Driving Through Water - Mercedes-Benz 2010 M-Class Operator's Manual

The 4-ETS recognizes the situation and
limits the torque for the front wheels by
braking them.
Simultaneously the torque for the rear
wheels is increased.
Driving across a hilltop
Decelerate just ahead of a hilltop (do not shift
automatic transmission into neutral position
N), to prevent the vehicle from speeding up
too much after climbing a hill.
Use the momentum of the vehicle to drive
across the hilltop.
After climbing a hill, driving in this manner
prevents the vehicle from:
losing ground contact when cresting hills
R
losing its forward momentum
R
speeding up too much after climbing the hill
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Driving downhill
Drive slowly.
R
Do not drive at an angle to the incline. Steer
R
into the line of gravity and drive with the
front wheels pointing straight downhill.
Otherwise, the vehicle may slide sideways
off the path and roll over.
Shift automatic transmission into gear
R
range 1 ( Y
page 113).
On steep inclines, use the Downhill Speed
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Regulation ( Y page 152).
Utilize the engine's braking power to
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reduce vehicle speed.
If this is insufficient, apply the brakes
gently. Make sure the vehicle is moving in
the line of gravity.
Check the brakes after a lengthy
R
downgrade drive.
i The special Off-road ABS (
setting allows for precise and brief
(cyclical) blocking of the front wheels,
permitting them to dig into loose ground.
Remember that, when stopped, the front
wheels slide across a surface and thus lose
their ability to steer the vehicle.

Driving through water

:
Vehicles with steel
suspension or air
suspension
program (raised
level)
Before driving through water, determine its
R
depth.
!
respective value listed in the table. The
ground under the water might not be firm
which could result the water being deeper
than expected when driving the vehicle
through it. Please note that the water level
is correspondingly lower for flowing water.
Vehicles with air suspension program:
R
Select the highest vehicle level possible
( Y
Switch to off-road driving program
R
( Y
Shift automatic transmission into gear
R
Y page 63)
range 1 or 2 (
Avoid high engine speeds.
R
Enter and leave the water only at a shallow
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spot, driving at walking speed.
Driving instructions
Fording depth
:
20 in (50 cm)
The water depth must not exceed the
page 156).
page 155) before driving through water.
Y page 113).
251
Z