2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class maintenance

Infor
mation for cust omersin
Cali fornia
Un der Califo rnia law you may beentitled toa
rep lace men tofyour vehicle orarefund ofthe
purchase priceorlease price, ifafter a
reasonable numberofrepair attempt s
Mercedes-B enzUSA ,LLC and/or its
authorized repairorservice facilities failtofix
one ormore substant ialdefects or
malfunct ionsinthe vehicle thatarecovered
by its express warranty. Duringtheperiod of
18 mont hsfrom original delivery ofthe
vehicle orthe accumulation of18 000 miles
(approximately 29000 km)onthe odometer
of the vehicle, whichever occursfirst,a
reasonable numberofrepair attempt sis
presumed foraretail buyer orlessee ifone or
more ofthe following occurs:
(1) thesame substant ialdefect or
malfunct ionresults inacondit ionthat is
likely tocause deathorserious bodily
injury ifthe vehicle isdriven, thatdefect
or malfunct ionhas been subject torepair
two ormore times, andyouhave directly
not ified Mercedes-B enzUSA ,LLC in
writing ofthe need foritsrepair.
(2) thesame substant ialdefect or
malfunct ionofaless serious naturethan
category (1)has been subject torepair
four ormore times andyouhave directly
not ified Mercedes-B enzinwriting ofthe
need foritsrepair.
(3) thevehicle isout ofservice byreason of
repair ofthe same ordifferent substantial
defects ormalfunct ionsforacumulative
tot alof more than30calendar days.
Please sendyourwritten notice to:
Mercedes-B enzUSA ,LLC
Customer AssistanceCenter
One Mercedes Drive
Mont vale, NJ0764 5-0350 Maintenance
The Servic eand Warranty Bookletdescribes
all the necessary maintenancework which
should bedone atregular intervals.
Always havetheServic eand Warranty
Booklet withyouwhen youbring thevehicle
to an authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter. The
service advisor willrecord everyservice for
you inthe Servic eand Warranty Booklet. Roadsid
eAssistance
The Mercedes-B enzRoadside Assistance
Program offerstechnicalhelp inthe event of
a breakdown. Callsto the toll-fr eeRoadside
Assist anceHotline areanswered byour
agents 24hours aday, 365days ayear.
1-800-FOR-MER Cedes(1-800-367-6372)
(USA)
1-800-387-0100 (Canada)
For additional information,refer tothe
Mercedes-B enzRoadside Assistance
Program brochure (USA)orthe "Road side
Assist ance" section inthe Servic eand
Warranty booklet(Canada) .You will find both
in your vehicle literature portfolio.
In accordanc ewith standard program
guideli nes,Roadside Assistanceprovides
vehicle service uptoareasonable distance
from thenext paved road.Wewill make every
effort toassist inabreakdown situation.
However, theaccessibility ofyour vehicle will
be determin edbyour authorized Mercedes-
Benz Servic etechn icianorthe tow service
provider onacase-by-case basis.
Additional chargesmaybeapplicabl efor a
breakdown locationdetermin ednot tobe a
reasonably accessibleroadsidelocationas
determin edbyour authorized technicianand
tow service provider. 22
Introdu
ction

Useful
information........ .......... .......... 312
Engine compartment ........................ 312
Maint enance .................. .................... 317
Care ...................................... .............. 318 311Maintenance and care

Useful
information
i This
Operat or'sManual describesall
models andallstan dard andoption al
equipment ofyour vehicle available atthe
time ofpublication ofthe Operat or's
Manual. Country-specificdiffer encesare
possible. Pleasenotethat your vehicle may
not beequipped withallfeature s
descr ibed. Thisalso applies tosafet y-
related systemsand func tions. i
Please
readtheinfor mation onqualified
specialist workshops(Ypage 25). Engine
compartment Hood
Opening thehood G
WARN
ING Do
not pull therelease leverwhile thevehicle
is in mot ion. Othe rwise, thehood could be
forc edopen bypassing airflow.
This could cause thehood tocome looseand
inj ure you and/o rothe rs. G
WA
RNING Do
not open the hoodwh en the engineis
ove rheated.Yo ucou ldbe serio uslyinju red.
Ob serve the coolant temp eraturedisp layto
de term inewheth erthe enginemaybe
ove rheated.Ifyo use efla mes orsmo ke
comi ngfromthe enginecomp artment, move
aw ay fromt hevehicle. Waituntiltheengine
has cooled. Ifnecessary, callthefire
department. G
WARNING There
isarisk ofinjury ifthe hood isopen,
even ifthe engine isnot running.
Some engine componen tscan become very
hot.
To avoid therisk ofburns, onlytouch those
componen tsdescribed inthe Operator's
Manual andobserve therelevant safetynotes. G
WARNING To
help prevent personal injury,stayclear of
moving partswhen thehood isopen andthe
engine isrunning.
The radiator fanmay continue torun for
approximately 30seconds ormay even
restart aftertheengine hasbeen turned off.
Stay clear offan blades. G
WARNING Vehicles
withgasoline engine:
The engine isequipp edwith atransist orized
ignition system. Because ofthe high voltage
it is dangerous totouch anycomponen ts
(ignition coils,spark plugsocket s,diagnostic
socket )of the ignition system
R with theengine running
R while startin gthe engine
R when theignition isswitched onand the
engine isturned manually G
WARNING Vehicles
withdiesel engine:
The engine isequipp edwith ahigh-voltage
electronic controlunit forthe inject ion
system. Because ofthe high voltage itis
dangerous totouch anycomponen tsof the
inject ionsystem (injectors,electrical wires)
R with theengine running
R while startin gthe engine
R when theignition isswitched on
X Make surethatthewindshield wipersare
switched off. G
WARNING The
windshield wipersandwiper linkage
could beset inmotion.
When thehood isopen, youorothers could
be injured bythe wiper linkage.
Make surethatthewindshield wipersare
switched off.Remove theSmartKey ormake
sure thatnoignition position hasbeen
selected withKEYLES S-GO.Allindicator
lamps mustbeoff inthe instrumen tcluster. 312
Engi
necompar tmentMaintenance and care

X
Pull release lever:for the hood.
The hood isreleased.
! Make surethatthewindshield wipersare
not folded awayfromthewindshield. You
could otherwise damagethewindshield
wipers orthe hood. X
Reach intothegap, pullhood catch
handle ;upand liftthe hood.
Onc eyou have lifted thehood about
15 inches (40cm), itis automatically
opened therest ofthe way andheld open
by the gas-filled struts.
Closing thehood G
WARNIN
G When
closing thehood, useextreme caution
not tocatc hhands orfingers. Becareful that
you donot close thehood onanyone.
Make surethehood issecurely engaged
before driving off.Donot cont inue driving if
the hood cannolonger engage afteran
accident ,for example. Thehood could otherwise
comeloosewhilethevehicle isin
motion andinjure youand/or others.
X Lower thehood andletitfall from aheight
of approximately 8inches (20cm).
X Check thatthehood hasengaged properly.
If the hood canberaised slightly, itis not
properly engaged. Openitagain andclose
it with alittle more force. Rad
iator i
Vehicles
withadiesel engine: donot
cov erthe radiator ,for examp lewith a
wint erfron tor bug cover.The reading sof
the on-board- diagnos ticsyste mmay
ot her wise beinac curate.Some ofthese
readings arerequired bylaw and must be
accurate atall times. Engine
oil
Notes onthe oillevel Dependin
gon the driving style,thevehicle
consumes upto0.9 USqts. (0.8 l)of oil over
a distance of600 miles (1000 km).Theoil
consumpt ionmay behigher thanthiswhen
the vehicle isnew orifyou frequently driveat
high engine speeds.
Checking theoillevel using theoil
dipst ick Example:
vehicleswithagasoline engine Engine
compar tment
313Maintenance and care Z

Exam
ple: veh icles with adi ese leng ine
X Pa rk the vehicleon alevel surfa ce.
To che ckthe oille vel with the engineat
op era ting temp erature,sw itch theengine
off and waitfor appro xima telyfiv eminu tes.
X Pu lloi ldi psti ck: outo fthe dipstick guide
tube.
X Wipe offoildipstick :.
X Slowly slideoildipstick :into theguide
tube tothe stop, andtake itout again.
If the level isbetween MINmark =and
MAX mark ;,theoillevel iscorrect .
X Ifthe fuel level hassunk toMIN mark =or
below, add0.55 to1.1 USqt(0.5 to1.0 l)
engine oil.
Adding engineoil G
WARNING If
engine oilcomes intocontactwith hot
engine parts,itmay ignite andyoucould burn
yourself. Donot spill anyengine oilon hot
engine parts. H
Environmental
note When
adding oil,take carenottospill any. If
oil enters thesoil orwaterway s,itis harmful
to the environm ent.
! Use only engine oilsand oilfilters that
have been approved forvehicles equipped
with aservice system. Alist ofthe engine
oils and oilfilters tested and approv edin
acc ordan cewith theMerc edes- Benz
Spec ification sfor ServiceProduc tscan be called
upbyvisit inghttp://
www.mb usa.com (USAonly). More
inf orm ation about tested and approv ed
eng ineoils and oilfilters isavailable from
any author izedMerc edes- BenzCent er.
Damage tothe engin eor exhaust systemis
caused bythe following:
R using engineoils and oilfilters which
have notbeen specific allyapproved for
the servic esystem.
R replacing theengin eoil oroil filter after
the replacemen tinterv alreq uired bythe
ser vicesy stem hasel ap sed
R us ing eng ineoilad ditive s.
! Donot addtoo muchoil.If the oille vel is
ab ove the"max" markon the dipsti ck,too
mu choilha sbe en adde d. Thi scan lead to
damag eto theen gin eor thecat alytic
co nvert er. Hav eex ces soil siph oned off. Ex
ample :engi ne oilcap
X Tu rn cap :cou ntercl ockwise and remo ve
it.
X Add engineoil.
If the oille vel isat or below the MIN mark
on the oildi psti ck,
ad d0.55 to1.1 USqt(0.5 to1.0 l)engi ne
oi l.
X Re place cap :onthe fillerneck andturn
clo ckwi se.
Ensu retha tthe cap locks into place
secu rely.
X Ch eck theoille vel againw iththe oil
dipst ick(Ypage 313). 314
Engine
compartm entMaintenance and care

Furth
erinfor mationonengi neoil
(Y page 388). Che
cking and adding otherserv ice
pr odu cts
Checkin gth ecoolant level On
lyche ckthecoo lant level when theveh icle
is on alevel surface and theeng inehas cooled
down .
X Turn theSm artKey toposit ion
2 (Y page 139)intheign itio nlock .
On veh icleswith KEYLE SS-GO ,pres sth e
St art /S topbutt ontwic e(Ypage 139).
X Check thecoolant temperaturegauge in
the multifun ction display.
The coolant temperaturemustbebelow
158 ‡(70 †). G
WARN
ING In
order toavoid anypoten tiallyserious burns:
R use extreme caution whenopenin gthe
hood ifther eare any signs ofsteam or
coolant leakingfromthecoolin gsystem ,or
if the coolant temperaturedisplay indicates
that thecoolant isoverheat ed.
R do not remov ethe pressure caponthe
coolant reservoirifthe coolant temperature
is above 158‡(70 †). Allow theengine to
cool downbefore removin gthe cap. The
coolant reservoircon tains hotfluid andis
under pressure.
R using arag, slowly turnthecap
approximat ely1
/ 2 turn
torelieve excess
pressure. Ifopened immediately, scalding
hot fluid andsteam willbeblown outunder
pressure.
R do not spill antifreeze onhot engine parts.
An tifr eeze contains ethylene glycolwhich
may burn ifit comes intocontact with hot
engine parts. X
Slowly turncap:half aturn count er-
clock wiseandallow excesspressure to
escape.
X Turn cap:furth ercount er-clockwise and
remove it.
If the coolant isat the level ofmarker bar
= inthe filler neck when cold,there is
enough coolant incoolant expansion
tank ;.
If the coolant isapproximat ely0.6 in
(1.5 cm)above marker bar=inthe filler
neck when warm, thereisenough coolant
in coolant expansion tank;.
X Ifneces sary,addcoolant thathasbeen
test edand approved byMercedes- Benz.
X Replace cap:and turn itclock wiseasfar
as itwill go.
For furth erinfor mation oncoolant ,see
(Y page 389).
Windshield washersystemand
headla mpcleaning system The
washer fluidreservo iris used forboth the
windshield washersystemandtheheadlamp
cleanin gsystem. i
Vehicle
compon entsand their servic e
product smust match.You should,
theref ore,only useproduct sthat have been
test edand approved byMercedes- Benz.
Inf ormation ontest edand approved
product scan beobtained atany authorized
Mercedes- BenzCenter oron the Internet at
htt p://ww w.mbu sa.com (USAonly). Engine
compartment
315Maintenance and care Z

G
WARNING Wash
ersolve nt/antifreeze ishigh ly
flamma ble.Donot spill washer solvent/
antifreez eon hot engine parts,because itmay
ignite andburn. Youcould beseriously
burned.
! Attemperatures belowfreezin g:alwa ys
fill the washer fluidreservoir withamix of
water andwindshield washerconcentrate
(e.g. MBWinterF it).There isotherwise a
risk ofdamaging thewindshield washer
system/headlamp cleaningsystem.
! Only usewasher fluidconcentratewhich
is suitable forplastic lenses. Unsuitable
washer fluidconc entratecould damage the
plastic lensesofthe headlamps.
! Donot add distilled orde-ionized waterto
the washer fluidcontainer. Otherwise, the
level sensor maybedamaged. i
Add
windshield washerconcentrate, e.g.
MB SummerF it,to the washer fluidallyear
round. Example:
washerfluidreservoir
X Mix thewindshield washerfluidina
cont ainer beforehand.
X At temp eratures above freezing: fillthe
washer fluidreservoir withamixof water
and winds hieldwasher concentrate (e.g.
MB Summ erFit).
X At tem peratur es below freezing: fillthe
washer fluidreser voirwith amixof water
and winds hieldwasher concentrate (e.g.
MB Wint erFit).Adapt themixingratioto the outs
idetem perat ure.Forinform ation on
the mixing ratio(Y page 390).
X To open: pullcap:upwards bythe tab.
X Add theprem ixedwasher fluid.
X To close: presscap:ontothe filler neck
unt ilit eng ages.
Br ake fluid level !
Ifyou notice that thebrak efluid level in
the brak efluid reser voirhasfallen tothe
MIN mark orless, checkthe brak esyst em
immed iatelyforleaks. Alsocheckthe
thick ness ofthe brake linings. Contact a
qual ified specialist workshop, e.g.an
authorized Mercedes-Ben zCent er
immediately.
Do not add brake fluid.Thisdoes not
corr ectthe error.
Only checkthe brake fluidlevel when the
vehicle isstationary andonalevel surface.
In order tocheck thebrake fluidlevel, the
cover above thebrake fluidreservoir mustbe
removed. X
Remove seal;inthe area around
cover :inthe direction ofthe arrow. 316
Engi
necompar tmentMaintenance and care

X
Raise cover :atthefron t.
X Pull outcover :inthedir ection ofthe
arr ow. The
brak efluid levelisco rrec tifiti sbetween
MIN marking ?and MAX marking =onthe
brake fluidreservoir.
Cover :isinstalled inthe reverse order.
When doingso,make surethattheguide sof
cover :engage inthe slots inthe bulkhead . Maintenance
Service
interval display
Service messages Information
onthe type ofservice andservice
intervals (seeseparate ServiceBooklet).
You canobtain further information froman
authorized Mercedes-Benz Centerorat
http: //www.mbusa.com (USAonly).
The service interval message informsyouof
the next service duedate. The
multifunction displayshows aservice
message forseveral seconds, e.g.: Next
Service ADue in..Days Service
ADue Service
AExceeded by... Days The
letter indicates whichservice isdue. A
stands
foraminor service and B for
amajor
service. Anumber oranother lettermaybe
displa yedafter theletter. Thisfigure indicates
any necessary additionalmaintenance work
to be performed.
You canobtain further information froman
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
The service interval displaydoes nottake into
account anyperiods oftime during whichthe
battery isdisconn ected.
Maintaining thetime-depen dentservice
schedule:
X Note down theservice duedate display ed
in the multifunct iondisplay before
disconn ectingthe battery.
or
X Subtract thebattery disconn ectionperiods
from theservice dateshown onthe display
after recon nectingthe battery. i
The
service intervaldisplay doesnot
provide anyinformat ionregarding the
engine's oillevel. Observe thenoteson the
engine oillevel (Ypage 313).
Hiding aserv ice mes sage X
Pres sth e% ora buttononthe
st eerin gwheel.
Displa yingservice messages X
Swit chon theign itio n.
X Pres s= or; onthest eerin gwheel
to selec tthe Serv. menu.
X Press 9or: toselect the ASSYST
PLUS submenu
andpress atoconfirm .
The service duedate appea rsinthe
multifunction display. Maintenance
317Maintenance and care Z