2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class brake sensor

Break
down
see Flattire
see Towing away
Bu lbs
see Changin gbulbs C
Califor
nia
Impo rtant notice forretail
cust omer sand lesse es.................... 22
Call ingupamalfunc tion
see Displ aymessa ges
Capac ities
see Techni caldata
Car
see Vehi cle
Care
Carpets .......................................... 325
Ca rwa sh ....... .............. .............. ..... 318
Displ ay........................................... 323
Exterior lights ................................ 322
Gea rorselecto rlever .................... 324
Matte finish................................... 320
Nigh tView AssistPlus ................... 323
Notes ............................................. 318
Pai nt.............................................. 320
Pla stic trim .................................... 323
Pow erwa sher ................................ 319
Rea rview came ra.......................... 322
Roo flini ng ....... ............................ ...325
Seat belt........................................ 324
Seat cover ..................................... 324
Sensors ......................................... 322
Steering wheel............................... 324
Trim pieces .................................... 324
Was hing byhand ........................... 319
Whee ls........................................... 320
Windo ws........................................ 321
Wip erbla des .................................. 321
Wood entrim .................................. 324
Cargo compartm entcover ............... 289
Cargo compartm entenlargemen t... 287
Cargo compartm entfloor
Openi ng/closi ng............................ 292
Stowag ewell(under) ..................... 292Cargo
net
Attaching ....................................... 290
Importa ntsafe tyinforma tion......... 290
Cargo tiedow nrings ......................... 288
Car wash (care) ................................. 318
CD player/ CDchang er(on-bo ard
co mputer) .......................................... 230
Ce llphone
see Mobi lephone
Ce nter conso le
Lowe rsect ion .................................. 33
Uppe rsect ion .................................. 32
Ce ntral locking
Automa ticlocking (on-board
compu ter)...................................... 235
Locking/u nlocking(SmartKe y)........ 72
Chang ingbulb s
Brake lamps ................................... 117
High-b eamheadlamps ................... 116
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 114
Low-b eamheadlamps .................... 116
Overvi ewofbul btypes .................. 115
Parki nglamps ................................ 116
Rem oving/re placing thecover
(front wheelarch) .......................... 115
Side marker lamps ......................... 117
Standing lamps (front) ................... 116
Chi ld-proof locks
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................... 59
Rea rdoors ....................................... 59
Chi ldren
In the vehi cle................................... 54
Res traint systems ............................ 54
Chi ldseat
LATCH-typ e(ISOFIX) childsea t
anchors .................................... ...... .. 57
Specia lseat belt retractor ............... 56
Top Tether ....................................... 58
Ci garette lighter ................................ 296
Cl eani ng
Trai lertow hitch ............................. 322
Cli mate control
3-zone automatic climatecontrol ..126
Control lingautomatica lly............... 129
Coo ling with aird ehumidification ..128
Defrosting thewindows ................. 132
Defrosting thewindshi eld.............. 131 6
In
dex

Trip
menu ...................................... 227
Vehi clesub menu ........................... 235
On-b oard diagn osticsinte rface ..........24
Open ingand closi ng the side trim
panel s................................................. 117
Operatin gsafety
On-boa rddia gnostics interface........ 24
Operatin gsyste m
see On-boa rdcompu ter
Outside temperature display........... 223
Ove rhead control panel ...................... 34
Ove rride feature
Rea rside windows ........................... 59P
Pain
tcode num ber............................ 381
Pain twork (clean inginstruction s)... 320
Pani calarm .......................................... 60
Pano rama roofwith pow ertilt/
sli ding panel
Openi ng/closi ng.............................. 89
Openi ng/closi ngthe roller
sunbl ind........................................... 90
Prob lem(malfunction) ..................... 91
Res etting ......................................... 90
Pano rama sliding sunroo f
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................... 88
Parce lnet ........................................... 286
Parking ............................................... 155
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 155
Posi tion ofexterio rmirror, front-
pas senger side....... ........................104
Rea rview came ra.......................... 190
see PARKT RONIC
Parking aid
Active ParkingAssist ..................... 186
see Exterior mirrors
see PARKT RONIC
Parking brake
Displ aymessa ge............................ 241
Electric parking brake.................... 156
Parking lamps(changi ngbulb s)...... 116
PARK TRONIC
Deactiva ting/activa ting................. 185
Driving system ............................... 183
Function/notes ............................. 183
Prob lem(malfunction) ................... 186Ra
nge ofthe sensors ..................... 183
Trai lertowi ng................................. 185
Warni ngdispla y............................. 184
PAS SENGE RAIRBAG OFFindicat or
lam p................................. .....................44
Ped als.................. .................. .............1 58
Permane ntfour-w heeldrive
see 4MATIC (permanent four-
whe eldrive )
Plas tictrim (clean inginstruction s).3 23
Pow erwashe rs.................................. 319
Pow erwindow s
see Side windows
PRE-SA FE®
(Pre ventive occupant
safety system)
Displ aymessa ge............................ 245
Opera tion.................. .................. .....4 9
PRE-SAFE ®
Bra ke(vehicl eswith
DISTRONIC PLUS)
Display message ............................ 245
Function/notes ................................65
Switchi ngon/off ........................... 232
Warni nglamp ....... ..................... ..... 279
Preve ntiveoccupant safety
syste m
see PRE-SAFE ®
(Pre ventive
occup antsafe tysys tem)
Produc tinfo rmation ............................ 21
Pull ingaway
Automa tictransmis sion................. 141
Trai ler............................................ 141 Q
Quali
fieds pec ialistw ork shop ........... 25 R
Radar
sensor syste m
Activating/d eactivating ................. 236
Displ aymessa ge............................ 259
Radiator cover ................................... 313
Radio Sele cting astati on......................... 229
see sepa rateoperating instructio ns
Radio-c ontrolleddevi ces
(in stalli ng).......................................... 309
Readin glamp ..................................... 11314
In
dex

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

R
to cros sing traffic
R in cur ves
As ares ult, BAS PLUScann otinte rvenein
cri tica lsi tua tions. The reisaris ko fan
acc iden t.Always paycareful attent ion tothe
tr aff icsit uatio nand berea dytobra ke.
Fol lowi ng dama getothe front endofthe
veh icle, ha ve the confi guratio na nd opera tion
of the rada rs ensor schec kedataqualified
specialist workshop.This also applies to
collisions atlow speeds wherethereis no
visible damage tothe fron tofthe vehicle.
If BAS PLUS isnot availa bledue toa
malfunction inthe radar sensor system, the
brake system remains availablewith full
brake boosting effectandBAS. ESP
®
(Ele ctronic Stability Program)
Import antsafety notes i
See
the"Important safetynotes" section
(Y page 61).
If ESP ®
detect sthat thevehicle isdeviating
from thedirection desiredbythe driver, one
or more wheels arebraked tostabilize the
vehicle. Ifnecessary, theengine outputisalso
modified tokeep thevehicle onthe desired
course withinphysical limits.ESP®
assists
the driver whenpullingaway onwet or
slippery roads.ESP®
can also stabilize the
vehicle duringbraking.
If ESP ®
interven es,the ÷ ESP®
warning
lamp flashes inthe instrumen tcluster . G
WARN
ING Und
erno circums tances should you
deact ivateES P®
when the÷ ESP®
warnin glamp inthe instrumen tclust er
flashe s.Proc eedasfollows :
R when drivingoff ,apply aslittlethr ottleas
possible .
R while driving,ease upon the accelerat or
pedal.
R adapt yourspeed tosuit theprev ailing road
and weathe rconditions .
Failure toobserve theseguidelines could
cause thevehicle toskid. ESP®
cann ot
prevent accident sresulting fromexcessive
speed.
! Only operate thevehicle foramaximum
of ten seconds onabrake test
dynamometer. Switchoffthe ignition.
Application ofthe brakes byESP ®
may
otherwise destroythebrake system.
! Funct ionorperformanc etest smay only
be performed ona2-axle dynamometer. If
you wish tooperate thevehicle onsuch a
dynamometer, pleaseconsult an
authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter
beforehand. Youcould otherwise damage
the drive trainorthe brake system. i
Only
usewheels withtherecommen ded
tire sizes. OnlythenwillESP ®
funct ion
properly.
4ETS (Electronic Traction System) i
Observe
the"Important safetynotes"
section (Ypage 61).
Traction controlispart ofESP ®
.
Traction controlbrakes thedrive wheels
individuall yif they spin. Thisenables youto
pull away andaccelerate onslippery surfaces,
for example ifthe road surface isslippery on
one side. Inaddition, moredrivetorque is
trans ferred tothe wheel orwheels with
tract ion. Driving
safetysystems
63Safety Z

At
spee ds ofabove appro xima tely
20 mph (30km/h) ,if the driver and front
pa sse nge rhave fastened their seat belts,
PRE -SAF E®
Br ake can:
R brak eth eveh icle auto maticall yat spee ds
up toappro ximately12 4mph (200km /h)
R trigger preventat ive occupan tpro tection
meas ures(PRE-SAF E®
)(Y page 49)
Due tothenat ure ofthesyst em, particular ly
co mplic ateddriv ingcond ition sm aycaus e
unn ecessar ywarn ingsor theu nnece ssary
inte rventio nof PR E-SAFE ®
Bra ke. Tostop the
bra king action, youcan either depre ssthe
acce lera tor pedalfu rthe r,acti vate kickd own
or release the brakepedal.
The braking actionofPR E-SAFE ®
Bra keis
end edautoma tically if:
R yo ur spe eddro psbelow ap pro xima tely
9 mph (15km/h) .
R yo uma neu ver toavoid the obsta cle.
R ther eis no longe rany dange rofarea r-end
colli sion.
R there isno longer anobstacl edetected in
front ofyou rvehicl e.
If you have activa tedDSR (Ypag e208), PRE-
SAFE ®
Brake isdea ctivated. i
USA
only:this device hasbeen approved
by the FCC asa"Vehicula rRadar System".
The radar sensor syst emisint ended foruse
in an auto motiveradar systemonly.
Remo ving,alte ringor tam peringwithth e
devi cewill void anywarr anties, and isno t
perm itted bytheFCC. Donottamper with,
alte r,or use inany non-appro vedway.
An yunaut horizedmod ificatio ntothis
device couldvoidtheuser's authority to
operate theequipment. i
Canada
only:thisdevice complies with
RSS-2 10ofIndustr yCanada. Operation is
subject tothe following twocondit ions:
1. This device maynotcause interferenc e,
and 2.
this device mustaccept anyinterf erence
received, includinginterference thatmay
cause undesired operationofthe device.
Removal, tampering, oraltering ofthe
device willvoid anywarranties, andisnot
permitt ed.Donot tamper with,alter, oruse
in any non- approved way.
Any unauthorized modificationtothis
device couldvoidtheuser's authority to
operate theequipment.
With thehelp ofthe radar sensor system,
PRE-S AFE®
Brake candetect obstacles that
are infront ofyour vehicle foranexten ded
period oftime.
At speeds uptoapproximately 40mph
(70 km/ h),PRE-S AFE®
Brake canalso react
to station aryobstacles, forexample stopped
or parked vehicles.
If you approach anobstacle andPRE-S AFE®
Brake detect sa risk ofcollision, thesystem
will initially alertyouboth visually and
acoustically. Ifyou donot brake ortake
evasive action,thesystem willwarn youby
automatically brakingthevehicle gently.If
there isan increased riskofcollision,
prevent ativepassenger protectionmeasures
(PRE-SA FE®
)are activated (Ypage 49).Ifthe
risk ofcollision remainsandyoudonot brake,
take evasive actionoraccelerate
significant ly,the vehicle mayperform
automatic emergencybraking. Automatic
emergenc ybraking isnot performed until
immediately priortoan accident thatcanno
longer beavoided. G
WARNIN
G Even
ifPRE-S AFE®
Brake slowsthevehicle
before animminent rear-endcollision, the
system cannotavert acollision withoutthe
interv ention ofthe driver. Thereisarisk ofan
accident .Brake according tothe situation or
take evasive action.Delayed intervention by
the driver canlead toan accident . 66
Driving
safetysystemsSafety

G
WARNING PRE-SAFE
®
Brake cannot alwaysdetect
comple xtraffic situations prope rly.
In these cases, PRE-SAFE(R) Brakemay:
R give anunnecessa rywarni ngand then
brake thevehicl e
R neither giveawarni ngnor intervene
There isarisk ofan accide nt.Alwa yspay
particu larattention tothe traffic situationand
be read yto brake, especiallyif PRE-SAFE(R)
Brake warns you.Termina tethe intervention
in anon-critical drivingsitua tion.
In particu lar,the detection ofobstacl escan
be impa iredifthere is:
R dirt onthe sensors oranythi ngelse
covering thesensors
R snow orheavy rain
R interference byother radarsources
R the possibility ofstron gradar reflect ions,
for example inparking garages
R anarrow vehicle traveling infront ,e.g. a
motorbik e
R avehicle traveling infront onadifferent line G
WARNIN
G PRE-S
AFE®
Brake doesnotreact:
R to people oranimals
R to oncom ingvehicles
R to crossin gtraffic
R in curves
As aresult, PRE-SAFE®
Brake cannot
interv eneincritic alsituations. Thereisarisk
of an accident .Always paycaref ulatt ent ion
to the traffic situat ionand beready tobrak e.
In order tomaint ainthe appropr iatedistance
to the vehic lein fro ntand thus preventa
collisio n,you must apply thebrak esyourself .X
To act ivat e/deact ivate:act ivate or
deact ivatePRE-SAFE®
Brak ein the on-
board computer (Ypage 232).
The Ä symbol appears inthe
multif unction display aslong asthe HOL D
func tion isnot activate d(Ypage 179).
On vehicles withActive Parkin gAssist ,the
Ä symbol isdisplayed when
tran smission positionPis select edorifyou
drive faster than22mph(35 km/h).
For PRE-S AFE®
Brak eto assist youwhen
drivin g,the radar senso rsyst em mus tbe
switched on(Ypage 236)andoperational.
Following damagetothe front endofthe
vehicle, havetheconfiguration andoperation
of the radar sensors checked ataqual ified
speciali stworkshop. Thisalso appli esto
collisions atlow speeds wherethereisno
visible damage tothe front ofthe vehicle. STEER
CONTROL
The steering assistant STEERCONTROL helps
you bytransmitt inganoticeable steering
force tothe steering wheelinthe direction
required forvehicle stabilization.
This steering assistance isprovided in
particular if:
R both right wheels orboth leftwheels areon
a wet orslippe ryroad surface whenyou
brake
R the vehicle startstoskid
You have controlover thesteering atall
times. G
WARNING If
the ESP ®
is malfunctioning, youwillnot
receive steering assistance fromtheSTEE R
CONTROL. Thepower steering function,
however, remainsavailable. Driving
safetysystems
67Safety Z

The
hazard warning lampsaredeactivated
automatically ifthe vehicle returnsto aspeed
of over 6mph(10 km/h)after afull
application ofthe brakes. i
The
hazard warning lampsstilloperate if
the ignition isswitched off. Adapt
iveHighbeam Assist
You canusethis funct iontoset the
headlamps tochange between lowbeam and
high beam automatically. Thesystem
recogn izesvehicles withtheir lights on,either
approaching fromtheopposite direction or
traveling infron tof your vehicle, and
cons equently switches theheadlamps from
high beam tolow beam.
The system automatically adaptsthelow-
beam headlamp rangedepending onthe
distanc eto the other vehicle. Oncethe
system nolonger detectsany other vehicles,
it reactivat esthe high-beam headlamps.
The system's opticalsensorislocated behind
the windshield neartheoverhead control
panel. X
To activat e:activat ethe Adaptive
Highbeam Assistfunctionusing theon-
board computer (Ypage 234).
X Turn thelight switch toc orÃ. X
Press thecombinat ionswitch beyond the
pressure pointinthe direction ofarrow :
(Y page 111).
If it is dark andthelight sensor activates
the low-beam headlamps, the_
indicator lampinthe instr ument cluster
lights up.
If you drive faster thanapproximately
28 mph (45km/ h):
the headlamp rangeisset automatically
depending onthe distanc ebetween the
vehicle andother roadusers.
If you drive faster thanapproximately
35 mph (55km/ h)and noother roadusers
are identified:
the high-beam headlamps areswitched on
automatically. The
K indicator
lampin
the instr ument cluster alsolights up.
When youdrive slower thanapproximately
30 mph (45km/ h)or ifother roadusers
are identified orifthe roads aresufficient ly
illuminated:
the high-beam headlamps areswitched off
automatically. TheK indicator lampin
the instr ument cluster goesout.The_
indicator lampinthe instr ument cluster
stays on.
X To deactivat e:move thecombinat ion
switch backtoits normal position.
The _ indicator lampinthe instr ument
cluster goesout. G
WARNIN
G The
Adaptive Highbeam Assistisonly anaid
inten dedtosupport youwhile driving. The
driver isand remains responsible forproper
vehicle lighting inaccordanc ewith the
prevailing light,sightandtrafficcondit ions.
The system maybeimpaired orunavailable
when
R visibility ispoor, e.g.due tosnow, rain,fog,
or heavy spray
R the optical sensorareaofthe windshield is
dirty, fogged up,orcovered byastick erfor
example 112
Exterior
lightingLights and windshield wipers

G
WARNING An
intermittent warningsound sand the
dista ncewarning lamp · inthe instrument
cluster isillumina tedifthe DISTRONIC PLUS
system calculates thatthedista ncetothe
vehicl eahe adand yourvehicle's current
speed indicat ethat theDISTRONIC PLUSwill
not becapable ofslowing thevehicle
sufficien tlytomaint ainthe preset following
distanc e,which createsadanger ofa
collision.
Immediately brakethevehicle toincr ease
your distanc eto the precedin gvehicle. The
warning soundisinten dedasafinal caution
in which youshould intercede withyour own
braking inputstoavoid apoten tially
dangerous situation.Donot wait forthe
operation ofthe warning signaltointerc ede
with your ownbraking. Thiswillresult in
potent iallydangerous emergencybraking
which willnotalway sresult inan impact being
avoided.
Tailgating increasestherisk ofan accident . G
WARNING DIS
TRONIC PLUSbrakes yourvehicle witha
maximum deceleration of13 ft/s2
(4 m/s 2
).
This isequivalent toapproximately 40%of
your vehicle's maximum possible
deceleration.
You need tobrake yourself toprevent a
collision. DISTRONIC PLUSbrakes thevehicle
to restore thesetdistance fromthevehicle
ahead orthe setspeed. G
WARNING If
you donot receive visualoracoustic
warning signalsduringacritic altraffic
situation, DISTRONIC PLUShaseither not
recogn izedthecollision risk,hasbeen
deactivated orismalfunct ioning.
Remember, whetherornot DISTRONIC PLUS
is operating, itis ultimately alwaysthe drivers
responsibility toapply thebrakes inorder to
cont rolthe vehicle andavoid acollision. G
WARNING The
vehicle canbebraked whenDISTRONIC
PLUS isactivated. Forthis reason, deactivate
DIS TRONIC PLUSifthe vehicle isto be set in
motion byother means (e.g.inacar wash or
by towing).
If you want DISTRONIC PLUStoassist you,
the radar sensor system mustbeactivated
(Y page 236)andoperational.
General notes DIS
TRONIC PLUSregulates thespeed and
automatically helpsyoumaintain the
distance tothe vehicle detectedinfront .It
brakes automatically inorder toavoid
exceeding thesetspeed.
On long andsteep downhill gradients,
especially ifthe vehicle isladen ortowing a
trailer, youmust select shiftrange 1,2or 3
in good time. Bydoing so,you willmake use
of the braking effectofthe engine, which
relieves theload onthe brake system and
prevent sthe brakes fromoverheating and
wearing tooquickly.
If aslower-moving vehicleisdetect edinfront ,
DIS TRONIC PLUScauses yourvehicle to
brake andmaintain thepreset distance tothe
vehicle infront .
If there isno vehicle drivinginfront ofyou,
DIS TRONIC PLUSfunctionslikecruise
cont rolataspeed rangebetween 20mph
(Canada :30 km/ h)and 120 mph
(Canada :200 km/h).If avehicle isdriving in
front ofyou, itfunct ionsataspeed range
between 0mph (0km/ h)and 120 mph
(Canada :200 km/h).
Do not use DISTRONIC PLUSwhiledriving on
roads withsteep gradients.
As DIS TRONIC PLUStransmitsradar waves,
it can resemble theradar detect orsofthe
responsible authorities.Youcanrefer tothe
applicabl esection inthe Operator's Manualif
there areany questions concerning this. i
USA
only: Driving
systems
171Driving and parking Z