low MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class 2012 W166 User Guide

Infor
mation for cust omersin
Cali fornia
Un der Califo rnia law you may beentitled toa
rep lace men tofyour vehicle orarefund ofthe
purchase priceorlease price, ifafter a
reasonable numberofrepair attempt s
Mercedes-B enzUSA ,LLC and/or its
authorized repairorservice facilities failtofix
one ormore substant ialdefects or
malfunct ionsinthe vehicle thatarecovered
by its express warranty. Duringtheperiod of
18 mont hsfrom original delivery ofthe
vehicle orthe accumulation of18 000 miles
(approximately 29000 km)onthe odometer
of the vehicle, whichever occursfirst,a
reasonable numberofrepair attempt sis
presumed foraretail buyer orlessee ifone or
more ofthe following occurs:
(1) thesame substant ialdefect or
malfunct ionresults inacondit ionthat is
likely tocause deathorserious bodily
injury ifthe vehicle isdriven, thatdefect
or malfunct ionhas been subject torepair
two ormore times, andyouhave directly
not ified Mercedes-B enzUSA ,LLC in
writing ofthe need foritsrepair.
(2) thesame substant ialdefect or
malfunct ionofaless serious naturethan
category (1)has been subject torepair
four ormore times andyouhave directly
not ified Mercedes-B enzinwriting ofthe
need foritsrepair.
(3) thevehicle isout ofservice byreason of
repair ofthe same ordifferent substantial
defects ormalfunct ionsforacumulative
tot alof more than30calendar days.
Please sendyourwritten notice to:
Mercedes-B enzUSA ,LLC
Customer AssistanceCenter
One Mercedes Drive
Mont vale, NJ0764 5-0350 Maintenance
The Servic eand Warranty Bookletdescribes
all the necessary maintenancework which
should bedone atregular intervals.
Always havetheServic eand Warranty
Booklet withyouwhen youbring thevehicle
to an authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter. The
service advisor willrecord everyservice for
you inthe Servic eand Warranty Booklet. Roadsid
eAssistance
The Mercedes-B enzRoadside Assistance
Program offerstechnicalhelp inthe event of
a breakdown. Callsto the toll-fr eeRoadside
Assist anceHotline areanswered byour
agents 24hours aday, 365days ayear.
1-800-FOR-MER Cedes(1-800-367-6372)
(USA)
1-800-387-0100 (Canada)
For additional information,refer tothe
Mercedes-B enzRoadside Assistance
Program brochure (USA)orthe "Road side
Assist ance" section inthe Servic eand
Warranty booklet(Canada) .You will find both
in your vehicle literature portfolio.
In accordanc ewith standard program
guideli nes,Roadside Assistanceprovides
vehicle service uptoareasonable distance
from thenext paved road.Wewill make every
effort toassist inabreakdown situation.
However, theaccessibility ofyour vehicle will
be determin edbyour authorized Mercedes-
Benz Servic etechn icianorthe tow service
provider onacase-by-case basis.
Additional chargesmaybeapplicabl efor a
breakdown locationdetermin ednot tobe a
reasonably accessibleroadsidelocationas
determin edbyour authorized technicianand
tow service provider. 22
Introdu
ction

Cha
nge ofaddress orcha nge of
owner ship
In theeve ntofach ang eof addre ss,please
sen dus the"Chan geofAd dres sNot ice"
foun din theSer viceand Warr anty
In for mat ionBoo klet,or sim plycall the
Mer cedes-Ben zCust ome rAssistance Center
(in the USA) atthe hotline number
1-80 0-FOR-ME RCedes(1-800- 367-6372) or
Customer ServiceCenter(inCanada )at
1-80 0-387-0100.This willassist usin
cont acting youinatimely manner shouldthe
need arise.
If you sellyour Mercedes, pleaseleavethe
entire literature inthe vehicle sothat itis
avail able tothe next owner.
If you bought thisvehicle used,besure to
send inthe "Notice ofPurchase ofUsed
Truck" foundinthe Service andWarranty
Information Booklet,orcall theMercedes-
Benz Customer Assistance Center(inthe
USA) at
1-80 0-FOR-ME RCedes(1-800- 367-6372) or
Customer Service(inCanada )at
1-80 0-387-0100. Vehicle
operation outsidetheUSA
and Canada
If you plan tooperate yourvehicle inforeign
countries, pleasebeawa rethat:
R service facilities orreplacement partsmay
not bereadil yavail able.
R unleade dfuel forvehicles withacatalytic
convert ermay notbeavail able. Leaded fuel
may cause damage tothe catalytic
convert er.
R the fuel may have aconsiderably lower
octane rating.Unsuitable fuelcancause
engine damage .
Some Mercedes-Benz modelsareavail able
for delivery inEurope through ourEuropean
Delivery Program. Fordetails, consult an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Centerorwrite to
one ofthe followi ngaddresses. In
the USA Mercedes-Benz
USA,LLC
European DeliveryDepartment
One Mercedes Drive
Montvale, NJ07645 -0350
In Canada Mercedes-Benz
Canada,Inc.
European DeliveryDepartment
98 Vanderhoof Avenue
Toronto, OntarioM4G4C9 Sport
Utility Vehicle G
WARNING This
Sport Utility Vehicle isdesigned forboth
on-road andoff-road use.Itcan goplaces and
perform tasksforwhich conven tional2-wheel
drive passenger carsarenot intended. This
vehicle willhandle andmaneuver differently
from conven tionalpassenger carsindriving
conditions whichmayoccur onstreets,
highwa ysand off-road use.
This vehicle hasahigher ground clearance
and ahigher centerofgravity thanmany
passenger cars.Aswith other vehicles ofthis
type, ifyou make sharp turnsatexcessive
speeds orabrupt maneuvers, thevehicle may
roll over ormay goout ofcont roland crash.
Utility vehicles haveasignificantly higher
rollover ratethan other types ofvehicles.
Failure tooperate thisvehicle safelymay
result inan accident, rolloverofthe vehicle,
and severe orfatal injury.
Before youstart todrive thisvehicle, readthe
Operator's Manual.Take timeto bec ome
fam iliar with thedriv ingcharac terist ics ofthis
veh icle.Besure youarefamiliar withall
vehicle controls. Learn howyour vehicle
handles ondifferen troad surfaces. Donot
attempt sharpturnsatexcessive speedsor
abrupt maneuvers orother unsafe driving
actions thatcancause lossofvehicle control.
When driving off-road orworking thevehicle Introdu
ction
23 Z

hard,
donot overload it.And, alwayswear
your seatbelts atall times. Inarollover crash,
an unbelted personissignificantly morelikely
to die than aperson wearing aseat belt. Operat
ingsafety Safety
notes G
WARNING Work
improperly carriedoutonelectronic
componen tsand associated softwarecould
cause themtocease functioning. Because the
vehicle's electronic componentsare
interc onnec ted,anymodifications mademay
produce anundesired effectonother
systems. Electronicmalfunctions could
seriously impairtheoperating safetyofyour
vehicle.
Contact anauthorized Mercedes-Ben zCent er
for repairs ormodificat ionstoelectr onic
compon ents.
Other improper workormodificat ionsonthe
vehicle couldalsohave anegativ eimpact on
the operatin gsafety ofthe vehicle.
Some safety systems onlyfunction when the
engine isrunn ing.You should thereforenever
turn offthe engine whiledriving. G
WARN
ING Heavy
blowsagainst thevehicle underbody or
tires/ wheels maycause serious damage and
impair theoperatin gsafety ofyour vehicle.
Such blows canbecaused, forexample, by
runn ingover anobstacle, roaddebris ora
pothole.
If you feel asudden significantvibration or
ride disturbanc e,or you suspect thatdamage
to your vehicle hasoccurr ed:
R turn onyour hazard warning flashers.
R slow down carefully.
R drive withcaution toan area which isasafe
distanc efrom theroad.
Inspec tthe vehicle underbody andtires/
wheels forpossible damage. Ifthe vehicle appea
rsunsafe, haveittowed tothe nearest
authorized Mercedes-Ben zCent eror other
qualified maintenanc eor repair facility for
furth erinspect ionorrepairs. On-boar
ddiagnost icinter face G
WARN
ING If
you connectequipmen tto the on-board
diagnos ticsint erfac e,itcan affec tthe
operat ionofthe vehic lesyste ms.This can
impair theoperat ingsafet yofyour vehicle
while driving. Thereisarisk ofaccident .
Do not conn ectany equipment tothe on-
board diagnostics interface. G
WARNING Loose
equipment orequipment cableswhich
are conn ected tothe on-board diagnostics
interf acecan obstruct thearea around the
pedals. Theequipment orthe cables couldget
between thepedals inthe event ofsudden
braking oracceleration. Youmay then no
longer beable tobrake, operate theclutch or
accelerate asinten ded.There isarisk of
accident .
Do not attach anyequipment orcables inthe
driver footwell.
Connect ingequipment tothe on-board
diagnostics interfacecan lead toemissions
monit oringinformat ionbeing reset. Thismay
lead tothe vehicle failingtomeet the
requirements atthe next special emissions
test ormain inspect ion.
If the engine isswitched offand equipment
on the on-board diagnostic interfaceisused,
the start erbattery maydischarge.
The on-board diagnostics interfaceisonly
inten dedforthe conn ection ofdiagnostic
equipment ataquali fiedspecialist workshop. 24
Introdu
ction

Qualified
specialist workshop
An authorized Mercedes-BenzCenter isa
qualified specialist workshop. Ithas the
neces saryspecialist knowledge, toolsand
qualifications tocorr ectlycarry outthework
required onyour vehicle. Thisisespecially the
case forwork relevant tosafety.
Observe thenotesinthe service booklet.
Always havethefollowing workcarried outat
an authorized Mercedes-BenzCenter :
R work relevant tosafety
R service andmainten ancework
R repair work
R alteration s,inst allation workand
modificat ions
R work onelectr oniccompon ents Proper
use G
WARNIN
G There
arevarious warning stickersaffixed to
your vehicle. Theirpurpose isto alert youand
others tovarious dangers. Therefore, donot
remove anywarning stickersunless the
stick erclearly statesthatyoumay doso.
If you remove anywarning stickers,youor
others couldfailtorecogn izecert aindangers
and beinjured. G
WARNIN
G HYBRID
vehicles: Itis imperative thatyouread
the HYBRID Supplement alOperatin g
Inst ruction sincluded inyour vehicle literature
portf olio. Youmay otherwise notreceive all
neces sarysafety informationandwarning for
the operation ofyour vehicle.
The proper useofthe vehicle requires that
you familiarize yourselfwiththefollowing
inform ationandrules:
R safety notesinthis Operator' sManual
R tec hnical datainthis Operator' sManual R
traff icrules andregulations
R laws andsafety standards pertainingto
motor vehicles Problems
withyour vehicle
If you should experien ceap roble mwithyour
vehic le,part icularly onethat youbelieve may
affec tits safe opera tion,we urge youto
conta ctan autho rized Merce des-Be nzCenter
im med iatel yto have the problem diag nos ed
and rectified. Ifthe problem isnot resolved to
yo ur satis factio n,plea se discu ssthe problem
ag ainw ithaMerc edes- BenzCent eror
con tact usatone ofthe following addresses.
In the USA Customer
AssistanceCenter
Mercedes- BenzUSA ,LLC
One Mercedes Drive
Mont vale, NJ076 45-035 0
In Canada Customer
RelationsDepartment
Mercedes- BenzCanad a,Inc.
98 Van derh oofAvenue
Tor onto,On tarioM4G 4C9 Rep
orting malfunct ions releva ntto
saf ety
For theUS Aon ly:
The followin gte xt isrepr oduc edasrequi red
of all man ufacturers according toTitle49 ,
Code ofU.S. Fed eral Regulat ions,Part 575
purs uant totheNat ionalTraf ficand Motor
Veh icle SafetyAc tof 19 66.
Rep orting safety defects If
you believ eth at your vehicle has adef ect
whic hco uld caus eacr ash orcould caus e
inj ury ordeat h,you should imm ediat ely
inf orm theNat ionalHig hway TrafficSaf ety Int
rod uction
25 Z

Admi
nistration(NH TSA) inad ditio nto
noti fying Merced es-BenzUSA, LLC.
If NHT SArece ivessimil arcomp laints ,it ma y
op en aninve stigatio n,and ifit find stha ta
safety defect existsinagroup ofvehicles, it
may order arecall andremedy campaign.
However, NHTSAcannotbecome involved in
individua lproblems betweenyou,your
deale r,or Mercedes-Benz USA,LLC.
To cont actNHTSA ,you may calltheVehicle
Safety Hotline toll-free at
1-88 8-327-4236(TTY: 1-800-42 4-9153);go
to: http://www .safercar.gov;orwrite to:
Administrator ,NHTSA Headqua rters,
1200 NewJersey Avenue, SE,West Building,
Washington, DC20590 .
You canalso obtain additional information
abou tvehicle safety from:
htt p://ww w.safer car.gov. Limited
Warrant y
! Follow theinstruct ions inthis manual
about theproper operation ofyour vehicle
as well asabout possible vehicledamage.
Damage toyour vehicle thatarises from
culpable contraven tionsagainst these
inst ruct ions arenot cover edeither by
Mercedes- BenzLimited Warrantyor by the
New orUsed-Veh icleWarrant yof
Daimler AG. Data
storedinthe vehicle Inform
ationabout electronic data
acquisit ioninthe vehicle
(Inc luding notice pursuant toCalifornia Code
§ 995 1)
Your vehicle recordselectr onicdata. Ifyour
vehicle isequipped withmbrace 2
, data is
tran smitt edinthe event ofan acciden t. This
information helps,forexample, totest
vehicle systems afteranacciden tand to
con tinually improve vehiclesafety.
Daimler AGcan access thisdata andsubmit
it:
R for safety research orvehicle diagnosis
purposes
R with theconsent ofthe vehicle owner
R on the instruct ionofprosecut ing
authorit ies
R for use inarbitrat ionofdisputes that
involve Daimler AG,itsaffiliates orits sales
and servic eorganiz ations
R as other wiserequired orpermit tedbylaw.
Please observe thembrace 2
purchase
agreement forfurth erdetails onthe recor ding
and transfer ofdata bythis system.
2 The system iscalled TELEAIDinCanada. 26
Introd
uction

Warning
andindic atorlamps Func
tion Page
:
Low-be
amheadlamps 109
;
ESP
® 273
=
High-be
amheadlamps 111
?
Electric
parkingbrake (red) 271
F
(USAonly) !
(Canada only) A
Electric
parkingbrake
(y ell ow) 271
B
Distance
warning signal 279
C
Turn
signa l 111
D
Tire
press uremonitor 280
E
SRS
275 Func
tion Page
F
Seat
belt 269
G
Diesel
engine: preglow 140
H
Coo
lant 277
I
Rea
rfog lamp 110
J
Check
engine 276
K
Reserve
fuel 276
L
ESP
®
OFF 273
M
ABS 272
N
Brakes 271
$
(USAonly) J
(Canada only) 30
Instrum
entclusterAt a glance

Cent
erconsole, lowersection Funct
ion Pag
e E
Cup
holde r 29
3 As
htray 29
6 Cigare
tte light er 29
6 Power
socket 29
7 F
Audi
o/CO MAND controll er G
Á
Levelco ntrol 18
1 H
Ã
Downh illSpe ed
Regulat ion(veh icleswit h
AI RMA TICpack age) 20
8 Funct
ion Pag
e I
e
Adapt ive Dam ping
Sys tem 18
0 J
Open
sth est owage
co mpar tment 28
4 Cent
erconsole
33At a glance

door.
These itemsmaybethrown around in
the vehicle andcause headandother
inj uries when thewindow curtainairbag is
deployed.
R Air bag system compon entswill behot after
an air bag hasinflat ed.Donot touch them.
R Never placeyourfeetonthe instrument
panel, dashboard, oron the seat. Always
keep bothfeetonthe floor infron tof the
seat.
R Improper repairworkonthe SRS creat esa
risk ofrender ingthe SRS inoperat iveor
causing unintended airbag deployment .
Work onthe SRS must therefore onlybe
perfor medbyqualified technic ians.
Cont actanauthoriz edMercedes -Benz
Center .
R For your prote ction and theprote ction of
other s,when scrappin gthe airbag unit or
ETD ,our safety instruct ions must be
followed. Theseinstruct ions areavailable
from anyauthoriz edMercedes -Benz
Center .
R Given theconsiderable deployment speed,
required inflationvolume, andthemater ial
of the airbags, thereis the possibility of
abrasions orother ,poten tiallymore serious
inj uries resultin gfrom airbag deployment .
If you sellyour vehicle, Mercedes -Benz
str ongly recom mends thatyouinfor mthe
subsequent ownerthatthevehicle is
equipped withSRS. Also, referthem tothe
applicable sectioninthe Operator 'sManual. Air
bags
Impor tantsafet ynotes G
WARN
ING Air
bags aredesigned toreduce theinciden ce
of injuries andfatalities incert ainsituation s:
R fron talimpact s(driver's andfront-
passenger frontairbags anddrive r'sknee
bag)
R side impact s(side impact airbags and
window curtainairbags)
R rollov er(window curtainairbags)
Howev er,nosyst emavailable todaycan
com plete lyelimin ateinjuries andfatalities.
When theairbags aredeployed, asmall
amount ofpowder isreleased .The powder
generally doesnotconst ituteahealth hazard
and does notindicate thatthere isafire inthe
vehicle. Inorder toprevent potential
breathing difficulties, youshould leavethe
vehicle assoon asitis safe todo so. Ifyou
have anybreathing difficultybutcannot get
out ofthe vehicle aftertheairbag inflates,
then getfresh airbyopening awindow or
door. G
WARNING To
reduce therisk ofinjuries duringfrontair
bag inflation, thedriver andfront -passenger
must alwaysbe seated correctlyand have
their seatbelts fastened accordingly.
For maximum protectioninthe event ofa
collision, youmust alwaysbe inthe normal
seat position withyour back against the
backrest. Fastenyourseatbeltandmake sure
that itis correct lypositioned onyour body. 40
Occ
upant safetySafety

Since
theairb ag inflate swithcon siderable
speed andforce, aproper seatingposit ion
and correctposit ioningof the hands onthe
ste erin gwheel willhelp tokeep youatasafe
dist ancefro mt heair bag. Occupants whoare
not wearing theirseatbelt, arenot seated
properly orare too close tothe airbag canbe
seriously injuredorkilled byan air bag asit
inflates withgreat forceinstant aneously :
R Sit with theseat beltproperly fastened ina
position thatisas upright aspossible with
your back against theseat backrest.
R Move thedriver's seatasfar back as
possible, stillpermittin gproper operation
of vehicle controls. Thedistance fromthe
cent erofthe driver's chesttothe cent erof
the airbag cover onthe steering wheel
must beatleast 10inches (25cm) ormore.
You should beable toaccomplish thisby
adjusting theseat andsteering wheel.If
you have anydifficulties, pleasecontactan
authorized Mercedes-Ben zCent er.
R Do not lean your head orchest closetothe
steerin gwheel ordashboard.
R Only holdthesteerin gwheel bythe rim.
Placing handsandarms inside therim can
incr ease therisk and poten tialseverit yof
hand/arm injurywhenthedriver frontair
bag inflates .
R Adj ust the fron t-passenger seatasfar back
as possible fromthedashboard whenthe
seat isoccupied.
R Occ upants, especially children,should
never placetheirbodies orlean their heads
in the area ofthe door where theside
impact airbag inflates .This could result in
serious injuries ordeath should theside
impact airbag bedeploy ed.Always sitas
upright aspossible, weartheseat belt
properly anduseanappropriately sized
child restraint ,infant restraint orbooster
seat recommen dedforthe size andweight
of the child.
Failure tofollow theseinstruct ionscanresult
in severe injuries toyou orother occupants. If
you sellyour vehicle, itis important thatyou
make thebuyer aware ofthis safety
information. Besure togive thebuyer this
Operator's Manual. G
WARNING Acc
ident research showsthatthesafest place
for children inan automobile isin arear seat.
As ide impact airbag relat edinjury may occur
if occ upant s,espec iallychildr en,are not
proper lyseate dor rest raine dwhen next toa
side impact airbag which needs todeploy
rapidly inaside impact inorder todo itsjob.
To help avoid thepossibili tyof injury, please
follow theseguidelines:
(1) Always sitasupright aspossible
and usetheseat belts properly.
Make surethatchildren 12years
old and under useanappropriately
sized childrestraint ,infant
restraint ,or booster seat
recommen dedforthe size and
weight ofthe child.
(2) Always wearseatbelts properly.
The airbags areonly deploy edifthe airbag
cont rolunit detects theneed fordeploy ment.
Only inthe event ofsuch asituation willthey
provide theirsupplemental protection.
The driver andpassenger shouldalwayswear
their seatbelts. Otherwise, itis not possible
for the airbags toprovide theirsupplemental
protect ion.
In the event ofother types ofimpacts and
impacts belowairbag deploy ment
thresholds, theairbags willnotdeploy .The
driver andpassengers willthen beprotect ed
to the exten tpossible byaproperly fastened
seat belt. Aproperl yfastened seatbeltisalso
needed toprovide thebest possible
protect ioninarollover.
Air bags provide additional protection;they
are not, however, asubstitute forseat belts.
All vehicle occupants mustfasten theirseat
belts regardless ofwhether yourvehicle is
equip pedwith airbags ornot. Occ
upant safety
41Safety Z

It
is important foryou rsafet yand that ofyour
passe ngerto have deplo yedairbags replaced
and tohave anymalf unctionin gair bags
repai red.This willhelp tomak esure theair
bags continue toperf orm their pro tective
fun ction fortheveh icle occupan tsinthe
eve ntofacr ash.
Fron tair bag s The
fron ta irbags increase protection forthe
drive r'sand front-pass enger's head and
ches t. Dr
iver' sair bag :deploys infro ntofthe
st eerin gwheel; front-pass engerfro ntair
bag ;deploys infro ntofand above theglove
box.
They aredeployed:
R in the even tof cer tain frontal impac ts
R ifthe syst emdete rmin esthat airbag
deploymen tcan offeraddit ionalpro tection
to that pro vide dby theseat belt
R ifth eseat beltisfast ened
R ind epen dentlyofother airbags inthe
veh icle
If th eveh icle overturn s,thefron tairbags are
gen erally notdeployed unlessthesyst em
dete ctshigh vehic ledecele ration ina
long itudin aldirec tion.
Your vehic lehas adaptiv e,two- stage frontair
bags. Inthe even tofa collisio n,the airb ag
co ntrol unit evaluat estheveh icle
dec eler ation.Inthefir st deplo ymentstag e,
the frontairb ag isfille dwit hen ough
pro pellan tgas toreduc eth er isk ofinjuries. The
frontair bag isfully deployed ifaseco nd
deploymen tthreshold isexceeded withina
few milliseconds.
The deploy mentofthe front -passenger front
air bag isalso influenced bythe weight
category ofthe front passenger, whichis
determined bythe Occupant Classification
System (OCS)(Ypage 44).
The lighter thepassenger sideoccupant, the
higher thevehicle deceleration raterequired
(predicted atthe start ofthe impact) for
second stageinflation ofthe front -passenger
front airbag. Inthe second stage,thefront
air bags areinflated withthemaximum
amount ofpropella ntgas availa ble.
The front airbags arenot deploy edin
situations wherealow impact severity is
predicted. Youwillthen beprotect edbythe
fastened seatbelt.
The front -passenger frontairbag willonly
deploy if:
R the system, basedonthe OCS weight
sensor readings, detectsthat thefront -
passenger seatisoccupied.
R the 45 indicatorlampinthe cent er
console isnot lit,(Ypage 44).
R the airbag cont rolunit predicts ahigh
impact severity.
Driver's kneebag 42
Occ
upantsafetySafety