2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class warning light

comp
artme ntcove r: ifcarg o
comp artme ntcove r: isinsta lled.
R Top Teth erbel tB isrou ted betw eenrear
sea tback rest; and thecar gonetift he
cargo netisinstalled.
X Tension TopTether beltB.C omply with
the manufacturer 'sinstallation
instr uctions whendoing so.
X Move headrestraint=back down again
slightly ifnecessary (Ypage 97).Make
sure thatyoudonot inter ferewith the
correc trouting ofTop Tether beltB. Child-pr
ooflocks
Import antsafety notes G
WARNIN
G When
leaving thevehicle, alwaysremove the
Smart Keyfrom theignition lock.Always take
the Smart Keywith youand lock thevehicle.
Do not leave children unattendedinthe
vehicle, evenifthey aresecured inachild
restraint system,orwith access toan
unlocked vehicle.Achild's unsupervised
access toavehicle couldresult inan accident
and/or serious personal injury.Thechildren
could:
R injure themselves onparts ofthe vehicle
R be seriously orfatally injured through
excessive exposuretoextrem eheat orcold
R injure themselves orcause anaccident with
vehicle equipment thatcanbeoperated
even ifthe SmartKey isremoved fromthe
ignition lockorremoved fromthevehicle,
such asseat adjustment ,steering wheel
adjustment ,or the memory function
If children openadoor, theycould injure other
persons orget out ofthe vehicle andinjure
themselves orbe injured byfollowing traffic.
Do not expose thechild restraint systemto
direct sunlight. Thechild restraint system's
metal parts, forexample, couldbecome very
hot, andthechild could beburned onthese
parts. Child-proof
locksforthe rear doors G
WARNING Children
couldopenarear door from inside
the vehicle. Thiscould result inserious
injuries oran accident. Therefore, when
children rideinthe rear alwa yssecure therear
doors withthechild-proof locks.
You secure eachdoorindividua llywith the
child-proof locksonthe rear doors. Adoor
secured withachild-proof lockcann otbe
opened frominside thevehicle. Whenthe
vehicle isunlocked, thedoor canbeopened
from theoutside. X
To activat e:press thechild-proof lock
lever upinthe direction ofarrow :.
X Make surethatthechild-proof locksare
working properly.
X To deactivat e:press thechild-proof lock
lever down inthe direction ofarrow ;.
Overrid efeatu refor the rear side
windows G
WARNIN
G When
children rideonthe vehicle's rearseats,
activate theoverride switch.Otherwise, the
children couldbeinjured, e.g.bytrapping
themselves inthe rear side window. Children
inthe vehicle
59Safety Z

R
PRE-S AFE®
Brake
R Steering assistant STEERCONTROL Impor
tantsafety notes
If you failtoadapt yourdriving style,the
driving safetysystems canneither reducethe
risk ofaccident noroverride thelaws of
physics. Drivingsafety systems aremerely
aids designed toassist driving. Youare
responsible forthe distanc eto the vehicle in
fron t,for vehicle speedandforbraking in
good time. Always adaptyourdriving styleto
suit theprevailing road/weather conditions,
as well asthe traff iccondit ionsandmaintain
a safe distanc eto the vehicle infron t.Drive
carefully. i
Please
notethat thedriving safety
systems described onlywork aseffect ively
as possible whenthereisadequa tecont act
between thetires andtheroad surface. Pay
particular attentiontothe inform ation
regarding tires,recomm endedminimum
tire tread depths etc.inthe "Wheels and
tires" section(Ypage 350).
In wintry driving conditions,alway suse
winter tires(M+S tires)andifnecess ary,
snow chains. Onlyinthis way willthe
driving safetysystems described inthis
sect ionwork aseffect ivelyaspossible. ABS
(Anti-lock Braking System )
Impor tantsafety notes i
Observe
the"Importan tsafet yno tes"
sec tion(Ypage 61).
AB Sr egulates brakepressure insuch away
that thewheels donot lock when youbrake.
This allows youtocon tinue steer ingthe
vehicle whenbrakin g.
AB Sw orks from aspeed ofabout
5m ph(8 km/ h)upwards, regardless ofroad-
surface condition s.AB Sw orks onslippery
surfaces, evenwhen youonly brake gently. G
WARNIN
G If
the ABS malfunct ions,other driving systems
such asthe BAS orthe ESP ®
are also switched
off. Observe indicator andwarning lampsthat
may come onaswell asmessages inthe
multifunct iondisplay thatmay appear.
If the ABS malfunct ions,thewheels maylock
during hardbraking, reducing thesteering
capability andexten dingthebraking distance.
The ! warning lampinthe instr ument
cluster lightsupwhen theignition isswitched
on. Itgoes outwhen theengine isrunnin g.
Br aking If
ABS intervenes whenbraking, youwillfeel
a pulsing inthe brake pedal.
X IfABS intervenes: continue todepress the
brake pedalwithforce untilthebraking
situation isover.
X To mak eafull brake application:
depress thebrake pedalwithfullforce.
The pulsating brakepedalcanbean
indication ofhazardous roadcondit ions,and
funct ionsasareminder totake extracare
while driving. G
WARNIN
G Do
not pump thebrake pedal. Usefirm, steady
brake pedalpressure instead.Pumping the
brake pedaldefeats thepurpose ofthe ABS
and significant lyreduces braking
effect iveness. BAS
(BrakeAssist System) i
Observe
the"Important safetynotes"
section (Ypage 61).
BAS operates inemergenc ybraking
situations. Ifyou depress thebrake pedal
quickly, BASautomatically booststhebraking
force, thusshorten ingthe stopping distance.
X Keep thebrake pedalfirmly depressed until
the emergenc ybraking situation isover.
ABS prevent sthe wheels fromlockin g. Driving
safetysystems
61Safety Z

Traction
controlremains activeifyou
deactivate ESP®
. G
WARNIN
G Traction
controlcann otreduce therisk ofan
accident ifyou drive toofast. Traction control
cann otoverride thelaws ofphysics.
Deactivating/activat ingESP ® i
Observe
the"Importan tsafet yno tes"
sec tion(Ypage 61). G
WARN
ING ES
P®
should notbedeactiv atedduring
norm aldrivin gother thaninthe
circ umstan cesdescribed below.Disabling
the system willreduce vehicle stability in
drivin gmaneuver s.
Do not deactiv ateESP®
when theemergen cy
or spare wheel ismount ed.
ES P®
is activ ated automatic allywhen the
engin eis start ed.
It may bebest todeactiv ateESP®
in the
following situations:
R when usingsnowchains
R in deep snow
R on sand orgravel G
WARN
ING Switc
hon ESP®
immediately ifone ofthe
previously statedcon dition sis no longer met.
Other wise, ESP®
cann otstabilize thevehicle
if it begins tolurch orwhen awheel spins.
When youdeactiv ateESP®
:
R ES P®
no longer improves drivingstability.
R the engin e'storque isno longer limited and
the drive wheels canspin. Thespinn ingof
the wheels resultsinacutt ingaction ,which
provides bettergrip.
R trac tion controlis still activ ated.
R ES P®
still provides supportwhenyou
brake. If
ES P®
is deactiv atedandone ormore wheels
start tospin, the÷ ESP®
warning lampin
the instrument clusterflashes. Insuch
situation s,ES P®
will notstabilize thevehicle. X
To deact ivate:press button:.
The å ESP®
OFF warning lampinthe
inst rument clusterlightsup. G
WARN
ING When
theå ESP®
OFF warning lampislit,
ES P®
is deactiv ated.
If the ÷ ESP®
warning lampandthe
å ESP®
OFF warning lampremain lit,
ES P®
is not available duetoam alfun ction .
When ESP®
is deac tivate dor noto peration al,
vehicle stability instan dard driving
maneuver sis reduced.
Adapt yourspeed anddriving tothe prevailing
road condition sand tothe non-operat ing
stat usofthe ESP®
.
! Avoid spinningthe driven wheels foran
ext ended period withESP®
deactiv ated.
You could otherwisedamage thedrivet rain.
X To activa te:press button:.
The å ESP®
OFF warning lampinthe
inst rument clustergoesout.
ESP ®
trailer stabiliz ation If
your vehicle withtrailer (vehicle/ trailer
combin ation)begins tolurch, youcan only
stabilize thevehicle/ trailercombin ationby
depressin gthe brake firmly. 64
Driving
safetysystemsSafety

In
this situa tion, ESP®
assi stsyou and can
detect ifthe vehicle /trailer combination
begi nstolurch. ESP®
slow sthe vehicle down
by braking andlimiting theengine outputuntil
the vehicle/tra iler comb inationh as
st abiliz ed.
Trail erstabiliz ationisactive fromaspeed of
approximately 37mph(60 km/h). G
WARNING The
system willnotbeable toassist whenthe
trailer jackknifes
R ifthe ESP ®
has switched offdue toa
malfunction
R on wet oricy roads
R on roads withslippery surface
R in sand orgravel
Trailers withahigh centerofgravity maytip
over before thesystem recognizes swayingof
the trailer.
Traile rstab iliza tiond oes notwork ifESP ®
is
deactivated ordisabled becauseofa
malfunct ion. EBD
(elec tronic brake force
distr ibution) i
Observe
the"Important safetynotes"
section (Ypage 61).
EBD monit orsand cont rolsthebrake
pressure onthe rear wheels toimprove
driving stability whilebraking. G
WARNIN
G If
EBD hasmalfunct ioned,thebraking system
remains availablewith fullbrake boosting
effect .However, therear wheels canstilllock,
e.g. under fullbraking. Thiscould cause you
to lose controlofyour vehicle andcause an
accident .You should therefor eadapt your
driving styletothe different handling
character istics. X
Observe thenoteson warning andindicator
lamps (Ypage 272)aswell asdisplay
messages (Ypage 241). ADA
PTIVE BRAKE
AD APTIVE BRAKEenhancesbraking safety
and offers increased brakingcomfort.In
addition tothe braking function,ADAPTIVE
BRAKE alsohastheHOLD function
(Y page 179)andhillstart assist
(Y page 142). Forfurther informat ion,see
Drivin gtips (Ypage 159). PRE-SAFE
®
Br ake
PRE-S AFE®
Brake isonly availa bleinvehicles
with DISTRONIC PLUS. i
Observe
the"Important safetynotes"
section (Ypage 61).
PRE-S AFE®
Brake canhelp youtominimize
the risk ofafront alcollision withavehicle
ahead orreduce theeffect sofsuch a
co llisio n.IfPRE -SAF E®
Br ake hasdetecteda
ris ko fcollision, youwillbewarned visually
and acoustically aswell asby automatic
braking. PRE-SAFE®
Brake cannotprevent a
collision withoutyourintervention.
At speeds aboveapproximately
20 mph (30km/ h),this funct ionwarns you
when youarerapidly approaching thevehicle
in front .An interm ittentwarning tonewill
then sound andthe· distance warning
lamp inthe instr ument cluster willlight up.
X Brake immediately inorder toincrease the
distance fromthevehicle infront .
or
X Take evasive actionprovided itis safe todo
so. Driving
safetysystems
65Safety Z

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). Sma
rtKey Impor
tant safet ynotes G
WARN
ING When
leaving thevehicle, alwaysremovethe
Smart Keyfrom theignit ionlock .Always take
the Smart Keywith youand lock thevehicle.
Do not leave children unsuperv isedinthe
vehicle, evenifthey aresecured inachild
rest raint system ,and donot give them acces s
to an unlock edvehicle. Achild's unsupervised
access toavehicle couldresult inan accident
and/or serious personal injury.Theycould:
R injure themselves onvehicle parts
R be seriously orfatally injured byextrem e
heat orcold
R injure themselves orhave anaccident with
vehicle equipment thatmay stillbein
operation evenaftertheSmartKey has
been removed fromtheignition, suchasthe
seat adjustment ,steering wheel
adjustment ormemory function.
If children openadoor, theycould cause
severe oreven fatalinjury toother persons; if
they getout ofthe vehicle, theycould injure
themselves whendoing soorbe seriously or
even fatally injured byany passing traffic.
Do not expose thechild restraint systemto
direct sunlight. Thechild restraint system's
metal parts, forexample, couldbecome very hot,
andachild could beburned onthese
parts. G
WARNING If
akey ring istoo heavy ortoo large, the
weight actingonthe key could cause itto turn
in the ignition lockorcatch onthe steering
wheel. Thiscould cause theengine tobe
switched offsuddenly. Youcould losecontrol
of the vehicle andcause anaccident. Donot
attach anyheavy orlarge keyrings tothe key
that isinserted inthe ignition. General
notes
If you cannot lockorunlock thevehicle with
the SmartK ey,either thebattery inthe
SmartK eyisdischarged, theSmartK eyis
faulty orthe starter battery isdischarged.
X Check thebattery inthe SmartK eyand
replace itifnecessary (Ypage 76).
X Unlock thedriver's doorusing the
mechanical key(Ypage 80).
X Lock thevehicle usingthemechanical key
(Y page 80).
X Have thestarter battery andthebattery
cont acts check edataqual ified specialist
workshop.
If the SmartK eyisfaulty, contactRoadsi de
Assistanc eor aqual ified specialist workshop. Smar
tKeyfunctions
General notes i
USA
only:
This device complies withPart15ofthe
FCC Rules. Operation issubject tothe
following twocondition s:
1. This device maynotcause harmful
interfer ence,and
2. this device mustaccept anyinterfer ence
received, includinginterferencethatmay
cause undesired operation. 72
Smar
tKeyOpening/closing

Problem Possible
causes/co nsequences andM Solutions
The
engine cannot be
started usingthe
SmartK ey. The
on-board voltageistoo low.
X Switch offnon- essential consumers, e.g.seat heating orinterior
lighting, andtrytostart theengine again.
If this does notwork:
X Check thestarter battery andcharge itifnecessary
(Y page 338).
or
X Jump-start thevehicle (Ypage 341).
or
X Consult aqual ified specialist workshop. The
engine cannot be
started usingKEYLE SS-
GO. TheSmartK eyisin
the vehicle. Ad
oor isopen. Therefore, theSmart Keycann otbe detect edas
easily .
X Close thedoor andtrytostart thevehicle again. There
isinter ferenc efrom apowerful sourceofradio waves.
X Start yourvehicle withtheSmart Keyinthe ignition lock. Doors
Import
antsafety notes G
WARNIN
G When
leaving thevehicle, alwaysremove the
Smart Keyfrom theignition lock.Always take
the Smart Keywith youand lock thevehicle.
Do not leave children unsupervised inthe
vehicle, evenifthey aresecured inachild
restraint system,anddonot give them access
to an unlocked vehicle.Achild's unsupervised
access toavehicle couldresult inan accident
and/or serious personal injury.Theycould:
R injure themselves onvehicle parts
R be seriously orfatally injured byextrem e
heat orcold
R injure themselves orhave anaccident with
vehicle equipment thatmay stillbein
operation evenaftertheSmartKey has
been removed fromtheignition, suchasthe
seat adjustment ,steering wheel
adjustment ormemory function. If
children openadoor, theycould cause
severe oreven fatalinjury toother persons; if
they getout ofthe vehicle, theycould injure
themselves whendoing soorbe seriously or
even fatally injured byany passing traffic.
Do not expose thechild restraint systemto
direct sunlight. Thechild restraint system's
metal parts, forexample, couldbecome very
hot, andachild could beburned onthese
parts. G
WARNING Do
not carry heavy orhard object sin the
passenger compartmen tor cargo
compartmen tunle ssthey arefirmly secu red
in place .
Unse curedorimp roperlypo sitio ned cargo
incre ases achi ld's ris kof inju ryinthe event
of
R stro ngbra king maneu vers
R sudd en cha nges ofdirecti on
R an acci dent 78
Do
orsOpening/closing

i
If
you lock thevehicle asdescribe dabove ,
the fuel filler flap isnot locked. Theanti-
theft alarm system isnot armed. Cargo
compartment Important
safetynotes
Do not leavethe SmartKey inthe cargo
compartment. Youcould otherwis elock
you rself out. G
WARNING When
leaving thevehicle ,alw aysremove the
SmartKey fromtheignition lock.Alway stake
the SmartKey withyouand lock thevehicle .
Do not leavechildre nunsu pervised inthe
veh icle, eve nifthey aresecured inachild
restraint system,anddonot give them access
to an unlocked vehicle.Achild's unsupervised
access toavehicle couldresult inan accident
and/or serious personal injury.Theycould:
R injure themselves onvehicle parts
R be seriously orfatally injured byextrem e
heat orcold
R injure themselves orhave anaccident with
vehicle equipment thatmay stillbein
operation evenaftertheSmartKey has
been removed fromtheignition, suchasthe
seat adjustment ,steering wheel
adjustment ormemory function.
If children openadoor, theycould cause
severe oreven fatalinjury toother persons; if
they getout ofthe vehicle, theycould injure
themselves whendoing soorbe seriously or
even fatally injured byany passing traffic.
Do not expose thechild restraint systemto
direct sunlight. Thechild restraint system's
metal parts, forexample, couldbecome very
hot, andachild could beburned onthese
parts. G
WARNING Do
not carry heavy orhard object sin the
passenger compartmen tor cargo compartmen
tunle ssthey arefirmly secu red
in place .
Unse curedorimp roperlypo sitio ned cargo
incre ases achi ld's ris kof inju ryinthe event
of
R stro ngbra king maneu vers
R sudd en cha nges ofdirecti on
R an acci dent G
WAR
NING Ma
kesure the tailgate isclo sed when the
engi neisrunning andwhiled riving. Among
other dange rs,dea dlycarbon monoxide (CO)
gase smay enter vehicleinterior resultingin
unconsciou snessanddeath.
! The tailgate swings upwards andtothe
rear when opened .Therefore, makesure
that there issufficient clearance aboveand
behind thetailgate.
To open thetailgate completely, aminimum
clearance of7.20 ft(2.20 m)above the
gro und isneces sary.
Fo rv ehicles withoutEASY-PACK tailgat e
you can:
R open andcloseth etailg ateman ually from
outs ide
R unloc kthe tailgate frominside withthe
emergency release
For vehicle swith EASY -PACK tailgate you
can:
R close thetailgate manually fromoutside
R open andclose thetailgate automatically
from outside
R open andclose thetailgate automatically
from inside
R limit theopening angleofthe tailgate
R unlock thetailgate frominside withthe
emergency release Cargo
compar tment
81Opening/closing Z

!
The tailgate swingsupwardsand tothe
rear when opened. Therefore, makesure
that there issufficient clearance aboveand
behind thetailgate.
X Insert mechanical key;into opening in
trim :.
X Turn mechanical key;90° clockwise.
X Push mechanical key;inthe direction of
the arrow andopen thetailgate. Side
window s Importa
ntsafety notes G
WARNING When
opening orclosing thedoor windows,
make surethatthere isno danger ofanyone
being harmed bythe opening/closing
procedure.
The door windows areequip pedwith
automatic operationandtheanti-ent rapment
feature. Ifin automatic modeadoor window
encounters anobstruction thatblocks its
path, theanti-ent rapment featurewillstop the
door window andopen itslightly.
The door windows operatedifferently when
the switch ispull ed. See the"Proble mswith
door windows" sectionfordetails.
The closing ofthe door windows canbe
immediately haltedbyreleasi ngthe switch or,
if the switch waspulledpast theresistance
point andreleased ,by either pressing or
pull ing the respective switch. If
adoor window encounters anobstruction
that blocks itspath inacircumstance where
you areclosing thewindows bypressing and
holding the& button onthe SmartKey or
by pressing andholding thelock button
(vehicles withKEYLES S-GO)onanoutside
door handle, theanti-ent rapment featurewill
not operate.
Act ivate theoverride switchwhenchildren
are riding inthe back seats ofthe vehicle. The
children mayotherwise injurethemselves,
e.g. bybecoming trappedinthe door window
opening. G
WARNING Do
not keep anypart ofyour body upagai nst
the window panewhen opening awindow. The
downward motionofthe pane maypullthat
part ofyour body down between thewindow
pane andthedoor frame andtrap itthere. If
there isarisk ofentrapment ,release the
switch andpullitto close thewindow. Opening
andclosing theside
window s :
Front left
; Front right
= Rear right
? Rear left
The switches forallside windows arelocated
on the driver's door.There isalso aswitch on
each doorforthe corresponding sidewindow. Side
windows
85Opening/closing Z