2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class height

cannot
complete the attem ptedclimb, back it
dow ninr everse gear.
Do not drive along theside ofaslope. The
vehicle mightotherwiserollover. Ifin doing so
the vehicle beginstoshow aten dency toroll,
immediately steerintoaline ofgravity
(straight upordownhill).
Never letthe vehicle rollbackwards inidle.
You may losecontrol ofthe vehicle ifyou use
only theservic ebrake. Forinfor mation on
driving downhill, see"Drivin gdownhill". G
WARN
ING Vehicles
withairsuspension program:Please
be aware thatbyraising thevehicle level,the
cent erofgravity alsorises. Therefor e,alway s
ensure thatthevehicle levelisas low as
possible. Withhigher rideheight theESP®
may activat eearlier incert ainsituation s. G
WARN
ING Do
not reduce thetire inflation pressure
before driving through sand. However, ifyou
do so, remember tocorr ectthe tire inflation
pressure beforecontinuin gyour trip.Drivin g
with reduced tireinflation pressure increases
the risk oflosing control ofthe vehicle and
rolling over.
General notes Read
thissect ioncarefully beforedriving your
vehicle off-road. Practicebydriving overmore
gent leoff- road terrainfirst .
Familiarize yourselfwiththecharact eristics
of your vehicle andthegear shiftoperation
before driving through difficult terrain.
The following drivingsystems arespecially
adapted tooff- road driving:
R Off- road ABS(Ypage 61)
R AIRMA TICpackage (vehiclelevel)
(Y page 180)
R DS R(Downh illSpeed Regulation)
(Y page 208) Observe
thefollowing notes:
R Stop the vehicle beforestartingtodrive
along anoff- road route.
R For vehicles withAIRMA TICpackage:
select avehicle levelthatissuitable forthe
off- road terrain. Make surethere isalway s
sufficien tground clearanc eto preven t
damage tothe vehicle.
R Check thatitems ofluggage andloads are
stowed safelyandarewell secured
(Y page 288).
R Always keeptheengine runningand ingear
when driving onadownhill gradient.
Ac tivat eDS R(Ypage 208).
R Always keepthedoors, tailgate, windows
and sliding sunroof closedwhiledriving.
R Adapt yourspeed tothe terrain. The
rougher, steeperormore rutsonthe
terr ain, theslower yourspeed should be.
R Driv eslowly andatan even speed through
the water. Ensure thatabow wave doesnot
form asyou drive.
R Driv ewith extreme careonunkn ownoff-
road routes wherevisibility ispoor. For
safety reasons ,get out ofthe vehicle first
and survey theoff-road route.
R Look outforobstac lessuch asrock s,holes,
tree stumps andfurrows.
R Check thedepth ofwater before fording
rivers andstreams.
R When fording,do not stop anddonot
switc hoff the engin e.
R On sand, drivequickly tooverc omethe
rolling resistance. Otherwise, thevehicle
could digitself intothe sand.
R Do not jump withthevehicle asthis will
int errupt thevehicle's propulsion.
R Always keeptheengin erunn ingand ingear
when drivingon aslope.
R Do not shift theautomatic transmission to
tran smission positionN. Driving
tips
163Driving and parking Z

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

:
Cen tero fthe vehicle onthe red guide line
approximately 10in(0.25 m)away from
the rear area
; Center ofthe vehicle onthe yellow guide
line approximately 3ft (1 m) away from
the rear area
= Trailer drawba r
? Ball coupling
X Set theheight oftrailer drawba r= sothat
it is slightly higherthanballcoupling ?.
X Position thevehicle centrally infront of
trailer drawba r=. :
Ball coupling
; Red guide lineapproximately 10in
(0.25 m)away fromtheball coupling
= Trailer drawba rmarkerassis tant
? Trail erdrawb ar
A Sym bolforthe"Couplin gup atrailer "
fun ction X
Use theCOMA NDcontroll erto selec t
symb olA.S eethe separate operating
inst ruct ions forCOMAND .
The "Coupli ngup atrailer" function is
select ed.The distanc especific ationsnow
only apply toobjec tsthat areatthe same
level asthe ball coupling.
X Back upcarefully, makingsure thattrailer
drawbar markerassistant =point s
approximat elyinthe direct ionoftrailer
drawbar ?.
X Back upcarefully untiltrailer drawbar ?
reaches redguide line;.
X Couple upthe trailer (Ypage 210). ATTEN
TIONASSIST
Impor tantsafet ynotes ATTE
NTION ASSIS Thelps youduring long,
monot onous journeyssuch ason freeways
and interst atehighways. Itis activ ein the
range between 50mph (80km/ h)and
112 mph (180 km/h).
If ATTE NTION ASSIS Tdetec tstypical
indicat orsoffatigue orincr easing lapsesin
con centration onthe part ofthe driver, it
suggests youtake abreak. G
WARN
ING ATTE
NTION ASSIS Tis only anaid and may
detec tyour tiredness orlapses in
conc entration toolate ornot atall. Itis not a
substitute forawell-rested andatten tive
driver.
Fatigue maycause youtorecogn ize
hazardous situationstoolate, misjudge a
situation orreact more slowly. Forthis
reason, makesureyoufeel rested before you
begin driving andduring yourjourney. Make
sure thatyoutake regular breaksintime,
particularly onlong journeys. Otherwise, you
may failtorecogn izedangers intime, cause
an accident andinjure yourself andothers. 194
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

Please
notethat when towing atrailer,
PARKTRONIC (Ypage 183)andBlind Spot
Assist (Ypage 198)areonly availabl ewith
limitations ,or not atall. i
On
vehicles withoutlevelcontrol,the
height ofthe ball coupling willalter
accordin gto the load placed onthe vehicle.
If necess ary,useatrailer withaheight-
adjustable drawbar.
Driving tips i
Observe
theinform ationonESP®
trailer
stabilization (Ypage 64)and onpulling
away withatrailer. (Ypage 141).
The maximum permissible speedforvehicle/
trailer combinat ionsdepends onthe type of
trailer. Before beginnin gthe journ ey,check
the trailer's document sto see what the
maximum permittedspeed is.Observe the
legally prescribed maximumspeedinthe
relevant country.
For cert ainMercedes- Benzvehicles, the
maximum permissible rearaxle load is
incr eased whentowing atrailer. Refertothe
"Technical data"sectiontofind outwhether
this applies toyour vehicle. Ifyou utilize any
of the added maximum rearaxle load when
towing atrailer, thevehicle/t railer
combinat ionmay notexceed amaximum
speed of60 mph(100 km/h)for reasons
conc ernin gthe operating permit.Thisalso
applies incount riesinwhich thepermissible
maximum speedforvehicle/t railer
combinat ionsisabove 60mph(100 km/h).
When towing atrailer, yourvehicle's handling
charact eristics willbedifferen tinc omparison
with when driving without atrail er.
On long andsteep downhill gradients, you
must selectshift range 1,2or 3in good time. i
This
alsoapp liesif you have activated
cruise control orDISTRONIC PLUS.
This willuse thebraking effectofthe engine,
so that lessbraking willbe requ iredto
maintai nthe speed. Thisrelieves theload on
the brake system andprevents thebrakes from
overheating andwearing tooquickly. If
you need additional braking,depressthe
brake pedalrepeatedly ratherthan
cont inuously .
Driving tips R
Maintain agreater distance fromthe
vehicle infront thanwhen driving without a
trailer.
R Avoid braking abruptly. Ifpossible, brake
gently atfirst toallow thetrailer torun on.
Then, increase thebraking forcerapidly .
R The values givenforgradient-c limbing
capabil itiesfrom astandst illrefer tosea
level. When driving inmountainous areas,
note thatthepower output ofthe engine,
and consequent lythe vehicle's gradient-
climbing capability,decrease with
increasing altitude.
If the trailer swings fromsidetoside:
X Do not accelerate.
X Do not counter- steer.
X Brake ifnecessary. Assemblin
gthe ball coupling
! Mercedes-Ben zrecomm endsthatyou
have theball coupling assembled ata
qualified specialist workshop.Only a
qualified specialist workshophas the
nec essary specialist knowledge andtools
to carry outthework required. Youcould
other wiseincorrectlyassemble theball
coupling ortight enthe nut with the
incor recttorque. Thiscould leadtothe ball
coupling andtheball coupling carrier
becomin gdetached whiletowing atrailer.
As aresult, youcould cause anacciden t.
Therefor e,have theball coupling
assembled ataqualified specialist
worksho p.
If the assembled ballcoupling hasbeen
permanen tlymount edon the vehicle, have
the ball coupling regularly checkedfor 212
Tr
ailer towingDriving and parking

corre
ctinsta llati on and torqu eat aqu alifi ed
spe cialist wo rksho p. G
WARNI
NG The
ballcou pling can bedamag edifthe nut is
tigh tened onthe ballcou pling with the
incor recttorqu e.Thi scou ldcau sethe trailer
to deta chwhi ledri ving andanacci dent could
occu rasa result.
Therefore, pleaseobserve thefollowi ng:
R do not exceed themaximum permitted
noseweight ofthe ball coupling, thetrailer
coupling andthetrailer towhitch.
R when installing, alwaysuse aretainin gring
between thenut and themount ingsurface
of the ball coupling carrier.
R ifthe assembled ballcoupling hasbeen
permanen tlymount edon the vehicle, have
the ball coupling regularly checkedfor
corr ectinst allation andtorque ataqualified
specialist workshop.
R check thatthethread underthenut isof
the corr ectlengt h.
! Mercedes- Benzrecom mends thatyou
only useball couplings testedand
approved foruse onMercedes- Benz
vehicles. Thishelps toavoid damage tothe
vehicle.
Observe themanufact urer'sinstallation
inst ruct ions ifyou useaball coupling other
than theone supplied. i
Also
observe theheight ofthe trailer
coupling andthetrailer manufact urer's
inst ruct ions. i
Depen
dingonthe height ofthe trailer
coupling, itis possible thattheball coupling
will have tobe rotat edby180° onthe ball
coupling carrierforcorr ectinst allation. The
assembly isother wiseidentic al. X
Inser tball couplin g: throug hth ehole in
ball couplin gcar rier ;asfar asitwill go. X
Slid eret aini ngring? onto theth read of
ball couplin g= asfar asitwill go.
X Sc rew onnut Aastightly as poss ible. X
Wit hato rque wrench,tig hten nut Btoa
to rque of516 lb-ft(700 Nm).
X Check thatproje cting thread Chas the
requisite lengthof 0.32 in(8 mm )beneath
nut B.
X Check theassembled ballcoupling for
corr ectinstallation. Tr
ailer towing
213Driving and parking Z

X
Pull release lever:for the hood.
The hood isreleased.
! Make surethatthewindshield wipersare
not folded awayfromthewindshield. You
could otherwise damagethewindshield
wipers orthe hood. X
Reach intothegap, pullhood catch
handle ;upand liftthe hood.
Onc eyou have lifted thehood about
15 inches (40cm), itis automatically
opened therest ofthe way andheld open
by the gas-filled struts.
Closing thehood G
WARNIN
G When
closing thehood, useextreme caution
not tocatc hhands orfingers. Becareful that
you donot close thehood onanyone.
Make surethehood issecurely engaged
before driving off.Donot cont inue driving if
the hood cannolonger engage afteran
accident ,for example. Thehood could otherwise
comeloosewhilethevehicle isin
motion andinjure youand/or others.
X Lower thehood andletitfall from aheight
of approximately 8inches (20cm).
X Check thatthehood hasengaged properly.
If the hood canberaised slightly, itis not
properly engaged. Openitagain andclose
it with alittle more force. Rad
iator i
Vehicles
withadiesel engine: donot
cov erthe radiator ,for examp lewith a
wint erfron tor bug cover.The reading sof
the on-board- diagnos ticsyste mmay
ot her wise beinac curate.Some ofthese
readings arerequired bylaw and must be
accurate atall times. Engine
oil
Notes onthe oillevel Dependin
gon the driving style,thevehicle
consumes upto0.9 USqts. (0.8 l)of oil over
a distance of600 miles (1000 km).Theoil
consumpt ionmay behigher thanthiswhen
the vehicle isnew orifyou frequently driveat
high engine speeds.
Checking theoillevel using theoil
dipst ick Example:
vehicleswithagasoline engine Engine
compar tment
313Maintenance and care Z

Tire
size des ignati on,load -bea ring
cap acit yand speed ratin g :
Tire width
; Nom inalaspec tratio in%
= Tire code
? Rim diame ter
A Load bearingindex
B Spe edrating i
Tire
datais veh icle-spec ificand may
devi atefrom thedat ain theex ample .
Gener al:depen dingon theman ufacturer's
st and ards ,th esiz eimpr inted inthetir ewall
may notco ntain any letters or may contain
on elet tert hat precedes thesize description.
If there isno letter preceding thesize
description (asshown above): theseare
passenger vehicletiresaccording to
European manufacturing standards.
If "P" precedes thesize description: theseare
passenger vehicletiresaccording toU.S.
manufacturing standards.
If "LT" precedes thesize description: these
are light truck tiresaccording toU.S.
manufacturing standards.
If "T" precedes thesize description: theseare
compact emergency sparewheels athigh tire
pressure, tobe used onlytemporarily inan
emergency.
Tire width: tirewidth :shows thenominal
tire width inmillimeters.
Nominal aspectratio: aspect ratio;isthe
size ratio between thetire height andthetire
width andisshown inpercent .The aspect ratio
iscalculated bydividing thetire width by
the tire height.
Tire code: tirecode =specifies thetire type.
"R" represents radialtires."D"represents
diagonal tires,"B"represents diagonalradial
tires.
Optionally, tireswithamaximum speedof
over 149mph(240 km/h)mayhave "ZR"in
the size description dependingonthe
manufacturer (e.g.245/ 40ZR18).
Rim diamet er:rim diameter ?isthe
diameter ofthe bead seat,notthediameter
of the rim flange. Therimdiameter is
specified ininches (in).
Load bearing index:loadbearing indexA
is anumerical codewhich specifies the
maximum load-bearing capacityofatire. G
WARNING The
tireload rating mustalwaysbe atleast
half ofthe GAWR ofyour vehicle. Otherwise,
sudden tirefailure maybethe result which
could cause anaccident and/orserious injury
to you orothers.
Always replace rimsandtires withrims and
tires having thesame specifications
(designation, manufacturer andtype) as
shown onthe original part. G
WARNING Do
not overload thetires byexceeding the
specified loadlimit asindicated onthe Tire
and Loading Informationplacard onthe
driver's doorB-pillar. Overloading thetires
can overheat them,possibly causinga
blowou t.Overloading thetires canalso result
in handling orsteering problems, orbrake
failure.
Example:
The load bearing index91isequiva lenttoa
maximum loadof1356 lbs(615 kg)that the
tire can carry. Forfurther information onthe
maximum tireload inkilograms andpounds,
see (Ypage 365). 368
Tire
labeli ngWheels and tires

Maximum
loadrating
The maximu mload rating inkilograms or
pounds isthe maximum weightforwhich a
tire isapproved. Maximu
mperm issible tirepressur e
Maximum permissible tirepressure forone
tire. Maximu
mload onone tire
Maximum loadonone tire. This iscalculated
by dividing themaximum axleload ofone axle
by two. PSI
(pounds persquar einch)
As tand arduni tofm easure fortire pressure. Aspect
ratio
Relationship betweentireheight andtire
width inpercen t. Tir
epr essure
This ispressure insidethetire applying an
outward forceto each square inchofthe tire's
surface. Thetirepressure isspecified in
pounds persquare inch(psi), inkilopascal
(kPa) orinbar. Thetirepressure shouldonly
be corr ectedwhen thetires arecold. Tir
epr essure ofcold tires
The tires arecold:
R ifthe vehicle hasbeen parked without
direct sunlight onthe tires foratleast three
hours and
R ifthe vehicle hasnotbeen driven morethan
1 mile (1.6km). Tr
ead
The part ofthe tire that comes intocon tact
with theroad. Bead
The tirebead ensures thatthetire sits
securely onthe wheel. Thereareseveral steel
wires inthe bead topreven tthe tire from
comin gloose fromthewheel rim. Sidewall
The part ofthe tire between thetread andthe
bead. Weight
ofoptional extras
The combin edweight ofthose option alext ras
that weigh morethanthereplaced standard
part andmore than2.3kilograms (5lbs).
These optionalext ras, such ashigh-
perform ancebrakes, levelcontrol, aroof rack
or ahigh-perf ormancebatter y,are not
included inthe curb weight andaccesso ry
weight. TIN
(Tire Identificat ionNum ber)
This isaunique identifierwhich canbeused
by atire manufact urertoident ifytires, for
example foraproduct recall,andthus ident ify
the purchasers. TheTINismade upofthe
manufact urer'sidentitycode, tiresize, tire
type code andthemanufact uringdate. Load
bearing index
The load bearing index(alsoloadindex) isa
code thatcontains themaximum loadbearing
capacity ofatire. Definition
ofter ms fortires and loading
373Wheels and tires Z