steering MERCEDES-BENZ M-CLASS SUV 2011 Owner's Guide

!
The depth of water must not exceed the
value specified in the table. Not ethat the
possible fording depth is less in flowing
water.
R Establish how deep the water is and the
characteristic softhe body of water before
fording.
R Select the highest possible vehicle level.
R Restrict the shift range to 1or 2.
R Avoid high engin espeeds.
R Enter and exit the water at aflat place and
at as teady walking pace.
! Under no circumstances should you
accelerate before entering the water. The
bow wave could cause water to enter and
damage the engine and neighbouring
assemblies.
R Drive slowl yand at aconstant speed
through the water.
R Do not stop.
! Do not open any of the vehicle' sdoors
while fording. Otherwise, wate rcould get
int ot he vehicle interior and damage the
vehicle' selectronics and interior equip-
ment.
R Water offer sahigh degree of resistance,
and the ground is slippery and in some
cases unstable. Therefore, it is difficult and
dangerous to pull away in the water.
R Ensure that abow wav edoes not for mas
you drive.
R Clea nany mud from the tyre tread after
fording.
R Appl ythe brakes to dry them after fording. Winter driving
Genera lnotes G
WARNING
If the vehicle becomes trapped in snow,
ensure that snow is kept away from the
exhaust pipe and from around the vehicle as long as the engine is running. Otherwise, poi-
sonous carbon monoxide (CO) may enter the
vehicle, resulting in loss of consciousness and
even death.
To assure sufficient fresh air ventilation, open
aw indow slightly on the side of the vehicle
not facin gthe wind.
At the onset of winter, have your vehicle win-
terproofed at aqualified special istworkshop,
e.g. at aMercedes-Ben zService Centre.
Vehicles with the ON&OFFROAD package: if
driving in snow or with snow chains, select
the snow program (Y page 219) with the off-
road program selector wheel in the centre
console.
Driving with summer tyres Observ
ethe notes in the "Winter operation"
section (Y page 357).
Slippery roa dsurfaces G
WARNING
Do not shift down for additiona lengine brak-
ing on aslippery road surface. This could
cause the drive wheels to lose their grip and
the vehicle could skid.
You should drive particularly carefully on slip-
pery road surfaces. Avoid sudden accelera-
tion, steering and braking manoeuvres.
If the vehicle threatens to skid or cannot be
stopped when moving at low speed:
X Shift the transmission to position N.
X Try to bring the vehicle under control by
using corrective steering.
i For more information on drivin gwith
snow chains, see (Y page 358). Drivin
gtips
165Driving and park ing Z

bodywork structure, steering, chassis and
exhaust system for damage.
X After driving for extended periods across
sand, mud, gravel, water or in similarly dirty
conditions, have the brak ediscs, wheels,
brake pads/linings and axle joints checked
and cleaned.
X If you detec tstrong vibrations afte roff-road
travel ,check for foreign objects in the
wheels and drive train and remov ethem if
nec essary. Foreign object scan disturb the
balance and cause vibrations.
Driving on sand Observe the following rules when driving on
sand:
R vehicles with the ON&OFFROAD pack-
age: select off-road program 1
(Y page 222).
R vehicles without the ON&OFFROAD
package: select the off-road program
(Y page 222).
R select ahigher vehicle level.
R select ashift range appropriate to the ter-
rain.
R drive quickly to overcom ethe rolling resist-
ance. Otherwise, the vehicle could dig itself
int ot he sand.
R drive in the track sofother vehicle sifpos-
sible. Make sure that the ruts ar enot too
deep, that the sand is fir menoug hand that
your vehicl ehas sufficient ground clear-
ance.
Rut sand gravel roa ds Observe the followin
grules when driving
along ruts in off-road terrain or on roads with
loos egravel:
! Check that th eruts are not too deep and
that your vehicle has sufficient clearance.
Otherwise, your vehicle could be damaged
or bottom out and get stuck. R
activate the off-road program
(Y page 222).
R vehicles with the AIRMATI Cpackage:
select araised vehicle level.
R avoid high engine speeds.
R restrict the shift range to 1.
R drive slowly.
R where ruts are too deep, drive with the
wheels on one side on the middle section
of turf if possible.
Driving over obstacles !
Obstacles could damage the floor of the
vehicle or components of the chassis .Ask
passenger sfor guidance when drivin gover
larg eobstacles. Any damage to the vehicle
always increases the risk of an accident.
Observe the followin grules when driving over
tree stumps, large stones and other obsta-
cles:
R Select the off-road program (Y page 222)
or the LOW RANGE off-road gear
(Y page 223).
R Raise the vehicle level.
R Avoid high engine speeds.
R Restrict the shift range to 1.
R Drive very slowly.
R Drive straight over the centre of obstacles. Travellin
guphill
Approach/departur eangle 168
Driving tipsDriving and parking

R
Off-road level 2: 60 mm abov ehighway
level
R Off-road level 3: 90 mm above highway
level
Highway/high-speed level !
Make sure there is enough ground clear-
ance when the vehicle is being lowered .It
could oth erwise hit the ground, damaging
the underbody. :
Selector wheel
; To raise the level
= Indicator lamps
? To lowe rthe level
X Star tthe engine.
X Selector wheel : engaged:
brieflypress
selecto rwheel :.
Selector wheel :extends.
If one or mor eindicato rlamps =are on:
X Turn selector wheel :anti-clockwise ?
until all indicator lamps =that are lit start
to flash.
The vehicle is lowered to highway level. As
soon as the next lowes tlevel is reached,
the indicator lam pstops flashing and goes
out.
While the adjustment is taking place, ames-
sage appears in the multifunction display,
e.g.: If you press the
%ora button on the
multifunction steerin gwheel, the message
will disappear.
Onc ehighway level has been reached, all indi-
cator lamps =go out. You will see amessage
in the multifunction display, for example: The vehicle automatically select
shighway
level if you are drivin gataspeed above
11 5k m/ horify ou drive at between
10 0k m/ hand 11 5km/ hfor aroun d20sec-
onds. The vehicle is lowered to high-speed
level if you are travelling at higher speeds.
Off-road levels G
WARNING
Off-road level 3isnot perm itted for use on
public roads. Off-road leve l3gives your vehi-
cle avery high centr eofgravity. This increa-
se st he risk of the vehi clet ippin gover.
R Onl yselec toff-road level 3for drivin goff-
road in particularl yrough terrain.
R Adjust your drivin gstyle to the altered han-
dling charac teristics.
R Do not drive faster than 20 km/h.
R Avoid sudden majo rsteering movements.
R Take account of th ealtered handling char-
acteristics.
Only select an off-road level if this is appro-
priate for road conditions. Otherwise, fuel 184
Drivin
gsystemsDrivin gand parking

cons
umption may incr easeand handling per-
formance may be affected. X
Start the engine.
X Selecto rwheel : en
gaged: briefly press
selector wheel :.
Selector wheel :extends.
X To raise: turns elector wheel :clock-
wise ;.
The vehicle is raised.
or
X To lower: turns elector wheel :anti-
clockwise ?.
The vehicle is lowered.
Indicator lamps =for the desired off-road
level flash:
R Off-road level 1: thel ower indicator lamp
flashes.
R Off-road level 2: thel ower and centr eindi-
cator lamps flash.
R Off-road leve l3:allthree indicator lamps
flash.
The vehicle is being adjusted to the off-road
leve lselected. As soon as an off-road level is
reached, the corresponding indicator lamp
stops flashing and lights up constantly.
Whil ethe adjustment is taking place, ames-
sage appears in the multifunction display,
e.g.: The vehicle rises from highway level to off-
road level 1.
If you press the %ora button on the
multifunction stee ring wheel, the message
will disappear.
i Up to off-road level 2, you can hid ethe
messages usin gthe % ora button
on the multifunction steering wheel.
Onc eoff-roa dlevel 2has been reached, you
will see amessage in th emultifunction dis-
play, for example: Lower and
centre indicator lamps =areo n.
While the adjustment from off-ro adlevel 2to
off -ro ad level 3istaking place, you will see a
message such as the following in the multi-
function displ ay: The
Max. speed 20 km/h message draws
your attentio ntothe maximum speed permit-
ted for off-road level 3.
Onc eoff-roa dlevel 3has been reached, you
will see amessage shown in whit einthe mul-
ti fu nction display, for example: Driving systems
185Drivingand pa rking Z

Problems wit
hPARKTRONIC Problem Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
Only the red segments
in the PARKTRONIC
warning display sare lit.
Yo ua lso hear awarning
tone for approximately
two seconds.
PARKTRONIC is deacti-
vated after approx-
imately 20 seconds,
and the indicator lamp
in the PARKTRONIC
button lights up. PARKTRONIC has malfunctioned and has switched off.
X If problems persist, have PARKTRONIC checked at aqualified
specialist workshop. Only the red segments
in the PARKTRONIC
warning display sare lit.
PARKTRONIC is deacti-
vate dafter approx-
imatel y20seconds. The PARKTRONI
Csensors are dirt yorthere is interference.
X Clean the PARKTRONI Csensors (Y page 327).
X Switch the ignition back on. The problem may be caused by an exter
nalsource of radio or
ultrasoun dwaves.
X See if PARKTRONIC functions in adifferent location. Active Parking Assist
Important safet ynotes Active Parking Assist is an electronic parking
aid with ultrasound. Ultrasound is used to
measure the road on both sides of the vehicle.
As uitable parking space is indicated by the
parking symbol. Activ esteering intervention
can assis tyou during parking. You ma yalso
use PARKTRONIC (Y page 191). When PARK-
TRONIC is switched off, Active Parking Assist
is also unavailable. G
WARNING
Active Parkin gAssist is merely an aid and may
sometimes recommen dparking spaces that
are not suitable for parking. For example,
these might be spaces where parking is pro-
hibited ,driveways, unsuitabl esurfaces, etc.
Active Parking Assis tmeasures the parking
space as you driv epast it. Any later changes to the parking space are not taken into
account .For insta nce,this ma ybethe case
when the vehicle parked in front of or behind
the space changes its position or when an
obstacle is moved int othe parkin gspace.
Active Parking Assist does not reliev eyou of
the responsibilit yofpaying attention. If you
rely solel yonA ctive Parkin gAssist ,you could
cause an accident and injure yourself and oth-
ers.
You are always responsible for safet yand
must continue to pay attention to your imme-
diate surroundings whe nparking and
manoeuvring. G
WARNING
Objects located above the heigh trange of
Active Parking Assis twill not be detected
when the parking space is measured. These
are not taken into account when the parking 194
Drivin
gsystemsDrivin gand parking

procedure is calculated, e. g. overhanging
loads, tail sections or loading ramps of goods
vehicles. In some cir
cumstances, Active Park-
ing Assist may therefore guide you into the
parking space too early. Thi smay lead to a
collision. For this reason, you shoul davoid
using Active Parking Assist in such situatio ns.G
WARNING
Th ef ront of th evehicle will veer out in the
direc tion of the oncomin gtraffic during the
parking operatio n. Insome cases the vehicle
will also take you onto section softhe oncom-
ing lan eduring the parking procedure.
You are responsible for safety at all times and
must pay attention to any road users
approaching or passing. Stop the vehicle if
necessary or cancel the Active Parking Assist
parking procedure. G
WARNING
Make sure that no persons or animals are in
the manoeuvring range. Otherwise, they
could be injured.
Use Active Parking Assis tfor parkin gspaces:
R that are parallel to the direction of travel
R that are on straight roads, not bends
R that are on the same level as the road, e.g.
not on the pavement
Parking tips:
R on narrow roads, driv easclosely as possi-
ble past the parkin gspace.
R parking spaces that are littered, overgrown
or partially occupied by trailer drawbars
might be identified incor rectly or not at all.
R snowfall or heavy rain may lea dtoap arking
space being measured inaccurately.
R pay attention to the PARKTRONIC
(Y page 192 )warning message sduring the
parking procedure.
R you can intervene in the steering procedure
to correc titatany time. Active Parking
Assist will then be cancelled. R
whe ntransporting aload which protrudes
from your vehicle, you should not use
Active Parkin gAssist.
R never use Ac tive Parkin gAssist when snow
chains or an emergenc yspare wheel are
fit ted.
R mak esure that the tyre pressures are
always correct. This has adirec tinfluence
on the parking characteristics of the vehi-
cle.
R the wa yyourv ehicle is positioned in the
parking space after parking is dependent
on various factor s. Theseinclude the posi-
tion and shape of the vehicles parked in
front and behind it and the conditions of the
location. In some cases, Active Parking
Assist may guid eyou too far int oaparking
space, or not far enough into it. In some
cases, it may also lead you across or onto
the kerb. If necessary, you should abort the
parking procedure with Active Parking
Assist.
R you can also engage forward gear prema-
turely. The vehicle redirects and does not
drive as far into the parking space. Should
ag ear be changed too earl ytoa chieve a
sensible parkin gposition ,the parkin gpro-
cedure wil lbeaborted.
! If unavoidable, you should driv eover
obstacles such as kerb sslowly and not at
as har pangle .Otherwise, you may damage
the wheels or tyres.
Detectin gparking spaces Active Parking Assis
tiss witched on automat-
ically when driving forwards. The system is
operational at speed sofuptoa pproximately
35 km/h. While in operation, the system inde-
pendently locates and measures parking
spaces on both sides of the vehicle. When
driving at speeds below 30 km/ h,you will see
the parking symbol as astatus indicato rinthe
instrumen tcluster. Activ eParking Assist only
displays parking spaces on the front-
passe nger side as standar d.Parking spaces
on the driver' sside are displayed as soon as Driving systems
195Drivingand parking Z

the turn si
gnal on the driver' sside is activa-
ted. If you wish to park in aspace on the driv-
er' ss ide, the indicator on the driver' sside
must remain on. This must remain switched
on until you acknowledge the use of Active
Parking Assist by pressin gthe a button
on the multifunction steeri ngwheel.
When aparking space has been detected, an
arrow towards the right or the left also
appears. :
Detected parking space on the left
; Parking symbol
= Detected parking space on the right
Activ eParking Assist will only detect parking
spaces:
R that are parallel to the direction of travel
R that are at least 1. 5mwide
R that are at least 1. 3mlonger than your
vehicle
Ap arking space is displayed while you are
driving past it, and until you are approx-
imately 15 maway from it.
Parking G
WARNING
PARKTRONI Cand Activ eParking Assist are
merely parking aids and may not detec tall
obstacles. They do not reliev eyou of the
responsibili tyof paying attention.
You are alway sresponsible for safet yand
must continue to pay attention to your imme-
diate surroundings whe nparking and
manoeuvring. You could, otherwise, endanger
yourself and others. X
Stop the vehicle when the parking space
symbol shows the desired parking space in
the instrumen tcluster.
X Shif tthe transmission to position R.
The Star tPark Assist? Yes: OK No: %
message appe arsint he multifunction
display.
X To cancel th eprocedure: press the
% button on the multifunction steering
whee lorp ull away.
or
X To par kusing Active Parking Assist:
press the abutton on the multifunction
steeri ngwheel.
The Park Assist active Accelerate and brake Observe surroundings mes-
sage appears in the multifunction display. G
WARNING
When parking, you need to make sure that no
obstacles are located in the vicinit yofthe
vehicle during the entire operation .Active
Parkin gAssist does not reliev eyou of the
responsibilit yofpaying attention. It merely
aids you by intervenin gactivel yinthe steer-
ing.
To stop the vehicle or avoid an accident you
need to apply the brakes yourself.
X Let go of the multifunction steerin gwheel.
X Reverse the vehicle, being ready to brake
at all times. When reversi ng,don ot exceed
as peed of approximately 10 km/h; other-
wise Active Parking Assist will be deactiva-
ted.
i In tight parking spaces, you will achieve
the best parking result sbybackingupas
far as possible .When doing so, also
observe the PARKTRONIC messages.
X Stop as soon as PARKTRONIC sound sthe
continuous warnin gtone, if not before.
Manoeuvring ma yberequired in tight park-
ing spaces.
The Park Assist active Select D Observe surroundings message appear
sin
the multifunction display. 196
Drivin
gsystemsDrivin gand parking

tion. See the separate COMAND operating
instructi
ons.
The symbo lofthe selected function is high-
lighted.
To deactivate: the reversing camera is deac-
tivated if you:
R shift the transmission to position P
R drive forward ten metres
R shift the transmission from position Rto
anothe rposition (after 15 seconds)
R drive forwards at aspeed of over
10 km/h
Displays in the COMAN Ddisplay G
WARNING
Usin gthe reversing camera can be dangerous
if you ar ecolour-blin dorify our ability to dis-
tinguish colours is impaired.
Only use the reversin gcamera if you can see
and distinguis hbetween all the coloured
guide lines that are displayed by the reversing
camera in the COMAN Ddisplay. G
WARNING
Please note that objects not at ground level
may appea rtobefurther away than they
actually are. Thes einclude:
R the bumper of avehicle that is parked
behind your vehicle
R at railer drawbar
R theb all coupling of atrailer tow hitch
R thet ail-end of alorry
R slanted posts
The lines are only guides, not accurate meas-
urements of the distance to an obstacle.
Therefore, you should never pass the red line
when approachin ganobstacle. You could oth-
erwise cause an accident and injur eyourself
and others. :
Vehicle width includin gexterior mirrors
; Vehicl ewidth including wheel extremities
= Yellow guide line at adistance of approx-
imately 4.0 mfrom th erear area
? Red lane of vehicle width at curren tsteer-
ing whee langle (dynamic)
A Yellow lane of tyres at current steering
wheel angle (dynamic)
B Bumper
C Red guid eline at adistance of approx-
imately 0.2 5mfrom th erear area
D Yellow guide line at adistance of approx-
imately 1.0 mfrom th erear area
E White lane of vehicle width with steering
wheel straight (static)
F Vehicle centre axle (marker assistance)
The guide lines are only shown when the
transmission is in position R.
The distance specification sonly appl yto
objec tsthat are at ground level. Driving systems
199Drivingand park ing Z

Additiona
lmessages for vehicles with PARK-
TRONIC
: Fron twarning display
; Additiona lPARKTRONIC measurement
operationa lreadiness indicator
= Rear warning display
Veh icleswithP ARKTRONIC: when PARK-
TRONIC is operationa l(Y page 191), addi-
tional operat iona lreadiness indicator ;also
appears. Warning displays :and =are
active if the corresponding PARKTRONIC
warning displays are active (Y page 192).
They ligh tupy ellow as soon as th efirst seg-
men tint he PARKTRONIC warnin gdisplay
lights up yellow, and they light up red as soon
as the first segment in the PARKTRONIC
warnin gdispla ylights up red.
"Reverse parking" function X
Make sure that the reversing camera is
activated and that the "Reverse parking"
func tion is selected. See the separate oper-
atin ginstructions for COMAND.
The lane and the guid elines are shown. Reversing straight into
aparking space
without turnin gthe steering wheel :
Vehicl ewidth including exterior mirrors
; White lane with steering wheel straight
= Yellow guide line at adistance of approx-
imately 1.0 mfrom th erear area
? Red guide line at adistance of approx-
imately 0.2 5mfrom th erear area
X With the help of white lane ;,check
whether the vehicle will fit int othe parking
space.
X Using the white lan easaguide, carefully
reverse until you reach the end position.
Red guide line ?is then at the end of the
parking space. The vehicle is almost paral-
lel in the parking space.
Reverse perpendicular parking with the
steering wheel at an angle
X Drive past the parking space and bring the
vehicle to astandstill. 200
Drivin
gsystemsDrivin gand parking

Turning the steering wheel
:
Red lane indicating the rout ethe vehicle
will tak ewith the steerin gwheel in its cur-
ren tposition
; Parkin gspace marking
X While the vehicle is at astandstill, turn the
steerin gwheel in the direction of the park-
ing spac euntil the red lane reache sparking
space marking ;.
X Keep the steering wheel in that position
and reverse carefully. Reversing with the steering wheel turned
:
Red lane indicating the route the vehicle
will take with the steering wheel in its cur-
rent position
X Stop the vehicle when it is almost exactly
in front of the parking space.
The white lane should be as close to parallel
with the parking space markin gaspossi-
ble. Drivi
ngto the final position
: White lane at current steerin gwheel angle
; Parkin gspace marking
X Turn the steerin gwheel to the cen trep osi-
tion while the vehicle is stationary. :
Red guide line at adistance of approx-
imately 0.2 5mfrom th erear area
; White lane with steerin gwheel straight
= Endofp arking space
X Reverse carefully until you have reached
the end position.
Red guide line :is then at the end of park-
ing space =.The vehicle is almost parallel
in the parkin gspace.
"Coupling up atrailer" function Thi
sfunction is only available on vehicles with
at railer to whitch. Drivin
gsystems
201Drivingand park ing Z