2016 MERCEDES-BENZ METRIS tow

XStow luggage itemssecurely. Secure the load
as per the loading guideline s(Ypage 232).
XMake sure that the floormats and carpets are
properly secured so that they canno tslipa nd
obstruct the pedals.
XClose al ldoors.
To start the engine
Important safety notes
GWARNING
Combustio nengines emi tpoisonous exhaust
gases such as carbon monoxide. Inhaling
thes eexhaus tgases lead stopoisoning. There
is ar iskoff atalinjury. Therefore neve rlea ve
the engine running in enclose dspaces with-
outs ufficient ventilation.
!Do not depress the accelerato rwhens tart-
ing the engine.
XBefore starting the engine, make sure that:
Ral lt he doors are closed.
Rallt he vehicl eoccupants are wearing their
sea tbelts correctly.
Rthe parking brake is applied.
iIf yo udepress the brake pedal before start-
ing the engine, the pedal trave lmay be shorter
and pedal resistance higher.
If yo udepres sthe brake pedal agai nafter
starting the engine, pedal trave land resist-
ance will be back to norma lagain.
Automatic transmission
XShif tthe transmissio ntoposition P
(Ypage 126).
The transmissio nposition indicator in the dis-
play shows P.
You can also star tthe engine in neutral N.
To start the engine
XTurn the key to position 3(Ypage 120 )inthe
ignition lock and release it as soo nasthe
engine is running.
Driving off
Automati ctransmission
GWARNING
If the engine speed is above the idling speed
and yo uengage transmission position Dor R,
the vehicl ecould pull away suddenly. There is
ar iskofana ccident.
Whe nengaging transmission position Dor R,
always firmly depress the brake peda land do
not simultaneouslya ccelerate.
!Onlyshift into reverse gear Rwhen the vehi-
cle is stationary .Otherwise, yo ucould dam-
ag et he transmission.
XDepres sthe brake peda land keepi t
depressed.
The parking lock is released.
XShift the transmission to position Dor R.
On vehicles with areverse warning feature ,a
warning signals ounds when reverse gear Ris
engaged to alert othe rroa du sers
(
Ypage 122).
XReleas ethe parking brake (Ypage 133).
The F (only USA) or J(only Canada)
indicator lamp in the instrument cluster goes
out.
XReleas ethe brake pedal.
Hil lstart assist automaticall ymaintains the
brake pressure for abouta nother two sec-
ondsa fterthe brake peda lisreleased .This
makes it possibl etopulla wa yw ithou tthe
vehicl eimmediatelyr olling back
(
Ypage 122).
XCarefull ydepress the accelerato rpedal.
It is onlyp ossibl etos hift the transmission from
po

sition Pto the desired positio nifyoudepress
the brake pedal. Onlyt hen is the parking lock
released .Ifthe brake peda lisnot depressed, the
DIRECT SELECTl ever can stil lbemovedbutthe
parking lock remains engaged.
The vehicl eloc ks centrall yonce yo uhavep ulle d
away .The locking knobs in the doors dro pdown.
Yo uc an open the doors from the insid eatany
time.
Yo uc an also deactivate the automatic locking
feature (
Ypage 72).
Driving121
Driving an dparking
Z

Beforeswitching off the engine, always switch
to parking position P.Prevent the parked vehi-
cle from rolling away by applying the parking
brake.
!If the engine is switched off, rolling in neutral
N can damag ethe power transmission and
result in transmission damage.
Alway sobserve the instructions and safety
notes under "Tow starting and towing away"
(
Ypage 264).
Bearinm ind that power transmission between
the engine and the transmission is interrupted
whe nthe engine is switched off. For this reason,
shift the automatic transmission to Pbefore the
engine is switched off and with the vehicle is
stationary. Appl ythe parking brake to prevent
the vehicle from rolling away.
DIREC TSELECT lever
Overvie wofthe transmissio nshift sys-
tem
jPark positio nwithp arking lock
kReverseg ear
iNeutral
hDrive
The DIREC TSELECT lever is on the right of the
steering column.
The DIREC TSELECT lever always returns to its
origina lposition. The display in the instrument
cluster showst he current transmission position,
namely P,R, Nor D(
Ypage 127).
Selecting transmissio npositions
!If the engine speed is too hig horthe vehicle
is moving, do not shift the automatic trans-
missio ndirectly from Dto R,f rom Rto Dor
directly to P.The automatic transmission
could otherwise be damaged.
!Only shift the automatic transmission to R
whe nthe vehicle is stationary.
XIf park position Pis selected ,depress the
brake pedal to chang ethe transmission posi-
tion.
XDrive positionD :push the DIREC TSELECT
lever dow nbeyond the 1st point of resist-
ance.
XReverse gear R: push the DIRECTSELECT
lever up beyond the 1st point of resistance.
iThe ECO start/stop function is not available
whe nreverse gea risengaged .Further infor-
mation can be found under "EC Ostart/stop
function" (
Ypage 122).
XNeutral N: push the DIREC TSELECT lever up
or dow nasfar as the 1st point of resistance.
iWhe nyou switch off the engine, the auto-
mati ctransmission shifts to Nautomatically.
XPark positionP :press the button of the
DIREC TSELECT lever in the directio nofarrow
P.
Park position Pis engaged automaticall yifyou:
Rremove the key
Rope nthe driver'sd oorwhile the vehicle is sta-
tionary or traveling at very low speeds and the
transmission is in position Dor R
If yo uwantthe automatic transmission to
remain in neutral Nafte ryou switch off the
engine, yo umustleave the key in the ignition
lock. Thisisn ecessa
ry, for example, whe nwash-
i

ng the vehicle in acar wash with aconveyor.
126Automatic transmission
Drivin gand parking

Transmission positions
BPark position
Thisprevents the vehicl efromr olling
away when stopped. Do not shift the
transmission into position Punless
the vehicl eisstationary.
The automatic transmission shifts to P automaticall yifyou:
Rremove the key
Ropen the driver's door whil ethe
vehicl eisstationar yortraveling at
ver ylow speeds and the transmis-
sion is in position Dor R.
The parkin gloc ks houl dnot be used
as ab rake when parking. Always
appl ythe parkin gbrake as well once
yo uh avep arked the vehicle.
CRevers egear
Onlys hift the transmission to Rwhen
the vehicl eisstationary.
ANeutral
No powe ristransmitted fromt he
engine to the drive wheels .Releasi ng
the brakes will allo wyouto mov ethe
vehicl efreely, e.g .byp ushing or tow-
ing.
If ESP
®is deactivated or faulty: shift
the transmission to position Nif the
vehicl eisind angerofs kidding,e.g.
on icy roads.
When yo uswitch off the engine ,the
automatic transmission automati-
cally shifts into neutral N.
!If the engine is switched off ,roll-
ing in neutral Ncan damage the
powe rtransmission and resul tin
transmission damage.
7Drive
The automatic transmission changes
gear itself. All forward gear sareavail-
able.
Yo uc an influence gearshifts with
your choice of transmission program.
Yo uc an also restric tthe shift range.
Transmission position and transmis-
sion program display
:Transmission program
;Current transmission positio nor
current gear in transmission program M
=Shift range,ifrestricted
The transmission positions and current trans-
mission program :ares hown at the bottom of
the instrument cluster display. The current
transmission positio nish ighlighted.
In transmission program M,the transmission
positio nindicator shows the current gear
(
Ypage 130 )inposition D.
If yo urestric tthe shift range ,the transmission
positio nindicator shows the current transmis-
sion positio nplusr estricted shift range =,e.g.
D2 (
Ypage 128).
The arrow sinthe transmission positio ndisplay
sho whow and into which transmission positions
yo uc an change using the DIRECT SELECTl ever.
Changin ggear
The 7-spee dautomatic transmission adapts to
your individual drivin gstyle by continuously
adjusting its shift points .These shift point
adjustments take into account the current oper-
ating and drivin gconditions. If the operating or
drivin gconditions change ,the automatic trans-
mission reacts by adjusting the gearshift pro-
gram.
The 7-spee dautomatic transmission shifts to
the individual gear sautomaticall ywhenitisi n
transmission position D.T hisd epen ds on:
Rthe selecte dtransmission program
(Ypage 129)
Rany restrictio ninthe shift range
(Ypage 128)
Rthe positio nofthe accelerator pedal
Rthe roa dspeed
Yo uc an also change gear manuall yifyouselect
transmission program M(
Ypage 130).
Automati ctransmission127
Driving an dparking
Z

Rockingthe vehicle free
At speeds up to 5mph (9 km/h )you can switch
back and forth between drive position Dand
reverse gear Rwithou tapplyin gthe brakes. This
helps when rocking the vehicl eoutof snow or
slush.
XPush the DIREC TSELECT lever alternately up
and dow nbeyond the firs tpoint of resistance.
Towin gatrailer
XDepending on the downhil lgradient, limit the
shift rang e(Ypage 128 )orshift manually into
al ower gear (Ypag e130) in which the engine
wil loperate in the middle of the engine speed
range. This als oapplie sifcruise control is
activated.
Manual gearshifting
General notes
If you select transmission program M,automatic
gearshifting is deactivated and manua lgear-
shifting is automatically activated .You must
then permanently change geary ourself for as
long as the transmission programiss elected.
Permanent manua lgearshifting is deactivated
automatically when you switch from transmis-
sion program Mto another transmission pro-
gram. The automatic transmission then shifts
gears automatically. The display shows the
selected transmission programa nd transmis-
sion position Dagain.
Shifting gears
:To shift down
;To shift up The transmission programd
isplay showsMand
the transmission position indicator shows the
selected gear.
XTo shift up: brieflypullr ight-hand steering
whee lpaddle shifter ;.
If the engine speediss ufficient, the automatic
transmission shifts up to the next gear.
If the maximu mengine speedisr eachedin
the currently engage dgear and you continue
to accelerate, the automatic transmission will
not shift up automatically. Always make sure
that the engine speedd oes not reach the red
area of the tachometer. Observe the gearshift
recommendation in the display (
Ypag e130).
When the engine reache sits maximu mspeed,
the fuel supply is cut to prevent the engine
from overrevving.
XTo shift down: pullbriefl yonl eft-hand steer-
ing whee lpaddle shifter :.
Provided that the engine wil lnot exceed its
maximu mspeedw hen shifting down, the
automatic transmission shifts down to the
next gear.
or
XPul lthe left-hand steering whee lpaddle
shifter until the automatic transmission
selects the optimumg ear for the current
speed.
iWhen coasting, the automatic transmission
shifts down automatically.
Gearshift recommendation
:Gearshift direction
;Recommended gear
The gearshift recommendations assist you in
adopting an economicald riving style.
XWhen the display shows the gearshift recom-
mendation, shift to recommended gear ;.
130Automatic transmission
Driving and parking

GWARNING
If you leave children unsupervised in the vehi-
cle, they coul dset 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 vehiclee quip-
ment and become trapped. There is arisk of
an accident and injury.
When leaving the vehicle, alway stake the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children unsupervised in the vehicle.
!Always secure the vehiclec orrectly against
rolling away. Otherwise, the vehicleori ts driv-
etrain coul dbedamaged.
!When the vehicleisp arked,alway sremove
the key to prevent the battery from becoming
discharged.
Always park you rvehicl esafel yand secure it
against rolling away. When parking, observe the
lega lrequirements of the country in which you
are currently driving.
To ensure that the vehicleisp roperly secured
against rolling awa yunintentionally:
Rthe parking brake must be firmly applied
Rthe transmission must be in position Pand the
key must be removed from the ignitio nlock
Ron steep uphill or downhill gradients, the front
wheels must be turned toward sthe curb
Parking brake
GWARNING
If you leave children unsupervised in the vehi-
cle, they coul dset 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 vehiclee quip-
ment and become trapped. There is arisk of
an accident and injury.
When leaving the vehicle, alway stake the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children unsupervised in the vehicle.
GWARNING
If you must brake the vehiclew ith the parking
brake, the braking distance is considerably
longer and the wheels coul dlock. There is an
increased dange rofskidding and accidents.
Only use the parking brake to brake the vehi-
cle when the service brake is faulty. Do not
apply the parking brake too firmly .Ifthe
wheels lock, release the parking brake until
the wheels begint urning again.
The brake lampsare not illuminated when you
brake the vehicleu sing the parking brake.
As arule ,you may only apply the parking brake
when the vehicleiss tationary.
XTo apply the parking brake: depress park-
ing brake pedal ;firmly.
The red F(only USA) or J(only Can-
ada )indicator lamp in the instrument cluster
lights up if the engine is running.
XTo release the parking brake: depress the
brake pedala nd keep it depressed.
XPullrelease handle :.
The parking brake is released abruptly.T he
red F (only USA) or J(only Canada)
indicator lamp in the instrument cluster goes
out.
Exceptionally,ift he service brake fails, the park-
ing brake can be used to brake the vehicleina n
emergency.
XEmergency braking: pullrelease handle :
and gradually depress parking brake
pedal ;.
Parking133
Driving and parking
Z

Mercedes-Benzrecommends that you have the
maximum permissible speed programed at a
Mercedes-BenzC ommercial Van Center.
Before overtaking, take into consideration that
the engine speed limiter prevents the speed
increasing beyond the programed maximum
speed.
Driving abroad
Service
An extensive network of authorized Mercedes-
Benz Centers is also at your disposal when you
are traveling abroad. Nevertheless, please bear
in mind that service facilities or replacement
parts may not always be immediately available.
The relevant workshop directories are available
from any Mercedes-BenzC ommercial Van Cen-
ter.
Fuel
In some countries, only fuels with ahigher sulfur
content are available.
Unsuitable fuel can cause engine damage. You
will find information about fuel under "Service
products and capacities" (
Ypage 296).
Low-beam headlamps
General notes
When driving in countries in which traffic drives
on the opposite side of the road to the country
where the vehicle is registered, you must switch
the headlamps to symmetrical low beam. This
prevents oncomingt raffic from being blinded.
Symmetrical low beam does not illuminate as
large an area of the edge of the road.
Vehicles with halogen headlamps
The headlamps do not need to be switched to
symmetrical low beam. The legal requirements
of countries in which traffic drives on the oppo- site side of the road to the countryw here the
vehicle is registered are met without the need to
convert the headlamps.
Transport by rail
Transporting your vehicle by rail may be subject to certain restrictions or require special meas- ures to be taken in some countries due to vary-
ing tunnel heights and loading standards.
You can obtain information on this from any
Mercedes-BenzC
ommercial Van Center.
Brakes
Important safety notes
GWARNING
If you shift down on aslippery road surface in
an attempt to increase the engine's braking
effect,t he drive wheels could lose their grip.
There is an increased danger of skidding and
accidents.
Do not shift down for additional engine brak-
ing on aslippery road surface.
Downhill gradients
!Depressing the brake pedal constantly
results in excessive and premature wear to
the brake pads.
This also applies to automatic braking if you
have activated cruise control.
On long and steep downhill gradients, you
should change down to shift range 2or1 in
good time (
Ypage 128).
This should be observed in particular when driv-
ing with aladen vehicle and when towing a
trailer.
You thereby make use of the braking effect of
the engine and do not have to brake as often to
maintain the speed. This relieves the load on the
service brake and prevents the brakes from
overheating and wearing too quickly.
Heavy and light loads
GWARNING
If you rest your foot on the brake pedal while
driving, the braking system can overheat. This increases the stopping distance and can even
cause the braking system to fail. There is a
risk of an accident.
Never use the brake pedal as afootrest.N ever
depress the brake pedal and the accelerator
pedal at the same time.
136Driving tips
Driving and parking

have sufficient tread depth, depending on the
depth of water on the road. There isarisk of
an accident.
For this reason, avoid tire ruts and brake care-
fully.
Therefore, in heavy rain or other conditions in
which hydroplaning can occur, drive as follows:
Rreduce your speed
Ravoid tire ruts
Rapply the brakes with care
Driving on flooded roads
!Do not drive through flooded areas. Check
the depth of any water before driving through
it. Drive slowly through standing water. Oth-
erwise, water may enter the vehicle interior or
the engine compartment. This can damage
the electronic components in the engine or
the automatic transmission. Water can also
be drawn in by the engine's air suction nozzles
and this can cause engine damage.
If you have to drive on stretches of road on which
water has collected, please bear in mind that:
Rthe water level of standing water should not
be above the lower edge of the front bumper
Rdo not drive faster than walking speed
Driving in winter
GWARNING
If you shift down on aslippery road surface in
an attempt to increase the engine's braking
effect,t he drive wheels could lose their grip.
There is an increased danger of skidding and
accidents.
Do not shift down for additional engine brak-
ing on aslippery road surface.
!Vehicles with automatic transmission may
roll only briefly in the neutral position N.Pro-
longed rolling of the wheels, e.g. when being
towed, will result in transmission damage.
Have your vehicle winterproofed at aqualified
specialist workshop at the onset of winter. Drive particularly carefully on slippery roads.
Avoid sudden acceleration, steering and braking
maneuvers. Do not use cruise control.
If the vehicle threaten stoskid or cannot be
stopped when moving at low speed:
XShift the transmission to position N.
XTry to maintain control of the vehicle using
corrective steering.
The outside temperature indicator is not
designed to serve as an ice-warning device and
is therefore unsuitable for that purpose.
Changes in the outside temperature are dis-
played after ashort delay.
Indicated temperatures just above the freezing
point do not guarantee that the road surface is
free of ice. The road may still be icy, especially in
wooded areas or on bridges. If you do not adjust
your driving style, the vehicle may start to skid.
Always adapt your driving style and drive at a
speed to suit the prevailing weather conditions.
You should pay special attention to road condi-
tions when temperatures are around freezing
point.
You can find further information under:
R"M+S tires" (Ypage 269)
R"Snow chains" (Ypage 270)
R"Driving with summer tires" (Ypage 269)
Also observe the notes under "Winter operation" (
Ypage 269).
Driving off-road
Important safety notes
GWARNING
If you drive on asteep incline at an angle or
turn when driving on an incline, the vehicle
could slip sideways, tip and rollover. There is a risk of an accident.
Always drive on asteep incline in the line of
fall (straight up or down) and do not turn the
vehicle.
GWARNING
When driving off-road, your body is subject to
forces from all directions, due to the uneven
surface. You could be thrown from your seat,
for instance. There is arisk of injury.
138Driving tips
Driving and parking

Alwayswearas eatb elt, eve nwhend riving off-
road.
GWARNING
If yo udrive ove robstacle sorinr uts, the steer-
ing whee lmayjerk outofy ourg rip, causing
injury to your hands.
Alway sholdt he steering whee lfirmly with
both hands. Whe ndriving ove robstacles, you
must expect steering forces to increase
briefl yand suddenly.
GWARNING
Flammabl ematerial such as leaves, grass or
twigs mayi gnite if they come into contact with
hot parts of the exhaus tsystem .There is arisk
of fire.
Whe ndriving off roa doronunpaved roads,
check the vehicle's undersid eregularly .In
particular, remove parts of plants or other
flammabl ematerial swhich have become
trapped. In the cas eofdamage, contact a
qualified specialist workshop.
!Whe ndriving off-roadoronu npaved surfa-
ces ,check the undersid eofthe vehicl eand
the wheels and tire satregular intervals .In
particular, remove any trappe dforeign
objects, e.g .stone sand branches.
Such foreig nobjects may:
Rdamage the chassis, the fuel tank or the
brake system
Rcause imbalance sand thusv ibrations
Rbe flung outw heny ou continue driving
If ther eisany damage, inform aquali fied spe-
cialist workshop.
Whe ndriving off-roada nd on construction sites,
sand, muda nd water mixe dwitho il,f or exam-
ple, mayg et into the brakes. Thi smaylead to a
reduction in braking performance or totalb rake
failure, also as aresul tofi ncreased wear .The
braking characteristics will vary depending on
the material thath asgot into the system .Clean
the brakes afte rdriving o
ff-road. If yo uth
en
notice reduce dbraking performance or hear
scraping noises ,hav et he brake system checked
at aq uali fied specialist workshop.A djust your
driving style to the changedb raking character-
istics. Driving off-roadoronc
onstruction sites increa-
ses the possibility of vehicl edamag ewhich may
in turn lead to the failure of certain assemblies
and systems. Adapt your driving style to the off- roa ddriving conditions. Driv ecarefully. Have
any vehicl edamag erectifie dataq ualified spe-
cialist workshop as soo naspossible.
Whe nloadin gyourvehicl efor driving off-roado r
on aconstruction site, kee pthe vehicle's center
of gravity as lo waspossible.
Rule sfor drivin goff-road
!Alway sbearthe vehicle's ground clearance
in mind and avoido bstacles, e.g .deepr uts.
Obstacles mayd amagethe following parts of
the vehicle:
Rthe chassis
Rthe drive train
Rthe fuel and supply tanks
For thisr eason, yo ushoul dalway sdrive
slowly when driving off-road. If yo uhavet o
drive ove robstacles, have the front
passengerd irect you.
iWe recommend thaty ouadditionally carry a
shovel and arecover yrop ew iths hackle in the
vehicle.
REnsure thatl oadsand items of luggage are
securel ystowed or lashe ddown
(
Ypage 232).
RBefore driving off-road, stop the vehicl eand
shift to alow gear.
RIf the surface requires ,temporaril ydeactivate
ESP®when pulling away (Ypage 64).
ROnlyd rive off-roadw itht he engine running
and ageare ngaged.
RDriv eslowly and smoothly. Walking pace is
necessary in many situations.
RAvoi dspinning the drive wheels.
RMake sure thatt he wheels always remai nin
contact with the ground.
RDriv ewithe xtreme car eoveru nknown terrain
where yo ucan onlys ee forashort distance.
As aprecaution, get outoft he vehicletotake
al oo katt he route to be take ninadvance.
RCheck the water depth before fording.
RWatch outf or obstacles(e.g. rocks ,holes,
tree stumps and ruts).
RAvoi dedges where the surface could crumble
or break away.
Driving tips139
Driving an dparking
Z