
XSlide boltAinto the hole in the ball coupling
recess and the ball coupling to the stop.
XSecure the bolt using spring cotter B.
XCheck the ball coupling, bolt and spring cotter
for correct installation.
If the ball coupling cannot be correctly mounted,
remove the ball coupling. Under these circum-
stances, the ball coupling must not be used for
trailer towing.
Have the entire trailer tow hitch checked at a
qualified specialist workshop.
Coupling up a trailer
!
Do not connect the trailer's brake system (if
featured) to the hydraulic brake system of the
towing vehicle, as the latter is equipped with
an anti-lock brake system. Doing so will result
in a loss of function of the brake systems of
both the vehicle and the trailer.
XShift the transmission to position P.
XApply the vehicle's electric parking brake.
XStart the engine.
XVehicles with AIRMATIC package: select
normal level and the Comfortdrive program.
XSwitch off the engine.
XClose the doors and tailgate.
XCouple up the trailer.
XEstablish the electrical connection between
the vehicle and the trailer.
XCheck that the trailer lighting system is work-
ing.
XPush the combination switch upwards/down-
wards and check whether the corresponding
turn signal on the trailer flashes.
A trailer that is connected is recognized only
when the electrical connection is established
correctly and when the lighting system is work-
ing properly. The function of other systems also
depends on this, for example:
RESP®
RParking Assist PARKTRONIC
RParking Pilot
RActive Blind Spot Assist
RActive Lane Keeping Assist
iVehicles with the AIRMATIC package: if you
couple up a trailer, the vehicle always remains
at normal level. When coupling up a trailer,
please observe the foll
owing:
RIf the normal level has not been set man-
ually, the vehicle is automatically lowered
to normal level. This is the case if a speed of
5 mph (8 km/h) is reached.
RThe
Sport drive program is not available.
These restrictions apply to all accessories
powered through a connection to the trailer
power socket of your vehicle, e.g. a bicycle
carrier.
Observe the maximum permissible trailer
dimensions (width and length).
222Towing a trailer
Driving and parking

Most U.S. states and all Canadian provinces
require by law:
RSafety chains between the towing vehicle and
the trailer. The chains should be cross-wound
under the trailer drawbar. They must be fas-
tened to the vehicle's trailer coupling, not to
the bumper or the axle.
Leave enough play in the chains to make tight
cornering possible.
RA separate brake system for certain types of
trailer.
RSafety switch for braked trailers. Check the
specific legal requirements applicable to your
state.
If the trailer becomes detached from the tow-
ing vehicle, the safety feature triggers the
trailer brakes.
Towing a trailer
There are numerous legal requirements con-
cerning the towing of a trailer, e.g. speed restric-
tions. Make sure that your car/trailer combina-tion complies with the local regulations:
Rin your place of residence
Rin the location to which you are driving
The police and local authorities can provide reli-
able information.
Observe the following when towing a trailer:
RTo gain driving experience and to become
accustomed to the new handling characteris-
tics, you should practice the following in a
traffic-free location:
-cornering
-stopping
-backing up
RBefore driving, check:
-trailer tow hitch
-safety switch for braked trailers
-safety chains
-electrical connections
-lights
-wheels
RAdjust the exterior mirrors to provide an
unobstructed view of the rear section of the
trailer.
RIf the trailer has electronically controlled
brakes, pull away carefully. Brake manually using the brake controller and check whether
the brakes function correctly.
RSecure any objects on the trailer to prevent
the cargo from slipping when the vehicle is in
motion.
RWhen you couple up a trailer, check at regular
intervals that the load is firmly secured. If the
trailer is equipped with trailer lights and
brakes, check the trailer to ensure that these
are working.
RBear in mind that the handling will be less
stable when towing a trailer than when driving
without one. Avoid sudden steering move-
ments.
RThe vehicle/trailer combination is heavier,
accelerates more slowly, has a decreased
gradient climbing capability and a longer
braking distance.
It is more susceptible to side winds and
requires more careful steering.
RIf possible, do not brake suddenly, but instead
depress the brake pedal moderately at first so
that the trailer can activate its brakes. Then
increase the pressure on the brake pedal.
RIf the automatic transmission repeatedly
shifts between gears on uphill or downhill gra-
dients, shift to a lower gear using the left-hand
steering wheel paddle shifter.
A lower gear and lower speed reduce the risk
of engine failure.
RWhen driving downhill, shift to a lower gear to
utilize the engine's braking effect.
Avoid continuous brake application as this
may overheat the vehicle brakes and, if instal-
led, the trailer brakes.
RIf the coolant temperature increases dramat-
ically while the air-condit ioning system is
switched on, switch off the air-conditioning
system.
Coolant heat can also be dissipated by open-
ing the windows and switching the ventilation blower and the interior temperature to the
highest level.
RWhen overtaking, pay particular attention to
the extended length of your vehicle/trailer
combination.
Due to the length of the vehicle/trailer com-
bination, you require additional road space in
relation to the vehicle you are overtaking
before you can change back to the original
lane.
Towing a trailer223
Driving and parking
Z

Decouplingatrailer
GWARNING
If you uncoupl e atrailer wit hth eoverrun
brake engaged, you could trap your han d
between th evehicle and th etrailer drawbar .
There is aris kof injury.
Do no tuncoupl e atrailer if th eoverrun brake
is engaged.
GWARNING
Vehicles wit hlevel control:
The vehicle is lowered as soo nas you discon-
nect th etrailer cable. Thi scould result in your
limbs or those of other people that are
between th evehicle bod yand tires or under-
neat hth evehicle bein gtrapped. There is a
ris kof injury.
Mak esur ethat nobod yis in th eimmediate
vicinit yof th ewhee lhousings or under th e
vehicle when you disconnec tth etrailer cable.
!Do no tdisconnec t atrailer wit han engage d
overrun brake .Otherwise ,your vehicle could
be damaged by th ereboundin gof th eoverrun
brake .
XShift th etransmissio nto position P.
XApply thevehicle' selectric parking brake .
XStart theengine.
XClos eth edoors and tailgate.
XApply th etrailer's parking brake .
XDetach thetrailer cable and decoupl eth e
trailer .
XSwitchof fth eengine.
Permissible trailer loads an ddrawbar
loads
Weight specifications
Maximum allowable gross mass
The gross vehicle weight of th etrailer is calcu-
lated by addin gth eweight of th etrailer to th e
weight of th eload and equipmen ton th etrailer .
You will fin dinstallin gdimensions and load s
under "Technical data" (
Ypage 394).
Permissible noseweigh t
You will findinstallin gdimensions and load s
under "Technical data" (Ypage 394).
Loadingatrailer
RWhe nloadin gth etrailer ,mak esur ethat nei-
ther th epermissible gross weight of th etrailer
no rth egross vehicle weight are exceeded.
The permissible gross vehicle weight is indi-
cated on th eidentification plat elocated on
th eB-pilla ron th edriver's sid eof th evehicle.
You can fin dth emaximum permissible values
on th etyp eplates of your vehicle and th e
trailer .Whe ncalculatin ghow muc hweight
th evehicle and trailer may carry, pay atten-
tion to th erespective lowest values.
RThe trailer drawbar load on th eball couplin g
mus tbe adde dto th erea raxl eload to avoid
exceedin gth epermissible gross axl eweight .
The permissible gross vehicle weight is indi-
cated on th eidentification plat elocated on
th eB-pilla ron th edriver's sid eof th evehicle.
iMercedes-Ben zrecommends atrailer load
wher eth etrailer drawbar noseweigh t
accounts fo r 8 %to 15 %of th etrailer's per -
missible gross weight .
iThe weight of additional accessories ,pas-
sengers, and cargo reduce sth epermissible
trailer load and drawbar load fo ryour vehicle.
Checking th evehicle an dtrailer weigh t
RTo checkthat th eweight sof th etowin gvehi-
cl e and th etrailer compl ywit hth emaximum
permissible values, hav eth evehicle/trailer
combination (includin gth edriver ,passen -
gers, and cargo wit h afullylade ntrailer )
weighed on acalibrated weighbridge .
RCheckth egross axl eweight ratin gof th efron t
and rea raxles, th egross weight of th etrailer
and th etrailer drawbar noseweight.
Removin gth eball coupling
XRemov eth esprin gcotter.
XRemov eth ebolt from th eball couplin g
recess .
XRemov eth eball couplin gfrom th eball cou-
plin grecess .
224Towing a trailer
Driving and parking

Display messagesPossible causes/consequences andMSolutions
The yellow!warning lamp lights up and th ered F (USAonly)
or ! (Canada only) indicator lamp flashes .
It is no tpossibl eto apply th eelectric parking brak emanually.
XShift th etransmission to position j.
XVisit aqualified specialist workshop .
$(USAonly)
J(Canada only)
Check Brake Fluid
Level
There is no tenough brak efluid in th ebrak efluid reservoir .In addition ,
th e$ (USAonly) or J(Canada only) warning lamp lights up in
th einstrumen tcluste rand awarning tone sounds.
GWARNIN G
The braking effec tmay be impaired.
There is aris kof an accident.
XPull ove rand stop th evehicl esafely as soo nas possible, payin g
attention to roa dand traffic conditions. Do no tcontinu edrivin g
under any circumstances.
XSecur eth evehicl eagainst rollin gaway (Ypage 156).
XConsult aqualified specialist workshop .
XDo notadd brak efluid .This does no tcorrec tth emalfunction .
#
CheckBrakePadWear
The brak epads/linings hav ereached their wear limit.
US Aonly: th e$ red brak esystem warning lamp is lit while th e
engin eis running.
XVisit aqualified specialist workshop .
G
Inoperative
Oneor mor emain features of th embrace system are malfunctioning .
XVisitaqualified specialist workshop .
ActiveBrakeAssistFunctionsCurrentlyLimitedSee Opera‐tor's Manual
Active Brake Assis twit hcross-traffic function is temporarily inopera-
tive.
Possibl ecauses are:
RThe radar sensor system is temporarily inoperative, e.g. due to
electromagneti cradiation emitted by nearby TV or radi ostation sor
other source sof electromagneti cradiation .
RThe system is outside th eoperating temperature range.
RThe on-boar dvoltag eis to olow.
Whe nth ecauses state dabov eno longer apply, th edisplay message
disappears.
Active Brake Assis twit hcross-traffic function or PRE ‑S AF E
®PLU Sis
functional again .
If th edisplay message does no tdisappear :
XPull overand stop th evehicl esafely as soo nas possible, payin g
attention to roa dand traffic conditions.
XSecur eth evehicl eagainst rollin gaway (Ypage 156).
XRestart th eengine.
Display messages24 9
On-board computer and displays
Z

Display messagesPossible causes/consequences andMSolutions
b
Switch Off Lights
You leaveth evehicl eand th elights are switched on . Awarning tone
also sounds.
XTurn th eligh tswitch to th eà position .
b
Switch On Headlamps
You are drivin gwit hlow-beam headlamp sswitched off .
XTurn theligh tswitch to th eL orà position .
Adaptive HighbeamAssist CurrentlyUnavailable SeeOperator' sManual
Adaptive Highbea mAssis tis deactivated and temporarily inoperative.
Possibl ecauses are:
RThe windshield in th ecamera' sfield of vision is dirty.
RVisibilit yis impaire ddue to heav yrain ,snow or fog .
XClean thewindshield.
If th esystem detects that th ecamera is full yoperational, th eAdap‐
tiv eHighbeam Assist Now Availablemessage is displayed.
Adaptive Highbea mAssis tis operational again .
Adaptive HighbeamAssist InoperativeAdaptive HighbeamAssis tis faulty.
XVisit aqualified specialist workshop .
Engine
Display messagesPossible causes/consequences and MSolutions
+
CheckCoolantLevelSee Operator' sMan ‐ual
The coolan tlevel is to olow.
!Avoid making lon gjourneys wit hto olittl ecoolan tin th eengin e
coolin gsystem. The engin ewill otherwise be damaged.
XAd dcoolant, observing th ewarning note sbefore doin gso
(Ypage 324).
If you have to ad dcoolant frequently:
XContac t aqualified specialist workshop and hav eth eengin ecoolin g
system checked.
?The fan motor is malfunctioning .
XAt coolanttemperatures belo w24 8‡( 120 †), drive to the nearest
qualified specialist workshop.
XAvoid heavy loads on the engine as you do so, e.g. driving in moun-
tainous terrain and stop-and-go traffic.
256Display messages
On-board computer and displays

Display messagesPossible causes/consequences andMSolutions
#
StopVehicl eSeeOperator' sManual
The battery is no longer bein gcharged and th econdition of charg eis
to olow.
A warning tone also sounds.
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).
XObserv eth einstruction sin th e# See Operator' sManualdisplay message .
XConsultaqualified specialist workshop .
4
CheckEngineOilAtNextRefueling
The engin eoil level has dropped to th eminimum level.
A warning tone also sounds.
!Avoid lon gjourneys wit hto olittl eengin eoil. The engin ewill oth-
erwise be damaged.
XChec kth eoil level when next refueling, at th elatest (Ypage 323).
XIf necessary, add engin eoil (Ypage 323).
If th eengin eoil need stoppin gup mor eoften:
XContac t aqualified specialist workshop and hav eth eengin e
checked.
Information on approve dengin eoils can be obtained from any quali-
fie dspecialist workshop or on th eInternet at http://bevo.mercedes -
benz.com.
4
Check Engine OilLevel (Ad d 1quart)
Mercedes-AMG vehicles: th eengin eoil level is to olow.
!Avoid lon gjourneys wit hto olittl eengin eoil. The engin ewill oth-
erwise be damaged.
XChec kth eoil level when next refueling, at th elatest (Ypage 323).
XIf necessary, add engin eoil (Ypage 323).
If th eengin eoil need stoppin gup mor eoften:
XContac t aqualified specialist workshop and hav eth eengin e
checked.
Information on approve dengin eoils can be obtained from any quali-
fie dspecialist workshop or on th eInternet at http://bevo.mercedes -
benz.com.
4
Engine Oil LevelLow Sto pVehicl eTurnEngine Off
Mercedes-AMG vehicles: th eengin eoil level is to olow.
There is aris kof engin edamage.
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).
XCheckth eengin eoil level (Ypage 323).
XIf necessary, add engin eoil (Ypage 323).
8
Fue lLevel Low
The fuel level has dropped int oth ereserv erange.
XRefue lat th eneares tgas station .
258Display messages
On-board computer and displays

Display messagesPossible causes/consequences andMSolutions
CThere is onlyaver ysmall amount of fuel in th efuel tank.
XRefue lat th eneares tgas station without fail .
8
Gas Cap Loose
The fuel filler cap is notclosed correctl yor th efuel system is leaking .
XCheckthat th efuel filler cap is correctl yclosed .
If th efuel filler cap is not correctl yclosed :
XCloseth efuel filler cap .
If th efuel filler cap is correctl yclosed :
XVisitaqualified specialist workshop .
8
Ultra Low-sulfurDiesel FuelOnl y
Vehicles wit h adiesel engine: th efuel level has fallen belo wthe
reserv erange.
XRefue lat th eneares tgas station .
XOnly use commercially available vehicular ULTRA-LOW SULFUR
HIGHWAY DIESEL FUEL (ULSD ,15 ppm SULFUR MAXIMUM) .
¸
ReplaceAir Filter
Vehicles wit h adiesel engine: th eengin eair filter is dirty and mus tbe
replaced.
XVisit aqualified specialist workshop .
!
Check FuelFilter
Vehicles wit h adiesel engine: there is water in th efuel filter. The water
mus tbe draine doff .
XVisit aqualified specialist workshop .
Ø
Check Additive SeeOperator'sManual
The DE Ftan kis almost empty.
XHav eth eDE Ftan kfilled immediately at aqualified specialist work-
sho p (Ypage 153).
The DE Fsystem is malfunctioning .
XVisitaqualified specialist workshop .
Ø
RemainingStarts:16
The DEFlevel has fallen to aminimum .You can start th eengin e a
further 16 times .
XHaveth eDE Ftan kfilled immediately at aqualified specialist work-
sho p (Ypage 153).
iYou can start th eengin e afurther 16 times .If DE Fis no tadded ,it
will then no tbe possibl eto restar tth eengine. Refill th eDE Ftan k
wit happroximately 2gal (7. 5l) of DE F (
Ypage 153).
If the'ten starts' message appear sin th edisplay and awarning tone
sounds, th eDE Fsystem is malfunctioning .
XVisitaqualified specialist workshop .
Display messages259
On-board computer and displays
Z

Warning/
indicator
lampNSignal type
Possible causes/consequences and M
Solutions
÷NThe yellow ESP®warning lamp flashes while the vehicle is in motion.
ESP®or traction control has intervened because there is a risk of skidding or at
least one wheel has started to spin.
Cruise control or Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is deactivated.
XWhen pulling away, only depress the accelerator pedal as far as necessary.
XEase off the accelerator pedal while the vehicle is in motion.
XAdapt your driving style to suit the road and weather conditions.
XDo not deactivate ESP®.
In rare cases (
Ypage 71), it may be best to deactivate ESP®.
Observe the important safety notes on ESP®(Ypage 70).
åN The yellow ESP®OFF warning lamp is lit while the engine is running.
ESP®is deactivated.
GWARNING
If ESP
®is switched off, ESP®is unable to stabilize the vehicle.
Further driving systems or driving safety systems are thus restricted, e.g. Active
Blind Spot Assist. The system does not perform course-correcting brake applica-
tions.
There is an increased risk of skidding and an accident.
XReactivate ESP®.
In rare cases (
Ypage 71), it may be best to deactivate ESP®.
Observe the important safety notes on ESP®(Ypage 70).
XAdapt your driving style to suit the road and weather conditions.
If ESP
®cannot be activated:
XDrive on carefully.
XContact a qualified specialist workshop and have ESP®checked.
280Warning and indicator lamps in the instrument cluster
On-board computer and displays