2003 MERCEDES-BENZ S430 4MATIC display

183 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Rear window defroster
The rear window defroster uses a large
amount of power. To keep battery drain to
a minimum, switch off the defroster as
soon as the rear window is clear. The de-
froster is automatically deactivated after
approximately 6 to 17 minutes of opera-
tion depending on the outside tempera-
ture.
Activating
Press button
F
(page 175).
The indicator lamp on the button lights
up.
Deactivating

Press button
F
(page 175) again.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.Deactivating the climate control sys-
tem
Deactivating
It is possible to completely deactivate the
automatic climate control system. 
Press button
M
(page 175).
The display shows “0”.
Reactivating
There are several ways to reactivate the
automatic climate control system:

Press one of the following buttons, M
, P
, U
, a temperature con-
trol switch (
page 175) or air volume
switch 9 on the automatic climate con-
trol panel.
Warning!
G
Any accumulation of snow and ice should be
removed from the rear window before driv-
ing. Visibility could otherwise be impaired,
endangering you and others.!If the rear window defroster switches
off too soon and the indicator lamp
starts blinking, this means that too
many electrical consumers are operat-
ing simultaneously and there is insuffi-
cient voltage in the battery. The system
responds automatically by deactivating
the rear window defroster.
As soon as the battery has sufficient
voltage, the rear window defroster au-
tomatically switches on again.

187 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Rear passenger compartment climate control*
The automatic climate control is operation-
al whenever the engine is running. You can
operate the climate control system in ei-
ther the automatic or manual mode. The
system cools or heats the interior depend-
ing on the selected interior temperature
and the current outside temperature.
The automatic climate control system is
adjustable individually for the rear passen-
ger compartment.
The control panel is located in the rear cen-
ter console.
Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air en-
ters the passenger compartment through
the air distribution system.
Rear automatic climate control panel
iWhen the rear seats are not occupied
(rear seat belts unbuckled) the rear cli-
mate control system adopts the set-
tings of the front climate control
system.
Item
1
Left center air vent
2
Display
3
Right center air vent
4
Air distribution
5
Temperature control, right
6
Air volume (automatic, manual)
7
Temperature control, left
8
Rear climate control system
ON/OFF
Residual engine heat utilization
Warning!
G
Follow the recommended settings for heat-
ing and cooling given on the following pag-
es. Otherwise the windows could fog up,
impairing visibility and endangering you and
others.

197 Controls in detail
Driving systems
1Set current or higher speed
2Set current or lower speed
3Cancel cruise control
4Resume at previously set speed
Setting current speed
Accelerate or decelerate to the desired
speed.

Briefly lift1 or depress2 the cruise
control lever.
The current speed is set.

Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
Cruise control is activated.The selected speed appears in the multi-
function display for approximately 5 sec-
onds, and the corresponding speedometer
segments from the selected speed to the
vehicle’s maximum speed are illuminated.
Canceling cruise control
There are several ways to cancel cruise
control:

Step on the brake pedal.
or

Briefly push the cruise control lever to
position3.
Cruise control will be canceled. The
last speed set will be stored for later
use.iOn uphill or downhill grades, cruise
control may not be able to maintain the
set speed. Once the grade eases, the
set speed will be resumed.
!Moving gear selector lever to
positionN while driving also cancels
cruise control. However, the gear se-
lector lever should not be moved to
positionN while driving except to coast
when the vehicle is in danger of skid-
ding (e.g. on icy roads).iThe last stored speed is canceled when
you turn off the engine.

198 Controls in detailDriving systemsSetting to last stored speed (“Resume”
function)
Briefly push the cruise control lever to
position4.
The cruise control will resume the last
set speed.

Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
The selected speed appears in the multi-
function display for approximately 5 sec-
onds, and the corresponding speedometer
segments from the selected speed to the
vehicle’s maximum speed are illuminated.Setting a higher speed

Lift the cruise control lever to
position1 and hold it up until the de-
sired speed is reached.

Release the cruise control lever.
The new speed is set.
Setting a lower speed

Depress the cruise control lever to
position2 and hold it down until the
desired speed is reached.

Release the cruise control lever.
The new speed is set.Fine adjustment in 1 mph
(Canada: 1 km/h) increments
Faster

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow1.
Slower

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow2.
Warning!
G
The speed stored in memory should only be
set again if prevailing road conditions per-
mit. Possible acceleration or deceleration
differences arising from returning to preset
speed could cause an accident and/or seri-
ous injury to you and others.
iDepressing the accelerator pedal does
not deactivate cruise control. After
brief acceleration (e.g. for passing),
cruise control will resume the last
speed set.
iWhen you use the cruise control lever
to decelerate, the transmission will au-
tomatically downshift if the engine’s
braking power does not slow the vehi-
cle sufficiently.

201 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Distronic displays in the speedometer
dialSet speedIf Distronic is activated, one or two seg-
ments light up around the set speed.
SegmentsIf Distronic detects a vehicle directly
ahead, the segments (representing the
difference) between the speed of the
vehicle ahead and the set speed light up.
If Distronic calculates that there is a dan-
ger of collision (
page 207):


The red Distronic warning lamp
l
in
the instrument cluster lights up.


An intermittent warning sounds.

Immediately brake the vehicle to avoid
a collision.Under no circumstances should the
driver await the intermittent warning
sound before braking.
The intermittent warning sound ceases
and the red Distronic warning
lamp
l
goes out when the neces-
sary distance to the vehicle ahead is
again established.
iThe vehicle speed displayed on the
speedometer can briefly vary from the
speed setting on the Distronic system.

202 Controls in detailDriving systems
Distronic menu in the control system
In the Distronic menu you see the current
settings for Distronic. What appears in the
display depends on whether Distronic and
the distance warning function are turned
on or off.
Press button
è
or
ÿ
repeatedly
until you see one of the following dis-
plays.
Warning!
G
An intermittent warning sounds and the
Distronic warning lamp
l
in the instru-
ment cluster is illuminated if the Distronic
system calculates that the distance to the
vehicle ahead and your vehicle’s current
speed indicate that Distronic will not be ca-
pable of slowing the vehicle sufficiently to
maintain the preset following distance,
which creates a danger of a collision.
Immediately brake your vehicle to increase
the distance between your vehicle and the
vehicle in front of you. The warning sound is
intended as a final caution that you have not
interceded with your own braking inputs to
avoid a potentially dangerous situation. Do
not wait for the operation of the warning sig-
nal to intercede with your own braking, as
that will result in potentially dangerous
emergency braking which will not always re-
sult in an impact being avoided.
Tailgating increases the risk of an accident.
Warning!
G
Distronic brakes your vehicle with a maxi-
mum of 6.5 ft/s
2 (2 m/s
2). This corre-
sponds to about 20% of the maximum
deceleration ability of your vehicle.
Distronic brakes the vehicle in an effort to
restore the preset distance or to maintain
the speed. The brake pedal is automatically
applied as this happens which results in the
brake pedal moving.
Keep driver’s foot area clear at all times, in-
cluding the area under the brake pedal. Ob-
jects stored in this area may impair pedal
movement which could interfere with the
braking ability of the Distronic system.
Do not place your foot under the brake pedal
– your foot could become caught.

203 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Distronic deactivated
If Distronic is deactivated, the standard
display of Distronic appears in the multi-
function display.
1Vehicle ahead, if detected
2Actual distance to vehicle ahead
3Should-be distance to vehicle ahead
4Symbol for activated distance warning
function
5Your vehicleDistronic activated
When you turn Distronic on, you will see
the set speed in the multifunction display
for about five seconds. If Distronic is
activated, you can see the following dis-
play in the multifunction display.
1Distronic activatedCruise control lever
The Distronic system is operated by means
of the cruise control lever.
The cruise control lever is the uppermost
lever found on the left-hand side of the
steering column.
1Set current or higher speed
2Set current or lower speed
3Deactivate Distronic
4Resume at previously set speed

204 Controls in detailDriving systemsActivating Distronic
You can activate Distronic if:

you are driving between 25 mph
(40 km/h) and 110 mph (180 km/h)


the ESP is activated (
page 78)
If Distronic has not been activated after
pressing the cruise control lever you will
see the message
---
in the multifunction
display.
In the following cases you cannot activate
Distronic:


up to two minutes after starting the en-
gine


when you brake


if you have set the parking brake


if the gear selector lever is in
positionP, R, or N


if the ESP is switched offSetting the current speed

Accelerate or decelerate to the desired
speed.

Briefly lift or depress the cruise control
lever.
Distronic is activated and the current
speed is set.

Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.Setting a higher speed

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow1 (
page 203) to in-
crease vehicle speed in increments of
5 mph (Canada: 10 km/h)
The new speed is set.
The stored speed is displayed in the multi-
function display for approximately five sec-
onds (
page 203), and one or two
segments around the stored speed light up
on the speedometer (
page 201).
iIf you do not take your foot off of the
accelerator completely, the following
message will appear in the multifunc-
tion display: DISTRONIC OVERRIDE
.
Distronic will not work to maintain the
distance to a slower moving vehicle in
front of you. Your vehicle speed will
then be determined only by the accel-
erator pedal position.
iDepressing the accelerator pedal does
not deactivate Distronic. After brief ac-
celeration (e.g. for passing), the cruise
control will resume the last speed set.