2018 MERCEDES-BENZ GLS SUV drive program

Highway mode
Highway mode increases the range of the beam.
Active:if you are driving at a speed above
110 km/h and do not make any large steering
movements for at least 1,000 m or if you are
driving at a speed above 130 km/h.
Not active: if you are driving at speeds below
80 km/h following activation.
Extended range fog lamps
The extended range fog lamps reduce the glare
experienced by the driver and improve the illu-
mination of the edge of the road.
Active: if you are driving at speeds below
40 mph (70 km/h) and you switch on the rear
fog lamp.
Not active: if, following activation, you are driv-
ing at speeds above 60 mph (100 km/h) or if you
switch off the rear fog lamp
Off-road lights
The off-road lights facilitate the early recogni-
tion of objects/obstacles when driving off-road
thanks to a symmetrical, wider and brighter dis- tribution of light from the low-beam headlamps.
Active: when driving at speeds no faster than
30 mph (50 km/h) and the off-road program
selector wheel is in position 1 or 2.
Not active: when driving at speeds above
30 mph (50 km/h).
When the off-road lights are switched on, the
cornering light function is permanently activa-
ted, the active light function is deactivated and
the headlamp range control is set to static
mode.
Adaptive Highbeam Assist
General notes
You can use this function to set the headlamps
to change between low beam and high beam
automatically. The system recognizes vehicles
with their lights on, either approaching from the
opposite direction or traveling in front of your
vehicle, and consequently switches the head-
lamps from high beam to low beam.
The system automatically adapts the low-beam
headlamp range depending on the distance to
the other vehicle. Once the system no longer detects any other vehicles, it reactivates the
high-beam headlamps.
The system's optical sensor is located behind
the windshield near the overhead control panel.
Important safety notes
GWARNING
Adaptive Highbeam Assist does not recognize
road users:
Rwho have no lights, e.g. pedestrians
Rwho have poor lighting, e.g. cyclists
Rwhose lighting is blocked, e.g. by a barrier
On very rare occasions, Adaptive Highbeam
Assist may fail to recognize other road users
that have lights, or may recognize them too
late. In this, or in similar situations, the auto-
matic high-beam headlamps will not be deac-
tivated or will be activated regardless. There is a risk of an accident.
Always carefully observe the traffic conditions
and switch off the high-beam headlamps in
good time.
Adaptive Highbeam Assist cannot take into
account road, weather or traffic conditions.
Adaptive Highbeam Assist is only an aid. You are responsible for adjusting the vehicle's lighting
to the prevailing light, visibility and traffic con-
ditions.
In particular, the detection of obstacles can be
impaired if:
Rpoor visibility, e.g. due to fog, heavy rain or
snow
Rdirt on the sensors or the sensors are
obscured
Switching Adaptive Highbeam Assist
on/off
XTo switch on: turn the light switch to Ã.
XPress the combination switch beyond the
pressure point in the direction of arrow :.
The _ indicator lamp in the multifunction
display lights up when it is dark and the light
sensor activates the low-beam headlamps.
If you are driving at speeds above approx-
imately 16 mph (25 km/h):
118Exterior lighting
Lights and windshield wipers

Notes on breaking-in a new vehicle
Important safety notes
The sensor system of some driving and driving
safety systems adjusts automatically while a
certain distance is being driven after the vehiclehas been delivered or after repairs. Full system
effectiveness is not reached until the end of this
teach-in procedure.
New and replaced brake pads and discs only
reach their optimum braking effect after several hundred kilometers of driving. Compensate for
this by applying greater force to the brake pedal.
The first 1000 miles (1500 km)
The more you look after the engine when it is
new, the more satisfied you will be with its per-
formance in the future.
RYou should therefore drive at varying vehicle
and engine speeds for the first 1000 miles
(1500 km).
RAvoid heavy loads, e.g. driving at full throttle,during this period.
RChange gear in good time, before the tach-
ometer needle is Ôof the way to the red area
of the tachometer.
RDo not manually shift to a lower gear to brake
the vehicle.
RTry to avoid depressing the accelerator pedal
beyond the point of resistance (kickdown).
Additional breaking-in notes for Mercedes-AMG
vehicles:
RDo not drive faster than 85 mph (140 km/h)
for the first 1,000 miles (1,500 km).
ROnly allow the engine to reach a maximum
engine speed of 4,500 rpm briefly.
RChange gear in good time.
RIdeally, for the first 1,000 miles (1,500 km),
drive in the Comfortdrive program.
After 1000 miles (1500 km),you can increase
th eengin espeed gradually and accelerate th e
vehicl eto full speed.
You should also observ ethese note son break-
in g in if th eengin eor part sof th edri ve tra
in on
your vehicl ehav ebeen replaced.
Always observ eth emaximum permissibl e
speed.
Driving
Impor tant safety notes
GWARNIN G
Objects in th edriver's footwell can restrict th e
pedal travel or obstruct adepressed pedal .
The operating and roa dsafet yof th evehicl eis
jeopardized. There is aris kof an accident.
Mak esur ethat all objects in th evehicl eare
stowed correctly, and that they canno tente r
th edriver's footwell. Install th efloormats
securel yand as specified in order to ensur e
sufficien tclearance for th epedals. Do no tuse
loos efloormats and do no tplac efloormats on
to pof on eanother.
GWARNIN G
Unsuitable footwear can hinder correc tusage
of th epedals, e.g. :
Rshoes withthick sole s
Rshoes withhigh heels
Rslipper s
There is aris kof an accident.
Wear suitable footwear to ensur ecorrec t
usage of th epedals.
GWARNIN G
If you switch off th eignition while driving,
safety-relevant function sare only available
wit hlimitations, or no tat all. This could affect,
for example, th epowe rsteerin gand th ebrak e
boostin geffect. You will require considerably
mor eeffort to steer and brake. There is aris k
of an accident.
Do no tswitch off th eignition while driving.
GWARNIN G
If th eparkin gbrak ehas no tbeen full y
release dwhen driving, th eparkin gbrak ecan :
Roverheat and caus e afire
Rlose it shold function .
There is aris kof fir eand an accident. Releas e
th eparkin gbrak efull ybefore drivin goff .
Driving139
Driving and parking
Z

leave the vehicle when it is held by hill start
assist.
Hill start assist is not active if:
Ryou are pulling away on a level road or on a
downhill gradient.
Rthe transmission is in position N.
Rthe electric parking brake is applied.
RESP®is malfunctioning.
ECO start/stop function
Introduction
The ECO start/stop function switches the
engine off automatically if the vehicle is stopped
under certain conditions.
The engine starts automatically when the driver
wants to pull away again. The ECO start/stop
function thereby helps you to reduce the fuel
consumption and emissions of your vehicle.
Important safety notes
GWARNING
If the engine is switched off automatically and
you exit the vehicle, the engine is restarted
automatically. The vehicle may begin moving.
There is a risk of accident and injury.
If you wish to exit the vehicle, always turn off
the ignition and secure the vehicle against
rolling away.
General notes
:ECO start/stop display
The ECO start/stop function is activated when-
ever you start the engine using the SmartKey or the Start/Stop button.
If the engine has been switched off automati-
cally by the ECO start/stop function, the èECO symbol is shown in the multifunction dis-
play.
Mercedes-AMG vehicles: the ECO start/stop
function is only available in drive programs
Comfort andSlippery.
Automatic engine switch-off
If the vehicle is braked to a standstill in Dor N,
the ECO start/stop function switches off the
engine automatically.
The ECO start/stop function is operational
when:
Rthe indicator lamp in the ECO button is lit
green
Rthe Sport Plus orSport drive program is not
selected (Mercedes-AMG vehicles)
Rno Off-road program has been selected
Rthe outside temperature and the atmospheric
air pressure is within the range that is suitable
for the system
Rthe engine is at normal operating temperature
Rthe set temperature for the vehicle interior
has been reached
Rthe battery is sufficiently charged
Rthe system detects that the windshield is not
fogged up when the air-conditioning system is switched on
Rthe hood is closed
Rthe driver's door is closed and the driver's
seat belt is fastened
All of the vehicle's systems remain active when
the engine is stopped automatically.
The HOLD function can also be activated if the
engine has been switched off automatically. It is
then not necessary to continue applying the
brakes during the automatic stop phase. When
you depress the accelerator pedal, the engine
starts automatically and the braking effect of
the HOLD function is deactivated.
All vehicles (except Mercedes-AMG vehi-
cles): automatic engine switch-off can take
place a maximum of four times in a row (initial
stop, then three subsequent stops).
Mercedes-AMG vehicles: the number of con-
secutive automatic engine switch-offs is unlimi-
ted.
144Driving
Driving and parking

Automa tic engine start
The engin estart sautomatically if:
Ryou switch off th eECO start/sto pfunction by
pressing th eECO butto n
Rin transmission position Dor Nthebrak e
pedal is release dand th eHOLD function is no t
active
Ryou depress th eaccelerato rpedal
Ryou engage revers egear R
Ryou mov eth etransmission out of position P
Ryou switch to theSport Plu sor Sport drive
program (Mercedes-AM Gvehicles)
Ryou activat emanual gearshifting (Mercedes-
AM Gvehicles)
Ryou switch to th eOffroa ddrive program
(vehicles without Off-Road Engineering pack- age)
Ryou switch to th eOffroa dor Offroa dPlu s
drive program (vehicles wit hOff-Road Engi-
neering package)
Ryou unfasten your seat belt or open th edriv-
er' sdoor
Rth evehicl estart sto rol l
Rthebrak esystem require sthis
Rth etemperature in th evehicl einterior devi-
ate sfrom th eset range
Rth esystem detects moisture on th ewind-
shield when th eair-conditioning system is
switched on
Rth ebattery's condition of charge is to olow
Shifting th etransmission to position Pdoes no t
start th eengine.
Deactivating oractivating the ECO
start/stop function
All vehicles (excep tMercedes-AM G vehi-
cles)
XTo deactivate: press ECO butto n:.
Indicato rlamp ;goe sout .
XTo activate: press ECO butto n:.
Indicato rlamp ;lights up.
If indicator lamp ;is off ,th eECO start/sto p
function has been deactivated manually or as
th eresult of amalfunction .
Mercedes-AM G vehicles
XTo deactivate: in theComfor tdrive pro -
gram ,press ECO butto n:.
or
XActivat emanual gearshifting (Ypage 152).
or
XSwitc hto th eSport Plu sor Sport drive pro -
gram (Ypage 147).
Indicato rlamp ;goes out .
XTo activate: press ECO butto n:.
Indicato rlamp ;lights up. When th e
Sport Plu sor Sport drive program is activa-
ted, th eautomatic transmission switches to
th eComfor tdrive program .
Driving145
Driving and parking
Z

DYNAMIC SELECT controller
Use theDYNAMI CSELECT controller to chang e
th edrive program. Dependin gon th edrive pro -
gram selecte dth efollowin gvehicle character-
istic swill change:
Rth edrive (engin eand transmissio nmanage-
ment)
Rth etransmissio n
Rthesuspensio n
Rthesteerin g
Rtheavailabilit yof th eEC Ostart/sto pfunction
Each time you start th eengin ewit hth eSmart -
Key or th eStart/Sto pbutton, th eComfor tdrive
program is activated. Fo rfurther information
about startin gth eengine, see (
Ypage 141).
The Comfor tdrive program is recommended in
city traffic and stop/start traffic situations.
XAll vehicles (except Mercedes-AMG vehi-
cles) :turn DYNAMI CSELECT controller :as
man ytimes as necessary until th edesire d
drive program is selected.
The selecte ddrive program appears in th e
multifunction display. Afte rfiv eseconds th e
display goe sout .
In addition ,th ecurren tdrive program setting s
are displaye din th emultimedia syste mdis -
play.
Drive program savailable (al lvehicles
excep tMercedes-AMG vehicles):
Individua lIndividual setting s
SportSporty drivin gcharacteris -
tics
Comfor tComfortable and economi-
cal drivin gcharacteristics
Slipper yOptimal drivin gcharacteris -
tics on slipper yor snow-
covered roads
Off-roadOptimal drivin gcharacteris -
tics fo reasily negotiable off-
road terrain
Off-road Plu s
(vehicles wit h
Off-Road Engi-
neering pack-
age)Optimal drivin gcharacteris -
tics fo rrough terrain
Further information on :
RtheIndividua l,Spor t, Comfor tand Slipper y
drive programs (Ypage 151)
RtheOff-road drive program (vehicles without
Off-Road Engineerin gpackage)
(
Ypage 219)
Rth eOff-road andOff-road Plu sdrive pro -
grams (vehicles wit hOff-Road Engineerin g
package) (
Ypage 220)
XMercedes-AMG vehicles :turn DYNAMI C
SELECT controller :as man ytimes as nec-
essary until th edesire ddrive program is
selected.
The selecte ddrive program appears in th e
multifunction display. Afte rfiv eseconds th e
display goe sout .
In addition ,th ecurren tdrive program setting s
are displaye din th emultimedia system dis -
play.
Drive program savailable (Mercedes-AMG
vehicles):
Individua lIndividual setting s
ComfortComfortable and economi-
cal drivin gcharacteristics
DYNAMIC SELECT controller14 7
Driving an d parking
Z

SportSporty driving characteris-
tics
Sport PlusParticularly sporty driving
characteristics
SlipperyOptimal driving characteris-
tics on slippery or snow-
covered roads
Additional information for drive programs
(Ypage 151).
Automatic transmission
Important safety notes
GWARNING
The automatic transmission switches to neu-
tral position Nwhen you switch off the engine.
The vehicle may roll away. There is a risk of an
accident.
After switching off the engine, always switch
to parking position P. Prevent the parked vehi-
cle from rolling away by applying the parking
brake.
DIRECT SELECT lever
Overview of transmission positions
jPark position with parking lock
kReverse gear
iNeutral
hDrive
The DIRECT SELECT lever is on the right of the
steering column. The DIRECT SELECT lever always returns to its
original position. The current transmission posi-
tion j,k, iorh is shown on the trans-
mission position display on the multifunction
display (
Ypage 149).
Engaging park position P
!If the engine speed is too high or the vehicle
is coasting, do not shift the automatic trans-
mission directly from htok, from ktoh
or directly to j. Otherwise, the automatic
transmission may be damaged.
XPush the DIRECT SELECT lever switch in the
direction of arrow j.
Engaging park position P automatically
Park positionjis automatically engaged if:
RYou switch off the engine using the SmartKey
and remove the SmartKey
RYou switch off the engine using the SmartKey
or using the Start/Stop button and open the
driver's door or front-passenger door
RYou open the driver's door when the vehicle is
stationary or when driving at a very low speed
and the transmission is in position hork
Under certain conditions, the automatic trans-
mission shifts automatically to transmission
position jif the HOLD function or Distance
Pilot DISTRONIC is activated. Observe the infor-
mation on the HOLD function (
Ypage 187) and
on Distance Pilot DISTRONIC (Ypage 179).
Engaging reverse gear R
!Only move the automatic transmission to
k when the vehicle is stationary.
XIf the transmission is in position hori:
push the DIRECT SELECT lever up past the
first point of resistance.
XIf the transmission is in position j: depress
the brake pedal and push the DIRECT SELECT lever up past the first point of resistance.
148Automatic transmission
Driving and parking

Shifting to neutral N
GWARNING
If children are left unsupervised in the vehicle,
they could:
Ropen the doors, thus endangering other
people or road users.
Rget out and disrupt traffic.
Roperate the vehicle's equipment.
Additionally, children could set the vehicle in
motion if, for example, they:
Rrelease the parking brake.
Rshifting the automatic transmission out of
park position P
RStart the engine.
There is a risk of an accident and injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children or animals unattended in the
vehicle. Always keep the SmartKey out of
reach of children.
XIf the transmission is in position hork:
push the DIRECT SELECT lever up or down to
the first point of resistance.
XIf the transmission is in position j: depress
the brake pedal and push the DIRECT SELECT
lever up or down to the first point of resist-
ance.
If you switch the engine off with the transmis-
sion in position korh, the automatic trans-
mission shifts to iautomatically.
With the SmartKey: if you then open the driv-
er's door or the front-passenger door or remove
the SmartKey from the ignition lock, the auto-
matic transmission shifts to jautomatically.
With the Start/Stop button: if you then open
the driver's door or the front-passenger door,
the automatic transmission shifts automatically to j.
If you want the automatic transmission to
remain in neutral i, e.g. when having the vehi-
cle cleaned in an automatic, tow-through car
wash: With the SmartKey:
XSwitch on the ignition.
XDepress the brake pedal and keep it
depressed.
XShift to neutral
i.
XRelease the brake pedal.
XRelease the electric parking brake.
XSwitch off the ignition and leave the SmartKey
in the ignition lock.
With the Start/Stop button:
XRemove the Start/Stop button from the igni-
tion lock.
XInsert the SmartKey into the ignition lock.
XSwitch on the ignition.
XDepress the brake pedal and keep it
depressed.
XShift to neutral i.
XRelease the brake pedal.
XRelease the electric parking brake.
XSwitch off the ignition and leave the SmartKey
in the ignition lock.
Engaging drive position D
XIf the transmission is in position kori:
push the DIRECT SELECT lever down past the first point of resistance.
XIf the transmission is in position j: depress
the brake pedal and push the DIRECT SELECT lever down past the first point of resistance.
Transmission position and drive pro-
gram display
The current transmission position and drive pro-
gram appear in the multifunction display.
:Transmission position
;Gear
=Drive program
Automatic transmission149
Driving and parking
Z

The arrows in the transmission position display
show how and into which transmission positions
you can shift using the DIRECT SELECT lever.
If the transmission position display on the mul-
tifunction display is not working, you should pull
away carefully to check whether the desired
transmission position is engaged. Ideally, you
should select transmission position hand, in
Mercedes-AMG vehicles, drive program Cor S.
Transmission positions
BPark position
Only shift the transmission into posi-
tion Pwhen the vehicle is stationary
(
Ypage 161). The parking lock
should not be used as a brake when
parking. Always apply the electronic
parking brake in addition to the park-
ing lock in order to secure the vehi-
cle.
If the vehicle electronics are malfunc- tioning, the transmission may be
locked in position P. Have the vehicle
electronics checked immediately at a
qualified specialist workshop.
Park position Pis automatically
engaged if:
Ryou switch off the engine using the
SmartKey and remove the Smart-
Key
Ryou switch off the engine using the
SmartKey or using the Start/Stop
button and open the driver's door
or front-passenger door
Rthe driver's door is opened when
the vehicle is stationary or driving
at very low speed and the trans-
mission is in position Dor R
CReverse gear
Only shift the transmission into posi-
tion Rwhen the vehicle is stationary.
ANeutral
Do not shift the transmission to N
while driving. Otherwise, the auto-
matic transmission could be dam-
aged.
No power is transmitted from the
engine to the drive wheels.
Releasing the brakes will allow you to
move the vehicle freely, e.g. to push
it or tow it.
If ESP
®is deactivated or faulty: shift
the transmission to position Nif the
vehicle is in danger of skidding, e.g.
on icy roads.
If you switch the engine off with the
transmission in position Ror D, the
automatic transmission shifts to N
automatically.
!Coasting in neutral imay
cause damage to the drive train.
7Drive
The automatic transmission changes
gear automatically. All forward gears
are available.
Driving tips
Changing gear
The automatic transmission shifts through the
individual gears automatically when it is in trans-
mission position h. This automatic gear shift-
ing behavior is determined by:
Rthe selected drive program
Rthe position of the accelerator pedal
Rthe road speed
Accelerator pedal position
Your style of driving influences how the auto-
matic transmission shifts gear:
Rlittle throttle: early upshifts
Rmore throttle: late upshifts
150Automatic transmission
Driving and parking