2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class Owner's Manual

If
indicator lamp;islit:
X Press button :.
Indicator lamp;flash es.The vehicle is
adjus tingtohighw ay/high-spee dlevel .
Whil ethe adjus tment istaking place, a
messag eapp ears inthe multifu nction
disp lay,e.g.: If
you press the% ora button onthe
multifu nctionsteering wheel,the messag e
wil ldisa ppea r.
Once highw aylevel hasbeen reached ,
indicator lamp;goes out.The Lowering
messag
edisa ppea rsfrom themultifu nction
disp lay.
The vehicle automaticallyselects highway
level ifyou aredriving ataspeed above
50 mph (80km/h) orifyou drive for
app roximately 20seconds between40m ph
(64 km/ h)and 50mph (80km/ h).Depen ding
on the ADSm ode selected (Ypage 180), the
vehicle islowered tohigh-speed levelat
higher speeds. PARKTRON
IC
Import antsafety notes G
WARNIN
G The
PARKTRONIC isasupplemental system.
It is not inten dedto,nor does itreplace, the
need forextr eme care. Theresponsibility
during parking andother criticalmaneuvers
alway sremains withthedriver. G
WARNIN
G Make
surenopersons oranimals areinor
near thearea inwhich youareparking/ maneuvering.
Otherwise,theycould be
injured.
PARKTRONIC isan electron icparking aidwith
ultrasonic sensors.Itindicates visuallyand
audib lythe distance between yourvehicle
and anobject .
PARKTRONIC isactivated automatically when
you:
R switch onthe ignition
R shift thetrans mission toposition D,Ror N
R release theelectric parking brake
PARKTRONIC isdeactivated atspeeds above
11 mph (18km/ h).It is reactivat edatlower
speeds.
PARKTRONIC monitorsthe area around your
vehicle usingsixsensors inthe front bumper
and four sensors inthe rear bumper. :
Sensor sin the front bumper, left-hand
side (example)
Range ofthe sensors General
notes
The sensors mustbefree ofdirt, iceand
slush; otherwise theymaynotfunct ion
correc tly.Clean thesensors regularly ,takin g
care nottoscratc hor damage them
(Y page 322). Driving
systems
183Driving and parking Z

Sid
evie w Top
view
Fro ntsenso rs Ce
nter Appr
oxim ately40 in
(a ppr oxim ately100 cm) Co
rners Appr
oxim ately24 in
(a ppr oxim ately60 cm) Rear
senso rs Ce
nter Appr
oxim ately48 in
(a ppr oxim ately120 cm) Co
rners Appr
oxim ately32 in
(a ppr oxim ately80 cm) !
Whe npark ing,pay particular attentio nt o
object sabove orbelow thesensors, such
as flower potsortrailer drawbars.
PARKTRONIC doesnotdetect suchobject s
when theyareinthe immediate vicinityof
the vehicle. Youcould damage thevehicle
or the object s.
The sensors maynotdetect snowandother
object sthat absorb ultrasonic waves. Ultrasonic
sourcessuchasan automatic
car wash, thecompressed- airbrakes ona
truck orapneumatic drillcould cause
PARKTRONIC tomalfunct ion.
PARKTRONIC maynotfunct ioncorrec tlyon
uneven terrain.
Minimum distance Center Approx
imately 8in
(approx imately 20cm) Corne
rs Appr
oxim ately 6in
(approx imately 15cm) If
ther eis an obst acle within thisrange ,the
relevan twarn ing displ ayslight upand a
warn ingtone soun ds.Ifth edist ancefalls
below themin imum ,th edist ancemay no
lon ger besho wn.
Wa rning displa ys The
warn ingdispl aysshowthedist ance
bet ween thesen sorsand theo bstac le.The
warning displayforthe fron tarea isloca ted
on the dashboa rdabo vethe center airvents.
The warning displayforthe rear area isin the
roof lamp inthe rear compartment. Warning
displayforthe front area
: Segments onthe left-hand sideofthe
vehicl e
; Segments onthe right-hand sideofthe
vehicl e
= Segments showingopera tional readiness
The warning displayforeach sideofthe
vehicl eis divi ded into fiveyellow and twored 184
Drivi
ngsystemsDriving and parking

segments.
PARKTRONIC isoperational if
yell ow segments showingoperational
readiness =light up.
The selected transmission positionandthe
direction inwhich thevehicle isrolling
determine whichwarning displayis active
when theengine isrunning. Tra
nsmission
position Warning
display D
Front
areaactivated R,
Nor the vehicle
is rolling
backwards Rear
andfront areas
activated P
No
areas activated One
ormore segments lightupasthe vehicle
approa chesanobstacle, depending onthe
vehicle's distancefromtheobstacle.
From the:
R sixth segment onwards, youwillhear an
intermitt entwarning tonefor
approximately twoseconds.
R seventh segment onwards, youwillhear a
warning toneforapproximately two
seconds. Thisindicates thatyouhave now
reached theminimum distance.
Deac tivating/activating PARKTRONIC:
Indicator lamp
; Todeactivate/activate PARKTRONIC If
indicator lamp:lights up,PARKTRONIC is
deactivated. Active Park Assist isthen also
deactivated. i
PARKTRONIC
isautomaticall yactivated
when youturn theSmartKey toposition 2
in the ignition lock.
Tra iler towing PARKTRONIC
isdeactivated forthe rear area
when youestablish anelectrical connection
between yourvehicle andatrailer.
! Fold inthe ball coupling ifthe trailer tow
hitch isnot required. PARKTRONIC
measures theminimum detection rangeto
an obstacle fromthebumper, nottheball
coupling. Driving
systems
185Driving and parking Z

Problems
withPARKTRONIC Problem Possible
causes/co nsequences andM Solutions
Only
thered segments
in the PARKTRONIC
warning displaysare lit.
You also hear awarning
tone forapproximately
two seconds.
PARKTRONIC is
deactivated after
approximately
20 seconds, andthe
indicator lampinthe
PARKTRONIC button
lights up. PARKTRONIC
hasmalfunction edand hasswitched off.
X Ifproblems persist,havePARKTRONIC checkedataqual ified
specialist workshop. Only
thered segments
in the PARKTRONIC
warning displaysare lit.
PARKTRONIC is
deactivated after
approximately 20
seconds. The
PARKTRONIC sensorsaredirty orthere isinterf erence.
X Clea nthe PARKTRONIC sensors(Ypage 322).
X Switch theignition backon. The
problem maybecaused byan extern alsource ofradio or
ultrasound waves.
X See ifPARKTRONIC functionsinadifferent location. Active
Parking Assist
Import antsafety notes Act
ive Parking Assistisan electronic parking
aid with ultrasound. Ultrasoundisused to
measure theroad onboth sides ofthe vehicle.
As uitable parkingspac eis ind icat edbythe
park ingsymb ol.Active steer ing interv ention
can assis tyou during parking. Youmay also
use PARKTRONIC (Ypage 183). When
PARKTRONIC isswitched off,Active Parking
Assist isalso unavailab le. G
WARNIN
G Act
iveParking Assistismerely anaid and may
sometimes recommendparking spacesthat
are not suitable forparking. Forexample,
these might bespaces whereparking is
prohibited, driveways,unsuitablesurfaces,
etc. Act
ive Parking Assistmeasures theparking
space asyou drive pastit.Any later changes
to the parking spacearenot taken into
account .For instan ce,this may bethe case
when thevehicle parkedinfront ofor behind
the space changes itsposition orwhen an
obstacle ismoved intotheparking space.
Act ive Parking Assistdoesnotrelieve youof
the responsibility ofpaying attention.Ifyou
rely solely onAct ive Parking Assist,you could
cause anaccident andinjure yourself and
others.
You arealway sresponsible forsafety and
must continue topay atten tiontoyour
immediate surroundings whenparking and
maneuvering. 186
Driving
systemsDriving 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

and
meas uresparkingspac eson bot hsides
of theveh icle.When driving atspeeds below
19 mph (30km/h), youwillsee theparking
symbol asastatus indicator inthe instrumen t
cluster. Bydefault, Active Parking Assistonly
displa ysparking spacesonthe front -
passenger side.Parking spacesonthe
driver's sidearedispla yedassoon asthe turn
signal onthe driver's sideisactivated. Ifyou
wish topark inaspace onthe driver's side,
the indicator onthe driver's sidemust remain
on. This must remain switched onuntil you
acknowledge theuse ofAct iveParking Assist
by pressing thea button onthe
multifunction steeringwheel.
When aparking spacehasbeen detect ed,an
arrow towards theright orthe left also
appea rs. :
Detec tedparking spaceonthe left
; Parking symbol
= Detec tedparking spaceonthe right
Act ive Parking Assistwillonly detect parking
spaces:
R that areparall elto the direction oftravel
R at least 59in(1.5 m)wide
R at least 51in(1.3 m)longer thanyour
vehicle
Ap arking spac ewill bedispl ayed toyou as
you driveby unt ilyou areappro ximately50 ft
(15 m)away from it.
Par king G
WAR
NING PA
RKTRO NICandActivePark ingAssist are
mer elypark ingaids andmay notd etec tall
obst acles. Theydonot reliev eyou ofthe
respo nsibilit yof paying attent ion. You
arealways responsible forsafet yand
must continue topay attent ion toyour
immed iatesurro undin gswhen parkingand
mane uverin g.You could otherwise endanger
yourself andothers.
X Stop the vehic lewhen thepark ingspace
symbol showsthedesired parkingspace in
the instrumen tclust er.
X Shif tthe transmission toposition R.
The Start
ParkAssist? Yes:OKNo: %
message appearsinthe multifunction
displa y.
X To cancel theprocedur e:press the
% button onthe multifunction steering
wheel orpull away .
or
X To par kusing Active ParkingAssist:
press thea button onthe multifunc tion
steerin gwheel.
The Park
Assist ActiveAccelera te and
Brake Observe Surroundings message
appearsinthe multifunc tion
display. G
WARNIN
G When
parking, youneed tomake surethatno
obstacles arelocated inthe vicinit yof the
vehicle duringtheentireoperation. Active
Parking Assistdoesnotrelieve youofthe
respons ibilityofpaying attention.Itmerely
aids youbyinter venin gactively inthe
steerin g.
To stop thevehicle ortoavoid anaccident ,
you need toapply thebrakes yourself.
X Let goofthe multifunc tionsteerin gwheel.
X Back upthe vehicle, beingready tobrake
at all times. Donot exceed aspeed of
approximately 6mph(10 km/ h)while
backin gup; Active Parkin gAssist will
other wisebecanc eled. i
In
tight parkin gspaces, youwillachieve
the best parkin gresults bybackin gup as 188
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

far
aspossi ble.W hen doing so,also
observe thePARKTRONIC messages.
X Stop assoon asPARKTRONIC soundsthe
cont inuous warning tone,ifnot before.
Maneuvering mayberequired intight
parking spaces.
The Park
Assist ActiveSelectD Observe Surroundings message
appearsin
the multifunction display.
X Shift thetransmission toposition Dwhile
the vehicle isstationary.
Act iveParking Assistimmediately steersin
the other direction.
The Park
Assist ActiveAccelerate and
Brake Observe Surroundings message
appearsinthe multifunction
displa y. i
You
willachieve thebest parking results
by waiting forthe steering procedure to
complete beforemoving forwards.
X Drive forwards andbeready tobrake atall
times.
X Stop assoon asPARKTRONIC soundsthe
cont inuous warning tone,ifnot before.
The Park
Assist ActiveSelectR Observe Surroundings message
appearsin
the multifunction display.
X Further transmission shiftsmaybe
necessary.
As soon asthe parking procedure is
complete, the Park
Assist Finished message
appearsinthe multifunction
displa y.PARKTRONIC continues tobe
availa ble.
X Maneuver ifnecessary.
X Always observe thewarning messages
displa yedbyPARKTRONIC (Ypage 184).
Cancel ingActive Parking Assist You
cancancel Active Parking Assistatany
time. X
Stop themovement ofthe multifunction
steering wheelorsteer yourself.
Act ive Parking Assistwillbecanceled at
once. The Park
Assist Canceled message
appearsinthe multifunction
displa y.
or
X Press thePARKTRONIC buttononthe
cent erconsole (Ypage 185).
PARKTRONIC isswitched offand Active
Parking Assistisimmediately canceled.
The Park
Assist Canceled message
appea rsinthe multifunction display.
Act ive Parking Assistiscanceled
automatically if:
R parking usingActive Parking Assistisno
longer possible.
R you aredriving fasterthan6mph
(10 km/h).
R awheel spins,ESP®
interven esorfails. The
ä warning lamplights upinthe
instrumen tcluster.
Aw arning tone soun ds.The park ingspac e
symb oldisapp earsandthe Par
kAss ist Can
celed mes
sage appear sin the
mult ifunction displ ay.
When ActivePark ingAssist iscan celed, you
must steer again yourself.
Tr ailer towin g For
vehicleswit hatrailer tow hit ch,th e
min imum lengthfor park ingspac esissligh tly
inc reas ed.
If you have attach edatrailer toyour vehicle,
you should notu se Act ive Parking Assist.
Once theelectrical connection isestablished
between yourvehicle andthetrailer, Active
Parking Assistisno longer available.
PARKTRONIC isdeactivated forthe rear area. Driving
systems
189Driving and parking Z

Rear
viewcame ra
Impo rtant safetynotes The
rearview came raisan opt ical park ingand
mane uverin gaid. Itshows thearea behin d
your vehic lewith guide linesinthe COMA ND
display. G
WARN
ING Make
surethatnoperso nsoranimals arein
the mane uverin grang e.Oth erwise, they
could beinjured.
The rear view came raisin the handle onthe
tailgat e. :
Rear viewcame ra
View throu ghthecam era The
area behin dthe vehic leisdisplayed ina
mirr or-inv erted mann er,asinthe rear- view
mirr or. G
WARN
ING The
rear view came raisonly anaid and may
display obstacles
R fro madistort edperspect ive
R inacc urately
R may notdisplay obstaclesatall The
rear view camera doesnotrelieve youof
the respon sibility tobe cautious. Takecare
and paycareful attention. Therear view
camera maynotshow objectswhich are
R very close tothe rear bumper
R under therear bumper
R above thetailgate handle
You arerespon sibleforsafety atall times and
must continue topay attention tothe
immediate surroundingswhen parkin gand
maneuver ing.This includes thearea behind,
in fron tof,and besidethe vehicl e.Otherwi se
you couldendange ryourself and/or others. G
WARNING Under
thefollowing circumstances,therear
view camera willnotfunct ion,orwill funct ion
in alimited manner :
R the tailgate isopen
R in heavy rain,snow orfog
R at night orinvery dark places
R ifthe camera isexposed tovery bright light
R ifthe area islit by fluorescent lightorLED
lighting (thedisplay mayflicker)
R ifthere isasudden changeintemperature,
e.g. when driving intoaheated garagein
winter
R ifthe camera lensisdirty orobstruct ed
R ifthe rear ofyour vehicle isdamaged. Inthis
event ,have thecamera position andsetting
check edataquali fiedspecialist workshop.
Mercedes-B enzrecommen dsthat youuse
an authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter for
this purpose.
Do not use therear view camera inthese
types ofsituation. Youcould otherwise injure
others ordamage objectsand your vehicle
while youareparking. 190
Driving
systemsDriving and parking