MERCEDES-BENZ GLS 2021 Owners Manual

To
w star ting ortowing away Pe
rm itted towing methods *
NO
TEDama gefrom automatic braking If
one ofthefo llo wing functionsis switc hed
on, theve hicle brak es aut omatically incer‐
ta in situat ions:
R ActiveBr ak eAssi st
R ActiveDis tance AssistDIS TRONI C R
HOLD functio n
R ActivePa rking Assist
To avo iddamag eto theve hicle, deactiv ate
th ese systems inthefo llo wing orsimilar sit‐
uation s: #
Dur ing towing #
Inacar wash Mer
cedes-Benz recomme ndstransp orting your
ve hicle inthecase ofabr eakdo wn,rath er than
to wing itaw ay. Fo
rto wing, useato w rope ortow bar withbo th
axle son thegr ound. Donotuse tow bar sys‐
te ms.
* NO
TEDama getotheve hicle duetotow‐
ing away inc orrectl y #
Obs erve theins truction sand noteson
to wing away. Pe
rm itted towing methods Ve
hicl eeq uipment/ towing
me thod Bo
th axle son thegr ound Fr
ont axle raised Re
ar axle raised
4MA TICvehicles Yes,maximum 31mile s(50 km) at
31 mp h(50 km/h) No
No Br
eakdo wnassis tance 34
9

To
wing away theve hicl ewith both axle son
th egr ound #
Obser vetheno teson theper mitt edtowing
me thods (/page349). #
Mak esur eth at thebatt eryis con nect edand
ch arge d.
A disc hargedbatt eryhas thefo llo wing effects:
R The enginecanno tbe star ted
R The electr icpar king brak ecann otbe
re leased orapplied
R The automat ictransmissio ncan notbe shif‐
te dto position 005Cor005D
% Ifth eaut omatic transmiss ioncann otbe shif‐
te dto position 005C,orthemultifunc tiondis‐
pla yin theins trument clusterdoes notsho w
an ything, theve hicle mustbe transpor ted
aw ay (/ pag e35 1). Atowing vehicle with
lif ting equipment isrequ ired forve hicle
tr anspor tatio n. *
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(/ page392). #
Donotopen thedr iver's door orfront
passeng erdoor astheaut omatic transmis‐
sion mayot her wise shiftto position 005Dauto‐
matic ally. #
Installth eto wing eye(/ page353). #
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
(/ page72 ). #
Donotactiv ateth eHOLD function. 350
Breakdo wnassis tance

#
Dea ctivateth eto w- aw ay alar m(/ page92) . #
Deact ivat eAc tiveBr ak eAssi st(/ pag e21 1). #
Shif tth eaut omatic transmiss iontoposition
005C(/ page18 6). #
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 . #
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 e350). #
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 e34 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 Br
ea kdo wnassista nce 35
1

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. #
Secur eth eve hicle onallfour wheel saf te r
loading .
4MA TICvehicl es/vehicl eswith automatic
tr ansmiss ion #
Mak esur eth at thefront and rear axle scom e
to rest on thesame transpor tatio nve hicle.
* NO
TEDama getothedr ivet ra in due to
inc orrect pos itioning #
Donotpos ition theve hicle abovethe
connecti onpointofthetranspor tve hi‐
cle. To
wing eyesto rage location Ex
am ple: towing eye
To wing eye1 islocat edunder thecar gocom‐
par tmen tfloor . 352
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. Br
ea kdo wnassista nce 35
3

*
NO
TEDama gedue toinc orrect fus es Electr
icalcom pone ntsorsystems maybe
damag edbyinc orrect fus es, ortheir func ‐
tion ality maybe signif icantlyim pair ed. #
Onlyuse fuses that have been approved
by Mer cedes-Ben zand whic hha ve the
cor rect fus era ting . Blo
wn fuse smu stbe replaced withfuses ofthe
same rating ,wh ich yo ucan recogni zeby the
colo rand fusera ting .The fuse rating sand fur‐
th er information tobe obser vedcan befound in
th efuse assignmen tdiagr am.
Fu se assignment diagram: onthefuse boxin
th ecar gocom partmen t(/ page355).
* NO
TEDama geormalfunct ionscaused
by mois ture Mois
turema ycause damagetotheelectr ical
sy stem orcause itto malfu nction. #
When thefuse boxis open, makesur e
th at no mois turecan enterthefuse
bo x. #
When closing thefuse box,mak esur e
th at theseal ofthelid isposition edcor‐
re ctly onthefuse box. If
th ene wlyinser tedfuse alsoblows,ha ve the
cau setrace dand rectif ied at aqu alif ied spec ial‐
is two rkshop.
Ensur eth efo llo wing beforere placing afuse:
R The vehicle issecur edagains tro lling away.
R Allelectr icalconsu mersar esw itched off.
R The igniti onissw itched off.
The electr icalfu ses arelocat ed invarious fuse
bo xes:
R Fuse boxin theengine compartmen ton the
lef t-hand sideoftheve hicle, when viewe din
th edir ect ion oftrave l(/ page35 4)
R Fuse boxon thedr iver's side ofthecoc kpit
(/ page355) R
Fuse boxin thefront passeng erfoot we ll
(/ page355)
R Fuse boxin thecar gocom partmen ton the
ri ght-h andside oftheve hicle, when viewe d
in thedir ect ion oftra vel(/ page355 ) Opening
andclosing thefus ebo xin the
engine compartmen t Re
quirement :
R Youne ed adr yclo thand asc rewdr iver .
Obser vetheno teson electr icalfuses
(/ page353).
Opening &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryfrom using the
winds hieldwiper swhile theengine hood
is open
When theengine hoodisopen andthewind‐
shield wipersar ese tin mo tion ,yo ucan be
tr apped bythewiper linkage. 35
4
Breakdo wnassis tance

#
Alw aysswitc hof fth ewindshield wipers
and ignition beforeopening theengine
hood. #
Remo veanyex istin gmois turefrom thefuse
bo xusing adr yclo th. #
Loosen screws2 and remo vefuse boxlid
1 from theto p. Closing #
Chec kwhe ther theseal isposition edcor‐
re ctly inthelid. #
Inser tth elid intoth ebr ac ketat there ar of
th efuse box. #
Folddo wn thelid ofthefuse boxand tight en
scr ews2. #
Close thehood. Opening
andclosing thefus ebo xin the
coc kpit The
fuse boxis on theside ofthedashboar d
under aco ver. #
Con tact an author ized Mercedes-B enzCen‐
te rfo rfur ther information . Opening
andclosing thefus ebo xin thefront
pa sseng erfoot we ll #
Cont actanaut hor ized Mercedes- BenzCen‐
te rfo rfur ther information . Opening
andclosing thefus ebo xin the
car gocom partmen t Ob
serveth eno teson electr icalfuses
(/ page353). #
Open theside cover. #
Remo vecover1.
The fuse allocation chartis on theside ofthe
fuse box. Br
eakdo wnassi stanc e355

No
teson noise orunusua lhand lingcharac‐
te rist ics
Mak esur eth er ear eno vibr ations, noisesor
unusual handling charact eristic swhen theve hi‐
cle isin mo tion. Thismayindicat eth at the
wheels ortires aredamag ed.Hidde ntir edam‐
ag ecould alsobecausin gth eunusual handling
ch aract eristic s.
If yo ususp ectthat atir eis malf unctionin g,
re duce your spee dimm ediat elyand have the
tir es and wheelsch eckedat aqu alif ied spec ialist
wo rkshop. No
teson regular lyinspect ingwheels and
tir es &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju rythro ugh dam‐
ag ed tires
Dam aged tires can caus etir epr ess ureloss . #
Chec kth etir es regular lyforsigns of
dama geand replace anydamag edtires
immediat ely. &
WARNIN GRisk ofhydroplaning dueto
insuf ficie nttiretrea d
Insu fficien ttir etread willresult inreduced
tir egr ip.
In hea vyrain or slush therisk ofhydroplaning
is incr eased, inpar ticular wherespeed isno t
adap tedto suit thecon ditions . #
Thus, yousho uld regular lych eckth e
tr ea dde pthand thecon dition ofthe
tr ea dacr oss theent ire widt hof all tires.
Minimum tread depthfor:
R Summ ertires: 00CEin(3 mm)
R M+S tires: 00CFin (4mm) #
Forsaf etyre ason s,replace thetir es
bef oreth eleg ally -prescr ibed limit for
th eminimum tread depthisreac hed. Car
ryout thefo llo wing checks on allwheels reg‐
ular ly,at leas tonce amont hor as requ ired, for
ex am ple, prior toalon gjo ur ne yor drivin gof f-
ro ad:
R Chec kth etir epr essur e(/ page35 7). R
Visual lyinsp ectwheels andtires fordama ge.
R Chec kth eva lve caps.
R Visual checkof thetir etread depthand the
tir econt actsurface across theent ire widt h.
The minimum tread depthforsummer tires is
00CE in(3 mm) andforwint ertires 00CF in
(4 mm). Six
mar ks1 showwher eth ebar indicat ors
(ar row )ar eint egr ated intoth etir etread. They
ar evisible onceatread depthofappr oximat ely
00CD in(1.6 mm) hasbeen reac hed. 356
Wheelsand tires

No
teson sno wch ains &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent dueto inc or‐
re ct mou nting ofsno wch ains
If yo uha ve mount edsno wch ains tothefront
wheels, thesno wch ains maydr ag agains t
th eve hicle body orchassis components.
This couldcaus edamag eto theve hicle or
th etir es. #
Nevermount snowch ains onthefront
wheels. #
Onlymount snowch ains onthere ar
wheels inpair s. *
NO
TEDama getocom pone ntsofthe
ve hicle body orchassis duetofitt ed
sno wch ains If
yo ufit sno wch ains tothefront wheels of
4MA TICvehicles, youma ydamag eco mp o‐
nent sof theve hicle body orchassis . #
Onlyfit sno wch ains tothere ar wheels
of 4MA TICvehicles. R
Sno wch ains areon lype rm issible forcer tain
wheel/t ire com binat ions.Yo ucan obtain
inf ormat ionabout this from anaut hor ized
Mer cedes -Benz Cent er.
R Forsaf etyre ason s,on lyuse snow chains that
ha ve been specif icallyapproved foryo ur
ve hicle byMer cedes-Ben z,or sno wch ains
wit hth esame qualit yst andar d.
R Ifsn ow chains areins talled, themaximum
per missible speedis30 mph(50 km/h).
R Vehicl eswith Activ ePa rking Assis t:Do
no tuse ActivePa rking Assistwhen snow
ch ains areins talled.
R Vehicl eswith AIRMA TICorE-AC TIVE
BO DY CONT ROL:Ifsn ow chains areins tal‐
led, onlydr ive at raised vehicle leve l.
% Youcan deac tivateES P®
to pull away
( / pag e205). Thisallowsthewheels to
spin, achie ving anincr eased driving forc e. Ti
re pres sur e No
teson tirepr essur e &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent dueto insuf ‐
fi cie ntor excess ive tir epr ess ure
Under inflate dor ove rinf late dtir es pose the
fo llo wing risk s:
R The tires ma ybur st,especiall yas the
load andvehicle speed increase.
R The tires ma ywe arexc essiv elyand/or
une venly, whic hma ygr ea tly impair tire
traction .
R The drivin gch aract eristic s,as wellas
st eer ing and braking, maybe greatl y
im pair ed. #
Com plywithth ere comme ndedtire
pr ess ureand checkth etir epr essur eof
all tires including thespar ewheel regu‐
lar ly:
R atleas tonce amont h
R when theload chang es Whee
lsand tires 35
7

R
beforeembar kingon along erjour ney
R ifoper ating condition sch ang e,e.g .of f-
ro ad drivin g #
Adjus tth etir epr essur eas neces sary. Ti
re pressur ewhic his toohigh ortoolow can:
R Shor tenth eser vice life of thetir es.
R Cause increased tiredamag e.
R Adversely affect drivi ng charact eristic sand
th us drivin gsaf ety, e.g. due tohydroplaning. &
WARNIN GRisk ofan acci dent dueto
insuf ficie nttirepr ess ure
Ti re swit hpr essur eth at istoolow can over‐
heat andburstas are sult.
In addition, they also sufferfr om excessiv e
and/or irre gular wear,whic hcan significan tly
im pair thebr aking proper tiesand thehan‐
dling charact eristic s. #
Avoid excessiv elylow tirepr essur esin
all thetir es, including thespar ewheel. Ti
re pressur ewhic his toolow can cause:
R Tire malfu nctions asare sult ofove rheating
R Impair edhandling charact eristic s
R Irre gular wear
R Incr eased fuelconsum ption &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent from exces‐
siv etir epr ess ure
Ti re swit hexc essiv elyhigh pressur ecan
bur stbecause they aredamag edmor eeasil y
by highw ayfill, po tholes etc.
In addition, they also sufferfr om irre gular
we ar,whic hcan significan tly im pair thebr ak‐
ing proper tiesand thehandling charact eris‐
tic s. #
Avoid excessiv elyhigh tirepr essur esin
all thetir es, including thespar ewheel. Ti
re pressur ewhic his toohigh cancause:
R Increased brakin gdis tance
R Impaired handl ing charact eristic s
R Irre gular wear R
Impair eddrivin gcom fort
R Sus ceptibility to damag e &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent caused by
re peat eddrop intirepr essur e
If th etir epr essur edr ops repeat edly,th e
wheel, valve or tirema ybe damag ed.
Insuf ficie nttirepr ess urecan causethetir es
to bur st. #
Inspect thetir efo rsigns offore ign
obje cts. #
Chec kwhe ther thewheel orvalve has a
leak . #
Ifyo uar eunab leto rectify thedamag e,
con tact aqu alif ied spec ialistwo rkshop. Yo
ucan find informa tionon tirepr ess urefo rth e
ve hicle's fact or y-ins talled tires on thefo llo wing
labels:
R Tire and Loadi ngInfo rm atio nplacar don the
B‑pil larof your vehicle (/page363).
R Tire pressur eta ble ontheinside ofthefuel
fi ller flap (/ page35 9). 358
Wheelsand tires