Need Driving Tips and 4 WDR
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Member
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 88
Likes: 0
From: UK
ML 350 Bluetech 2013 Loving it!
Need Driving Tips and 4 WDR
I had a not too good experience today.( I have ML350 2013) .First snow of the year!Two wheels went into a side stream about one foot deep. All place was covered with snow and road had hard ice on it ,it was very slippery and down hill.The whhels were just spiining as had little to grip on. I could not get out and need a tow , just a brief 30- second pull from another 4WDR( Hyundai..How embarrassing !!
). This is the story but I need to know what I did wrong and how I could improve . You may think I do not deserve a 4WDR but I had bought it not for off road just liked the looks of it and ML looked cool and felt it was a "Man " car after my E class.
1.Is the ML350 always in 4WDR or do need to press any buttons ?
2.Should I have pressed DSR?
3.Should I have raised the car?
4.There is a button on left side of the Joy stick with a small and big bump...What is that? and should I have pressed that ?
5. Should I have gone from automatic to manual?
6.How does one do that ?
). This is the story but I need to know what I did wrong and how I could improve . You may think I do not deserve a 4WDR but I had bought it not for off road just liked the looks of it and ML looked cool and felt it was a "Man " car after my E class.1.Is the ML350 always in 4WDR or do need to press any buttons ?
2.Should I have pressed DSR?
3.Should I have raised the car?
4.There is a button on left side of the Joy stick with a small and big bump...What is that? and should I have pressed that ?
5. Should I have gone from automatic to manual?
6.How does one do that ?
Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 94
Likes: 0
S550, SRX, ML550
It's less about the car and more about the tyres. Are you running winter or all season tyres? The rubber on the stock summer tyres has a tendency to freeze up - which no amount of technology can overcome.
I've gotten stuck, unable to get up my driveway with a 5 degree slope with summer tyres in below freezing weather. It's funny to watch tourists from Texas in the mountains of Colorado, even though they have great honking SUV's they end up not being able to pull away from traffic lights because of black ice.
Take a look at the 4wd truck at the 6:00 mark in this video:
I've gotten stuck, unable to get up my driveway with a 5 degree slope with summer tyres in below freezing weather. It's funny to watch tourists from Texas in the mountains of Colorado, even though they have great honking SUV's they end up not being able to pull away from traffic lights because of black ice.
Take a look at the 4wd truck at the 6:00 mark in this video:
Super Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 625
Likes: 4
From: Australia
X350d GLE500e 2017, ML350 BlueTec 2012(sold), A200 2013, ML350CDI 2009(sold), Aston Martin DB7 2003
Emran,
1. All ML's are always in 4WD.
2. You do not need to press ANY buttons. DSR could help but could also hinder.
3. You only need to raise the car for rugged off road OR very deep snow.
4. What buttons or Joystick are you refering to? There are no buttons with bumps in my car.
5. Manual would be better if there is steep grades.
6. With the ON/OFF road pack press the "M" button, or without pull the left "-" paddle.
Also with the ON/OFF road pack, select the snow driving mode.
The most important thing is to maintain smooth gentle driving with minimum steering input and almost zero braking effort.
Thimee's post is perfectly correct that winter tyres will help, or better still chains.
But as his video shows, nothing can protect you from other drivers.
Lastly, to learn more about adverse driving conditions, we have 4WD clubs here in Australia which provide driver training especially oriented to these types of extreme conditions. I suggest a similar service is available in the UK. Try this site. http://www.4x4-clubs.co.uk/
1. All ML's are always in 4WD.
2. You do not need to press ANY buttons. DSR could help but could also hinder.
3. You only need to raise the car for rugged off road OR very deep snow.
4. What buttons or Joystick are you refering to? There are no buttons with bumps in my car.
5. Manual would be better if there is steep grades.
6. With the ON/OFF road pack press the "M" button, or without pull the left "-" paddle.
Also with the ON/OFF road pack, select the snow driving mode.
The most important thing is to maintain smooth gentle driving with minimum steering input and almost zero braking effort.
Thimee's post is perfectly correct that winter tyres will help, or better still chains.
But as his video shows, nothing can protect you from other drivers.
Lastly, to learn more about adverse driving conditions, we have 4WD clubs here in Australia which provide driver training especially oriented to these types of extreme conditions. I suggest a similar service is available in the UK. Try this site. http://www.4x4-clubs.co.uk/
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 1,313
Likes: 7
From: Toronto
2005 ML350, 2008 GL320, 2013 Gl350
I had a not too good experience today.( I have ML350 2013) .First snow of the year!Two wheels went into a side stream about one foot deep. All place was covered with snow and road had hard ice on it ,it was very slippery and down hill.The whhels were just spiining as had little to grip on. I could not get out and need a tow , just a brief 30- second pull from another 4WDR( Hyundai..How embarrassing !!). This is the story but I need to know what I did wrong and how I could improve . You may think I do not deserve a 4WDR but I had bought it not for off road just liked the looks of it and ML looked cool and felt it was a "Man " car after my E class.
1.Is the ML350 always in 4WDR or do need to press any buttons ?
2.Should I have pressed DSR?
3.Should I have raised the car?
4.There is a button on left side of the Joy stick with a small and big bump...What is that? and should I have pressed that ?
5. Should I have gone from automatic to manual?
6.How does one do that ?
). This is the story but I need to know what I did wrong and how I could improve . You may think I do not deserve a 4WDR but I had bought it not for off road just liked the looks of it and ML looked cool and felt it was a "Man " car after my E class.1.Is the ML350 always in 4WDR or do need to press any buttons ?
2.Should I have pressed DSR?
3.Should I have raised the car?
4.There is a button on left side of the Joy stick with a small and big bump...What is that? and should I have pressed that ?
5. Should I have gone from automatic to manual?
6.How does one do that ?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 6,770
Likes: 1,264
From: Lake Oswego, OR
2020 GLE 450; 2023 BMW M2 Coupe
Tires & ice/snow
Last edited by GregW / Oregon; Jan 20, 2013 at 09:47 PM.
Super Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 898
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From: Woodstock, IL
His 2019 RAM Cummins Turbo Diesel Laramie; Her's 2007 ML320 CDI P3; Mine BMW R1200R
Driving tips
emran, first thing is what tires did your UK ML come with? I was just in London and saw your snowfall. Anyone that didn't have winter tires were sliding everywhere. Very entertaining to watch.
Next thing I always see is when someone gets stuck, they tend to give the vehicle full throttle, which does nothing for traction. Instead, try "rocking" the vehicle as Mercedes describes in the manual. You do this by instantly switching from drive to reverse and back with about 800 RPM's and speed below 5MPH. That may put a wheel on a spot with enough traction to get your vehicle moving again.
Also when driving or moving off, be very gentle with the accelerator. That way the 4ETS and 4MATIC can do it's best job for you. Slow and steady is your friend.
I have been through snow above the bumpers on mine, and have towed a loaded utility trailer through 7 inches of snow. Never been stuck. But I use Nokian tires year round.
With your 4MATIC ML and quality winter "tyres"
the snow I saw there should be a non issue for you.
Next thing I always see is when someone gets stuck, they tend to give the vehicle full throttle, which does nothing for traction. Instead, try "rocking" the vehicle as Mercedes describes in the manual. You do this by instantly switching from drive to reverse and back with about 800 RPM's and speed below 5MPH. That may put a wheel on a spot with enough traction to get your vehicle moving again.
Also when driving or moving off, be very gentle with the accelerator. That way the 4ETS and 4MATIC can do it's best job for you. Slow and steady is your friend.
I have been through snow above the bumpers on mine, and have towed a loaded utility trailer through 7 inches of snow. Never been stuck. But I use Nokian tires year round.
With your 4MATIC ML and quality winter "tyres"
the snow I saw there should be a non issue for you.
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Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 331
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From: Orange County, CA
'16 Jaguar F-Type R, '21 GLE63s
My 63 came w/ summer tires. I didn't even see an option on the order sheet to specify all-season or winter tires but the owner's manual does list specifications for winter tires, so it must be possible to order somewhere in the world.
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S550, SRX, ML550
My all season tyres (Queen's English) / tires (Yeehaw) that came standard with my 20" AMG rims perform fairly well on snowpack, however I can tell that they're nowhere as good as the dedicated winter tyres on my previous cars. Perhaps next season I'll spring for the $3000 or so it will take to get a dedicated set of winter tyres.
Some interesting content from http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/f...vs-summer.html
To the surprise of exactly no one, our winter tires dominate in snow and the summer tires dominate in the dry. The eye-opener here relates to wet performance, where a well-developed summer tire embarrasses an all-season tire made for the same car by the same folks. Anyone who never sees or visits snow would be very well served by summer tires for year-round use.
Another key take-away from this exercise is the utter worthlessness of those same summer tires on snow. Anyone who uses snow tires in winter and summer tires the rest of the year — a good strategy to maximize performance and control all year — needs to time the switch-over carefully to avoid getting caught out by the first rogue snow accumulation of the season.
And the lameness of summer tires on snow makes it easy to see why the California Highway Patrol and other local authorities can have a hair-trigger when it comes to requiring snow chains. It also explains why so many carmakers spend a lot of energy on all-season tires; they don't know where you live or where you'll drive, so they want to make sure you've got passable winter rubber.
But in delivering this capability, all-season tires sacrifice a noticeable bit of dry and wet performance. Meanwhile, snow and summer tires provide clear benefits to those who can use them. In this particular test, at least, all-season tires live up to the old figure of speech our old dad used to trot out on occasion: "jack of all trades, master of none."
Some interesting content from http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/f...vs-summer.html
To the surprise of exactly no one, our winter tires dominate in snow and the summer tires dominate in the dry. The eye-opener here relates to wet performance, where a well-developed summer tire embarrasses an all-season tire made for the same car by the same folks. Anyone who never sees or visits snow would be very well served by summer tires for year-round use.
Another key take-away from this exercise is the utter worthlessness of those same summer tires on snow. Anyone who uses snow tires in winter and summer tires the rest of the year — a good strategy to maximize performance and control all year — needs to time the switch-over carefully to avoid getting caught out by the first rogue snow accumulation of the season.
And the lameness of summer tires on snow makes it easy to see why the California Highway Patrol and other local authorities can have a hair-trigger when it comes to requiring snow chains. It also explains why so many carmakers spend a lot of energy on all-season tires; they don't know where you live or where you'll drive, so they want to make sure you've got passable winter rubber.
But in delivering this capability, all-season tires sacrifice a noticeable bit of dry and wet performance. Meanwhile, snow and summer tires provide clear benefits to those who can use them. In this particular test, at least, all-season tires live up to the old figure of speech our old dad used to trot out on occasion: "jack of all trades, master of none."
