2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class light

X
Adju stthe seatand movethe backres tto
an almos tvertic alposition (Ypage 94).
X Pull theseat beltsmoot hlythrough belt
sash guide :.
X Without twistingit,guide theshoulder
sect ionofthe seat beltacross themiddle
of your shoulder andthelapsect ionacross
your hips.
X En gage belttongue ;inbuckle =.
Seat- beltadjustm ent:ifn ecessary, the
driver's andfront-passenger seatbelts
automatic allyadjust tothe upper body
(Y page 52).
X Ifnec essary, adjusttheseat belttothe
appropriate height(Ypage 52).
X Ifnec essary, pullupwards onthe shoulder
sect ionofthe seat belttotight enthe belt
across yourbody.
All seat belts except thedriver's seatbeltare
equipped withaspecial seatbeltretractor to
securely fastenchildrestraint systems inthe
vehicle. Forfurth erinfor mation onspecial
seat beltretractor s,see (Ypage 56).
For more information aboutreleasing theseat
belt with release button?,see "Releasing
seat belts" (Ypage 53). Seat
beltadjustm ent The
seat- beltadjustm entfunc tionadjusts the
driver's andfront-passenger seatbelttothe
upper bodyofthe occupants.
The belt strap istight ened slightly when:
R you engage thebelt tongue inthe belt
buckle andyouthen turntheSmart Keyto
position 2in the ignition lock.
R the Smart Keyisin position 2in the ignition
lock andyouthen engage thebelt tongue
in the buckle.
The seat- beltadjustm entwill apply a
retr action forceif any slack isdetec ted
between theoccupant andtheseat belt. Do
not hold ontothe seat belttight lywhile itis
adjustin g.You canswitch theseat- belt
adjustm entonand offinthe on-board
comput er(Y page 237).
The seat- beltadjustm entisan integral partof
the PRE-S AFE®
con venien cefunc tion.More
infor mation aboutPRE-SAFE®
can befound
in the "PRE-S AFE®
(preven tativeocc upant
protec tion)"sect ion(Ypage 49).
Belt height adjustm ent You
canadjust theseat beltheight onthe
driver's seatandthefron t-passenger seat. Adj
ust the height sothat theupper partofthe
seat beltisrouted across thecenterofyour
shoulder. 52
Occupant
safetySafety

X
To rais e:slid ethe beltsa sh guideup wa rds .
The beltsa sh guide eng ages invario us
po sitio ns.
X To lowe r:pre ssand holdbe ltsa sh guide
rel ease :.
X Sli de the beltsa sh guide do wnw ards.
X Re leas ebe ltsa sh guide rel ease : and
ma kesure tha tthe belt sash guide has
engaged.
Releasing seatbelts X
Press release button?(Ypage51)and
guide belttongue ;back towards belt
sash guide :.
! Make surethattheseat beltisfully rolled
up. Otherwise, theseat beltorbelt tongue
will betrapped inthe door orinthe seat
mechanism. Thiscould damage thedoor,
the door trimpanel andtheseat belt.
Damaged seatbelts cannolonger fulfill
their protect ivefunct ionand must be
replaced. Consultanauthorized Mercedes-
Benz Center.
Belt warning forthe driver andfront
passenger Regardl
essofwhether thedriver andfront
passenger havefastened theirseatbelts
already ,the 7 seatbeltwarning lamp
lights upfor 6secon dsafter every engine
start .It then goes outifthe driver andthe
fron tpasse nger have fastened their seat
belt s.
If th edriv er'sseat beltisno tfast ened after
th een gin eis start ed, anaddit ionalwarn ing
to ne will soun d.The warn ingtone goes out
aft erappro ximatelysix sec onds oronce the
driv er'sseat beltisfast ened. If
th edriv eror fron tpasse nger have not
fast ened their seat beltafter6s econ dsand
the doors areclosed, the7 seatbelt
warning lamplights up.
R until thedriver orthe fron tpasse nger have
fast ened their seat belts
R ifaveh icle spee dof 15 mph (25km/h)is
ex cee ded once, awarn ingtone with
inc reas ingintensitysoun dsaddit ionally for
a max imum of60 sec onds orunt ilth edriv er
or fron tp asse nger have fastened their seat
belt s.
If th edriv eror fron tpasse ngerundo their seat
belt sdurin gth ejo urn ey, the7 seatbelt
warn inglamp lightsup and thewarn ingtone
soun dsagain .
The warn ingtone ceas eseve nifthe driver or
front passenger havestillnotfastened their
seat beltafter 60seconds. The7 seatbelt
warning lampstops flashing butcont inues to
be lit.
Once thevehicle isstationary, thewarning
tone isreactivated andthe7 seatbelt
warning lampstarts toflash again ifthe
vehicle speedexceeds 15mph(25 km/h)
once.
The 7 seatbeltwarning lamponlygoes
out if:
R both thedriver andthefront passenger
have fastened theirseatbelts.
or
R the vehicle isstationary andadoor isopen. i
For
more information onthe 7 seat
belt warning lamp,see"Warning and
indicator lampsinthe instrumen tcluster,
seat belt" (Ypage 269).
Emergency TensioningDevices,belt
force limiters The
front seatbelts andtheouter seatbelts
in the rear areequipp edwith ETDs andseat
belt force limiters.
The ETDs onthe driver's andfront -passenger
seat consist ofpyrotechnic beltbuckle Occ
upantsafety
53Safety Z

tens
ioners andbeltanc horfitting tension ers
that aretriggere dtog eth er. The belt buck le
ten sion erismoun tedonthe B-pillar andthe
belt anchor fittin gis moun tedonthe side of
the seat .Always havebothtension ers
replaced aftertheyhave been trigger ed.
The ETDstight enthe seat belts inan acciden t,
pulling themclose against thebody.
The ETDsdo not corr ectincor rectseat
position sor incor rectlyfasten edseat belts.
The ETDsdo not pull vehicle occupan tsback
towards thebackr est.
Seat beltforcelimiters, whentrigger ed,help
to reduce thepeak forceexerte dby the seat
be lton the vehicleoccu pant.
The seatbelt forc elimiters forthe fron tseats
are synchr onizedwith thefron tairbags.
These takeon apart ofthe decele ration force.
Thus, theforce exer tedonthe occupant is
dist ribut edover agreat erarea.
The ETDscan only beact ivat edwhen:
R the ignit ionisswitc hedon.
R the rest raint systems areoperat ional;see
"SRS warnin glamp" (Ypage 38).
R the belt tongue iseng aged inthe buck leon
each ofthe lap-sh oulder beltsinthe front.
R the front-pass engerseat isocc upied and
the belt tongue iseng aged inthe buck leon
the front-pass engerside.
The ETDson the outs ideseat sin the rear
com partmen tare triggere dindep endently of
the lock status ofthe seat belts.
The ETDs aretriggere ddepe nding onthe type
and severi tyof an accide nt:
R if, inthe event ofahea d-on orrear-end
colli sion, thevehicl edecel erates or
accele ratesrapidlyinalongi tudina l
dire ction duringthe initia lstag esofthe
im pact
R if,in the eventofaside impact, onthe side
op posite the impact the vehicle de
cel era tes oracc elera tes rapidlyin a
la tera ldi rec tion
R if,in cer tains ituat ions where thevehic le
over turns, the syst emdete rmin esthat it
can prov ideadditio nalprot ection
If the airbags aredeployed, youwillhear a
bang, andasmall amoun tofpowder mayalso
be released. Onlyinrare cases willthebang
affect yourhearing. Thepowder thatis
released generally doesnotconst itutea
health hazard. The6 SRSwarning lamp
lights up. G
WARNIN
G Pyrotechn
icEmergen cyTensionin gDevices
that have been deployed mustberenewed.
For your safety, whendisposing ofEmergen cy
Tensionin gDevices, alwaysobserve the
safety instructions. Theseareavailab lefrom
any authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter.
The PRE-S AFE®
system haselectric ally
operated reversible pre-tensioners thatdo
not require replacement afteractivation .
! Ifthe front -passenger seatisnot
occupied, donot engage theseat belt
ton gue inthe buckle onthe front -
passenger seat.Otherwise, theEmergen cy
Tensionin gDevice couldbetriggered inthe
event ofan accident . Children
inthe vehicle Child
restraintsystems
Import antsafety notes We
recomm endthat allinfant sand children
be properly securedinan infant orchild
restr aintsystem atall times whilethevehicle
is in motion .
The useofseat belts andinfant andchild
restr aintsystems isrequired bylaw inall 50
states, theDistr ictofColumbia ,the U.S.
territ ories andallCanadia nprovinces.
Infants andchild renmust alwaysbe seated in
an app ropria teinfant orchild restrai ntsystem 54
Chil
dren inthe vehi cleSafety

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

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

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

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