2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class towing

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

X
Push cover =forward untilitis lying onthe
rear seat armrest . Cargo
compar tment enlargement
Impor tantsafety notes G
WARNIN
G When
expanding thecargo volume, always
fully foldthecorres ponding seatsand,ifso
equipped, alwaysuse thecargo netwhen
tran sportin gcargo.
Unless youaretran sportin gcargo ,th eseat
back restsmust remainprop erlylockedin the
uprig htposit ion.
In an acc iden t,durin ghard 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.
Always usethecargo tie-down rings. G
WARNING Never
driveavehicle withthetailgate open.
Deadly carbon monoxide (CO)gases may
enter vehicle interior resulting in
unconsc iousness anddeath.
! Fold theseat cushion upwardsbefore
folding therear bench seatforward.
Otherwise, thebackrests maybedamaged.
When thebackrest isfolded forwards, the
front seats should notbemoved totheir
rearmost position.Otherwise, thefront
seats andtherear bench seatcould be
damaged.
The left-hand andright-hand rearseat
backrests canbefolded forwards separately
to increase thecargo compartmen tcapaci ty. Foldi
ngtherea rbench seatforwar ds i
If
th edriv er'sor fron t-passe nger seat is
set foralarge rpers on,it may notbe
poss ibletofold therear benchseat
for wards .Int his case, move thefront seats
as far forward aspossible.
X Move thehead restraint sto the lowest
position (Ypage 97).
X Fold seatcushion :upwa rds. X
Pull release catch;upwa rdsinthe
direction ofthe arrow untilthebackrest is
completely unlocked.
! The backrest isheavy. Therefore, take
care when folding itdown. Makesurethat
the head restraint sare pushed allthe way
in so that thebackrests andseat cushions
are not damaged.
X Fold thebackrest forwards untilitreaches
the cargo compartmen tposition. Stowage
areas
287Stowing and features Z

X
Guide seatbelts; unde rrespect ive
clips :.
Folding therear bench seatback X
Fold seatbackr est;back untilitengages.
X Swing seatcushion :back.
X Pull upand adjust thehead restraint sif
nec essary (Ypage 97). Securing
cargo
Cargo tie-down rings Observe
thefollowing noteson securin g
loads:
R secure theload using thecargo tiedown
rings.
R do not use elastic straps ornet sto secure
a load, asthese areonly intended asan
anti- slipprotec tionforlight loads.
R do not route tiedowns across sharpedges
or corn ers.
R pad sharp edges forprotec tion. There
arefour cargo tiedown ringsinthe
cargo compart ment.Befor eusing thecargo
tie down ringsonthe fron tright -han dside of
the carg ocom partmen t,the parc elnet must
be pushed down. :
Cargo tiedown rings
Ba ghooks !
The bag hook canbear amaxim umload
of 6.6lbs (3kg). Donot use itto secur ea
load.
There isabag hook inthe carg ocom partmen t
on the left-han dside. X
Press themark ingonbag hook :.
X Turn baghook :untilit eng ages.
Secur inghooks Only
usethemoun tinghook sto secur eitem s
of luggage uptomaxim umof9lbs (4kg) in
weight. 288
Stowage
areasStowing and features

There
aretwo securing hooks:oneach side
of the cargo compart ment. Cargo
compar tment cover
Impor tantsafety notes !
When loading thevehicle, makesurethat
you donot stack theload inthe cargo
compart menthigher thanthelower edgeof
the side windows. Donot place heavy
object son top ofthe cargo compart ment
cover.
A cargo compart mentcover oracombined
cargo coverandnet(cargo compart ment
cover withcargo net)is attach ed,depending
on equipment, behindtherear bench seat
backrest .
Extending andretracting thecargo
compar tment cover X
To extend: pullthecargo compart ment
cover backbygrab handle :and clipit
into retainers ;onthe left and right. X
To retr act: unhook thecargo compart ment
cover fromretainers ;onthe left and right
and guide itforwards bygrab handle :
until itis fully retrac ted.
Removing/installing thecargo
compar tment cover (without integrated
cargo net) X
To remove: makesurethatcargo
compart mentcover :isrolled up.
X Press inend cap=ofcargo compart ment
cover :onthe right orleft side inthe
direction ofthe arrow andpress cargo
compart mentcover :into anchorage ;
opposite it.
X Remove cargocompart mentcover :.
X To install: setcargo compart ment
cover :onthe right orleft- hand sidein
anchorage ;.
X Push inopposite endcap=ofcargo
compart mentcover :inthe direction of
the arrow andinsert cargocompart ment
cover :into opposite anchorage ;.
Removing/installing thecargo
compar tment cover withintegrat ed
cargo net You
caninstall andremove thecombined
cargo coverandnetfrom thecargo
compart ment.
X Make surethatthecargo netand thecargo
compart mentcover arerolled up. Stowage
areas
289Stowing and features Z

X
To remo ve:pre ssbutton ;.
X Swi ngthe comb inedcar gocove rand net in
the directi onofthe arrow .
X Fir st, detach thecomb inedcar gocove rand
net from left-ha ndcatch :and then
rem ove itfrom right-ha ndfixtu re=.
X To instal l:pu sh the comb inedcar gocove r
and netuptothe stop intoright-ha nd
fixtu re=.
X Place thecomb inedcar gocove rand net
into theleft-ha ndfixtu reand push itinto
catch :unti lthe comb inedcar gocove r
and netengages audibl y. X
Ma kesure tha tred lock status
indicat or? isno longer visible. The
combin edcargo coverandnetwill
other wisenotbelocked inplace. Cargo
netincombined cargo
compa rtment cover andnet
Impor tantsafet ynotes It
is particularly importanttouse asafety net
if the vehicle isloaded withsmall objects
above thelevel ofthe backr ests.Forsafety
reasons, alwaysuse acargo netwhen
tran sport ingloads.
Atta ching thecargo net X
Pull thecargo netupbytab :and hook it
int oeyelets ;using bothhands. Coat
hooks onthe tailga te G
WARN
ING The
tailgate mayclose iftoo great aload is
placed onthe coat hooks.
You and/or otherscould betrapped and
injur ed.
Only usethecoat hooks forlight cloth ing. :
Coat hooks 290
Stowage
areasStowing and features