inthe ignition lock.
X Remember totake theKEYLE SS-GO key with youwhen you
leave thevehicle. Display
messages
267On-board computer and displays Z

Safety
systems Problem Possible
causes/co nsequences andM Solutions
$
(USAonly)
J (Canada only)
The redbrake system
warning lampcomes on
while theengine is
running. Awarning tone
also sounds. G
Risk
ofaccident The
brake boosting effectismalfunction ingand thebraking
characterist icsmay beaffected.
X Pull over andstop thevehicle safelyassoon aspossible, paying
atten tiontoroad andtraffic condition s.Do not cont inue driving
under anycircumst ances.
X Engage theelectric parking brake.
X Consult aqual ified specialist workshop.
X Observe theadditional displaymessages inthe multifunct ion
display . $
(USAonly)
J (Canada only)
The redbrake system
warning lampcomes on
while theengine is
running. Awarning tone
also sounds. G
Risk
ofaccident There
isnot enough brakefluidinthe brake fluidreservoir.
X Pull over andstop thevehicle safelyassoon aspossible, paying
atten tiontoroad andtraffic condition s.Do not cont inue driving
under anycircumst ances.
X Engage theelectric parking brake.
X Consult aqual ified specialist workshop immediately.
X Observe theadditional displaymessages inthe multifunct ion
display .
Do not add brake fluid.Thiswillnotrectify themalfunction . G
WARNING Driving
withthebrake warning lampilluminated canresult inan accident. Haveyourbrake system
check edimmediately ifthe brake warning lampstays on.Donot add brake fluidbefore checking
the brake system.
Overfilling thebrake fluidreservoir canresult inspilling brakefluidonhot engine partsandthe
brake fluidcatchin gfire. Youcanbeseriously burned. War
ning andindicator lampsin the instrum entcluster
271On-board computer and displays Z