power steering MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class 2012 W166 Owner's Manual

G
WARNING PRE-SAFE
®
Brake cannot alwaysdetect
comple xtraffic situations prope rly.
In these cases, PRE-SAFE(R) Brakemay:
R give anunnecessa rywarni ngand then
brake thevehicl e
R neither giveawarni ngnor intervene
There isarisk ofan accide nt.Alwa yspay
particu larattention tothe traffic situationand
be read yto brake, especiallyif PRE-SAFE(R)
Brake warns you.Termina tethe intervention
in anon-critical drivingsitua tion.
In particu lar,the detection ofobstacl escan
be impa iredifthere is:
R dirt onthe sensors oranythi ngelse
covering thesensors
R snow orheavy rain
R interference byother radarsources
R the possibility ofstron gradar reflect ions,
for example inparking garages
R anarrow vehicle traveling infront ,e.g. a
motorbik e
R avehicle traveling infront onadifferent line G
WARNIN
G PRE-S
AFE®
Brake doesnotreact:
R to people oranimals
R to oncom ingvehicles
R to crossin gtraffic
R in curves
As aresult, PRE-SAFE®
Brake cannot
interv eneincritic alsituations. Thereisarisk
of an accident .Always paycaref ulatt ent ion
to the traffic situat ionand beready tobrak e.
In order tomaint ainthe appropr iatedistance
to the vehic lein fro ntand thus preventa
collisio n,you must apply thebrak esyourself .X
To act ivat e/deact ivate:act ivate or
deact ivatePRE-SAFE®
Brak ein the on-
board computer (Ypage 232).
The Ä symbol appears inthe
multif unction display aslong asthe HOL D
func tion isnot activate d(Ypage 179).
On vehicles withActive Parkin gAssist ,the
Ä symbol isdisplayed when
tran smission positionPis select edorifyou
drive faster than22mph(35 km/h).
For PRE-S AFE®
Brak eto assist youwhen
drivin g,the radar senso rsyst em mus tbe
switched on(Ypage 236)andoperational.
Following damagetothe front endofthe
vehicle, havetheconfiguration andoperation
of the radar sensors checked ataqual ified
speciali stworkshop. Thisalso appli esto
collisions atlow speeds wherethereisno
visible damage tothe front ofthe vehicle. STEER
CONTROL
The steering assistant STEERCONTROL helps
you bytransmitt inganoticeable steering
force tothe steering wheelinthe direction
required forvehicle stabilization.
This steering assistance isprovided in
particular if:
R both right wheels orboth leftwheels areon
a wet orslippe ryroad surface whenyou
brake
R the vehicle startstoskid
You have controlover thesteering atall
times. G
WARNING If
the ESP ®
is malfunctioning, youwillnot
receive steering assistance fromtheSTEE R
CONTROL. Thepower steering function,
however, remainsavailable. Driving
safetysystems
67Safety Z

Problem Possible
causes/co nsequences andM Solutions
The
engine cannot be
started usingthe
SmartK ey. The
on-board voltageistoo low.
X Switch offnon- essential consumers, e.g.seat heating orinterior
lighting, andtrytostart theengine again.
If this does notwork:
X Check thestarter battery andcharge itifnecessary
(Y page 338).
or
X Jump-start thevehicle (Ypage 341).
or
X Consult aqual ified specialist workshop. The
engine cannot be
started usingKEYLE SS-
GO. TheSmartK eyisin
the vehicle. Ad
oor isopen. Therefore, theSmart Keycann otbe detect edas
easily .
X Close thedoor andtrytostart thevehicle again. There
isinter ferenc efrom apowerful sourceofradio waves.
X Start yourvehicle withtheSmart Keyinthe ignition lock. Doors
Import
antsafety notes G
WARNIN
G When
leaving thevehicle, alwaysremove the
Smart Keyfrom theignition lock.Always take
the Smart Keywith youand lock thevehicle.
Do not leave children unsupervised inthe
vehicle, evenifthey aresecured inachild
restraint system,anddonot give them access
to an unlocked vehicle.Achild's unsupervised
access toavehicle couldresult inan accident
and/or serious personal injury.Theycould:
R injure themselves onvehicle parts
R be seriously orfatally injured byextrem e
heat orcold
R injure themselves orhave anaccident with
vehicle equipment thatmay stillbein
operation evenaftertheSmartKey has
been removed fromtheignition, suchasthe
seat adjustment ,steering wheel
adjustment ormemory function. If
children openadoor, theycould cause
severe oreven fatalinjury toother persons; if
they getout ofthe vehicle, theycould injure
themselves whendoing soorbe seriously or
even fatally injured byany passing traffic.
Do not expose thechild restraint systemto
direct sunlight. Thechild restraint system's
metal parts, forexample, couldbecome very
hot, andachild could beburned onthese
parts. G
WARNING Do
not carry heavy orhard object sin the
passenger compartmen tor cargo
compartmen tunle ssthey arefirmly secu red
in place .
Unse curedorimp roperlypo sitio ned cargo
incre ases achi ld's ris kof inju ryinthe event
of
R stro ngbra king maneu vers
R sudd en cha nges ofdirecti on
R an acci dent 78
Do
orsOpening/closing

Smar
tKeypositions
Smar tKey g
Toremove theSmartK ey
1 Power supply forsome consumers, such
as the windshield wipers
2 Ignition (powersupplyforallconsumers)
and drive position
3 Tostart theengine
As soon asthe ignition isswitched on,allthe
indicator lampsinthe instrumen tcluster light
up. Ifan indic atorlamp doesnotgoout after
the engineisstart ed orifit light sup while the
vehic leisin mot ion, see(Ypage 271).
If the SmartKey isin posit ion0in the ignit ion
lock foranext ende dperiod oftim e,itcan no
long erbe turned inthe ignit ionlock .The
steering isthen locked. Tounlock, remove the
SmartK eyand reinsert itinto theignition lock.
The steering islocked whenyouremove the
SmartK eyfrom theignition lock.
X Remove theSmartK eywhen theengine is
switched off.
The starter battery couldotherwise be
discharged.
If you cannot turntheSmartK eyinthe ignition
lock, thestarter battery maynotbecharged
sufficiently.
X Check thestarter battery andrecharge itif
necessary (Ypage 340).
or
X Jump-start thevehicle (Ypage 341). i
The
SmartK eycan beturned inthe
ignition lockeven ifit is not thecorrect
SmartK eyfor the vehicle. Theignition isnot
switched on.The engine cannot bestarted.
KEY LESS-GO General
informat ion
Vehicles withKEYLE SS-GO are equipp edwith
aS martKey featuringanintegrated KEYLESS-
GO function andadetacha bleStart/St op
button.
The Start/St opbutton mustbeinserted inthe
ignitio nlock andtheKEYLESS-GO keymust
be inthe vehicl e.
Pressi ngthe Start/St opbutton severaltimes
in successi oncorrespond sto the differe nt
SmartKey positions inthe ignitio nlock. This
is only thecase ifyou arenot depressing the
brake pedal.
If you depress thebrake pedalandpress the
Start /Stopbutton ,the engine starts
immediately.
The Start /Stopbutton canberemoved from
the ignition lock.Then, youcan insert the
Smart Keyinto theignition lock. i
You
donot have toremove theStart /Stop
button fromtheignition lockwhen you
leave thevehicle. However, youshould
alwa ystake theSmart Keywith youwhen
leaving thevehicle. Thevehicle canbe
start edwith theStart /Stopbutton andthe
electric alequipment canbeoperated while
the Smart Keyisin the vehicle. Driving
139Driving and parking Z

Closing
theDEF filler capand fuel filler
fla p X
Plac eDE Ffiller cap;onthe filler neckand
tur nit clo ckwi se.
X To closethe fuel fillerf lap, press itin the
direc tionofarrow :.
X Dr ive ataspeed above10mph (16km/h) .
The Chec
kAddi tive SeeOperator's Manu
al mess
agedisappears after
approx imatelyone minute. i
If
the Chec
kAddi tive See Oper
ator'sManu al mess
agecontinues
to be shown inthe mult ifunc tiondisplay,
you need toadd moreDE F. Par
king Imp
ortant safety notes G
WARN
ING Do
not park thisvehic lein areas where
com bustib lemat erials cancom eint ocon tact
with thehot exhaust system. Donot park the
vehic leon dry grass landorharve stedgrain
fields. Combust iblematerials, suchasgrass ,
hay orleaves couldbeignit edbythe hot
exh aust systemand cause avehic lefire . Unin
tended vehic lemov emen tcan cause
serio usperso nalinjury ordamage tothe
vehic leor the vehic ledrive train. Toreduc e
such risks,always dothe followin gbefor e
tur nin goff the engineand leavin gthe vehic le:
R keep yourright footonthe brak epedal.
R apply theelect ricpark ingbrak e.
R shift theautom atictransm ission intopark
posit ionP.
R slowly release thebrak epedal.
R when parkedon anincline, always turnthe
front wheels towards theroad curb.
R turn theSmartKey inthe ignition lockto
position 0and remove theSmartKey from
the ignition lock,orpress theKEYLES S-GO
Start /Stopbutton.
R take theSmartKey withyouand lock the
vehicle whenleaving. Switching
offthe engine
Import antsafety notes G
WARNING Never
switch offthe engine whilethevehicle
is in motion.
There isno brake boostforthe service brake
if the engine isnot running. Ifthe ignition is
switched off,there isalso nopower
assistance forthe steering.
You willrequire considerably moreeffort to
steer andbrake andyoucould therefore lose
cont rolofthe vehicle andcause anaccident. G
WARNING Keep
inmind thatturning offthe engine alone
only willshift theautomatic transmission into
neutral position Nautomatically .
Always shifttheautomatic transmission into
park position Pbefore turning offthe engine.
Otherwise thevehicle couldrollaway which
could result inan accident and/orserious
personal injury. Park
ing
155Driving and parking Z

road
,wea ther andtraffic conditions permit.In
some jurisdictions, itis forbid denfordrivers
to use mobil ephones whiledrivi ng.
Only opera teCOMAND (Cockpit Manag ement
and Data System) incompli ancewithalllega l
requ irements andwhen theroad ,wea ther and
traffic conditions permit.Youmay otherwi se
not beableto observe thetraffic conditions,
endange ringyourself andothers.
Reme mberthatyourvehicle coversa distanc e
of 44 feet (approximately 14m)asecon d
when itis travelin gat only 30mph
(approximately 50km/ h).
Drive sensibly –save fuel Obse
rvethe followi ngtips tosave fuel:
X The tires shouldalwa ysbe infla tedtothe
recomme ndedtirepres sure.
X Re move unneces saryloads.
X Re move roofcarrierswhe nthey arenot
needed.
X Warm upthe engine atlow engine speeds.
X Avoid frequent acceleration orbraking.
X Have allmaintenanc ework carried outas
indicated bythe service intervals inthe
Service Booklet orby the service interval
displa y.
Fuel consumption alsoincreases when
driving incold weather, instop-and- gotraffic
and inmountainous terrain.
Drinking anddriving G
WARNING Drink
ingand driving and/or takingdrugsand
driving arevery dangerous combinations.
Even asmall amount ofalcohol ordrugs can
affect yourreflexes, perceptions and
judgment.
The possibili tyof aserious oreven fatal
accident aregreatly increased whenyoudrink
or take drugs anddrive. Do
not drink ortake drugs anddrive orallow
anyone todrive whohasbeen drinking or
taking drugs.
Pedals G
WARNING Make
sureabsolu telynoobject sare
obstructin gthe pedals' rangeofmovement .
Keep thedriver's footwell clearofall
obstacles. Ifthere areany floormats or
carpets inthe footwell, makesurethatthe
pedals stillhave sufficient clearance.
During sudden drivingorbraking maneuvers,
the object scould getcaught between the
pedals. Youcould thennolonger brakeor
accelerate. Thiscould leadtoaccidents and
injury.
Rolling withtheengine switched off G
WARNING There
isno power assistance forthe steering
and thebrake whentheengine isnot running.
Steerin gand braking requires significantly
more effort andyoucould losecontrolofthe
vehicle andcause anaccident asaresult.
Do not turn offthe engine whilethevehicle is
in motion.
Exhaust check G
WARNING Inhalation
ofexhaust gasishazardous toyour
health. Allexhaust gascont ains carbon
monoxide (CO),andinhaling itcan cause
unconsc iousness andpossible death.
Do not run theengine inconfin edareas (such
as agarage) whicharenot properly ventilated.
If you think thatexhaust gasfumes are
enterin gthe vehicle whiledriving, havethe
cause determined andcorrect ed
immediately. Ifyou must driveunder these
condition s,drive onlywith atleast one
window fullyopen atall times. 158
Driving
tipsDriving and parking

Winter
driving
Gene ralnote s G
WARNING If
the vehicl ebecome strappe din snow,
ensure thatsnow iskept away from the
exhau stpip eand from aroundthe vehicl eas
long asthe engine isrunning. Otherwise,
poi sonou scarbo nmonoxide (CO)mayenter
the vehicle, resulting inloss ofconsc iousness
and even death.
To assure sufficient freshairvent ilation, open
a window slightlyonthe side ofthe vehicle
not facing thewind.
At the onset ofwinter, haveyourvehicle
winterproof edataquali fiedspecialist
workshop, e.g.atan authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center. i
Vehicles
withadiesel engine: donot
cover theradiator, e.g.with aprotec tive
cover. Themeasuring functionofthe
Onboard Diagnosis Systemmayotherwise
provide inaccurate values.Someofthese
values arerequired bylaw and must
therefor ealwa ysbe accurate.
Driving withsumm ertires Observe
thenotesinthe "Winter operation"
section (Ypage 352).
Slippery roadsurfa ces G
WARNING The
outside temperature indicatorisnot
designed toserve asan ice-warnin gdevice
and istherefor eunsuitable forthat purpose.
Indicated temperatures justabove the
freezin gpoint donot guarantee thattheroad
surface isfree ofice. The road maystillbeicy,
especially inwooded areasoron bridges. G
WARNING On
slippery roadsurfaces, neverdownshift in
order toobtain braking action.Thiscould result
indrive wheel slipand reduced vehicle
cont rol.Your vehicle's ABSwillnotprevent
this type ofloss ofcont rol.
Drive particularly carefullyonslippery road
surfaces. Avoidsudden acceleration, steering
and braking maneuvers. Donot use thecruise
cont rolorDIS TRONIC PLUS.
If the vehicle threaten sto skid orcann otbe
stopped whenmoving atlow speed:
X Shift thetrans mission toposition N. i
For
more informat ionondriving with
snow chains, see(Ypage 353). G
WARNING Make
surethatyoudonot endanger other
road users whenyouapply thebrakes. Off-r
oaddriving
Import antsafety notes G
WARNING Grains
ofsand, particles ofdirt and other
abrasive materials canenter thebrake
system. Thiscanlead toexcessive wearand
unpredictable brakingefficienc y.
Aft erthe brakes havebeen exposed todirty
condit ions,havethem check edand cleaned
at aquali fiedspecialist workshop, e.g.an
authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter.
Otherwise, thereisarisk that braking power
may beinsufficient inthe event ofan
emergenc y,or that thebraking effectmaybe
unpredictable. G
WARNING Do
not load items onthe basic carrier bars.It
may cause instability duringsomemaneuvers
which couldresult inan accident .
Drive slowly inunkn ownterrain. Thiswill
make iteasier torecogn izeunexpect ed
obstacles andavoid damage tothe vehicle.
To help avoid thevehicle rollingover,never
turn itaround onsteep inclines. Ifthe vehicle 162
Driving
tipsDriving and parking

Disp
laymessa ges Poss
iblecauses/c onseq uences and M Solu
tions Ser
viceReq uired Do Not Shi
ft Gea
rs Vis
itDealer You
cannotchange thetransmission positionduetoamalfunction.
Aw arning tone also soun ds.
If trans mis sion positionD is selec ted:
X Dr ive toaqualifi edspec ialist workshopwit hout shiftingth e
tr ans mis sion from posi tionD.
If trans mis sion positionR, Nor Pis selec ted:
X Not ifyaqualifi edspec ialist workshopor break down service. Onl
yShi ft to
'P' when Veh
icleis Sta
tionary The
vehicle ismov ing.
X Pull overand stop thevehiclesa fel yas soo naspossible ,pay ing
attent iontoroad andtraffic conditions.
X Shift thetransmission toposition P. A The
tailgate isopen.
X Close thetailgate. ? G
Risk
ofaccident The
hood isopen.
X Pull over andstop thevehicle safelyassoon aspossible ,pay ing
attent iontoroad andtraffic conditions.
X Apply theelectric parking brake.
X Close thehood. C At
least onedoor isopen.
X Close allthe doors. D
Power
Steering Malfunction
See Operator's
Manual G
Risk
ofaccident The
power steering ismalfunctioning.
You willneed touse more forcetosteer.
Aw arning tone also soun ds.
X Chec kwhether youareable toapply theextr aforce required.
X Ifyou areable tosteer safely: carefully driveontoaqual ified
specialist workshop.
X Ifyou areunable tosteer safely: donot drive on.Contact the
nearest qualified specialist workshop. 266
Display
messagesOn-board computer and displays

Tow
ingand tow-starti ng Impo
rtant safety notes G
WA
RNING If
yo utow thevehicle, youmu stusearig id
tow ingbarif:
R the engine isnot running.
R there isabrake system malfunction.
R there isamal function inthe pow ersup ply
or the vehicl e'selectrical system .
The pow erassi stance forthe steering andthe
brake forcebooste rdo not work when the
engine isnot running. Youwillneed more
force tosteer andbrake, youmay have to
depre ssthe brake pedalwith maximu mforce.
Before towing away,make surethatthe
steering canbemoved andisnot locked.
If you tow ortow-st artanother vehicle,its
weight mustnotexceed themaximum
permissible grossvehicle weightofyour
vehicle. G
WARNING The
vehicle isbraked whentheHOLD function
or DIS TRONIC PLUSisactivated. Therefore,
deactivate HOLDandDISTRONIC PLUSifthe
vehicle isto be towed.
It is better tohave thevehicle transported
than tohave ittowed.
! You may onlytowthevehicle amaximum
distance of30 miles (50km). Atowing
speed of30 mph (50km/ h)must notbe
exceeded.
For towing distances over30miles
(50 km), thevehicle mustloaded ontoa
trans porter.
! Make surethattheelectric parking brake
is released. Ifthe electric parking brakeis
faulty, visitaquali fiedspecialist workshop.
! Only secure thetow rope ortow baratthe
towing eyes.Otherwise, thevehicle could
be damaged. !
Donot use thetowing eyeforrecovery,
as this could damage thevehicle. Ifin
doubt, recover thevehicle withacrane.
! When towing, pullaway slowly and
smoothly. Ifthe tract ivepower istoo high,
the vehicles couldbedamaged.
! Donot tow with sling-t ypeequipment.
This could damage thevehicle.
! When towing vehicles withKEYLE SS-GO,
use thekey instead ofthe Start /Stop
button .Othe rwise, the automa tic
tra nsmi ssion mayshi ftto positio nP wh en
the driver 'sor fro nt-pa ssenge rdo or are
op ene d,wh ich cou ldlead todama getothe
tra nsmi ssion.
! Vehicle swi th diffe renti allocks: make
su re tha tthe differential locksarein
automatic mode.Whentowing, the
differential locksmustnotbeswitched on
by hand. Thiscould otherwise damagethe
transmission.
If the vehicle hassuffered transmission
damage, haveittransport edon atransport er
or trailer.
The automatic transmission mustbein
position Nwhen thevehicle isbeing towed.
The battery mustbeconn ected andcharged.
Otherwise, you:
R cannot turntheSmartK eytoposition 2in
the ignition lock
R cannot shifttheautomatic transmission to
position N i
Before
thevehicle istowed, switchoffthe
automatic lockingfeature(Ypage 235).
You could otherwise belocked outwhen
pushing ortowing thevehicle. Installing/
removingthetowing eye
Installing thetowing eye Vehicles
withatrailer towhitch: ifpossible,
secure thetowing deviceonthe trailer tow
hitch (Ypage 210). Towing
andtow-star ting
343Breakdown assistance Z