2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class stop start

Problem Possible
causes/co nsequences andM Solutions
8
The
yello wreserve fuel
warning lamplights up
while theengine is
running. The
fuel level hasdropped intothereserve range.
X Refuel atthe nearest gasstation. ?
The
redcoolant
warning lamplights up
while theengine is
running andthecoolant
temperature gaugeis
at the start ofthe scale. The
temperature sensorforthe coolant temperature gaugeis
defective.
The coolant temperature isno longer beingmonitor ed.There isa
risk ofengine damage ifthe coolant temperature istoo high.
X Pull over andstop thevehicle safelyandswitch offthe engine,
payi ngatten tiontoroad andtraffic condition s.Do not cont inue
driving underanycircumst ances.
X Apply theelectric parking brake.
X Consult aqual ified specialist workshop. War
ning andindicator lampsin the instrum entcluster
277On-board computer and displays Z

If
the vehicle isvery dirty, pre-wa shitbefore
cleaning itin an automa ticcar was h.
! Incar was hes with atowing mechanism,
make surethattheautoma tictransmission
is in transmission positionN, otherwis ethe
vehicle couldbedama ged.
R Vehicle swith aSmartKey:
Do not remove theSmartKey fromthe
ignition lock.Donot open thedriver's
door orfront-passenger doorwhen the
engine isswitched off.Otherwise ,the
automa tictransmission selectspark
positio nP automa ticallyand locks the
whee ls.You canprevent thisbyshifting
the automa tictransmission toN
beforeha nd.
R Vehicle swith KEYLESS- GO:
Do not open thedriver's doororfront-
passe ngerdoor when theengine is
switched off.Otherwise ,the automa tic
transmission selectsparkpositio nP
automa ticallyand locks thewhee ls.
Observe thefollo wing tomake surethatthe
automa tictransmission staysinpositio nN:
X Make surethevehicle isstationary andthe
ignition isswitched off.
X Turn theSmartKey topositio n
2 (Y page 139)inthe ignition lock.
Use theSmartKey insteadofthe Start/
Stop button onvehicle swith KEYLESS- GO.
X Depress andhold thebrake pedal.
X Shift theautoma tictransmission to
positio nN.
X Rel ease thebrake pedal.
X Rel ease theelectric parking brake.
X Switch offthe ignition andleavethe
SmartKey inthe ignition lock.
! Make surethat: R
the side window sand thesliding sunroof
are fullyclosed.
R the ventilation/hea tingisswitched off
(the OFF button hasbeen pressed ).
R the windshi eldwiperswitch isin positio n
0.
Otherwise ,the vehicle mightbedama ged.
After using anautoma ticcar was h,wip eoff
wax from thewindshi eldand thewiper
bla des. Thiswillprevent smearsandreduce
wip ing noises causedby residu eon the
windshi eld.
Washing byhand In
some countries, washing byhand isonly
all owed atspecia llyequ ippe dwas hing bays.
Observe thelega lrequi rements inall
countries concerned.
X Do not use hotwater anddonot was hthe
vehicle indirect sunlight.
X Use asoft sponge toclean.
X Use amild cleaning agent,suchasacar
shampo oapp roved byMercedes-Benz.
X Thorou ghlyhose down thevehicle witha
gentle jetofwater.
X Do not point thewater jetdirectly towards
the airinlet.
X Use plenty ofwater andrinse outthe
sponge frequently.
X Rinse thevehicle withclean water anddry
thoroughl ywith achamois.
X Do not letthe cleaning agentdryonthe
pai ntwork.
When usingthevehicle inwinter, remove all
traces ofroad saltdepos itscareful lyand as
soon aspossi ble.
Pow erwashe rs G
WARNING Do
not use powe rwasher swith circular -jet
no zzles (dirt grinders )to cle anyour vehicle,in
part icular thetir es. You couldot her wise
damage thetir es and caus ean acc iden t. Car
e
319Maintenance and care Z

!
Never polish thevehicle orthe light alloy
wheels. Polishingcauses thefinish to
shine.
! The followi ngmay cause thepaint to
become shinyandthus reduce thematte
effect:
R Vigorous rubbingwithunsuitabl e
materials.
R Frequent useofcar washes.
R Washing thevehicle indirect sunlight.
! Never usepaint cleaner, buffingor
polishi ngproducts, orgloss preserver, e.g.
wax. These products areonly suitabl efor
high-gloss surfaces.Theiruseonvehicles
with matte finishleadsto considerable
surface damage (shiny,spotted areas).
Alway shave paintwork repairsperformed
at aqual ified speciali stworkshop, e.g.an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
! Donot use wash programs withahot wax
treatment underanycircumstances. i
The
vehicle shouldpreferably bewashed
by hand using asoft sponge, carshampoo
and plenty ofwater. i
Use
only insect remover andcarshampoo
from therange ofrecommended and
approved Mercedes-Benz careproducts.
Cle aning thewindow s G
WARNING Before
cleaning thewindshiel dorwiper
blades, switchoff the windsh ieldwipers and
remo vethe Smar tKey fromthe ignit ionlock .
On vehic leswith KEYLE SS-GO, press the
St art/ Stop butt onrepeat edlyuntilall
indic atorlamps inthe inst rumen tcluster have
gon eout. Thewindsh ieldwipers could
oth erwise moveandinjure you.
X Clean theinside andouts ideofthe
windows withadamp clothand aclean ing
agent thatisrec omme ndedandapprov ed
by Merc edes- Benz. !
Donot use drycloths,abrasive products,
solven tsor clean ingagent scont aining
solvent sto clean theinside ofthe windows.
Do not touch theinsides ofthe windows
with hard object s,e.g. anice scraper or
ring. There isotherwise arisk ofdamaging
the windows.
! Clean thewater drainage channelsofthe
windshield andtherear window atregular
interv als.Deposits suchasleaves, petals
and pollen mayunder certain
circumst ancesprevent waterfromdraining
away .This can lead tocorrosion damage
and damage toelectron iccomponen ts.
Cleanin gthe wiper blades G
WARNING Before
cleaning thewindshield orwiper
blades, switchoffthe windshield wipersand
remove theSmartK eyfrom theignition lock.
On vehicles withKEYLES S-GO,pressthe
Start /Stopbutton repeatedly untilall
indicator lampsinthe instrumen tcluster have
gon eout. Thewindsh ieldwipers could
oth erwise moveandinjure you.
! Donot pull thewiper blade. Otherwise,
the wiper bladecouldbedamaged.
! Donot clean wiper blades toooften and
do not rub themt oohard. Otherwise, the
graphite coatingcouldbedamaged. This
could cause wipernoise.
X Fold thewiper armsaway fromthe
windshield.
X Carefully cleanthewiper blades witha
damp cloth.
X Fold thewindshield wipersbackagain
before switching onthe ignition.
! Hold thewiper armsecurely whenfolding
back. Thewindshield couldbedamaged if
the wiper armsmacks againstitsuddenly. Care
321Maintenance and care Z

i
Vehicles
equipped withMOExt endedtires
are not equi pped withaTIREFIT kitatthe
factory. Itis therefore recommended that
you addi tionally equipyou rvehicle witha
TIREF ITkit ifyou mount tiresthatdonot
feature run-flatpropert ies,e.g. winter tires.
A TIREF ITkit can beobtained froman
authoriz edMercedes- BenzCenter .
X Make surethathighway levelis
select ed25
(Y page 180).
X Stop the vehicle onsolid, non-slippery and
level ground, asfar away aspossible from
traff ic.
X Switc hon the hazard warning lamps.
X En gage theelectr icparkin gbrake manually
(Y page 156).
X Brin gthe fron twheels intothestraight-
ahead position.
X Move theDIRECT SELECT lever toP.
X Switch offthe engine.
X Vehicles withoutKEYLESS-GO: remove
the SmartK eyfrom theignition lock.
X Vehicles withKEYLESS-GO: openthe
driver's door.
The on-board electronic shave status 0,
which isthe same asthe SmartK eyhaving
been removed.
X Vehicles withKEYLESS-GO: removethe
Start /Stopbutton fromtheignition lock
(Y page 139).
X All occupants mustgetout ofthe vehicle.
Make surethatthey arenot endangered as
they doso.
X Make surethatnoone isnear thedanger
area while awheel isbeing changed.
Anyone whoisnot directly assisting inthe
wheel change should,forexample, stand
behind thebarrier.
X Get outofthe vehicle. Payattent ionto
traffic condition swhen doing so.
X Close thedriver's door.
X Unload heavyluggage. i
Only
operate thetire inflation compressor
using a12 Vsocket (Ypage 297), evenif
the ignition isturned off.
An emergency cut-offensures thattheon-
board electrical systemvoltage doesnot
drop toolow. Ifthe on-board electrical
system voltage istoo low, power tothe
socket sis automatically cutoff. This
ensures thatthere issufficient powerto
start theengine. TIREFIT
kit
Using theTIREFIT kit You
canusetheTIREFIT kittoseal small
punctures, particularly thoseinthe tire tread.
You canuseTIREFIT atoutside temperatures
down toÒ4 ‡(Ò20 †). G
WARNING TIREFIT
isalimited repairdevice. TIREFIT
cannot beused forcuts orpunctures larger
than approximately 0.16in(4 mm) andtire
damage causedbydriving withextrem elylow
tire inflation pressure, oron aflat tire, ora
damaged wheel.
Do not drive thevehicle undersuch
circumstan ces.
Contact thenearest authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center forassistance orcall Roadsi de
Assistanc e.
X Do not remove anyforeign objectswhich
have penetrated thetire, e.g.screws or
nails.
X Remove thetire seala ntbottle, the
accompanying "max.80km/h" stickerand
the tire inflation compressor fromthe
stowage wellunderneath thecargo
compartmen tfloor (Ypage 328).
25 Vehicles withtheAIRMATIC package. 330
Flat
tireBreakdown assistance

Tow
ingand tow-starti ng Impo
rtant safety notes G
WA
RNING If
yo utow thevehicle, youmu stusearig id
tow ingbarif:
R the engine isnot running.
R there isabrake system malfunction.
R there isamal function inthe pow ersup ply
or the vehicl e'selectrical system .
The pow erassi stance forthe steering andthe
brake forcebooste rdo not work when the
engine isnot running. Youwillneed more
force tosteer andbrake, youmay have to
depre ssthe brake pedalwith maximu mforce.
Before towing away,make surethatthe
steering canbemoved andisnot locked.
If you tow ortow-st artanother vehicle,its
weight mustnotexceed themaximum
permissible grossvehicle weightofyour
vehicle. G
WARNING The
vehicle isbraked whentheHOLD function
or DIS TRONIC PLUSisactivated. Therefore,
deactivate HOLDandDISTRONIC PLUSifthe
vehicle isto be towed.
It is better tohave thevehicle transported
than tohave ittowed.
! You may onlytowthevehicle amaximum
distance of30 miles (50km). Atowing
speed of30 mph (50km/ h)must notbe
exceeded.
For towing distances over30miles
(50 km), thevehicle mustloaded ontoa
trans porter.
! Make surethattheelectric parking brake
is released. Ifthe electric parking brakeis
faulty, visitaquali fiedspecialist workshop.
! Only secure thetow rope ortow baratthe
towing eyes.Otherwise, thevehicle could
be damaged. !
Donot use thetowing eyeforrecovery,
as this could damage thevehicle. Ifin
doubt, recover thevehicle withacrane.
! When towing, pullaway slowly and
smoothly. Ifthe tract ivepower istoo high,
the vehicles couldbedamaged.
! Donot tow with sling-t ypeequipment.
This could damage thevehicle.
! When towing vehicles withKEYLE SS-GO,
use thekey instead ofthe Start /Stop
button .Othe rwise, the automa tic
tra nsmi ssion mayshi ftto positio nP wh en
the driver 'sor fro nt-pa ssenge rdo or are
op ene d,wh ich cou ldlead todama getothe
tra nsmi ssion.
! Vehicle swi th diffe renti allocks: make
su re tha tthe differential locksarein
automatic mode.Whentowing, the
differential locksmustnotbeswitched on
by hand. Thiscould otherwise damagethe
transmission.
If the vehicle hassuffered transmission
damage, haveittransport edon atransport er
or trailer.
The automatic transmission mustbein
position Nwhen thevehicle isbeing towed.
The battery mustbeconn ected andcharged.
Otherwise, you:
R cannot turntheSmartK eytoposition 2in
the ignition lock
R cannot shifttheautomatic transmission to
position N i
Before
thevehicle istowed, switchoffthe
automatic lockingfeature(Ypage 235).
You could otherwise belocked outwhen
pushing ortowing thevehicle. Installing/
removingthetowing eye
Installing thetowing eye Vehicles
withatrailer towhitch: ifpossible,
secure thetowing deviceonthe trailer tow
hitch (Ypage 210). Towing
andtow-star ting
343Breakdown assistance Z

X
Remo vetheto win geye require dfor fron tal
or rear couplin gfrom theveh icleto ol kit
(Y page 328).
The moun ting sfor therem ovabletowin geyes
are locate din thebump ers.They areatthe
front andatthe rear, under thecovers. i
Observe
theidentification labelson the
towing eyesandtheinformation panelson
using thetowing eyeswiththevehicle. The
towing eyesmust beinstalled inthe correct
positions. Installthe longer towing eyeat
the front ofthe vehicle andtheshorter
towing eyeatthe back. X
To open thecover atthe front: press
cover :inwards inthe direction ofthe
arrow atthe marking.
X To open thecover atthe rear: insert a
flat, blunt object intothecutout andlever
off cover ;from thebumper.
X Take cover :or; offthe opening.
X Screw thetowing eyeinclockwise tothe
stop andtighten it.
Removing thetowing eye X
Loosen thetowing eyeand unscrew it.
X Att ach cover :or; tothe bumper and
press untilitengages.
X Place thetowing eyeinthe vehicle toolkit. Towing
avehicle withboth axles on
th egrou nd
When havingyour vehicletowed, obser vethe
impor tantsafe tyno tes(Y page 343). G
WAR
NING The
power assistancefor thest eerin gand the
brak efor ce boos terdonot work when the
eng ineisnot running.You willthen nee d
muc hmor eeff ort tobrak eand steer the
veh icle.Adapt yourstyle ofdriving
accor dingly.
The automatic transmission automatic ally
shift sto position Pwhen youopen thedriver's
or fron t-passenger doororwhen youremov e
the Smart Keyfrom theignit ionlock .In order
to ensure thattheautomatic transmission
stays inposition Nwhen towing thevehicle,
you must observe thefollowing points:
X Make surethatthevehicle isstat ionary and
the Smart Keyinthe ignit ionlock isin
position 0.
X Turn theSmart Keytoposition 2in the
ignit ionlock .
On vehicles withKEYL ESS-GO, usethekey
inst ead ofthe Start/ Stop butto n
(Y page 139).
X Depres sand hold thebrake pedal.
X Shift theautomatic transmission to
position N.
X Release thebrake pedal.
X Release theelect ricparkin gbrake.
X Switc hon the hazard warning lamps
(Y page 111).
X Leave theSmart Keyinposition 2in the
ignit ionlock . i
When
towing withthehazard warning
lamps switchedon, use thecombin ation
switch asusual tosignal achang eof
direct ion.Inthis case, onlytheturn signals
for the desired directionflash. When the
combin ationswitch isreset ,the hazard
warning lampsstartflashing again. 344
Towing
andtow-st artingBreakdown assistance

If
you wish tocancel theres tart:
X Pre ssthe% button.
or
X Ifth e Tir
ePre ssureNow OK? mes
sage
appear s,pre ss9 or: tosele ct Can
cel .
X Pre ssthea button.
The tirepre ssur evalues store dat thelast
res tartw illcon tinue tobe mon itored. Tir
epr essur emonit or
Imp ortant safety notes If
atir epress uremon itorsyst emisinst alled,
the vehic le'swheels havesensors that
mon itorthetirepress uresinall four tires. The
tir epress uremon itorwarns youifthe
press uredrops inone ormor eof the tires. The
tir epress uremon itoronly functionsif the
cor rectwheel electronic sunits areinstalled
on allwheels.
The tirepressure monitorhasayell ow
warning lampinthe instrumen tcluster for
indicating pressureloss/malfunction s(USA)
or pressure loss(Canada ).Whether the
warning lampflashes orlights upindicates
whether atire pressure istoo low orthe tire
pressure monitorin gsystem is
malfunctionin g:
R ifthe warning lampislit cont inuously ,the
tire pressure onone ormore tiresis
significantly toolow. Thetirepressure
monitor isnot malfunctionin g.
R USA only: ifthe warning lampflashes for
60 seconds andthen remains litconst antly,
the tire pressure monitorismalfunctionin g. G
WARNING Each
tire,including thespare (ifprovided),
should becheck edatleast once amont h
when coldandinflated tothe pressure
recommen dedbythe vehicle manufacturer
on the Tire andLoading Informationplacard
on the driver's doorB-pillar orthe tire
pressure labelonthe inside ofthe fuel filler flap.
Ifyour vehicle hastires ofadifferent size
than thesize indicated onthe Tire andLoading
Inform ationplacard orthe tire pressure label,
you should determine theproper tirepressure
for those tires.
As anadded safetyfeature, yourvehicle has
been equipp edwith atire pressure monitorin g
system (TPMS)thatilluminates alow tire
pressure telltalewhenoneormore ofyour
tires aresignificantly underinflated.
Acc ordingly, whenthelow tirepressure
telltale illuminates, youshould stopandcheck
your tires assoon aspossible, andinflate
them tothe proper pressure. Drivingona
significantly underinflated tirecauses thetire
to overheat andcanlead totire failure.
Underinflation alsoreduces fuelefficiency
and tiretread life,and may affect thevehicle's
handling andstopping ability.
Please notethattheTPMS isnot asubstitute
for proper tiremaintenanc e,and itis the
driver's responsibility tomaintain correcttire
pressure, evenifunderinflation hasnot
reached thelevel totrigger illumination ofthe
TPMS lowtirepressure telltale.
USA only:
Your vehicle hasalso been equipp edwith a
TPMS malfunction indicatortoindicate when
the system isnot operating properly.The
TPMS malfunction indicatoriscombined with
the low tirepressure telltale.Whenthe
system detects amalfunction, thetelltale will
flash forapproximately oneminute andthen
remain continuously illuminated. This
sequence willberepeated everytimethe
vehicle isstarted aslong asthe malfunction
exists.
When themalfunction indicatorisillu minated,
the system maynotbeable todetect orsignal
low tirepressure asintended. TPMS
malfunctions mayoccur foravariety of
reasons, including theinstallation of
incompatible replacementoralternate tires
or wheels onthe vehicle thatprevent the
TPMS fromfunctioning properly. Always
check theTPMS malfunction telltaleafter Tire
pressure
359Wheels and tires
Z