2018 MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS CABRIOLET trailer

R
vehicles without LED headlamps or MUL‐
TIBEAM LED headlamps: the headlamps
ha ve been set cor rectl y.
In theeve nt of increased rear axle load, the car/
trailer combination may not exceed a maximum
speed of 100 km/h forre asons concerning the
operating permit. This also applies in countri es
in which the permissible maximum speed for
car/trailer combinations is ab ove100 km/h. Fo
lding the ball neck out/in &
WARNING Risk of accident due tothe
ball neck not being engaged
If th e ball neck is not engaged, the trailer
may come loose. #
Alw ays engage the ball neck as descri‐
bed. &
WARNING Risk of inju ryfrom ball neck
swinging outwards
The ball neck may swing outwards when
unlo cking or when it has not been properly
engaged.
There is a risk of injury within the ball neck's
ra nge of mo vement! #
Unlock the ball neck only when its
ra nge of mo vement is unobstructed. #
Alw ays be sure the ball neck is engaged
when folding in wards. Re
quirements:
R The transmission has been shif tedto posi‐
tion jori.
R The range of mo vement is clear.
R Only when folding in: The trailer cables or
adap ter plugs are remo ved. Fo
lding the ball neck out #
Pull release switch 2until the ball neck
unloc ks.
The ball neck will fold out from under the
re ar bumper.
Indicator lamp 1will flash. 246
Driving and pa rking

#
Pull the ball neck in the direction of the
ar row until it en gage s audibly in a vertical
position.
Indicator lamp 1onthe ball neck release
switch will go out.
If th e ball neck is not securely loc ked in
place, theCheck trailer hitch lockdisplay
message will appear on the multifunction dis‐
pla y. #
Remo vethe co ver from the ball head and
st ore it in a safe place.
Make sure that the ball on the ball neck is clean.
Check that it is either greased or dr y (grease-
free), depending on the instructions forthe
traile r.
Fo lding the ball neck in #
Pull release switch 2until the ball neck
unloc ks.
The ball neck will fold up under there ar
bumper.
Indicator lamp 1will flash. #
Push the ball neck in the direction of the
ar row until it en gage s audibly behind the
bumper.
Indicator lamp 1will go out and the mes‐
sage on the multifunction display will disap‐
pear.
Obser vethe information on the displa yson the
instrument clus ter:
R Warning and indicator lamps (→ page 526)
R Display messages (→ page472) Cou
pling up/uncoupling a trailer &
WARNING Risk of inju ryfrom theve hicle
le ve l being changed
Ve hicles with le vel control sy stem: the
ve hicle le vel may be changed unin tentional ly,
e.g. by ot her persons. You may become trap‐
ped if you couple up or uncouple a trailer
while theve hicle le vel is changing. In addi‐
tion, other people could become trapped if
th eir limbs are between theve hicle body and
th e tyres or underneath theve hicle.
When coupling up or uncoupling a trailer,
make sure that: #
The doors or tailgate are not opened or
closed. #
You do not initiate the le vel control sys‐
te m and do not operate theDY NA MIC
SELECT switch. #
Do not lock or unlock theve hicle. Driving and parking
247

Re
quirements:
R the ball neck must be extended fully electri‐
cal lyand engaged in the securely loc ked
position.
Tr ailers with a 7-pin plug can be connec tedto
th eve hicle with thefo llowing adap ters:
R adap ter plug
R adapte r cable
The trailer will be cor rectly de tected bytheve hi‐
cle only if thefo llowing conditions are me t:
R the trailer is connected cor rectly
R the trailer lighting sy stem is in working order
The operation of thefo llowing sy stems depends
on the trailer being connected cor rectly:
R Active Lane Keeping Assist
R ESP ®
R Parking Assist PARKTRONIC
R Active Parking Assist
R Blind Spot Assist or Active Blind Spot Assi stCoupling up a trailer
* NO
TEDama getotheve hicle battery due
to full dischar ge Charging
the trailer battery using the po wer
supply of the trailer can damage theve hicle
batter y. #
Do not use theve hicle's po wer supply
to charge the trailer batter y. #
Remo vethe co ver from the ball head and
st ore it in a safe place (→ page114). #
Position the trailer on a le vel sur face behind
th eve hicle and couple it up totheve hicle. #
Open the soc ket cap. #
Inse rtthe plug with lug 1in groo ve3 on
th e soc ket. #
Turn the ba yonet coupling 2clockwise as
fa r as it will go. #
Let the cap engage. #
Secure the cable tothe trailer with cable ties
(only if you are using an adap ter cable). #
Make sure that the cable is alw ays slack for
ease of mo vement during cornering. #
Push the combination switch upwards/down‐
wa rds and check whe ther the cor responding
turn signal light on the trailer is flashing.
A display message may appear on the multifunc‐
tion display even if the trailer has been connec‐
te d cor rectly:
R LEDs ha vebeen ins talled in the trailer light‐
ing sy stem
R the cur rent has fallen below the trailer light‐
ing sy stem's minimum cur rent (50 mA) 248
Driving and pa rking

%
Accessories can be connected tothe perma‐
nent po wer supp lyup to180W, and tothe
po we r supp lythat is swit ched on via the igni‐
tion loc k.
Un coupling a trailer &
WARNING Risk of being crushed and
becoming trapped when uncoupling a
trailer
When uncoupling a trailer wi than engaged
ine rtia-activated brake, your hand may
become trapped between theve hicle and the
trailer dr awbar. #
Do not uncouple trailers with an
engaged overrun brake. &
WARNING Risk of becoming trapped
when disconnecting the trailer cable
Ve hicles with le vel control sy stem: the
ve hicle lo werswhen the trailer cable is dis‐
connected. This could
result in you or other people
becoming trapped if your or their limbs are
between theve hicle body and the tyres or
underneath theve hicle. #
Make sure nobody is underneath the
ve hicle or in the immediate vicinity of
th e wheel ar ches when you disconnect
th e trailer cable. *
NO
TEDama getothere ar bumper from
ins talling adap ter cables or adapte r plugs The
following parts could be damaged when
re tracting the ball neck:
R bumper
R adap ter cable
R adapte r plug #
Alw aysre mo vethe adap ter cable or
adapte r plug before retracting the ball
nec k. #
Secu rethe trailer against rolling away. #
Disconnect the electrical connection
between theve hicle and the trailer. #
Uncouple the trailer. #
Place the co ver on the ball head. Bicycle
rackfunction &
WARNING Risk of an accident when
using the bicycle rack incor rectly
The bicycle rack may become de tach ed from
th eve hicle in thefo llowing cases:
R the permissible load capacity of the
trailer hitch is exceeded.
R the bicycle rack is used incor rectl y.
R the bicycle rack is secured tothe ball
neck beneath the ball head.
Obser vethefo llowing foryo ur ow n sa fety
and that of other road users: #
always adhere tothe permissible load
capacity of the trailer hitch. Driving and parking
249

#
only use the bicycle rack totranspo rt
bicycles. #
always proper lysecure the bicycle rack
by attaching it tothe ball head. #
only use bicycle rack s appr ovedby
Mercedes-Benz. #
always obser vethe bicycle rack operat‐
ing instructions. *
NO
TEDama geto, or cra cks on, the
trailer hitch due tounsuitable bic ycle
ra ck s or bicycle rack s being used incor‐
re ctly #
use only bicycle rack s appr ovedby
Mercedes-Benz. Depending on
the bicycle rack 's design, up to
th re e bicycles can be transpor ted on the bicycle
ra ck.
When mounted byattaching toball head 1,the
maximum load capacity is 75kg.
The load capacity is calculated from thewe ight
of the bicycle rack and the bicycle rack load. The
vehicle's driving characteristics will change
when a bicycle rack isfitted:
R The vehicle will be heavier.
R Acceleration and slope-climbing ability will
be restricted.
R Braking di stances will be lon ger.
This may impair theve hicle's driving characteris‐
tics. Adapt your driving style accordingly. Drive
carefully and maintain a safe dis tance.
When using a bicycle rack , set the tyre pressure
fo r maximum load on there ar axle of theve hicle.
Fu rther information on the tyre pressure can be
fo und in the tyre pressure table (→ page 437).
Note s on loading
The lar gerth e dis tance between the load's
cent reof gr avity and the ball head, the greater
th e load on the trailer hitch.
Therefore, obser vethefo llowing no tes:
R mount heavy bicycles as close totheve hicle
as possible 250
Driving and parking

R
always distribute the load on the bicycle rack
as eve nly as possible across theve hicle's
longitudinal axis
Mercedes-Benz recommends removing all
de tach able parts from bicycles, e.g. bask ets,
ch ild seats or rech arge able bat teries, before
loading them onto the bicycle rack . This will
impr ovethe aerodynamic resis tance and centre
of gr avity of the bicycle rack.
Alw ays secure the bicycles topreve ntthem from
moving around and check that they are secure at
re gular inter vals.
Do not use tarp aulins or other co vers. The driv‐
ing characteristics and rear view may be
impaired. In addition, the aerodynamic resist‐
ance and the load on the trailer hitch will
increase. Distribution of
the load on the bicycle rack
1 Vertical dis tance between centre of gr avity
and ball head
2 Horizon tal dis tance between centre of gr av‐
ity and ball head
3 The centre of gr avity is on theve hicle's
centre axis Obser
vethefo llowing information when
loading the bicycle rack: Nu
mber
of bicy‐
cles To
tal
we ight
of bicy‐
cle rack
and load Max. dis‐
tance
1 1Max. dis‐
tance
2 2
3U pto
75 kg 420 mm 300 mm Ve
hicle towing instructions
The vehicle is not suitable forth e use of tow bar
sy stems that are used forflat towing or ding hy
to wing, forex ample. Attach ing and using tow bar
sy stems can lead todamage on theve hicle.
When you are towing a vehicle with tow bar sys‐
te ms, safe driving characteristics cannot be
guaranteed forth eto wing vehicle or theto wed
ve hicle. The vehicle-trailer combination may
swer vefrom side toside. Comply with the per‐
mitted towing me thods (→ page 426) and the
instructions forto wing with bo thaxles on the
ground (→ page 427). Driving and parking
251

Note
s on cleaning and car eA voiding vehicle damage
Ta ilpipes
Clean with cleaning agents recommended byMercedes-Benz,
particular lyin the winter and af terwa shing theve hicle. Do not use acidic cleaning agents.
Tr ailer hitch R
Remo vetraces of rust on the ball, e.g. with a wire brush.
R Remo vedirt with a lint-free clo th.
R After cleaning, oil or grease the ball head lightl y.
R Obser vethe no tes on care in the trailer hitch manufactur‐
er's operating instructions. Do not clean
the ball neck with a high-pressure cleaner or sol‐
ve nt. Note
s on care of the interior &
WARNING Risk of inju ryfrom pla stic
parts breaking off af terth e use of sol‐
ve nt-based care products
Ca reand cleaning products con taining sol‐
ve nts can cause su rfaces in the cockpit to
become porous. When
the airbags are deplo yed, plastic parts
may break away. #
Do not use any care or cleaning prod‐
ucts containing sol vents toclean the
cockpit. &
WARNING Risk of inju ryor death from
bleached seat belts
Bleaching or dyeing seat belts can se verely
we aken them.
This can, forex ample, cause seat belts to
te ar or fail in an accident. #
Never blea chor dye seat belts. Maintenance and care
409

#
Use a tow bar. #
Make sure that thesteering wheel can
mo vefreely, before towing theve hicle
aw ay. *
NO
TEDama gedue toexcessive tracti ve
po wer If
yo u pull away sharpl y,the tractive po wer
may be too high and theve hicles could be
damaged. #
Pull away slowly and smoo thly. Loading the
vehicle for transport #
Obser vethe no tes on towing away
( → page 427). #
Connect theto w bar totheto wing eye in
order toload theve hicle.
% You can also attach theto w bar tothe trailer
hitch. #
Vehicles with automatic transmission:
shift the automatic transmission toposition
i.
% Ve
hicles with automatic transmission:
th e automatic transmission may be loc ked in
position jintheeve nt of dama getothe
electrical sy stem. Toshift toi , pr ovide the
on-board electrical sy stem with po wer
( → page 424). #
Load theve hicle onto the transpor ter. #
Vehicles with automatic transmission:
shift the automatic transmission toposition
j. #
Use the electric parking brake tosecure the
ve hicle against rolling away. #
Only secure theve hicle bythe wheels. Ve
hicles with ADS PLUS (Adaptive Damping
Sy stem PLUS) &
WARNING Risk of an accident when
transporting vehicles with Adaptive
Damping Sy stem PLUS
The reduced damping forc es on theve hicle
being transpor ted can cause theve hicle/
trailer combination tostart toswing.
As a result, when transporting vehicles with
th eAd aptive Damping Sy stem PLUS, the
ve hicle/trailer combination may start toskid.
Consequentl y,yo u could lose cont rol of your
ve hicle. #
When transporting, ensure that:
R theve hicle has been loaded onto
th e transpor ter cor rectly
R theve hicle is secured at all four
wheels with suitable tensioning
st ra ps
R the maximum permissible speed of
60 km/h is not exceeded when
transporting Breakdown assis
tance 429