2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class Brakes

X
Sel ect the Dis
tanceDisplay functi
on
us ing the on-bo ardcomp uter
(Y page 232) . i
Yo
uwi llsee thestore dspe edfor abou t
fiv eseco ndswhen youacti vate DISTR ONIC
PLU S.
Dri vin gwi th DISTRONI CPL US Pul
ling awa y
X Ifthe vehic lein fron tpulls away: remove
you rfoot from thebrake pedal.
X Briefly pullthecruise controllever
(Y page 172)towards you.
or
X Acc elerate briefly.
Your vehicle pullsaway andadapts its
speed tothat ofthe vehicle infront .
Driving G
WARNIN
G If
you depress thebrake, DISTRONIC PLUSis
deactivated unlessyourvehicle isstation ary.
DIS TRONIC PLUSthennolonger brakes your
vehicle. Insuch cases, controlthe distance
from vehicles travelling infront withthebrake
alone. Youcould otherwise causeanaccident
and thereby injureyourself andothers. The
driver remains fullyresponsible forthe
vehicle's distancefromother vehicles, the
speed beingdriven andforbraking ingood
time.
If there isno vehicle infront ,DIS TRONIC
PLUS operates inthe same wayascruise
cont rol.
If DIS TRONIC PLUSdetect sthat thevehicle
in front hasslowed down,itbrakes your
vehicle. Inthis way, thedistance youhave
selected ismaintained.
If DIS TRONIC PLUSdetect sthat thevehicle
in front hasincreased speed,itincreases your
driving speed,butonly uptothe speed you
have stored. Changing
lanes
If you wish tochange tothe passing lane(in
count rieswith right- hand traffic ,the passing
lane isthe left- hand lane), DISTRONIC PLUS
supports youif:
R you aredriving fasterthan40mph
(60 km/ h).
R DIS TRONIC PLUSismaintainin gthe
distance toavehicle infront .
R you switch onthe appropriate turnsignals.
R DIS TRONIC PLUSdoesnotdetect adanger
of collision.
If these condit ionsaremet, yourvehicle is
accelerated. Acceleration willbeinter rupted
if changing lanestakes toolong orifthe
distance between yourvehicle andthe
vehicle infront becomes toosmall. G
WARNIN
G DIS
TRONIC PLUSandActiveBlind SpotAssist
are only aidsdesigned toassist driving.
They donot relieve youofthe responsibility
of paying attention.Thedriver remains fully
responsible forthe vehicle's distancefrom
other vehicles, thevehicle's speedandfor
braking ingood time. Always payatten tionto
traffic conditionsandyour surroundings.
Otherwise, youmay failtorecogn izedangers
in time, cause anaccident andinjure yourself
and others.
Vehicles withCOMAND i
The
following functionisnot operational
in all count ries.
DIS TRONIC PLUSusesadditional information
from yournavigation systemsothat itcan
react appropriately tocert aintraffic
situations. Thisisthe case if,while following
a vehicle, DISTRONIC PLUSisactive andyou:
R approach ordrive through atraffic circle
R approach aTinter section
R turn offatafreeway exit
Even ifthe vehicle infront leaves the
detect ionrange, DISTRONIC PLUS
temporarily maintainsthecurrent driving 174
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

speed
anddoes notaccelerate. Thisisbased
on the current mapdata inthe navigation
system. Example:
trafficcircle
The current speedismaintained:
R approximately 10seconds beforethe
traffic circle/T intersect ionand for
approximately 1.5seconds whendriving on
the traffic circle
R approximately 12seconds beforereaching
a freeway exitand approximately
4s econ dsafter thefreeway exit
Aft erwards, thevehicle accelerat esback to
the setspeed youspecified.
Stopp ing G
WARN
ING Never
getout ofthe vehicle whenDISTRONIC
PLUS isactivat ed.
DIS TRONIC PLUSmustalsonever be
operated, activatedordeactivat edbya
passenger orfrom outside thevehicle.
DIS TRONIC PLUSdoesnotreplace the
electr icparkin gbrake andmust notbeused
for parkin g.
The DISTRONIC PLUSbrakin geffec tis
canc eled andthevehicle canstart movin gif:
R DIS TRONIC PLUSisdeactivat edusing the
cruise control lever.
R you accelerat e.
R there isamalfunct ioninthe system oran
inte rruption inthe power supply, e.g.
batter yfailure. R
the electr icalsystem inthe engin e
compart ment,the batter yor the fuses are
tampered with.
R the batter yis discon nected.
If you wish toleave thevehicle orpark it,
deactivat eDIS TRONIC PLUSandsecure the
vehicle against rollingaway.
If DIS TRONIC PLUSdetectsthat thevehicle
in fron tisstopping, itbrakes yourvehicle until
it is stationary.
Once yourvehicle isstationary, itremains
stationary andyoudonot need todepress the
brake. i
Aft
eratime, theelectric parking brake
secures thevehicle andrelieves theservice
brake. i
Depending
onthe specified minimum
distance, yourvehicle willcome toa
standstill atasufficient distancebehindthe
vehicle infront .The specified minimum
distance isset using thecont rolonthe
cruise controllever.
The electric parking brakeautomatically
secures thevehicle ifDIS TRONIC PLUSis
activated and:
R the driver's doorisopen andthedriver's
seat beltisunfastened.
R the engine isswitched off.
R asystem malfunction occurs.
R the power supply isnot sufficient.
On steep uphillordownhill inclinesorifthere
is amalfunction, thetransmission mayalso
automatically beshifted intoposition P.
Setting aspee d G
WARNI
NG Kee
pin mind thatitm aytak eabrie fmoment
until thevehicle hasmade thenecessary
adjustmen ts.
Inc rease ordecrease thesetvehicle speedto
a value thattheprevailing roadcondit ionsand
legal speed limitspermit. Otherwise, sudden Driving
systems
175Driving and parking
Z

and
unex pectedacc eler ationordeceleration
of the vehicle couldcause anacciden tand/
or ser ious inju ryto youa nd othe rs. X
Pre ssthe cruise contro lle ver up: for a
hi ghe rspeed ordown ;for alower speed.
X Keep thecruise controllever pressed until
the desired speedisreached.
X Release thecruise controllever.
The new speed isstor ed.DISTRONIC PLUS
is activ ated andadjusts thevehicle's speed
to the new speed stored.
X Mak ingadjustm entsin1mp h
increment s(1 km/h increment s):briefly
press thecruise controllever tothe
pressure point.
The laststoredspeed increases or
decreases in1m phincr ement s(in Canada:
1 km/ hincr ement s).
X Mak ingadjustm entsin5mp h
increment s(10 km/h increment s):
briefly pressthecruise controllever
beyond thepressure point.
The laststoredspeed increases or
decreases in5mph increment s(10 km/ h
incr ement s).
Sett ingthe specified minimumdist ance G
WARN
ING It
is up tothe driver toexerc isediscret ionto
select theappropriate settinggiven road
con dition s,traf fic, driver' sprefer reddrivin g
style andapplicable lawsanddrivin g
recom mendat ionsforsafe following distance. You
cansetthe specified minimum distance
for DIS TRONIC PLUSbyvarying thetime span
between oneandtwosecon ds.With this
func tion,you can setthe minimum distance
that DISTRONIC PLUSkeeps tothe vehicle in
fron t,dependen tonv ehicle speed. Youcan
see this distanc ein the multifunc tiondisplay
(Y page 173). X
To increase: turncontrol ;indirect ion
=.
DIS TRONIC PLUSthenmaint ainsagreater
distanc ebetween yourvehicle andthe
vehicle infron t.
X To decrease: turncontrol ;in
direct ion:.
DIS TRONIC PLUSthenmaint ainsashort er
distanc ebetween yourvehicle andthe
vehicle infron t. i
Make
surethatyoumaint ainasufficien tly
safe distanc efrom thevehicle infron t.
Adj ust the distanc eto the vehicle infron tif
nece ssary.
De activ atin gDI STRO NICPLUS G
WA
RNING The
DISTR ONICPLU Ssw itch esoff and
rel eases thebrakes when the vehicle
de cel era tes below the mini mums peed of
20 mph (30km/ h)by operation ofthe system
unless theDISTRONIC PLUSdetectsavehicle
direct lyahead ofyou. Atthat time thedriver
must apply thebrakes inorder toreduce
vehicle speedfurtheror bring itto astop. 176
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

i
If
depres singthebrake pedalthe first
time does notactivate theHOLD function,
wait briefly andthen tryagain. G
WARNING The
vehicle's brakesareappli edwhen the
HOLD functionisactivated. Forthis reason,
deactivate theHOLD functionifthe vehicle is
to be set inmotion byother means (e.g.ina
car wash orby towing).
Deactivating theHOLD function The
HOLD functionisdeactivated
automatically if:
R you accelerate andthetransmission isin
position Dor R.
R the transmission isin position P.
R you apply thebrakes againwithacertain
amount ofpressure until HOLD disappe
ars
from themultifunction display.
R you secure thevehicle usingtheelectric
parking brake.
R you activate DISTRONIC PLUS. i
Aft
eratime, theelectric parking brake
secures thevehicle andrelieves theservice
brake. G
WARNING Never
getout ofthe vehicle whentheHOLD
funct ionisactivated.
The HOLD functionmust never beoperated
or deactivated byapassenger orfrom outside
the vehicle.
The HOLD functiondoes notreplace the
electric parking brakeandmust notbeused
for parking.
The braking effectofthe HOLD functionis
canceled andthevehicle couldrollaway if:
R the HOLD functionisdeactivated by
depressing theaccelerator pedalorthe
brake pedal.
R there isamalfunction inthe system oran
interruption inthe power supply,e.g.
battery failure. R
the electrical systeminthe engine
compartmen t,the battery orthe fuses are
tampered with.
R the battery isdisconnec ted.
The electric parking brakeautomatically
secures thevehicle ifthe HOLD functionis
activated and:
R the driver's doorisopen andthedriver's
seat beltisunfastened.
R the engine isswitched off.
R asystem malfunction occurs.
R the power supply isnot sufficient.
On steep uphillordownhill inclinesorifthere
is amalfunction, thetransmission mayalso
automatically beshifted intoposition P. AIRMATIC
package
General notes AIRMATIC
enablesasuspension tuning
settin gto be selected andregulates the
damping behaviorandlevel ofyour vehicle.
The system comprises aminimum oftwo
componen ts:ADS (Adaptive Damping
System) (Ypage 180)andlevel control
(Y page 181). Yourvehicle mayalsobe
equipp edwith theActive Curve System
(Y page 181).
Observe thenotes ondriving withatrailer
(Y page 210).
ADS (Adaptive DampingSystem) General
notes
ADS adapts thedamping characterist icsto
the current operating anddriving situation.
This depends on:
R your driving style
R the road surface condition s
R the ADS settin g
R the vehicle levelsettin g
Your selection remainsstoredevenifyou
remove theSmartK eyfrom theignition lock. 180
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

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

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

Indi
catorand warning displa y :
Yellow indicat orlamp/ redwarn inglamp
When ActiveBlin dSpo tAssist isactivated,
indicator lamp:lights upyell ow inthe
exterior mirrorsuptoav ehicle speed of
20 mph (30km/ h).When thevehicle speed
exc eeds 20mph (30km/ h),the indicat or
lamp goesoutand Active Blind SpotAssist is
ready foruse.
When yourspeed exceeds approximat ely
20 mph (30km/ h),warning lamp:lights up
red onthe corr espondin gside whenever a
vehicle isdetec tedinthe blind spot
monit oringrange. Thiswarning isalway s
given when avehicle enters the blind spot
monit oringrange frombehind orfrom the
side. When youarepassing anothervehicle,
the warning isemitt edonly ifthe differen ce
in speed isless than 7mph (12km/ h).
The yellow indicatorlamp goesoutifrevers e
gear isengaged. Inthis event ,Ac tive Blind
Spot Assist isno longer active.
The brightn essofthe indicat or/warn ing
lamps isadjusted automatic allyaccor dingto
the ambient light. G
WARN
ING Act
iveBlind SpotAssist isnot active atspeeds
lower than20mph (30km/ h).The indicat or
lamps inthe exterior mirror sare yellow.
Vehicles inthe monit oringrange arethen not
indicat ed.
Always payatten tiontotraff iccon ditions and
your surroundin gs.Other wise,youmay failto recogn
izedangers intime, cause anacciden t
and injur eyourself andother s.
Visua land audible collision warnings
If you switch onthe appropriate turnsignals
and avehicle isdetec tedinthe side
monit oringrange, youwillreceive avisual and
acoustic collisionwarning. Youwillhear a
double warning toneand redwarning
lamp :flashes. Ifthe turn signal remains on,
vehicles detectedareindicat edbythe
flashing ofred warning lamp:.Thereareno
further warning tones.
Course-correcting brakeapplication
If Act ive Blind SpotAssist detectsa risk ofa
lateral collision inthe monitorin grange, a
course-corr ectingbrakeapplication iscarried
out. This ismeant toassist youinavoiding a
collision.
The course-corr ectingbrakeapplication is
availa bleinthe range between 20mph
(30 km/h) and120 mph (200 km/h).
If acourse-corr ectingbrakeapplication
occurs, redwarning lamp:flashes inthe
exterior mirrorandthefollowing isshown in
the multifunction display,for example: G
WARNING Act
ive Blind SpotAssist isonly anaid
designed toassist driving. Itis not asubstitute
for attent ivedriving. Insome cases, the
course-corr ectingbrakeapplication isnot
sufficient toavoid acollision. Insuch acase,
you must steer, brakeoraccelerate.
In very rarecases, thesystem may
erroneously detectadanger ofcollision inthe
area ofcrash barriers orsimilar laneborders
and apply thebrakes. ActiveBlind SpotAssist
does notdetect alltraffic situations androad 204
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

user
s.Alwa ysmak esure that there is
suff icientdist anceon theside forother traff ic
or obst acles.An inap propriat ebrak e
applic ationm aybe interr upte dat any timeif
you steer sligh tlyintheoppos itedire ction or
acc eler ate.
You arerespon sible fordriv ingatappro priate
spee ds,brak ingingood time,and steeri ng
cor rectly. Always adaptyourdrivingstyle to
suit theprev ailingroad andweat her
con dition s.Always payattent ion totraff ic
con dition sand your surroundings. Other wise,
you may failtorec ogn izedang ersintim e,
caus ean acc iden tand inju reyoursel fand
othe rs.
The rewillbe either nooronl ya we ak cou rse-
corr ectingbra keapplica tionif:
R there arevehi cles orobsta cles,e.g.crash
barri ers,locatedonboth sidesof you r
vehi cle.
R avehi cleapp roache syou tooclose lyat the
side .
R you have adopted asporty drivingstyle with
high cornering speeds.
R you clearlybrake oraccel erate.
R adrivi ngsafe tysys tem intervenes, e.g.
ESP ®
or PRE-SAFE ®
Brake.
R ESP ®
is swi tched off.
R the off-road programisswitched on.
R aloss oftire pressure oradefective tireis
detected.
Switching onActive BlindSpotAssist
X Make surethattheradar sensor system
(Y page 236)andActive Blind SpotAssist
(Y page 232)areactivated inthe on-board
computer.
X Turn theSmartKey toposition 2in the
ignition lock.
Warning lamps:light upred inthe
exterior mirrorsforapproximately 1.5
seconds andthen turnyellow. Tra
iler towing
When youattach atrailer, makesureyouhave
correct lyestablished theelectrical
conn ection. Thiscanbeaccomplished by
checkin gthe trailer lighting. ActiveBlind Spot
Assist isthen deactivated. Theindicator lamp
lights upyell owinthe exterior mirrorsandthe Active
BlindSpotAssist Currently Unavailable
SeeOperator's Manual message
appearsinthe multifunction
displa y.
Active LaneKeeping Assis t Importa
ntsafety notes
Act iveLane Keeping Assistmonitors thearea
in front ofyour vehicle bymeans ofacamera
at the top ofthe windshiel d.Act ive Lane
Keeping Assistdetects lanemarkings onthe
road andwarns youbefore youleave your
lane unintent ionally.Ify ou do not react tothe
warning, alane-cor rectingapplication ofthe
brakes canbring thevehicle backintothe
original lane. :
Active Lane Keeping Assistcamera
If you have selected the Display
Unit Speed-/Odome
ter (Y
page 233)functionin
the on-board computer andselect km as
the
unit ofmeasurement, Active Lane Keeping
Assist isactive fromspeeds of60 km/ h.If
the miles display
unitisselected, the
assistance rangebegins at40 mph. G
WARNIN
G Act
ive Lane Keeping Assistdoesnotkeep
your vehicle inits lane. Itis only anaid and Driving
systems
205Driving and parking
Z