
Pets in the vehicle
G
WARNING
If you leave animals unattended or unsecured in the vehicle, they could press buttons or
switches, for example.
As a result, they could:
R activate vehicle equipment and become
trapped, for example
R activate or deactivate systems, thereby
endangering other road users
Unsecured animals could also be flung around
the vehicle in the event of an accident or sud- den steering or braking, thereby injuring vehi-
cle occupants. There is a risk of an accident
and injury.
Never leave animals unattended in the vehi-
cle. Always secure animals properly during
the journey, e.g. use a suitable animal trans-
port box. Driving safety systems
Overview of driving safety systems
In this section, you will find information about the following driving safety systems:
R ABS (Anti-lock BrakingSystem)
(Y page 62)
R BAS ( Brake Assist System) (Y page 62)
R Adaptive brake lights (Y page 63)
R ESP ®
(Electronic StabilityProgram)
(Y page 63)
R EBD ( Electronic Brake force Distribution)
(Y page 65)
R ADAPTIVE BRAKE (Y page 65)
R Trailer stabilization Important safety notes
G
WARNING
The ABS, the BAS, and the ESP ®
switch off
when the differential locks are switched on.
When the ABS, the BAS, and the ESP ®
are
switched off
R wheels may lock during hard braking
R steering capabilities are reduced
R braking distance is increased
R vehicle stability in standard driving maneu-
vers is increased
Make sure the differential locks are switched on at all times except when driving off-road for
example. Switch on the differential locks
immediately when returning from off-road
driving.
If you fail to adapt your driving style or if you
are inattentive, the driving safety systems can neither reduce the risk of an accident nor
override the laws of physics. Driving safety
systems are merely aids designed to assist
driving. You are responsible for the distance
to the vehicle in front, for vehicle speed and
for braking in good time. Always adapt your
driving style to suit the prevailing road and
weather conditions and maintain a safe dis-
tance from the vehicle in front. Drive care-
fully.
i Please note that the driving safety sys-
tems described only work as effectively as
possible if there is adequate contact
between the tires and the road surface. Pay particular attention to the information
regarding tires, recommended minimum
tire tread depths etc. in the "Wheels and
tires" section (Y page 306).
In wintry driving conditions, always use
winter tires (M+S tires) and if necessary,
snow chains. Only in this way will the driv-
ing safety systems described in this section work as effectively as possible. Driving safety systems
61Safety Z

Doors
Important safety notes
G
WARNING
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the ignition lock. Always take
the SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle.
Do not leave children unsupervised in the
vehicle, even if they are secured in a child
restraint system, and do not give them access to an unlocked vehicle. A child's unsupervised
access to a vehicle could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury. They could:
R injure themselves on vehicle parts
R be seriously or fatally injured by extreme
heat or cold
R injure themselves or have an accident with
vehicle equipment that may still be in oper-
ation even after the SmartKey has been
removed from the ignition, such as the seat
adjustment, steering wheel adjustment or
memory function.
If children open a door, they could cause
severe or even fatal injury to other persons; if they get out of the vehicle, they could injure
themselves when doing so or be seriously or
even fatally injured by any passing traffic.
Do not expose the child restraint system to
direct sunlight. The child restraint system's
metal parts, for example, could become very
hot, and a child could be burned on these
parts. G
WARNING
Do not carry heavy or hard objects in the
passenger compartment or cargo compart-
ment unless they are firmly secured in place.
Unsecured or improperly positioned cargo
increases a child's risk of injury in the event of
R strong braking maneuvers
R sudden changes of direction
R an accident G
WARNING
If children are left unsupervised in the vehicle, they could:
R open the doors, thus endangering other
people or road users.
R get out and disrupt traffic.
R operate the vehicle's equipment.
Additionally, children could set the vehicle in
motion if, for example, they:
R release the parking brake.
R shift the automatic transmission out of park
position P or shift manual transmission into
neutral.
R start the engine.
There is a risk of an accident and injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never leave children or animals unattended in the
vehicle. Always keep the SmartKey out of
reach of children. Unlocking and opening doors from
the inside
If the vehicle has previously been locked with the SmartKey, opening a door from the inside
will trigger the anti-theft alarm system.
Switch off the alarm (Y page 66).
Only open the door when the traffic situation
permits. Doors
73Opening and closing Z

X
Take the mechanical key out of the Smart-
Key (Y page 70).
X Insert the mechanical key into the lock of
the driver's door as far as it will go.
X Turn the mechanical key clockwise as far as
it will go to position 1.
X Turn the mechanical key back and remove
it.
X Make sure that the doors and the tailgate
are locked.
X Insert the mechanical key into the Smart-
Key.
i If you lock the vehicle as described above,
the fuel filler flap is not locked. The anti-
theft alarm system is not armed. Rear door
Important safety notes
G
WARNING
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the ignition lock. Always take
the SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle.
Do not leave children unsupervised in the
vehicle, even if they are secured in a child
restraint system, and do not give them access to an unlocked vehicle. A child's unsupervised
access to a vehicle could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury. They could:
R injure themselves on vehicle parts
R be seriously or fatally injured by extreme
heat or cold
R injure themselves or have an accident with
vehicle equipment that may still be in oper-
ation even after the SmartKey has been
removed from the ignition, such as the seat
adjustment, steering wheel adjustment or
memory function.
If children open a door, they could cause
severe or even fatal injury to other persons; if they get out of the vehicle, they could injure
themselves when doing so or be seriously or
even fatally injured by any passing traffic.
Do not expose the child restraint system to
direct sunlight. The child restraint system's
metal parts, for example, could become very
hot, and a child could be burned on these
parts. G
WARNING
Do not carry heavy or hard objects in the
passenger compartment or cargo compart-
ment unless they are firmly secured in place.
Unsecured or improperly positioned cargo
increases a child's risk of injury in the event of
R strong braking maneuvers
R sudden changes of direction
R an accident 76
Rear doorOpening and closing

Seats
Important safety notes
G
WARNING
Children could become trapped if they adjust the seats, particularly when unattended.
There is a risk of injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never leave children unsupervised in the vehicle.
The seats can still be adjusted when there is
no SmartKey in the ignition lock. G
WARNING
When you adjust a seat, you or other vehicle
occupants could become trapped, e.g. on the seat guide rail. There is a risk of injury.
Make sure when adjusting a seat that no one
has any body parts in the sweep of the seat.
Observe the safety notes on "Air bags"
(Y page 47) and "Children in the vehicle"
(Y page 52). G
WARNING
You could lose control of your vehicle if you do the following while driving:
R adjust the driver's seat, head restraint,
steering wheel or mirrors
R fasten the seat belt
There is a risk of an accident.
Adjust the driver's seat, head restraint, steer-
ing wheel and mirror and fasten your seat belt before starting the engine. G
WARNING
If head restraints are not installed and adjus-
ted correctly, they cannot provide protection
as intended. There is an increased risk of
injury in the head and neck area, e.g. in the
event of an accident or when braking.
Always drive with the head restraints instal-
led. Before driving off, make sure for every
vehicle occupant that the center of the head restraint supports the back of the head at
about eye level.
Make sure that you do not rotate the head
restraints of the front and rear seats when
adjusting the head restraints. Otherwise, you cannot adjust the height and angle of the
head restraints correctly.
Adjust the head restraint so that it is as close as possible to your head. G
WARNING
You could lose control of your vehicle if you do the following while driving:
R adjust the driver's seat, head restraint,
steering wheel or mirrors
R fasten the seat belt
There is a risk of an accident.
Adjust the driver's seat, head restraint, steer-
ing wheel and mirror and fasten your seat belt before starting the engine. G
WARNING
According to accident statistics, children are
safer when properly restrained on the rear
seats than on the front-passenger seat. Thus, we strongly recommend that children be
placed in the rear seat whenever possible.
Regardless of seating position, children 12
years old and under must be seated and prop- erly secured in an appropriately sized child
restraint system or booster seat recommen-
ded for the size and weight of the child. For
additional information, see the "Children in
the vehicle" section.
A child's risk of serious or fatal injuries is sig-
nificantly increased if the child restraints are
not properly secured in the vehicle and/or the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint. Seats
85Seats, steering wheel and mirrors Z

X
Unscrew screws ;.
X Swing protection grille :to the right.
X After changing the bulbs, swing protection
grille :to the left.
X Tighten screws ;.
Tail lamps !
When installing the lens, make sure that
the seal is positioned correctly.
! Do not fasten the screws too tightly. You
could otherwise damage the lens. X
Switch off the lights.
X Unscrew screws :.
X Remove lens ;. =
Turn signal
? Brake/tail lamp
A Tail lamp/standing lamp
X Turn the corresponding bulb counter-clock-
wise, applying slight pressure, and remove
it from the bulb holder.
X Insert the new bulb into the bulb holder and
turn it clockwise until it engages. X
Install lens ;.
X Replace and tighten screws :.
X AMG vehicles: secure the protection grille
(Y page 112).
Backup lamp/rear fog lamp !
Do not fasten the screws too tightly. You
could otherwise damage the lens. Example: rear fog lamp
X Switch off the lights.
X Unscrew screws ;.
X Remove lens :. X
Turn bulb =anti-clockwise, applying slight
pressure, and remove it from the bulb
holder.
X Insert the new bulb into the bulb holder and
turn it clockwise until it engages.
X Install lens :.
X Replace and tighten screws ;. Replacing bulbs
113Lights and windshield wipers Z

the driver's footwell. Install the floormats
securely and as specified in order to ensure
sufficient clearance for the pedals. Do not use loose floormats and do not place floormats ontop of one another. G
WARNING
Unsuitable footwear can hinder correct usage of the pedals, e.g.:
R shoes with thick soles
R shoes with high heels
R slippers
There is a risk of an accident.
Wear suitable footwear to ensure correct
usage of the pedals. G
WARNING
If you switch off the ignition while driving,
safety-relevant functions are only available
with limitations, or not at all. This could affect, for example, the power steering and the brake
boosting effect. You will require considerably
more effort to steer and brake. There is a risk of an accident.
Do not switch off the ignition while driving. G
WARNING
If the parking brake has not been fully
released when driving, the parking brake can:
R overheat and cause a fire
R lose its hold function.
There is a risk of fire and an accident. Release
the parking brake fully before driving off.
! Warm up the engine quickly. Do not use
the engine's full performance until it has
reached operating temperature.
Only shift the automatic transmission to
the desired drive position when the vehicle
is stationary.
Where possible, avoid spinning the drive
wheels when pulling away on slippery
roads. You could otherwise damage the
drive train. !
Avoid high engine speeds when the
engine is cold. The engine's service life
could otherwise be significantly shortened.
Do not use the engine's full performance
until it has reached operating temperature.
! AMG vehicles:
at low engine oil temper-
atures below 68 ‡ (+20 †), the maximum
engine speed is restricted in order to pro-
tect the engine. To protect the engine and
maintain smooth engine operation, avoid
driving at full throttle when the engine is
cold. Key positions
g
To remove the SmartKey
1 Power supply for some consumers, such
as the windshield wipers
2 Ignition (power supply for all consumers)
and drive position
3 To start the engine
As soon as the ignition is switched on, all the
indicator lamps in the instrument cluster light up. If an indicator lamp does not go out after
starting the engine or lights up while driving,
see (Y page 236).
If the SmartKey is in position 0in the ignition
lock for an extended period of time, it can no
longer be turned in the ignition lock. The
steering is then locked. To unlock, remove the SmartKey and reinsert it into the ignition lock.
The steering is locked when you remove the
SmartKey from the ignition lock. Driving
133Driving an d parking Z

!
If a warning tone sounds and the
Release Park. Brake
Release Park. Brake message appears
in the multifunction display, the parking
brake is still applied. Release the parking
brake.
X Depress the brake pedal and keep it
depressed.
X Shift the automatic transmission to posi-
tion Dor R.
i Before driving off, wait until the gear
change is fully completed.
X Release the parking brake (Y page 151).
X Release the brake pedal.
X Carefully depress the accelerator pedal.
i It is only possible to shift the automatic
transmission from position Pto a different
position if you depress the brake pedal.
Only then is the selector lever lock
released.
i The vehicle locks centrally once you have
pulled away. The locking knobs in the doors
drop down.
You can open the doors from the inside at
any time.
You can also deactivate the automatic lock- ing feature (Y page 208).
i Upshifts take place at higher engine
speeds after a cold start. This helps the
catalytic converter to reach its operating
temperature more quickly.
Hill start assist G
WARNING
After a short time, hill start assist will no lon-
ger brake your vehicle and it could roll away.
There is a risk of an accident and injury.
Therefore, quickly move your foot from the
brake pedal to the accelerator pedal. Never
leave the vehicle when it is held by hill start
assist.
Hill start assist helps you when pulling away
forwards or in reverse on an uphill gradient. It holds the vehicle for a short time after you
have removed your foot from the brake pedal.
This gives you enough time to move your footfrom the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal
and to depress it before the vehicle begins to
roll.
X Take your foot off the brake pedal.
i Once you have taken your foot off the
brake pedal, the vehicle is held for around
one second.
X Pull away.
Hill start assist will not function if: R you are pulling away on a level road or on a
downhill gradient.
R the transmission is in position N.
R the parking brake is applied.
R ESP ®
is malfunctioning. ECO start/stop function (AMG vehi-
cles)
Important safety notes G
WARNING
If the engine is switched off automatically and you exit the vehicle, the engine is restarted
automatically. The vehicle may begin moving. There is a risk of accident and injury.
If you wish to exit the vehicle, always turn off
the ignition and secure the vehicle against
rolling away.
General notes The ECO start/stop function is only available
for the G 63 AMG.
The ECO start/stop function switches the
engine off automatically when the vehicle
stops moving.
The engine starts automatically when the
driver wants to pull away again. The ECO
start/stop function thereby helps you to
reduce the fuel consumption and emissions
of your vehicle. Driving
135Driving and parking Z

cally if the vehicle is braked to a standstill
when in transmission position
Dand the
brake is still depressed (Y page 135).Transmission positions
B Park position
Do not shift the transmission into
position P(Y page 139) unless the
vehicle is stationary. The parking
lock should not be used as a brake when parking. In addition to engag-
ing the parking lock, you must
always apply the parking brake to
secure the vehicle.
i The SmartKey can only be
removed if the transmission is in
position P. When there is no
SmartKey in the ignition lock, the
selector lever is locked in posi-
tion P. C Reverse gear
Only shift the transmission to R
when the vehicle is stationary. A Neutral
No power is transmitted from the
engine to the drive wheels.
Releasing the brakes will allow you
to move the vehicle freely, e.g. to
push it or tow it.
Do not shift the transmission to N
while driving. Otherwise, the auto-
matic transmission could be dam-
aged.
If ESP ®
is deactivated or faulty:
only shift the transmission to posi-
tion Nif the vehicle is in danger of
skidding, e.g. on icy roads.
If you want to engage the transfer
case, shift briefly into N
(Y page 186).
! Rolling in neutral
Ncan damage
the drive train. 7 Drive
The automatic transmission
changes gear automatically. All
forward gears are available.
Changing gear
The automatic transmission shifts to the indi- vidual gears automatically when it is in trans-
mission position D. This automatic gearshift-
ing behavior is determined by:
R a shift range restriction, if selected
R the position of the transfer case ( HIGH
RANGE orLOW RANGE )
R the position of the accelerator pedal
R the road speed 142
Automatic transmissionDriving and parking