2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class service intervals

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

road
,wea ther andtraffic conditions permit.In
some jurisdictions, itis forbid denfordrivers
to use mobil ephones whiledrivi ng.
Only opera teCOMAND (Cockpit Manag ement
and Data System) incompli ancewithalllega l
requ irements andwhen theroad ,wea ther and
traffic conditions permit.Youmay otherwi se
not beableto observe thetraffic conditions,
endange ringyourself andothers.
Reme mberthatyourvehicle coversa distanc e
of 44 feet (approximately 14m)asecon d
when itis travelin gat only 30mph
(approximately 50km/ h).
Drive sensibly –save fuel Obse
rvethe followi ngtips tosave fuel:
X The tires shouldalwa ysbe infla tedtothe
recomme ndedtirepres sure.
X Re move unneces saryloads.
X Re move roofcarrierswhe nthey arenot
needed.
X Warm upthe engine atlow engine speeds.
X Avoid frequent acceleration orbraking.
X Have allmaintenanc ework carried outas
indicated bythe service intervals inthe
Service Booklet orby the service interval
displa y.
Fuel consumption alsoincreases when
driving incold weather, instop-and- gotraffic
and inmountainous terrain.
Drinking anddriving G
WARNING Drink
ingand driving and/or takingdrugsand
driving arevery dangerous combinations.
Even asmall amount ofalcohol ordrugs can
affect yourreflexes, perceptions and
judgment.
The possibili tyof aserious oreven fatal
accident aregreatly increased whenyoudrink
or take drugs anddrive. Do
not drink ortake drugs anddrive orallow
anyone todrive whohasbeen drinking or
taking drugs.
Pedals G
WARNING Make
sureabsolu telynoobject sare
obstructin gthe pedals' rangeofmovement .
Keep thedriver's footwell clearofall
obstacles. Ifthere areany floormats or
carpets inthe footwell, makesurethatthe
pedals stillhave sufficient clearance.
During sudden drivingorbraking maneuvers,
the object scould getcaught between the
pedals. Youcould thennolonger brakeor
accelerate. Thiscould leadtoaccidents and
injury.
Rolling withtheengine switched off G
WARNING There
isno power assistance forthe steering
and thebrake whentheengine isnot running.
Steerin gand braking requires significantly
more effort andyoucould losecontrolofthe
vehicle andcause anaccident asaresult.
Do not turn offthe engine whilethevehicle is
in motion.
Exhaust check G
WARNING Inhalation
ofexhaust gasishazardous toyour
health. Allexhaust gascont ains carbon
monoxide (CO),andinhaling itcan cause
unconsc iousness andpossible death.
Do not run theengine inconfin edareas (such
as agarage) whicharenot properly ventilated.
If you think thatexhaust gasfumes are
enterin gthe vehicle whiledriving, havethe
cause determined andcorrect ed
immediately. Ifyou must driveunder these
condition s,drive onlywith atleast one
window fullyopen atall times. 158
Driving
tipsDriving and parking

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

system
whenthedefective wheelhasbeen
replaced withanew wheel.
Vehicles withtirepressure controlsystem:
all wheels mounted mustbeequip pedwith
function ingsensors. Thedefective wheel
should nolonger beinthe vehicle. MOExtended
tires(tires withrun-flat
propert ies)
MOExt ended tires(tires withrun-flat
properties) allowyou tocont inue driving your
vehicle evenifone ormore tiresareentirely
deflated.
MOExt ended tiresmayonlybeused in
conj unction withtheactivated tirepressure
loss warning systemorwith theactivated tire
pressure monitoring system.
The maximum permissible distancewhich
can bedriven inrun-flat modedepends onthe
load inthe vehicle. Youcandrive 50miles
(80 km) ifthe vehicle ispartiall yladen and
18 miles (30km) ifit is fully laden.
The maximum permissible distancewhich
can bedriven inrun-flat modeiscounted from
the moment thetire pressure losswarning
appea rsinthe multifunction display.
You must notexceed amaximum speedof
50 mph (80km/h). G
WARNING The
handling characteristics ofyour vehicle
deteriorate inrun-flat mode,forexample:
R when cornering
R when braking
R when accelerating rapidly
Adapt yourdriving styleaccordingly andavoid
sudden changes indirection andsudden
acceleration, aswell asdriving overobstacles
(i.e. curbs, potholes), anddriving off-road.
This isparticularly thecase when thevehicle
is heavily laden.
The maximum permissible distancethatcan
be driven inrun-flat modedepends toalarge
extent onthe loads placed onthe vehicle. It can
beshorter duetohigh speeds, aheavy
load, sudden changes indirection, theroad
surface condition, outsidetemperature, etc.,
or further ifyou drive carefully and
conservatively.
Do not cont inue todrive inrun-flat modeif:
R you hear banging noises.
R the vehicle startstoshake.
R you seesmoke andsmell rubber.
R ESP ®
is intervenin gconst antly.
R there aretears inthe sidewa llsofthe tire.
Aft erdriving inrun-flat mode,youmust have
the wheel( s)checked fordamage ata
qual ified speciali stworkshop whichhasthe
necessary specialistknowledge andtools to
carry outthework required. Thedefective tire
must bereplaced inevery case.
Mercedes-Benz recommendsthatyouusean
authorized Mercedes-Benz Centerforthis
purpose. Inparticular, workrelevant tosafety
or on safety-related systemsmustbecarried
out ataqual ified speciali stworkshop. i
When
replacing oneorall tires, make sure
that youonly usetires marked
MOExt ended andofthe specified sizefor
the vehicle. Bat
tery Importa
ntsafety notes
In order forthe battery toachieve the
maximum possibleservicelife,itmust always
be sufficiently charged.
! Have thebattery checked regularlyata
qual ified speciali stworkshop, suchasan
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Adhere tothe service intervals indicated in
the service booklet orask aqual ified
speciali stworkshop, suchasan authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Have thebattery chargechecked more
frequently ifyou usethevehicle mainlyfor 338
Bat
teryBreakdown assistance

Low
outsidetem peratur es DE
Ffreez esatate mper atureof
appro ximatel y12 ‡(–1 1†). The vehicle is
equipped withaDE Fp rehea tingsystem when
it lea ves thefactory. Winteroperationis
therefore alsogua ranteed attempera tures
Additive s !
Only useDEF inaccorda ncewith ISO
22241. Donot use additives withDEFand
do not dilute DEF with water. This may
destroy theBlue TEC exhau stgas
aftertrea tmentsystem.
Purity Assuri
ngthe puri tyof DEF isparticu larly
importa ntwith respe ctto avoi ding
malfu nctions inthe exhau stgas
aftertrea tmentsystem.
If DEF ispump edout ofthe DEF tank, e.g.
duri ngrepa irwork, itmust notbereturned to
the tank. Thepurityof the fluidcan nolonger
be gua ranteed.
! Impuri tiesinDEF (e.g. duetoother
service products,cleaning agents ordus t)
lea dto:
R increase demiss ionvalu es
R dama getothe catal yticconverter
R engine damage
R malfu nctions inthe Blue TEC exhau stgas
aftertrea tmentsystem Eng
ineoil
Ple ase bear thefollowing inmind The
engine oilsare matched tothe
performa nceofMercede s-Benzengines and
service intervals.You shou ldtherefore only
use engine oilsand oilfilters thatare
app roved forvehicl eswith maintenance
systems . For
alist ofapp roved engine oilsand oilfilters,
consult anauthorized Mercede s-BenzCenter
or go tothe Internet site
http://www.mbu sa.com(USAonly).
! Never useengine oiloran oilfilter ofa
speci ficatio nothe rthan isnecessary to
fulfill theprescribed serviceintervals. Do
not change theengine oiloroil filter in
order toachieve longerreplacement
intervals thanthose prescribed. Youcould
otherwise causeengine damage ordamage
to the exhaust gasaftertr eatment .
Follow theinstruct ionsinthe service
interval displayregarding theoilchange.
the exhaust gasaftertr eatment .
The table shows whichengine oilshave been
approved foryour vehicle. Model Engine
model MB
Approval
642 228
.51,
229 .31,
229 .51 276 229
.5 i
MB
approval isindicat edon the oil
con tainer s.
Addit ives !
This could damage theengin e.
Engine oilviscosity Viscosit
ydescribes theflow charact eristics
of afluid. Ifan engin eoil has ahigh viscos ity,
this means thatitis thic k;alow viscos ity
means thatitis thin .
Select anengin eoil with anSAE(viscosi ty)
class ification suitable forthe preva iling
outsi detempera tures.Thefollowi ngtable
show sthe correct SAEclass ification tobe
use d.The low-temperatu rechara cteristics of
engine oilscan deteri orate signifi cantly, e.g. 388
Servic
eproducts andcapaci tiesTechnical data

4MATIC
ML 350 4MATIC
ML3 50 BlueTEC
Otherwise,youmaydamagetheengineand
Donotuseanyadditivesintheengineoil.
below12 ‡ (–11 †).

as
ares ult ofagin g,soot andfuel depos its.It
is the refore stron gly recomm endedthat you
carr yout regular oilchan gesusing an
approv edeng ineoilwith theappropr iateSAE
class ification . Refr
igera ntoftheair -cond itioning
syst em
The air-c ondit ioningsyst emisfilled with
R134 aref riger antand aspec ialPAG
lubrican t.
! Neve ruse refriger antR12 (CFC) or
min eral lubrican ts.O the rwise, youcou ld
da ma gethe air-co nditioning syste m. Brake
fluid G
WA
RNI NG Ove
raperiod oftime, thebrake fluidabsorbs
moist urefrom theair;this lowers itsboiling
point .
If the boiling pointofthe brake fluidistoo low,
vapor pocketsmay form inthe brake system
when thebrakes areapplied hard(e.g.when
driving downhill). Thiswould impair braking
effic iency.
You should havethebrake fluidrenewed at
regular intervals. Thebrake fluidchang e
int ervals canbefound inthe Serv iceBook let.
Only usebrake fluidapproved byMercedes -
Ben z.Inf ormat ionabout approved brake
fluids canbeobtained fromanyauthoriz edMercedes
-Benz Center oron the Internet at
htt p:// bevo.m ercedes- benz.com . Coolant
Impor tantsafet ynotes The
coolant isamixt ureofwater and
antif reeze/ corrosion inhibito r.Itperfor ms
the following tasks:
R corr osion protection
R antif reeze protection
R raising theboiling point
The engin ecooling systemisfilled atthe
fact orywith coolant thatcontains an
antif reeze/ corrosion inhibito rthat ensures
protect iondown toapproximately -35‡
(-37 †).
! Only addcoolant thathasbeen premixed
with thedesired antifreez eprotect ion.
Otherwise, theengine couldbedamaged.
Further information oncoolants andon
filling canbefound inthe Mercedes-Ben z
Specifications forService Products, MB
Approval 310.1,e.g. onthe Internet at
http: //bevo.m ercedes-benz .com.You can
also consult anauthorized Mercedes-B enz
Center.
! Always useasuitable coolantmixture,
even incount rieswhere hightemperat ures
prevail.
Otherwise, theengine cooling systemisnot
sufficient lyprotec tedfrom corrosion and
overheating.
If the coolant hasantifr eezeprotec tiondown
to -35 ‡(-37 †),theboiling pointofthe
coolant underoperating conditionsis
approximately 266‡(130 †).
Your vehicle hasarange ofaluminum
compon ents.Aluminum componentsinthe
engine makeitnecessary touse antifr eeze/
corrosion inhibitorcoolantthathasbeen
specifically formulatedtoprotec tthe
alumi numparts. Usingotherantifreez e/ Service
products andcapacities
389Technical data Z

corro
sioninhi bitors withou tthese
characterist icsaffects theservice life.
The coolant mustbeused throughout theyear
in order tomaintain thenecessary corrosion
protect ionand toprovide protectionfrom
overheating. Inthe Service Booklet, youcan
find information onthe intervals forrenewal.
The renewal intervalisdetermined bythe
coolant typeandtheengine cooling system
design. Therenewal intervalinthe Service
Booklet isonly valid ifthe coolant isrenewed
or filled upwith Mercedes-Ben zapproved
product s.Therefo re,only useMB325 .0or
326 .0antic orrosion /antifreez eor anot her
Mercede s-Benz approved productofthe
same specific ation.
Inf ormat iononother product swith thesame
specific ationsthatareapproved by
Mercede s-Benz can beobtaine dat an
authoriz edMercede s-Benz Cente roro nthe
Int ernet athttp: //bevo.m ercedes-benz .com.
The coolant ischeck edatevery maintenanc e
interval atan authorized Mercedes-Ben z
Center.
The antifreez e/corrosion inhibitor
conc entration inthe engine cooling system
should:
R be atleast 50%.Thiswillprotect theengine
cooling systemagainst freezing downto
approximately -35‡(-37 †).
R not exceed 55%(antifreeze protectionto
-49 ‡[-45 †]);othe rwise, heatwillnot
dissipate aseffec tively.
If the coolan tlevel istoo low, MB325 .0or
326 .0ant icorr osion /antifreez eshould be
added. Havetheengin ecoolin gsystem
chec kedforpossible leaks. Wind
shield/h eadlampcleaning
syst em G
WARN
ING Washer
solvent/ant ifreez eis highly
flammable. Donot spill washer solvent/
ant ifreez eon hot engin eparts,bec ause itmay ign
ite and burn .You could beseriously
burned.
Use MBSummerF itwindshield washer
conc entrateattemperatures abovefreezin g:
X Mix 1part MBSummerF itwith 100parts
water.
Use MBWinterF itwindshield washer
conc entrateattemperatures belowfreezin g:
X At temperatures downto14 ‡(Ò10 †):
mix 1part MB WinterF itwit h2p artswate r.
X At temper aturesdown toÒ4 ‡ (Ò20 †):
mix 1part MBWinterF itwit h1 part wate r.
X At temper aturesdown toÒ20 .2‡
(Ò 29 †): mix2part sMB WinterF itwit h1
part wate r.
! OnlySum merFitand WinterF itcan be
mix ed. Other wise, theje ts could become
bloc ked. Veh
icle data Pleas
eno te that for thespec ifiedveh icle
dat a:
R theheig htsspec ifiedmay varyas ares ult
of:
- tires
- load
- co nd ition ofthesuspe nsion
- opt ionalequipm ent All
mod els Veh
icle lengt h 18
9.1in (48 04mm ) Veh
icle widt h
inclu dingext erior
mir rors 84
.3in(21 41mm ) Veh
icle heigh t 70
.7in(17 96mm ) Wh
eelba se 11
4.8in (29 15mm ) Fron
ttr ack 64
.7in(16 42mm ) Rea
rtr ack 65
.2in(16 57mm ) 390
Veh
icle dataTechnical data