trailer MERCEDES-BENZ GL SUV 2012 Owners Manual

1, 2,
3...
12 Vsocket
see Socket
360°camera
Function/ notes............................. 228
36 0° ca mera
Cleaning ......................................... 370
4ETS (Electronic Traction System) ....66
4MATIC (permanent four-wheel
drive) .................................................. 250A
ABS (Anti-lock Brakin gSystem)
Disp laym essage ............................ 291
Function/notes ................................ 61
Important safety notes ....................61
Warn ingl am p................................. 327
Activating/deactivating air-recir-
culation mode .................................... 146
Activating/d eactivating cooling
with air dehumidification .................141
Activ eBlindS pot Assist
Activating/deactivating (on-
board computer) ............................ 279
Display message ............................ 311
Function/notes ............................. 242
To wing atrailer .............................. 245
Activ eCurv eSyst em
Disp laym essage ............................ 308
Function/notes ............................. 213
Activ eDriving Assistanc epackage .242
Activ eLane Keepi ngAssist
Activating/deactivating (on-
board computer) ............................ 279
Display message ............................ 311
Function/notes ............................. 246
To wing atrailer .............................. 248
Activ elight function ......................... 123
Activ ePark Assist
Display message ............................ 312
Activ eParkin gAssist
Important safety notes ..................219
To wing atrailer .............................. 223
Activ eService System
see ASSYST PLUS
ADAPTIVE BRAKE ................................ .68Adaptive Brak
eAssist
Display message ............................ 297
Function/notes ................................ 64
Adaptive brake lamps .........................65
Adaptive Dampi ng System
see ADS (Adaptive Damping System)
Adaptive High beam Assist
Display message ............................ 303
Function/notes ............................. 124
Adaptive Main-beam Assist
Switch ingo n/off (on-board com-
puter) ............................................. 281
AdBlue ®
Display message ............................ 306
Fil ling capacity ............................... 428
Important safety notes ..................427
Service ind icator ............................ 366
topping up ..................................... 178
AdBlue ®
service indicator ................366
Additive s(engine oil)........................ 429
AD S(Ad aptiv eDampin gSystem)
Function/note s............................. 212
Airbags
Front airba g(driver, front
passenger) ....................................... 43
Important safety gu idelines ............. 42
Kneeba g.......................................... .44
Sidebag ............................................ 44
Trigg ering ........................................ .41
Windowbag ...................................... 45
Air-co nditionin gsyst em
se eC limate control
Ai rf ilter (whit edisplay message) ....306
AI RF LOW ........................................... 143
AIRMATIC package ADS (Ad aptive Damping System) ...212
Function/notes ............................. 212
Leve lcontrol .................................. 213
Ai rp ressure
see Tyr epres sure
Ai rv ents
Glove compartmen t....................... 154
Important safety notes ..................154
Rea r............................................... 155
Setting ........................................... 154
Setting the centre ai rvents ........... 154
Setting the si deairv ents ............... 154 4
Index

PRE-
SAFE®
Brake ............................. 68
Steering assistant STEER CON-
TRO L................................................ 70
Dri ving system
360°cam era. ................................. 228
Active Lane Kee ping Assist ............245
Active Parking Assis t..................... 219
ADS ............................................... 212
AIRMATIC package ........................212
Leve lcontrol (vehicle with AIR-
MATI Cpackage) ............................ .213
On-road programs .......................... 248
Dri ving systems
Active Curve System ...................... 213
Active Drivin gAssistanc epack-
age ................................................. 242
AMG RIDE CONTROL sports sus-
pension .......................................... 215
ATTENTIO NASSIST ........................ 232
Blind Spo tAssist ...... ...................... 238
Cruise control ................................ 193
Display message ............................ 307
Distronic Pl us................................ 198
HOLD function ............................... 211
Lane Kee ping Assist ...................... 240
Leve lcontrol (vehicles with the
ON&OFFROAD package) ................207
PARKTRONIC ................................. 216
Revers ingc amera .......................... 223
Speed Limi tAssist ......................... 233
SPEEDTRONIC ............................... 196
Dri ving tips
Aquaplaning ................................... 186
Automatic transmission .................170
Brake s........................................... 184
DISTRONI CPLUS ........................... 206
Downhill gradient ........................... 185
Driving abroa d............................... 118
Driving in winte r............................ .187
Driving on flo oded roads ................ 186
Driving on sand .............................. 190
Driving on we troads ...................... 186
Driving ove robstacles ................... 191
Fue l................................................ 184
General .......................................... 184
Icy road surfaces ........................... 188
Limited braking efficiency on sa l-
ted road s....................................... 185New brake pads/l
inings ................ 185
Off-road driving .............................. 188
Off-road ford ing. ............................ 186
Running-i ntips ............................... 158
Sno wchains .................................. 399
Symmetrical di pped bea m............. 118
To wing atrailer .............................. 257
Travelling uphill .............................. 191
Tyr eruts ........................................ 190
We troad surf ace. .......................... 185
DSR (Downhi llSpeed Regulation)
Display message ............................ 309
Function/notes ............................. 251
DVD audio
Operating (on-bo ardc omputer )..... 274
DVD video
Operating (on-bo ardc omputer )..... 275 E
EASY- ENTRY feature
Activating/deactivating .................285
Function/notes ............................. 111
EASY- EXIT feature
Crash-responsive ........................... 112
Function/notes ............................. 111
Switch ingo n/off ........................... 285
EBD (electronic brake force distri-
buti on)
Disp laym essage ............................ 293
Function/notes ................................ 68
EC Os tart/stop function
Deactivating/activating .................163
Gen eral information ....................... 163
Electri calfuses
se eF uses
Electroni cStability Program
see ESP ®
(Electroni cStability Program)
Emergenc ykey
Unlocking the driver's door ..............84
Emergency key element
Function/notes ................................ 78
Locking veh icle ................................ 85
Emergency rel ease
Driver's door .................................... 84
Emergency spar ewheel
Important safety notes ..................414
Po ints to remember ....................... 41410
Index

On-ro
adprograms
AUTO program ............................... 248
Function/notes ............................. 248
Sno wprogram ............................... 249
SPORT program ............................. 249
Traile rprog ram .............................. 250
Ope ning and closing th eside trim
panels ................................................ .130
Operatin gsyst em
se eO n-board computer
Outside temperature display ...........268
Ov erhead control panel ......................37
Ov erride feature
Rea rside windows ........................... 60P
Pai nt code .......................................... 422
Pai ntwork (cleaning instructions) ...368
Pan orama sl iding sunroof
Important safety information ...........93
Opening/closing .............................. 95
Opening/closing the rol lers un-
blind ...... ........................................... 96
Problem (malfunction) .....................97
Rain closing feat ure. ........................ 95
Resetting ......................................... 96
Parking ............................................... 181
Important safety notes ..................181
Parking brake ................................ 182
Positio nofexterio rmirror, front-
passenger sid e............................... 114
Reversing camera ..........................223
se eP ARKTRONIC
Parking aid
Active Parking Assist .....................219
se eE xterior mirrors
see PARKTRONIC
Parking brake
Disp laym essage ............................ 294
Electric parking brake ....................182
Warn ingl am p................................. 332
Parkin glamps
Ch anging bulbs .............................. 130
Display message ............................ 302
Switch ingo n/off ........................... 121
Parking lamps (chang ingb ulbs) ......130 PARKTRONIC
Deactivating/activating .................218
Driving sy stem ............................... 216
Function/notes ............................. 216
Important safety notes ..................216
Pro blem (fault) ............................... 219
Sensor rang e................................. 216
Traile rtowing ................................. 218
Warn ingd ispla y............................. 217
PA SSENGER AIRBAG OF Fwarning
lamp ...................................................... 52
Pe trol .................................................. 424
Plastic trim (cleaning instructions) .372
Po we rclosin gfeature ......................... 84
Po we rw indows
see Side windows
PRE-SAFE ®
(preventive occupant
safety system) Display message ............................ 297
Operatio n......................................... 45
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake
Activating/deactivating .................278
Display message ............................ 298
Function/notes ................................ 68
Warn ingl am p................................. 335
Produc tinformation ............................ 23
Program se lector button .................. 170
Protectio nofthe en vironment
General notes .................................. 23
Pul ling away
Trailer ............................................ 162
Pul ling awa y(automatic transmis-
si on) .................................................... 161 Q
Qualifie dspecialis tworkshop ...........25 R
RACETIME R(on-boa rd computer) ....287
Radar se nsors
Overview ........................................ 433
Radar se nsor system
Activating/deactivating .................283
Display message ............................ 310
Radiato rcover ................................... 36216
Index

Menu (on-boar
dcomputer )............ 275
Number from the phone book ........ 276
Redialling ....................................... 276
Rej ecting/end ingac all................. 276
Te lephon ecompartmen t................ 339
Temperature
Coolan t.......................................... 268
Co olan t(on-board computer) ...... ...2 86
Engine oi l(on-board computer) ...... 286
Outside temperatur e..................... .268
Setting (cl imate control) ................143
TEMPOMAT
Function/notes ............................. 193
Theft-deterren tsyst em
ATA (Anti-Theft Alarm system) .........71
Immob iliser ...................................... 71
Through-loading ................................ 341
Time seeS eparate Owner's manual
Timing (RACETIMER) .........................287
TIRE FITk it.......................................... 379
Top Tether ............................................ 55
Total distanc erecorder .................... 271
Tow-away protection ..........................71
Towing Important safety notes ..................388
Towing atrailer
Active Blind Sp ot Assist................. 245
Active Lane Kee ping Assist ............248
Active Parking Assis t..................... 223
Axle lo ad,p erm issible .................... 433
Bulb failure ind icator for LED
lamps ............................................. 263
ESP ®
(Electroni cStability Pro-
gram) ............................................... 67
Pullin gawayw ithat railer .............. 162
Traile rdrive program ..................... 250
Towing away
Fitting the tow inge ye.................... 390
Removing the tow inge ye............... 390
With both axl eson the ground .......390
Tow-starting
Emergency engine starting ............391
Important safety notes ..................388
Trailer
Display message ............................ 321Trailer coupli
ng
se eT owing atrailer
Traile rtowing
7-pin connector ............................. 263
Blind Spo tAssist ...... ...................... 240
Cleaning the trailer tow hitch ......... 371
Coupling up atrailer ...................... 260
Decouplin gatrailer ....................... 261
Driving tip s.................................... 257
Fol ding in the bal lcoupling ............ 261
Fol ding out the bal lcoupling .......... 259
Important safety notes ..................257
Mo unting dimensions ....................432
Parktroni c...................................... 218
Po wer suppl y................................. 262
Pro blem (fault) ............................... 264
Shift rang e..................................... 170
Traile rloads ................................... 433
Transmission
seeA utomati ctransmission
Transmissio nposition display .........168
Transmission pos ition display
(DIRECT SELECT lever) ......................168
Transportin gthe vehicle .................. 391
Travellin guphill
Brow of hil l..................................... 192
Driving downhil l............................. 192
Maximum gradient-cl imbing capa-
bility .............................................. .192
Trim pie ces( cle anin ginstructions) .372
Trip computer (on-b oard com-
puter) ................................................. .271
Trip meter Calling up ....................................... 271
Resetting (on-bo ardc omputer )...... 272
Turn si gnal
se eT urn signals
Turn signals
Switching on/off ........................... 121
TV
Operating (on-bo ardc omputer )..... 275
se eS eparate operating instructions
Two- wayradio
Freq uencies ................................... 421
Installati on .................................... .421
Transmission output (maximum ).... 421 20
Index

Deactivating/activating ESP
®G
WARNING
If you deactivat eESP®
,E SP ®
no longer sta-
bilises the vehicle. There is an increased risk
of skidding and an accident.
Only deactivat eESP®
in th esituation sdescri-
bed in th efollowing. X
To switch off: press button:.
The å ESP®
OF Fw arnin glamp in the
instrumen tcluster lights up.
X To switch on: press button:.
The å ESP®
OFF warnin glamp in the
instrumen tcluster goes out.
ESP ®
is activated automatically when the
engin eisstarted.
The ECO start/stop fun ction switches the
engin eoff automaticall yifthe vehi cles tops
moving. When pulling away again, the engine
start sautomatically. ESP ®
remain sinits pre-
viousl yselected status. Example: if ESP ®
was
deactiva tedb efor ethe engine was switched
off ,ESP ®
remains deactivated when the
engine is switched on again.
If ESP ®
is deactivated and one or more wheels
start to spin, the ÷ESP®
warning lamp in
th ei nstrumen tcluster flashes. In such situa-
tions, ESP ®
will not stabilise th evehicle. It may be best to deact
ivateESP®
in the fol-
lowing situations:
R when using sno wchains
R in deep snow
R on sand or gravel
If you deactivate ESP ®
:
R ESP ®
no longe rimproves driving stab ility.
R traction control is still activated.
R ESP ®
still provides support when you
brake.
R engine torque is not limited and the drive
wheels are abl etospin. The spinnin gofthe
wheels resu ltsinac utting action for better
traction.
Off-roa dESP® An ESP
®
syste mspecif icall ys uited to off-road
terrain is activated automatically once the off-
road progra misactivate don:
R Vehicles without the ON&OFFROAD pack-
age (Y page252)
R Vehicles wit hthe ON&OFFROAD package
(Y page 253)
Off-road ESP ®
intervenes with adelay if there
is oversteerin gorundersteering ,thus improv-
ing traction.
ESP ®
trailer stabilisation G
WARNING
If roa dand weather conditions are poor,
trailer stabilis ation will not be able to prevent
the vehicle/trailer combination from swerv-
ing. Trailers with ahigh centre of gravit ycan
tip over before ESP ®
can detect this. There is
ar isk of an accident.
Always adap tyour driving style to the prevail-
ing road and weather conditions.
If your vehicle/trailer combination begins to
lurch, you can only stabilise the vehicle/
trailer combination by depressin gthe brake
firmly. Driving safety systems
67Safety Z

In this situation, ESP
®
assist syou and can
detec tifthe vehicle/trailer combination
begins to lurch. ESP ®
slows the vehicle down
by brakin gand limiting the engine outp ut until
the vehicle/trailer combinatio nhas stabi-
lised.
Trailer stabilisation is active above speeds of
about 60 km/h.
Trailer stabilisation does not work if ESP ®
is
deactivated or disabled because of amal-
function.
Crosswin dAssist Strong crosswinds can cause your vehicle to
deviate from astraight course. The crosswind
driving assistance function integrated into
ESP ®
significantly reduces thes eeffects.
ESP ®
intervene sautomatically according to
the direction and intensity of the crosswinds
affecting your vehicle.
When driving on straight roads or gentle
bends ,your vehicle is kept safel yonc ourse
by astabilising brake intervention.
Crosswind driving assistance is active above
av ehicle speed of 80 km /h.
Crosswind driving assistance does not work
if ESP ®
is deactivated or disabled because of
am alfunction. EBD (electronic brake force distribu-
tion)
i Observe the "Importan tsafety notes" sec-
tion (Y page 61). G
WARNING
If EBD has malfunctioned, the rear wheels can
still lock, e.g. under full braking. This increa-
ses the risk of skidding and an accident.
You should therefor eadapt your driving style
to the different handling characteristics. Have
the brak esystem checked at aqualified spe-
cialist workshop. Observe information regarding indicator and
warning lamps (Y
page 327) as well as dis-
play messages (Y page 293).
EBD monitors and controls the brake pres-
sure on the rear wheels to improve driving
stability while braking. ADAPTIVE BRAKE
ADAPTIVE BRAKE enhances braking safety
and offers increased braking comfort. In addi-
tion to the braking function, ADAPTIVE BRAKE
also has the HOLD function (Y page 211) and
hill start assist (Y page 162). PRE-SAFE
®
Brake
i Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (Y page 61).
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake is only available in vehicles
with DISTRONIC PLUS.
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake can help you to minimise
the risk of acollision with avehicle in front or
reduc ethe effect sofsuchacollision .IfPRE-
SAFE ®
Brake has detected arisk of collision,
you will be warned visually and acoustically
as well as by automatic braking. PRE-SAFE ®
Brake cannot prevent acollision withou tyour
interven tion.
This func tion will issue awarning if:
R at speeds of around 30 km/ horm ore over
several seconds, the distance maintained
to the vehicle travellin ginfront is insuffi-
cient.
The · distance warning lamp then lights
up in th einstrument cluster.
R at as peed of approximately 7km/h or
high er,y ou ver yquickly approach avehicle
in front.
An intermittent warning tone will then
sound and the ·distance warning lamp
will light up in the instrumen tcluster. 68
Driving safety systemsSafety

Usefu
linfor mation ............................ 158
Running-in notes ............................... 158
Driving ............................................... 158
Automati ctran smission ................... 167
Refuelling ........................................... 174
Parking ............................................... 181
Driving tips ........................................ 184
Driving systems ................................ 193
Towing atrailer ................................. 257 157Driving and parking

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

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

in effect achieved in the process reduces
the stoppin gdistanc ewhen drivin goff-
road. Th esteerabilit yofthe vehi cleisc on-
siderably redu cedift he wheels lock. Driving systems
Cruise cont
rol
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Do not change down for additional engine
braking on aslipper yroad surface. This could
cause the driv ewheels to lose their grip and
the vehi clec ould skid. G
WAR
NING
Cruise control cannot tak eaccount of road
and traffic conditions.
Alway spay attention to traffic conditions
even when cruis econtrol is activa ted.
Cruise control is only an aid designed to assist
driving. You are responsible for the vehicle's
speed and for braking in good time. G
WAR
NING
Do not use cruise control
R in traffic conditions that do not allow you to
drive at aconstan tspeed (e.g. heavy tra ffic
or winding roads). You may otherwise
cause an accident.
R on slippery roads. The drive wheels may
lose their grip when brakin goraccelerating
and the vehicle may skid.
R whe nther eisl ow visibility ,e.g. due to fog,
heavy rain or snow.
General notes Cruis
econtr ol maintains aconstan troad
speed for you. It brakes automatically in order
to avoid exceeding the set speed. On long and
steep downhil lgradients, especiall yifthe
vehicle is laden or towing atrailer, yo umust
select shift range 1,2or 3in good time. By doing so, you will make use of the braking
effec
tofthe engine. This relieves the load on
the brake system and prevents the brakes
from overheating and wearing too quickly.
Use cruise con trolonly if road and traffic con-
ditions make it appropriate to maintain a
steady speed for aprolonged period. Yo ucan
store any road spee dabove 30 km/h.
Cruise contro llever :
To activate or increase speed
; LIMi ndicato rlamp
= To activate at the current speed/last
stored speed
? To activate or reduce speed
A To switch between cruise control and var-
iable SPEEDTRONIC
B To deactivate cruise control
You can operate cruise control and variable
SPEEDTRONIC with the cruise control lever.
X To switch between variable SPEED-
TRONIC and cruise control: press the
cruise control lever in the direction of arrow
A.
LIM indicator lamp ;on the cruise control
lever indicates which function you have selec-
ted:
R LIM indicator lamp ; off:
cruise control
is selected.
R LIM indicator lamp ; on:
variable
SPEEDTRONIC is selected.
When you activate cruise control, the stored
spee diss hown in the multifunction display Driving systems
193Driving and parking Z