2011 Mercedes ML-Class Owner's Manual - Page 290

288 Care in damage to the vehicle or to the major assemblies. brake pads/linings. Generally, park the vehicle at operating temperature after cleaning. Care Notes on care Regular care of your vehicle is a condition for retaining the quality in the long term. Use care products and cleaning agents recommended and approved by MercedesBenz. Exterior care Automatic car wash G Warning! Braking efficiency is reduced after washing the vehicle. This could cause an accident. For this reason, you must drive particularly carefully after washing the vehicle until the brakes have dried. Maintenance and care G Warning Many cleaning products can be hazardous. Some are poisonous, others are flammable. Always follow the instructions on the particular container. Always open your vehicle's doors or windows when cleaning the inside. Never use fluids or solvents that are not designed for cleaning your vehicle. Always lock away cleaning products and keep them out of reach of children. You can wash the vehicle in an automatic car wash from the very start. ! Never clean your vehicle in a Touchless Automatic Car Wash as these use special cleaning agents. These cleaning agents can damage the paintwork or plastic parts. If the vehicle is very dirty, pre-wash it before cleaning it in an automatic car wash. ! In car washes with a towing mechanism, make sure that the automatic transmission is in transmission position N, otherwise the vehicle could be damaged. RVehicles with a SmartKey: Do not remove the SmartKey from the ignition lock. Do not open the driver's door or front-passenger door when the engine is switched off. Otherwise, the automatic transmission selects park position P automatically and locks the wheels. You can prevent this by shifting the automatic transmission to N beforehand. RVehicles with KEYLESS-GO: Do not open the driver's door or frontpassenger door when the engine is switched off. Otherwise, the automatic transmission selects park position P automatically and locks the wheels. Observe the following to make sure that the automatic transmission stays in position N: ! For cleaning your vehicle, do not use any of the following: Rdry, rough or hard cloths Rabrasive cleaning agents Rsolvents Rcleaning agents containing solvents Do not scrub. Do not touch the surfaces or protective films with hard objects, e.g. a ring or ice scraper. You could otherwise scratch or damage the surfaces and protective film. H Environmental note Dispose of empty packaging and cleaning cloths in an environmentally responsible manner. ! Do not park the vehicle for an extended period right after cleaning it, particularly after having cleaned the wheels with wheel cleaner. Wheel cleaners could cause increased corrosion of the brake discs and