2010 Mercedes ML-Class Owner's Manual - Page 253

Driving instructions 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. Remember that, when stopped, the front wheels slide across a surface and thus lose their ability to steer the vehicle. 251 Driving through water 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: Rlosing Rlosing ground contact when cresting hills its forward momentum : Fording depth Rspeeding up too much after climbing the hill Driving downhill RDrive slowly. Vehicles with steel : suspension or air suspension program (raised level) 20 in (50 cm) RBefore driving through water, determine its RDo not drive at an angle to the incline. Steer 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. RShift ROn depth. automatic transmission into gear range 1 (Y page 113). steep inclines, use the Downhill Speed Regulation (Y page 152). the engine's braking power to reduce vehicle speed. If this is insufficient, apply the brakes gently. Make sure the vehicle is moving in the line of gravity. the brakes after a lengthy downgrade drive. RUtilize RCheck i The special Off-road ABS (Y page 63) setting allows for precise and brief (cyclical) blocking of the front wheels, permitting them to dig into loose ground. ! The water depth must not exceed the 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. RVehicles with air suspension program: Select the highest vehicle level possible (Y page 156). RSwitch to off-road driving program (Y page 155) before driving through water. RShift automatic transmission into gear range 1 or 2 (Y page 113). RAvoid REnter high engine speeds. and leave the water only at a shallow spot, driving at walking speed. Z Operation