2020 MERCEDES-BENZ GLS SUV Owner's Manual

#
Mak esur eth at mar kedspace 2isem pty. #
Remo veSmar tKey 1 from theke yring. #
Place Sma rtKe y1 inmar kedspace 2next
to symbol 3.
The vehicle willstar taf te ra shor ttime.
If yo ure mo veSmar tKey 1 from mar ked
space 2theengine continues running .Fo r
fur ther vehicle star ts howe ver,Smar tKey 1 mus
tbe locat edinmar kedspace 2next to
th esymbol 3during theent ire jour ney. #
Have Smar tKey 1 checkedat aqu alif ied
spec ialistwo rkshop.
If th eve hicl edoes notst ar t: #
Place SmartKey 1 inmar kedspace 2and
lea veitth er e. #
Depr essthebr ak epedal andstar tth eve hi‐
cle using thest ar t/ stop butt on.
% Youcan also switchon thepo we rsupp lyor
th eignition withth est ar t/ stop butt on. St
arting theve hicl evia Remo teOnline serv‐
ices Cooling
orheating theve hicl eint erior before
co mmenci ngyour jour ney
% This function isno tav ailable inall coun tries.
If yo ustar tth eve hicle viayour smar tphon e,the
pr ev iousl yselec tedair con dition ingadjus tment
is activ e. En
sur eth efo llo wing beforest ar tin gth eengine:
R The legalstipulation sin thear ea wher eyo ur
ve hicle ispar kedallo wengin est ar tin gvia
smar tphon e.
R Itis saf eto star tand runth eengine where
yo ur vehicle ispar ked.
R The fuel tank issu fficien tly filled.
R The star terbatt eryis suf ficie ntly charge d.
% Youcan also setth ete mp eratur ewit hyo ur
smar tphon e.Info rm atio non Mer cedesme
con nectand other services: https://
www .mercedes.me
This funct ionisno tav ailable forall model s.
Char ging thebat tery bef orecommencing
yo ur jour ney
% This function isno tav ailable inall coun tries.
If th eve hicle batteryis disc harged, youre cei vea
messa geon your smar tphon e.Youcan then
st ar tth eve hicle withth esmar tphon eto charge
th ebatt ery. The vehicle isaut omaticall y
switc hedoffaf te rte nminu tes. Dr
iving andparking 18
3

Ensu
rethefo llo wing beforest ar tin gth eengine:
R The legalstipulation sin thear ea wher eyo ur
ve hicle ispar kedallo wengin est ar tin gvia
smar tphon e.
R Itis saf eto star tand runth eengine where
yo ur vehicle ispar ked.
R The fuel tank issu fficien tly filled.
St arting theve hicl e(R emo teOnline) &
WARNIN GRisk ofcrus hing orentr ap‐
ment dueto unin tentio nalstar tin gof the
engine
Limbs couldbecrushed ortrapped ifth e
engine isstar tedunint entionall ydur ing
ser vice ormaint enanc ewo rk. #
Alw ayssecur eth eengine agains tunin‐
te ntio nalstar tin gbef orecar rying out
maint enanceorrepair work. Re
quirement s:
R Park position 005Disselect ed.
R The anti- theftalar msystem isno tactiv ated. R
The panic alarmisno tactiv ated.
R The hazar dwa rning light system isswitc hed
of f.
R The hood isclosed.
R The door sar eclosed andlocked.
R The windo wsand slidin gsun roof areclosed. #
Startth eve hicle using thesmar tphon e.
Af tereve ryvehicle star t,th eengine runs for
te nminu tes.
Yo ucan carryout amaximum oftwoconsec u‐
tiv est ar tin gatt em pts. The vehicle mustbe star‐
te donc ewit hth eSmar tKey bef oretrying to
st ar tth eve hicle again withth esmar tphon e.you
can stop theve hicle again atanytime.
% Further information canbefound inthe
smar tphone app.
Secur ingtheengine agains tst ar ting before
car rying out maintenance orrepair work: #
Swi tchon thehazar dwa rning light system.
or #
Unloc kth edoor s. or #
Open aside windo wor thesliding sunroof. Br
eaking-in notes To
preser vetheengine during thefirs t
1, 000 miles(1 ,500 km):
R Drive at varying road spee dsand engine
spee ds.
R Drive th eve hicle indrive pr ogr am A
or ;.
R Shif tto thene xt highes tge ar attheve ry lat‐
es twhen theneedle reac hes thelas tth ird
bef oreth ere dar ea intheta ch ome ter.
R Donotshi ftdo wn age ar man uallyin order to
br ak e.
R Avoid overstrai ning theve hicle, e.g.driving at
full thro ttle .
R Donotde press theaccelera torpeda lpas t
th epr essur epoint (kickdo wn).
R Onlyincr ease theengine speedgradually and
accelera tetheve hicle tofull spee daf te r
1, 000 miles(1 ,500 km). 18
4
Driving and parking

This
also applies whentheengine orpar tsof the
dr ivet ra in have been replaced.
Please alsoobser vethefo llo wing breakin g-in
no tes:
R Incer tain drivin gand drivin gsaf etysy stems,
th esensor sadjus taut omaticall ywhile acer‐
ta in dis tan ceisbei ng driven afte rth eve hicle
has been delivered orafte rre pair s.Fu llsy s‐
te m effectiv enes sis no tre ac hed untilth e
end ofthis teac h-in proce ss.
R Brak epads, brak edisc sand tires that are
eit her newor have been replaced onlyac h‐
ie ve optimum braking effect and grip afte r
se veralhundr edkilom eter sof driving. Com‐
pensat efo rth ere duced braking effect by
appl ying great erforc eto thebr ak epedal. No
teson optimiz edacceler ation If
all necess aryre qu iremen tsand activation con‐
dition sar efulf illed, thebes tpossible accelera‐
tion canbeachie vedfrom ast ands till.
Do notuse theop timiz edaccelera tiononpublic
ro ads. Individ ualwheels couldspin andyou cou
ldlos econtr olof theve hicle. Thereis an
incr eased risk ofskidding and/oraccident.
Be sureto obser vethesaf etyno tesand informa‐
tion onESP ®
(/ page220). Pulling
away wit hop timi zed accel eration &
WARNIN GRisk ofskid ding and having
an acci dent from whe elsspi nning
Whe nyo uuse optim izedacc eler ation,ind i‐
vidual wheelsco uld spin andyouco uld lose
co ntro lof theve hicle.
If ESP ®
is deactiv ated, ther eis arisk ofskid‐
ding andaccident. #
Mak esur eth at no per son sor obs tacles
ar ein theclose vicinit yof your vehicle. Re
quirement s:
R The vehicle hasbeen brok en in
(/ page18 4).
R Theve hicle andtires arein good condition.
R Youar eon ahigh -grip ro adw ay. R
The engine andtransmission areat nor mal
oper ating temp eratur e.
* NO
TEIncr eased weardue tooptimized
acceler ation When
pulling away wit hop tim ized acceler a‐
tio n,all com ponentsof thedr ivet ra in are
subje cted toave ry high load.
This canlead toinc reased component wear. #
Donotalw ayspull away wit hop tim ized
acc eleration. #
Engage the005B drive position (/page20 1). #
Movethesteer ing wheel tothest ra ight -
ahead position. #
Selec tth espor tiestav ailable drive pr ogram
B orC(/ page19 8). #
Dea ctivateESP ®
(/ page 224). #
Depr essand hold thebr ak epedal firm lywith
yo ur leftfo ot . #
With your right foot ,full ydepr esstheaccel‐
er ator pedal. Dr
iving andparking 18
5

#
Afterno mor eth an five seconds, take your
lef tfo ot quickl yof fth ebr ak e, but keep the
acc elerat orpedal depresse d.
The vehicle pullsaway atmax imum acceler a‐
tio n. #
Swit chon ESP ®
once theaccelera tionproce‐
dur eis com plete.
Endin gop tim ized acceler ation #
Remo veyour foot from theacceler ator pedal. #
React ivat eth eES P®
.
% Afteryo upull away wit hop tim ized accelera‐
tio n,com ponentsof thedr ivet ra in can
becom eve ry hot,whic hmeans that opti‐
miz edacc eleration values maybe reac hed
ag ain onlyafte ra fe w min utes. No
teson driving &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent dueto
object sin thedr iver's foot we ll
Obj ectsin thedr iver's foot we llma yim pede
pedal trav el or bloc kadepr essed pedal. This
jeopar dizestheoper ating androad
saf etyof theve hicle. #
Stow allobj ect sin theve hicle secur ely
so that they canno tget intoth edr iver's
fo ot we ll. #
Alw aysins tallth efloor mats securely
and asprescr ibed inorder toensur e
th at ther eis alw ayssuf ficie ntroom for
th epedals. #
Donotuse loose floor mats anddonot
place floor mats ontopof one another. &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent dueto
uns uitable foot we ar
Oper ationof thepedals maybe restrict ed
du eto uns uitable foot we arsuc has:
R Shoes withplat form soles
R Shoes withhigh heels
R Slipper s #
When driving alwayswe arsuit able
shoe sin order tobe able tooper ateth e
pedals safely. &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent whenswi tch‐
ing offth eignition whendriving
If yo uswit choffth eignition whiledriving,
saf etyfun ction sar ere strict ed orno long er
av ailable. Thismayaf fect thepo we rst eer ing
sy stem and thebr ak efo rc eboos ting,fo r
ex am ple.
Yo uwill then need touse consider ablymor e
fo rc eto steer and brak e. #
Donotswitc hof fth eignition whiledriv‐
ing. &
DANG ER Risk ofdeat hcause dby
ex haus tga ses
Combus tionengines emitpoisonous exhaus t
ga ses suchas carbon monoxide.Inhaling
th ese exhaus tga ses ishazar dous tohealt h
and leads topoisonin g. #
Neverlea vetheengine or,if pr esent ,
th eauxiliar yheating running inan
encl osedspa cewithout sufficie ntventi‐
la tio n. 18
6
Driving and parking

&
WARNIN GRisk ofskid ding and ofan
acci dent dueto shif ting down onslipper y
ro ad sur faces
If yo ushif tdo wn onslipp eryro ad sur faces to
inc rease theengine braking effect, thedr ive
wheels maylose traction . #
Donotshif tdo wn onslipper yro ad sur‐
fa ces toinc rease theengine braking
ef fect. &
DANG ER Risk offata linj urydue topoi‐
sonous exhaus tga ses
If th eta ilpipe isbloc kedor suf ficie ntventil a‐
tio nis no tpo ssi ble, po isonou sex haus tga ses
suc has carbon monoxidemayent ertheve hi‐
cle. This isthecase when theve hicle
becomes stuc kin snow ,fo rex am ple. #
Keep theta ilpipe andthear ea around
th eve hicle free from snowwhen the
engine orthest atio naryheat erareru n‐
ning . #
Ope nawi ndo won theside oftheve hi‐
cle facing away from thewind toensur e
an adeq uatesupply offresh air. &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent andinjury
due tobeing under theinf luence ofalco‐
hol and drugs while driving
Dr iving when under theinf luence ofalcohol
and/or drugs isan extreme lydang erous
combin ation.Even small quant ities ofalco hol
or drugs mayaf fect your reflexe s,per cep tion
and judgment.
The probabi lityofaser ious oreven fata lacc i‐
dent greatl yinc reases ifyo udr ive when
und ertheinf luence ofalcohol ordrugs. #
Donotdr ink alcohol ortake drugs while
dr iving, anddonotallo wan yone to
dr ive who hasbeen drink ing alcohol or
ta king drug s. &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent dueto the
br ak esy stem overheating
If yo ulea veyour foot on thebr ak epedal
when driving, thebr ak esy stem mayov er‐
heat.
This increases thebr aking distance and the
br ak esy stem mayeve nfa il. #
Neveruse thebr ak epedal asafo ot re st. #
Donotde press thebr ak epedal andthe
acc elerat orpedal atthesame time
while driving. *
NO
TEWearing out thebr ak elinings by
continu ously dep ressing thebr ak epedal #
Donotdepr essthebr ak epedal contin‐
uousl ywhils tdr iving. #
Touse thebr aking effect of theengine,
shif tto alowe rge ar ingood time. Dr
ivin gand parking 18
7

*
NO
TEDama getothedr ivet ra in and
engin ewhen pulling away #
Donotwa rm uptheengine whilethe
ve hicle isstatio nary.Pull away immed i‐
at ely. #
Avoid high engine speeds anddriving at
full thro ttle untilth eengine hasreac hed
its operatin gte mp eratur e. *
NO
TEDama getothecat alytic converter
due tonon-co mbusted fuel The
engine isno tru nning smoothly and is
misf iring.
Non-c ombus tedfuel mayge tint oth ecat a‐
lyt iccon verter . #
Onlydepr esstheaccelera torpeda l
slig htly. #
Have thecause rectif ied imme diat ely at
a qu alif ied spec ialistwo rkshop. No
teson driving onsalt- treat edroads
The braking effect islimit edon salt-tr eated
ro ads. Ther
efor e, obse rveth efo llo wing notes:
R Due tosalt build-up onthebr ak ediscs and
br ak epads, thebr aking distan cecan increase
consi derablyor result inbraking onlyon one
side
R Maint ainamuc hgr eat ersaf edis tance tothe
ve hicle infront
To remo vesalt build-up:
R Brak eoccasionall ywhile paying attention to
th etra ffic con dition s
R Carefull ydepr essthebr ak epedal attheend
of thejour neyand when star tin gth ene xt
jour ney
No teson hydropl aning
Hyd roplaning cantake place onceacer tain
am ount ofwa terhas accumu lated on thero ad
sur face.
Obs erve thefo llo wing notesdur ing heavyprecip‐
it ation orinconditions inwhic hhy droplaning
ma yocc ur:
R Reduce speed
R Avoid tireru ts R
Avoid sudden steer ing movements
R Brak ecar eful ly
% Also obser vetheno teson regular lych ecking
wheels andtires (/ page51 3).
No teson driving through wateron the road
sur face
Wa terwhi chhas entered intoth eve hicle can
damag eth eengine, electricsand transmission .
Wa tercan alsoent ertheair intakeof theengine
and cause engine damage.
Obser vethefo llo wing ifyo umus tdr ive th ro ugh
wa ter:
R Obser vethemaximum permissible ford ing
dep th(/ pag e563)
R Drive at wa lkin gpace atmos t,other wise
wa tercan entertheve hicle interior orengine
com partment
R Vehicles trave ling infront ,or onc omin gve hi‐
cles, cancreat ewav eswhic hma yexc eed the
maximu mper missi bleheig htofthewa ter
The braking effect of thebr ak es isreduced afte r
fo rd ing. Brak ecar efull ywhile paying attent ion to 18
8
Driving and parking

th
etraf fic condi tions untilbr aki ng powe rhas
been fullyrestor ed. No
teson off-r oad driving &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent ifyo udo not
ke ep toline offallon inclines
If yo udr ive at an ang leor tur non anincline,
th eve hicle could slipside ways,tip and roll‐
ove r. #
Alw aysdr ive on inclines intheline of
fa ll(s traight upordown) and donot
tur n. &
WARNIN GRisk offire due toflammab le
mat erials onhotpar tsof theex haus t
sy stem
Flammable material suc has lea ves, grass or
twigs mayignit eif th ey come intocont act
wi th hotpar tsof theex haus tsy stem. #
When driving onunpavedro ads oroff-
ro ad, regular lych eckth eve hicle under‐
side. #
Remo vetrap pe dplants orother flam‐
mable material. #
Ifth er eis damag e,con sult aqu alif ied
spec ialistwo rkshop immediat ely. When
driving off-r oad, substances such assan d,
mud andwateror wa termix edwithoil ma yget
int oth ebr ak es. This maylead toare duction in
br aking effect or tot albrak efa ilur eas are sult of
incr eased wear.The brakin gch aract eristic swill
va ry dependin gon themat erial that has entered
th esy stem. Clean thebr ak es afte rdr iving off-
ro ad. Ifyo uth en notice reduced braking effect
or hea rscr aping nois es,have thebr ak esy stem
ch eckedat aqu alif ied spec ialistwo rkshop.
Ad jus tyo ur drivin gst yle to thech ang edbrakin g
ch aract eristic s. *
NO
TEDama gecau sed bydriving over
obs tacle s The
vehicle canbedamag edby:
R Driving up on high cur bsorunpa ved
ro ads.
R Quic klydr ivin gove robs tacle ssu ch as
cur bs, spee dbum psorpotholes.
R Hea vyobject shittin gth eunderbody or
ch assis components. #
Donotdr ive ove robs tacle sth at coul d
damag eth eve hicle. #
Chec kth eve hicle regular lyfordama ge
dur ing off-r oad driving. #
Adjus tth eve hicle speed tosuit the
ro ad sur face condi tions. #
Ifth er eis damag e,con sult aqu alif ied
spec ialistwo rkshop immediat ely. Dr
iving andparking 18
9

+
ENV
IRONM ENTALNOTEEnvironme ntal
da ma gedue tonon-ob servance ofpro‐
hi bi tio nsigns En
vironme ntal protect ion has prior ity.Tr eat
natur ewit hre spect. #
Besureto obser veprohibition signs. Chec
klistbef oredr iving off-r oad
Chec kth efo llo wing pointsbef oredr ivin gof f-
ro ad:
R Fuelleve l
R Engi neoille ve l:fill engin eoil up tothemaxi‐
mum leve lto ensur efull gradeability
(/ page47 9).
R Tire -cha ngeto ol kit and spar ewheel
R Tire sand wheels
% Further information aboutspecial all-terrain
tir es forre trof itti ng can beobtained from a
qu alif ied spec ialistwo rkshop. Of
f-road driving
Re ad this sect ionbeforedr ivin gyo ur vehicle off-
ro ad. Pract ice bydriving overmor ege ntle off-
ro ad terrain firs t.
R Observeth eno teson thecr oss-c ountr yABS
(/ page220).
R Ifneces sary,select theF orG drive
pr ogr am (vehicles withan Off-road package )
bef oredr iving off-r oad (/page19 8).
R Beforedr ivi ng off-r oa d, shi ftthetransf er
case totheLOW RANGEoff-r oa dge ar (vehi‐
cle swit han Offroad package )(/ page205 ).
R Selec ta ve hicle leve lsuit able forof f-r oad ter‐
ra in (/ page253). Toavo iddamagin gth e
ve hicle, makesur eth er eis alw ayssuf ficie nt
gr ou nd clearance .
R Alw ayske ep theengine running andingear
when drivin gon downh illgradien tsand
slope s.Obse rveth eno teson driving in
mount ainous terrain.
R Donotdr ive on unk nown terrain that isno t
easil yvisi ble and stay on mar kedro utes. R
Alw ayske ep thedoor sand windo wsclos ed
whi letheve hicle isin mo tion.
R Deactiv ateAc tiveDis tance AssistDIS TRONI C
and cruise contr ol.
R Adaptyo ur drivin gst yle to thete rrain.
R Donotuse theHOLD function onsteep
do wnhill oruphill gradients withslipper yor
loose surfaces.
Dr ivi ng on sand
Whe ndr ivi ng on sand ,al so obs erve thefo llo wing
ins truct ions :
R Selec tth eF drive pr og ram.
R Select ahighe rve hicle leve l.
R Shif tto alowe rge ar.
R Drive qu ickl yto overcome thero lling resis t‐
ance, other wise theve hicle maydig itself in.
R Drive in thetrac ks ofother vehicles ifpossi‐
ble. Makesur eth at thefo llo wing prereq ui‐
sit es areme t:
- The tireru ts areno tto odeep
- The sand isfirm enough 19
0
Driving and parking