2016 MERCEDES-BENZ GL-Class towing

XTo switch on:turn the light switch to T.
The green Tindicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster lights up.
Standing lamps
Switching on the standing lamps ensures the
corresponding side of the vehicle is illumina-
ted.
XTo switch on the standing lamps: the
SmartKey is not in the ignition lock or it is in
position 0.
XTurn the light switch to W(left-hand side
of the vehicle) or X(right-hand side of
the vehicle).
Vehicles towing a trailer: both the right and
left standing lamps (tail lamps) are always
illuminated on the trailer.
Combination switch
Turn signal
:High-beam headlamps
;Turn signal, right
=High-beam flasher
?Turn signal, left
XTo indicate briefly: press the combination
switch briefly to the pressure point in the
direction of arrow ;or?.
The corresponding turn signal flashes three
times.
XTo indicate: press the combination switch
beyond the pressure point in the direction
of arrow ;or?.
High-beam headlamps
XTo switch on manually: turn the Smart-
Key to position 2in the ignition lock or start
the engine.
XVehicles without Adaptive Highbeam
Assist: turn the light switch to Lor
Ã.
XVehicles with Adaptive Highbeam Assist:
turn the light switch to L.
XPress the combination switch beyond the
pressure point in the direction of arrow :.
In the Ãposition, the high-beam head-
lamps are only switched on when it is dark
and the engine is running.
The blue Kindicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster lights up when the high-beam
headlamps are switched on.
XTo deactivate: move the combination
switch back to its normal position.
The blue Kindicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster goes out.
Vehicles with Adaptive Highbeam Assist:
when Adaptive Highbeam Assist is active, it
automatically controls activation of the high-
beam headlamps (
Ypage 134).
High-beam flasher
XTo switch on: turn the SmartKey in the
ignition lock to position 1or 2, or start the
engine.
XPull the combination switch in the direction of arrow =.
132Exterior lighting
Lights and windshield wiper s

Useful information............................164
Notes on breaking-in a new vehi-
cle ....................................................... 164
Driving ............................................... 164
Automatic transmission ...................173
Refueling ............................................ 182
Parking ............................................... 189
Driving tips ........................................ 192
Driving systems ................................ 202
Towing a trailer ................................. 263
163
Driving and parking

Shifting to neutral N
GWARNING
If children are left unsupervised in the vehicle,
they could:
Ropen the doors, thus endangering other
people or road users.
Rget out and disrupt traffic.
Roperate the vehicle's equipment.
Additionally, children could set the vehicle in
motion if, for example, they:
Rrelease the parking brake.
Rshifting the automatic transmission out of
park position P
RStart 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.
XIf the transmission is in position Dor R:
push the DIRECT SELECT lever up or down to the first point of resistance.
XIf the transmission is in position P: depress
the brake pedal and push the DIRECT
SELECT lever up or down to the first point of
resistance.
If you switch the engine off with the trans-
mission in position Ror D, the automatic
transmission shifts to Nautomatically.
With the SmartKey: if you then open the
driver's door or the front-passenger door or
remove the SmartKey from the ignition, the
automatic transmission shifts to Pautomati-
cally.
With the Start/Stop button: if you then
open the driver's door or the front-passenger door, the automatic transmission shifts to P
automatically.
If you want the automatic transmission to
remain in neutral N, e.g. when having the vehicle cleaned in an automatic car wash with
a towing system:
Using the SmartKey:
XSwitch on the ignition.
XDepress the brake pedal and keep it
depressed.
XShift to neutral
N.
XRelease the brake pedal.
XRelease the electric parking brake.
XSwitch off the ignition and leave the Smart-
Key in the ignition lock.
With the Start/Stop button:
XRemove the Start/Stop button from the
ignition lock.
XInsert the SmartKey into the ignition lock.
XSwitch on the ignition.
XDepress the brake pedal and keep it
depressed.
XShift to neutral N.
XRelease the brake pedal.
XRelease the electric parking brake.
XSwitch off the ignition and leave the Smart-
Key in the ignition lock.
Engaging drive position D
XIf the transmission is in position Ror N:
push the DIRECT SELECT lever down past
the first point of resistance.
XIf the transmission is in position P: depress
the brake pedal and push the DIRECT
SELECT lever down past the first point of
resistance.
Automatic transmission175
Driving and parking
Z

Kickdown
Use kickdown for maximum acceleration.
XDepress theaccelerato rpedal beyon dth e
pressur epoint.
The automatic transmission shifts to a
lower gear depending on th eengin espeed.
XEas eoff th eaccelerato rpedal once th e
desired spee dis reached.
The automatic transmission shifts bac kup.
Rocking the vehicle free
Shifting th etransmission repeatedly between
gear sD and Rmay help to free th evehicl eif it
has become stuck in slus hor snow. The vehi-
cle's engin emanagemen tsystem limits th e
spee dto amaximum of 5mph (9 km/h) when
shifting bac kand forth .To shif tbac kand forth
between transmission position sD and R,
mov eth eDIRECT SELECT lever up and down
past th epoin tof resistance.
Towing a trailer
XDrive in th emiddle of th eengin espee d
range on uphill gradients .
XDependingon th euphill or downhill gradi-
ent, use left-han dsteering whee lpaddle
shifte r (
Ypage 178) to select alower gear ,
eve nif cruise control or DISTRONI CPLU S
are activated.
Program selector button
Vehicles withth e ON& OFFROAD package:
XPress program selector butto n:.
The lette rM appear sin th emultifunction
display. The manual drive program Mis
activated.
Mercedes-AM Gvehicles:
XPre ssprogram selector butto n: repeat -
edly until th elette rfor th edesired drive
program appear sin th emultifunction dis-
play.
The program selector butto nallows you to
choos ebetween differen tdrivin gcharacter-
istics .
iThe permanen tdrive program Mis avail -
able on th efollowin gvehicles:
RVehicles wit hth e
ON& OFFROAD packag e
RMercedes-AMGvehicles
Further information about permanen tdrive
program M(
Ypage 180).
As well as this permanen tdrive program M,
you can also activat etemporar ydrive pro -
gram M(
Ypage 178).
iMercedes-AMG vehicles:theautomatic
transmission switches to automatic drive
program Ceac htime th eengin eis started.
iDrive program Mis no tsaved after th e
engin ehas been switched off .If required,
you mus tselect th edrive program again
after startin gth eengine.
Automatic transmission17 7
Driving an d parking
Z

The vehicle may roll away. There is a risk of anaccident.
After switching off the engine, always switch
to parking position P. Prevent the parked vehi-
cle from rolling away by applying the parking
brake.
Using the SmartKey
XApply the electric parking brake.
XShift the transmission to position P.
XTurn the SmartKey to position0in the igni-
tion lock and remove it.
The immobilizer is activated.
If you switch the engine off with the trans-
mission in position Ror D, the automatic
transmission shifts to Nautomatically.
If you then open the driver's door or the front-
passenger door or remove the SmartKey from the ignition, the automatic transmission
shifts to Pautomatically.
If you want the automatic transmission to
remain in neutral N, e.g. when having the
vehicle cleaned in an automatic car wash with
a towing system:
XSwitch on the ignition.
XDepress the brake pedal and keep it
depressed.
XShift to neutral N.
XRelease the brake pedal.
XRelease the electric parking brake.
XSwitch off the ignition and leave the Smart-
Key in the ignition lock.
Using KEYLESS-GO
XApply the electric parking brake.
XShift the transmission to position P.
XPress the Start/Stop button (Ypage 165)
The engine stops and all the indicator
lamps in the instrument cluster go out.
If you switch the engine off with the trans-
mission in position Ror D, the automatic
transmission shifts to Nautomatically. If you then open the driver's or front-
passenger door, the automatic transmission
shifts to
Pautomatically.
If you want the automatic transmission to
remain in neutral N, e.g. when having the
vehicle cleaned in an automatic car wash with
a towing system:
XRemove the Start/Stop button from the
ignition lock.
XInsert the SmartKey into the ignition lock.
XSwitch on the ignition.
XDepress the brake pedal and keep it
depressed.
XShift to neutral N.
XRelease the brake pedal.
XRelease the electric parking brake.
XSwitch off the ignition and leave the Smart-
Key in the ignition lock.
iThe engine can be switched off in an
emergency while the vehicle is in motion by pressing and holding the Start/Stop button
for three seconds.
Electric parking brake
General notes
GWARNING
If you leave children unsupervised in the vehi-
cle, they could set it in motion by, for example:
Rrelease the parking brake.
Rshift the automatic transmission out of the
parking position P.
Rstart the engine.
In addition, they may operate vehicle equip-
ment and become trapped. 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 unsupervised in the vehicle.
190Parking
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

press the cruise control lever up:or
down ;to the pressure point.
Every time the cruise control lever is
pressed up :or down ;the last speed
stored is increased or reduced.
iCruise control is not deactivated if you
depress the accelerator pedal. For exam-
ple, if you accelerate briefly to overtake,
cruise control adjusts the vehicle's speed
to the last speed stored after you have fin- ished overtaking.
Deactivating cruise control
There are several ways to deactivate cruise
control:
XBriefly press the cruise control lever for-
wards :.
or
XBrake.
Cruise control is automatically deactivated if:
Ryou engage the electric parking brake
Ryou are driving at less than 20 mph
(30 km/h)
RESP®intervenes or you deactivate ESP®
Ryou activate DSR
Ryou activate off-road program 2 on vehicles
with the ON&OFFROAD package
Ryou shift the transmission to position N
while driving
If cruise control is deactivated, you will hear a
warning tone. You will see the Cruise Con‐
trol Offmessage in the multifunction dis-
play for approximately five seconds.
iWhen you switch off the engine, the last
speed stored is cleared.
DISTRONIC PLUS
General notes
DISTRONIC PLUS regulates the speed and
automatically helps you maintain the dis-
tance to the vehicle detected in front. Vehi-
cles are detected with the aid of the radar
sensor system. DISTRONIC PLUS brakes
automatically so that the set speed is not
exceeded.
You must 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 overheating and wearing too quickly.
If DISTRONIC PLUS detects that there is a risk
of a collision, you will be warned visually and
acoustically. DISTRONIC PLUS cannot pre-
vent a collision without your intervention. An
intermittent warning tone will then sound and
the distance warning lamp will light up in the
instrument cluster. Brake immediately in
order to increase the distance to the vehicle
in front or take evasive action provided it is
safe to do so.
For DISTRONIC PLUS to assist you, the radar
sensor system must be operational.
If there is no vehicle in front, DISTRONIC
PLUS operates in the same way as cruise
control in the speed range between 20 mph
(Canada: 30 km/h) and 120 mph (Canada:
200 km/ h). If a vehicle is driving in front of
you, it operates in the speed range between
0 mph (0 km/h) and 120 mph (Canada:
200 km/h).
Do not use DISTRONIC PLUS while driving on
roads with steep gradients.
As DISTRONIC PLUS transmits radar waves, it
can resemble the radar detectors of the
responsible authorities. You can refer to the
Driving systems205
Driving and parking
Z

relevant section in the Operator's Manual if
questions are asked about this.
iUSA only:
This device has been approved by the FCC
as a "Vehicular Radar System". The radar
sensor is intended for use in an automotive
radar system only. Removing, tampering
with, or altering the device will void any
warranties, and is not permitted by the
FCC. Do not tamper with, alter, or use in
any non-approved way.
Any unauthorized modification to this
device could void the user’s authority to
operate the equipment.
iCanada only: This device complies with
RSS-210 of Industry Canada. Operation is
subject to the following two conditions:
1. This device may not cause harmful inter-
ference, and
2. This device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation of the device.
Removal, tampering, or altering of the
device will void any warranties, and is not
permitted. Do not tamper with, alter, or use in any non-approved way.
Any unauthorized modification to this
device could void the user's authority to
operate the equipment.
Important safety notes
GWARNING
DISTRONIC PLUS does not react to:
Rpeople or animals
Rstationary obstacles on the road, e.g. stop- ped or parked vehicles
Roncoming and crossing traffic
As a result, DISTRONIC PLUS may neither give
warnings nor intervene in such situations.
There is a risk of an accident.
Always pay careful attention to the traffic sit- uation and be ready to brake.
GWARNING
DISTRONIC PLUS cannot always clearly iden-
tify other road users and complex traffic sit-
uations.
In such cases, DISTRONIC PLUS may:
Rgive an unnecessary warning and then
brake the vehicle
Rneither give a warning nor intervene
Raccelerate or brake unexpectedly
There is a risk of an accident.
Continue to drive carefully and be ready to
brake, in particular when warned to do so by
DISTRONIC PLUS.
GWARNING
DISTRONIC PLUS brakes your vehicle with up to 40% of the maximum braking force. If this
braking force is insufficient, DISTRONIC PLUS
warns you visually and audibly. There is a risk
of an accident.
In such cases, apply the brakes yourself and
try to take evasive action.
!If DISTRONIC PLUS or the HOLD function
is activated, the vehicle brakes automati-
cally in certain situations.
To prevent damage to the vehicle, deacti-
vate DISTRONIC PLUS and the HOLD func- tion in the following or other similar situa-
tions:
Rwhen towing the vehicle
Rin the car wash
If you fail to adapt your driving style,
DISTRONIC PLUS can neither reduce the risk
of accident nor override the laws of physics.
DISTRONIC PLUS cannot take into account
the road, traffic and weather conditions.
DISTRONIC PLUS is only an aid. You are
responsible for the distance to the vehicle in
front, for vehicle speed, for braking in good
time and for staying in your lane.
206Driving systems
Driving and parking