ESP MERCEDES-BENZ ML350 2005 W163 User Guide

41 Getting started
Adjusting
Mirrors
Adjust the interior and exterior rear view
mirrors before driving so that you have a
good view of the road and traffic condi-
tions.Interior rear view mirror

Manually adjust the interior rear view
mirror.
For more information, see “Rear view mir-
rors” (
page 128).
Exterior rear view mirrors
!Do not drive the vehicle until you have
properly locked the steering column.
If the indicator lamp_ (
page 26)
comes on while the engine is running,
the steering column is not locked prop-
erly.
Warning!
G
In the case of an accident, liquid electrolyte
may escape the mirror housing if the mirror
glass breaks.
Electrolyte has an irritating effect. Do not al-
low the liquid to come into contact with
eyes, skin, clothing, or respiratory system.
In case it does, immediately flush affected
area with water, and seek medical help if
necessary.
Warning!
G
Exercise care when using the passenger-
side exterior rear view mirror. The mirror
surface is convex (outwardly curved surface
for a wider field of view). Objects in mirror
are closer than they appear. Check your in-
terior rear view mirror or glance over your
shoulder before changing lanes.!Electrolyte drops coming into contact
with the vehicle paint finish can only be
completely removed while in their
liquid state and by applying plenty of
water.

50 Getting startedDrivingSwitching on headlamps
The combination switch is located on the
left of the steering column.Combination switch1 Off
2Low beam headlamps on
Turn combination switch to
positionõ.
The low beam headlamps are switched
on.
For more information, see “Lighting”
(
page 107).
Turn signals and high beam
The combination switch is on the left of the
steering column.Combination switch1Turn signals, right
2Turn signals, left
3High beamTurn signals

Press combination switch in direction
of arrow1 or2.
The corresponding turn signal indicator
lampK orL in the instrument
cluster flashes.
The combination switch resets auto-
matically after major steering wheel
movements.
High beam

Push combination switch forward in di-
rection of arrow3.
The high beam indicator lampA in
the instrument cluster comes on.
For more information, see “Lighting”
(
page 107).iTo signal minor directional changes,
move combination switch only to point
of resistance and release. The corre-
sponding turn signals will flash three
times.

56 Getting startedParking and locking
Press the seat belt release button
(page 43).
Allow the retractor to completely re-
wind the seat belt by guiding the latch
plate.
For more information, see “Locking and
unlocking” (
page 88).
Locking
After exiting the vehicle, press the lock
button‹ on the remote control
(page 32).
The turn signal lamps flash three times
and the locking knobs on the doors
move down.For more information, see “Locking and
unlocking” (
page 88).
iWith the key removed and the driver’s
door open, a warning sounds if the ve-
hicle’s exterior lamps are not switched
off.Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
key from the steering lock, and lock your ve-
hicle. Do not leave children unattended in
the vehicle, or with access to an unlocked
vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehicle equip-
ment may cause an accident and / or seri-
ous personal injury.
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the door
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Before closing doors, make sure there is no
possibility of someone getting caught in a
door during closing.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
key from the steering lock, and lock your ve-
hicle. Do not leave children unattended in
the vehicle, or with access to an unlocked
vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehicle equip-
ment may cause an accident and / or seri-
ous personal injury.


60 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety

Adjust the passenger seat as far as pos-
sible rearward from the dashboard when
the seat is occupied.


Occupants, especially children, should
never lean their heads in the area of the
door where the side impact airbag in-
flates. This could result in serious inju-
ries or death should the airbag be
triggered. Always sit nearly upright,
properly use the seat belts and appropri-
ate size infant or child restraint system.


Children 12 years old and under must
never ride in the front seat, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized
BabySmart
TM1
compatible child seat,
which operates with the BabySmart
TM
system installed in the vehicle to deacti-
vate the passenger front airbag when it
is properly installed. Otherwise they will
be struck by the airbag when it inflates
in a crash. If this happens, serious or fa-
tal injury will result.
1BabySmart
TMis a trademark of Siemens
Automotive Corp.
Failure to follow these instructions can
result in severe injuries to you or other
occupants.
If you sell your vehicle, it is important
that you make the buyer aware of this
safety information. Be sure to give the
buyer this Operator’s Manual.
Warning
G
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in an automobile is in the
rear seat. Should you choose to place a child
12 years old or under in the front passenger
seat of your vehicle, you must properly use
a BabySmart
TM child restraint which will
turn off the passenger front airbag
(
page 70). BabySmart
TM will not, howev-
er, turn off any side impact airbag.
It should be noted that with respect to both
front and rear side impact airbags there is a
possibility for a side airbag related injury if
occupants, especially children, are not prop-
erly seated or restrained when next to a side
airbag which needs to deploy rapidly in a
side impact in order to do its job.


61 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
To help avoid the possibility of injury, please
follow these guidelines:
(1) Occupants, especially children, should
never place their bodies or lean their
heads in the area of the door where the
side airbag inflates. This could result in
serious injuries or death should the side
airbag be activated.
(2) Always sit nearly upright, properly use
the seat belts and use an appropriately
sized infant or child restraint system for
all children 12 years old or under.
(3) Always wear seat belts properly.
If you believe that, even with the use of
these guidelines, it would be safer for your
rear seat occupants to have both rear door
mounted side airbags deactivated, then
deactivation can be accomplished upon
your written request to do so at an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck
Center at an additional cost.
Please contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center or call
our Customer Assistance Center at
1-800-FOR-MERCedes (1-800-367-6372)
for details.iAirbags are designed to activate only in
certain frontal impacts (front airbags)
and in side impacts (side impact and
head protection window curtain air-
bags) which exceed preset thresholds.
Only during these types of impacts, if of
sufficient severity to meet the deploy-
ment tresholds, will they provide their
supplemental protection.
The driver and passengers should
always wear their seat belts. Otherwise
it is not possible for airbags to provide
their supplemental protection.
In cases of other frontal impacts,
angled impacts, roll-overs, other side
impacts, rear collisions, or other acci-
dents, the airbags will not be activated.
The driver and passengers will then be
protected by the fastened seat belts.
We caution you not to rely on the
presence of the airbags in order to
avoid wearing your seat belt.
Your vehicle was originally equipped
with airbags that are designed to acti-
vate in certain impacts exceeding a
preset threshold to reduce the poten-
tial and severity of injury. It is important
to your safety and that of your passen-
gers that you replace deployed airbags
and repair any malfunctioning airbags
to make sure the vehicle will continue
to provide supplemental crash protec-
tion for occupants.

67 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Emergency tensioning device, seat belt
force limiter
The seat belts for the front seats are
equipped with emergency tensioning de-
vices and belt force limiters. The outboard
passenger seats belts (except in the third
row seats*) are equipped with emergency
tensioning devices.
The ETD is designed to activate in the
following cases:

in frontal or rear-end impacts exceed-
ing a preset severity level


if the restraint systems are operational
and functioning correctly, see
1indicator lamp (
page 58)In an impact, emergency tensioning devic-
es remove slack from the belts in such a
way that the seat belts fit more snugly
against the body. Belt force limiters reduce
the force exerted by the seat belts on oc-
cupants during a crash.
Children in the vehicle
If an infant or child is traveling with you in
the vehicle:

Secure the child using an infant or child
restraint appropriate to the age and
size of the child.


Make sure the infant or child is proper-
ly secured by a belt at all times while
the vehicle is in motion.
Infant and child restraint seats and infor-
mation on choosing an appropriate re-
straint system can be obtained from any
authorized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck
Center.
iThe ETDs for the front seats will only
activate if the respective front seat belt
is fastened (latch plate properly insert-
ed into buckle).
The ETDs for the rear outer seats will
activate with or without the respective
seat belt fastened.
Warning!
G
An emergency tensioning device (ETD) that
was activated must be replaced.
When disposing of the emergency tension-
ing device, our safety instructions must be
followed. These are available at your autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.!Do not place objects heavier than
20 lbs (9 kg) on the front passenger
seat. This could cause the front or side
impact airbag on the front passenger
side to deploy in a crash which exceeds
the system’s deployment threshold.

76 Safety and SecurityDriving safety systemsIn this section you will find information on
the following driving safety systems:

ABS (A
ntilock B
rake S
ystem)


BAS (B
rake A
ssist S
ystem)


4-ETS (E
lectronic T
raction S
ystem)


EBP (E
lectronic B
rake P
roportioning)


ESP (E
lectronic S
tability P
rogram)
ABS
The Antilock Brake System (ABS) regulates
the brake pressure so that the wheels do
not lock during braking. This allows you to
maintain the ability to steer your vehicle.
The ABS is functional above a speed of ap-
proximately 5 mph (8 km / h) independent
of road surface conditions.
On slippery road surfaces, the ABS will re-
spond even with light brake pressure.
The -indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster (
page 25) comes on when you
turn the key in the steering lock to
position2. It goes out when the engine is
running.
iIn winter operation, the maximum ef-
fectiveness of the ABS, the BAS, the
ESP, the EBP, and the 4-ETS is only
achieved with winter tires (M + S tires)
or snow chains as required.
Warning!
G
The following factors increase the risk of
accidents:

Excessive speed, especially in turns


Wet and slippery road surfaces


Following another vehicle too closely
The ABS, BAS, ESP and 4-ETS cannot reduce
this risk.
Always adjust your driving style to the pre-
vailing road and weather conditions.
Warning!
G
Do not pump the brake pedal. Use firm,
steady brake pedal pressure instead. Pump-
ing the brake pedal defeats the purpose of
the ABS and significantly reduces braking
effectiveness.

77 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
Braking
At the instant one of the wheels is about to
lock up, a slight pulsation can be felt in the
brake pedal, indicating that the ABS is in
the regulating mode.
Keep firm and steady pressure on the
brake pedal while experiencing the pul-
sation.
Continuous, steady brake pedal pressure
yields the advantages provided by the ABS,
namely braking power and the ability to
steer the vehicle.
The pulsating brake pedal can be an indica-
tion of hazardous road conditions and
functions as a reminder to take extra care
while driving.Emergency brake maneuver

Keep continuous full pressure on the
brake pedal.LOW RANGE– ABS
During off-road driving, a special low range
system for the ABS is operational with
transmission in LOW RANGE mode
(
page 127).
When applying the service brakes at
speeds below approximately
18 mph (30 km / h), the front wheels are
locked cyclically to shorten the braking
distance (dig-in effect). This affects steer-
ing the vehicle.
iWith the ABS malfunctioning, the BAS,
the ESP, and the 4-ETS are also
switched off.
Normal driving and braking functions
are still available.

79 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
4-ETS
The 4-Electronic Traction System (4-ETS)
improves vehicle’s ability to utilize avail-
able traction, especially under slippery
road conditions. The brakes are applied to
the spinning wheel and power is trans-
ferred to the wheel(s) with traction.
The traction control engages at vehicle
speeds up to approximately 24 mph
(40 km / h), and switches off at approxi-
mately 50 mph (80 km / h).
The {indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster (
page 25) comes on when you
turn the key to position2. It goes out when
the engine is running.
The 4-ETS / ESP warning lampv, loca-
ted in the speedometer dial, starts to flash
at any vehicle speed, as soon as the tires
lose traction and the wheels begin to spin.
Warning!
G
When you see the 4-ETS / ESP-warning
lampv flashing in the speedometer,
then proceed as follows:

While driving off, apply as little throttle
as possible.


While driving ease up on the accelera-
tor.


Adapt your speed and driving style to
the prevailing road conditions.
Failure to observe these guidelines could
cause the vehicle to skid.
The 4-ETS cannot prevent accidents resul-
ting from excessive speed.
!Because of the ESP’s automatic opera-
tion, the engine must be shut off (Key in
steering lock position0 or1) when the
parking brake is being tested on a
brake test dynamometer.
Active braking action through ESP may
otherwise seriously damage the front
or rear axle brake system.
Operational tests with the engine
running can only be conducted on a
two-axle dynamometer.iIf the yellow 4-ETS malfunction indica-
tor lamp{ comes on while the
4-ETS / ESP warning lampv flash-
es, the electronic traction system is be-
ing switched off temporarily to prevent
overheating of the drive wheel brakes.

80 Safety and SecurityDriving safety systemsLOW RANGE 4-ETS
During off-road driving, a special low range
system for the 4-ETS is operational with
transmission in LOW RANGE mode.
For more information, see the “Practical
hints” section (
page 248) and
(
page 259).
EBP
The EBP enhances braking effectiveness
by allowing the rear brakes to supply a
greater proportion of the braking effort
without a loss of vehicle stability.
ESP
The Electronic Stability Program (ESP)
monitors the vehicle’s traction (force of ad-
hesive friction between the tires and the
road surface) and handling.
The ESP recognizes when a wheel is spin-
ning or if the vehicle starts to skid. By ap-
plying brakes to the appropriate wheel and
by limiting engine output, the ESP works to
stabilize the vehicle. The ESP is especially
useful while driving off and on wet or slip-
pery road surfaces.
The 4-ETS / ESP warning lampv in the
speedometer flashes when the ESP is en-
gaged.
The ¿indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster (
page 25) and the 4-ETS / ESP
warning lampv in the speedometer
come on when you turn the key to
position2. They go out when the engine is
running.
Warning!
G
Never switch off the ESP when you see the
4-ETS / ESP-warning lampv flashing in
the speedometer. In this case, proceed as
follows:

While driving off, apply as little throttle
as possible.


While driving ease up on the accelera-
tor.


Adapt your speed and driving style to
the prevailing road conditions.
Failure to observe these guidelines could
cause the vehicle to skid.
The ESP cannot prevent accidents resulting
from excessive speed.