2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class warning

Product
informat ion Mercedes-B
enzrecommen dsthat youuse
genuine Mercedes-B enzparts, conversion
parts andaccessories thathave been
approved forthe type ofvehicle.
Mercedes-B enztests genuine partsaswell as
conv ersion partsandaccessories whichhave
been specifically approvedforyour vehicle for
their reliabi lity,safety andsuitabili ty.Despite
ongoing marketresearch, Mercedes-B enzis
unable toassess otherparts. Therefore,
Mercedes-B enzaccepts noresponsibility for
the use ofsuch parts inMercedes-B enz
vehicles, evenifthey have been
independent lyor officially approved. Theuse
of non- approved partscould affect your
vehicle's operating safety.Mercedes-B enz
therefore recommen dsthat youusegenuine
Mercedes-B enzparts, conversion partsand
accessories thathave been approved forthe
type ofvehicle. Genuine Mercedes-B enz
parts, approved conversion partsand
accessories areavaila blefrom anyauthorized
Mercedes-B enzCenter. Here,youwillreceive
advice aboutpermissible technical
modifications, andtheparts willbe
professionally installed. Operat
or'sManual Notes
onthe Operat or'sManual
This Operator's Manualcontains agreat deal
of helpful information .Weurge youtoread it
carefully andfamiliarize yourselfwiththe
vehicle beforedriving.
For your ownsafety andlonger servicelife of
the vehicle, weurge youtofollow the
inst ruct ions andwarnings contained inthis
Operator 'sManual. Ignoringthem could
result indamage tothe vehicle orperson al
inj ury toyou orother s.Vehicle damage
caused byfailure tofollow instruct ions isnot
cover edbythe Mercedes- BenzLimited
Warran ty. Veh
icle equipm ent
This Operat or'sManual describes allmodels
and allstandard andoptional equipmen tof
your vehicleavail able atthet ime of
publicat ionofthe Operat or'sManual.
Count ry-specif icdiff eren cesarepossible .
Please notethat your vehic lemay notbe
equipped withallfeat ures described. This
also applies tosafet y-related systems and
func tions.The equipmen tiny our vehicle may
therefor ediffer fromthatshown inthe
description sand illustrations. Allthe systems
found inyour vehicle arelisted inthe original
purchase agreement ofyour vehicle. Should
you have anyquestions concerning
equipment andoperation, pleaseconsult an
authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter.
The Operating Instruction sand the
Maintenan ceBooklet areimportant
document sand should bekept inthe vehicle. Service
andvehicle operation Service
andliterat ure
Your vehicle iscovered undertheterms ofthe
warranties printedinthe Servic eand
Warranty Information booklet. Your
authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter will
exchan georrepair anydefectiv eparts
originally installedinthe vehicle in
accordanc ewith theterms ofthe following
warranties:
R New Vehicle Limited Warranty
R Emission SystemsWarranty
R Emission Performan ceWarranty
R Cali fornia, Connect icut,Maine,
Massachusetts, NewYork, Pennsylvania,
Rhode IslandandVermont Emission
Control System Warranty 1
R Stat eWarranty Enforcem entLaws (Lemon
Laws)
1 Valid onlyforvehicles withagasoline engine. Introdu
ction
21

Cha
nge ofaddress orcha nge of
owner ship
In theeve ntofach ang eof addre ss,please
sen dus the"Chan geofAd dres sNot ice"
foun din theSer viceand Warr anty
In for mat ionBoo klet,or sim plycall the
Mer cedes-Ben zCust ome rAssistance Center
(in the USA) atthe hotline number
1-80 0-FOR-ME RCedes(1-800- 367-6372) or
Customer ServiceCenter(inCanada )at
1-80 0-387-0100.This willassist usin
cont acting youinatimely manner shouldthe
need arise.
If you sellyour Mercedes, pleaseleavethe
entire literature inthe vehicle sothat itis
avail able tothe next owner.
If you bought thisvehicle used,besure to
send inthe "Notice ofPurchase ofUsed
Truck" foundinthe Service andWarranty
Information Booklet,orcall theMercedes-
Benz Customer Assistance Center(inthe
USA) at
1-80 0-FOR-ME RCedes(1-800- 367-6372) or
Customer Service(inCanada )at
1-80 0-387-0100. Vehicle
operation outsidetheUSA
and Canada
If you plan tooperate yourvehicle inforeign
countries, pleasebeawa rethat:
R service facilities orreplacement partsmay
not bereadil yavail able.
R unleade dfuel forvehicles withacatalytic
convert ermay notbeavail able. Leaded fuel
may cause damage tothe catalytic
convert er.
R the fuel may have aconsiderably lower
octane rating.Unsuitable fuelcancause
engine damage .
Some Mercedes-Benz modelsareavail able
for delivery inEurope through ourEuropean
Delivery Program. Fordetails, consult an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Centerorwrite to
one ofthe followi ngaddresses. In
the USA Mercedes-Benz
USA,LLC
European DeliveryDepartment
One Mercedes Drive
Montvale, NJ07645 -0350
In Canada Mercedes-Benz
Canada,Inc.
European DeliveryDepartment
98 Vanderhoof Avenue
Toronto, OntarioM4G4C9 Sport
Utility Vehicle G
WARNING This
Sport Utility Vehicle isdesigned forboth
on-road andoff-road use.Itcan goplaces and
perform tasksforwhich conven tional2-wheel
drive passenger carsarenot intended. This
vehicle willhandle andmaneuver differently
from conven tionalpassenger carsindriving
conditions whichmayoccur onstreets,
highwa ysand off-road use.
This vehicle hasahigher ground clearance
and ahigher centerofgravity thanmany
passenger cars.Aswith other vehicles ofthis
type, ifyou make sharp turnsatexcessive
speeds orabrupt maneuvers, thevehicle may
roll over ormay goout ofcont roland crash.
Utility vehicles haveasignificantly higher
rollover ratethan other types ofvehicles.
Failure tooperate thisvehicle safelymay
result inan accident, rolloverofthe vehicle,
and severe orfatal injury.
Before youstart todrive thisvehicle, readthe
Operator's Manual.Take timeto bec ome
fam iliar with thedriv ingcharac terist ics ofthis
veh icle.Besure youarefamiliar withall
vehicle controls. Learn howyour vehicle
handles ondifferen troad surfaces. Donot
attempt sharpturnsatexcessive speedsor
abrupt maneuvers orother unsafe driving
actions thatcancause lossofvehicle control.
When driving off-road orworking thevehicle Introdu
ction
23 Z

hard,
donot overload it.And, alwayswear
your seatbelts atall times. Inarollover crash,
an unbelted personissignificantly morelikely
to die than aperson wearing aseat belt. Operat
ingsafety Safety
notes G
WARNING Work
improperly carriedoutonelectronic
componen tsand associated softwarecould
cause themtocease functioning. Because the
vehicle's electronic componentsare
interc onnec ted,anymodifications mademay
produce anundesired effectonother
systems. Electronicmalfunctions could
seriously impairtheoperating safetyofyour
vehicle.
Contact anauthorized Mercedes-Ben zCent er
for repairs ormodificat ionstoelectr onic
compon ents.
Other improper workormodificat ionsonthe
vehicle couldalsohave anegativ eimpact on
the operatin gsafety ofthe vehicle.
Some safety systems onlyfunction when the
engine isrunn ing.You should thereforenever
turn offthe engine whiledriving. G
WARN
ING Heavy
blowsagainst thevehicle underbody or
tires/ wheels maycause serious damage and
impair theoperatin gsafety ofyour vehicle.
Such blows canbecaused, forexample, by
runn ingover anobstacle, roaddebris ora
pothole.
If you feel asudden significantvibration or
ride disturbanc e,or you suspect thatdamage
to your vehicle hasoccurr ed:
R turn onyour hazard warning flashers.
R slow down carefully.
R drive withcaution toan area which isasafe
distanc efrom theroad.
Inspec tthe vehicle underbody andtires/
wheels forpossible damage. Ifthe vehicle appea
rsunsafe, haveittowed tothe nearest
authorized Mercedes-Ben zCent eror other
qualified maintenanc eor repair facility for
furth erinspect ionorrepairs. On-boar
ddiagnost icinter face G
WARN
ING If
you connectequipmen tto the on-board
diagnos ticsint erfac e,itcan affec tthe
operat ionofthe vehic lesyste ms.This can
impair theoperat ingsafet yofyour vehicle
while driving. Thereisarisk ofaccident .
Do not conn ectany equipment tothe on-
board diagnostics interface. G
WARNING Loose
equipment orequipment cableswhich
are conn ected tothe on-board diagnostics
interf acecan obstruct thearea around the
pedals. Theequipment orthe cables couldget
between thepedals inthe event ofsudden
braking oracceleration. Youmay then no
longer beable tobrake, operate theclutch or
accelerate asinten ded.There isarisk of
accident .
Do not attach anyequipment orcables inthe
driver footwell.
Connect ingequipment tothe on-board
diagnostics interfacecan lead toemissions
monit oringinformat ionbeing reset. Thismay
lead tothe vehicle failingtomeet the
requirements atthe next special emissions
test ormain inspect ion.
If the engine isswitched offand equipment
on the on-board diagnostic interfaceisused,
the start erbattery maydischarge.
The on-board diagnostics interfaceisonly
inten dedforthe conn ection ofdiagnostic
equipment ataquali fiedspecialist workshop. 24
Introdu
ction

Qualified
specialist workshop
An authorized Mercedes-BenzCenter isa
qualified specialist workshop. Ithas the
neces saryspecialist knowledge, toolsand
qualifications tocorr ectlycarry outthework
required onyour vehicle. Thisisespecially the
case forwork relevant tosafety.
Observe thenotesinthe service booklet.
Always havethefollowing workcarried outat
an authorized Mercedes-BenzCenter :
R work relevant tosafety
R service andmainten ancework
R repair work
R alteration s,inst allation workand
modificat ions
R work onelectr oniccompon ents Proper
use G
WARNIN
G There
arevarious warning stickersaffixed to
your vehicle. Theirpurpose isto alert youand
others tovarious dangers. Therefore, donot
remove anywarning stickersunless the
stick erclearly statesthatyoumay doso.
If you remove anywarning stickers,youor
others couldfailtorecogn izecert aindangers
and beinjured. G
WARNIN
G HYBRID
vehicles: Itis imperative thatyouread
the HYBRID Supplement alOperatin g
Inst ruction sincluded inyour vehicle literature
portf olio. Youmay otherwise notreceive all
neces sarysafety informationandwarning for
the operation ofyour vehicle.
The proper useofthe vehicle requires that
you familiarize yourselfwiththefollowing
inform ationandrules:
R safety notesinthis Operator' sManual
R tec hnical datainthis Operator' sManual R
traff icrules andregulations
R laws andsafety standards pertainingto
motor vehicles Problems
withyour vehicle
If you should experien ceap roble mwithyour
vehic le,part icularly onethat youbelieve may
affec tits safe opera tion,we urge youto
conta ctan autho rized Merce des-Be nzCenter
im med iatel yto have the problem diag nos ed
and rectified. Ifthe problem isnot resolved to
yo ur satis factio n,plea se discu ssthe problem
ag ainw ithaMerc edes- BenzCent eror
con tact usatone ofthe following addresses.
In the USA Customer
AssistanceCenter
Mercedes- BenzUSA ,LLC
One Mercedes Drive
Mont vale, NJ076 45-035 0
In Canada Customer
RelationsDepartment
Mercedes- BenzCanad a,Inc.
98 Van derh oofAvenue
Tor onto,On tarioM4G 4C9 Rep
orting malfunct ions releva ntto
saf ety
For theUS Aon ly:
The followin gte xt isrepr oduc edasrequi red
of all man ufacturers according toTitle49 ,
Code ofU.S. Fed eral Regulat ions,Part 575
purs uant totheNat ionalTraf ficand Motor
Veh icle SafetyAc tof 19 66.
Rep orting safety defects If
you believ eth at your vehicle has adef ect
whic hco uld caus eacr ash orcould caus e
inj ury ordeat h,you should imm ediat ely
inf orm theNat ionalHig hway TrafficSaf ety Int
rod uction
25 Z

Warning
andindic atorlamps Func
tion Page
:
Low-be
amheadlamps 109
;
ESP
® 273
=
High-be
amheadlamps 111
?
Electric
parkingbrake (red) 271
F
(USAonly) !
(Canada only) A
Electric
parkingbrake
(y ell ow) 271
B
Distance
warning signal 279
C
Turn
signa l 111
D
Tire
press uremonitor 280
E
SRS
275 Func
tion Page
F
Seat
belt 269
G
Diesel
engine: preglow 140
H
Coo
lant 277
I
Rea
rfog lamp 110
J
Check
engine 276
K
Reserve
fuel 276
L
ESP
®
OFF 273
M
ABS 272
N
Brakes 271
$
(USAonly) J
(Canada only) 30
Instrum
entclusterAt a glance

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). Occupant
safety Overview
ofoccupant safety
In this section, youwilllearn themost
import antfactsabout therest raint system
compo nentsof the vehicle.
The restraint system consists of:
R seat belts
R child restraint system s
R LATCH -type (ISOF IX)child seatanchors
Addit ional protection isprovided by:
R SRS (Supplemen talRestrain tSyst em)
R PRE -SAF E®
R Airb ag syst emcompo nentsw ith:
- PAS SENGER AIRB AG OFF indicator lamp
- fro nt-pa ssenge rseat with Occupant
Classification System(OCS)
The differen tairbag systems work
indep endently of each other.The protective
func tionsof the syst emwork incon junction
with each other.Not allair bags aredeployed
in an acc ident . G
WARN
ING Modif
ications toor work impro perly
con duct edon rest raint systemcom pone nts
or the irwirin g,as well astam perin gwith
int erc onn ectedelect ronicsyst ems, canlead to
the rest raint systems nolong erfunc tioning
as intende d.
Air bags orEm ergen cyTens ionin gDev ices
(ETD s),for exam ple,could deploy
inadv ertent lyor fail todeploy inacc ident s
altho ughthedecele ration threshold forair
bag deploymen tisexceeded. Therefore,
never modify therestraint systems. Donot
tamper withelectronic component sor their
software. i
See
"Children inthe vehicle"
(Y page 54)formore information on
infants andchildren traveling withyouin
the vehicle andrestraints forinfants and
children. SRS
(Supplemental RestraintSystem)
Introduction SRS
consists of:
R the 6 SRSwarning lamp
R air bags
R air bag cont rolunit (with crash sensors)
R Emergenc yTensioning Devicesforthe
front seatbelts andtheouter seatbelts in
the rear
R belt force limiters
SRS reduces therisk ofoccupants coming
into contactwith thevehicle's interiorinthe
event ofan accident. Itcan also reduce the
effect ofthe forces towhich occupants are
subjected duringanaccident.
SRS warning lamp SRS
function sare checked regularlywhen
you switch onthe ignition andwhen the
engine isrunning. Therefore, malfunctions
can bedetected ingood time.
The 6 SRSwarning lampinthe instrument
cluster lightsupwhen theignition isswitched
on. Itgoes outnolater thanafew seconds
after theengine isstarted. 38
Occ
upant safetySafety

The
SRS compon entsare inoperational
readiness whenthe6 SRSwarning lamp
is not litwhile theengine isrunnin g. G
WARNIN
G The
SRS self-c heck hasdetect eda
malfunct ionifthe 6 SRSwarning lamp:
R does notcome onatall
R fails togo out approximately 4secon ds
after theengine wasstart ed
R comes onafter theengine wasstart edor
while driving
For your safety, Mercedes- Benzstrongly
recom mends thatyouhave thesystem
check edassoon aspossible atan authorized
Mercedes- BenzCenter .Othe rwise the SRS
ma ynot beacti vated when itis nee dedin an
acc ident, which cou ldres ultins erious orfatal
injury. TheSRS might alsodeploy
unexpec tedlyandunnec essarily whichcould
also result ininjury.
In addition, improper workonthe SRS creat es
a risk ofrender ingthe SRS inoperat iveor
causing unintended airbag deployment. Work
on the SRS must theref oreonly beperform ed
by qualified technician s.Contac tan
auth orizedMer cedes-Ben zCent er.
If it is neces sarytomodify anair bag system
to accomm odateaperson withdisabilities,
con tact anauthorized Mercedes-BenzCenter
for details. USAonly: CallourCustomer
Assist anceCenter at1-8 00-FOR-ME RCedes
(1-8 00-367- 6372 )for details.
Safet yguidel inesfor seat belts,
Emerge ncyTensi oningDevic es(ETDs)
and airbags G
WARNING R
Damag edsea tbelts orseat belts thathave
been subject edtostres sin an acciden t
must bereplaced. Theiranchor ingpoint s
must alsobecheck ed.Only useseat belts inst
alled orsupplied byan authorized
Mercedes- BenzCenter .
R Air bags andpyrotec hnicEmer gency
Tension ingDevic es(ETD s)con tain
perchlor atematerial, whichmayrequire
special handling andregard forthe
enviro nment.Check yournation aldisposal
guidelines. Californiaresidents,see
www.dtsc.ca .gov/HazardousWast e/
Perchlora te/index.cfm.
R Air bags andETDsare designed tofunc tion
on aone- time- onlybasis. Anairbag orETD
that hasdeployed mustbereplaced. PRE-
SA FE®
has electr icallyoperated reversible
belt tensioners inaddition tothe
pyrotec hnicETDs.
R Do not pass seatbelts oversharp edges.
They could tear.
R Do not make anymodificat ionthat could
change theeffec tivenessofthe seat belts.
R Do not bleach ordye seat belts asthis may
severely weakenthem.Inacrash theymay
not beable toprovide adequate protection.
R No modificat ionsofany kind maybemade
to any compon entsor wiring ofthe SRS.
R Do not change orremove anycompon ent
or part ofthe SRS.
R Do not installadditional trimmaterial, seat
cover s,badges, etc.tothe:
- padded steering wheelboss
- knee bagcovers
- front -passenger airbag cover
- outer sideoffront seatbolsters
- outer sideofrear bench seatbackrest
seat bolsters
- roof lining trim
R Do not install additional electrical/
electron icequipment onornear SRS
componen tsand wiring.
R Keep areabetween airbags andoccupant s
free ofobject s(e.g. packages, purses,
umbrellas, etc.).
R Do not hang items suchascoat hangers
from thecoat hooks orhandles overthe Occupant
safety
39Safety
Z

door.
These itemsmaybethrown around in
the vehicle andcause headandother
inj uries when thewindow curtainairbag is
deployed.
R Air bag system compon entswill behot after
an air bag hasinflat ed.Donot touch them.
R Never placeyourfeetonthe instrument
panel, dashboard, oron the seat. Always
keep bothfeetonthe floor infron tof the
seat.
R Improper repairworkonthe SRS creat esa
risk ofrender ingthe SRS inoperat iveor
causing unintended airbag deployment .
Work onthe SRS must therefore onlybe
perfor medbyqualified technic ians.
Cont actanauthoriz edMercedes -Benz
Center .
R For your prote ction and theprote ction of
other s,when scrappin gthe airbag unit or
ETD ,our safety instruct ions must be
followed. Theseinstruct ions areavailable
from anyauthoriz edMercedes -Benz
Center .
R Given theconsiderable deployment speed,
required inflationvolume, andthemater ial
of the airbags, thereis the possibility of
abrasions orother ,poten tiallymore serious
inj uries resultin gfrom airbag deployment .
If you sellyour vehicle, Mercedes -Benz
str ongly recom mends thatyouinfor mthe
subsequent ownerthatthevehicle is
equipped withSRS. Also, referthem tothe
applicable sectioninthe Operator 'sManual. Air
bags
Impor tantsafet ynotes G
WARN
ING Air
bags aredesigned toreduce theinciden ce
of injuries andfatalities incert ainsituation s:
R fron talimpact s(driver's andfront-
passenger frontairbags anddrive r'sknee
bag)
R side impact s(side impact airbags and
window curtainairbags)
R rollov er(window curtainairbags)
Howev er,nosyst emavailable todaycan
com plete lyelimin ateinjuries andfatalities.
When theairbags aredeployed, asmall
amount ofpowder isreleased .The powder
generally doesnotconst ituteahealth hazard
and does notindicate thatthere isafire inthe
vehicle. Inorder toprevent potential
breathing difficulties, youshould leavethe
vehicle assoon asitis safe todo so. Ifyou
have anybreathing difficultybutcannot get
out ofthe vehicle aftertheairbag inflates,
then getfresh airbyopening awindow or
door. G
WARNING To
reduce therisk ofinjuries duringfrontair
bag inflation, thedriver andfront -passenger
must alwaysbe seated correctlyand have
their seatbelts fastened accordingly.
For maximum protectioninthe event ofa
collision, youmust alwaysbe inthe normal
seat position withyour back against the
backrest. Fastenyourseatbeltandmake sure
that itis correct lypositioned onyour body. 40
Occ
upant safetySafety