2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class ground clearance

Cha
nge ofaddress orcha nge of
owner ship
In theeve ntofach ang eof addre ss,please
sen dus the"Chan geofAd dres sNot ice"
foun din theSer viceand Warr anty
In for mat ionBoo klet,or sim plycall the
Mer cedes-Ben zCust ome rAssistance Center
(in the USA) atthe hotline number
1-80 0-FOR-ME RCedes(1-800- 367-6372) or
Customer ServiceCenter(inCanada )at
1-80 0-387-0100.This willassist usin
cont acting youinatimely manner shouldthe
need arise.
If you sellyour Mercedes, pleaseleavethe
entire literature inthe vehicle sothat itis
avail able tothe next owner.
If you bought thisvehicle used,besure to
send inthe "Notice ofPurchase ofUsed
Truck" foundinthe Service andWarranty
Information Booklet,orcall theMercedes-
Benz Customer Assistance Center(inthe
USA) at
1-80 0-FOR-ME RCedes(1-800- 367-6372) or
Customer Service(inCanada )at
1-80 0-387-0100. Vehicle
operation outsidetheUSA
and Canada
If you plan tooperate yourvehicle inforeign
countries, pleasebeawa rethat:
R service facilities orreplacement partsmay
not bereadil yavail able.
R unleade dfuel forvehicles withacatalytic
convert ermay notbeavail able. Leaded fuel
may cause damage tothe catalytic
convert er.
R the fuel may have aconsiderably lower
octane rating.Unsuitable fuelcancause
engine damage .
Some Mercedes-Benz modelsareavail able
for delivery inEurope through ourEuropean
Delivery Program. Fordetails, consult an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Centerorwrite to
one ofthe followi ngaddresses. In
the USA Mercedes-Benz
USA,LLC
European DeliveryDepartment
One Mercedes Drive
Montvale, NJ07645 -0350
In Canada Mercedes-Benz
Canada,Inc.
European DeliveryDepartment
98 Vanderhoof Avenue
Toronto, OntarioM4G4C9 Sport
Utility Vehicle G
WARNING This
Sport Utility Vehicle isdesigned forboth
on-road andoff-road use.Itcan goplaces and
perform tasksforwhich conven tional2-wheel
drive passenger carsarenot intended. This
vehicle willhandle andmaneuver differently
from conven tionalpassenger carsindriving
conditions whichmayoccur onstreets,
highwa ysand off-road use.
This vehicle hasahigher ground clearance
and ahigher centerofgravity thanmany
passenger cars.Aswith other vehicles ofthis
type, ifyou make sharp turnsatexcessive
speeds orabrupt maneuvers, thevehicle may
roll over ormay goout ofcont roland crash.
Utility vehicles haveasignificantly higher
rollover ratethan other types ofvehicles.
Failure tooperate thisvehicle safelymay
result inan accident, rolloverofthe vehicle,
and severe orfatal injury.
Before youstart todrive thisvehicle, readthe
Operator's Manual.Take timeto bec ome
fam iliar with thedriv ingcharac terist ics ofthis
veh icle.Besure youarefamiliar withall
vehicle controls. Learn howyour vehicle
handles ondifferen troad surfaces. Donot
attempt sharpturnsatexcessive speedsor
abrupt maneuvers orother unsafe driving
actions thatcancause lossofvehicle control.
When driving off-road orworking thevehicle Introdu
ction
23 Z

nece
ssary.F oreign objectscan disturb the
balance andcause vibrations.
Driving onsand G
WARNIN
G Do
not reduce thetire inflation pressure
before driving through sand.However, ifyou
do so, remember tocorrec tthe tire inflation
pressure beforecontinuing yourtrip.Drivin g
with reduced tireinflation pressure increases
the risk oflosing controlofthe vehicle and
rolling over.
Observe thefollowing ruleswhen driving on
sand:
R vehicles withtheAIRMATIC package:
select araised vehicle level.
R avoid highengine speeds.
R select ashift range appropriate tothe
terrain.
R drive quickly toovercom ethe rolling
resistance. Otherwise,thevehicle coulddig
itself intothesand.
R drive inthe track sof other vehicles if
possible. Makesurethattheruts arenot
too deep, thatthesand isfirm enough and
that your vehicle hassufficient ground
clearance.
Rut sand gravel roads Observe
thefollowing ruleswhen driving
along rutsinoff-r oad terrain oron roads with
loose gravel:
! Check thattheruts arenot too deep and
that your vehicle hassufficient clearance.
Otherwise, yourvehicle couldbedamaged
or bottom outand getstuck.
R for vehicles withAIRMATIC package:select
an increased vehiclelevel.
R avoid highengine speeds.
R select shiftrange 1. R
drive slowly .
R where rutsaretoo deep, drivewiththe
wheels ofone side onthe cent ergrassy
area, ifpossible.
Driving overobstacles !
Obstacles coulddamage thefloor ofthe
vehicle orcomponen tsof the chassis. Ask
passengers forguida ncewhen driving over
large obstacles. Thepassenger should
alwa yskeep asafe distance fromthe
vehicle whendoing soinorder toavoid
injury asaresult ofunexpect edvehicle
movement s.Aft erdriving off-road orover
obstacles, checkthevehicle forpossible
damage, especiallyto the underbody and
the componen tsof the chassis.
Observe thefollowing ruleswhen driving over
tree stumps, largestones andother
obstacles:
R raise thevehicle level.
R avoid highengine speeds.
R select shiftrange 1.
R drive veryslowly .
R drive straight overthecent erofobstacles. Driving
tips
165Driving and parking Z

For
safety reasons, thevehi clecan only be
low ered with alldoo rsand thetailga teclos ed.
Low ering isinterru ptedifadoo rorthe tailgate
is opened andwillcont inue after thedoor is
closed again.
! When driving onextrem elyrough terrain,
select ahigh vehicle levelingood time.
Make surethatthere isalwa yssufficient
ground clearance toprevent damage tothe
vehicle.
! Remove thekey from theignition before
raising oneormore wheels withthe
appropria teequipment.
For information aboutdriving off-road, see
(Y page 162).
Basic settings
The exten ttowhich thevehicle israised or
lowered depends onthe basic setting
selected. Selectraisedlevelforoff-road
driving orhighway /high-speed levelfor
normal roads.
The individual vehiclelevelsdifferfrom
highway levelasfollows:
R +/- 0in (+/- 0mm) atthe highway level
R –0.6 in(–15 mm)atthe high-speed level
R +2. 3in (+ 60 mm) atthe raised level
Raised level
Only select raised levelwhen thisis
appropriate forthe road condit ions.
Otherwise, fuelconsumpt ionmay increase
and handling maybeaffect ed. X
Start theengine. If
indicator lamp;isnot lit:
X Press button :.
Indicat orlamp ;flashes. Thevehicle rises
to raised level.
While theadjustmen tistaking place,a
message appearsinthe multifunction
displa y,e.g.: If
you press the% ora button onthe
multifunction steeringwheel,themessage
will disapp ear.
Once thevehicle hasreached raisedlevel,
indicator lamp;remains lit.The Vehicle
Rising message
disappearsfrom the
multifunction display.
If you attempt toselect theraised levelata
speed ofover 40mph (64km/h), the Drive
More
Slowly message
appearsinthe
multifunction display.
Highway/high-speed level
! Make surethatthere isenough ground
clearance whenthevehicle isbeing
lowered. Itcould otherwise hitthe ground,
damagi ngthe underbody . X
Start theengine. 182
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

Dri
vin gsys tems Disp
laymessa ges Poss
iblecauses/ conse quences andM Solu
tions À
Att
ention Assist: Dro
wsiness Det
ected Bas
edon spe cific criteri a,AT TENTI ON ASSIST has determ ined that
th edri ver istired orpayin gles sat te nt ion .Aw arning tone also
soun ds.
X Ifne ces sary, takeabreak .
Dur inglongjo urn eys, takereg ular break sin good timeso you get
en ough rest. À
Att
ention Assist Ino
perative AT
TENTI ON ASSIST has faile d.
X Visi taqu alified specialist workshop. Á
Drive
MoreSlowly You
cann otchang ethe vehicle level.Possible causesare:
R you aredrivin gtoo fast forthe select edvehicle level.
R you aretowin gatrailer.
R the trailer- coupling socketisbeing used,e.g.forabicycle rack.
X Driv emore slowly andthen select thedesired vehiclelevelagain
(Y page 181).
X Observ ethe noteson towin gatra iler (Y page 210) . Á
Com
pressorIs Coo
ling Yo
uha ve selected ahigh er veh iclelevel .The compressor first
needs tocool down because offrequent levelchanges.
X Drive inamanner appropria tefor the current vehiclelevel.
X Make surethatthere issufficient groundclearance.
X Allow thecompressor tocool down.
When thecompressor hascooled down,thedispla ymessage
disappe ars.Thevehicle thencontinues rising tothe selected
level. Á
Malfunction AIRMATIC
ismalfunctionin g.
X Drive inamanner appropria tefor the current vehiclelevel,but
no faster than50mph (80km/h).
X Make surethatthere issufficient groundclearance.
X Have thevehicle checkedataqual ified specialist workshop. The
Active Curve System isfaulty. Thevehicle's handling
characterist icsmay beaffected.
X Do not drive faster than50mph (80km/h).
X Have thevehicle checkedataqual ified specialist workshop. 258
Display
messagesOn-board computer and displays