2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class tires

Dri
vin gon wet road s
Hy dropl aning If
wat erhas accumula tedto ace rtain dept h
on thero ad sur face,there isadan ger of
hydr oplaning occur ring,eve nif:
R you drive atlow spee ds.
R the tires have adequa tetread depth.
For this reas on,inthe event ofhea vyrainor
in conditio nsinwhi chhyd ropl aning canoccur
you must driveinthe followi ngmanner:
R low eryou rspeed
R avoid ruts
R brake carefully
Driving onflooded roads !
Donot drive through flooded areas.
Check thedepth ofany water before driving
thr ough it.Driv eslowly through standing
water. Otherwise, water mayenterthe
vehicle interior orthe engin ecompart ment.
This candamage theelect ronic
compon entsin the engin eorthe automatic
transmission. Watercanalso bedrawn in
by the engine's airsuction nozzlesand this
can cause engine damage. i
Vehicles
withtheAIRMATIC package:
Set theraised levelbefore driving through
standing water.
Off-r oadfording Fording
depth Steel-spring
vehicles 20
in.
(50 cm) Vehicles
withtheAIRMATIC
package Raise
dlevel 20
in.
(50 cm) R
Est ablish howdeep thewater isand the
characterist icsofthe body ofwater before
fording.
R Vehicles withtheAIRMATIC package:
Select thehighest possible vehiclelevel.
R Restrict theshift range to1or 2.
R Avoid highengine speeds.
R Ent erand exitthewater ataflat place and
at asteady walking pace.
! Under nocircumst ancesshould you
accelerate beforeenteringthe water. The
bow wave could cause watertoenter and
damage theengine andother assemblies.
R Drive slowly andatan even speed through
the water.
R Do not stop.
! Donot open anyofthe vehicle's doors
while fording. Otherwise, watercouldget
into thevehicle interior anddamage the
vehicle's electronic sand interior
equipment.
R Water offersahigh degree ofresistance,
and theground isslippery andinsome
cases unstable. Therefore, itis difficult and
dangerous topull away inthe water.
R Ensure thatabow wave doesnotform as
you drive.
R Clea nany mud from thetire tread after
fording.
R Apply thebrakes todry them afterfording. Driving
tips
161Driving and parking Z

Winter
driving
Gene ralnote s G
WARNING If
the vehicl ebecome strappe din snow,
ensure thatsnow iskept away from the
exhau stpip eand from aroundthe vehicl eas
long asthe engine isrunning. Otherwise,
poi sonou scarbo nmonoxide (CO)mayenter
the vehicle, resulting inloss ofconsc iousness
and even death.
To assure sufficient freshairvent ilation, open
a window slightlyonthe side ofthe vehicle
not facing thewind.
At the onset ofwinter, haveyourvehicle
winterproof edataquali fiedspecialist
workshop, e.g.atan authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center. i
Vehicles
withadiesel engine: donot
cover theradiator, e.g.with aprotec tive
cover. Themeasuring functionofthe
Onboard Diagnosis Systemmayotherwise
provide inaccurate values.Someofthese
values arerequired bylaw and must
therefor ealwa ysbe accurate.
Driving withsumm ertires Observe
thenotesinthe "Winter operation"
section (Ypage 352).
Slippery roadsurfa ces G
WARNING The
outside temperature indicatorisnot
designed toserve asan ice-warnin gdevice
and istherefor eunsuitable forthat purpose.
Indicated temperatures justabove the
freezin gpoint donot guarantee thattheroad
surface isfree ofice. The road maystillbeicy,
especially inwooded areasoron bridges. G
WARNING 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.
Drive particularly carefullyonslippery road
surfaces. Avoidsudden acceleration, steering
and braking maneuvers. Donot use thecruise
cont rolorDIS TRONIC PLUS.
If the vehicle threaten sto skid orcann otbe
stopped whenmoving atlow speed:
X Shift thetrans mission toposition N. i
For
more informat ionondriving with
snow chains, see(Ypage 353). G
WARNING Make
surethatyoudonot endanger other
road users whenyouapply thebrakes. Off-r
oaddriving
Import antsafety notes G
WARNING Grains
ofsand, particles ofdirt and other
abrasive materials canenter thebrake
system. Thiscanlead toexcessive wearand
unpredictable brakingefficienc y.
Aft erthe brakes havebeen exposed todirty
condit ions,havethem check edand cleaned
at aquali fiedspecialist workshop, e.g.an
authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter.
Otherwise, thereisarisk that braking power
may beinsufficient inthe event ofan
emergenc y,or that thebraking effectmaybe
unpredictable. G
WARNING Do
not load items onthe basic carrier bars.It
may cause instability duringsomemaneuvers
which couldresult inan accident .
Drive slowly inunkn ownterrain. Thiswill
make iteasier torecogn izeunexpect ed
obstacles andavoid damage tothe vehicle.
To help avoid thevehicle rollingover,never
turn itaround onsteep inclines. Ifthe vehicle 162
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

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

A
Yellow laneoftires atcurr entsteerin g
wheel angle(dynamic )
B Bumpe r
C Red guide lineapprox imately10 in
(0. 25 m)away fromthe rear area
D Yellow guidelineapprox imately3f t
(1 m) away fromtherear area
E White laneofvehic lewidth withsteering
wheel straight (static)
F Vehic lecen teraxle (mark erassist ance)
The guide linesareonly shown whenthe
tr ansm ission isin posit ionR.
The distan cespecif icationsonly apply to
objec tsthat areatgroun dlevel. Addit
ional messages forvehic leswith
PARKTRO NIC
: Frontwarnin gdisplay
; Addit ional PARKTRON ICmeasurem ent
operat ionalreadines sindic ator
= Rear warnin gdisplay
Vehicles withPARKTR ONIC:when
PARKTRON ICisoperat ional(Ypage 183),
addition aloperat ionalreadines s
indic ator;also appears. Warning
displays :and =are active ifthe
cor respon dingPARKTRON ICwarnin g
displays areactive (Ypage 184).They light
up yellow assoon asthe first segmen tint he
PARKTRONIC warningdisplaylights upyell ow
and they light upred assoon asthe first
segment inthe PARKTRONIC warningdisplay
lights upred. "Reverse
parking" function X
Make surethattherear view camera is
activated andthat the"Reverse parking"
funct ionisselected. Seetheseparate
operating instructionsforCOMAND.
The lane andtheguide linesareshown.
Backing upstra ight intoapar king space
without turning thesteering wheel :
Vehicle widthincluding exteriormirrors
; White lanewith steering wheelstraight
= Yellow guidelineapproximately 3ft
(1 m) away fromtherear area
? Red guide lineapprox imately 10in
(0.2 5m) away fromtherear area
X With thehelp ofwhite lane;,chec k
whethe rthe vehicle willfitinto theparking
space.
X Using thewhite laneasaguide, carefully
back upuntil youreach theend position.
Red guide line?isthen atthe end ofthe
parking space.Thevehicle isalmost
parall elin the parking space.
Reverse perpendicular parking with the
steering wheelatan angle
X Drive pasttheparking spaceandbring the
vehicle toastandst ill. 192
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

R
you switchon thetur ns ignals .Int his
event, thewarnings aresuppressed fora
certain periodoftime.
R adriving safetysystem interven es,e.g.
ABS ,BAS orESP ®
.
R you accelerate hard,e.g.kickdown.
R you brake hard.
R you steer actively, e.g.swerve toavoid
an obstacle orchange lanequickly.
R you cutthe corner onasharp bend.
Tra iler towing
When youattach atrailer, makesureyouhave
correct lyestablished theelectrical
conn ection. Thiscanbeaccomplished by
check ingthe trailer lighting. Off-r
oaddriving systems 4MATIC
(permanentfour-wheel drive)
4MATIC ensuresthatallfour wheels are
permanent lydriven. Together withESP®
and
4ETS, itimproves thetract ionofyour vehicle
whenever adrive wheel spinsdueto
insufficient grip. G
WARNING If
adrive wheel isspinning duetoinsufficient
tract ion:
R While driving off,apply aslittle throttleas
possible.
R While driving, easeupon the accelerator
pedal.
R Adapt yourspeed anddriving styletothe
prevailing roadcondition s.
Failure toobserve theseguidelinescould
cause thevehicle toskid.
The 4MATIC cannotprevent accidents
resulting fromexcessive speed.
! Never towthevehicle withoneaxle
raised. Thismay damage thetransf ercase.
Damage ofthis sort isnot covered bythe
Mercedes-Ben zLimited Warranty. All
wheels mustremain eitheronthe ground or
be fully raised. Observe theinstruct ions
for towing thevehicle withallwheels infull
cont actwith theground. i
In
wintry driving condition s,the maximum
effect of4MATIC canonly beachieved if
you usewinter tires(M+S tires ),wi th snow
chai nsifnecessa ry.
! Function orperfo rmance testsmayonly
be perfo rmed ona2-axle dynamome ter.If
you wish tooper atethe vehi cleonsuch a
dy namome ter,please consul tan
auth orizedMer cedes-Ben zCent er
beforehan d.You could otherwisedamage
the drive trainorthe brake system.
For infor mation aboutdriving off-road, see
(Y page 162). DSR
(Dow nhillSpeed Regulat ion)
Impor tantsafet ynotes DS
Rassists youwhen driving downhill. It
keeps thespeed oftravel atthe speed seton
the on-board comput er.The steeper the
downhill gradient,the greater theDSR
brakin geffec tonthe vehicle. Whendriving on
flat stret ches ofroad oron anuphill gradient,
the DSR braking effectisminimal ornon-
existent . G
WARNING Downhill
SpeedRegulation (DSR) isa
conven iencesystem designed toassist the
driver during vehicle operation. Thesystem
settin gmust beappropriate tothe
topographical andweather condition s
encount ered,which canchange quickly. The
driver isresponsible forthe vehicle speedand
for safe brake operation atall times.
Depending onthe programmed speed,actual
vehicle speedandgradient, switching onDSR
while driving cancause thevehicle toslow
down rapidly ,and youmay hear asound,
caused bythe activation ofthe vehicle's brake
system through DSR.Sudden andunexpected
deceleration canresult inloss ofvehicle 208
Off-r
oaddriving systemsDriving and parking

Disp
laymessa ges Poss
iblecauses/c onseq uences and M Solu
tions Cru
ise Control Ino
perative Cruis
eco ntrol isdef ective.
X Vis itaqualif iedspecialist wor kshop . Cru
ise Control ---
mph Ac
ondition foractivatin gcruise controlhas notbeen fulfilled.
You attempt edtosave aspeed ofless than 20mph (30km/ h).
X Ifthe situation allows,drivefaster than20mph (30k m/h )and
save thespee d.
X Check theactivati onconditions forcruise control
(Y pag e167). Tires
G
WARNING Do
not drive withaflat tire. Aflat tire affects theability tosteer orbrake thevehicl e.You may
lose control ofthe vehicl e.Continue ddrivi ngwith aflat tire willcause excessive heatbuild-up
and possi blyafire. G
WARNING Follo
wrecommended tireinfla tion pressu res.
Do not underi nflatetires.Underinfla tedtires wearexcess ivelyand /or unevenl y,ad vers elyaff ect
ha ndl ing and fueleco nomy ,and aremore likel yto failfrom being overheated.
Do not overinflate tire s.Ove rinflated tirescan advers elyaff ect handl ing and ridecomfo rt,we ar
une venl y,incre asestop ping dista nce, andresulti ns udden deflation (blowo ut)bec ause they are
mor elik ely tobec ome punctured ordamag edbyroad debris,pot hole set c. Disp
laymes sages Possi
blecauses/cons equences andM Solu
tions Tir
epre ssu res wil
lbe dis played aft
erdrivin ga few
minute s The
tirepres sure monitorismeasuring thetire pressure.
X Drive on.
The tirepressures appearint he multifunction displayafter you
have been drivingfor afew minutes . Tire Press. Monito
r Inoper
ative The
tirepress uremonitor isdefecti ve.
X Visi taqu alified specialist workshop. Tire Press. Monito
r Inoper
ative No Wheel
Sensor s The
wheels mounteddo not have asuitable tirepressure sensor.
The tirepressure monitorisdeactiv ated.
X Mount wheels withsuitable tirepressure sensors.
The tirepressure monitorisactiv ated automatic allyafter drivin g
for afew minut es. Display
messages
263On-board computer and displays Z

Disp
laymessa ges Poss
iblecauses/c onseq uences and M Solu
tions Che
ck Tir
es G
Ri
sk ofacci dent The
tire pre ssur ein on eor mor etires has dropped signific ant ly.
The whee lpos ition isdisp layed inthemult ifunction disp lay.
Aw arning tone also soun ds.
X Stop theveh icle without makingany sudde nstee ring orbra king
ma neu vers.Pa yatte ntiontothe traffic conditionsasyou doso.
X Correct thetire pressure (Ypage 359).
X Ifnecessary, changeawheel (Ypage 374). Caution:
Tire
Malfunction G
Risk
ofaccident The
tirepressure inone ormore tireshasdropped suddenly. The
wheel position isdisplay edinthe multifunct iondisplay .
X Stop thevehicle without makinganysudden steeringor braking
maneuvers. Payatten tiontothe traffic conditionsasyou doso.
X Ifnecessary, changeawheel (Ypage 374). Correct
Tire
Pressure The
tirepressure istoo low inat least oneofthe tires orthe tire
pressure differencebetween thewheels istoo great.
X Check thetire pressures atthe next opportunit y.Ifnecessary,
correc tthe tire pressure (Ypage 359).
X Restart thetire pressure monitor(Y page 361). Tire
Press. Sensor(s)
Missing There
isno signal fromthetire pressure sensorofone orseveral
wheels. Thepressure ofthe affect edtire isnot display edinthe
multifunct iondisplay .
X Have thedefectiv etire pressure sensorreplaced ataq ualifi ed
spec ialist workshop. Tir
e Pre
ss. Mon
itor Cur
rently Unavail. Due
toasour ceofradio interf ere nce, no sign alscan berec eive d
fr om thewheel sensors.The tire pre ssur emon itor istempo rarily
malf unction ing .
X Dr ive on.
The tire pre ssur emon itor res tartsauto maticallyas soo nasthe
problem hasbeen solved. h
Tire
Press. Warning
Caution Tire
Malfunction G
Risk
ofaccident The
tirepressure inone ormore tireshasdropped suddenly .
Aw arning tone also soun ds.
X Stop theveh icle without makingany sudde nstee ring orbra king
ma neu vers.Pa yatte ntiontothe traffic conditionsasyou doso.
X Ifnecessary, changeawheel (Ypage 374). 264
Display
messagesOn-board computer and displays