2003 MERCEDES-BENZ S CLASS wheel

120 Controls in detailLighting
LightingFor notes on how to switch on the head-
lamps and use the turn signals, see the
“Getting started” section (
page 46).
Exterior lamp switch
The exterior lamp switch is located on the
dashboard to the left of the steering wheel.
M
Off
U
Automatic headlamp mode
C
Parking lamps (also side marker
lamps, tail lamps, license plate
lamps, instrument panel lamps)
Canada only: When engine is run-
ning, the low beam is also switched
on.
B
Parking lamps plus low beam or
high beam headlamps (combination
switch pushed forward).
ˆ
Standing lamps, right (turn left one
stop)
‚
Standing lamps, left (turn left two
stops)
iIf you remove the SmartKey and open
the driver’s door while the parking
lamps or low beam headlamps are
switched on, then:

A warning sounds.


$
appears in the multifunction
display.


The message
TURN OFF LIGHTS!
ap-
pears in the multifunction display.
iWith the daytime running lamp mode
activated and the engine running, the
low beam headlamps cannot be
switched off manually.

128 Controls in detailInstrument clusterCoolant temperature gaugeDuring severe operating conditions and
stop-and-go city traffic, the coolant tem-
perature may rise close to 248° F (120°C),
i.e. close to the red zone of the tempera-
ture gauge.
The engine should not be operated with
the coolant temperature above 248° F
(120°C), i.e. in the red zone of the temper-
ature gauge. Doing so may cause serious
engine damage which is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Trip odometer
Make sure you are viewing the trip odome-
ter display.
Press the
è
or
ÿ
button on the
multifunction steering wheel repeated-
ly until the trip odometer appears if it is
not displayed (
page 130).

Press and hold reset button
J
on the
instrument cluster (
page 22) until
the trip odometer is reset.
Warning!
G


Driving when your engine is badly over-
heated can cause some fluids which
may have leaked into the engine com-
partment to catch fire. You could be se-
riously burned.


Steam from an overheated engine can
cause serious burns and can occur just
by opening the engine hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see or hear steam
coming from it.
Turn off the engine, get out of the vehicle
and do not stand near the vehicle until it
cools down.
iExcessive coolant temperatures trigger
a warning in the multifunction display.

130 Controls in detailControl system
Control systemThe control system is activated as soon as
the SmartKey in the starter switch is
turned to position1. The control system
enables you to:

call up information about your vehicle


change vehicle settings
For example, you can use the control sys-
tem to find out when your vehicle is next
due for service, to set the language for
messages in the instrument cluster dis-
play, and much more.
The control system relays information to
the multifunction display.
Multifunction display
1Trip odometer
2Main odometer
iThe displays for the audio systems (ra-
dio, CD player) will appear in English,
regardless of the language selected.
Warning!
G
A driver’s attention to the road and traffic
conditions must always be his /her primary
focus when driving.
For your safety and the safety of others, se-
lecting features through the multifunction
steering wheel should only be done by the
driver when traffic and road conditions per-
mit it to be done safely.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km/h), your vehicle is
covering a distance of 44 feet (approximate-
ly 13.5 m) every second.

131 Controls in detail
Control system
Multifunction steering wheel
The displays in the multifunction display
and the settings in the control system are
controlled using the buttons on the multi-
function steering wheel (
page 24).Pressing any of the buttons on the multi-
function steering wheel will alter what is
shown in the multifunction display.
The information available in the multifunc-
tion display is arranged in menus, each
containing a number of functions or sub-
menus.
The individual functions are then found
within the relevant menu (radio or CD op-
erations under
AUDIO
, for example). These
functions serve to call up relevant informa-
tion or to customize the settings for your
vehicle.
1
Multifunction display in the speed-
ometerOperating the control system
2
Selecting the submenu or setting
the volumeç
down / to decrease
æ
up / to increase
3
Telephone*í
to take a call
ì
to end a call
4
Menu systemsè
for next menu
ÿ
for previous menu
5
Moving within a menuj
for next display
k
for previous display

139 Controls in detail
Control system
TEL menu*You can use the functions in the
TEL
menu
to operate your telephone, provided it is
connected to a hands-free system and
switched on.

Switch on the telephone and Audio or
COMAND.

Press button
ÿ
or
è
on the
steering wheel repeatedly until you see
the
TEL
menu in the display.
Warning!
G
A driver’s attention to the road must always
be his/her primary focus when driving. For
your safety and the safety of others, we rec-
o m m e n d t h a t y o u p u l l o v e r t o a s a f e l o c a t i o n
and stop before placing or taking a tele-
phone call. If you choose to use the tele-
phone while driving, please use the
hands-free device and only use the tele-
phone when weather, road and traffic condi-
tions permit.
Some jurisdictions prohibit the driver from
using a cellular telephone while driving a ve-
hicle.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km/h), your vehicle is
covering a distance of approximately
44 feet (approximately 13.5 m) every sec-
ond.
Never operate radio transmitters equipped
with a built-in or attached antenna (i.e. with-
out being connected to an external antenna)
from inside the vehicle while the engine is
running. Doing so could lead to a malfunc-
tion of the vehicle’s electronic system, pos-
sibly resulting in an accident and/or
personal injury.

156 Controls in detailControl systemSetting key dependency
Use this function to set whether the mem-
ory settings for the seats, the steering
wheel, the mirrors, and the automatic cli-
mate control should be stored separately
for each SmartKey (
page 117).

Move the selection marker with
the
æ
or
ç
button to
the
CONVENIENCE
submenu.

Press button
j
or
k
repeatedly
until you see this message in the dis-
play:
SETTINGS KEY-DEPENDENT
.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.

Press
æ
or
ç
to set key depen-
dency to
ON or
OFF
. Activating easy-entry/exit feature
Use this function to activate and deacti-
vate the easy-entry/exit feature. When the
feature is activated, the steering wheel and
driver’s seat will move back to facilitate ex-
iting when you:


remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch


open the driver’s door
However, the engine must be turned off.
Warning!
G
You must make sure that no one can be-
come trapped or injured by the moving
steering wheel and the driver’s seat when
the easy-entry/exit feature is in operation
and the driver’s door is being opened or the
SmartKey is removed from the starter
switch.
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Unsupervised use of vehicle equipment may
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Children could open the driver’s door and
unintentionally activate the easy-entry/exit
feature, which could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.

157 Controls in detail
Control system
After entering the vehicle, the steering
wheel and seat will move into the position
stored in memory when:

the driver’s door is closed


you put the SmartKey in the starter
switch


press the appropriate stored position
button on the memory switch
(page 117)

Move the selection marker with
the
æ
or
ç
button to
the
CONVENIENCE
submenu.

Press button
j
or
k
repeatedly
until you see this message in the dis-
play:
EASY-ENTRY FEATURE ACTIVATE
.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.

Press
æ
or
ç
to change the
easy-entry/exit setting.The following settings are available for the
easy-entry/exit feature:
iTo cancel seat/steering wheel move-
ment, do one of the following:

Press seat adjustment switch
(page 35)


Move the steering column stalk
(page 38)


Press the memory switch
(page 117)
OFF
The easy-entry/ex-
it feature is deacti-
vated.
STEER. COL.
Only the steering
column is moved.
ST. COL + SEAT
Both the steering
column and the
seat are moved.

161 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
One-touch gearshifting
Even with an automatic transmission you
can change the gears manually when the
selector lever is in positionD.
Downshifting
Briefly press the selector lever to the
left in the D–direction.
The transmission will shift from the current
gear to the next lower gear. This action si-
multaneously limits the gear range of the
transmission (
page 162).Upshifting

Briefly press the selector lever to the
right in the D+direction.
The transmission will shift from the current
gear to the next higher gear as permitted
by the shift program. This action simulta-
neously extends the gear range of the
transmission.Canceling gear range limit

Press and hold the selector lever in the
D+direction until
D reappears in the ta-
chometer display field.
The transmission will shift from the current
gear range directly to gear rangeD.
Shifting into optimal gear range

Press and hold the gear selector lever
in the D–direction.
The transmission will automatically select
the gear range suited for optimal accelera-
tion and deceleration. This will involve
shifting down one or more gears.
Warning!
G
On slippery road surfaces, never downshift
in order to obtain braking action. This could
result in drive wheel slip and reduced vehi-
cle control. Your vehicle’s ABS will not pre-
vent this type of loss of control.
iTo avoid overrevving the engine when
the selector lever is moved to the
D–direction, the transmission will not
shift to a lower gear if the engine's
max. speed would be exceeded.