2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class ECO mode

Trave
ling uphi ll
App roac h/depa rture angle :
: 14
;
Ste
el-spri ng
ve hic les 26° 25° 25°
Veh
icle swi th
the AIRMA TIC
pac kag e Hig
hway level 23° 22°
22°
15 Ra
ised level 28° 27° 27°
R
Co mpl ywi th the rulesfor off-roaddri ving .
R Do not drive atan ang leon slop es,incl ines
or gra dients, butinstea dfol low the direct
li ne offall.T he maximum gradient-climbing
capabil ityofyour vehicle is100%, which
corresponds toan approach/departure
angle of45°. Note thatthevehicle's
gradient-c limbingcapabilitydepends on
the off-r oad condition s.
R Before tackling steepdownhill gradients,
select shiftrange 1.
R Drive slowly .
R Avoid highengine speeds –drive ata
sui table engine speed(maxi mum 3000
rpm). R
When drivingdow nanincli ne, makeuseof
the engine'sbra king effect. Observethe
eng inespeed;do not overrevthe engine.
R Check thebrakes afterdriving off-road for
a long time. G
WARNING Never
turnthevehicle around onsteep
inclines. Thevehicle mightrollover. Ifthe
vehicle cannotcomplete theattempt edclimb,
back itdown inreverse gear. i
Hill
start assist willaidyou when pulling
away onahill.
For further information ,see "Hill start
assist" (Ypage 142).
Maximum gradient-climbing capability For
good roadsurface condition s,the
maximum gradient-climbingcapabilityis
100%, whichcorresponds toan approach/
departure angleof45°. Note thatthe
vehicle's gradient-c limbingcapability
depends onthe off-r oad condition s.
Acc elerate carefully andmake surethatthe
wheels donot spin when driving onsteep
terrain. i
If
the load onthe front axleisreduced
when pullingaway onasteep uphillslope,
the front wheels haveatenden cytospin.
4ETS recogniz esthis and brakes the
wheels accordingly. Therear wheel torque
is increased, makingiteasier todrive off.
Brow ofhill When
driving upanuphill gradient, slightly
reduce pressure onthe accelerator
immediately beforereaching thebrow ofthe
hill. Use thevehicle's ownimpetus todrive
over thetop ofthe hill.
14 With AMG bodystyling.
15 166
Driving
tipsDriving and parking

The ML 350 4MATIC model has a departure angle of 23°.

X
Start theengi ne.
Spo rtstuni ng
The firmer suspe nsio ntunin ginS port mode
ensures evenbettercon tact with theroad.
Select thismode whenemploying asport y
drivin gstyle, e.g.onwinding countryroads.
X Press button:.
Indic atorlamp ;lights up.Sport s
suspension tuningis select ed.The vehicle
is lowered by0.6 in(15 mm).
Comfor ttuning
In Comfort mode,thedrivin gcharac teristics
of your vehicle aremore comfortable. Select
this mode ifyou favor amore comfor table
driving style,butalso when driving faston
straight roads,e.g.freeways.
X Press button :.
Indicat orlamp =lights up.Comfort tuning
is selected. Thevehicle israised by
0.6 in(15 mm).
Active CurveSystem The
Active Curve System usesactive
stabilizers tooptimize bothdriving comfort
and vehicle agility.Dependin gon the ADS
mode selected (Ypage 180), theActiveCurve
System alsochanges thesetting.
If you select ADScomfor tmode:
R rolling movemen tisreduced inthe event of
changing surfaceundulations
R the rollangle whencornering isreduced
R the driving styleisagile If
you select ADSsport mode:
R the rollangle isreduced significantly
R the driving styleiseven more agile
Leve lcontrol Importa
ntsafety notes
Level controladap tsthe vehicle level
automaticall yto the current operating and
driving situation. Thisresults inreduced fuel
consumption andimproved handling.
If you select ADScomfort mode
(Y page 180), thevehicle islowered tohigh-
speed levelasthe speed increases. Asthe
vehicle decelerates, thevehicle israised back
up tohighwa ylevel.
If you select ADSsport mode (Ypage 180),
the vehicle skipshighwa ylevel andlowers
directly tohigh-speed leveldepending onthe
basic setting (Ypage 182).
Make changes tothe vehicle levelwhile the
vehicle isin motion. Thisenables thevehicle
to adjust tothe new level asquickly as
possible .
The vehicle levelmaychange visiblyifyou
park thevehicle andtheoutside temperature
changes. Ifthe temperature drops,the
vehicle levelislower; withanincrease in
temperature, thevehicle levelrises.
If you unlock thevehicle oropen adoor, the
vehicle beginstocompensate forload
discrepancies whilestillparked. However, for
significant levelchanges, suchasafter the
vehicle hasbeen stationary foralong period,
the engine mustbeon. For safety reasons,
the vehicle isonly lowered whenthedoors are
closed. Lowering isinterrupted ifadoor is
opened, anditcont inues oncethedoor has
been closed. G
WARNING Make
surenoone isnear thewheel housing
or under thevehicle whenyoulower the
vehicle whileitis standing still.Limbs could
become wedgedintoorunder thevehicle. Driving
systems
181Driving and parking
Z

Acti
vating/d eactivating therea rview
cam era X
To activ ate: make surethattheSmar tKey
is in posit ion2in the ignit ionlock .
X Make surethatthe"rear viewcamer a"
func tion isselec tedinCOMAN D(see the
separate operating instructionsfor
COMAND).
X Engage reverse gear.
The area behind thevehicle isshown inthe
COMAND displaywith guide lines. X
To change thefunction mode:usingthe
COMAND controller, select symbol :for
the "Reverse parking"functionor
symbol ;for the "Cou pling upatrailer"
function .See the separate COMAND
operatin ginst ruct ions.
The symbol ofthe select edfunc tion is
highlighted.
To deactiva te:the rear view camera is
deactivat edwhen you:
R shift thetran smission toposition P
R drive forward tenmeter s
R shift thetran smission fromposition Rto
anoth erposition (after15secon ds)
R drive forward fasterthan5mph
(10 km/ h) Displays
inthe COMAND display G
WARN
ING Use
ofrear view camera canbedangerous if
you arecolor- blindorhave impaired color
vision.
Only userear view camera ifyou can seeand
distin guish allcolored guidelines shownby
rear view camera onthe COMAND system
display. G
WARN
ING Please
notethat objec tsthat donot touch the
ground mayappear tobe furth eraway than
they actually are,forexample:
R the bumper ofavehicle parkedbehindyou
R the trailer drawbar
R the ball coupling ofatrailer towhitch
R the rear endofatruc k
R aslanted post
In such cases, youshould notuse theguide
lines tojudge thedistanc e.You may misjudge
the distanc e,which increases therisk of
impactin gthe objec ts.
Even ifthe objec tyou approach isdirectly on
the ground, donot approach theobject any
closer thanthered guide line. :
Vehicle widthincluding exteriormirrors
; Vehicle widthincluding wheelextremities
= Yellow guidelineapproximately 13ft
(4 m) away fromtherear area
? Red lane ofvehicle widthatcurrent
steering wheelangle(dynamic) Driving
systems
191Driving and parking Z

brake
usingthebrake controller, andchec k
the brakes forcorr ectfunc tion.
R Sec ureany objec tson the trailer topreven t
the cargo fromslipping whenthevehicle is
in mot ion.
R Ifyou couple upatrailer, regularly check
the cargo forsecure fasteningand make
sure thatthetrailer lamps and(if
applicable) thetrailer brakes are
func tioningcorr ectly.
R Bear inmind thatthehandling willbeless
stable whentowingatrailer thanwhen
drivin gwithout one.Avoid sudden steering
movem ents.
R The vehicle/ trailercombin ationisheavier,
acceler atesmore slowly, hasadecreased
gradient climbingcapability andalonger
brakin gdistan ce.
It is more suscept ibletoside winds and
requires morecareful steering.
R Ifpossible, avoidabrupt braking.Depres s
the brake pedalmoderat elyatfirst ,so that
the trailer canactiv ateitsown brakes. Then
incr ease thepressure onthe brake pedal.
R Ifthe automatic transmission continues to
shift back andforthbetween twogears
when drivingup ordownhill, restrict the
shift range. Selectshiftrange 4,3,2,or 1.
Al ower gearandlower speed reduce the
risk ofengine failure.
R On long andsteep gradients thatare
difficult todrive down inshift range 1,
switch tothe off-road program orengage
the LOW GEAR off-road gear.
R When driving downhill, shifttoalower gear
to utilize theengine's brakingeffect.
Avoid continuous brakeapplication asthis
may overheat thevehicle brakesand,if
installed, thetrailer brakes.
R Ifthe coolant temperat ureincreases
dramatically whiletheair-con ditioning
system isswitched on,switch offthe air-
condit ioning system.
Coolant heatcanadditionally bedissipated
by opening thewindows andbysett ingthe blower
fanand theinterior temperat ureto
maximum.
R When overtak ing,payparticular attention
to the exten dedlength ofyour vehicle/
trailer combinat ion.
Due tothe length ofyour vehicle/t railer
combinat ion,youwillhave totravel an
additional distancebeyondthevehicle you
are overtak ingbefore returningtothe
previous lane. Deco
upling atrail er G
WA
RNI NG Ve
hicle swi th airs uspen sionprogram :While
you arecoupling ordecoupling atrailer, make
sure nobody locksorunlocks thevehicle and/
or opens orcloses doorsorthe tailgate.
The vehicle's levelcould change andyou
could endanger yourselfand/orothersasa
result.
Make surethatyoudonot operate theADS
switch orthe vehicle levelcontrolsystem
when coupling/decoupling thetrailer.
! Donot disconnec ta trailer withan
engaged overrunbrake.Otherwise, your
vehicle couldbedamaged bythe
rebounding ofthe overrun brake.
X Make surethattheautomatic transmission
is set toposition P.
X Apply thevehicle's electricparking brake.
X Start theengine.
X Close alldoors andthetailgate.
X Apply thetrailer's parkingbrake. G
WARNING Vehicles
withairsuspension program:As
soon asyou disconnec tthe electrical
conn ection between thetrailer andthe
vehicle, thevehicle willlower. Tohelp avoid
personal injury,makesurenoone isnear the
wheel housing orunderneath thevehicle
before theelectrical connection is
disconnec ted. Tr
ailer towing
217Driving and parking
Z

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). Impor
tant safet ynotes You
willfind anillustrat ionofthe instrumen t
clust erinthe "Ataglance" section
(Y page 29). G
WARN
ING A
driver' satt ent ion tothe road andtraffic
con dition smust always behis/her primary
focus whendriving.
For your safetyand thesafet yof other s,
select ingfeature sthr ough themultifun ction
steer ingwheel should onlybedone bythe
driver whentrafficand road condition spermit
it to be done safely.
Bear inmind thatataspeed ofjust 30mph
(approxim ately50km/ h),your vehic leis
cove ringadistan ceof44 feet (approxim ately
14 m)every second. G
WARN
ING No
messages willbedisplayed ifeither the
inst rumen tclust eror the multif unction
display isinoper ative.
As aresult, youwillnotbeable tosee
info rmat ionabout yourdrivin gcon dition s,
such as
R speed
R outside temperatur e
R warnin g/indicato rlamps R
malf unction/ warn ingmes sages
R failur eof any systems
Dr ivin gch arac terist ics may beimpair ed.
If you must continue todriv e,do sowith added
caut ion.Contac tana uth oriz edMer cedes-
Ben zCent eras soon aspossible. G
WARN
ING Malfunct
ionand warning messages areonly
indicat edfor cert ainsystems andare
inten tionally notvery detailed. The
malfunct ionand warning messages are
simply areminder withrespect tothe
operation ofcert ainsystems. Theydonot
replace theowner's and/ordriver's
respons ibilitytomaint ainthe vehicle's
operatin gsafety. Haveallrequired
maint enanc eand safety checksperform edon
the vehicle. Bringthe vehicle toan authorized
Mercedes- BenzCenter toaddress the
malfunct ionand warning messages. Displays
andopera tion Coolant
temperaturedispla y G
WARN
ING Drivin
gwhen yourengine isoverheat edcan
cause somefluidswhich mayhave leaked into
the engine compart menttocatc hfire. You
could beseriously burned.
St eam from anoverheat edengine cancause
serious burnswhich canoccur justbyopening
the engine hood.Stay away fromtheengine
if you seeorhear steam comingfrom it.
St op the vehicle inasafe location awayfrom
other traffic.Turn offthe engine, getout ofthe
vehicle anddonot stand nearthevehicle until
the engine hascooled down.
The coolant temperaturegauge isin the
inst rument clusteronthe right- hand side.
Under normaloperatin gcon ditions andwith
the specified coolantlevel,thecoolant
temper aturemayriseto248 ‡(120 †). 222
Displays
andopera tionOn-board computer and displays

Opera
tingaudioplayer oraud iomedia Audio
datafrom various audiodevices or
media canbeplayed, depending onthe
equipment installed inthe vehicle.
X Switc hon COMAND andselect theaudio
device ormedium (seetheseparate
operatin ginst ruct ions).
X Press the= or; button onthe
steer ingwheel toselect the Audio menu.
CD
changer display(example)
: Current CDinthe CDchanger
; Current track
X To select thenext/pr evioustrack:
briefly pressthe9 or: button .
X To select atrack from thetrack list
(rap idscrolling): pressandhold the
9 or: button untilthedesired track
has been reached.
If you press andhold the9 or:
button ,the rapid scrollin gspeed isincr eased.
Not allaudio devices ormedia support this
func tion.
If trac kinfor mation isstor edon the audio
device ormedium, themultifun ction display
will show thenumber andname ofthe trac k.
The curren ttrack does notappear inau dio
AUX mode (Auxiliary audio mode: external
au dio source connected).
Operating videoDVD X
Switch onCOMAND andselectvide oDVD
(see thesepa rateopera tinginstructions).
X Press the= or; button onthe
steering wheelto sele ctthe Audio menu. DVD
changer display(examp le)
: Current DVDinthe DVD changer
; Current scene
X To selectthe nex torp rev ious scen e:
bri eflypre ssthe 9 or: button.
X To select as cene from thescene list
(ra pid scrolling) :pre ssand hold the
9 or: buttonu ntil the desired
sce nehasbe en rea che d. Tel
eph onemen u
In troduc tion Yo
ucan esta blish aBlu etoo th®
conne ctionto
CO MAND (see the separate opera ting
ins tructio ns). G
WA
RNING A
dri ver 'satte ntionto the roadmu stalwa ys
be his/he rprimary focuswhendriving.For
you rsafet yand thesafe tyof other s,we
rec omm endthat you pull overtoasafe
location andstop before placing ortaking a
telephone call.Ifyou choose touse the
telephone whiledriving, pleaseusethehands-
free device andonly usethetelephone when
weather, roadandtraffic conditionspermit.
Some jurisdiction sprohibit thedriver from
using amobile phonewhiledriving avehicle.
Bear inmind thatataspeed ofjust 30mph
(approximately 50km/ h),your vehic leis
cove ringadistan ceof44 feet (approxim ately
14 m)every second.
X Swit chon the mobile phoneandCOMAN D
(see theseparate operatinginst ruct ions).
X Press the= or; buttononthe
steer ingwheel toselect the Tel menu.230
Menus
andsubm enusOn-board computer and displays

Setting
theambient lightingcolor
X Press the= or; button onthe
steering wheeltoselect the Settings
menu.
X Press the: or9 button toselect the Light submenu.
X Press thea button toconf irm.
X Press the: or9 button toselect the Ambient
lightcolor funct
ion.
X Press thea button toconf irm.
X Press the: or9 button toset the
color to SOLAR , NEUTRAL or POLAR .
X Press thea or% button tosave the
settin g.
Activating/deactivating surround
lighting andexterior lightingdelayed
switch-off
If you have activated the Lighting: funct
ion
and thelight switch isin the c orÃ
position, thefollowing functionsareactive
when itis dark:
R Surr ound lighting: theexterior lighting
remains litfor 40seconds afterunlocking
with thekey. Ifyou start theengine, the
surround lightingisswitched offand the
automatic headlampmode isactivated
(Y page 110).
R Exterior lightingdelayed switch-off: the
exterior lightingremains litfor 60seconds
after theengine hasbeen switched off.If
you close allthe doors, theexterior lighting
goes offafter 15seconds.
If you activate the Lighting: funct
ion,the
following lightupdepending onthe vehicle's
equipment:
R the parking lamps
R the daytime runninglamps
R the side marker lamps
R the surround lightinginthe exterior mirrors
X Press the= or; button onthe
steering wheeltoselect the Sett. menu.
X Press the: or9 button toselect the Lights submenu. X
Press thea button toconf irm.
X Press the: or9 button toselect the Locator
Lighting: funct
ion.
You willsee theselected setting: Enabled
or Disabled .
X Press thea button tosave thesettin g.
Deactivat ingdelay edswitch-of fofthe
exterior lightingtemporarily:
X Before leaving thevehicle, turnthe
SmartK eytoposition 0in the ignition lock.
X Turn theSmartK eytoposition 2in the
ignition lockandback toposition 0.
The exterior lightingdelayedswitch-off is
deactivated.
Delayed switch-off ofthe exterior lightingis
reactivated thenext time youstart the
engine.
Activating/deactivating theinterior
lighting delayed switch-off
If you activate the Interior
Lighting Delay funct
ion,theinterior lighting remains
on for 20seconds afteryouremove the
SmartK eyfrom theignition lock.
X Press the= or; button onthe
steering wheeltoselect the Settings
menu.
X Press the: or9 button toselect the Lights submenu.
X Press thea button toconfirm .
X Press the: or9 button toselect the Interior
LightingDelay: funct
ion.
You willsee theselected setting: Enabled
or Disabled .
X Press thea button tosave thesettin g.
Vehicle Activating/deactivating
theautom atic
door locking feature
If you select the Automatic
DoorLock: funct
ion,thevehicle iscent rally locked above
a speed ofaround 9mph(15 km/ h). Menus
andsubm enus
235On-board computer and displays Z

G
WARNING In
the event amalfu nction ofthe SRS isindica tedasoutli nedabove,the SRS may notbe
opera tional.
For yoursafet y,we stron gly recomm endthat you contactana uth oriz edMer cedes-Ben zCent er
immediately tohave thesystem checked.Other wisetheSRS may notbeactivat edwhen needed
in an acciden t,which couldresult inserious orfatal injury, oritmight deploy unexpec tedlyand
unnec essarily whichcouldalsoresult ininjury. Engine
Problem Possible
causes/consequences andM Solutions
;
The
yellow Check
En gine warning lamp
lights upwhile the
engine isrunn ing. There
maybeamalfunct ion,forexample:
R in the engine managemen t
R in the fuel injec tionsystem
R in the exhaust system
R in the ignition system(forvehicles withagasoline engine)
R in the fuel system
The emission limitvalues maybeexceeded andtheengine may
be runn inginemergen cymode.
X Have thevehicle checkedassoon aspossible ataqualified
specialist workshop. i
In
some states,you arerequired bylaw toimmediately visita
qualified specialist workshop assoon asthe yellow Check
En gine warning lamplights up.Ifin doubt, checkwhether such
legal regulations applyinthe state/prov inceinwhich youare
current lydriving. Vehicles
withadiesel engine: thefuel tank hasbeen rundry
(Y page 152).
X Start theengine threetofour times afterrefueling.
If the yellow Check Enginewarning lampgoesout,emergency
running modeiscanceled. Thevehicle neednotbecheck ed. 8
The
yellow reserve fuel
warning lampflashes
while thevehicle isin
motion. Inaddition, the
yell ow Check Engine
warning lamp;
may light up. The
fuel system pressure istoo low. Thefuel filler capisnot closed
correct lyor the fuel system isleaking.
X Observe theadditional displaymessages inthe multifunction
displa y.
X Check thatthefuel filler capiscorrect lyclosed.
X Ifthe fuel filler capisnot correctly closed:close thefuel filler
cap.
X Ifthe fuel filler capisclose d:visit aqual ified specialist
workshop. 276
War
ning andindicator lampsin the instrum entclusterOn-board computer and displays