2004 MERCEDES-BENZ CL500 warning

26 At a glanceCenter consoleLower part
Item
Page
1
KEYLESS-GO* start / stop
button
33
2
Gear selector lever for
automatic transmission
46
3
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
indicator lamp
71
4
Thumbwheel for setting
distance in Distronic*
206
5
Distance warning func-
tion* on / off switch
206
6
Program mode selector for
automatic transmission
163
7
Ashtray
227
Lighter
228

31 Getting started
Unlocking
Starter switch positionsStarter switch0For removing SmartKey
1Power supply for some electrical con-
sumers, such as seat adjustment
2Ignition (power supply for all electrical
consumers) and driving position
3Starting position
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* with you and
lock your vehicle. Do not leave children un-
attended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.iThe SmartKey can only be removed
from the starter switch with the gear
selector lever in position P.
!If the SmartKey cannot be turned in the
starter switch, the battery may not be
sufficiently charged.

Check the battery and charge it
if necessary (
page 348).

Get a jump start (
page 351).
To prevent accelerated battery dis-
charge or a completely discharged bat-
tery, always remove the SmartKey from
the starter switch when the engine is
not in operation.

32 Getting startedUnlockingUnlocking with KEYLESS-GO*
If your vehicle is equipped with the
KEYLESS-GO function, your vehicle checks
whether the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO is
valid when you grasp the door handle. If
your SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO is valid,
the doors will unlock, and you can open
them.
The function of the SmartKey overrules the
KEYLESS-GO function.

Grasp the outside door handle.
All turn signal lamps flash once. The
locking knobs on the doors move up.
If the SmartKey is inside the vehicle, press-
ing the KEYLESS-GO start/stop button on
the gear selector lever corresponds to
turning the SmartKey to the various starter
switch positions.iTo unlock the vehicle, the SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO must be outside the
vehicle, no further than approximately
3 feet (1 meter) away from the door.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* with you, and
lock your vehicle. Do not leave children un-
attended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.

34 Getting startedAdjusting
AdjustingSeatsWarning!
G
All seat, head restraint, steering wheel, and
rear view mirror adjustments, as well as fas-
tening of seat belts, must be done before
the vehicle is put into motion.Warning!
G
Do not adjust the driver’s seat while driving.
Adjusting the seat while driving could cause
the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
back in an extremely reclined position as
this can be dangerous. You could slide un-
der the seat belt in a collision. If you slide
under it, the belt would apply force at the ab-
domen or neck. That could cause serious or
fatal injuries. The seat back and seat belts
provide the best restraint when the
wearer is in a nearly upright position and
belts are properly positioned on the body.
Your seat must be adjusted so that you can
correctly fasten your seat belt (
page 42).
Never place hands under the seat or near
any moving parts while a seat is being ad-
justed.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* with you, and
lock your vehicle.
Even with the SmartKey removed from the
starter switch or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* removed from the vehicle,
the power seats can be operated when the
respective door is open. Therefore, do not
leave children unattended in the vehicle, or
with access to an unlocked vehicle. Unsu-
pervised use of vehicle equipment may
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.
Warning!
G
Children 12 years old and under must never
ride in the front seat, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized BabySmart
TM
compatible child seat, which operates with
the BabySmart
TM system installed in the ve-
hicle to deactivate the passenger front air-
bag when it is properly installed. Otherwise
they will be struck by the airbag when it in-
flates in a crash. If this happens, serious or
fatal injury will result.
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing positions. Infants and small children
must ride in the back seats and be seated in
an appropriate infant or child restraint sys-
tem, which is properly secured with the ve-
hicle's seat belt and top tether strap, or
secured via lower anchors and top tether
strap, fully in accordance with the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions.

36 Getting startedAdjustingHead restraint height
Press the switch up or down in the di-
rection of arrow1.Head restraint tilt
Manually adjust the angle of the head re-
straint.

Push or pull on the lower edge of the
head restraint cushion.
For more information, see “Seats”
(
page 107).
Warning!
G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust head restraint so that the center of
the head restraint supports the back of the
head at eye level. This will reduce the poten-
tial for injury to the head and neck in the
event of an accident or similar situation.
Do not drive the vehicle without the seat
head restraints. Head restraints are intend-
ed to help reduce injuries during an acci-
dent.
iThe feature below is deactivated at the
factory. If you wish to have it activated,
contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center:
The front passenger seat head restraint
automatically lowers after a few
seconds when the front passenger seat
is not occupied.This improves the driv-
er's outward view as well as the for-
ward view from the rear passenger
compartment.
When the front passenger seat is occu-
pied again, the front passenger head
restraint returns to the last set position
within a few seconds.
If the front passenger seat was moved
fore or aft while not being occupied,
the front passenger seat head restraint
returns to a position that corresponds
best with the seat's axial position when
the seat is occupied again.

37 Getting started
Adjusting
Folding front seat backrest forward
1Release lever
Folding backrest forward
Lift release lever1 and fold the seat
backrest forward.
The seat will automatically slide for-
ward and the head restraint will move
down.Folding backrests back

Lift release lever1 and fold backrest
back.
The seat and head restraint return to
their previous positions.iTo interrupt the procedure, activate the
seat adjustment switch (
page 35) or
move the release lever again.
!When moving the seat, make sure
there are no items in the footwell or be-
hind the seats. Otherwise you could
damage the seats.
Warning!
G
Always ensure that no one can become
trapped or injured when the seat is moving.
In case potential danger exists, the proce-
dure can be interrupted by moving the seat
adjustment switch (
page 35) in the door
control panel or by moving the release lever
again.
Warning!
G
The seat belts provide protection only with
the backrest locked in place and, therefore,
must be locked in place with the vehicle in
motion. Do not drive the vehicle when the
backrest is not locked in place. If the warn-
ing message
SEAT BACKREST, RIGHT -
LOCK
or
SEAT BACKREST, LEFT - LOCK
is
displayed in the multifunction display, then


38 Getting startedAdjustingthe respective backrest is not engaged in its
lock. Carefully slow down, and drive with
caution to an area which is in a safe distance
from the roadway. Always provide sufficient
room behind the backrest and fold the back-
rest all the way back until it locks in place.
Keep the area around head restraints clear
of articles (e.g. clothing) to not obstruct the
folding operation of the head restraints.
The warning message is no longer displayed
as soon as the backrest is locked in place. If
both backrests are locked in place and the
warning message is still displayed, have the
system checked at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center immediately.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* with you, and
lock your vehicle.
The power seats can also be operated with
the driver’s or passenger door open. Do not
leave children unattended in the vehicle or
with access to an unlocked vehicle. Unsu-
pervised use of vehicle equipment may
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.
Never place hands under seat or near any
moving parts during a seat adjustment pro-
cedure.
!The automatic seat slide is provided
with a safety feature.
The automatic process is interrupted, if
the backrest of the sliding seat is
pushed against an occupant or object.
The seat will slide forward and stop.
Investigate and correct the cause of in-
terruption.
Now use memory button (
page 116)
or seat adjustment switch (page 35)
to bring seat into desired position.
When folding the backrest forward
from a reclined position, and then fold-
ing it back, the backrest stops in a
more upright position for the safety of
any rear-seat passenger. Adjust the
backrest until your arms are slightly an-
gled when holding the steering
wheel (
page 35).


39 Getting started
Adjusting
Steering wheel Steering wheel adjustment
The stalk for steering wheel adjustment is
located on the steering column (lower left).
1Adjusting steering column, in or out
2Adjusting steering column, up or down

Switch on ignition.
or

Open the driver’s door.Adjusting steering column in or out

Move stalk forward or back in the direc-
tion of arrow 1 until a comfortable
steering wheel position is reached with
your arms slightly bent at the elbow.
Adjusting steering column up or down

Move stalk up or down in the direction
of arrow 2.
Make sure your legs can move freely
and all the displays (incl. malfunction
and indicator lamps) on the instrument
cluster are clearly visible.
For more information, see “Heated steer-
ing wheel*” (
page 228).
Warning!
G
Do not adjust the steering wheel while driv-
ing. Adjusting the steering wheel while driv-
ing could cause the driver to lose control of
the vehicle.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* with you and
lock your vehicle.
Even with the SmartKey removed from the
starter switch or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* removed from the vehicle,
the steering wheel adjustment feature can
be operated when the driver’s door is open.
Therefore, do not leave children unattended
in the vehicle, or with access to an unlocked
vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehicle equip-
ment may cause an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
iThe memory function (
page 116) lets
you store settings for the steering
wheel together with the settings for the
exterior rear view mirrors and the seat
position.