2017 MERCEDES-BENZ GLA-Class Paddle

function cannot hold the vehicle on such sur-
faces.
Checklist before driving off-road
XEngine oil level:check the engine oil level
and add oil if necessary.
When driving on steep gradients, the
engine oil level must be sufficiently high to
ensure a correct oil supply in the vehicle.
XWheels and tires: check the tire tread
depth and tire pressure.
XCheck for damage and remove any foreign
objects, e.g. small stones, from the
wheels/tires.
XReplace any missing valve caps.
XReplace dented or damaged wheels.
XRims: dented or bent rims can result in a
loss of tire pressure and damage the tire
bead. Before driving off-road, check the
wheels and replace them if necessary.
Checklist after driving off-road
!If you detect damage to the vehicle after
driving off-road, have the vehicle checked
immediately at a qualified specialist work-
shop.
XDeactivate off-road program (Ypage 157).
XDeactivate DSR (Ypage 197).
XClean the headlamps and rear lights and
check for damage.
XClean the front and rear license plates.
XClean the wheels and tires with a water jet and remove any foreign objects.
XClean the wheels, wheel housings and the
vehicle underside with a water jet; check
for any foreign objects and damage.
XCheck whether twigs or other parts of
plants have become trapped. These
increase the risk of fire and can damage
fuel pipes, brake hoses or the rubber bel-
lows of the axle joints and propeller shafts.
XAfter the trip, examine without fail the
entire undercarriage, wheels, tires, brakes, bodywork structure, steering, chassis and
exhaust system for damage.
XAfter driving in sand, mud, gravel, water or
similar dirty conditions, have the following
checked and cleaned:
Rbrake discs
Rwheels
Rbrake pads
Raxle joints
XIf you detect strong vibrations after off-road
travel, check for foreign objects in the
wheels and drive train and remove them if
necessary. Foreign objects can disturb the
balance and cause vibrations.
Driving over poor road surfaces places
greater demands on your vehicle than driving
on normal roads. After driving off-road, check
the vehicle. This allows you to detect damage promptly and reduce the risk of an accident to
yourself and other road users.
Driving on sand
Observe the following rules when driving on
sand:
RActivate the off-road program
(
Ypage 157).
RAvoid high engine speeds.
RUse the left-hand steering wheel paddle
shifter to shift to a lower gear appropriate
to the terrain.
RDrive quickly to overcome the rolling resist-ance. Otherwise the vehicle's wheels could
become stuck in loose ground.
RDrive in the tracks of other vehicles if pos-
sible. Make sure that:
-the tire ruts are not too deep.
-the sand is sufficiently firm.
-the ground clearance of the vehicle is
sufficient.
Tire ruts and gravel roads
!Check that the ruts are not too deep and
that your vehicle has sufficient clearance.
182Driving tips
Driving and parking

Otherwise, your vehicle could be damaged
or bottom out and get stuck.
Observe the following rules when driving
along ruts in off-road terrain or on roads with
loose gravel:
RActivate the off-road program
(
Ypage 157).
RAvoid high engine speeds.
RShift to a lower gear using the left-hand
steering wheel paddle shifter.
RDrive slowly.
RWhere ruts are too deep, drive with the
wheels of one side on the center grassy
area, if possible.
Traveling uphill
Approach/departure angle
GWARNING
If you drive on a steep 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 a steep incline in the line of
fall (straight up or down) and do not turn the
vehicle.
RObserve the warnings for off-road driving
(
Ypage 180).
RFollow the line of fall when driving on slopes
and steep inclines.
RBefore driving on extreme uphill and down-
hill gradients, select the off-road program
(
Ypage 157).
RDrive slowly.
RAccelerate gently and make sure that the
wheels are gripping.
RAvoid high engine speeds, except when
driving on sandy and muddy routes with
high driving resistance.
RUse the left-hand steering wheel paddle
shifter to shift to a lower gear appropriate
to the gradient.
RUse the left-hand steering wheel paddle
shifter to shift into a lower gear in good time
on long and steep downhill gradients.
Hill start assist will aid you when pulling away
on a hill. For further information about hill
start assist, see (
Ypage 153).
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 384).
Maximum gradient-climbing capability
Always observe the maximum gradient climb- ing ability values (
Ypage 384).
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 drivewith the front wheels aligned straight. Oth-
erwise, the vehicle could slip sideways, tip
and rollover.
RShift to a lower gear using the left-hand
steering wheel paddle shifter before tack-
ling steep downhill gradients.
Driving tips183
Driving and parking
Z

XDepress the brake pedal firmly with your
left foot and keep the brake pedal
depressed.
XShift the transmission to positionD.
XUse the DYNAMIC SELECT button to select
the Sdrive program (
Ypage 157).
XQuickly depress the accelerator pedal fully.
XTake your foot off the brake, but keep the
accelerator pedal depressed.
The vehicle pulls away at maximum accel-
eration.
iActivate ESP®as soon as the acceleration
process has ended. ESP®will otherwise not
be able to stabilize the vehicle if the vehicle
starts to skid or a wheel starts to spin.
Canceling start-off assist
XRemove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
XReactivate ESP.
RACE START (AMG vehicles)
Important safety notes
iRACE START must not be used on normal
roads. RACE START must only be activated and used on dedicated road circuits, out-
side of public road use.
iRACE START is only available in
Mercedes‑AMG vehicles.
GWARNING
If you use RACE START, individual tires may
start to spin and the vehicle could skid.
Depending on the selected ESP
®mode, there
is an increased risk of skidding and having an accident. Make sure that no persons, animals
or obstacles are within range of the vehicle.
RACE START enables optimal acceleration
from a standing start. For this, a suitably high-
grip road surface is required, along with the
tires and vehicle being in proper operating
condition.
iObserve the safety notes on driving safety
systems (
Ypage 65).
Be sure to read the safety notes and infor-
mation on ESP
®(Ypage 69).
Conditions for activation
You can activate RACE START if:
Rthe doors, hood and the trunk lid are
closed.
Rthe engine is running and the transmission,
all-wheel drive clutch and the engine are at operating temperature.
Rthe steering wheel is in the straight-ahead
position.
Rthe vehicle is stationary and the brake
pedal is depressed (left foot).
Rthe transmission is in position D.
Rdrive program S,S+ orRACE is selected
(
Ypage 158).
Activating RACE START
XDepress the brake pedal with your left foot
and keep it depressed.
XPull and hold both steering wheel paddle
shifters.
XThe RACE START Confirm: Paddle UP
Cancel: Paddle DOWNmessage appears
in the multifunction display.
XRelease both steering wheel paddle shift-
ers.
iIf the activation conditions are no longer
fulfilled, RACE START is canceled. The
RACE START Not Possible See Opera‐
tor's Manualmessage appears in the
multifunction display.
XTo cancel: pull the left steering wheel pad-
dle shifter (
Ypage 166).
or
XTo confirm: pull the right steering wheel
paddle shifter (
Ypage 166).
The RACE START Available Depress
gas pedalmessage appears in the multi-
function display.
Driving system s195
Driving an d parking
Z