
Problems with fuel and the fuel tank
ProblemPossible causes/consequences andMSolutions
Fuel is leaking from the
vehicle.GWARNING
The fuel line or the fuel tank is faulty.
Risk of explosion or fire.
XApply the electric parking brake.
XSwitch off the engine.
XRemove the SmartKey from the ignition lock.
or, in vehicles with KEYLESS-GO start-function or KEYLESS ‑GO
XOpen the driver's door.
The vehicle electronics are now in key positionu. This is the same
as the SmartKey having been removed.
XDo not restart the engine under any circumstances.
XConsult a qualified specialist workshop.
The engine does not
start.The fuel tank of a vehicle with a diesel engine has been run completely
dry.
XRefuel the vehicle with at least 5.3 US qt (5 liters) of diesel.
XTurn the ignition on for approximately ten seconds (Ypage 135).
XStart the engine continuously for up to ten seconds until it runs
smoothly.
If the engine does not start:
XTurn the ignition on again for approximately ten seconds
(Ypage 135).
XStart the engine again continuously for up to ten seconds until it
runs smoothly.
If the engine does not start after three attempts:
XConsult a qualified specialist workshop.
The fuel filler flap cannot
be opened.The fuel filler flap is not unlocked.
XUnlock the vehicle (Ypage 77).
The SmartKey battery is discharged or nearly discharged.
XUnlock the vehicle using the mechanical key (Ypage 79).
The fuel filler flap is unlocked, but the opening mechanism is jammed.
XConsult a qualified specialist workshop.
DEF (BlueTEC vehicles only)
General notes
To function properly, BlueTEC exhaust gas after-
treatment must be operated with the reducing
agent DEF. Adding DEF is one of the tasks per-
formed during maintenance. When the supply of DEF is almost used up, the
Check Additive See Operator's Manual
message is shown in the multifunction display.
If you drive the vehicle faster than 10 mph
(16 km/h), the
Check Additive See Opera‐
tor's Manualmessage goes out after approx-
imately one minute.
Refueling153
Driving and parking
Z

Emergency braking
The vehicle can also be braked during an emer-gency by using the electric parking brake.
XWhile driving, push handle :of the electric
parking brake.
The vehicle is braked for as long as the handle
of the electric parking brake is pressed. The
longer the electric parking brake handle is
depressed, the greater the braking force.
During braking:
Ra warning tone sounds
Rthe ReleasePark.Brakemessage appears
Rthe red F(USA only) or !(Canada
only) indicator lamp in the instrument cluster flashes
When the vehicle has been braked to a stand-
still, the electric parking brake is engaged.
Parking the vehicle for a long period
If you leave the vehicle parked for longer than
four weeks, the battery may be damaged by
exhaustive discharging.
If you leave the vehicle parked for longer than six
weeks, the vehicle may suffer damage as a
result of lack of use.
XVisit a qualified specialist workshop and seek
advice.
iYou can obtain information about trickle
chargers from a qualified specialist work-
shop.
Plug-in hybrid vehicles: observe the notes on
the high-voltage battery in the separate Opera-
tor's Manual.
Driving tips
General notes
Important safety notes
GWARNING
If you switch off the ignition while driving,
safety-relevant functions are only available
with limitations, or not at all. This could affect, for example, the power steering and the brake
boosting effect. You will require considerably
more effort to steer and brake. There is a risk
of an accident.
Do not switch off the ignition while driving.
GWARNING
If you operate mobile communication equip-
ment when driving, you may be distracted
from the traffic situation. You could also lose
control of the vehicle. There is a risk of an
accident.
Only operate this equipment when the vehicle
is stationary.
Observe the legal requirements for the country
in which you are driving. Some jurisdictions pro-
hibit the driver from using a mobile phone while driving a vehicle.
If you make a call while driving, always use
hands-free mode. Only operate the telephone
when the traffic situation permits. If you are
unsure, pull over to a safe location and stop
before operating the telephone.
Bear in mind that at a speed of only 30 mph
(approximately 50 km/h), the vehicle covers a
distance of 44 ft (approximately 14 m)per sec-
ond.
Drive sensibly – save fuel
Observe the following tips to save fuel:
XThe tires should always be inflated to the rec-
ommended tire pressure.
XRemove unnecessary loads.
XRemove roof carriers when they are not nee-
ded.
XWarm up the engine at low engine speeds.
Driving tips159
Driving and parking
Z

The vehicle can also pull away when it is facing
an unidentified obstacle or is driving on a differ-
ent line from another vehicle. The vehicle then
brakes automatically.
If there is no vehicle in front, Distance Pilot
DISTRONIC operates in the same way as cruise
control.
If Distance Pilot DISTRONIC detects a slower-
moving vehicle in front, it brakes your vehicle. In
this way, the distance you have selected is main-
tained.
If Distance Pilot DISTRONIC detects a faster-
moving vehicle in front, it increases the driving
speed. However, the vehicle is only accelerated up to the speed you have stored.
Selecting the drive program
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC supports a sporty
driving style if you have selected the Sportor
Sport Plus drive program (
Ypage 146). Accel-
eration behind the vehicle in front or to the set
speed is then noticeably more dynamic. If you
have selected the Comfortdrive program, the
vehicle accelerates more gently. This setting is
recommended in stop-and-start traffic.
Changing lanes
If you change to the overtaking lane, Distance
Pilot DISTRONIC supports you if:
Ryou are driving faster than 45 mph (70 km/h)
Ryou switch on th eappropriat etur nsignal
RDistanc ePilo tDISTRONI Cdoes no tcurrentl y
detec t adanger of collision
If these condition sare fulfilled ,your vehicl eis
accelerated. Acceleration will be interrupted if
changin glanes takes to olon gor if th edistanc e
between your vehicl eand th evehicl ein fron t
become sto osmall.
iWhe nyou chang elanes, Distanc ePilo t
DISTRONI Cmonitors th eright lan e(in left-
side traffic) or th elef tlan e(in right-side traf-
fic).
Stopping
GWARNIN G
If you leav eth evehicl ewhen it is only bein g
braked by Distanc ePilo tDISTRONIC, it could
rol laway if:
Rthere is amalfunction in th esystem or in
th evoltag esupply.
RDistanc ePilo tDISTRONI Cis switched off
usin gth ecruise control lever, e.g. by avehi-
cle occupant or from outside th evehicl e
Rtheelectrica lsystem in th eengin ecom-
partment, th ebattery or th efuses are tam -
pered with.
Rth ebattery is disconnected
Rth evehicl eis accelerated, e.g. by avehicl e
occupant .
There is aris kof an accident.
Befor eleavin gth evehicle, always deactivat e
Distanc ePilo tDISTRONI Cand secure th e
vehicl eagainst rollin gaway.
If Distanc ePilo tDISTRONI Cdetects that th e
vehicl ein fron tis stopping ,it brakes your vehicl e
to astop.
Once your vehicl eis stationary, it remain ssta-
tionary and you do no tneed to depress th e
brake.
Afte r atime, th eelectric parkin gbrak esecures
th evehicl eand relieves th eservic ebrake.
Dependin gon th especified minimum distance,
your vehicl ewill come to astandstill at asuffi-
cient distanc ebehind th evehicl ein front. The
specified minimum distanc eis set usin
gth e
contro
l on th ecruise control lever.
The transmission is shifted automatically to
position Pif, wit hDistanc ePilo tDISTRONI C
activated and th evehicl estationary:
Rth edriver's doo ris open and th edriver's seat
belt is unfastened.
Rth eengin eis switched off ,unless it is auto-
matically switched off by th eECO start/sto p
function .
The electric parkin gbrak esecures th evehicl e
automatically if, wit hDistanc ePilo tDISTRONI C
activated and th evehicl estationary:
Rasystem malfunction occurs.
Rth epowe rsupply is no tsufficient.
174Driving systems
Driving and parking

HOLD function
General notes
The HOLD function can assist the driver in the
following situations:
Rwhen pulling away, especially on steep slopes
Rwhen maneuvering on steep slopes
Rwhen waiting in traffic
The vehicle is kept stationary without the driver having to depress the brake pedal.
The braking effect is canceled and the HOLD
function deactivated when you depress the
accelerator pedal to pull away.
iDo 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
GWARNING
If the vehicle is only braked using the HOLD
function, the vehicle may roll away in the fol-
lowing situations when you leave the vehicle:
Rif there is a malfunction in the system or in the voltage supply
Rif the HOLD function is deactivated by
depressing the accelerator pedal or brake
pedal, e.g. by a vehicle occupant
Rif the electrical system in the engine com-
partment, the battery or the fuses are tam-
pered with or the battery is disconnected
There is a risk of an accident.
Always deactivate the HOLD function and
secure the vehicle against rolling away before
you leave it.
!When Distance Pilot DISTRONIC or the
HOLD function is activated, the vehicle
brakes automatically in certain situations.
To avoid damage to the vehicle, deactivate
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC and the HOLD
function in the following or similar situations:
Rwhen towing the vehicle
Rin the car wash
Deactivate the HOLD function (
Ypage 182).
Activation conditions
You can activate the HOLD function if:
Rthe vehicle is stationary
Rthe engine is running or if it has been auto-
matically switched off by the ECO start/stop
function
Rthe driver's door is closed or your seat belt is
fastened
Rthe electric parking brake is released
Rthe transmission is in position h,kori
RDistance Pilot DISTRONIC is deactivated
Activating the HOLD function
XMake sure that the activation conditions are
met.
XDepress the brake pedal.
XQuickly depress the brake pedal further
until :appears in the multifunction display.
The HOLD function is activated. You can
release the brake pedal.
iIf 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:
Ryou depress the accelerator and the trans-
mission is in position hork
Ryou shift the transmission to position j
Ryou depress the brake pedal again with a cer-
tain amount of pressure until:disappears
from the multifunction display
Ryou secure the vehicle using the electric park- ing brake
Ryou activate Distance Pilot DISTRONIC
iAfter a time, the electric parking brake
secures the vehicle and relieves the service
brake.
182Driving systems
Driving and parking

iNote that Parking Pilot PARKTRONIC cannot
measure the depth of parking spaces if they
are at right angles to the direction of travel.
You will need to judge whether your vehicle
will fit into the parking space.
When driving at speeds below 19 mph
(30 km/h), you will see parking symbol ;as a
status indicator in the instrument cluster. When
a parking space has been detected, an arrow
towards the right or the left also appears. Park-
ing Pilot only displays parking spaces on the
front-passenger side as standard. Parking
spaces on the driver's side are displayed as
soon as the turn signal on the driver's side is
activated. When parking on the driver's side,
this must remain activated until you confirm the
use of Parking Pilot by pressing the abutton
on the multifunction steering wheel. The system
automatically determines whether the parking
space is parallel or at right angles to the direc-
tion of travel.
A parking space is displayed while you are driv-
ing past it, and until you are approximately 50 ft
(15 m) away from it.
Parking
GWARNING
If you leave the vehicle when it is only being
braked by Active Parking Assist it could roll
away if:
Rthere is a malfunction in the system or in
the voltage supply.
Rthe electrical system in the engine com-
partment, the battery or the fuses have
been tampered with.
Rthe battery is disconnected.
Rthe accelerator pedal has been depressed,
e.g. by a vehicle occupant.
There is a risk of an accident.
Before leaving the vehicle, always secure it
against rolling away.
iIf Parking Assist PARKTRONIC detects
obstacles, Parking Pilot brakes automatically
whilst the vehicle is being parked. You are
responsible for braking in good time.
XStop the vehicle when the parking space sym-
bol shows the desired parking space in the
instrument cluster.
XShift the transmission to position R.
The Start Parking Pilot? Yes: OK No:
% message appears in the multifunction
display.
XTo cancel the procedure: press the%
button on the multifunction steering wheel or
pull away.
or
XTo park using Parking Pilot: press thea
button on the multifunction steering wheel.
The Parking Pilot Active Accelerate
and Brake Observe Surroundingsmes-
sage appears in the multifunction display.
XLet go of the multifunction steering wheel.
XBack up the vehicle, being ready to brake at all
times. When backing up, drive at a speed
below approximately 6 mph (10 km/h). Oth-
erwise, Parking Pilot is canceled immediately.
Parking Pilot brakes the vehicle to a standstill when the vehicle approaches the rear border
of the parking space.
Maneuvering may be required in tight parking spaces.
The Parking Pilot Active Select D
Observe Surroundingsmessage appears in
the multifunction display.
XShift the transmission to position Dwhile the
vehicle is stationary.
Parking Pilot immediately steers in the other
direction.
The Parking Pilot Active Accelerate
and Brake Observe Surroundingsmes-
sage appears in the multifunction display.
iYou will achieve the best results by waiting
for the steering procedure to complete before
pulling away.
XDrive forwards and be ready to brake at all
times.
Parking Pilot brakes the vehicle to a standstill.
The Parking Pilot Active Select R
Observe Surroundingsmessage appears in
the multifunction display.
As soon as the parking procedure is complete,
the Parking Pilot Finished
message
appears and a warning tone sounds. The vehicle
is now parked. The vehicle is kept stationary
without the driver having to depress the brake
192Driving systems
Driving and parking

XClean theballcouplin gif it is dirt y.
XStow the ballcouplin g so that itcannot be
thrown aroun d.
Observe the loading guidelines (
Ypage 295)
and the safety notes regarding stowage spaces
(
Ypage 295).
In formation on cleaning and care of the trailer
tow hitch (
Ypage 331).
Trailer power supply
!
Accessories with a maximum power con-
sumption of 180 W can beconnected to the
permanent power supply.
You must not charge a trailer battery using the
power supply.
The trailer socket of your veh icle is equipped at
the factory with a permanent power supply.
The permanent power supply is supplied via
trailer socket pin 4.
The trailer's permanent power supply is
swit ched off inthe event of low veh icle supply
voltage and after six hours at the latest.
A qualif ied specialist workshop can pro vide
more information about installing the trailer
electrics.
Bicycle rack
General notes
Trailer tow hitch (example withaddit ional
guide pin) Depending on the bicycle rack's design, you can
transport up to four bicycles on it:
RWhen attached by clamping onto ball cou-
plin
g:, the maximum payload is75 kg. You
can transport up to three bicycles.
RWhen attached to ball coupling :and also
guide pin ;, the maximum payload is100 kg.
You can transport up to three bicycles.
The payload is calculated from the weight of the
bicycle rack and the load of the bicycle rack.
To transport bicycles with a gross weight
between 75 kg and 100 kg, use only bicycle
racks with additional anchorage on guide pin ;.
Important safety notes
GWARNING
The bicycle rack can detach from the vehicle if
you
Rexceed the permissible payload of the
trailer tow hitch
Ruse the bicycle rack incorrectly
Rattach the bicycle rack to the ball coupling
beneath the ball head
There isa risk of an accident.
For your safety and that of other road users,
observe the foll owing:
RAlways observe the permissible payload of
the trailer tow hitch.
RUse the bicycle rack only to transport bicy-
cles.
RAlwa ys attach the bicycle rack correctly by
clamping onto the ball head and, ifpossible,
to the guide pin on the ball coupling as well.
RTo transport four bicycles, always use bicy-
cle racks with additional support on the ball
coupling's guide pin.
RUse only bicycle racks approved by
Mercedes-Benz.
RAlways co mplywith the bicycle rack's oper-
ating manual.
!Using unsuitab lebicycle racks or using
them incorrectly can cause damage to and
fractures in the trailer tow hitch.
Bicycle rack225
Driving and parking
Z

Display messagesPossible causes/consequences andMSolutions
The yellow!warning lamp lights up. The red F(USAonly)
or ! (Canada only) indicator lamp flashes for about te nseconds
after th eelectric parking brak ehas been applie dor released. It then
goe sout or remain slit .
The electric parking brak eis malfunctioning .
XSwitchoff th eignition and tur nit bac kon .
XApply th eelectric parking brake.
If it is no tpossibl eto engage th eelectric parking brake:
XShift th etransmission to position j.
XVisitaqualified specialist workshop .
If it is no tpossibl eto release th eelectric parking brake:
XReleas eth eelectric parking brak eautomatically (Ypage 157).
If th eelectric parking brak estill canno tbe released:
XConsult aqualified specialist workshop .
The yellow!warning lamp lights up. If you manually apply or
release th eelectric parking brake, th ered F (USAonly) or !
(Canada only) indicator lamp flashes .
The electric parking brak eis malfunctioning .It is no tpossibl eto apply
th eelectric parking brak emanually.
XShift th etransmission to position j.
XVisit aqualified specialist workshop .
F(USA
only)
!(Canada
only)
Parkin gBrake Inop‐
erativ e
The yellow !warning lamp lights up. The red F(USAonly)
or ! (Canada only) indicator lamp flashes for about te nseconds
after th eelectric parking brak ehas been applie dor released. It then
goe sout or remain slit .
The electric parking brak eis malfunctioning ,e.g. because of over-
voltag eor undervoltage.
XRemove th ecaus efor th eovervoltage or undervoltage, e.g. by
charging th ebattery or restarting th eengine.
XEngage or release th eelectric parking brake.
If it remain simpossible to apply or release th eelectric parking brake:
XSwitc hoff th eignition and tur nit bac kon .
XEngage or release th eelectric parking brake.
If th eelectric parking brak estill canno tbe released:
XConsult aqualified specialist workshop .
If th eelectric parking brak estill canno tbe applied:
XVisit aqualified specialist workshop .
248Display messages
On-board computer and displays

Display messagesPossible causes/consequences andMSolutions
?
CoolantToo HotSto pVehicl eTur nEngine Off
The coolan tis to ohot .
A warning tone also sounds.
GWARNIN G
Do no tdrive when your engin eis overheated. This can caus esom e
fluids whic hmay hav eleaked int oth eengin ecompartmen tto catch
fire.
Steam from th eoverheate dengin ecan also caus eserious burn swhic h
can occur jus tby opening th ehood.
There is aris kof injury.
XPull ove rand stop th evehicl esafely and switch off th eengine, pay-
ing attention to roa dand traffic conditions.
XSecur eth evehicl eagainst rollin gaway (Ypage 156).
XWait until th eengin ehas cooled down .
XMakesur ethat th eair supply to th eengin eradiato ris no tblocked,
e.g. by snow, slus hor ice .
XDo no tstart th eengin eagain until th edisplay message goe sout and
th ecoolan ttemperature is belo w24 8 ‡ (120†). Otherwise ,th e
engin ecould be damaged.
XPay attention to th ecoolan ttemperature gauge .
If th etemperatur eincreases again:
XVisit aqualified specialist workshop immediately.
Under normal operating condition sand wit hth especified coolan t
level, th ecoolan ttemperature may ris eto 24 8 ‡(120†).
#
See Operator' sMan ‐ual
The battery is no tbein gcharged.
A warning tone also sounds.
Possibl ecauses are:
Radefective alternato r
Ratorn poly-V-belt
Ramalfunction in th eelectronics
!Do no tcontinu edriving. The engin ecould otherwise overheat.
XPull ove rand stop th evehicl esafely and switch off th eengine, pay-
ing attention to roa dand traffic conditions.
XSecur eth evehicl eagainst rollin gaway (Ypage 156).
XConsult aqualified specialist workshop .
Display messages257
On-board computer and displays
Z