2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class tow bar

Tire
pres sure
Ca lling up(on-bo ardcomp uter)..... 359
Che cking manually ........................ 357
Displ aymessa ge............................ 263
Maxi mum ....................................... 356
Notes ............................................. 355
Not reach ed(TIR EFIT) .................... 332
Press ureloss warning .................... 357
Rea ched (TIREFIT) .......................... 332
Reco mmended ...............................353
Tire pressure monitoring system
Function/notes ............................. 359
Res tarting ...................................... 361
Warni nglamp ....... ....... .............. ..... 280
Tires
Aspect ratio(definitio n)................. 373
Averag ewei ght ofthe vehi cle
occup ants(definitio n).................... 371
Bar (definitio n)............................... 371
Cha racteri stics.............................. 371
Che cking ........................................ 351
Definiti onofterms ......................... 371
Direction ofrotatio n...................... 375
Displ aymessa ge............................ 263
Distrib utionofthe vehicle
occupants (definition) .................... 374
DOT, TireIdentifi cationNumber
(TIN) .................. ...... ................ .......3 70
DOT (Depa rtment of
Transp ortation)(de finitio n)............ 371
GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating)
(de finitio n)..................................... 372
GTW (Gross TrailerWei ght)
(de finitio n)..................................... 372
GVW (Gross VehicleWei ght)
(de finitio n)..................................... 372
GVW R(G ross VehicleWei ght
Ra ting) (definitio n)......................... 372
Importa ntsafe tynotes .................. 350
Increase dvehi cleweight due to
optio nalequ ipme nt(de finitio n)...... 372
Kil opa scal (kPa)(de finitio n)........... 372
Lab eling (ove rview )........................ 367
Load bearing index (definitio n)...... 373
Load index ..................................... 370
Load index (definitio n)................... 372
Maxi mum loaded vehicleweight
(de finitio n)..................................... 372Maxi
mum loadon atire
(de finitio n)..................................... 373
Maxi mum permi ssibletire
press ure(definitio n)....... .............. ..373
Maxi mum tireload......................... 365
Maxi mum tireload(de finitio n)....... 373
Optio nalequ ipme ntwei ght
(de finitio n)..................................... 373
PSI (pounds persquare inch)
(de finitio n)..................................... 373
Rep lacing ....................................... 374
Service life..................................... 351
Side wall(de finitio n)....................... 373
Speed rating(definitio n)................ 372
Storing ........................................... 375
Structure andchara cteristics
(de finitio n)..................................... 371
Temp erature.................................. 367
TIN (Tire Identifi cationNumber)
(de finitio n)..................................... 373
Tire bead(definit ion)...................... 373
Tire press ure(definiti on)................ 373
Tire press ures(recom mended )...... 371
Tire size (data) ............................... 375
Tire size designatio n,loa d-bea ring
capa city, speedrating .................... 368
Tire tread ....................................... 351
Tire tread (definitio n)..................... 373
Total loadlim it(de finitio n)............. 374
Tracti on......................................... 366
Tracti on(de finitio n)....................... 374
Trea dwear ..................................... 366
TWR (permissi bletrail erdra wba r
nosew eight) (definitio n)................. 374
Uniform TireQualityGrading
Standard s...................................... 366
Uniform TireQualityGrading
Standard s(definit ion).................... 371
Unla denweight (definiti on)............ 372
Wea rindi cato r(definit ion)............. 374
Whee lrim (defin ition).................... 372
see Flat tire
Top Tether ............................................ 58
Towi ng
Importa ntsafe tygui del ines ........... 343
Install ingthe towi ngeye................ 343
Rem oving thetowi ngeye. .............. 344 18
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

Acti
vating/d eactivating therea rview
cam era X
To activ ate: make surethattheSmar tKey
is in posit ion2in the ignit ionlock .
X Make surethatthe"rear viewcamer a"
func tion isselec tedinCOMAN D(see the
separate operating instructionsfor
COMAND).
X Engage reverse gear.
The area behind thevehicle isshown inthe
COMAND displaywith guide lines. X
To change thefunction mode:usingthe
COMAND controller, select symbol :for
the "Reverse parking"functionor
symbol ;for the "Cou pling upatrailer"
function .See the separate COMAND
operatin ginst ruct ions.
The symbol ofthe select edfunc tion is
highlighted.
To deactiva te:the rear view camera is
deactivat edwhen you:
R shift thetran smission toposition P
R drive forward tenmeter s
R shift thetran smission fromposition Rto
anoth erposition (after15secon ds)
R drive forward fasterthan5mph
(10 km/ h) Displays
inthe COMAND display G
WARN
ING Use
ofrear view camera canbedangerous if
you arecolor- blindorhave impaired color
vision.
Only userear view camera ifyou can seeand
distin guish allcolored guidelines shownby
rear view camera onthe COMAND system
display. G
WARN
ING Please
notethat objec tsthat donot touch the
ground mayappear tobe furth eraway than
they actually are,forexample:
R the bumper ofavehicle parkedbehindyou
R the trailer drawbar
R the ball coupling ofatrailer towhitch
R the rear endofatruc k
R aslanted post
In such cases, youshould notuse theguide
lines tojudge thedistanc e.You may misjudge
the distanc e,which increases therisk of
impactin gthe objec ts.
Even ifthe objec tyou approach isdirectly on
the ground, donot approach theobject any
closer thanthered guide line. :
Vehicle widthincluding exteriormirrors
; Vehicle widthincluding wheelextremities
= Yellow guidelineapproximately 13ft
(4 m) away fromtherear area
? Red lane ofvehicle widthatcurrent
steering wheelangle(dynamic) Driving
systems
191Driving and parking Z

user
s.Alwa ysmak esure that there is
suff icientdist anceon theside forother traff ic
or obst acles.An inap propriat ebrak e
applic ationm aybe interr upte dat any timeif
you steer sligh tlyintheoppos itedire ction or
acc eler ate.
You arerespon sible fordriv ingatappro priate
spee ds,brak ingingood time,and steeri ng
cor rectly. Always adaptyourdrivingstyle to
suit theprev ailingroad andweat her
con dition s.Always payattent ion totraff ic
con dition sand your surroundings. Other wise,
you may failtorec ogn izedang ersintim e,
caus ean acc iden tand inju reyoursel fand
othe rs.
The rewillbe either nooronl ya we ak cou rse-
corr ectingbra keapplica tionif:
R there arevehi cles orobsta cles,e.g.crash
barri ers,locatedonboth sidesof you r
vehi cle.
R avehi cleapp roache syou tooclose lyat the
side .
R you have adopted asporty drivingstyle with
high cornering speeds.
R you clearlybrake oraccel erate.
R adrivi ngsafe tysys tem intervenes, e.g.
ESP ®
or PRE-SAFE ®
Brake.
R ESP ®
is swi tched off.
R the off-road programisswitched on.
R aloss oftire pressure oradefective tireis
detected.
Switching onActive BlindSpotAssist
X Make surethattheradar sensor system
(Y page 236)andActive Blind SpotAssist
(Y page 232)areactivated inthe on-board
computer.
X Turn theSmartKey toposition 2in the
ignition lock.
Warning lamps:light upred inthe
exterior mirrorsforapproximately 1.5
seconds andthen turnyellow. Tra
iler towing
When youattach atrailer, makesureyouhave
correct lyestablished theelectrical
conn ection. Thiscanbeaccomplished by
checkin gthe trailer lighting. ActiveBlind Spot
Assist isthen deactivated. Theindicator lamp
lights upyell owinthe exterior mirrorsandthe Active
BlindSpotAssist Currently Unavailable
SeeOperator's Manual message
appearsinthe multifunction
displa y.
Active LaneKeeping Assis t Importa
ntsafety notes
Act iveLane Keeping Assistmonitors thearea
in front ofyour vehicle bymeans ofacamera
at the top ofthe windshiel d.Act ive Lane
Keeping Assistdetects lanemarkings onthe
road andwarns youbefore youleave your
lane unintent ionally.Ify ou do not react tothe
warning, alane-cor rectingapplication ofthe
brakes canbring thevehicle backintothe
original lane. :
Active Lane Keeping Assistcamera
If you have selected the Display
Unit Speed-/Odome
ter (Y
page 233)functionin
the on-board computer andselect km as
the
unit ofmeasurement, Active Lane Keeping
Assist isactive fromspeeds of60 km/ h.If
the miles display
unitisselected, the
assistance rangebegins at40 mph. G
WARNIN
G Act
ive Lane Keeping Assistdoesnotkeep
your vehicle inits lane. Itis only anaid and Driving
systems
205Driving and parking
Z

Cha
nging theset speed When
DSRis act ivat ed, theset spee dcan be
ch ang edtoavalue between 1mphand
10 mph (Canada: between2km/ hand
18 km/ h)during thejourn ey. X
To increase ordecreas ethe setspeed
in 1mp h(Canada :1k m/h )
in cre men ts:pre ssthe cruise contr ollever
to the point ofres istanc ebri efly
up wa rds :for ahi gh er sets peed orbriefly
downwards ;for alower setspeed.
The setspeed appears inmultifun ction
display ?and isshown instat usindicat or
=. i
The
setspeed alsochang esin1m ph
(Canada: 1km/ h)incr ement sif you press
the controllever beyond thepoint of
resist ance. Tr
ailer towing Not
eson towing atrail er
Imp orta ntsaf ety notes G
WA
RNI NG Wh
entow ingatra iler, inco rrectequipme nt
and driving stylecou ldcauseyo uto lose
contr olof the vehicle.
To wing inco rrectly ornot observi ng this
Op era tor' sMa nua lcou ldlead todama geto
the vehicleand /or seriou sinju ries .O bserve
the following guidelines toensure safetrailer
towing . Contac
ta Mercedes -BenzCenter ifyou need
furt her explanat ionofthe infor mation
con tained inthis Operator 'sManual. G
WARN
ING Using
aball coupling otherthantheone
delivered withthevehicle mayplace toomuch
str ain onthe trailer towhitch.This applies
especially ifthe ball coupling inquestion is
longer orangled differen tly.Asaresult, the
vehicle maybedamaged andthetrailer may
come loosewhiledriving .Handl ing
ch arac terist ics may beimpair edand therear
axle may beove rload ed.This couldlead toan
acc iden twith serious oreven fatalinj uries.
There fore,please observethe followin g:
R only installthe ball couplin gdelivered with
the vehicle.
R make surethattheball coupling iscorr ectly
inst alled andsecured beforedriving.
R do not make anymodificat ionstothe ball
coupling orthe trailer towhitch . G
WARN
ING When
backin gup the vehicle towards the
trailer, makesurethere isnobody between
the trailer andthevehicle.
Couple anduncouple thetrailer carefully. If
you donot couple thetrailer tothe towing
vehicle correctly,the trailer couldbecome
detached.
Make surethatthefollowing valuesarenot
exceeded:
R the permissible trailerdrawbar noseweight
R the permissible trailerload
R the permissible rearaxle load ofthe towing
vehicle
R the maximum permissible grossvehicle
weight ofboth thetowing vehicle andthe
trailer
You willfind theapplicable permissible
values, whichmustnotbeexceeded, inthe
vehicle documen ts. 210
Tr
ailer towingDriving and parking

You
willfindthe values approve dby the
manuf acturer onthe vehic leident ification
plates andthosefor the towin gvehic lein the
"Techn icaldata" section. G
WARN
ING When
towingatrailer, yourvehic le'shandlin g
char acterist icswill bediffe rentinc omparison
with when driving without atrail er.
The vehicl e/trail ercombina tion:
R isheavi er
R isrestricted inits accele rationand
grad ient-climbi ngcapa bility
R has anincrease dbraking distance
R isaffected morebystrong crosswi nds
R dema ndsmore sensitive steering
R has alarg erturning circle
As aresul t,the handl ingchara cteristics may
be impa iredandyoumay losecontrol ofthe
vehicl e.This could leadto an accide ntwith
serio usoreven fatalinjurie s.
When towing atrail er,alw aysadju styou r
speed tothe current roadandweather
conditions. Donot exceed themaximu m
permis siblespeed foryou rvehicle/t railer
combin ation. G
WARN
ING Never
depress thebrake pedalcontinuously
while thevehicle isin motion ,e.g. never cause
the brakes torub byapplying constant slight
pedal pressure. Thiscauses thebrake system
to overheat ,incr eases thebraking distance
and canlead tothe brakes failingcomplet ely. G
WARN
ING Under
nocirc umstan cestrytostraight enthe
vehicle/ trailercombin ationbyincr easing the
speed. General
information R
Do not exceed thelegally prescribed
maximum speedforvehicle/t railer
combin ationsinthe relevant country.
This lowers therisk ofan acciden t.
R Only installan approved trailercoupling on
your vehicle.
Furt herinfor mation onavailabil ityand on
inst allation isavailable fromanyauthorized
Mercedes- BenzCenter .
R The bumpers ofyour vehicle arenot
suitable forinst alling detachable trailer
couplings.
R Do not installhired trailer couplings or
other detachable trailercouplings onthe
bumpers ofyour vehicle.
R To reduce therisk ofdamage tothe ball
coupling, removeitfrom theball coupling
recess whennotinuse. i
When
towing atrailer, setthe tire
pressure onthe rear axle ofthe towing
vehicle foramaximum load;seethetire
pressure tableinthe fuel filler flap
(Y page 371).
You willfind installation dimension sand loads
in the "Technic aldata" section
(Y page 391).
The maximum noseweight ofthe trailer
drawbar onthe ball coupling is16
.However,
the actual noseweight mustnotexceed the
value given onthe trailer towhitchor trailer
identif ication plates.Thelowest weight
applies.
! Use adrawbar noseweight asclose as
possible tothe maximum permissible
noseweight .Donot use anoseweight of
less than theminimum permissible
noseweight, asthe trailer mayotherwise
come loose. Missing valueswerenot
availa bleattime ofgoing toprint.
Note thatthepayloa dand therear axle load
are reduced bythe actual payload.
16 Missing valuesunavailable attime ofgoing toprint. Tr
ailer towing
211Driving and parking Z

Please
notethat when towing atrailer,
PARKTRONIC (Ypage 183)andBlind Spot
Assist (Ypage 198)areonly availabl ewith
limitations ,or not atall. i
On
vehicles withoutlevelcontrol,the
height ofthe ball coupling willalter
accordin gto the load placed onthe vehicle.
If necess ary,useatrailer withaheight-
adjustable drawbar.
Driving tips i
Observe
theinform ationonESP®
trailer
stabilization (Ypage 64)and onpulling
away withatrailer. (Ypage 141).
The maximum permissible speedforvehicle/
trailer combinat ionsdepends onthe type of
trailer. Before beginnin gthe journ ey,check
the trailer's document sto see what the
maximum permittedspeed is.Observe the
legally prescribed maximumspeedinthe
relevant country.
For cert ainMercedes- Benzvehicles, the
maximum permissible rearaxle load is
incr eased whentowing atrailer. Refertothe
"Technical data"sectiontofind outwhether
this applies toyour vehicle. Ifyou utilize any
of the added maximum rearaxle load when
towing atrailer, thevehicle/t railer
combinat ionmay notexceed amaximum
speed of60 mph(100 km/h)for reasons
conc ernin gthe operating permit.Thisalso
applies incount riesinwhich thepermissible
maximum speedforvehicle/t railer
combinat ionsisabove 60mph(100 km/h).
When towing atrailer, yourvehicle's handling
charact eristics willbedifferen tinc omparison
with when driving without atrail er.
On long andsteep downhill gradients, you
must selectshift range 1,2or 3in good time. i
This
alsoapp liesif you have activated
cruise control orDISTRONIC PLUS.
This willuse thebraking effectofthe engine,
so that lessbraking willbe requ iredto
maintai nthe speed. Thisrelieves theload on
the brake system andprevents thebrakes from
overheating andwearing tooquickly. If
you need additional braking,depressthe
brake pedalrepeatedly ratherthan
cont inuously .
Driving tips R
Maintain agreater distance fromthe
vehicle infront thanwhen driving without a
trailer.
R Avoid braking abruptly. Ifpossible, brake
gently atfirst toallow thetrailer torun on.
Then, increase thebraking forcerapidly .
R The values givenforgradient-c limbing
capabil itiesfrom astandst illrefer tosea
level. When driving inmountainous areas,
note thatthepower output ofthe engine,
and consequent lythe vehicle's gradient-
climbing capability,decrease with
increasing altitude.
If the trailer swings fromsidetoside:
X Do not accelerate.
X Do not counter- steer.
X Brake ifnecessary. Assemblin
gthe ball coupling
! Mercedes-Ben zrecomm endsthatyou
have theball coupling assembled ata
qualified specialist workshop.Only a
qualified specialist workshophas the
nec essary specialist knowledge andtools
to carry outthework required. Youcould
other wiseincorrectlyassemble theball
coupling ortight enthe nut with the
incor recttorque. Thiscould leadtothe ball
coupling andtheball coupling carrier
becomin gdetached whiletowing atrailer.
As aresult, youcould cause anacciden t.
Therefor e,have theball coupling
assembled ataqualified specialist
worksho p.
If the assembled ballcoupling hasbeen
permanen tlymount edon the vehicle, have
the ball coupling regularly checkedfor 212
Tr
ailer towingDriving and parking

G
WARNING Do
not disconnect atrail erwith anengag ed
overru nbrake. Otherwi se,you rhand could
bec ome trapped between thebumpe rand
trai lerd rawb ar.
Observe themaximu mpermissible trailer
dimension s(width andlengt h).
Most federal statesand allCanadian
provin cesrequire bylaw:
R safety chains between thetowing vehicle
and thetrailer. Thechains should becross -
wound underthetrailer drawbar. Theymust
be fasten edtothe vehicle's trailer
coupling, nottothe bumper orthe axle.
Allow forenough playinthe chains to
facilitat eturn ingtight corners.
R aseparate brakesystem forcert aintypes
of trailer.
R asafety switch forbraked trailers. Check
the specific legalrequirement sapplicable
to your federal state.
If the trailer detaches fromthetowing
vehicle, thesafety switch applies the
trailer's brakes.
! Donot connectthe trailer's brakesystem
(if featured) tothe hydrau licbrake system
of the towing vehicle, asthe latter is
equipp edwith ananti-lock brakesystem.
Doing sowill result inaloss offunct ionof
the brake systems ofboth thevehicle and
the trailer.
X Make surethattheautomatic transmission
is set toposition P.
X Apply thevehicle's electricparking brake.
X Start theengine.
X Vehicles withtheAIRMATIC package:
select highway level.
X Vehicles withtheadaptive damping
system: setADS toAUTO orCOMF.
X Switch offthe engine.
X Close alldoors andthetailgate.
X Coupl eup the trailer.
X Est ablish allelectrical connections. i
Vehicles
withtheAIRMATIC package:
if you couple upatrailer, thevehicle always
remains athighway level.When coupling up
a trailer, please observe thefollowing:
R ifhighway levelhasnotbeen set
manually ,the vehicle willautomatically
sink tohighway levelassoon asit
reaches aspeed of5m ph(8km/ h).
R high-spe edlevel isnot available.
These restrictions apply toall access ories
powered through acon nection tothe trailer
power socketofyour vehicle, e.g.abicycle
carrier . Towing
atrail er
Th ere arenum erouslega lreq uirem ents
conce rning the towingofatra iler, e.g.speed
rest rictions. Make surethatyour vehicle/
trailer combin ationcomplies withthelocal
requiremen tsnot only inyour areaof
residen cebut also atany location towhich
you aretrav eling. Thepolice andlocal
authorit iescan provide reliableinformation .
Please observe thefollowing whentowinga
trailer:
R To acquaint yourselfwithdrivin gwith a
trailer andwith theresultin gchang esto
handling, youshould practicecorn ering,
stoppin gand backin gup inatraf fic-free
location .
R Befor edrivin g,chec k:
- the trailer towhitch
- the safety switchfor braked trailers
- the safety chains
- the elect ricalconnection s
- the lights
- the wheels
R Adj ust the exterior mirror sto provide an
unobst ructedview ofthe rear sectionofthe
trailer.
R Ifthe trailer features electronic ally
con trolled brakes, pullaway thevehicle/
trailer combin ationcarefully, manually 216
Tr
ailer towingDriving and parking