2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class ESP

Ac
hild inarear-facing childrestraint onthe
front passenger seatwillbeseriously
injured oreven killed ifthe front passenger
front airbag inflates.
R Ifyou have toplace achild inaforward-
facing childrestraint onthe front passenger
seat, move theseat asfar back aspossible,
use theproper childrestraint
recommen dedforthe age, sizeandweight
of the child, andsecure childrestraint with
the vehicle's seatbeltaccording tothe
child seatmanufacturer's instructions. G
WARNING Infant
sand small children shouldnevershare
a seat beltwith another occupant. Duringan
accident, theycould becrushed between the
occupant andseat belt.
Ac hild's riskofserious orfatal injuries is
significantly increasedifthe child restraint s
are not properly securedinthe vehicle and/
or the child isnot properly securedinthe child
restraint .
Children toobigforatoddler restraint must
ride inseats usingregular seatbelts. Position
the shoulder beltacross thechest and
shoulder, notface orneck .Abooster seat
may benecessary toachieve properseatbelt
positioning forchildren over41lb(18 kg)until
they reach aheight wherealap/shoulder belt
fits properly withoutabooster.
When thechild restraint isnot inuse, remove
it from thevehicle orsecure itwith theseat
belt toprevent thechild restraint from
becoming aproject ileinthe event ofan
accident .
If an infant orchild istraveling inthe vehicle:
X Secure theinfant orchild withan
appropriate infantorchild restraint
recommen dedforthe child's ageand
weight.
X Make surethattheinfant orchild is
properly securedatall times whilethe
vehicle isin motion . G
WARNING 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. G
WARNING Do
not carry heavy orhard object sin the
passenger compartmen tortrunk unles sthey
are firmly secure din pla ce.
Unsecured orimprop erlypositioned cargo
increase sa child 'srisk ofinjury inthe event
of
R strong braking maneuvers
R sudd enchanges ofdirectio n
R an accide nt
Spec ialseat beltretr act or All
seat beltsexc ept thed river's seatbeltare
equ ipped with aspeci alseat beltretrac tor.
When activated, thespecial seatbelt 56
Childr
eninthevehicleSafety

retractor
ensuresthe seat beltw illnot
slack enonc ethe child restraint systemhas
been secured.
In st alling achild restraint system:
X Always complywith themanuf acturer' s
inst allation instruct ions .
X Pull theseat beltsmoo thlyfromt heinertia
reel.
X Engage theseat belttongue inthe belt
buckle.
Act ivating thespecial seatbeltretract or:
X Pull theseat beltoutfully andletthe inertia
reel retract itagain.
While theseat beltisretract ing,youshould
hear aratchet ingsound. Thespecial seat
belt retract orisenabled.
X Push down onthe child restraint systemto
take upany slack.
Removing achild restraint system/
deactivating thespecial seatbeltretract or:
X Always comply withthemanufacturer's
installation instructions.
X Press theseat beltrelease buttonand
guide thebelt tongue tothe belt outlet.
The special seatbeltretract oris
deactivated. G
WARNING Never
release theseat beltbuckle whilethe
vehicle isin motion, sincethespecial seatbelt
retract orwill bedeactivated.
LATCH-type (ISOFIX)child seatanchors
in the rear G
WARNING Children
thataretoo large forachild restraint
must travel inseats usingnormal seatbelts.
Position shoulder beltacross thechest and
shoulder, notface orneck .
In order toattain thecorrect seating position
for children weighing over41lb(18 kg), itmay
be necessary touse abooster seatuntil they
reach aheight whereanormal lap/should er seat
beltliesproperly acrosstheirbodies
without theneed forabooster seat.
Inst allthe child restraint systemaccording to
the manufacturer's instructions.
The child restraint systemmustbeinstalled
firmly onboth brackets.
An incorrec tlyinstalled childrestraint system
can come looseinthe event ofan accident,
causing thechild tobe severely orfatally
injured.
Child restraint systems/child restraint
retaining bracketsthataredamaged orhave
suffered damageduetoan impact mustbe
replaced.
LATCH-t ype(ISOFIX) isastandardized
securing systemforspecially designed child
restraint systemsonthe rear seats. Securing
rings fortwo LATCH-t ype(ISOFIX) child
restraint systemsareinstalled onthe left and
right ofthe rear seats.
Secure nonLATCH-t ype(ISOFIX) child
restraint systemsusingthevehicle's seatbelt
system. Alwaysinstallchildrestraint systems
according tothe manufacturer's instructions.
! When installing thechild restraint system,
make surethattheseat beltforthe cent er
seat does notgettrapped. Otherwise, the
seat beltcould bedamaged. :
Securing rings
X Inst allthe LATCH-t ype(ISOFIX) child
restraint system.Complywiththe
manufacturer's instructionswhen doing
so. Children
inthe vehicl e
57Safety Z

X
To acti vate /deacti vate :pre ssbutton :.
If ind icator lamp ;islit, op era tiono fthe
rear side windows isdeactivated.
Operation isonly possible usingthe
switches inthe driver's door.Ifindicator
lamp ;isoff, operation ispossible using
the switches inthe rear compartmen t. Panic
alarm X
To activate: press!button :for at
least onesecond.
An alarm sounds andtheexterior lighting
flashes.
X To deactivate: press!button :
again.
or
X Insert theSmartK eyinto theignition lock.
or
X Press theKEYLE SS-GO Start /Stopbutton.
The KEYLE SS-GO key must beinthe
vehicle. 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.
Any unauthorized modificationtothis
device couldvoidtheuser's authority to
operate theequipment.
The product labelwithFCCIDand IC
certific ationnumber canbefound inthe
battery caseofthe SmartK ey. i
Canada
only:
This device complies withRSS-Gen of
Industry Canada.Operation issubjec tto
the followi ng two cond itions :
1. Thisde vice ma ynot causeinte rferenc e,
and
2. thi sde vice mu stacc eptany inte rference
rece ived,incl uding inte rference thatm ay
caus eunde sired oper ation.
An yunaut horizedmod ificatio ntothis
device couldvoidtheuser's authority to
operate theequipment.
The product labelwithFCCIDand IC
cert ification numbercanbefound inthe
battery caseofthe Smart Key. Driving
safetysystems Driving
safetysystems overview
In this section ,you willfind informat ionabout
the following drivingsafetysystems:
R ABS (Anti-lock BrakingSystem)
R BAS (Brake AssistSystem)
R BAS PLUS (Brake Assist System Plus*)
R ESP ®
(Electr onicStability Program)
R EBD (Electr onicBrake forceDistribution)
R AD APTIVE BRAKE 60
Driving
safetysystemsSafety

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

R
to cros sing traffic
R in cur ves
As ares ult, BAS PLUScann otinte rvenein
cri tica lsi tua tions. The reisaris ko fan
acc iden t.Always paycareful attent ion tothe
tr aff icsit uatio nand berea dytobra ke.
Fol lowi ng dama getothe front endofthe
veh icle, ha ve the confi guratio na nd opera tion
of the rada rs ensor schec kedataqualified
specialist workshop.This also applies to
collisions atlow speeds wherethereis no
visible damage tothe fron tofthe vehicle.
If BAS PLUS isnot availa bledue toa
malfunction inthe radar sensor system, the
brake system remains availablewith full
brake boosting effectandBAS. ESP
®
(Ele ctronic Stability Program)
Import antsafety notes i
See
the"Important safetynotes" section
(Y page 61).
If ESP ®
detect sthat thevehicle isdeviating
from thedirection desiredbythe driver, one
or more wheels arebraked tostabilize the
vehicle. Ifnecessary, theengine outputisalso
modified tokeep thevehicle onthe desired
course withinphysical limits.ESP®
assists
the driver whenpullingaway onwet or
slippery roads.ESP®
can also stabilize the
vehicle duringbraking.
If ESP ®
interven es,the ÷ ESP®
warning
lamp flashes inthe instrumen tcluster . G
WARN
ING Und
erno circums tances should you
deact ivateES P®
when the÷ ESP®
warnin glamp inthe instrumen tclust er
flashe s.Proc eedasfollows :
R when drivingoff ,apply aslittlethr ottleas
possible .
R while driving,ease upon the accelerat or
pedal.
R adapt yourspeed tosuit theprev ailing road
and weathe rconditions .
Failure toobserve theseguidelines could
cause thevehicle toskid. ESP®
cann ot
prevent accident sresulting fromexcessive
speed.
! Only operate thevehicle foramaximum
of ten seconds onabrake test
dynamometer. Switchoffthe ignition.
Application ofthe brakes byESP ®
may
otherwise destroythebrake system.
! Funct ionorperformanc etest smay only
be performed ona2-axle dynamometer. If
you wish tooperate thevehicle onsuch a
dynamometer, pleaseconsult an
authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter
beforehand. Youcould otherwise damage
the drive trainorthe brake system. i
Only
usewheels withtherecommen ded
tire sizes. OnlythenwillESP ®
funct ion
properly.
4ETS (Electronic Traction System) i
Observe
the"Important safetynotes"
section (Ypage 61).
Traction controlispart ofESP ®
.
Traction controlbrakes thedrive wheels
individuall yif they spin. Thisenables youto
pull away andaccelerate onslippery surfaces,
for example ifthe road surface isslippery on
one side. Inaddition, moredrivetorque is
trans ferred tothe wheel orwheels with
tract ion. Driving
safetysystems
63Safety 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

G
WARNING PRE-SAFE
®
Brake cannot alwaysdetect
comple xtraffic situations prope rly.
In these cases, PRE-SAFE(R) Brakemay:
R give anunnecessa rywarni ngand then
brake thevehicl e
R neither giveawarni ngnor intervene
There isarisk ofan accide nt.Alwa yspay
particu larattention tothe traffic situationand
be read yto brake, especiallyif PRE-SAFE(R)
Brake warns you.Termina tethe intervention
in anon-critical drivingsitua tion.
In particu lar,the detection ofobstacl escan
be impa iredifthere is:
R dirt onthe sensors oranythi ngelse
covering thesensors
R snow orheavy rain
R interference byother radarsources
R the possibility ofstron gradar reflect ions,
for example inparking garages
R anarrow vehicle traveling infront ,e.g. a
motorbik e
R avehicle traveling infront onadifferent line G
WARNIN
G PRE-S
AFE®
Brake doesnotreact:
R to people oranimals
R to oncom ingvehicles
R to crossin gtraffic
R in curves
As aresult, PRE-SAFE®
Brake cannot
interv eneincritic alsituations. Thereisarisk
of an accident .Always paycaref ulatt ent ion
to the traffic situat ionand beready tobrak e.
In order tomaint ainthe appropr iatedistance
to the vehic lein fro ntand thus preventa
collisio n,you must apply thebrak esyourself .X
To act ivat e/deact ivate:act ivate or
deact ivatePRE-SAFE®
Brak ein the on-
board computer (Ypage 232).
The Ä symbol appears inthe
multif unction display aslong asthe HOL D
func tion isnot activate d(Ypage 179).
On vehicles withActive Parkin gAssist ,the
Ä symbol isdisplayed when
tran smission positionPis select edorifyou
drive faster than22mph(35 km/h).
For PRE-S AFE®
Brak eto assist youwhen
drivin g,the radar senso rsyst em mus tbe
switched on(Ypage 236)andoperational.
Following damagetothe front endofthe
vehicle, havetheconfiguration andoperation
of the radar sensors checked ataqual ified
speciali stworkshop. Thisalso appli esto
collisions atlow speeds wherethereisno
visible damage tothe front ofthe vehicle. STEER
CONTROL
The steering assistant STEERCONTROL helps
you bytransmitt inganoticeable steering
force tothe steering wheelinthe direction
required forvehicle stabilization.
This steering assistance isprovided in
particular if:
R both right wheels orboth leftwheels areon
a wet orslippe ryroad surface whenyou
brake
R the vehicle startstoskid
You have controlover thesteering atall
times. G
WARNING If
the ESP ®
is malfunctioning, youwillnot
receive steering assistance fromtheSTEE R
CONTROL. Thepower steering function,
however, remainsavailable. Driving
safetysystems
67Safety Z