2016 MERCEDES-BENZ GLS SUV engine

B
To switch between Distance Pilot
DISTRONIC and the variable speed limiter
C To deactivate Distance Pilot DISTRONIC
With the cruise control lever, you can operate
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC and the variable
speed limiter.
LIM indicator lamp =on the cruise control lever
indicates which function you have selected:
R LIM indicator lamp= =off:distance Pilot
DISTRONIC is selected.
R LIM indicator lamp= =on:variable speed lim-
iter is selected.
Selecting Distance Pilot DISTRONIC X
Check whether LIM indicator lamp =is off.
If it is off, Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is already
selected.
If it is not, press the cruise control lever in the direction of arrow B.
LIM indicator lamp =in the cruise control
lever goes out. Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is
selected.
Activating Distance Pilot DISTRONIC Activation conditions
To activate Distance Pilot DISTRONIC, the fol-
lowing conditions must be fulfilled:
R The engine must be running. It may take up to
two minutes of driving before Distance Pilot
DISTRONIC is ready for use.
R The electric parking brake must be released.
R ESP ®
must be switched on, but not interven-
ing.
R The transmission must be in position D.
R The driver's door must be closed when you
shift from Pto Dor your seat belt must be
fastened.
R The front-passenger door and the rear doors
must be closed.
R The Offroad Plus drive program must be deac-
tivated (vehicles with the Off-Road Engineer-
ing package).
R DSR must be deactivated.
R The vehicle must not be skidding.
R The Distance Pilot DISTRONIC function must
be selected (Y page 186). Activating
X Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you ?, up :or down A.
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is activated.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator pedal.
Your vehicle adapts its speed to that of the
vehicle in front, but only up to the desired
stored speed.
i If you do not fully release the accelerator
pedal, the Distance Pilot passive
Distance Pilot passive mes-
sage appears in the multifunction display. The
set distance to a slower-moving vehicle in
front will then not be maintained. The position of the accelerator pedal will determine the
speed.
You can also activate Distance Pilot DISTRONIC when stationary. The lowest speed that can be
set is 30 km/h.
X Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you ?, up :or down A.
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is activated.
Activating at the current speed/last
stored speed G
WARNING
If you call up a stored speed and this is dif-
ferent from the current speed, the vehicle
accelerates or brakes. If you do not know
what the stored speed is, the vehicle may
accelerate or brake unexpectedly. There is a
risk of an accident.
Take the traffic conditions into account
before calling up the stored speed. If you do
not know what the stored speed is, store the
desired speed again.
X Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you ?.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator pedal.
The first time Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is
activated, it stores the current speed or reg-
ulates the speed of the vehicle to the stored
speed. 186
Driving systemsDriving and parking

Stopping
G
WARNING
When leaving the vehicle, even if it is braked
only by DISTRONIC PLUS, it could roll away if:
R there is a malfunction in the system or in
the voltage supply.
R DISTRONIC PLUS has been deactivated
with the cruise control lever, e.g. by a vehi-
cle occupant or from outside the vehicle.
R the electrical system in the engine com-
partment, the battery or the fuses have
been tampered with.
R the battery is disconnected.
R the accelerator pedal has been depressed,
e.g. by a vehicle occupant.
There is a risk of an accident.
If you wish to exit the vehicle, always turn off
DISTRONIC PLUS and secure the vehicle
against rolling away.
If Distance Pilot DISTRONIC detects that the
vehicle in front is stopping, it brakes your vehicle to a stop.
Once your vehicle is stationary, it remains sta-
tionary and you do not need to depress the
brake.
After a short period, the vehicle is secured by
the electric parking brake, thus relieving the
service brake.
Depending on the specified minimum distance,
your vehicle will come to a standstill at a suffi-
cient distance behind the vehicle in front. The
specified minimum distance is set using the
control on the cruise control lever.
The transmission is shifted automatically to
position P if, with Distance Pilot DISTRONIC
activated and the vehicle stationary:
R the driver's door is open and the driver's seat
belt is unfastened
R the engine is switched off, unless it is auto-
matically switched off by the ECO start/stop
function
The electric parking brake secures the vehicle
automatically if, with Distance Pilot DISTRONIC activated and the vehicle stationary:
R a system fault occurs.
R the power supply is insufficient. On steep uphill or downhill inclines or if there is
a malfunction, the transmission may also be
automatically shifted into position P.
Setting a speed Bear in mind that it may take a brief moment
until the vehicle has accelerated or braked to
the set speed.
X Press the cruise control lever up :for a
higher speed or down Afor a lower speed
X Keep the cruise control lever pressed until the
desired speed is reached.
X Release the cruise control lever.
The new speed is stored. Distance Pilot
DISTRONIC is activated and adjusts the vehi-
cle's speed to the new speed stored.
X To adjust the set speed in1 km/hincre-
ments:
briefly press the cruise control lever
up : or down Ato the pressure point.
The last stored speed increases or decreases
in 1 km/h increments.
X To adjust the set speed in10 km/hincre-
ments: briefly press the cruise control lever
up : or down Abeyond the pressure point.
The last stored speed increases or decreases
in 10 km/h increments.
i If you accelerate to overtake, Distance Pilot
DISTRONIC adjusts the vehicle's speed to the last speed stored after you have finished over-
taking.
Setting the specified minimum distance You can set the specified minimum distance for
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC by varying the time
span between one and two seconds. With this
function, you can set the minimum distance that
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC maintains to the vehi- cle in front, dependent on the vehicle speed. You 188
Driving systemsDriving and parking

can see this distance in the multifunction dis-
play (Y page 190).
X To increase: turn control;in direction =.
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC then maintains a
greater distance between your vehicle and
the vehicle in front.
X To decrease: turn control;in direction :.
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC then maintains a
shorter distance between your vehicle and
the vehicle in front.
i Make sure that you maintain a sufficient and
safe distance from the vehicle in front. Adjust the distance to the vehicle in front if neces-
sary.
Deactivating Distance Pilot DISTRONIC There are several ways to deactivate Distance
Pilot DISTRONIC:
X Briefly press the cruise control lever for-
wards :.
or X Brake, unless the vehicle is stationary.
or X Briefly press the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow =.
The variable speed limiter is selected. LIM
indicator lamp ;in the cruise control lever is
on.
When you deactivate Distance Pilot DISTRONIC, the Distance Pilot off
Distance Pilot off message appears in
the multifunction display for approximately five
seconds.
i The last speed stored remains stored until
you switch off the engine.
i Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is not deactivated
if you depress the accelerator pedal. If you
accelerate to overtake, Distance Pilot DISTRONIC adjusts the vehicle's speed to the
last speed stored after you have finished over-
taking.
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is automatically deac- tivated if:
R you apply the electric parking brake or if the
vehicle is automatically secured with the elec-
tric parking brake
R ESP ®
engages or you deactivate ESP ®
R the transmission is in the P,Ror Nposition
R you pull the cruise control lever towards you
in order to pull away and the front-passenger
door or one of the rear doors is open
R you activate Parking Pilot
R the vehicle has skidded
A warning tone sounds. The Distance Pilot
Distance Pilot
off off message will appear in the multifunction
display for approximately five seconds.
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is automatically deac- tivated if:
R you activate DSR
R you activate the Off-Road Program+ (vehicles
with the Off-Road Engineering package)
The à DSR symbol appears in the multifunc-
tion display.
Displays in the instrument cluster Displays in the speedometer
Example: Distance Pilot DISTRONIC displays in the
speedometer
When Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is activated,
one or two segments ;in the stored speed
range light up.
If Distance Pilot DISTRONIC detects a vehicle in
front, segments ;between speed of the vehi-
cle in front =and stored speed :light up. Driving systems
189Driving and parking Z

Steering Pilot cannot provide assistance:
R On very sharp corners
R When you are towing a trailer
R A loss of tyre pressure or a defective tyre has
been detected and displayed
Observe the important safety notes on Distance Pilot DISTRONIC (Y page 184).
The steering interventions are carried out with a
limited steering moment. The system requires
the driver to keep his hands on the steering
wheel and to steer himself.
If you do not steer yourself or if you take your
hands off the steering wheel for a prolonged
period of time, the system will first alert you with a visual warning. A steering wheel symbol
appears in the multifunction display. If you have
still not started to steer and have not taken hold
of the steering wheel after five seconds at the
latest, a warning tone also sounds to remind you to take control of the vehicle. Steering Pilot is
then switched to passive. Distance Pilot
DISTRONIC remains active.
Activating Steering Pilot
X Activate Distance Pilot DISTRONIC with
Steering Pilot using the on-board computer
(Y page 250).
The Steering
Steering Pilot PilotOn
Onmessage appears in
the multifunction display. Steering Pilot is
activated.
Information in the multifunction display If Steering Pilot is activated but not ready for a
steering intervention, steering wheel symbol :
appears in grey. If the system provides you with support by means of steering interventions,
symbol :is shown in green.
Deactivating Steering Pilot
X Deactivate Distance Pilot DISTRONIC with
Steering Pilot using the on-board computer
(Y page 250).
The Steering Pilot off
Steering Pilot off message appears
in the multifunction display. Steering pilot is
deactivated. When Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is deactivated
or not available, Steering Pilot is deactivated
automatically. Level control (vehicles with the Off-
Road Engineering package)
Important safety notes Level control adapts the vehicle level automati-
cally to the current operating and driving situa-
tion. This results in reduced fuel consumption
and improved handling.
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 possible.
The vehicle level may change visibly if you park
the vehicle and the outside temperature
changes. If the temperature drops, the vehicle
level lowers; with an increase in temperature,
the vehicle level rises.
If you unlock the vehicle or open a door, the
vehicle begins to compensate for load discrep-
ancies while still parked. However, for signifi-
cant level changes, e.g. after the vehicle has
been stationary for a long period, the engine
must be running. For safety reasons, the vehicle
is only lowered when the doors are closed. Low-
ering is interrupted if a door is opened; it con-
tinues once the door has been closed.
Further information about "Driving off-road"
(Y page 176). G
WARNING
People's limbs may become trapped if they
are located underneath the vehicle or
between the vehicle body and the tyres when the vehicle is lowering. There is a danger of
injury.
When lowering the vehicle, make sure no one
is underneath the vehicle or in the immediate vicinity of the wheel arches. G
WARNING
When driving at a raised vehicle level, the driv- ing characteristics may be significantly affec-ted by the vehicle's raised centre of gravity.
The vehicle may be more liable to tip when
cornering, for example. There is a risk of an
accident. 192
Driving systemsDriving and parking

Always select as low a vehicle level as possi-
ble and adjust your driving style accordingly. G
WARNING
When driving with a lowered or raised chassis frame, the driving and braking characteristics
may be seriously affected. A raised chassis
frame may also exceed the permissible vehi-
cle height. There is a risk of an accident.
Set the driving level before pulling away. G
WARNING
Due to the high centre of gravity, the vehicle
may start to skid and overturn in the event of abrupt steering manoeuvres 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 clear-
ance. You will otherwise damage the vehicle.
R SUVs overturn considerably more often than
other vehicle types.
If this vehicle is not driven in a safe manner, it can lead to an accident, to the vehicle over-
turning as well as serious or even fatal inju-
ries.
R In the event of an accident with the vehicle
overturning, passengers who are not wearing
their seat belt are considerably more likely to die than passengers wearing their seat belt.
You and all vehicle occupants should always
wear your seat belts.
Basic settings The extent to which the vehicle is raised or low-
ered depends on the basic setting selected.
Select:
R the Comfort orSport drive program for driv-
ing on normal roads
R the Offroad drive program for driving on eas-
ily negotiable off-road terrain
R the Offroad Plus drive program for off-road
driving R
Offroad level 1 for driving on easily negotiable
off-road terrain
R Offroad level 2 for driving on normal off-road
terrain
R Offroad level 3 for freeing the vehicle from
especially difficult off-road terrain at low
speeds
The individual vehicle levels differ from the nor- mal level as follows:
R –15 mm in the Sportdrive program
R +/–0 mm in the Comfortdrive program
R + 30 mm in the Offroaddrive program
R + 60 mm in the Offroad Plusdrive program
R + 30 mm in offroad level 1
R + 60 mm in offroad level 2
R + 90 mm in offroad level 3
Setting the vehicle level !
Make sure there is enough ground clear-
ance when the vehicle is being lowered. It
could otherwise hit the ground, damaging the
underbody. Setting the vehicle level using the selector
wheel
X Start the engine.
X Press selector wheel :.
Selector wheel :extends.
X To raise the vehicle: turn selector wheel :
clockwise ;.
The vehicle is raised.
X To lower the vehicle: turn selector wheel :
anti-clockwise ?.
The vehicle is lowered.
During the adjustment, the Lowering
Lowering orVehi‐ Vehi‐
cle
cle rising
rising message appears in the multifunc-
tion display. Driving systems
193Driving and parking Z

If you press the
%ora button on the
multifunction steering wheel, the message will
disappear. Once normal level has been reached,
all indicator lamps =go out.
The vehicle automatically selects normal level if
you:
R drive at speeds above 115 km/h or
R drive at speeds between 100 km/h and
115 km/h for approximately 20 seconds
The vehicle is lowered to low level if you are
travelling at higher speeds.
Normal level Setting the vehicle to normal level
X Start the engine.
X Press selector wheel :.
Selector wheel :extends.
X To lower the vehicle: turn selector wheel :
anti-clockwise ?.
The vehicle is lowered.
If one or more indicator lamps =are on:
X Turn selector wheel :anti-clockwise ?
until all indicator lamps =that are lit start to
flash.
The vehicle is lowered to normal level. As
soon as the next lowest level is reached, the
indicator lamp stops flashing and goes out.
Offroad levels General notes
Only select an offroad level if this is appropriate for road conditions. Otherwise, fuel consump-
tion may increase and handling performance
may be affected. You can select the following:
R Offroad level 1 at speeds up to 100 km/h
R Offroad level 2 at speeds up to 65 km/h
R Offroad level 3 at speeds up to 20 km/h
If you select an offroad level when driving at too
high a speed, the Please reduce speed Please reduce speed mes-
sage appears in the multifunction display.
Offroad level 3 is only suitable for driving on
extremely difficult off-road terrain under partic- ularly rough conditions.
R Adjust your driving style to the altered han-
dling characteristics.
R Do not drive faster than 20 km/h. Indicator lamps
=for the desired offroad level
flash:
R the lower indicator lamp flashes, offroad
level 1 is selected
R the lower and centre indicator lamps flash,
offroad level 2 is selected
R all three indicator lamps flash, offroad level 3
is selected
The vehicle is being adjusted to the offroad level
selected. As soon as an offroad level is reached,
the corresponding indicator lamp stops flashing and lights up constantly.
Raising the vehicle
Setting the vehicle level using the selector
wheel
X To raise the vehicle: turn selector wheel :
clockwise ;.
The vehicle is raised to offroad level 1 by
30 mm compared to the normal level.
During the adjustment, the Vehicle rising Vehicle rising
message, for example, appears in the multifunc-
tion display. 194
Driving systemsDriving and parking

If you press the
%ora button on the
multifunction steering wheel, the message will
disappear.
i Up to offroad level 2, you can hide the mes-
sages using the %ora button on the
multifunction steering wheel.
While the adjustment from offroad level 2 to off-
road level 3 is taking place, you will see a mes-
sage such as the following in the multifunction
display: Vehicle rising Max. speed
Vehicle rising Max. speed
20 km/h 20 km/h.
The Max. Max. speed
speed 20
20km/h
km/h message draws your
attention to the maximum speed permitted for
offroad level 3.
If you drive above 20 km/h at offroad level 3,
you will see the following message shown in red
in the multifunction display: Lowering Max. Lowering Max.
speed 20 km/h
speed 20 km/h.
i You cannot clear these messages.
You also hear a warning tone. The vehicle is low-
ered and offroad level 3 is cancelled.
If you continue to increase your speed, the red
message continues to be shown in the multi-
function display. The newly set level is not dis-
played until the vehicle has been set to a level
suitable for the current speed.
Lowering the vehicle If you drive faster than 20 km/h while the vehi-
cle is being lowered, you will see the following
message shown in white in the multifunction
display: Lowering Max. speed 20 km/h Lowering Max. speed 20 km/h.
The vehicle is lowered to offroad level 2.
You will see a message in the multifunction dis- play, for example: Lowering
Lowering.
Off-road level 2 is cancelled and the vehicle is
lowered to offroad level 1 if you:
R drive at speeds above 80 km/h or
R drive at speeds between 65 km/h and
80 km/h for longer than 20 seconds
Off-road level 1 is cancelled. Depending on the
vehicle's speed and the selected drive program,
the vehicle is automatically lowered to normal
level or low level if you:
R drive at speeds above 115 km/h or
R drive at speeds between 100 km/h and
115 km/h for longer than 20 seconds HOLD function
General notes The HOLD function can assist you if required in
the following situations:
R
when pulling away, especially on steep
slopes.
R when manoeuvring on steep slopes.
R when waiting in traffic.
The vehicle is kept stationary without the driver having to depress the brake pedal.
The braking effect is cancelled and the HOLD
function is deactivated when you depress the
accelerator pedal to pull away.
i Do not use the HOLD function when driving
off-road, on steep uphill or downhill gradients or on slippery or loose surfaces. The HOLD
function cannot hold the vehicle on such sur- faces.
Important safety notes G
WARNING
When leaving the vehicle, it can still roll away despite being braked by the HOLD function if:
R there is a malfunction in the system or in
the voltage supply
R the HOLD function is deactivated by the
accelerator pedal being depressed, e.g. by
a vehicle occupant
R the electrical system in the engine com-
partment, the battery or the fuses are tam-
pered with
R the battery is disconnected
There is a risk of an accident.
Before leaving the vehicle, always deactivate
the HOLD function and secure the vehicle
from rolling away.
! When DISTRONIC PLUS or the HOLD func-
tion is activated, the vehicle brakes automat- ically in certain situations.
To avoid damage to the vehicle, deactivate
DISTRONIC PLUS and the HOLD function in
the following or similar situations:
R when towing away
R in a car wash Driving systems
195Driving and parking Z

Deactivate the HOLD function (Y
page 196).
Activation conditions You can activate the HOLD function if:
R the vehicle is stationary
R the engine is running or if it has been auto-
matically switched off by the ECO start/stop
function
R the driver's door is closed or if your seat belt
is fastened
R the electric parking brake is released
R the transmission is in position D,Ror N
R Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is deactivated
Activating the HOLD function X
Make sure that the activation conditions are
met.
X Depress the brake pedal.
X Quickly depress the brake pedal further
until :appears in the multifunction display.
The HOLD function is activated. You can
release the brake pedal.
i If depressing the brake pedal the first time
does not activate the HOLD function, wait
briefly and then try again.
Deactivating the HOLD function The HOLD function is deactivated automatically
if:
R you accelerate and the transmission is in
position Dor R.
R you shift the transmission to position P.
R you depress the brake pedal again with a cer-
tain amount of pressure until :disappears
from the multifunction display.
R you secure the vehicle using the electric park-
ing brake.
R you activate Distance Pilot DISTRONIC. i
After a short period, the vehicle is secured
by the electric parking brake, thus relieving
the service brake.
When the HOLD function is activated, the trans-
mission is shifted automatically to position Pif:
R the driver's door is open and the driver's seat
belt is unfastened
R the engine is switched off, unless it is auto-
matically switched off by the ECO start/stop
function
The electric parking brake secures the vehicle
automatically if the HOLD function is activated,
the vehicle is stationary and:
R a system fault occurs.
R the power supply is insufficient.
On steep uphill or downhill inclines or if there is
a malfunction, the transmission may also be
automatically shifted into position P. AIRMATIC package
General notes AIRMATIC is an air suspension system with var-
iable damping for improved driving comfort.
Level control ensures the best possible suspen- sion and constant ground clearance, even with a laden vehicle. When you drive at speed, the
vehicle is lowered automatically to improve driv-
ing safety and to reduce fuel consumption. You
also have the option of manually adjusting the
vehicle level.
AIRMATIC consists of:
R level settings
R level control and
R ADS or ADS PLUS (Adaptive Damping Sys-
tem)
All vehicles (except Mercedes-AMG vehi-
cles): your vehicle may also be equipped with
the ACTIVE CURVE SYSTEM (Y page 198).
Mercedes-AMG vehicles : your vehicle is equip-
ped with the ACTIVE CURVE SYSTEM
(Y page 198).
Observe the notes on driving with a trailer
(Y page 234).
The vehicle level can be set using the DYNAMIC
SELECT controller (Y page 155)or the level but-
ton (Y page 198). The setting always corre-
sponds to the last function selected. 196
Driving systemsDriving and parking