transmission MERCEDES-BENZ GL SUV 2012 User Guide

X
Release the brak epedal.
X Carefully depress th eaccele rator pedal.
The electric parkin gbrake (Y page 182) is
automaticall yreleased.
The red !indicator lam pinthe instru-
men tcluster goes out.
i It is only possible to shift the transmission
from position Pto the desired position if
you depress the brake pedal. Only then is
the parkin glock released. If the brake
pedal is not depressed, the DIRECT SELECT
leve rcan still be moved but the parkin glock
remains engaged.
i The vehicle lock scentrally onc eyou have
pulled away .The lockin gknobs in the doors
drop down.
You can open the doors from the inside at
any time.
You can also deactivat ethe automatic lock-
ing featur e(Ypage 28 3).
i Upshif tstake place at higher engine
speeds after acold star t.This helps the
catalytic converter to reach its operating
temperature mor equickly.
Pullin gaway with atrailer To ensure that you do not roll backwards
when pulling away on an uphill slope, engage
the electric parking brake.
X
Press and hol dhandle :.
The electric parking brake continues to
brake and prevent the vehicle from rolling
backwards. The red
!indicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster remains on.
X Depress the accelerator pedal.
X As soon as the vehicle/trailer combination
is held by the driving force of the engine,
release lever :.
The electric parking brake is released.
The red !indicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster goes out.
Hill star tassist G
WARNING
Af teras hort time, hill star tassist will no lon-
ger brake your vehicle and it could rol laway.
There is arisk of an accident and injury.
Therefore, quickly move your foot from the
brake pedal to the accelerator pedal. Never
leave the vehicle when it is held by hill start
assist.
X Remove your foot from the brake pedal.
The vehicle is then held for about asecond.
X Pull away.
Hill star tassist helps you when pulling away
forwards or in reverse on an uphil lgradient.
It hold sthe vehicle for ashort tim eafter you
have removed you rfoot from the brake pedal.
This gives you enough tim etomove your foot
from the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal
and depress it befor ethe vehicle begin sto
roll.
Hil lstart assist will not function if:
R you are pulling away on alevel road or a
downhill gradien t.
R the transmission is in position N.
R the electric parking brake is engaged.
R ESP ®
is malfunctioning. 162
DrivingDrivin
gand pa rking

(
Y page 16 4)¤ symbol is shown in yel-
low in the multifu nction display .Ifthis is the
case ,the ECO star t/stop function is not
available.
X To switch of f(AMG vehicles): in program
C,p ressbutton :.
or
X Switc htod rive program Sor M
(Y page 170).
Indi cator lamp ;on button :and the
¤ symbol in the multifunction display go
out.
The Stop/Star tactive or
Stop/Start inactive message in th
eAMG men uinthe
multifunction displa ygoes out.
X To switch on (AM Gvehicles): press but-
ton :.
Indicator lamp ;lights up. If drive pro-
gram Sor Mis active, the automatic trans-
mission switches to drive program C.
If all conditions for automatic engine
switch-of f(Ypage 16 4)are fulfilled, the
¤ symbol is shown in green in the mul-
tifunction display. In addition, the Stop/Star
tactive message is show
ninthe
AMG men uinthe multifunction display.
If not all condition sfor automatic engine
switch-of f(Ypage 16 4)are fulfilled, the
¤ symbol is not shown. If this is the
case, the ECO start/stop function is not
available. In addition, the Stop/Startinactive message is shown in the AMG
menu in the multifunction display.
i If indicator lamp ;is off, the ECO start/
stop function has been deactivated man-
ually or as the result of amalfunction .The
engin ewill then not be switched off auto-
matically when the vehicle stops.
i Ever ytime you switch on the engine using
the key or the Star t/Stop button, the ECO
start/stop function is activated. Automatic engine switch-off If the vehicle is braked to
astandstill in Dor
N,t he ECO start/stop func tion switches off
the engin eautomatically.
The ECO start/stop function is operational
and the ¤symbol is displayed in green in
the multifunction displa yif:
R thei ndicato rlamp in the ECO button is lit
green
R none of the off-road programs are selected
R the vehicle is stationary
R the outside temperature is within the com-
fort range
R the engine is at normal operating temper-
ature
R the set temperature for the vehicle interior
has been reached
R the battery is sufficiently charged
R the system detects that the windscreen is
not misted up when the air-conditioning
system is switched on
R the bonnet is closed
R the driver' sdoor is closed and the driver's
seat belt is fastened
If not all condition sfor automatic engine
switch-of fare fulfilled ,the ¤ symbol is
shown in yellow.
AM Gvehicles: the AMG menu in the multi-
func tion display additionally shows the Stop/ Star
tinactive message.
i If yo ushift the transmission from Rto D,
the ECO start/stop func tion is available
again onc ethe ¤ symbol reappear sin
green in the multifunction display.
i All vehicles (except AM Gvehicles):
automatic engine switch-off can take place
am aximum of four times consecutively (ini-
tial stop, then three subsequent stops). The
¤ symbol is shown in yellow in the mul-
tifunction displ ayafter the engine has been
started automatically for the fourth time.
When the ¤symbol is shown in green 164
DrivingDriving and parking

in the multifunction display, automatic
engin eswitch-of fisa gain possible.
i AMGvehicles: times which the engine
can be automatically switched off.
i You can also activat ethe HOL Dfunction
when the vehicle is stationary if the engine
has been switched off automatically. It is
then not necessary to continue depressing
the brak epedal during the automatic stop
phase. When you depress the accelerator
pedal, the engine star tsautomatically and
the braking effect of the HOLD function is
deactivated. Depress the accelerator pedal
gently, as the engine must be started first.
i During automatic engine switch-off ,the
climate con trol system only operates at a
reduced capacity. If you require full climate
con trol capacity, the ECO star t/stopfunc-
tion can be deactivated by pressing the
ECO button (Y page 163).
Automatic engin estart The engine is started automatically if:
R you switch off the ECO start/stop function
by pressing the ECO button
R you releas ethe brakes when in transmis-
sion position Dor N,w hen the HOL Dfunc-
tion is inactive
R you depres sthe accelerator pedal
R you engage reverse gear R
R you mov ethe transmission out of position
P
R you switc htodrive program Sor M(AMG
vehicles)
R yo us witch to an off-road program (except
AMG vehicles)
R you unfasten your seat belt or open the
driver's door
R the vehicle start storoll
R the brake system requires this
R the tempera turein the vehicle interior devi-
ates from the set range R
the system detect smoistur eont he wind-
screen when the air-conditionin gsystem is
switched on
R the battery's charge status is too low
i Shifting the transmission to position P
doe snot star tthe engine. Driving
165Driving and pa rking Z

Problem Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
The coolant tempera-
tur
ed isplay is showing
more than 120 †. The
coolant warnin glamp
may also be lit and a
warning tone may
sound. The coolant level is too low. The coolant is too hot and the engine
is no longer being cooled sufficiently.
X
Stop as soon as possible and allow the engine and the coolant
to cool down.
X Check the coolant level (Y page 363). Observe the warning
notes as you do so and top up the coolant if necessary. If the coolant level is correct
,the radiator fa nmay be faulty. The
coolant is too hot and the engine is no longer being cooled suffi-
ciently.
X At coolant temperatures under 120 †, drive on to the nearest
qualified specialis tworkshop, e.g. to aMercedes-Benz Service
Centre.
X Avoid heavy loads on the engine as you do so, e.g. driving in
mountainous terrai nand stop-start traffic. Automatic transmission
Important safety notes
G
WARNING
If the engine speed is above the idling speed
and you engag etrans mission position Dor
R,t he vehicle coul dpull away suddenly. There
is ar isk of an accident.
When engaging transmission position Dor R,
always firmly depress the brake pedal and do
not simultaneously accelerate. DIRECT SELECT lever
Overview of transmissio npositions P
Park position with parking lock
R Reverse gear
N Neutral
D Drive
The DIRECT SELECT leve risonthe right of the
steering column.
i The DIREC TSELECT lever always returns
to its origina lposition .The curren ttrans-
mission position P,R, Nor Dappe arsint he
transmission position display
(Y page 168) in the multifunction display. Automa
tict ran smission
167Driving and pa rking Z

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