Page 261 of 416

261 Operation
At the gas station
At the gas station
The fuel filler flap is located on the 
right-hand side of the vehicle towards the 
rear. Locking/unlocking the vehicle with 
the remote control or the KEYLESS-GO* 
card automatically locks/unlocks the fuel 
filler flap.
Remove the SmartKey from the starter 
switch.
Open the fuel filler flap by pushing at 
the point indicated by the arrow.
The fuel filler flap springs open.
Turn the fuel cap to the left and hold on 
to it until possible pressure is released.
Take off the cap and set it in the recess 
on the fuel filler flap.
To prevent fuel vapors from escaping 
into open air, fully insert filler nozzle 
unit.
Only fill your tank until the filler nozzle 
unit cuts out – do not top up or overfill.
Replace the fuel cap by turning it to the 
right.
You will hear when the fuel cap is tight-
ened.
Close the fuel filler flap.
Warning!
G
Gasoline is highly flammable and poisonous. 
It burns violently and can cause serious inju-
ry. Whenever you are around gasoline, avoid 
inhaling fumes and skin contact, extinguish 
all smoking materials. Never allow sparks, 
flame or smoking materials near gasoline!
Warning!
G
Overfilling of the fuel tank may create pres-
sure in the system which could cause a gas 
discharge. This could cause the gas to spray 
back out when removing the fuel pump noz-
zle, which could cause personal injury.
iS 600: Use only premium unleaded 
gasoline with a minimum Posted Oc-
tane Rating of 93  (average of 
98 RON / 88 MON). 
S430, S500 and S55AMG: Use only 
premium unleaded gasoline with a min-
imum Posted Octane Rating of 91  (av-
erage of 96 RON / 86 MON). 
Information on gasoline quality can 
normally be found on the fuel pump.
More information on gasoline can be 
found in the Factory Approved Service 
Products pamphlet. 
     
        
        Page 374 of 416

374 Technical dataFuels, coolants, lubricants etc.Premium unleaded gasoline
Fuel requirements
Use only premium unleaded gasoline 
meeting ASTM standard D 439:
The octane number (posted at the 
pump) must be 91 min (93 for S 600). 
It is an average of both the Research 
(R) octane number and the Motor (M) 
octane number: (R+M) / 2). This is also 
known as the ANTI-KNOCK INDEX.
Unleaded gasoline containing oxygenates 
such as ethanol, IPA, IBA and TBA can be 
used provided the ratio of any one of these 
oxygenates to gasoline does not exceed 
10%; MTBE must not exceed 15%.
The ratio of methanol to gasoline must not 
exceed 3% plus additional co-solvents.
Using mixtures of ethanol and methanol is 
not allowed. Gasohol, which contains 10% 
ethanol and 90% unleaded gasoline, can be 
used.
These blends must also meet all other fuel 
requirements, such as resistance to spark 
knock, boiling range, vapor pressure, etc.
Gasoline additives
A major concern among engine manufac-
turers is carbon build-up caused by gaso-
line. Mercedes-Benz recommends only the 
use of quality gasoline containing additives 
that prevent the build-up of carbon depos-
its.
After an extended period of using fuels 
without such additives, carbon deposits 
can build up especially on the intake valves 
and in the combustion area, leading to en-
gine performance problems such as:
Warm-up hesitation
Unstable idle
Knocking / pinging
Misfire
Power loss
Do not blend any specific fuel additives 
with fuel. This only results in unnecessary 
cost and may be harmful to the engine op-
eration.
!To maintain the engine’s durability and 
performance, premium unleaded gaso-
line must be used. If premium unleaded 
gasoline is not available and low octane 
fuel is used, follow these precautions:
Have the fuel tank only partially 
filled with unleaded regular and fill 
up with premium unleaded as soon 
as possible.
Avoid full throttle driving and abrupt 
acceleration.
Do not exceed an engine speed of 
3000 rpm if the vehicle is loaded 
with a light load such as two per-
sons and no luggage.
Do not exceed 2 / 3 of maximum ac-
celerator pedal position if the vehi-
cle is fully loaded or operating in 
mountainous terrain. 
     
        
        Page 383 of 416

383 Technical terms
FSS
(F
lexible S
ervice S
ystem)
Service indicator in the multifunction 
display that informs the driver when 
the next vehicle maintenance service is 
due.
Gear range
Number of gears which are available to 
the automatic transmission for shifting. 
The automatic gear shifting process 
can be adapted to specific operating 
conditions using the selector lever.
GPS
(G
lobal P
ositioning S
ystem)
Satellite-based system for relaying 
geographic location information to and 
from vehicles equipped with special re-
ceivers. Employs CD digital maps for 
navigation.
Instrument cluster
The displays and indicator/warning 
lamps in the driver’s field of vision, in-
cluding the tachometer, speedometer, 
engine temperature and fuel gauge.KEYLESS-GO*
System for entering and operating the 
vehicle without the use of a SmartKey.
Kickdown
Depressing the accelerator past the 
point of resistance shifts the transmis-
sion down to the lowest possible gear. 
This very quickly accelerates the vehi-
cle and should not be used for normal 
acceleration needs.
Lock button
Button on the door which indicates 
whether the door is locked or un-
locked. Pushing the lock button down 
on an individual door from inside will 
lock that door.
Memory function*
Used to store three individual seat, 
steering wheel and mirror positions for 
each SmartKey or, if so equipped, KEY-
LESS-GO* card.Menu
The control system displays are ar-
ranged in menus. Each menu contains 
a number of commands for particular 
systems. In the Audio menu, for exam-
ple, you will find the commands 
Select 
radio station 
or Operate CD player
. 
Using commands, you can directly 
change the settings for your vehicle.
MON
(M
otor O
ctane N
umber)
The Motor Octane Number for gasoline 
as determined by a standardized meth-
od. It is an indication of a gasoline's 
ability to resist undesired detonation 
(knocking). The average of both the 
MON (Motor Octane Number) and 
->RON (Research Octane Number) is 
posted at the pump, also known as AN-
TI-KNOCK INDEX.
Multifunction display
Display field in the speedometer used 
to present information provided by the 
control system.