2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class ESP

Symbols
Registered trademarks:
R BabySmart™ is a registered trademark of
the Siemens Automotive Corp.
R Bluetooth ®
is a registered trademark of the
Bluetooth SIG Inc.
R DTS is a registered trademark of DTS, Inc.
R Dolby and MLP are registered trademarks
of Dolby Laboratories.
R ESP ®
and PRE-SAFE ®
are registered
trademarks of Daimler AG.
R HomeLink ®
is a registered trademark of
Prince, a Johnson Controls Company.
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and iTunes ®
are registered
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is a registered trademark of
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Incorporated.
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is a registered trademark
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in other countries.
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In this Operator's Manual, you will find the
following symbols:GWARNING
Warning notes draw your attention to hazards
that endanger your health or life, or the health
or life of others.
! These warning notes draw your attention
to hazards that could cause damage to your
vehicle.
i This symbol indicates useful instructions
or further information that could be helpful
to you.XThis symbol designates an
instruction you must follow.XSeveral consecutive symbols
indicate an instruction with several
steps.Y PageThis symbol tells you where you
can find further information on a
topic.YYThis symbol indicates a warning or
an instruction that is continued on
the next page.DisplayThis font indicates a display
message in the multifunction
display/COMAND display.
Parts of the software in the vehicle are
subject to copyright according to ©
2005
The FreeType Project
http://www.freetype.org. All rights
reserved.

Welc
ometothe world ofMerce des-Ben z
Before youdrive off,please famil iarize
you rself withyourvehicle andread this
manual, especially thesafety andwarning
not es. This willhelp youtoobtain the
maximum pleasurefromyourvehicle and
avoid endanger ingyourself andother s.
The equipment ormodel designation ofyour
vehicle maydiffer accordingto:
R model
R order
R count ryvariant
R availabili ty
Mercedes- Benziscon stan tlyupdating its
vehicles tothe stateof the art.
Mercedes- Benztherefore reserv esthe right
to introduce changes inthe following areas:
R design
R equipment
R tec hnical features
Therefor e,you cann otbase anyclaims onthe
illustration sor tex tcont ent inthis Operator's
Manual.
The following areintegr alcompon entsofthe
vehicle:
R Operator's Manual
R Servic eBooklet
R Equipment -dependentsupplem ents
Kee pth ese documen tsinthev ehicle atall
times. Whenyousellthevehicle, alwayspass
the documen tson tothe new owner.
The technical documen tationteamat
Daimler AGwishes yousafe andpleasant
moto ring.
Mercedes- BenzUSA,LLC
Mercedes- BenzCanada, Inc.
AD aimler Company
1665841581
É1 665841581ÀË Í

Disp
lay(clea ning instructi ons) ........ 323
Di splay messag es
Ca lling up (on-boa rdcompu ter)..... 238
Driving systems ............................. 258
Engine ..................... .............. .........254
Gene ralnotes ................................ 238
Hidi ng(on-boa rdcompu ter)........... 238
KEYLESS-GO .................................. 267
Ligh ts.... ................ ...................... ...2 50
Safety systems .............................. 239
Service intervaldisplay .................. 317
SmartKey ....................................... 267
Tire s....... ........................................ 263
Vehi cle...........................................2 65
Di stanc edisplay (on-bo ard
co mputer) .......................................... 232
Di stanc ereco rder ............................. 227
see Odome ter
see Trip odom eter
Di stanc ewarni ng(warning lamp)....279
DI STRONIC PLUS
Activating .......................................172
Activatio ncondition s..................... 172
Cru isecontrol lever....................... 172
Deactiva ting....... ............................ 176
Displ aymessa ge............................ 261
Displ aysin the multifunctio n
dis pla y........................................... 173
Driving tips.................................... 177
Function/notes .....................169,171
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 169
Setting thespeci fiedminimu m
dis tance ......................................... 176
Warni nglamp ....... ....... .............. ..... 279
Do ors
Automa ticlocking (on-board
compu ter)...................................... 235
Automa ticlocking (switch) .............. .79
Cen tral loc kin g/unlo cking
(Sm artKey) .......................................7 2
Con trol pan el................................... 35
Displ aymessa ge............................ 266
Emergency locking........................... 80
Emergency unlocking ....................... 80
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................... 78
Openi ng(from inside)...................... 79
Do wnh illSpee dRegula tion
see DSR(Do wnh illSpe edRegulat ion) Drink
ingand driving ......................... 158
Drin kshol der
see Cuph older
Driver's door
see Doors
Driver's seat
see Seats
Driving abroad
Mercedes-B enzServic e................. 318
Symmetri callow beam.................. 108
Driv inginmountain ousterrain
Approa ch/dep artureangl e............ 166
Driv inglamps
see Daytime running lamps
Driv ingoff-road
see Off-road driving
Driv ingsafety systems
4ETS (Electroni cTracti onSystem) ...63
ABS (Anti-lock BrakingSystem) .......61
ADAPTIVE BRAKE............................. 65
BAS (Brake AssistSystem) .............. 61
BAS PLUS (Brake AssistSystem
PLUS) .............................. .................6 2
Ele ctroni cbrake force distributio n... 65
ESP ®
(Ele ctronic Stability
Progra m).......................................... 63
Importa ntsafe tyinforma tion........... 61
Overvi ew.......................................... 60
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake .............. ...............65
STEER CONTR OL............................. 67
Driv ingsyste ms
Active BlindSpotAssist ................. 202
Active Curve System ...................... 181
Active Driving Assistance
packa ge......................................... 202
Active LaneKeepingAssist ............ 205
Active ParkingAssist ..................... 186
ATTENTION ASSIST........................ 194
Blind SpotAssist ..................... ....... 198
Cru isecontrol ................................ 167
Displ aymessa ge............................ 258
DISTRONI CPLUS ........................... 169
HOLD function ............................... 179
Lane KeepingAssist ...................... 200
Lane Tracki ngpacka ge.................. 198
Level control (vehiclewith
AIRMATIC package)....................... 1818
In
dex

Night
ViewAssist Plus................... 195
PARKT RONIC................................. 183
Rea rview came ra.......................... 190
Driv ingtips
Automa tictransmis sion................. 147
Brakes ........................................... 159
Break-in period.............................. 138
DISTRONI CPLUS ........................... 177
Downhi llgrad ient........................... 159
Drinking anddriving....................... 158
Driving abroad ............................... 108
Driving inwinter .............................162
Driving onfloo ded road s................ 161
Driving onsand .............................. 165
Driving onwet road s...................... 161
Driving overobsta cles................... 165
Exhaus tcheck ............................... 158
Fuel .............. ..................... ............. 158
Gene ral.......................................... 157
Hydr oplaning ................................. 161
Icy road surfaces........................... 162
Limi tedbraking effici ency on
sal ted road s................................... 160
Off-road driving.............................. 163
Off-road fording............................. 161
Ped als. ........................................... 158
Snow chains.................................. 353
Symmetri callow beam.................. 108
Tire ruts ......................................... 165
Tow ingatrail er.............................. 210
Trave linguphill....... ....... ....... ..........166
Wet road surface........................... 159
DSR (Dow nhil lSpee dRegula tion)
Dis play mess age............................ 259
Function/notes ............................. 208
DVD audio (on-bo ardcomputer) ......230
DVD video(o n-bo ardcomputer) ......230 E
EA
SY-E NTRY feature
Activating/d eactivating ................. 236
Function/notes ............................. 102
EA SY-E XITfeature
Cra sh-resp onsive........................... 102
Function/notes ............................. 102
Switchi ngon/off ........................... 236
EA SY-P ACKload-s ecuring kit........... 291EBD
(elec tronic brakeforce
distributi on)
Displ aymessa ge............................ 241
Function/notes ................................65
Ele ctric alfuses
see Fuse s
Ele ctroni cbrake forcedistributi on
see EBD (electronic brakeforce
dis tribu tion)
Ele ctroni cStabil ityProgram
see ESP®
(Electroni cStab ility Pro gram)
El ec tron icTrac tionSys tem
se e4ETS (Electr onicTra ctio nSy ste m)
Eme rgencyr elease
Dr iver 'sdoor .................................... 80
Vehi cle............................................. 80
Emerge ncyspare wheel
Storage location ............................ 329
Emerge ncyTensi oningDevic es
Function .............. ..................... ........53
Safe tyguideline s............................. 39
Emerge ncyunlo cking
Tai lga te............................................ 84
Emis sions purific ation
Service andwarranty informa tion....21
Eng ine
Che ckEngine warning lamp ....... ....276
Displ aymessa ge............................ 254
Emergency starting........................ 345
Engine number....... ........................382
Irregu larr unn ing............................ 143
Starting problems .......................... 143
Starting theengine withthe
SmartKey ....................................... 140
Starting with KEYLESS-GO .............141
Switchi ngoff .................................. 155
Eng ineelectroni cs
Prob lem(malfunction) ................... 143
Eng ineoil
Addi ng........................................... 314
Additi ves........................................ 388
Che cking theoilleve l....... .............. 313
Che cking theoilleve lusi ng the
dip stick .......................................... 313
Displ aymessa ge............................ 256
Fill ing capa city............................... 384
Notes aboutoil grad es....... ............ 388 In
dex
9

Notes
onoillevel /consumption ....313
Visco sity........................................ 388
ESP ®
(E lec tronic Stability
Program) 4ETS ................................................ 63
Deactiva ting/activa ting................... 64
Displ aymessa ge............................ 239
Function/notes ................................63
Importa ntsafe tyinforma tion........... 63
Trai lerstabi lization ........................... 64
Warni nglamp ....... .......................... 273
Exhaus tchec k................................... 158
Exte riorlighting
see Ligh ts
Exte riormirrors
Adjusting ....................................... 103
Dippi ng(automa tic)....................... 104
Fold ingin/ou t(auto maticall y)....... 104
Fold ingin/ou t(electr ically) ........... 103
Fold inginwhe nlockin g(on-board
computer) ...................................... 237
Out ofposi tion (trou bleshoo ting) ...104
Setting ........................................... 103
Storing settings (memory
function) ........................................ 105
Storing theparking position .......... 104
Eye glas sescompartm ent................. 285 F
Fi
lle rc ap
see Fuel filler flap
Fi rst-aid kit....... .............. .................... 328
Fl at tire
Cha nging awhe el/mo unting the
spa rewhe el................................... 333
MOExtended run-flatsyst em ......... 338
Prep aring the vehi cle..................... 329
Ra ising the vehi cle......................... 334
TIR EFIT kit....... ...............................330
Fl oo rmat .............................................3 08
Fo ldin gthe rear benchseat
forw ards/bac k.................................. 287
Fo rding
Off-road ......................................... 161
On floo ded road s........................... 161
Fron twindsh ield
see Winds hield Fuel
Addit ives........................................ 387
Displayin gthe curr ent
con sumpt ion.................................. 227
Displ aying the range ...................... 227
Driving tips.................................... 158
Flexi blefuel vehicles ...................... 385
Fuel gauge....................................... 29
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 385
Premi um-gra deunle adedgas oline .3 85
Prob lem(malfunction) ................... 152
Ref ueling ....... ..................... ............ 149
Specifi cations ................................ 386
Tank content/reserve fuel............. 384
Fue lfill er flap
Openi ng/closi ng............................ 150
Fue lfilte r(dis play mess age)............ 257
Fue llev el
Ca lling up the range (on-boa rd
compu ter)...................................... 227
Fue ltank
Ca paci ty........................................ 384
Prob lem(malfunction) ................... 152
Fuse s
Allo cation chart............................. 346
Before changing............................. 346
Dashb oardfusebox....................... 346
Fuse boxinthe engine
compa rtment ................................. 346
Fuse boxunde rrear bench seat....347
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 345 G
Garage
dooropener
Cl eari ngthe memory ..................... 308
Notes ............................................. 305
Openi ng/closi ngthe gara gedoor ..308
Progra mming (button inthe rear -
view mirror) ................................... 306
Gasol ine............................................. 150
Gear orsel ector lever(clean ing
guide lines) ......................................... 324
Genui neMerce des-Be nzparts ......... 380
Glo vebox ........................................... 285
GTW (Gros sTrailer Weight)
(defi nition) ......................................... 37210
In
dex

Tow
ingat rail er
Activ ePark ing Assist ..................... 189
Cl eani ngthe trail ertow hitch .........322
Cou pling up atrail er...................... 215
Decoup lingatrail er....................... 217
Driving tips.................................... 210
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 210
Install ingthe ballcoup ling............. 214
Ligh tsdis pla ym essage .................. 250
Mou nting dimensions .................... 391
Pow ersup ply................................. 219
Pul ling away with atrail er.............. 141
Rem oving theballcoup ling............ 218
Shift range ..................................... 147
Storing theballcoup ling................ 218
Trai lerloads................................... 391
Towi ngaway
With both axleson the grou nd....... 344
Tow-s tarting
Emergency enginestarting ............ 345
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 343
Trailer couplin g
see Towingatrail er
Trailer loadsanddrawbar
nos eweig hts ...................................... 218
Trailer towing
Active BlindSpotAssist ................. 205
Active LaneKeepingAssist ............ 208
Blind SpotAssist ............................ 200
ESP ®
................................................ 64
PARKT RONIC................................. 185
Permi ssibletrail erloa dsand
dra wba rnoseweights ..................... 218
Transmiss ion
see Automa tictransmis sion
Transporting thevehi cle .................. 345
Traveli nguphill
Brow ofhill....... ..............................166
Driving downhill ............................. 167
Maxi mum gradient-clim bing
capa bility ....................................... 166
Trim pieces(clean inginstruction s).3 24
Trip computer (on-bo ard
co mputer) .......................................... 227
Trip meter
see Trip odom eter Trip
odome ter
Ca lling up ....... ..................... ...........227
Res etting (on-boa rdcompu ter)...... 228
Trunk
see Tailga te
Turn signals
Displ aymessa ge............................ 251
Switchi ngon/off ........................... 111
TWR (TongueWeight Rating)
(defi nition) ......................................... 374
Type identification plate
see Vehi cleidentificati onplate U
Unl
ocking
Emergency unlocking ....................... 80
From insidethe vehi cle(central
unlo cking button) ............................. 79 V
Vanity
mirror(insun visor).............. 295
Vehic le
Corr ectuse ...................................... 25
Data acquisition ............................... 26
Displ aymessa ge............................ 265
Equi pment ....................................... 21
Indivi dualsett ings .......................... 233
Limi tedWarr anty ............................. 26
Load ing.......................................... 362
Locking (inanemerg ency)............... 80
Locking (SmartKe y)....... ................... 73
Lowe ring........................................ 337
Mai ntenance .................................... 22
Parki ngfor along period....... .........157
Pul ling away ................................... 141
Ra ising ........................................... 334
Rep orting problems ......................... 25
Tow ingaway .................................. 343
Transp orting.................................. 345
Unlocking (inanemerg ency)........... 80
Unlocking (SmartKey)...................... 73
Vehi cledata ................................... 390
Vehic lebattery
see Battery (vehicle)
Vehic ledata ....................................... 390
see Techni caldata In
dex
19

Vehi
cle dime nsions........................... 390
Vehic leemerge ncylocking ................ 80
Vehic leiden tification number
see VIN
Vehic leiden tification plate.............. 381
Vehic lelev el(dis play messag e)....... 258
Vehic letool kit.................................. 328
Video (DVD) ..................... ................... 230
VIN ...................................................... 381W
Warning
andindicator lamps
ABS ............................ .................. .. 272
Brakes ........................................... 271
Che ckEngine ................................. 276
Coo lant .......................................... 277
Distance warning ........................... 279
DISTRONI CPLUS ........................... 279
ESP ®
.............................................. 273
ESP ®
OFF .......................................274
Fuel tank ............................... 276,277
Overvi ew.......................................... 30
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
indi cator lamp .................................. 44
Res erve fuel....... ....... ............. 276,277
Seat belt........................................ 269
SRS ............................ .................... 275
Tire press uremonitor .................... 280
Warranty ............................................ 381
Washer fluid
Displ aymessa ge............................ 267
see Winds hieldwa sher system
Whee lbol ttight ening torque ........... 337
Whee lcho ck...................................... 334
Whee ls
Cha nging awheel .......................... 333
Che cking ........................................ 351
Cl eani ng....... ....... ..................... ...... 320
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 350
Interchangi ng/changing................ 374
Mou nting awheel .......................... 336
Rem oving awheel .......................... 336
Storing ........................................... 375
Tig htening torque....... .................... 337
Whee lsize/ tires ize ....................... 375Windo
wcurtain airbag
Displ aymessa ge............................ 246
Opera tion............ ...... .......................4 4
Windo ws
Cl eani ng...... ...... ............................. 321
see Side windows
Windshi eld
Defrosting ...................................... 131
Infrared reflective .......................... 309
Winds hieldwasher system.............. 315
Notes ............................................. 390
Winds hieldwiper s
Problem (malfunction) ................... 120
Rea rwindow wiper........................ 118
Rep lacing thewiper blades ............ 119
Switchi ngon/off ........................... 118
Winte rdriving
Imp orta ntsafety note s.................. 352
Slip pery road surfaces................... 162
Snow chains.................................. 353
Winte roperatio n
Ra dia tor cover ............................... 313
Winte rtires
M+S tires....................................... 352
Wiper blades
Cl eani ng....... ..................... ............. 321
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 119
Rep lacing (rearwindow) ................ 119
Rep lacing (windshi eld)................... 119
Woo dentrim (clean ing
ins truction s)...................................... 32420
In
dex

Product
informat ion Mercedes-B
enzrecommen dsthat youuse
genuine Mercedes-B enzparts, conversion
parts andaccessories thathave been
approved forthe type ofvehicle.
Mercedes-B enztests genuine partsaswell as
conv ersion partsandaccessories whichhave
been specifically approvedforyour vehicle for
their reliabi lity,safety andsuitabili ty.Despite
ongoing marketresearch, Mercedes-B enzis
unable toassess otherparts. Therefore,
Mercedes-B enzaccepts noresponsibility for
the use ofsuch parts inMercedes-B enz
vehicles, evenifthey have been
independent lyor officially approved. Theuse
of non- approved partscould affect your
vehicle's operating safety.Mercedes-B enz
therefore recommen dsthat youusegenuine
Mercedes-B enzparts, conversion partsand
accessories thathave been approved forthe
type ofvehicle. Genuine Mercedes-B enz
parts, approved conversion partsand
accessories areavaila blefrom anyauthorized
Mercedes-B enzCenter. Here,youwillreceive
advice aboutpermissible technical
modifications, andtheparts willbe
professionally installed. Operat
or'sManual Notes
onthe Operat or'sManual
This Operator's Manualcontains agreat deal
of helpful information .Weurge youtoread it
carefully andfamiliarize yourselfwiththe
vehicle beforedriving.
For your ownsafety andlonger servicelife of
the vehicle, weurge youtofollow the
inst ruct ions andwarnings contained inthis
Operator 'sManual. Ignoringthem could
result indamage tothe vehicle orperson al
inj ury toyou orother s.Vehicle damage
caused byfailure tofollow instruct ions isnot
cover edbythe Mercedes- BenzLimited
Warran ty. Veh
icle equipm ent
This Operat or'sManual describes allmodels
and allstandard andoptional equipmen tof
your vehicleavail able atthet ime of
publicat ionofthe Operat or'sManual.
Count ry-specif icdiff eren cesarepossible .
Please notethat your vehic lemay notbe
equipped withallfeat ures described. This
also applies tosafet y-related systems and
func tions.The equipmen tiny our vehicle may
therefor ediffer fromthatshown inthe
description sand illustrations. Allthe systems
found inyour vehicle arelisted inthe original
purchase agreement ofyour vehicle. Should
you have anyquestions concerning
equipment andoperation, pleaseconsult an
authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter.
The Operating Instruction sand the
Maintenan ceBooklet areimportant
document sand should bekept inthe vehicle. Service
andvehicle operation Service
andliterat ure
Your vehicle iscovered undertheterms ofthe
warranties printedinthe Servic eand
Warranty Information booklet. Your
authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter will
exchan georrepair anydefectiv eparts
originally installedinthe vehicle in
accordanc ewith theterms ofthe following
warranties:
R New Vehicle Limited Warranty
R Emission SystemsWarranty
R Emission Performan ceWarranty
R Cali fornia, Connect icut,Maine,
Massachusetts, NewYork, Pennsylvania,
Rhode IslandandVermont Emission
Control System Warranty 1
R Stat eWarranty Enforcem entLaws (Lemon
Laws)
1 Valid onlyforvehicles withagasoline engine. Introdu
ction
21