2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class light

X
App lythe electri cpark ing brak e.
X Sh ift thetrans mis sion toposi tionP.
Using theSm artKey X
Turn theSm artKey toposi tion0 inthe
ign ition lockand remove it.
The imm obiliz erisact ivat ed. i
If
you turnoff theen gin ewit hth e
Sm artKey and then rem ove itfrom the
ign ition lockor open afron tdoor ,th e
auto matictrans mis sion shiftsto P
auto maticall y.
Using KEYLESS- GO X
Pre sstheSt art /S topbut ton( Ypage 139).
The engin estops andallthe indicat or
lamps inthe instrument clustergoout. i
If
you usetheStart/ Stop butt ontoswitc h
off the engin e,the automatic transmission
shift sto Nautomatic ally.Ifyou then open
one ofthe fron tdoors, theautomatic
trans mission shiftstoP. i
In
an emergenc y,the engine canbe
turned offwhile thevehicle isin motion by
pressing andholding theStart /Stopbutton
for three seconds. Elec
tric par king brake
General information i
The
electric parking brakeperforms a
funct iontest atregular intervalswhile the
engine isswitched off.The sounds thatcan
be heard whilethisisoccurrin gare normal. G
WARNIN
G When
leaving thevehicle, alwaysremove the
Smart Keyfrom thestart erswitch, takeitwith
you, andlock thevehicle. Donot leave
children unattendedinthe vehicle, orwith
access toan unlocked vehicle.Children could
release theparking brakeand/or shiftthe
automatic transmission outofpark position P,
either ofwhich couldresult inan accident
and/or serious personal injury. Applying/releasing
manually X
To app ly:press handle :.
The redF (USAonly)or! (Canada
only) indicator lampinthe instr ument
cluster lightsup. i
The
electric parking brakecanalso be
applied whentheSmart Keyisremoved.
X To release: pullhandle :.
The redF (USAonly)or! (Canada
only) indicator lampinthe instr ument
cluster goesout. i
The
electric parking brakecannotbe
released unlesstheSmart Keyisin position
1 in the ignition lockorthe ignition has
been switched onusing theStart /Stop
button .
To ensure thatyoudon't rollbackwards when
pulling awayonanuphill slope, engage the
electric parking brake(Ypage 141).
Applying automat ically Your
vehicle's electricparking brakeis
automatically appliedifDIS TRONIC PLUSor
the HOLD functionbring thevehicle toa
standst ill,orare engaged tokeep thevehicle
station ary.Inaddition, atleast oneofthe
following conditionsmust befulfilled: 156
Par
kingDriving and parking

Cert
ainengin esyst ems aredesi gned tokeep
th eleve lof pois onous compo nentsin ex haust
fum eswit hin legal limits.
Thes esyst ems onlywork atpeak efficie ncy
when they are main tainedex act lyin
acc ordanc ewit hth eman ufacturer's
spec ifications.Fo rthis reason, allwork onthe
engine mustbecarried outonly byqual ified
and authorized Mercedes-Ben ztechn icians.
The engin esett ings must notbechanged in
any circumstan ces.Furthermor e,all specific
servic ework must becarried outatregular
int ervals andinaccor dance withthe
Mercedes- Benzservic erequirement s.Det ails
can befound inthe Serv iceBook let. Engine
oil
! Vehicles withadiesel particle filter:
If the vehic leismost lydriven forshort
distan ces,itis possible thatmalfun ctions
may occurduring theautomat icclean ingof
the diesel particle filter. This canlead to
engin edamage. Therefore,ifyou frequen tly
drive short distan ces,make suretodrive
on highways orinter- urban roadsfor20
minut esatleast every 310miles (500km). Br
akes
Imp ortant safet ynotes G
WARN
ING On
slippery roadsurfac es,nev erdowns hiftin
order toobtain brakingact ion. This could
result indrive wheel slipand reduce dvehic le
con trol. Your vehic le'sABSwill notpreve nt
this type ofloss ofcon trol. G
WARN
ING Make
surethatyoudonot endan gerother
road users whenyouapply thebrake s. Downhill
gradient s !
Onlong andsteep gradien ts,you must
reduce theload onthe brake sby shift ing
early toalower gear.Thisallows youtotak e
advant ageofthe engin ebrakin geffe ctand
helps avoidoverheatin gand excessive
wear ofthe brake s.
When youtakeadvant ageofthe engin e
brakin geffe ct,a drive wheel maynotturn
for some time,e.g. onaslippery road
surfac e.This could cause damage tothe
drive train. This type ofdamage isnot
cov ered bythe Merc edes- Benzwarrant y.
Hea vyand lightload s G
WAR
NING De
pre ssin gth ebrak epedal constant lyres ults
in ex ces siveand premat urewear tothebrak e
pads.
It may alsocauseth ebrak estoove rheat,
ser iously impairingth eir effect iven ess.Itm ay
th en notb epossible tostop thevehicle in
sufficien ttime toavoid anacciden t.
If the brakes havebeen subject edtoaheavy
load, donot stop thevehicle immediately, but
drive onfor ashort while. Thisallows the
airflow tocool thebrakes morequickly.
Wet roads G
WARN
ING Aft
erdriving inheavy rainforsome time
without applying thebrakes orthro ugh water
deep enough towet brake compon ents,the
first braking actionmaybesomewhat
reduced. Youhave todepress thebrake pedal
more firmly. Maintain asafe distanc efrom
vehicles infron t.
Aft erdriving onawet road orhaving the
vehicle washed, brakefirmlywhilepaying
atten tiontothe traff iccon ditions .This will
warm upthe brake discs, thereby dryingthem
more quickly andprotec tingthem against
corr osion. Driving
tips
159Driving and parking Z

Limi
tedbraking performa nce onsalt -
tr eat edroa ds G
WAR
NING The
layer ofsalt ontheb rake discs andthe
brake pads/linings maycauseadelay inthe
brakin geffec t,resultin gin asignific antly
longer brakingdistanc e,which couldleadto
an acciden t.
To avoid thisdanger, youshould:
R occ asionally brakecarefully, without
puttin gother roadusers atrisk, when you
are driving onsalted roads. Thishelps to
remov eany salt that may have startedto
build upon the brake discsandthebrake
pads/linin gs.
R maint ainagreater distancetothe vehicle
ahead anddrive withparticular care.
R carefully applythebrakes atthe end ofa
trip and immediately aftercommen cinga
new trip,sothat saltresidues areremoved
from thebrake discs.
Servicing thebrakes !
Ifthe red brake warning lamplights upin
the instr ument cluster andyouhear a
warning tonewhile theengine isrunnin g,
the brake fluidlevel maybetoo low.
Observe additional warningmessages in
the multifunct iondisplay .
The brake fluidlevel maybetoo low due to
brake padwear orleaking brakelines.
Have thebrake system checked
immediately. Thiswork should becarried
out atan authorized Mercedes-B enz
Center.
All check sand mainten ancework onthe
brake system mustbecarried outata
quali fiedspecialist workshop only.Have this
work carried outatan authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center.
Have thebrake padsreplaced andthebrake
fluid renewed ataquali fiedspecialist
workshop, e.g.anauthorized Mercedes-B enz
Center. G
WARNING If
brake padsorbrake fluidother thanthose
recommen dedareused, thebraking
properties ofthe vehicle canbedegraded to
an exten tthat safe braking issubstantially
impaired. Thiscould result inan accident.
! Afunct ionorperformance testshould
only becarried outona2 -axl e
dy nam ome ter.Ifyo uar eplanni ngtohave
the vehicleteste don such ady nam ome ter,
conta ctan author izedMer cedes-B enz
Ce nter toobtainfu rthe rinfo rma tionfir st.
Othe rwise, youcou ldda ma gethe drive
trai nor the brakesystem .
! Asthe ESP ®
sy stem opera tes
au toma tically, the engineand theigniti on
mu stbe switch edoff (Sma rtKeyin po sitio n
0 or 1in the igniti onlock orStar t/Stop
bu tton inpo sitio n0 or 1) wh ile the electri c
pa rking brakeisbe ing teste don abra ke
dy nam ome ter(ma ximu m10secon ds).
Brak ingtrigger edautomatic allybyESP®
may seriously damagethebrake system.
If your brake system issubject onlyto
moderate loads,youshould testthe
func tionality ofyour brakes atregular
int ervals bypressing firmlyonthe brake pedal
at high speeds. Thisimproves thegrip ofthe
brake pads. G
WARN
ING Make
surethatyoudonot endanger other
road users whenyouapply thebrakes.
You canfind adescript ionofBrak eAssist
(BAS )on (Ypage 61)orofBA SPLUS on
(Y page 62). 160
Driving
tipsDriving and parking

Winter
driving
Gene ralnote s G
WARNING If
the vehicl ebecome strappe din snow,
ensure thatsnow iskept away from the
exhau stpip eand from aroundthe vehicl eas
long asthe engine isrunning. Otherwise,
poi sonou scarbo nmonoxide (CO)mayenter
the vehicle, resulting inloss ofconsc iousness
and even death.
To assure sufficient freshairvent ilation, open
a window slightlyonthe side ofthe vehicle
not facing thewind.
At the onset ofwinter, haveyourvehicle
winterproof edataquali fiedspecialist
workshop, e.g.atan authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center. i
Vehicles
withadiesel engine: donot
cover theradiator, e.g.with aprotec tive
cover. Themeasuring functionofthe
Onboard Diagnosis Systemmayotherwise
provide inaccurate values.Someofthese
values arerequired bylaw and must
therefor ealwa ysbe accurate.
Driving withsumm ertires Observe
thenotesinthe "Winter operation"
section (Ypage 352).
Slippery roadsurfa ces G
WARNING The
outside temperature indicatorisnot
designed toserve asan ice-warnin gdevice
and istherefor eunsuitable forthat purpose.
Indicated temperatures justabove the
freezin gpoint donot guarantee thattheroad
surface isfree ofice. The road maystillbeicy,
especially inwooded areasoron bridges. G
WARNING On
slippery roadsurfaces, neverdownshift in
order toobtain braking action.Thiscould result
indrive wheel slipand reduced vehicle
cont rol.Your vehicle's ABSwillnotprevent
this type ofloss ofcont rol.
Drive particularly carefullyonslippery road
surfaces. Avoidsudden acceleration, steering
and braking maneuvers. Donot use thecruise
cont rolorDIS TRONIC PLUS.
If the vehicle threaten sto skid orcann otbe
stopped whenmoving atlow speed:
X Shift thetrans mission toposition N. i
For
more informat ionondriving with
snow chains, see(Ypage 353). G
WARNING Make
surethatyoudonot endanger other
road users whenyouapply thebrakes. Off-r
oaddriving
Import antsafety notes G
WARNING Grains
ofsand, particles ofdirt and other
abrasive materials canenter thebrake
system. Thiscanlead toexcessive wearand
unpredictable brakingefficienc y.
Aft erthe brakes havebeen exposed todirty
condit ions,havethem check edand cleaned
at aquali fiedspecialist workshop, e.g.an
authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter.
Otherwise, thereisarisk that braking power
may beinsufficient inthe event ofan
emergenc y,or that thebraking effectmaybe
unpredictable. G
WARNING Do
not load items onthe basic carrier bars.It
may cause instability duringsomemaneuvers
which couldresult inan accident .
Drive slowly inunkn ownterrain. Thiswill
make iteasier torecogn izeunexpect ed
obstacles andavoid damage tothe vehicle.
To help avoid thevehicle rollingover,never
turn itaround onsteep inclines. Ifthe vehicle 162
Driving
tipsDriving and parking

Check
listbefor edr iving off-road X
Engine oillevel: check theen gin eoil and
add oilifne ces sary.
When drivingonsteep grad ients,th eoil
leve lmust besuff iciently high toensure a
co rrect oilsupply inthev ehicle.
X DEF tank (BlueTEC vehicles): checkthe
fluid level and,ifnec essary, refilltothe
maximum (13l)(Y page 152).
X Wheel-changing toolkit:chec kthat the
jack isworkin gand make sureyouhave the
lug wrenc h,arobust towcable andafolding
spade inthe vehicle.
X Wheels andtires: chec kthe tire tread
depth andtirepressure.
X Check fordamage andremove anyforeign
objec ts,e.g. small stones,from the
wheels/tir es.
X Replace anymissing valvecaps.
X Replace dentedordamaged wheels.
X Rims: dentedorbent rimscanresult ina
loss oftire pressure anddamage thetire
bead. Therefor e,chec kyour rims before
driving off-road andreplace themas
required.
! Ifthe engine oilwarning lamplights up
while thevehicle isin motion ,stop the
vehicle inasafe place assoon aspossible.
Check theengine oillevel. Theengine oil
warning lampwarning mustnotbeignored.
Continuing thejourney whilethesymbol is
display edcould leadtoengine damage.
Checklist afterdriving off-road G
WARNIN
G If
you notic esudden significant vibrationsor
unusual handling performanc eor ifyou
suspect thatdamage hasoccurred tothe
vehicle, youshould activate thehazard
warning lamps,gentlyreduce speedand
carefully headforanarea thatislocated ata
safe distance fromtheroad.
Check thetires andtheunderside ofthe
vehicle fordamage. Ifthe vehicle seems unsafe,
havethevehicle towedawaytothe
nearest Mercedes-B enzCenter ortire dealer
to be repaired.
! Ifyou detect damage tothe vehicle after
driving off-road, havethevehicle checked
immediately ataquali fiedspecialist
workshop.
Drivin gover rough terrain placesgreater
demands onyour vehicle thandriving on
normal roads.Afterdriving off-road, check
the vehicle. Thisallows youtodetect damage
promptly andreduce therisk ofan accident
to yourself andother roadusers.
X Deact ivateDSR(Ypage 208).
X Vehicles withtheAIRMATIC package:
lower thevehicle toaride height suitable
for the road condit ions,e.g.tothe
highway /high-speed level.
X Clean theheadlamps andrear lights and
check fordamage.
X Clean thefront andrear license plates.
X Clean thewheels/tires withawater jetand
remove anyforeign objects.
X Clean thewheels, wheelarches andthe
vehicle underside withawater jet;check
for any foreign objectsand damage.
X Check whether twigsorother partsof
plants havebecome trapped. These
increase therisk offire and candamage
fuel pipes, brakehoses orthe rubber
bellows ofthe axle jointsand propeller
shafts.
X Aft erthe trip, examine withoutfailthe
entire undercarriage, wheels,tires,brakes,
bodywork structure,steerin g,chassis and
exhaust systemfordamage.
X Aft erdriving forexten dedperiods across
sand, mud,gravel, waterorinsimilarly dirty
condit ions,havethebrake discs, wheels,
brake pads/linings andaxle jointscheck ed
and cleaned.
X Ifyou detect strongvibrations afteroff-road
travel, checkforforeign objectsin the
wheels anddrive trainandremove themif 164
Driving
tipsDriving and parking

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°.

Cru
isecont rollever :
Toact ivat eor inc reas espee d
; Toact ivat eor reduc espee d
= Todeac tivate cruise control
? Toact ivat eat thecur ren tspeed/last
stor edspeed
When youactiv atecruise control,the stor ed
speed isshown inthe multifun ction display
for five secon ds.Inthe multifun ction display,
the segmen tsbetween thestor edspeed and
the maximum speedlightup.
Activat ionconditions To
activ atecruise control,all ofthe following
activ ation condition smust befulfilled:
R your vehicle mustnotbesecured bythe
elect ricparkin gbrake.
R you aredrivin gfaster than20mph
(30 km/ h).
R ES P®
must beactiv e,but not interven ing.
R the tran smission mustbeinposition D.
R DS Rmust bedeactiv ated.
Activat ingcruise control You
canadopt thecurren tspeed ifyou are
drivin gfaster than20mph (30km/ h). X
Ac celerat ethe vehicle tothe desired
speed.
X Brief lypress thecruise controllever
up : ordown ;.
X Remove yourfootfrom theacceler ator
pedal.
Cruise controlis activ ated. Thevehicle
automatic allymaint ainsthestor edspeed. i
Cruise
controlmay beunable tomaint ain
the stor edspeed onuphill gradient s.The
stor edspeed isresumed whenthegradient
evens out.Cruise controlm aint ains the
st ore dspee don down hillgrad ientsby
auto maticall yapplyin gth ebrak es.
Activ ating with thecur ren tor last
st ored speed G
WAR
NING The
setspee dstore din mem oryshould only
be set again ifpre vailin groad condi tions and
legal speedlimit sper mit.Possible
acceleration ordeceleration differences
arising fromreturn ingtothe preset speed
could cause anaccident and/orserious injury
to you and others.
X Briefly pullthecruise controllever towards
you ?.
X Remove yourfootfrom theaccelerator
pedal.
The first time cruise controlisactivated, it
stores thecurrent speedorregulates the
speed ofthe vehicle tothe previously
stored speed.
Setting aspee d G
WARNI
NG Kee
pin mind thatitm aytak eabrie fmoment
until thevehicle hasmade thenecessary
adjustmen ts.
Inc rease ordecrease thesetvehicle speedto
a value thattheprevailing roadcondit ionsand
legal speed limitspermit. Otherwise, sudden
and unexpect edacceleration ordeceleration 168
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

you
determ ine by thepos ition ofthe
acc eler ator pedal .
Act ivating when drivin gto war dsa
st at iona ryveh icle
If th eveh iclein fron to fyou isstation ary,you
can only activate DISTRONIC PLUSonceyour
vehicle isstation aryaswell.
X Briefly pullthecruise controllever towards
you ?,orbriefly pressup: ordown ;.
DIS TRONIC PLUSisselected. i
DIS
TRONIC PLUScanonly beactivated at
under 20mph (30km/ h)ifav ehicle infron t
has been detec ted.Therefor e,the
DIS TRONIC PLUSdistanc edisplay inthe
inst rument clustershouldbeactivat ed
(Y page 232).
X Keep thecruise control lever pressed
up : ordown ;until thedesired speed
is set. i
You
canusethecruise control lever toset
the stor edspeed andthecontrol onthe
cruise control lever toset the specified
minimum distance(Y page 176).
Activating atthe curr entspeed/last
stored speed G
WARN
ING The
setspeed storedinmemory shouldonly
be set again ifprevailing roadconditions and
legal speed limitspermit .Possible
acceleration ordeceleration differences
arising fromreturn ingtothe preset speed
could cause anaccident and/orserious injury
to you and others.
X Briefly pullthecruise controllever towards
you ?.
X Remove yourfootfrom theaccelerator
pedal.
DIS TRONIC PLUSisactivated. Thefirst
time itis activated, thecurrent speedis
stored. Otherwise, itsets thevehicle cruise
speed tothe previously storedvalue. Display
whenDISTRONIC PLUSis
activat ed DIS
TRONIC PLUSdisplay sin the speedometer
When DISTRONIC PLUSisactivated, oneor
two segment s; inthe setspeed rangelight
up. i
For
design reasons, thespeed display ed
in the speedometer maydiffer slightly from
the speed setforDIS TRONIC PLUS.
If DIS TRONIC PLUSdetect savehicle infron t,
segmen ts; between speedofthe vehicle in
fron t: and storedspeed =light up. Dist
ance display withDISTRONIC PLUSactivat ed
in the multifunc tiondisplay
: DISTRONIC PLUSactivat ed
; Own vehicle
= Specif iedminimum distanceto the
vehicle infron t;adjustable
? Vehicle infron t,ifdetec ted
You canselect thedistanc edisplay inthe
Ass istanc emen u(Y page 232)of the on-
board computer . Driving
systems
173Driving and parking Z