2003 MERCEDES-BENZ S430 4MATIC engine

134 Controls in detailControl systemMenus, submenus and functions
Menu 1
Menu 2
Menu 3
Menu 4
Menu 5
Menu 6
Menu 7
Menu 8
Commands/submenusStandard dis-
play
AUDIO
Telephone*
NAVI
Distronic*
Trip computer
Malfunction
memory
Settings
Call up FSS
Select radio
station
Load phone
book
Activate
route guid-
ance
Call up set-
tings
Fuel consumption
statistics after
start
Call up malfunc-
tion messages
Reset to factory
settings
Check tire pres-
sure*
Operate CD
player
Search for
name in
phone book
Fuel consumption
statistics since
the last reset
Instrument clus-
ter submenu
Check engine oil
level
Call up range
Lighting sub-
menu
Digital speed-
ometer
Vehicle sub-
menuConvenience
submenu

135 Controls in detail
Control system
Standard display menu
You can select the functions in the stan-
dard display menu with button
k

or
j
.
The following functions are available:
Display digital speedometer

Press the
j
or
k
button repeat-
edly until you see the digital speedom-
eter appear in the display.
The current vehicle speed is shown in
the multifunction display.
AUDIO menu
The functions in the
AUDIO
menu operate
the audio equipment which you currently
have turned on.
If no audio equipment is currently turned
on, the message
AUDIO OFF
i s s h ow n i n t h e
display.
The following functions are available:
iThe headings used in the menus table
are designed to facilitate navigation
within the system and are not neces-
sarily identical to those shown in the
control system displays.
The first function displayed in each
menu will automatically show you
which part of the system you are in.
Function
Page
Call up FSS
281
Check tire pressure*
274
Check engine oil level
264
Call up digital speedometer
see below
Function
Page
Select radio station
136
Operate CD player
136

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.

144 Controls in detailControl system
Fuel consumption since last reset
Press button
ÿ
or
è
repeatedly
until you see the first function of the
trip computer menu.

Press button
j
or
k
repeatedly
until you see this message in the dis-
play:
AFTER RESET
.
1Distance driven since last reset
2Time elapsed since last reset
3Average fuel consumption since last re-
set
4Average speed since last resetResetting fuel consumption statistics

Press button
ÿ
or
è
repeatedly
until you see the first function of the
Trip computer menu.

Press button
j
or
k
repeatedly
until you see the reading that you want
to reset in the display.

Press and hold the reset button
J
in
the instrument cluster (
page 22) un-
til the value is reset to
0.
iThe
AFTER START
display will flash until
a distance of approximately 1 mile (1.6
km) has been covered or two minutes
have elapsed since the engine was re-
started. During this period, you can in-
corporate the values for the previous
journey by pressing
J
in the instru-
ment cluster.
If button
J
is not pressed, the AFTER
START values are set to 0.

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.

160 Controls in detailAutomatic transmission
Automatic transmissionInformation for driving with an automatic
transmission is found in the “Getting start-
ed” section (
page 43).
Your vehicle’s transmission adapts its gear
shifting process to your individual driving
style by continually adjusting the shift
points up or down. These shift point adjust-
ments are performed based on current op-
erating and driving conditions.
If the operating conditions change, the au-
tomatic transmission reacts by adjusting
its gear shift program.The automatic transmission selects indi-
vidual gears automatically, depending on:


the selector lever positionD with gear
ranges4, 3, 2, 1 (
page 162)


the selected shift program (C/S)
(page 164)


the position of the accelerator pedal
(page 165)


the vehicle speed
The current selector lever position and
shift program (C/S) appear in the tachom-
eter display (
page 22). When the selector lever is in positionD,
you can influence transmission shifting by:


limiting the gear range


changing gears manually
iDuring the brief warm-up, the transmis-
sion upshifting is delayed. This allows
the catalytic converter to heat up more
quickly to operating temperature.
Warning!
G
It is dangerous to shift the selector lever out
of P or N if the engine speed is higher than
idle speed. If your foot is not firmly on the
brake pedal, the vehicle could accelerate
quickly forward or reverse. You could lose
control of the vehicle and hit someone or
something. Only shift into gear when the en-
gine is idling normally and when your right
foot is firmly on the brake pedal.

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.

162 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionGear ranges
With the selector lever in positionD, you
can limit the transmission’s gear range by
pressing the lever to the left (D-), and re-
verse the gear range limit by pressing the
lever to the right (D+).
The selected gear range will appear in the
tachometer display field. If you press on
the accelerator when the engine has
reached its rpm limit, the transmission will
upshift beyond any gear range limit
selected.
Gear
range
Effect
é
The transmission shifts
through fourth gear only.
è
The transmission shifts
through third gear only.
With this selection you can
use the braking effect of the
engine.
Gear
range
Effect
ç
The transmission shifts
through second gear only.
Allows the use of engine’s
braking power when driving:

on steep downgrades


in mountainous regions


under extreme operating
conditions
æ
The transmission operates
only in first gear.
For maximum use of engine’s
braking effect on very steep
or lengthy downgrades.