2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class Owner's Manual

recommende
dfor the size andweight ofthe
child .The infant orchild restraint system
must beproperly securedinaccordance with
the manufacturer's instructions.Allinfant or
child restraint systemsmustmeet U.S.
Federal MotorVehicle SafetyStandards 213
and 225 andCanadia nMotor Vehicle Safety
Stan dards 213and210. 2.
An inform ationlabelonthe child restraint
system indicates whetheritmeets these
standards. Thisinform ationisalso provided
in the installation instructions supplied with
the child restraintsystem.
Always readandfollow themanufacturer 's
instr uctions whenusinganinfant orchild
restr aintsystem orbooster seat.
Observe allwarning signsinthe vehicle
inter iorand onthe infant orchild restraint. G
WARNIN
G Acc
ording toaccident statistics,children are
safer when properly restrained inthe rear
seating positions thaninthe front seating
position. Thus,westron glyrecommen dthat
children beplaced inthe rear seats whenever
possible. Regardless ofseating position,
children 12years oldand under mustbe
seated andproperly securedinan appropriate
infant restraint ,toddler restraint ,or booster
seat recommen dedforthe size andweight of
the child.
The infant orchild restraint mustbeproperly
secured withthevehicle's seatbelt, theseat
belt andtopteth erstrap, orlower anchors and
top teth erstrap, fullyinaccordanc ewith the
child seatmanufacturer 'sinstr uctions.
Occupant s,especially children,shouldalways
sit asupright aspossible, weartheseat belt
properly anduseanappropriately sizedinfant
restraint ,toddler restraint ,or booster seat
recommen dedforthe size andweight ofthe
child. Children
canbekilled orseriously injuredby
an inflating airbag. Note thefollowing
important informationwhen circumst ances
require youtoplace achild inthe front
passenger seat:
R Your vehicle isequipped withairbag
techn ology designed todeactivate thefront
passenger frontairbag inyour vehicle
when thesystem sensestheweight ofa
typical 12-mont h-old childorless along
with theweight ofastandard appropriate
child restraint onthe front passenger seat.
R For children largerthanthetypical
12- mont h-old child, thefront passenger
front airbag may ormay notbeactivated.
Always makesurethe45indicat or
lamp isilluminat ed,indic atingthat thefront
passen gerfrontair bag isdeact ivated.
R Ac hild inarear-facing childrestraint onthe
front passenger seatwillbeseriously
injured oreven killed ifthe front passenger
front airbag inflates inacollision which
could occur under somecircumstan ces,
even withtheairbag techn ology installed
in your vehicle. Theonly means to
completely eliminatethisriskisto never
place achild inarear-facing childrestraint
in the front seat. Wetherefore strongly
recommen dthat youalwa ysplace achild
in arear-facing childrestraint inabackseat.
R Ifyou must install arear-facing child
restraint onthe front passenger seat
because circumstan cesrequire youtodo
so, make surethe45indic ator
lamp isilluminat ed,indic atingthat thefront
passen gerfrontair bag isdeact ivated.
Should the45indic atorlamp not
illuminat eor go out while therest raint is
inst alled, please checkinsta llati on.
Pe rio dical lyche ckthe 45indicat or
lamp while drivingto make surethe4
5 indicatorlamp isilluminat ed.Ifthe
45indic atorlamp goesoutor
remain sout, donot transpo rtachild onthe
fro ntpassen gerseat untilthe syst emhas
been repaire d. Childr
eninthevehicle
55Safety
Z

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

retractor
ensuresthe seat beltw illnot
slack enonc ethe child restraint systemhas
been secured.
In st alling achild restraint system:
X Always complywith themanuf acturer' s
inst allation instruct ions .
X Pull theseat beltsmoo thlyfromt heinertia
reel.
X Engage theseat belttongue inthe belt
buckle.
Act ivating thespecial seatbeltretract or:
X Pull theseat beltoutfully andletthe inertia
reel retract itagain.
While theseat beltisretract ing,youshould
hear aratchet ingsound. Thespecial seat
belt retract orisenabled.
X Push down onthe child restraint systemto
take upany slack.
Removing achild restraint system/
deactivating thespecial seatbeltretract or:
X Always comply withthemanufacturer's
installation instructions.
X Press theseat beltrelease buttonand
guide thebelt tongue tothe belt outlet.
The special seatbeltretract oris
deactivated. G
WARNING Never
release theseat beltbuckle whilethe
vehicle isin motion, sincethespecial seatbelt
retract orwill bedeactivated.
LATCH-type (ISOFIX)child seatanchors
in the rear G
WARNING Children
thataretoo large forachild restraint
must travel inseats usingnormal seatbelts.
Position shoulder beltacross thechest and
shoulder, notface orneck .
In order toattain thecorrect seating position
for children weighing over41lb(18 kg), itmay
be necessary touse abooster seatuntil they
reach aheight whereanormal lap/should er seat
beltliesproperly acrosstheirbodies
without theneed forabooster seat.
Inst allthe child restraint systemaccording to
the manufacturer's instructions.
The child restraint systemmustbeinstalled
firmly onboth brackets.
An incorrec tlyinstalled childrestraint system
can come looseinthe event ofan accident,
causing thechild tobe severely orfatally
injured.
Child restraint systems/child restraint
retaining bracketsthataredamaged orhave
suffered damageduetoan impact mustbe
replaced.
LATCH-t ype(ISOFIX) isastandardized
securing systemforspecially designed child
restraint systemsonthe rear seats. Securing
rings fortwo LATCH-t ype(ISOFIX) child
restraint systemsareinstalled onthe left and
right ofthe rear seats.
Secure nonLATCH-t ype(ISOFIX) child
restraint systemsusingthevehicle's seatbelt
system. Alwaysinstallchildrestraint systems
according tothe manufacturer's instructions.
! When installing thechild restraint system,
make surethattheseat beltforthe cent er
seat does notgettrapped. Otherwise, the
seat beltcould bedamaged. :
Securing rings
X Inst allthe LATCH-t ype(ISOFIX) child
restraint system.Complywiththe
manufacturer's instructionswhen doing
so. Children
inthe vehicl e
57Safety Z

Top
Teth er G
WA
RNING Alw
ayslo ck the rearseat backr estsintheir
upright position whentherear seats are
occupied bypassengers .Lock therear seat
backrest sin their upright position before
installing theTop Tether strapsorwhen the
cargo compartm entisnot inuse. Make sure
that rear seat backrest saresecure dprope rly
by push ingand pulling onthe seat backrests.
If the seat backrest isnot locked properly,the
seat backrest couldfoldforwa rd.The child
restrai ntsystem isno longer supported
prope rlyorheld inposi tion andcannolonger
fulfi llits function. Thiscould causeserio usor
even fatalinjurie s.
Top Tether providesan add itiona lconnection
betwe enthe child restrai ntsystem secured
with ISOFIX andtherear seat. Ithelp sredu ce
the risk ofinjury evenfurther.
The Top Tether anchora gesarelocated onthe
rear side ofthe rear seat backrests. X
Move headrestrai nt= upw ards.
X Install theLATCH-type (ISOFIX)child
restrai ntsystem withTopTether. Comply
with themanufa cturer's installation
instructions whendoing so.
X Rou teTop Tether beltB under head
restrai nt= betwe enthe two head restrai nt
bars.
X Rou teTop Tether beltB dow nward
betwe encargo compartment cover:and
rear seat backrest ;.
X Hook TopTether hookAofTop Tether belt
B into TopTether anchora ge?.
Ensure that:
R Top Tether hookAishooked intoTop
Tether anchora ge? asshow n.
R Top Tether beltB isnot twisted.
R Top Tether beltB isrouted betweenrear
seat backrest ;and cargo 58
Chil
dren inthe vehi cleSafety

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

The
brakes willfunct ionasusual onceyou
release thebrake pedal. BASisdeactivated. G
WARNIN
G If
the BAS malfunct ions,thebrake system still
funct ions, butwithout theadditional brake
boost availabl ethat theBAS would normally
provide inan emergenc ybraking maneuver.
Therefore, thebraking distancemay increase. BAS
PLUS (BrakeAssist System Plus)
BAS PLUS isonly availab lein vehicles
equipped withDISTRONIC PLUS. i
Observe
the"Importan tsafet yno tes"
sec tion(Ypage 61).
At speeds aboveapproximat ely
20 mph (30km/ h),BASPLUS assists you
when brakin gin hazardous situationsand
uses theradar senso rsyst em toeva luat eth e
tr aff icco nd ition s. i
This
devicehas been approved bytheFCC
as a"Veh icular Radar System". The rada r
sen sor syst emisinte nd ed foru se inan
automotive radarsystem only.Removing,
altering ortampering withthedevice will
void anywarranties, andisnot permitted
by the FCC. Donot tamper with,alter, or
use inany non- approved way.
Any unauthorized modificationtothis
device couldvoidtheuser's authority to
operate theequip ment.
With thehelp ofthe radar sensor system, BAS
PLUS candetect obstacles thatareinthe
path ofyour vehicle foranextended periodof
time.
At speeds uptoapproximately
40 mph (70km/h), BASPLUS canalso detect
stationary obstacles, forexample stoppedor
parked vehicles.
Should youapproa chan obstacle andBAS
PLUS hasdetected arisk ofcollision, BAS
PLUS calcula testhe braking forcenecessary
to avoid arear-end collision. Shouldyouapply
the brakes forcefully, BASPLUS can automaticall
yincrease thebraking forcetoa
level suitabl efor the traffic conditions.
X Keep thebrake pedaldepressed untilthe
emergency brakingsituation isover.
ABS prevents thewheels fromlocking.
The brakes willwork normally againif:
R you release thebrake pedal.
R there isno longe rany dange rofarea r-end
colli sion.
R no obstacl eis detected infront ofyou r
vehicl e.
BAS PLUS isthen deactivated. Ifyou have
activated DSR(Ypag e208), BASPLUS is
likew isedea ctivated.
For BAS PLUS toassi styou when driving,the
rada rsensor system mustbeswitch edon and
operation al,see "Rada rsensor system" inthe
index. G
WARN
ING BAS
PLUS cannotalway sclearly identify
objec tsand complex trafficsituation s.BAS
PLUS cannotinte rven ein these cases.
There isarisk ofan acciden t.Always pay
careful attentiontothe traff icsituation andbe
ready tobrake.
In particular, thedetec tionofobstac lescan
be impaired ifther eis:
R dirt onthe sensor sor anythin gelse
cover ingthe sensor s
R snow orheavy rain
R int erferen cebyother radarsources
R the possibility ofstr ong radar reflect ions,
for example inparkin ggarages
R anarrow vehicle travelingin fron t,e.g. a
moto rbike
R avehicle travelin gin fron tonadi fferent line G
WARN
ING BA
SPLUS doesnotreact :
R to people oranimals
R to onc oming vehicles 62
Driving
safetysystemsSafety