2016 MERCEDES-BENZ GL-Class wheel

RBefore driving on extreme uphill and down-
hill gradients, select the LOW RANGE off-
road gear (
Ypage 259).
RDrive slowly.
RAvoid high engine speeds. Drive at appro-
priate engine speeds (maximum
3,000 rpm).
RUse the left-hand steering wheel paddle
shifter to shift into a lower gear in good time
on long and steep downhill gradients.
RCheck the brakes after prolonged off-road
driving.
Hill start assist will aid you when pulling away
on a hill. For further information about hill
start assist, see (
Ypage 168).
Do not switch to transmission position N
when driving off-road. If you try to brake the
vehicle using the service brake, you could
lose control of the vehicle. If the gradient is
too steep for your vehicle, drive back down in
reverse gear.
Always observe the approach/departure
angle values (
Ypage 456).
Maximum gradient-climbing capability
Always observe the maximum gradient climb- ing ability values (
Ypage 456).
Hilltops
When driving up an uphill gradient, slightly
reduce pressure on the accelerator immedi-
ately before reaching the brow of the hill.
Make use of the vehicle's own impetus to
travel over the brow.
This style of driving prevents:
Rthe vehicle from lifting off the ground on thebrow of a hill
Rthe vehicle from traveling too quickly downthe other side
Driving downhill
RDrive slowly.
RDo not drive at an angle down steep
inclines. Steer into the line of fall and drive with the front wheels aligned straight. Oth-
erwise, the vehicle could slip sideways, tip
and rollover.
RShift to a lower gear using the left-hand
paddle shifter before tackling steep down-
hill gradients.
RActivate DSR. If this is not sufficient, brake
gently. When doing so, make sure that the
vehicle is facing in the direction of the line
of fall.
RCheck that the brakes are working normally
after a long downhill stretch.
iThe special off-road ABS setting enables a
precise, brief and repeated locking of the
front wheels. This causes them to dig into
loose earth. Be aware that the front wheels
easily skid across the ground surface if
completely braked and therefore lose their
ability to steer.
Driving systems
Intelligent Drive
Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Drive stands for
innovative driver assistance and safety sys-
tems which enhance comfort and support the
driver in critical situations. With these intelli-
gent co-ordinated systems Mercedes-Benz
has set a milestone on the path towards
autonomous driving.
Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Drive embraces all
elements of active and passive safety in one
well thought out system – for the safety of the vehicle occupants and that of other road
users.
Further information on driving safety systems
(
Ypage 68).
Cruise control
General notes
Cruise control maintains a constant road
speed for you. It brakes automatically in order to avoid exceeding the set speed. You must
202Driving systems
Driving and parking

select a lower gear in good time on long and
steep downhill gradients, especially if the
vehicle is laden or towing a trailer. By doing
so, you will make use of the braking effect of
the engine. This relieves the load on the brake
system and prevents the brakes from over-
heating and wearing too quickly.
Use cruise control only if road and traffic con-
ditions make it appropriate to maintain a
steady speed for a prolonged period. You can
store any road speed above 20 mph
(30 km/h).
iCruise control should not be activated
when driving off-road.
Important safety notes
If you fail to adapt your driving style, cruise
control can neither reduce the risk of an acci-
dent nor override the laws of physics. Cruise
control cannot take into account the road,
traffic and weather conditions. Cruise control
is only an aid. You are responsible for the dis-
tance to the vehicle in front, for vehicle speed,
for braking in good time and for staying in
your lane.
Do not use cruise control:
Rin road and traffic conditions which do not
allow you to maintain a constant speed e.g.
in heavy traffic or on winding roads
Ron slippery road surfaces. Braking or accel- erating could cause the drive wheels to lose
traction and the vehicle could then skid
Rwhen there is poor visibility, e.g. due to fog,
heavy rain or snow
If there is a change of drivers, advise the new
driver of the speed stored.
Cruise control lever
:To activate or increase speed
;To activate or reduce speed
=To deactivate cruise control
?To activate at the current speed/last
stored speed
When you activate cruise control, the stored
speed is shown in the multifunction display
for five seconds.
Activation conditions
To activate cruise control, all of the following
activation conditions must be fulfilled:
Rthe electric parking brake must be
released.
Ryou are driving faster than 20 mph
(30 km/h).
RESP®must be active, but not intervening.
Rthe transmission must be in position D.
RDSR must be deactivated.
Roff-road program 2 must be deactivated
(vehicles with the ON&OFFROAD package).
Driving systems203
Driving and parking
Z

Do not use DISTRONIC PLUS:
Rin road and traffic conditions which do not
allow you to maintain a constant speed e.g.
in heavy traffic or on winding roads
Ron slippery road surfaces. Braking or accel-erating could cause the drive wheels to lose
traction and the vehicle could then skid
Rwhen there is poor visibility, e.g. due to fog,
heavy rain or snow
DISTRONIC PLUS may not detect narrow
vehicles driving in front, e.g. motorcycles, or
vehicles driving on a different line.
In particular, the detection of obstacles can
be impaired if:
Rthere is dirt on the sensors or anything else covering the sensors
Rthere is snow or heavy rain
Rthere is interference by other radar sources
Rthere are strong radar reflections, for
example, in parking garages
If DISTRONIC PLUS no longer detects a vehi- cle in front, DISTRONIC PLUS may unexpect-
edly accelerate the vehicle to the stored
speed.
This speed may:
Rbe too high if you are driving in a filter lane
or an exit lane
Rbe so high when driving in the right-hand
lane that you overtake vehicles in the left-
hand lane
Rbe so high when driving in the left-hand lane
that you overtake vehicles in the right-hand
lane
If there is a change of drivers, advise the new
driver of the speed stored.
Cruise control lever
:To activate or increase speed
;To activate or reduce speed
=To deactivate DISTRONIC PLUS
?To activate at the current speed/last
stored speed
ATo set the specified minimum distance
Activating DISTRONIC PLUS
Activation conditions
In order to activate DISTRONIC PLUS, the fol-
lowing conditions must be fulfilled:
Rthe engine must be started. It may take up
to two minutes after pulling away before
DISTRONIC PLUS is operational.
Rthe electric parking brake must be
released.
RESP®must be active, but not intervening.
Rthe transmission must be in position D.
Rthe driver's door must be closed when you
shift from Pto Dor your seat belt must be
fastened.
Rthe front-passenger door and rear doors
must be closed.
Roff-road program 2 must be deactivated
(vehicles with the ON&OFFROAD package).
RDSR must be deactivated.
Rthe vehicle must not skid.
Driving system s207
Driving an d parking
Z

For information about driving off-road, see
(
Ypage 198).
GWARNING
When the vehicle is being lowered, people
could become trapped if their limbs are
between the vehicle body and the wheels or
underneath the vehicle. There is a risk of
injury.
Make sure no one is underneath the vehicle or
in the immediate vicinity of the wheel arches
when the vehicle is being lowered.
GWARNING
When you drive with the vehicle raised, the
driving characteristics could be impaired by
the vehicle's raised center of gravity. The vehi-
cle could rollover more easily, for example on
a bend. There is a risk of an accident.
Always select as low a vehicle level as possi-
ble and adjust your driving style.
GWARNING
When you drive with the chassis lowered or
raised, the vehicle's braking and driving char-
acteristics can be significantly impaired. You
could also exceed the permissible vehicle
height if the chassis is raised. There is a risk of an accident.
Adjust the vehicle level before pulling away.
GWARNING
Due to the high center of gravity, the vehicle
may start to skid and roll over in the event of
an abrupt steering maneuver and/or when
the vehicle's speed is not adapted to the road
conditions. There is a risk of an accident.
Always adapt your speed and driving style to
the vehicle's driving characteristics and to the
prevailing road and weather conditions.
!When driving on extremely rough terrain,
select a high vehicle level in good time.
Make sure there is always sufficient ground
clearance. You will otherwise damage the
vehicle.
RUtility vehicles have a significantly higher
rollover rate than other types of vehicles.
Failure to operate this vehicle safely may
result in an accident, rollover of the vehicle,
and severe or fatal injury.
RIn a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die than a per-
son wearing a seat belt.
You and all vehicle occupants should
always wear your seat belts.
Basic settings
The extent to which the vehicle is raised or
lowered depends on the basic setting selec-
ted.
Select:
Rhighway/high-speed level for driving on
normal roads
Roff-road level 1 for driving on easily nego-
tiable off-road terrain
Roff-road level 2 for driving on normal off-
road terrain
Roff-road level 3 for freeing the vehicle in
particularly rough terrain at low speeds
only
The individual vehicle levels differ from high-
way level as follows:
Rhighway level: +/–0 in (+/–0 mm)
Rhigh-speed level: –0.6 in (–15 mm)
Roff-road level 1: + 1.2 in (+ 30 mm)
Roff-road level 2: + 2.3 in (+ 60 mm)
Roff-road level 3: + 3.6 in (+ 90 mm)
Highway/high-speed level
!Make sure that there is enough ground
clearance when the vehicle is being low-
ered. It could otherwise hit the ground,
damaging the underbody.
214Driving systems
Driving and parking

:Selector wheel
;To raise the level
=Indicator lamps
?To lower the level
XStart the engine.
XSelector wheel:engaged:briefly press
selector wheel :.
Selector wheel :extends.
If one or more indicator lamps =are on:
XTurn selector wheel :counter-clock-
wise ?until all indicator lamps =that are
lit start to flash.
The vehicle is lowered to highway level. As
soon as the next lowest level is reached,
the indicator lamp stops flashing and goes
out.
During the adjustment, the Loweringmes-
sage, for example, appears in the multifunc-
tion display.
If you press the %ora button on the
multifunction steering wheel, the message
will disappear. Once highway level has been
reached, all indicator lamps =go out. The vehicle automatically selects highway
level if you are driving at a speed above
70 mph (115 km/h) or if you drive at a speed
between 62 mph (100 km/h) and 70 mph
(115 km/h) for approximately 20 seconds.
The vehicle is lowered to high-speed level if
you are traveling at higher speeds.
Off-road levels
General notes
ROnly select off-road level 3 for driving off-
road in particularly rough terrain.
RAdjust your driving style to the altered han-
dling characteristics.
RDo not drive at speeds above 12 mph
(20 km/h).
Only select an off-road level when this is
appropriate for road conditions. Otherwise,
fuel consumption increases and handling may
be affected.
XStart the engine.
XSelector wheel
:engaged:briefly press
selector wheel :.
Selector wheel :extends.
XTo raise: turn selector wheel :clock-
wise ;.
The vehicle is raised.
or
XTo lower: turn selector wheel :counter-
clockwise ?.
The vehicle is lowered.
Driving systems215
Driving and parking
Z

Indicator lamps=for the desired off-road
level flash:
ROff-road level 1: the lower indicator lamp
flashes
ROff-road level 2: the lower and center indi-
cator lamps flash
ROff-road level 3: all three indicator lamps
flash
The vehicle adjusts to the off-road level selec- ted. As soon as an off-road level is reached,
the corresponding indicator lamp stops flash-
ing and lights up constantly.
Raising the vehicle
During the adjustment, the Vehicle Rising
message, for example, appears in the multi-
function display.
The vehicle rises from highway level to off-
road level 1.
If you press the%ora button on the
multifunction steering wheel, the message
will disappear.
iUp to off-road level 2, you can hide the
messages using the %ora button
on the multifunction steering wheel.
Once off-road level 2 has been reached, the
lower and center indicator lamps of the selec-
tor wheel are on.
While the adjustment from off-road level 2 to
off-road level 3 is taking place, you will see a
message such as the following in the multi-
function display: Vehicle Rising Max.
Speed 12 mph (20 km/h). The
Max. Speed 12 mph (20 km/h)
mes-
sage draws your attention to the maximum
speed permitted for off-road level 3.
Once off-road level 3 has been reached, you
will see a message shown in white in the mul-
tifunction display, for example: Max.
Speed
12 mph (20 km/h).
If you drive above 20 km/h at off-road level 3,
you will see the following message shown in
red in the multifunction display: Vehicle
LoweringMax.Speed12mph (20km/h).
iYou cannot clear these messages.
You also hear a warning. The vehicle is low-
ered and off-road level 3 is canceled.
If you continue to increase your speed, the
red message continues to be shown in the
multifunction display. The newly set level is
not displayed until the vehicle has been set to
a level suitable for the current speed.
Lowering the vehicle
If you maintain or reduce your speed, you will
see a message in white in the display while
the vehicle is being lowered, such as the fol-
lowing: Lowering Max. Speed 12 mph
(20 km/h).
The vehicle is lowered to off-road level 2.
If you select an off-road level when driving at
too high a speed, the Drive More Slowly
message appears in the multifunction dis-
play.
216Driving systems
Driving and parking

Sports tuning
Example: vehicles without the ON&OFFROAD
package
:
Suspension tuning button
;Indicator lamp for sports tuning
=Indicator lamp for comfort tuning
XStart the engine.
XPress button:.
Indicator lamp ;lights up. Sports suspen-
sion tuning is selected. The vehicle is low-
ered by 0.6 in (15 mm).
The firmer suspension tuning in Sport mode
ensures even better contact with the road.
Select this mode when employing a sporty
driving style, e.g. on winding country roads.
Comfort tuning
Example: vehicles without the ON&OFFROAD
package
:
Suspension tuning button
;Indicator lamp for sports tuning
=Indicator lamp for comfort tuning
XPress button :.
Indicator lamp =lights up. Comfort tuning
is selected. The vehicle is raised by 0.6 in
(15 mm).
In comfort mode, the driving characteristics
of your vehicle are more comfortable. There-
fore, select this mode if you favor a more
comfortable driving style. Select comfort
mode also when driving fast on straight roads,
e.g. on straight stretches of highway.
Active Curve System
The Active Curve System uses active stabil-
izers to optimize both driving comfort and
vehicle agility. Depending on the ADS mode
selected (
Ypage 218), the Active Curve Sys-
tem also changes the setting.
If you select ADS comfort mode:
Rrolling movement is reduced in the event of
changing surface undulations
Rthe roll angle when cornering is reduced
Rthe driving style is agile
If you select ADS sport mode:
Rthe roll angle is reduced significantly
Rthe driving style is even more agile
Level control
Important safety notes
GWARNING
When the vehicle is being lowered, people
could become trapped if their limbs are
between the vehicle body and the wheels or
underneath the vehicle. There is a risk of
injury.
Make sure no one is underneath the vehicle or
in the immediate vicinity of the wheel arches
when the vehicle is being lowered.
GWARNING
When you drive with the vehicle raised, the
driving characteristics could be impaired by
the vehicle's raised center of gravity. The vehi-
Driving systems219
Driving and parking
Z

cle could rollover more easily, for example on
a bend. There is a risk of an accident.
Always select as low a vehicle level as possi-
ble and adjust your driving style.
GWARNING
When you drive with the chassis lowered or
raised, the vehicle's braking and driving char-
acteristics can be significantly impaired. You
could also exceed the permissible vehicle
height if the chassis is raised. There is a risk of an accident.
Adjust the vehicle level before pulling away.
GWARNING
Due to the high center of gravity, the vehicle
may start to skid and roll over in the event of
an abrupt steering maneuver and/or when
the vehicle's speed is not adapted to the road
conditions. There is a risk of an accident.
Always adapt your speed and driving style to
the vehicle's driving characteristics and to the
prevailing road and weather conditions.
!When driving on extremely rough terrain,
select a high vehicle level in good time.
Make sure there is always sufficient ground
clearance. You will otherwise damage the
vehicle.
!When you raise the vehicle in such a way
that not all wheels have contact with the
ground, remove the SmartKey from the
ignition lock.
RUtility vehicles have a significantly higher
rollover rate than other types of vehicles.
Failure to operate this vehicle safely may
result in an accident, rollover of the vehicle, and severe or fatal injury.
RIn a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die than a per-
son wearing a seat belt.
You and all vehicle occupants should
always wear your seat belts. General notes
Further information about "Driving off-road"
(
Ypage 198).
Level control adapts the vehicle level auto-
matically to the current operating and driving
situation. This results in reduced fuel con-
sumption and improved ha
ndling.
If you select ADS comfort mode (
Ypage 218),
the vehicle is lowered to high-speed level as
the speed increases. As the vehicle speed
decreases, the vehicle is raised back up to
highway level.
If you select ADS sport mode (
Ypage 218),
the vehicle skips highway level and lowers
directly to high-speed level depending on the
basic setting (
Ypage 220).
Make changes to the vehicle level while the
vehicle is in motion. This enables the vehicle
to adjust to the new level as quickly as pos-
sible.
The vehicle level may change visibly if you
park the vehicle and the outside temperature
changes. If the temperature drops, the vehi-
cle level is lower; with an increase in temper- ature, the vehicle level rises.
If you unlock the vehicle or open a door, the
vehicle begins to compensate for load dis-
crepancies while still parked. However, for
significant level changes, such as after the
vehicle has been stationary for a long period,
the engine must be on. For safety reasons,
the vehicle is only lowered when the doors areclosed. Lowering is interrupted if a door is
opened, and it continues once the door has
been closed.
Basic settings (excluding Mercedes-AMG
vehicles)
The extent to which the vehicle is raised or
lowered depends on the basic setting selec-
ted. Sele ct ra
ised level for off-road driving or
highway/high-speed level for normal roads.
220Driving systems
Driving and parking