2021 MERCEDES-BENZ GLE SUV trailer

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Donotch ang eth eball neckor the
tr ai le rhi tc h. The
values approvedby themanuf acturercan be
fo und ontheidentif ication platesand inthe
"T ec hn ical data"sec tionunde r"T ra iler hitch"for
th eto wing vehicle (/page385). &
WARNIN GSw erving oftheve hicle/
tr ailer combination duetoinc reased
spee d
Yo uco uld lose contro lof theve hicle/tr ailer
combination.
The vehicle/tr ailercombination mayeve ntip
ove r. #
Under nocircums tances should yo utry
to stra ight entheve hicle/tr ailercombi‐
nation byinc reasin gth espeed. #
Reduce your spee dand donotco unt er‐
st eer . #
Ifneces sary,appl yth ebr ak es. *
NO
TEDama getotheengine asare sult
of ove rheating #
Ifyo ure trof itatrai le rhi tc h, mod ifica ‐
tio ns totheengine cooling system may
be neces sary,dependin gon theve hicle
model.
When retrof itti ng atrai le rhi tc h, ob serveth e
fa stening pointson thech assis . Re
trof itti ng atrai le rhi tc his pe rm issible onlyif a
trailer loadisspec ified inyour vehicle docu‐
ments. Ifth is is no tth ecase, theve hicle isno t
appr ovedfo rtr ail er oper ation.
Fu rther information canbeobt ained ataqu ali‐
fi ed specialis two rkshop.
If th etrailer coupling isde tach able, itis esse n‐
tial tocom plywith theoper ating instruction sof
th etrailer coupling manufacturer.
Couple anduncouple thetrailer carefull y.Ifyo u
do notcon nectth etra iler totheto wing vehicle
cor rectl y,thetrailer maybecome detach ed. Obser
vethefo llo wing noteson theto ngu e
we ight :
R Donotuse ato ngu ewe ight that exceed sor
fa lls belo wtheper missible tongu ewe ight
R Use ato ngu ewe ight asclos eas possible to
th emaximum tongu ewe ight
Do notex ceed thefo llo wing values:
R Perm issible towing capac ity
R Perm issible rear axle load oftheto wing vehi‐
cle
R Perm issible gross mass oftheto wing vehicle
R Perm issible gross mass ofthetra iler
R Maximum permissible speedofthetra iler
En sur eth efo llo wing beforest ar tin gajo ur ne y:
R The tirepr essur eon there ar axle oftheto w‐
ing vehicle issetfo ra maximu mloa d
R The lighting ofthecon nect edtrailer isoper a‐
tion al
In theeve ntofincr eased rear axle load, theve hi‐
cle/tra ilercombination mayno texc eed amaxi‐
mum speed of62 mph(1 00 km/h) forre ason s 250
Drivin gand parking

concer
ningtheoper ating permit. This also
applies incount ries inwhic hth eper missible
maximum speedforve hicle/tr ailercombinations
is abo ve62 mph(1 00 km/h).
Ve hicl eswith AIRMA TICorE-AC TIVE BODY
CONT ROL:ifth esoc ketof thetra iler hitchis
occupied, e.g.byatrailer orrear bicy clerack ,
th eve hicle issetto thenor mal leve lre ga rdless
of thedr ive pr og ram at speed sgr eat erthan
19 mp h(30 km/h). At
tac hin gth eball neck &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent andinjury
due toan incorrectl yins talled ballcou‐
pling
If th eball coupling isno tins talled and
eng aged cor rectly ,it ma ybeco medetach ed
dur ing trav el and endang erother road user s.
Ther eis arisk offata linj ury. #
Installand secur eth eball coupling as
descr ibedintheball coupling manufac‐
tur er's installation instruct ions . #
When theball coupling hasbeen instal‐
led, ensureth at itis cor rectly secu red
bef oreev erytrip. &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent dueto an
inc orrectl yins talled and secur edball
couplin g
If th eball coupling hasnotbeen correctly
ins talled and secur ed,thetra iler can become
de tach ed. #
Installand secur eth eball coupling as
descr ibedintheball coupling manufac‐
tur er's installation instruct ions . #
When theball coupling hasbeen instal‐
led, ensureth at itis cor rectly secu red
bef oreev erytrip. Re
quirement s:
R The vehicle issecur edagains tro lling away. At
tac hin gth eball neck #
Remo vecover1 from theball neckmount
in thedir ect ion ofthear row . #
Storeco ver1 sothat itcan notmo ve
ar oun d. #
Obse rveth emanuf acturer'sinstallation
ins truct ions .
Obser vetheno teson loadi ngtheve hicle. Dr
iving andparking 25
1

Coup
lingoruncou plingatrailer &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryfrom theve hicle
le ve lbeing chang ed
Ve hicl eswith leve lcontr olsystem: the
ve hicle leve lma ybe chang edunin tentio nally,
e.g. byother persons. Youma ybec ome trap‐
ped ifyo uco uple uporunc ouple atrailer
while theve hicle leve lis ch ang ing.In addi‐
tio n,other people couldbecome trapped if
th eir limbs arebe tween theve hicle body and
th etir es orunder neathth eve hicle.
When coupling uporuncoupling atrailer ,
mak esur eth at: #
The door sor tailg atear eno topen edor
clos ed. #
Youdo notini tiat eth eleve lcon trol sys‐
te m and donotoper ateth eDY NA MIC
SELE CTswitc h. #
Donotloc kor unloc kth eve hicle. Re
quirement s:
R The vehicle issecur edwithth eelectr icpar k‐
ing brak e. R
The transmission isin position 005D.
The trailer willbecor rectly detected bytheve hi‐
cle onlyif th efo llo wing condition sar eme t:
R The trailer isconn ectedcor rectl y.
R The trailer lighting system isin wo rking
or der .
The func tionsof thefo llo wing systems willbe
af fect ed byacor rectl yconnect edtrai le r:
R ActiveLa ne Keeping Assist
R ESP®
tra iler stabiliz ation
R Parking AssistPA RK TRONI C
R ActivePa rking Assist
R Blin dSpo tAss istor ActiveBli nd Spo tAssi st
R Drive Aw ayAssi st
R Cross Traf fic Aler t
R Rear vie wcam era
R Surround viewcam era
R AIR BO DY CONTR OL
R AIRMA TIC
R E-AC TIVE BODY CONTR OL Ve
hicl eswithout leve lcontr ol:theball head
height willchang edepen dingon theve hicle's
load. Inthis case, useatrailer withaheight -
adjus table draw bar .
Coupling upatrailer
* NO
TEDama getothest ar terbatt erydue
to full disc harg e Cha
rging thetra iler batt eryusing thepo we r
supply ofthetra iler can damag eth est ar ter
batt ery. #
Donotus eth eve hicle's powe rsupp ly
to charge thetrailer battery. Inf
ormation abouta suit ablebal lnec kfo r
Mer cedes-Ben zve hicles canbeobt ained from a
qu alif ied spec ialistwo rkshop, e.g.anaut hor ized
Mer cedes-Benz Center. #
Remo vetheco vercap from theball neck
mount andstor eit in asaf eplace
(/ page25 1). #
Position thetra iler onaleve lsur face beh ind
th eve hicle andcouple itup totheve hicle. 252
Driving andparking

#
Establish theelectr icalconnect ionbetween
th eve hicle andthetra iler .
% Access oriescan beconnect edtotheper ma‐
nen tpo we rsupp lyup to180W and tothe
po we rsupp lythat isswit ched on via theigni‐
tion lock.
Un coup lingatrailer &
WARNIN GRisk ofbei ng crus hed and
beco ming trap ped whenunco upling a
tr ai le r
Whe nunco upling atrai le rwi th an eng aged
ine rtia-act ivat ed brak e, your han dma y
bec ome trapped between theve hicle andthe
tr ai le rdr aw bar . #
Donotuncouple trailer swit han
eng aged ove rrunbr ak e. *
NO
TEDama gewhen uncouplin gin a
st at eof ove rrun Unc
oupling inast at eof overru ncan dama ge
th eve hicle. #
Donotuncouple trailer swit han
eng aged ove rrunbr ak e. &
WARNIN GRisk ofbeco ming trap ped
whe ndisconnecti ngthetrailer cable
Ve hicl eswith leve lcontr olsystem: The
ve hicle maylo we rwhen thetra iler cable is
discon nected.
This could result inyouor other people
becoming trapped ifyo ur or their limbs are
be tween theve hicle body andthetir es or
under neathth eve hicle. #
Mak esur eth at nobody isunde rneat h
th eve hicle orintheimmediat evicinit y
of thewheel arch es when youdisc on‐
ne ct thetrailer cable. #
Disc onnect theelectr icalconnect ion
be tween theve hicle andthetra iler . #
Uncou ple th etra iler . #
Place theco vercap ontheball neckmount . Ve
hicl eto wing instruct ions
The vehicle isno tsuit able forth euse oftow bar
sy stems that areused forflat towing ording hy
to wing, forex am ple. Attach ing and using tow bar
sy stems canlead todamag eon theve hicle.
When youar eto wing ave hicle withto w bar sys‐
te ms, safedr iving charact eristic scan notbe
guar anteed forth eto wing vehicle ortheto we d
ve hicle. Thevehicle-tr ailercombination may
sw erve from side toside. Complywithth eper‐
mitt edtowing methods (/page329) andthe
ins truct ions forto wing withbo th axle son the
gr ou nd (/ page 330). Dr
iving andparking 253

R
Obser vetheno teson car ein thetrailer hitch
manuf acturer'soper ating instruction s.
R Donotclean theball neckwit hapo we r
wa sher orsolv ent. No
teson car eof theint erior &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryfrom plastic
par tsbreakin gof faf te rth euse ofsol‐
ve nt-ba sedcarepr od ucts
Ca reand cleanin gpr oduc tscon tainin gsol‐
ve nts can causesurfaces inthecoc kpit to
become porous. When theairbags are
deplo yed, plas ticpar tsma ybr eak away. #
Donotus ean ycar eor cle ani ng prod ‐
ucts containing solvents tocle an the
coc kpit. &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryor deat hfrom
bleac hedseat belts
Bleac hingordyeing seat belts canseverely
we aken them. This
can, forex am ple, caus eseat beltsto
te ar or failin an acc ident . #
Neverblea chordyeseat belts. Obser
vetheno teson cleaning andcareto avo id
ve hicle damag e.
Seat belts
R Clea nwit hluk ewa rmand soap ywa ter.
R Donotus ech emical cleaningag ent s.
R Donotdr yseat belts byheating them toove r
17 6°F (80 °C) orexposing them todirect
sunlight .
Displa y
R Switc hof fth edispla yand letit cool down.
R Clean thesur face car efu llywith amic rofiber
clo thand asuit able displa ycar epr oduc t
(TF T/L CD).
R Donotuse anyot her agents.
Plas tictrim
R Clea nwit hadam pmicr ofiber cloth.
R Forhea vysoil ing: useacar epr odu ctrecom‐
mend edforMer cedes-Benz. R
Donotatt achsticke rs,fi lms orsimilar mate‐
ri als.
R Donotallo wcos metics,ins ect repellent or
sun cream tocome incont actwith theplas‐
tic trim.
Re alwo od/t rim eleme nts
R Clea nwi th amic rofiber cloth.
R Blackpiano-lac quer look: clean withadam p
clo thand soap ywa ter.
R Forhea vysoil ing: useacar epr odu ctrecom‐
mend edforMer cedes-Benz.
R Donotuse solvent-based cleaning agents,
poli shes orwa xes.
Headliner
R Clea nwit habr ush ordrysham poo.
Car pet
R Use acar petand textil ecle ani ng agent rec‐
omme ndedforMer cedes-Benz.
Genui neleather seatcovers
R Clean withadam pclo thand then wipe witha
dr yclo th. 31
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Maint enance andcare

*
NO
TEDama gedue totowing away at
exc essiv elyhigh speeds orove rlong dis‐
ta nces The
drivet ra in could bedamag edwhen tow‐
ing atexc essiv elyhigh speeds orover long
dis tances. #
Atowing speed of30 mph(50 km/h)
mus tno tbe exc eeded. #
Atowing distan ceof30 miles(50 km)
mus tno tbe exc eeded. &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent whento wing
a ve hicle whichis toohea vy
If th eve hicle being tow- star tedor towe d
aw ay ishea vier than theper missible gross
mass ofyour vehicle, thefo llo wing situat ions
can occur:
R The towing eyema ybecome detach ed.
R The vehicle/tr ailercombination may
sw erve oreve nov ertur n. #
Ifano ther vehicle istow- star tedor
to we daw ay,its weight mustno texc eed th
eper missible gross mass ofyour ow n
ve hicle. #
Information ontheper missible gross mass of
th eve hicle canbefound ontheve hicle iden‐
tif ication plate(/ page37 3). #
Donotop en thedr iver's door orfront
passeng erdoor astheaut omatic transmis‐
sion mayot her wise shiftto position 005Dauto‐
matic ally. #
Installth eto wing eye(/ page334). #
Fasten theto w bar .
* NO
TEDama gedue toinc orrect connec‐
tion oftheto w bar #
Onlyconnect theto w rope ortow bar to
th eto wing eyes. %
Youcan also attachth eto w bar tothetrailer
hitc h. #
Deact ivat eth eaut omatic locking mechanism
(/ page71 ). #
Donotactiv ateth eHOLD function. #
Deact ivat eth eto w- aw ay alar m(/ page89) . #
Deact ivat eAc tiveBr ak eAssi st
( / pag e19 2). #
Shif tth eaut omatic transmiss iontoposition
005C(/ page16 8). #
Release theelectr icpar king brak e. &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent dueto limi‐
te dsaf ety-re lat ed func tionsdur ing the
to wing proce ss
Saf ety-re lat ed func tionsar elimit edorno lon‐
ge rav ailable inthefo llo wing situat ions:
R theignition isswitc hedoff.
R thebr ak esy stem orpowe rst eer ing sys‐
te m ismalfu nctioning.
R theener gysupply ortheon- boar delectr i‐
cal system ismalfunct ioning.
When your vehicle isthen towe daw ay,signif ‐
icant lymor eef fort ma ybe requ ired tosteer
and brak eth an isno rm allyre qu ired. #
Use ato w bar . Br
eakdo wnassis tance 33
1

#
Mak esur eth at thesteer ing wheel can
mo vefreely ,bef oreto wing theve hicle
aw ay. *
NO
TEDama gedue toexcess ive tracti ve
po we r If
yo upull away shar ply, thetractiv epo we r
ma ybe toohigh andtheve hicles couldbe
damag ed. #
Pull away slo wlyand smoo thly. Lo
adi ng the vehicl efo rtr ans port #
Obser vetheno teson towing away
( / pag e330). #
Connec tth eto w bar totheto wing eyein
or der toload theve hicle.
% Youcan also attachth eto w bar tothetrailer
hitc h. #
Shif tth eaut omatic transmiss iontoposition
005C. %
The automatic transm ission maybe locked
in posit ion005Dintheeve ntofdama getothe
electr ics.Toshif tto 005C ,pr ov ide theon-
boar delectr icalsystem withpo we r
( / pag e32 7). #
Load theve hicle ontoth etra nspor ter. #
Shif tth eaut omatic transmiss iontoposition
005D. #
Use theelectr icpar king brak eto secur eth e
ve hicle agains tro lling away. #
Onlysecur eth eve hicle bythewheels.
Ve hicl eswith ADSPL US (Adap tiveDam ping
Sy stem PLUS) &
WARNIN GRisk ofan acci dent when
tr ansp orting vehicles withAd aptive
Dam pingSy stem PLUS
The reduced damping forc es on theve hicle
being transpor tedcan cause theve hicle/
tr ailer combination tostar tto swing.
As are sult, when transpor tingvehicles with
th eAd aptiveDam pingSy stem PLUS, the ve
hicle/tr ailercombination mayst ar tto skid.
Conseq uently,yo uco uld lose contro lof your
ve hicle. #
When transpor ting,ensur eth at:
R The vehicle hasbeen loaded onto
th etranspor tercor rectl y
R The vehicle issecur edatall four
wheel swit hsuit able tensi oni ng
st ra ps
R The maximum permissible speedof
35 mph(6 0km/h) isno texc eeded
when transpor ting *
NO
TEDama getotheve hicle from secur‐
ing itincor rectl y #
Afterloa ding, theve hicle mustbe
secur edon allfour wheel s.Ot her wise,
th eve hicle could bedamag ed. #
Aminimum distance of8in (20 cm)
up wa rdsand 4in (10 cm) down wards
mus tbe kept tothetranspor tplatf orm. 332
Breakdo wnassis tance

Ins
tallin gth eto wing eye #
Press themar kon cover1 inwa rdsand
re mo ve. #
Screw intheto wing eyecloc kwiseasfaras it
wil lgo and tight en.
Ve hicl eswith atraile rhitc h:Vehicles witha
tr ailer hitchdo notha ve are ar brac ketfo rth e to
wing eye. Fasten theto w bar tothetrailer
hitc h.
% Mak esur eth at cover1 eng ages inthe
bum perwhen youre mo vetheto wing eye.
* NO
TEDama getotheve hicle dueto
inc orrect useof theto wing eye When
ato wing eyeis used toreco vera ve hi‐
cle, theve hicle maybe damag edinthepr oc‐
ess. #
Onlyuse theto wing eyeto tow aw ay or
to w star tth eve hicle. To
w star ting theve hicl e(eme rgency engine
st ar t) Ve
hicl eswith automatic transmiss ion
* NO
TEDama getotheaut omatic trans‐
mission duetotow star tin g The
automat ictransm issionma ybe damag ed
in thepr ocess oftow star tin gve hicles with
aut omatic transmission. #
Vehicles withaut omatic transmission
mus tno tbe tow star ted. #
Vehicles withaut omatic transmission must
no tbe tow- star ted. Electr
icalfuses No
teson electr icalfuses &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent andinjury
due tooverloaded lines
If yo uman ipulat eor bridg eafa ulty fuse orif
yo ure place itwit hafuse withahigher
am per age, theelectr icline could beove rloa‐
ded.
This could result inafire . #
Alw aysre place faulty fuseswit hspec i‐
fi ed newfuses containin gth ecor rect
am per age. 33
4
Brea kdo wnassista nce