2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class warning lights

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). Occupant
safety Overview
ofoccupant safety
In this section, youwilllearn themost
import antfactsabout therest raint system
compo nentsof the vehicle.
The restraint system consists of:
R seat belts
R child restraint system s
R LATCH -type (ISOF IX)child seatanchors
Addit ional protection isprovided by:
R SRS (Supplemen talRestrain tSyst em)
R PRE -SAF E®
R Airb ag syst emcompo nentsw ith:
- PAS SENGER AIRB AG OFF indicator lamp
- fro nt-pa ssenge rseat with Occupant
Classification System(OCS)
The differen tairbag systems work
indep endently of each other.The protective
func tionsof the syst emwork incon junction
with each other.Not allair bags aredeployed
in an acc ident . G
WARN
ING Modif
ications toor work impro perly
con duct edon rest raint systemcom pone nts
or the irwirin g,as well astam perin gwith
int erc onn ectedelect ronicsyst ems, canlead to
the rest raint systems nolong erfunc tioning
as intende d.
Air bags orEm ergen cyTens ionin gDev ices
(ETD s),for exam ple,could deploy
inadv ertent lyor fail todeploy inacc ident s
altho ughthedecele ration threshold forair
bag deploymen tisexceeded. Therefore,
never modify therestraint systems. Donot
tamper withelectronic component sor their
software. i
See
"Children inthe vehicle"
(Y page 54)formore information on
infants andchildren traveling withyouin
the vehicle andrestraints forinfants and
children. SRS
(Supplemental RestraintSystem)
Introduction SRS
consists of:
R the 6 SRSwarning lamp
R air bags
R air bag cont rolunit (with crash sensors)
R Emergenc yTensioning Devicesforthe
front seatbelts andtheouter seatbelts in
the rear
R belt force limiters
SRS reduces therisk ofoccupants coming
into contactwith thevehicle's interiorinthe
event ofan accident. Itcan also reduce the
effect ofthe forces towhich occupants are
subjected duringanaccident.
SRS warning lamp SRS
function sare checked regularlywhen
you switch onthe ignition andwhen the
engine isrunning. Therefore, malfunctions
can bedetected ingood time.
The 6 SRSwarning lampinthe instrument
cluster lightsupwhen theignition isswitched
on. Itgoes outnolater thanafew seconds
after theengine isstarted. 38
Occ
upant safetySafety

X
To rais e:slid ethe beltsa sh guideup wa rds .
The beltsa sh guide eng ages invario us
po sitio ns.
X To lowe r:pre ssand holdbe ltsa sh guide
rel ease :.
X Sli de the beltsa sh guide do wnw ards.
X Re leas ebe ltsa sh guide rel ease : and
ma kesure tha tthe belt sash guide has
engaged.
Releasing seatbelts X
Press release button?(Ypage51)and
guide belttongue ;back towards belt
sash guide :.
! Make surethattheseat beltisfully rolled
up. Otherwise, theseat beltorbelt tongue
will betrapped inthe door orinthe seat
mechanism. Thiscould damage thedoor,
the door trimpanel andtheseat belt.
Damaged seatbelts cannolonger fulfill
their protect ivefunct ionand must be
replaced. Consultanauthorized Mercedes-
Benz Center.
Belt warning forthe driver andfront
passenger Regardl
essofwhether thedriver andfront
passenger havefastened theirseatbelts
already ,the 7 seatbeltwarning lamp
lights upfor 6secon dsafter every engine
start .It then goes outifthe driver andthe
fron tpasse nger have fastened their seat
belt s.
If th edriv er'sseat beltisno tfast ened after
th een gin eis start ed, anaddit ionalwarn ing
to ne will soun d.The warn ingtone goes out
aft erappro ximatelysix sec onds oronce the
driv er'sseat beltisfast ened. If
th edriv eror fron tpasse nger have not
fast ened their seat beltafter6s econ dsand
the doors areclosed, the7 seatbelt
warning lamplights up.
R until thedriver orthe fron tpasse nger have
fast ened their seat belts
R ifaveh icle spee dof 15 mph (25km/h)is
ex cee ded once, awarn ingtone with
inc reas ingintensitysoun dsaddit ionally for
a max imum of60 sec onds orunt ilth edriv er
or fron tp asse nger have fastened their seat
belt s.
If th edriv eror fron tpasse ngerundo their seat
belt sdurin gth ejo urn ey, the7 seatbelt
warn inglamp lightsup and thewarn ingtone
soun dsagain .
The warn ingtone ceas eseve nifthe driver or
front passenger havestillnotfastened their
seat beltafter 60seconds. The7 seatbelt
warning lampstops flashing butcont inues to
be lit.
Once thevehicle isstationary, thewarning
tone isreactivated andthe7 seatbelt
warning lampstarts toflash again ifthe
vehicle speedexceeds 15mph(25 km/h)
once.
The 7 seatbeltwarning lamponlygoes
out if:
R both thedriver andthefront passenger
have fastened theirseatbelts.
or
R the vehicle isstationary andadoor isopen. i
For
more information onthe 7 seat
belt warning lamp,see"Warning and
indicator lampsinthe instrumen tcluster,
seat belt" (Ypage 269).
Emergency TensioningDevices,belt
force limiters The
front seatbelts andtheouter seatbelts
in the rear areequipp edwith ETDs andseat
belt force limiters.
The ETDs onthe driver's andfront -passenger
seat consist ofpyrotechnic beltbuckle Occ
upantsafety
53Safety Z

tens
ioners andbeltanc horfitting tension ers
that aretriggere dtog eth er. The belt buck le
ten sion erismoun tedonthe B-pillar andthe
belt anchor fittin gis moun tedonthe side of
the seat .Always havebothtension ers
replaced aftertheyhave been trigger ed.
The ETDstight enthe seat belts inan acciden t,
pulling themclose against thebody.
The ETDsdo not corr ectincor rectseat
position sor incor rectlyfasten edseat belts.
The ETDsdo not pull vehicle occupan tsback
towards thebackr est.
Seat beltforcelimiters, whentrigger ed,help
to reduce thepeak forceexerte dby the seat
be lton the vehicleoccu pant.
The seatbelt forc elimiters forthe fron tseats
are synchr onizedwith thefron tairbags.
These takeon apart ofthe decele ration force.
Thus, theforce exer tedonthe occupant is
dist ribut edover agreat erarea.
The ETDscan only beact ivat edwhen:
R the ignit ionisswitc hedon.
R the rest raint systems areoperat ional;see
"SRS warnin glamp" (Ypage 38).
R the belt tongue iseng aged inthe buck leon
each ofthe lap-sh oulder beltsinthe front.
R the front-pass engerseat isocc upied and
the belt tongue iseng aged inthe buck leon
the front-pass engerside.
The ETDson the outs ideseat sin the rear
com partmen tare triggere dindep endently of
the lock status ofthe seat belts.
The ETDs aretriggere ddepe nding onthe type
and severi tyof an accide nt:
R if, inthe event ofahea d-on orrear-end
colli sion, thevehicl edecel erates or
accele ratesrapidlyinalongi tudina l
dire ction duringthe initia lstag esofthe
im pact
R if,in the eventofaside impact, onthe side
op posite the impact the vehicle de
cel era tes oracc elera tes rapidlyin a
la tera ldi rec tion
R if,in cer tains ituat ions where thevehic le
over turns, the syst emdete rmin esthat it
can prov ideadditio nalprot ection
If the airbags aredeployed, youwillhear a
bang, andasmall amoun tofpowder mayalso
be released. Onlyinrare cases willthebang
affect yourhearing. Thepowder thatis
released generally doesnotconst itutea
health hazard. The6 SRSwarning lamp
lights up. G
WARNIN
G Pyrotechn
icEmergen cyTensionin gDevices
that have been deployed mustberenewed.
For your safety, whendisposing ofEmergen cy
Tensionin gDevices, alwaysobserve the
safety instructions. Theseareavailab lefrom
any authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter.
The PRE-S AFE®
system haselectric ally
operated reversible pre-tensioners thatdo
not require replacement afteractivation .
! Ifthe front -passenger seatisnot
occupied, donot engage theseat belt
ton gue inthe buckle onthe front -
passenger seat.Otherwise, theEmergen cy
Tensionin gDevice couldbetriggered inthe
event ofan accident . Children
inthe vehicle Child
restraintsystems
Import antsafety notes We
recomm endthat allinfant sand children
be properly securedinan infant orchild
restr aintsystem atall times whilethevehicle
is in motion .
The useofseat belts andinfant andchild
restr aintsystems isrequired bylaw inall 50
states, theDistr ictofColumbia ,the U.S.
territ ories andallCanadia nprovinces.
Infants andchild renmust alwaysbe seated in
an app ropria teinfant orchild restrai ntsystem 54
Chil
dren inthe vehi cleSafety

R
PRE-S AFE®
Brake
R Steering assistant STEERCONTROL Impor
tantsafety notes
If you failtoadapt yourdriving style,the
driving safetysystems canneither reducethe
risk ofaccident noroverride thelaws of
physics. Drivingsafety systems aremerely
aids designed toassist driving. Youare
responsible forthe distanc eto the vehicle in
fron t,for vehicle speedandforbraking in
good time. Always adaptyourdriving styleto
suit theprevailing road/weather conditions,
as well asthe traff iccondit ionsandmaintain
a safe distanc eto the vehicle infron t.Drive
carefully. i
Please
notethat thedriving safety
systems described onlywork aseffect ively
as possible whenthereisadequa tecont act
between thetires andtheroad surface. Pay
particular attentiontothe inform ation
regarding tires,recomm endedminimum
tire tread depths etc.inthe "Wheels and
tires" section(Ypage 350).
In wintry driving conditions,alway suse
winter tires(M+S tires)andifnecess ary,
snow chains. Onlyinthis way willthe
driving safetysystems described inthis
sect ionwork aseffect ivelyaspossible. ABS
(Anti-lock Braking System )
Impor tantsafety notes i
Observe
the"Importan tsafet yno tes"
sec tion(Ypage 61).
AB Sr egulates brakepressure insuch away
that thewheels donot lock when youbrake.
This allows youtocon tinue steer ingthe
vehicle whenbrakin g.
AB Sw orks from aspeed ofabout
5m ph(8 km/ h)upwards, regardless ofroad-
surface condition s.AB Sw orks onslippery
surfaces, evenwhen youonly brake gently. G
WARNIN
G If
the ABS malfunct ions,other driving systems
such asthe BAS orthe ESP ®
are also switched
off. Observe indicator andwarning lampsthat
may come onaswell asmessages inthe
multifunct iondisplay thatmay appear.
If the ABS malfunct ions,thewheels maylock
during hardbraking, reducing thesteering
capability andexten dingthebraking distance.
The ! warning lampinthe instr ument
cluster lightsupwhen theignition isswitched
on. Itgoes outwhen theengine isrunnin g.
Br aking If
ABS intervenes whenbraking, youwillfeel
a pulsing inthe brake pedal.
X IfABS intervenes: continue todepress the
brake pedalwithforce untilthebraking
situation isover.
X To mak eafull brake application:
depress thebrake pedalwithfullforce.
The pulsating brakepedalcanbean
indication ofhazardous roadcondit ions,and
funct ionsasareminder totake extracare
while driving. G
WARNIN
G Do
not pump thebrake pedal. Usefirm, steady
brake pedalpressure instead.Pumping the
brake pedaldefeats thepurpose ofthe ABS
and significant lyreduces braking
effect iveness. BAS
(BrakeAssist System) i
Observe
the"Important safetynotes"
section (Ypage 61).
BAS operates inemergenc ybraking
situations. Ifyou depress thebrake pedal
quickly, BASautomatically booststhebraking
force, thusshorten ingthe stopping distance.
X Keep thebrake pedalfirmly depressed until
the emergenc ybraking situation isover.
ABS prevent sthe wheels fromlockin g. Driving
safetysystems
61Safety Z

Traction
controlremains activeifyou
deactivate ESP®
. G
WARNIN
G Traction
controlcann otreduce therisk ofan
accident ifyou drive toofast. Traction control
cann otoverride thelaws ofphysics.
Deactivating/activat ingESP ® i
Observe
the"Importan tsafet yno tes"
sec tion(Ypage 61). G
WARN
ING ES
P®
should notbedeactiv atedduring
norm aldrivin gother thaninthe
circ umstan cesdescribed below.Disabling
the system willreduce vehicle stability in
drivin gmaneuver s.
Do not deactiv ateESP®
when theemergen cy
or spare wheel ismount ed.
ES P®
is activ ated automatic allywhen the
engin eis start ed.
It may bebest todeactiv ateESP®
in the
following situations:
R when usingsnowchains
R in deep snow
R on sand orgravel G
WARN
ING Switc
hon ESP®
immediately ifone ofthe
previously statedcon dition sis no longer met.
Other wise, ESP®
cann otstabilize thevehicle
if it begins tolurch orwhen awheel spins.
When youdeactiv ateESP®
:
R ES P®
no longer improves drivingstability.
R the engin e'storque isno longer limited and
the drive wheels canspin. Thespinn ingof
the wheels resultsinacutt ingaction ,which
provides bettergrip.
R trac tion controlis still activ ated.
R ES P®
still provides supportwhenyou
brake. If
ES P®
is deactiv atedandone ormore wheels
start tospin, the÷ ESP®
warning lampin
the instrument clusterflashes. Insuch
situation s,ES P®
will notstabilize thevehicle. X
To deact ivate:press button:.
The å ESP®
OFF warning lampinthe
inst rument clusterlightsup. G
WARN
ING When
theå ESP®
OFF warning lampislit,
ES P®
is deactiv ated.
If the ÷ ESP®
warning lampandthe
å ESP®
OFF warning lampremain lit,
ES P®
is not available duetoam alfun ction .
When ESP®
is deac tivate dor noto peration al,
vehicle stability instan dard driving
maneuver sis reduced.
Adapt yourspeed anddriving tothe prevailing
road condition sand tothe non-operat ing
stat usofthe ESP®
.
! Avoid spinningthe driven wheels foran
ext ended period withESP®
deactiv ated.
You could otherwisedamage thedrivet rain.
X To activa te:press button:.
The å ESP®
OFF warning lampinthe
inst rument clustergoesout.
ESP ®
trailer stabiliz ation If
your vehicle withtrailer (vehicle/ trailer
combin ation)begins tolurch, youcan only
stabilize thevehicle/ trailercombin ationby
depressin gthe brake firmly. 64
Driving
safetysystemsSafety

Mirrors
Rear-view
mirror
Rear-view mirror(manual anti-glare) X
anti-gl aremode: flickanti-gla re
swi tch :forwa rdsorback. Exteri
ormirrors
Adjusting theexteri ormirrors G
WARNING Exercise
carewhen using the passenger-si de
exterior rearview mirror. Themirror surface
is convex (outward lycurved surfacefor a
wid erfiel dof view ).Objects inmirror are
closer thantheyappear. Checkyou rinteri or
rea rvie wmir ror and glance overyo ur
sho ulde rb efore changin glanes.
The exterior mirror sare automatic allyheated
if the rear window defrosterisswitched on
and theoutside temperatureislow. X
Make surethattheSmart Keyisin position
1 or 2in the ignition lock.
X Press button :for the left- hand exterior
mirror orbutton ;for the right- hand
ext erior mirror .
The indicat orlamp inthe corr espondin g
button lightsupinred.
The indicat orlamp goesoutagain after
some time.Youcanadjust theselect ed
mirror usingadjustm entbutton =aslong
as the indicat orlamp islit.
X Press adjustm entbutton =up, down, to
the right ortothe left until theexterior
mirror isset toaposition thatprovides you
with agood overview oftraff iccon ditions .
Folding theexterior mirrorsin or out
electrically X
Make surethattheSmart Keyisin position
1 or 2in the ignition lock.
X Briefly pressbutton :.
Bot hext erior mirror sfold inor out. i
Make
surethattheexterior mirror sare
alway sfolded outfully while thevehicle is
in motion ,as they mayother wisevibrate. i
If
you aredriving fasterthan
30 mph (47km/ h),you can nolonger fold
in the exterior mirror s.
Sett ingthe exterior mirrors If
the batter yhas been discon nectedor
complet elydischarged, theexterior mirror s
must bereset. Theexterior mirror swill Mirr
ors
103Seats, steering wheel and mirrors Z

3
T
Parking lamps,license plateand
inst rument clusterlighting
4c Automaticheadlamp mode/daytime
runnin glamps
5L Low-beam/high- beamheadlamps
BR Rearfoglamp
The turn signals, high-beam headlamps and
the high-beam flasherareoperated usingthe
combinat ionswitch (Ypage 111).
! Ifthe batter yhas been excess ively
discharged, theparking lampsorstandin g
lamps areautomatically switchedoffto
enable thenext engine start.Always park
your vehic lesafely andsufficien tlylit
acc ordin gto legal standard s.Av oid the
con tinuous useofthe T parkinglamps
for sever alhours. Ifpossible ,switc hon the
X rightorthe W leftstandin glamp.
The exterior lighting(exc eptthepark ing/
st andin glamps) switchesoffautom atically if
you:
R remo vethe SmartKey fromt heignition lock
R open thedriver's doorwiththeSmartK ey
in position 0
If you hear awarning tonewhen youleave the
vehicle, thelights maystillbeswitched on.
X Turn thelight switch toc orÃ.
Low -beam headlam ps X
To switch onthe low-be amheadlam ps:
turn theSmartK eyinthe ignition lockto
position 2or start theengine.
X Turn thelight switch toL.
The L indicator lampinthe instrumen t
cluster lightsup.
Daytime runninglamps Daytime
runninglampsinCanada
The daytime runninglampsfunctionis
required bylaw inCanada .Itc ann otthere fore
be deac tivate d. X
Turn thelight switchtoc orÃ.
Wit hth een gin erun ning:depen dingon the
ambie ntlight ,th edayti merunninglamps or
th elow- beam headlam psare swit ched on.
When thelow- beam headlam psare
swit ched on,th eL indicat orlamp inthe
ins trumen tcluster lightsup.
When theengineisrunn ingand thevehic leis
st ation ary:ifyou mov ethe selec torlever from
a drive positiontoP,the daytime running
lamps/ low-beamheadlamps goout after
thr ee min utes.
When theengineisrunn ing,thevehic leis
st ation aryand inhigh ambien tlight
bright ness:ifyou turnthe light switch
to T, thedaytime runninglampsandthe
parking lampsareswitched on.
If the engine isrunning andyouturn thelight
switch toL, themanual settingstake
precedence overthedaytime runninglamps.
Daytime runninglampsinthe USA
In the USA, thedaytime runninglampsare
deactivated upondelivery fromthefactory.
X To activate thedayt imerunning
lamps: activate thedaytime runninglamps
funct ioninthe on-board computer
(Y page 234).
X Turn thelight switch toc orÃ.
With theengine running: depending onthe
ambient light,thedaytime runninglampsor
the low-beam headlampsareswitched on.
When thelow-beam headlampsare
switched on,the L indicator lampinthe
instrumen tcluster lightsup.
If the engineisrunn ingand youturnthe light
switch toT orL, themanual settings
take precedence overthedaytime running
lamps. Exterior
lighting
109Lights and windshield wipers

Comb
inationswit ch
Tu rn signa ls :
High-beam headlam ps
; Right turns ignal
= High- beam flasher
? Left turnsign al
X To indica tebrief ly:press thecom binat ion
switc hbrief lyto the press urepoint inthe
direc tionofarrow ;or?.
The correspo ndingtur nsignal flashes three
tim es.
X To indica te:press thecom binat ionswitc h
beyond thepress urepoint inthe direc tion
of arrow ;or?.
High- beam headlamps X
To switch ontheh igh-b eamhead lamps:
turn theSmar tKey inthe ignit ionlock to
posit ion2or star tthe engin e.
X Turn thelight switc hto L orc or
Ã.
X Press thecom binat ionswitc hbeyond the
pressure pointinthe direct ionof
arrow :.
In the c orà position ,the high-
beam headlamps areonly switched on
when itis dark andtheengin eis runn ing. The
K indicat orlamp inthe instrument
cluster lightsupwhen thehigh-beam
headlamps areswitch edon.
X To switch offthe high-bea m
headla mps:move thecombin ationswitch
back toits norm alposition .
The K indicat orlamp inthe instrument
cluster goesout.
High-beam flasher X
To switch on:turn theSmart Keyinthe
ignition locktoposition 1or 2or start the
engin e.
X Pull thecombin ationswitch inthe direct ion
of arrow =. Haz
ard warning lamps The
hazard warning lampsautomatic ally
switch onif:
R an air bag isdeployed.
R the vehicle isslowed downseverely froma
speed ofover 45mph (70km/ h)and comes
to ahalt.
X To switch onthe hazard warning lamps:
press button :.
All turn signals flash.Ifyou now switch on
a turn signal usingthecombin ationswitch ,
only theturn signal lamponthe
corr espondin gside ofthe vehicle willflash.
X To switch offthe hazard warning
lamp s:press button :. Exterior
lighting
111Lights and windshield wipers Z