2021 MERCEDES-BENZ GLS SUV towing

Symbols
........................................................ 5 At
agl ance ....................................................6
Coc kpit ....... ..................... ..................... ..........6
Indica torand warning lam ps.........................1 0
Ov erhead controlpanel ................................ 12
Doo rcontr olpa nel and seatad jus tment .......14
Con trol setting sin there ar passe nger
com partment ................................................ 16
Emerg enciesand brea kdo wns ............ .......... 18 Digita
lOp erator' sMa nua l......................... 20
Callin gup theDigit alOper ator's Manual ...... 20 Gener
alno tes... .......................................... 22
Pr otect ing theen vironmen t... ....................... 22
Mer cedes- BenzGenuineP arts ......... .............. 23
Oper ator's Manual ........................... .............2 3
Ser vice andvehicle operation ......... .............. 24
Oper ating safety...........................................2 5
Decl arati on ofconf ormity forwireless
ve hicle component s... ................................... 27
Dia gno stics con nection ................................ 27 Qua
lified speci alistwo rkshop ....................... 28
Cor rect useof theve hicle ............................2 8
Spor tUtil ityVehicle ........................ .............. 29
No tesfo rper sons withelectr onicmedi‐
cal aids..... ........................................ ............ 29
Pr oble mswithyo ur vehicle ............... ............ 29
Re por tingsaf etydef ects ...............................3 0
Limit edWarrant y.......................................... 31
QR code forre scue card... ............... .............3 1
Dat ast or ag e... ..............................................3 1
Cop yright ...................................................... 34 Occup
antsafety.... .....................................36
Re stra int system .............................. .............3 6
Sea tbel ts<0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
00110011001100110011> 38
Airb ags<0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
001100110011001100110011001100110011> 42
PR E-S AFE ®
sy stem ....................................... 49
Au tomatic measu resaf te ran accide nt..... .... 51
Saf ely transp orting childr enintheve hi‐
cle ...... ........................................................... 51
No teson pets intheve hicle ............ .............6 6 Opening
andclosing .................................. 67
Smar tKey <0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
001100110011001100110011> 67Doo
rs<0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011> 70
Ru nning boards <0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
001100110011001100110011001100110011> <0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011>74
Car gocomp artm ent .....................................7 5
Sid ewi ndo ws<0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011> 81
Sli ding sunroof <0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011> 84
Ro ller sun blinds ...........................................8 9
Anti-t heftpr otect ion .....................................9 0 Seats
andstowing ...................................... 94
No teson thecor rect driver's seatpos i‐
tion <0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011> <0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011>.......94
Sea ts<0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011> 94
St eer ing wheel ............................................ 112
Eas yentr yand exitfeatur e.......................... 114
Oper ating thememor yfunc tion .................. 115
Memor yfunct ioninthere ar passe nger
com partment .............................................. 116
St ow agear eas .............................................1 19
Cup holder.................................................. 133
Soc kets ........... ............................................ 135
Re frig er ator box...... .................................... 137
Wi reless chargin gof themobile phone
and connect ionwithth eex terior ant enna ..139
Ins talling/ remo ving thefloor mats .............. 141 2
Contents

Light
andvisibili ty................................... 143
Ext eriorlighti ng............ ..............................143
Int erior lighti ng........ ......................... .......... 148
Wi ndsh ield wipe rand windsh ield wa sher
sy stem .................. ...................................... 150
Mir rors <0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
00110011001100110011001100110011> 155
Ar ea perm eable toradio wav eson the
winds hield.................................................. 158
Infr ared-r eflectiv ewindshi eldfunction ........ 158 Clim
atecontr ol........................................ 159
Ov ervie wof climat econt rolsy stems ..........1 59
Oper ating theclimat econ trol system ......... 160 Dr
ivin gand parking ................................. 168
Dr iving ............ ............ ........................ ........168
DY NA MIC SELE CTswitc h... ............... ......... 182
Au tomatic transmiss ion.................... .......... 185
Tr ans fercase ........... ................................... 189
Fu nctio nof the4MA TIC.............................. 191
Re fuel ing...... ............................................... 191
Pa rking .......................................................1 94
Dr iving and drivi ng safety systems .............. 201
Tr ailer hitch <0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011> 269Ve
hicle towing instruct ions .............. ...........2 73 Ins
trum ent Disp layand on-b oard
com puter............ ............. ......................... 274
No teson theIns trument Displayand on-
boar dcom puter.............................. ............ 274
Ins trument Displayove rview .......................2 75
Ov ervie wof thebutt ons onthesteer ing
wheel ..........................................................2 76
Oper ating theon- boar dcom puter............... 276
Ov ervie wof what issho wnonthemulti‐
func tion displa y... ....................................... 278
Hea d-up Display ............ .............................278 MBUX
multimedia system ....................... 28 1
Ov ervie wand oper ation .................. ............ 281
Sy stem settings .............................. ............ 289
Na vig ation .......................................... ........292
Te lephon e........................................ ...........2 99
Mer cedes meand apps....... .............. .........302
Mer cedes -Benz emergency callsy stem ...... 309
Ra dio &media .................................. ...........3 13
Sou ndsettings <0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
00110011001100110011001100110011001100110011> 320 Main
tenance andcare............................. 321
ASS YSTPL US service interva ldispla y.........3 21
Engi necompar tment............ ...................... 322
Cl ea ning andcare............ ...........................328 Br
eak down assista nc e............ ................336
Emerg ency............. .....................................336
Flat tire....... ................................................ 338
Batt ery(v ehi cle) ....... .................................. 343
To w star tin gor towing away <0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011> 349
Elec trica lfus es<0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
00110011001100110011001100110011001100110011> 353 Whe
elsand tires <0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
0011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011
001100110011001100110011> 356
No teson noise orunusua lhandling char‐
act eristic s...................................................3 56
No teson regular lyinsp ecting wheels and
tir es ............................................................ 356
No teson sno wch ains ................................ 357
Ti re pressur e.............................................. 357
Loading theve hicle .................................... 363
Ti re labeling ................................................ 367
Def inition ofterm sfo rtir es and loading ..... 372
Chan gingawheel .......................................3 75
Emerg encysparewh eel............ ..................385 Co
ntents 3

1
QRcode foraccessi ngthere scue card →
31
2 Safetyve sts →
336
3 mebutt onand SOS button →
304
4 Hazard warning light system →
145
5 Chec kingand refilling operatingfluids →
394
St artin gassis tance →
347
6 Tow- star tin gand towing away →
350
7 Flat tire →
338 8
Tow- star tin gand towing away →
350
9 Fuelfiller flap withins truct ion labels fortir e
pr essu re,fuel type andQRcode foraccessi ng
th ere scue card →
191
A Warning triang le →
336
B TIRE FITkit →
339
C First-ai dkit (softsided) →
337 At
aglanc e– Em erge ncie sand brea kdo wns 19

R
Vehicl eswith multico ntour seat :Incr ease
th eair pressur ein theseat sidebolsters of
th eseat backres t.
R PRE-S AFE®
Sound: prov ided that themulti‐
media system isswitc hedon,gener ates a
br iefnoi sesigna lto stimulat eth einnat epr o‐
te ctiv emec hanism ofaper son's hearing.
* NO
TEDama gecau sed byobject sin the
fo ot we llor behin dth eseat The
automatic adjustmentof theseat posi‐
tion mayre sult indamag eto theseat and/or
th eobjec t. #
Stow object sin asuit able place. Re
versing thePRE- SAFE®
sy stem mea sures If
an acc iden tdid notocc ur,th epr e-em ptive
measur esthat we retak en arere ve rsed.
Yo uwill need toper form certainse ttings your‐
self . #
Ifth eseat beltpre-t ension ingisno tre duced,
mo vetheseat backres tbac kslightl y.
The locking mechanism releases. Fu
nction ofPRE-S AFE®
PL US (anticipat ory
occupant protection plus) PRE-
SAFE®
PL US can detect cer tain im pact s,
par ticular lyan imm inentrear impact ,and take
pr e-em ptive measur estoprotect theve hicle
occupants. Thesemeasur escanno tnecessar ily
pr eve ntan imm inentimpact.
PR E-S AFE ®
PL US can implem entthefo llo wing
measur esindepe ndently of eac hot her :
R Tight ening theseat belts onthedr iver's seat
and front passeng erseat.
R Increasin gbr ak epr essur ewhen theve hicle
is statio nary.This brak eapplication iscan‐
celed automaticall ywhen theve hicle pulls
aw ay.
If an accident didnotoccur ,th epr e-em ptive
measur esthat we retake nar ere ve rsed. Sy
stem limit s
The system will notinitiat ean yaction inthefo l‐
lo wing situat ions:
R when backingup
or
R when theve hicle istowing atrailer andther e
is arisk ofare ar impact
The system will notinitiat ean ybr aking applica‐
tion inthefo llo wing situat ions:
R whils tdr ivin g
or
R when entering orexitin gapar kingspace
while using ActivePa rking Assist Fu
nction ofPRE-S AFE®
Im pulse Side If
an imminen tside impact isde tected, PRE-
SA FE®
Im pulse Side canpre-emp tively movethe
fr ont seatve hicle occupant's upperbody
to wa rdsth ecent eroftheve hicle. Itdoes this by
ra pidly inflating anair cushion intheout erseat
side bolsterof theseat backres ton theside on
whic hth eim pact isantic ipated.This increases 50
Occupant safety

to
rpeda l,onl yspee dlimi tswhi charehigh er
th an these tspeed areadop ted.
Obser vetheno teson driving systems andyour
re sponsibili ty;yo uma yot her wise failto recog‐
nize dangers(/ page 201).
Sy stem limit s
The system limits ofTraf fic Sign Assistappl yto
th ede tection oftraf fic sig ns (/ page 262) .
Speed limitsbel ow 12mp h(20 km/h) areno t
aut omaticall yadop tedby thesy stem asthe
st or ed speed. Temp oraryspeed restrictions (e.g.
fo ra cer tain tim eor due towe ather condition s)
can notbe proper lyde tected bythesy stem. The
maximum permissible speedapplying toave hi‐
cle withatrailer isno tde tected bythesy stem.
Ad jus tth espeed inthese situation s. &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent dueto Active
Spe edLimi tAssi stadap tingth eve hicle's
speed
The speed adoptedby ActiveSpe edLimi t
Assi stma ybe toohigh orincor rect insome
indi vidualcase s,su ch as: R
atspee dlimit sbelo w12 mp h(20 km/h)
R inwe tcond itions orinfog
R when towing atrailer #
Ensur eth at thedr iven speed complies
wit htraf fic re gulations. #
Adjus tth edr iving speed tosuit current
tr af fic and weather condition s. Fu
nction ofrout e-base dspee dadap tation When
ActiveDis tance AssistDIS TRONI Cis acti ‐
va ted, theve hicle speed willbeadap tedaccor d‐
ing lyto thero uteev ent sahead. Dependingon
th edr ive pr og ram sele cted, theve hicle negoti‐
at es aro uteeve ntaheadin afue l-saving, com ‐
fo rtable ordynam icman ner.When thero ute
eve nthasbe en passe d,theve hicle acceler ates
ag ain tothestor ed speed. Thesetdis tance to
th eve hicle infront, vehicles detected aheadand
spe edrestrictions aheadar eta ke nint oacco unt.
Ro ute-based speedadap tatio ncan beconf ig‐
ur ed inthemultimedia system (/ page222). The
follo wing routeeve nts areta ke nint o
acco unt:
R Curves
R T-int ersect ions,ro und about sand tollst atio ns
R Turnsand exits
R Traf fic jams ahead(only with Liv eTraf fic )
% Whe nth eto llst atio nis reac hed, ActiveDis ‐
ta nce AssistDIS TRONI Cad op tsthespeed as
th estor ed speed.
Also, thespeed isreduced ifth etur nsignal indi‐
cat ortochang elane sis swit ched on and one of
th efo llo wing situat ionsisde tected:
R Turning offat intersect ions
R Drivin gon slowing- down lanes
R Drivin gon lanes adjacenttoslo wing-do wn
lanes
The driver isresponsible forch oosing theright
speed andobser vingother road user s.This
applies inpar ticular tointersect ions,ro und ‐
about sand traffic lights, asroute-based speed
adap tatio ndo es notbr ak eth eve hicle toast and‐
st ill. Dr
ivin gand parking 22
1

The
system maybe impair edorma yno tfunc tion
in thefo llo wing instances:
R The reispoor visibilit y,e.g. due tosno w,rain,
fo g, hea vyspr ay,gr eatl yva rying ambien t
light orstro ng sha dows onthero ad.
R Ther eis glar e, e.g .fr om oncom ingtraf fic,
di re ct sunli ght orreflect ions.
R Insuf ficie ntroad illumin ation.
R The wind shieldisdir ty,fo gg ed up, damag ed
or coveredin thevicinit yof thecamer a,e.g.
by ast icke r.
R No,or several,unc lear lane markingsare
pr esen tfo rone lane, orthemar king sch ang e
qu ickl y, forex am ple, inacon stru ction area
or intersecti ons.
R The lane mar kings arewo rnaw ay,dar kor
co veredup, e.g. bydirtor sno w.
R Ifth edis tance totheve hicle infront istoo
shor tand thus thelane marking scann otbe
de tected.
R The road isnar row and wind ing.
R Ther ear eobs tacle son thelane orprojec ting
out intoth elane, suchas objec tmar kers. The
system does notpr ov ide assis tance inthe
fo llo wing condition s:
R Ontigh tcur vesand when turning.
R When crossing intersections.
R Atround about sor tollst atio ns.
R When towing atrailer .
R When thetir epr essur eis toolow. &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent ifAc tive
St eer ing Assis tune xpect edlyst ops func‐
tionin g
If th esy stem limits ofActiveSt eer ing Assis t
ar ere ac hed ther eis no guar anteethat the
sy stem will remain activeor wil lke ep the
ve hicle inlane. #
Alw ayske ep your han dson thesteer ing
wheel andobser vethetra ffic car efull y. #
Alw aysst eer theve hicle paying atten‐
tion totraf fic condi tions. &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent ifAc tive
St eer ing Assis tune xpect edlyinterve nes
The detection oflane mar kings andobje cts
ma ymal functi onand causeune xpect ed
st eer ing interve ntio ns. #
Steer accor dingtotraf fic condi tions. Ac
tiv atin g/deac tivatin gAc tiv eSte ering
Assis t
Re quirement s:
R ESP®
is act ivat ed, but isno tint erve ning .
R ActiveDis tance AssistDIS TRONI Cis acti va‐
te d.
Multimedia system:
4 © 5
Set ting s5
Quick Access #
Select 004FSteering Assist. Fu
nction ofActiv eLan eCha ngeAs sist Ac
tiveLa ne Chang eAssi stsuppor tsthedr iver
when chang inglane sby appl ying steer ing torq ue
if th edr iver oper ates atur nsignal indicat or. 22
4
Driving andparking

designed
forth ere qu iremen tsof trailer
opera tion. #
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 (/page406). &
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 27
0
Driving and parking

#
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 (/page349) andthe
ins truct ions forto wing withbo th axle son the
gr ou nd (/ page 350). Dr
iving andparking 27
3