MERCEDES-BENZ GL SUV 2012 Owners Manual

Transmission position and driv
epro-
gram display !
If the transmission positio ndisplay in the
multifunction display is not working, you
should pull away carefully to chec kwhether
the desired transmission position is
engaged. Ideally, you should selec ttrans-
mission position Dand ,for AMG vehicles,
drive program Cor S.Don ot restric tthe
shift range. Transmission position and drive progra
mdisplay
: Transmission positio ndisplay
; Driv eprogram display
Th ec urrent transmission position and drive
program appea rinthe multifunction display.
i The arrow sint he transmission position
display show how and int owhich transmis-
sion positions you can change usin gthe
DIREC TSELECT lever.
Engaging par kposition P !
If th eengine speed is too high, do not shift
the automatic transmission directly from
D to R,f rom Rto Dor directly to P.Other-
wise ,the automatic transmission could be
damaged. P
Par kposition with parkin glock
R Reverse gear
N Neutral
D Drive
X Push the DIREC TSELECT lever in the direc-
tion of arrow P.
i The automatic transmission shifts into
park position Pautomaticall y:
R ifyou ope nthe driver's door while the
vehicle is stationary in transmission posi-
tion Dor R
R if you open the door while travellin gat
very lo wspeeds in transmission position
D or R
i If you depress the brak epedal and push
the DIRECT SELECT lever up or down, the
parking lock is released. The transmission
is in Nneutral.
In order to shift from park position P
directly into Ror D:
R depress the brak epedal and
R push the DIRECT SELECT lever up or
down past the first point of resistance
Engaging pa rk position Pautomatically Park position
Pis automatically engaged if:
R you switch off th eengine using the key and
remove the key
R you swi tcho ff the engin eusingthe Start/
Stop button an dopen on eofthe front doors
R theH OLD (Y page 211) or DI STRONIC
PLUS (Y page 198) function brake your 168
Automatic transmissionDrivin
gand pa rking

vehicl
euntil it is stationary and at least one
of the following conditions is fulfilled:
- there is asystem malfunction
- the vehicl eisonasteep uphill or downhill
gradient. The electric parking brake is
then als oengaged.
Engaging reverse gear R !
Only shift the automatic transmission to
R whe nthe vehicle is stationary.
X Push the DIREC TSELECT leve ruppast the
first point of resistance.
Neutra lNwithE CO start/stop function
activated The EC
Ostart/stop functio nswitches the
engin eoffautomatically if:
R the vehicle is braked until stationary while
in neut ralNand
R you continue to depress th ebrake pedal
For further information on th eECO start/stop
function ( Ypag e163).
Shiftin gton eutra l(N) X
Push the DIRECT SELECT leve rupordown
to the first point of resistance.
Drive position Dwith ECO start/stop
function activated The ECO start/stop fun
ction switches the
engin eoff automatically if:
R thev ehicle is braked until stationar ywhile
in transmission position Dand
R you continue to depress the brake pedal
For further information on the ECO star t/stop
function (Y page 163).
Engaging drive position D X
Push the DIRECT SELECT lever down past
the first point of resistance. Transmission positions
B
Par
kposition
This prevent sthe ve hicle fr om roll-
in ga way when stopped .Donot
shift the transmission int oposition
P (Y page 181) unless the vehicle
is stationary.
The automatic transmission shifts
to Pautomatically if you:
R remove the key
R switc hoff th eengine whe ninR
or Dand open one of the front
doors C
Reverse gear
Only shift the transmission to
R
when the vehicle is stationary. A
Neu
tral
Do not shift the transmission to N
whil edriving. Otherwise, th eauto-
matic transmissio ncould be dam-
aged.
No power is transmit tedf rom the
engine to th edrive wheels.
Releas ingt he brakes will allow you
to mov ethe vehicle freely, e.g. to
push it or tow it.
If ESP ®
is deactivated or faulty:
only shift the transmission to posi-
tion Nif the vehicle is in danger of
skidding, e.g. on icy roads.
If you switc hoff th eengine using
the key or the Start/Stop butto n,
the automatic transmission shifts
to neutral Nautomatically.
! Rolling in neutral Ncan lead to
damage to the transmission. 7
Drive
The automatic transmission
change sgear automatically. All
forwar dgears are available. Automatic transmission
169Driving and parking Z

Changing gear
The automatic transmission shifts to th eindi-
vidual gea rsautomatically when it is in trans-
mission position D.Gearshif ting is deter-
mined by:
R ap ossible limitation of the shift range
R the selected drive program
R the position of the accelerator pedal
R the roa dspeed Driving tips
Accelerator peda lposition Your style of drivin
ginfluences how the auto-
matic transmissio nshift sgear:
R littl ethrottle: early upshifts
R mor ethrottle: lat eupshifts
Kickdown Use kickdown for maximum acceleration:
X
Depres sthe accelerator pedal beyon dthe
pressur epoint.
The transmission shift stoalower gear
depending on the engin espeed.
X Ease off the accelerator pedal onc ethe
desired speed is reached.
The automatic transmission shift sback up.
Towing atrailer X
Drive in the mid dleo fthe engine speed
range on uphill gradient s.
X Shift down to sh iftr ange 3or
2( Y pag e171) depending on the uphill or
downhil lgradient ,evenifc ruisecontrol,
DISTRONIC PLU SorSPEEDTRONI Cisacti-
vated. Program selector button
General notes Progra
mselector button on vehicles with the
ON&OFFROAD package
X Press program selecto rbutton :.
The letter Mappears in the multifunction
display. Manual driv eprogram Mis ena-
bled. Program selector button on AMG vehicles
X
Press program selector button :repeat-
edly until the letter for the desired gearshift
program appears in the multifunction dis-
play.
The program selector button allow syou to
choose between differen tdriving character-
istics.
i Drive program Mis not store dwhen the
engin eisswitched off. If you want to use
this drive program you will need to reacti-
vate it after startin gthe engine. 170
Automa
tict ran smissionDriving and pa rking

Drive progra
mson AMG vehicles C
Controlled
Efficiency Comfortable, economical
driving
S
Sport Sport
ydrivin gstyle M
Manual Manual gearshif
ting i
For further information on the automatic
drive program, se e(Ypage 171). Steering whee
lgearshif tpaddles In the automatic driv
eprogram, yo ucan
restrict or derestrict the shift range by using
steering wheel gearshift paddles :and ;
(Y pag e171).
In the manual drive pro gram (Y page172),
you can change ge arsm anually using steer-
ing wheel gearshift paddles :and ;.
i You can only change gea rwith the steer-
ing wheel gearshif tpaddles when the trans-
mission is in position D.Automatic drive progra
m(AMG vehi-
cles)
Drive program Cis characterised by the fol-
lowing:
R comfort-oriented engine and transmission
settings.
R optimal fuel consumption resulting from
the automatic transmission shifting up
sooner R
the vehicle pulling awa ymore gentl yin
forward and reverse gears ,unles sthe
accelerator pedal is depressed fully
R increased sensitivity. This improves driving
stability on slippery roa dsurfaces, for
example
R the automatic transmission shifting up
sooner. This results in the vehicle being
driven at lower engine speeds and the
wheel sbeing less likely to spin
Drive program Sis characterised by the fol-
lowing:
R sporty engine and transmission settings
R the automatic transmission shiftin gup
later
R as aresult of the later automatic transmis-
sion shift points, the fuel consumption pos-
sibly being higher Shif
tranges
Introduction In transmission position
D,you can use the
steering wheel gearshift paddle to restric tor
derestrict the shift range for the automatic
transmission (Y page 171).
The shift range selected is shown in the mul-
tifunc tion display. The automatic transmis-
sion shift sonly as far as the selected gear.
Driving situations =
To use the engine's braking effect
5
The braking effect of the engine can
be utilised on downhil
lgradients or
when driving:
R on stee pmountain roads
R in mountainous terrain
R in arduous conditions 4
The brakin
geffect of th eengine can
be utilised on extremel ysteep
downhill gradients and long down-
hill stretches. Automatic transmission
171Drivingand pa rking Z

Restrictin
gthe shift range X
Pull th eleft-hand steering wheel gearshift
paddle.
The automatic transmissio nshift sdown
one gear and restric tsthe shift range to the
relevant gear.
i If the engine exceed sthe maximum
engin espeed when shiftin gdown, the auto-
matic transmission protect sagainst engine
damage by not shifting down.
i If the maximum engin espeed for the shift
range is reached and you continue to accel-
erate, the automatic transmission shifts up,
even if the shift range is restricted. This
prevents the engine from overrevving.
Extending the shif trange X
Pul lthe right-hand steering wheel gearshift
paddle.
The shift range is derestricted.
Clearing th eshift rang erestriction X
Pull and hold the right-hand steering wheel
gearshift paddle until Dis shown again in
the multifunction display.
The automatic transmission shifts from the
current shift range directly to D.
or
X Use the DIRECT SELECT lever to shift the
transmission to position D.
The automatic transmission shifts from the
current shift range directly to D.
Selecting the ideal shift range X
Pull the left-hand steering wheel gearshift
paddle and hold it in position.
The automatic transmission shifts to the
gear which allow soptimum acceleration
and deceleration. To do this, the automatic
transmission shifts down one or more
gears. Manua
ldrive program
Activatin gthe manua ldrive program In manual drive program
M,you can change
gear using the steering wheel gearshift pad-
dles if the transmission is in position D.The
curren tdrive progra mand the engaged gear
are shown in the multifunctio ndisplay.
X AMG vehicles: press the program selector
button (Y page 170)until Mappe arsint he
multifunction display.
X Vehicle swith the ON&OFFROAD pack-
age: press the program selector button
(Y page 170).
The letter Mappears in the multifunction
display.
Upshifting (all vehicles except AMG
vehicles) X
Pull the right-han dsteering whee lgearshift
paddle (Y page 171).
The automatic transmission shifts up to the
next gear.
Upshifting (AM Gvehicles) !
In manua lgearshif tprogram M,the auto-
matic transmission does not shift up auto-
matically even when the engin elimiting
speed for the current gear is reached.
When the engine limitin gspeed is reached,
the fuel supply is cut to prevent the engine
from overrevving. You must mak esure that
the engine spee ddoes not reach the red
area of the rev counter .Otherwise, there is
ar isk of engine damage. :
Gear indicator
; Upshift indicator 172
Automa
tict ran smissionDriving and pa rking

Befor
ethe engine speed reaches the red ar ea,
an upshift indicator will be shown in the mul-
tifunction display.
X If the colour in the speedometer multifunc-
tion display changes to red and the UP dis-
play messag eisshown, shift up agear.
Downshifting X
Pull the left-han dsteering wheel gearshift
paddl e(Ypage 171).
The automatic transmission shifts dow nto
the next gear.
Maximu macceleration
X Pull the left-hand steering whee lgears hift
paddle unt ilthe transmission selects the
optimu mgearfor the curr ents peed.
i If yo uslowd ownors topw ithou tshifting
down, the automati ctransmissio nauto-
matically shift sdown.
Kickdown You can also use kickdown for maximum
acceleration in manua
ldrive program M.
X Dep ress the ac celerator pedal beyond the
pressure point.
The transmission shift stoalower gear
depending on the engine speed.
X Shif tback up onc ethe desired speed is
reached.
i All vehicles (excep tAMG vehicles): if
yo ua pply full throttle, the automatic trans-
mission shifts up to the next gear when the
maximum engine speed is reached. This
prevents the engine from overrevving.
i AMG vehicles: it is not possible to use
kickdown in manual drive program M.Deactivating the manua
ldrive program X
AMG vehicles: press the program selector
button (Y page 170) repeatedly until Cor
S appe arsint he multifunction display.
X Vehicle swith the ON&OFFROAD pack-
age: press the program selector button
(Y page 170).
M is no longer shown in the multifunction
display. Automa
tict ran smission
173Driving and pa rking Z

Problems wit
hthe transmission Problem Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
Th
et rans mission has
problem sshifting gear. The transmission is losing oil.
X
Hav ethe transmission chec kedataq ualified specialist work-
sho pimmediately. Th
ea cceleratio nability
is deteriorating.
The transmission no
longer changes gear. The transmission is in emergency mode.
It is only possible to shift into
secondgear and reverse gear.
X Stop.
X Shift the transmission to position P.
X Switch off the engine.
X Wait at least ten seconds befor erestar tingthe engine.
X Shift the transmission to position Dor R.
If D is selected, the transmission shifts into secondgear; ifRis
selected, the transmission shifts into reverse gear.
X Have the transmission checked at aqualified specialist work-
sho pimmediately. Refuelling
Important safety notes
G
WARNING
Fue lish ighly flammable. If you handle fuel
incorrectly, there is arisk of fire and explo-
sion.
You must avoid fire, naked flames, creating
sparks and smoking. Switch off the engine
and, if applicable, the auxiliary heating before
refuelling. G
WARNING
Fuels are poisonous and hazardous to health.
There is adanger of injury.
Do not swallow fuel or let it come into contact
with skin, eyes or clothing. Do not inhale fuel
vapours. Keep fuels out of the reach of chil-
dren. If you or others come into contact with fuel,
observe the following:
R Wash the fuel off any affected areas of skin
with water and soap immediately.
R If you get fuel in your eyes, rinse them thor-
oughly with clean water immediately. Seek
immediate medical attention.
R If fuel is swallowed, seek immediate medi-
cal attention. Do not induce vomiting.
R Change any clothing that has come into
contact with fuel immediately. G
WARNING
Vehicles with adiesel engine:
If you mix diesel fuel with petrol, the flash
point of this fuel mixture is lower than that of
pure diesel fuel. When the engine is running,
components in the exhaust system may over-
heat unnoticed. There is arisk of fire.
Never refuel with petrol. Never add petrol to
diesel fuel. 174
RefuellingDriving and parking

G
WARNING
Electrostati ccharge can lead to the creation
of sparks and to fuel vapours igniting. There
is ar isk of fire and explosion.
Touch the vehicle bodywork just before open-
ing the fuel filler cap. This wil ldischarge a
possible electrostatic charge.
! Do not use petrol to refuel vehicle swith a
diesel engine. Do not use diesel to refu el
vehicles wit hapetrol engine. Do not switch
on the igniti on if youaccidentally refuel
with the wrong fuel. Otherwise, the fuel will
ente rthe fuel system .Even small amounts
of th ewrong fue lcould result in damage to
the fuel system and the engine. The repair
cost sare high .Notif yaq ualified specialist
workshop and have the fuel tan kand fuel
lines draine dcompletely.
! Overfilling the fuel tan kcould damage the
fuel system.
! Take care not to spill any fuel on painted
surfaces .You coul dotherwis edamage the
paintwork.
! Use afilter when adding fuel from afuel
can. The fuel lines and/or the diesel injec-
tion system could otherwis ebeblocked by
particles from the fuel can.
If you overfill the fuel tank ,fuel could spray
out when the fuel pump nozzle is removed.
Further information on fuel and on fuel grades
can be found in the "Fuel" section
(Y page 423). Refuelling
Opening/closing the fuel filler flap :
To open the fuel filler flap
; To insert the fuel filler cap
= Fuel type to be refuelled
? Tyre pressure table
The fuel filler flap is unlocked or locked auto-
matically when you open or close the vehicle
with the key or using KEYLESS-GO.
The position of the fuel filler cap is displayed
8 in the instrument cluster. The arrow
next to the filling pump indicates the side of
the vehicle.
Opening X
Switch off the engine.
X Remove the key from the ignition lock.
X KEYLESS-GO: open the driver' sdoor.
This corresponds to key position 0:"key
removed".
The driver's doo rcan be closed again.
X Press the fuel filler flap in the direction of
arrow :.
The fuel filler flap swings up.
X Turn the fuel filler flap anti-clockwise and
remove it.
X Insert the fuel filler cap into the holder
bracket on the inside of filler flap ;.
X Completely insert the filler neck of the fuel
pump nozzle into the tank and refuel.
X Only fill the tank until the pump nozzle
switches off. Refuelling
175Driving and parking Z

i
Do not ad dany mor efuel after the pump
stop sfilling for the first time. Otherwise,
fuel may leak out.
Closing X
Replace the cap on the fille rneck and turn
cloc kwise until it engages audibly.
X Close the fuel filler flap.
i Close the fuel filler flap before lockin gthe
vehicle. 176
RefuellingDriving and parking

Problems wit
hthe fuel and fuel tank Problem Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
Fue
lisl eakin gfrom the
vehicle. Th
ef uel line or the fuel tank is faulty.
G WARNING
Risk of explosion or fire.
X Turn the key to position 0in the ignition lock and remove it
immediately (Y page 159).
X Do not restart the engine under any circumstances.
X Consult aqualified specialist workshop. The engine does not
start. The fuel tank of
avehicle with adiesel engine has been run com-
pletely dry.
X Refuel the vehicle with at least 5litres of diesel.
X Turn the ignition on for approximately ten seconds
(Y page 159).
X Start the engin econtinuously for amaximum of ten seconds
until it runs smoothly.
If the engine does not star t:
X Tur nthe igni tion on again for amaximum of ten seconds
(Y page 159).
X Start the engine again continuously for amaximum of ten sec-
onds until it runs smoothly.
If the engine does not star tafter th reea ttempts:
X Consult aqualified specialist workshop. The fuel filler flap can-
not be opened. The fuel filler flap is not unlocked.
or
The key battery is discharged.
X
Unlock the vehicle (Y page 77).
or
X Unlock the vehicle using the emergency key element
(Y page 78). The fuel filler flap is unlocked, but the opening mechanism is jam-
med.
X
Consult aqualified special istworkshop. Refuelling
177Driving and parking Z