2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class Owner's Manual

G
WARNING Driving
whenyourengi ne isove rheatedcan causesom efluids which mayhave leaked intothe
engin ecom partmen ttocatch fire.Youcould beseriously burned.
Steam fromanoverheated enginecancause serious burnswhich canoccur justbyopening the
engine hood.Stayaway fromtheengine ifyou seeorhear steam coming fromit.
Stop thevehicle inasafe location awayfromother traffic.Turn offthe engine, getout ofthe
vehicle anddonot stand nearthevehicle untiltheengine hascooled down.
! Ifthe coolant temperature exceeds248‡(120 †)donot cont inue driving. Theengine will
otherwise bedamaged. Driving
systems Problem Possible
causes/cons equencesandM Solutions
·
The
reddistance
warning lamplights up
while thevehicle isin
motion .A warning tone
also sounds. G
Risk
ofaccident The
warning isissued ifyou approach astation aryvehicle ora
vehicle drivingaheadofyou attoo high aspeed.
X Be prepared tobrake immediately.
X Pay careful attentiontothe traffic situation. Youmay have to
brake ortake evasive action.
More informat ionabout DISTRONIC PLUS(Ypage 169)and
PRE-S AFE®
Brake (Ypage 65). War
ning andindicator lampsin the instru mentcluster
279On-board computer and displays Z

Tire
s Pro
blem Po
ssible cause s/consequ encesand M So
luti ons h
USA
only:
The yellow tire pressu re
moni torwarnin glamp
(p res sure loss/
ma lfunctio n)islit.
Ca nad aonl y:
The yellow tire pressu re
moni torwarnin glamp
(p res sure loss) islit. G
Ris
kofacciden t The
tirepres sure monitorh as det ectedaloss ofpres sure inat
least oneof thetir es.
X Stop theveh icle without makingany sudde nstee ring orbra king
ma neu vers.Pa yatte ntiontothe traffic conditionsasyou doso.
X Observe theadditional displaymessages inthe multifunct ion
display .
X Check thetire pressure. Ifnecessary, correctthe tire pressure
(Y page 359).
X Ifnecessary, changeawheel (Ypage 374). h
USA
only:
The yellow tirepressure
monit orwarning lamp
(pressure loss/
malfunct ion)flashes for
60 seconds andthen
remains lit. The
tirepressure monitorisfaulty.
X Observe theadditional displaymessages inthe multifunct ion
display .
X Visit aquali fiedspecialist workshop. G
WARNIN
G Each
tire,including thespare (ifprovided), shouldbecheck edatleast every twoweeks when
cold andinflated tothe pressure recommen dedbythe vehicle manufacturer onthe Tire and
Loading Information placard onthe driver's doorB-pillar or,ifavailab le,the tire pressure label
on the inside ofthe fuel filler flap.Ifyour vehicle hastires ofad iffer entsize than thesize indic ated
on the Tire andLoadin gInf ormat ionplacard orthe tirepress urelabel, youshould determin ethe
proper tirepress ureforthosetires.
As anadded safetyfeat ure, your vehic lehas been equipped withatir epress uremon itoring
syst em(TPMS )that illuminat esalow tirepress uretelltalewhen oneormore ofyour tires are
sign ifican tlyunder inflated. Accor dingly, whenthelow tirepress uretellt aleilluminat es,you should
sto pand chec kyour tires assoon aspossible, andinflate themtothe proper pressure. Driving
on asignificant lyunderinflated tirecauses thetire tooverheat andcanlead totire failure.
Underinf lationalsoreduces fuelefficienc yand tiretread life,and may affect thevehicle's handling
and stopping ability.PleasenotethattheTPMS isnot asubstitute forproper tiremainten ance,
and itis the driver's responsibility tomaintain correcttire press ure,even ifunder inflation has
not reach edthe level totrigger illuminat ionofthe TPMS lowtirepress uretelltale.
USA only:
Your vehic lehas also been equipped withaTPMS malfun ction indic atortoindic atewhen the
syst emisnot operat ingproper ly.The TPMS malfun ction indic atoriscom bined withthelow tire
press uretellt ale. When thesyst emdete ctsa malfun ction, thetellt alewill flash forapprox imately
1m inuteand thenremain continuously illuminated. Thissequence willberepeated everytime 280
War
ning andindicator lampsin theinstr ument clusterOn-board computer and displays

the
vehicleis sta rted aslong asthe malfunctio nexists. Whe nthe malfunction indicatoris
illu minated, thesystem maynotbeable todetect orsignal lowtirepressure asintended.
TPMS malfunctions mayoccur foravariety ofreasons, including theinstallation ofincompatible
replacement oralternate tiresorwheels onthe vehicle thatprevent theTPMS fromfunctioning
properly. AlwayschecktheTPMS malfunction telltaleafterreplacing oneormore tiresorwheels
on your vehicle toensure thatthereplacement oralternate tiresandwheels allowtheTPMS to
cont inue tofunct ionproperly. War
ning andindicator lampsin the instrum entcluster
281On-board computer and displays Z

282

Useful
information........ .......... .......... 284
Loading guidelines ........ .......... .......... 284
Stowage areas .................................. 284
Featur es.................. ........................... 293 283Stowing and features

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). Loading
guidelines G
WARN
ING Always
fastenitems being carriedas secur ely
as possi ble. Use cargotie-do wn rings and
fa ste ning materi alsap pro priate forthe weight
and size ofthe load .
In an acc ident, durin gh ard brak ingorsudden
man euver s,loos eite ms will bethrown aroun d
ins ide theveh icle.This can cause injuryto
vehicle occupants unlesstheitems are
securely fastened inthe vehicle.
To help avoid personal injuryduring acollision
or sudden maneuver, exercisecarewhen
transport ingcargo. Donot pile luggag eor
cargo higher thantheseat backrests.
The cargo compartmen tist he preferred place
to carry object s.Always usecargo tie-down
rings, andifso equipp ed,alwa ysuse thecargo
net when transport ingcargo.
Never driveavehicle withthetailgate open.
Deadly carbon monoxide (CO)gases may
enter vehicle interior resulting in
unconsc iousness anddeath.
The gross vehicle weight(GVW)isthe vehicle
weight including fuel,vehicle toolkit,spare
wheel, installed accessories, vehicle
occupants andlugga ge/cargo.
The gross loadlimit andthegross vehicle
weight rating(GVWR) foryour vehicle must never
beexceeded. Thegross loadlimit and
the GVWR arespecified onthe vehicle
identification plateonthe B-pillar ofthe
driver's door(Ypage 362).
The load must alsobedistributed sothat the
weight oneach axlenever exceeds thegross
axle weight rating(GAWR) forthe front and
rear axles. Thespecifications forGVWR and
GAWR areonthe vehicle identification plate
on the B-pillar ofthe driver's door
(Y page 362).
Further information canbefound inthe
"Loadi ngthe vehicle" section(Ypage 362).
The handling characterist icsofaladen
vehicle aredependent onthe distribution of
the load within thevehicle. Forthis reason,
you should observe thefollowing noteswhen
transport ingaload:
R position heavyloadsasfar forwards as
possible andaslow down inthe cargo
compartmen taspossible .
R the load must notprotrude abovetheupper
edge ofthe seat backrests.
R alwa ysplace theload againstthe rear or
front seatbackrests. Makesurethatthe
seat backrests aresecurely lockedinto
place.
R hook inthe cargo netwhen loading.
R alwa ysplace theload behind unoccupied
seats ifpossible .
R secure theload withsufficiently strongand
wear-resistant tiedown. padsharp edges
for protect ion. Stowage
areas Stowage
compartments
Importa ntsafety notes G
WARNING To
help avoid personal injuryduring acollision
or sudden maneuver, exercisecarewhen
storing objects inthe vehicle. Putlugga geor
cargo inthe cargo compartment ifpossible . 284
Stowage
areasStowing and features

Do
not pile lugga georcar gohighe rthan the
seat backrests.
If so equipp ed,alwa ysuse thecargo netwhen
transport ingcargo. Thecargo netcannot
secure hardorheavy objects.
Parcel netscannot securehardorheavy
object s.
Keep compartmen tlids clos ed.This willhelp
to prev entstored obje ctsfro mbeing thrown
about andinjuring vehicleocc upant sdurin g
R brak ing
R vehic lemane uvers
R an acc ident
Stowa gecomp artm ents inthefront Glove
box i
The
glove boxcanbecoole d
(Y page 134). X
To open: pullhandle :and open glove box
flap ;.
X To close: foldglove boxflap ;upwards
unt ilit engag es.
The glove boxcanonly belock edand
unloc kedusing themec hanic alkey. 1
Glove boxunloc ked
2 Glove boxlocked
Ap artition for stowin gflat object sis loc ate d
in theupper sectionof theglov ebox .It can
be rem ovedto inc reas eth est owage spacein
th eglov ebox . X
To rem ove: pulloutpart ition : forwards
X To inst all:insert part ition : and push it
back untilit en gages .
Eyegla ssescomp artm ent X
To open :pres smar king:. St
owage areas
285Stowing and features Z

Stowage
compartments inthe rear Stowage
pockets G
WARNING Stor
age bags areinten dedforstoring light-
weight itemsonly.
Heavy objects,object swith sharp edges or
fragile objectsmay notbetransport edinthe
storage bag.Inan accident, duringhard
braking, orsudden maneuvers, theycould be
thrown around insidethevehicle andcause
injury tovehicle occupants.
Stor age bags cannot protect transport ed
goods inthe event ofan accident.
Stor age bags arelocated inthe rear
compartmen ton the driver's andfront -
passenger seatbackrest s. Parcel
nets G
WARNING Vehicles
withOccupant Classification System
(OCS)
Do not place object swith acombined weight
of more than4.4lbs(2kg) into theparcel net
on the back ofthe front passenger seat.
Otherwise, theOCS maynotbeable to
properly approximate theoccupant weight
category. G
WARNING Parcel
netsareinten dedforstoring light-
weight itemsonly,suchasroad maps, mail,
etc.
Heavy objects,object swith sharp edges, or
fragile objectsmay notbetransport edinthe
parcel nets.Inan accident, duringhard
braking, orsudden maneuvers, theycould be
thrown around insidethevehicle andcause
injury tovehicle occupants.
Parcel netscannot protect transport edgoods
in the event ofan accident. Parcel
netsarelocated inthe front -passenger
footwell andonthe back ofthe driver's and
the front -passenger seat. Thr
ough-loading facilityinthe rear
compar tment G
WARNING Do
not transport anyunsecured itemsinthe
through-loading area.
The through-loading facilityisopened from
the cargo compartmen t. X
Unlatch therear seat backrest sand tilt
them inthe cargo/load position.
X Fold down therear seat armrest.
X Pull thecent erhead restraint onthe rear
bench seatintotheuppermost position
(Y page 97).
X Slide release catch:tothe left and swing
flap ;tothe left until itis lying onthe rear
side ofthe rear bench seat. 286
Stowage
areasStowing and features