ContentsSafety and Security........................... 57
Occupant safety................................... 58
Airbags ........................................... 59
Seat belts ....................................... 64
Roll bars ......................................... 68
Children in the vehicle .................... 69
Blocking of rear side
window operation ........................... 74
Panic alarm .......................................... 75
Activating ....................................... 75
Deactivating ................................... 75
Driving safety systems ......................... 76
ABS ................................................ 77
BAS ................................................ 78
ESP ................................................. 79
Anti-theft systems................................ 82
Immobilizer..................................... 82
Anti-theft alarm system .................. 83
Tow-away alarm ............................. 84
Controls in detail............................... 87
Locking and unlocking ......................... 88
SmartKeys...................................... 88
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ........ 91
Opening the doors
from the inside ............................... 97
Opening the trunk .......................... 98
Closing the trunk.......................... 100
Trunk lid
opening/closing system* ............ 100
Trunk lid emergency release ........ 105
Separately locking the trunk ........ 106
Separately unlocking the trunk .... 107
Automatic central locking ............ 107
Locking and unlocking
from the inside ............................. 108
Seats ................................................. 109
Easy-entry/exit feature ................ 109
Removing and installing
front seat head restraints............. 110
Rear seats head restraints ........... 111
Multicontour seat* ....................... 112
Seat ventilation* .......................... 113
Seat heating* ............................... 114Memory function ............................... 116
Storing positions into memory ..... 117
Recalling positions from memory . 117
Storing exterior rear view
mirror parking position ................ 118
Lighting ............................................. 119
Exterior lamp switch .................... 119
Combination switch ..................... 123
Hazard warning flasher ................ 123
Interior lighting ............................ 124
Door entry lamps ......................... 125
Instrument cluster ............................. 126
Instrument cluster illumination .... 126
Coolant temperature indicator ..... 127
Trip odometer .............................. 127
Tachometer .................................. 127
Outside temperature indicator ..... 128
ProCarManuals.com
31 Getting started
Unlocking
Starter switch positionsStarter switch0For removing SmartKey
1Power supplies to 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 the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended 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 385).
Get a jump start (
page 388).
To prevent accelerated battery dis-
charge and a possible dead battery, al-
ways remove the SmartKey from the
starter switch when the engine is not in
operation.
ProCarManuals.com
32 Getting startedUnlockingUnlocking with KEYLESS-GO*
If you have the KEYLESS-GO function, your
vehicle checks whether the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO is valid when you pull the
door handle. If your SmartKey is valid, the
doors will unlock, and you can open them.
The function of the SmartKey overrules the
KEYLESS-GO function.
Pull the door handle.
The 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 approx. 3 feet
(1 meter) away from the door.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended 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.
ProCarManuals.com
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 reclined. Sitting in an excessively re-
clined position can be dangerous. You could
slide under the seat belt in a collision. If you
slide under it, the belt would apply force at
the abdomen or neck. That could cause se-
rious or fatal injuries. The seat back and seat
belts provide the best restraint when the
wearer is in an 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 40).
Never place hands under the seat or near
any moving parts while a seat is being
adjusted.
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.
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.
Warning!
G
Children 12 years old and under must never
ride in the front seat, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized BabySmart
TM1
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
seating positions. Infants and small children
must ride in back seats and be seated in an
appropriate infant or child restraint system,
which is properly secured with the vehicle’s
seat belt or lower anchors, fully in accor-
dance with the child seat manufacturer's
instructions.
1BabySmart
TM is a trademark of Siemens
Automotive Corp.
ProCarManuals.com
37 Getting started
Adjusting
Folding front seat backrests forward
1Release leverFolding backrests forward
Pull release lever1 forward and fold
the seat backrest forward.
The head restraint will automatically
move down.
Folding backrests back
Fold and press the backrest rearward
until it engages in driving position.
The head restraint returns to its previ-
ous position.
For more information, see “Easy-entry/ex-
it feature” (
page 109).
Steering wheel
iIn addition to the front seat backrests,
the front seat cushions can also be
shifted forward to permit easy access
to the rear whenever the seat is located
in the rear half of its adjustment range.
Swivel backrest forward by pulling the
release lever until the seat moves in a
combined forward and upward move-
ment.
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.
The steering wheel adjustment feature can
also be operated with the driver’s door
open. 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.
ProCarManuals.com
46 Getting startedDrivingParking brake
1Parking brake pedal
2Parking brake release handle
Release the parking brake by pulling on
handle2.
The indicator lamp ; (USA only)
or3 (Canada only) in the clock
goes out.Driving
Depress the brake pedal.
Move gear selector lever in
positionDorR.
Release the brake pedal.
Carefully depress the accelerator
pedal.
Once the vehicle is in motion, the automat-
ic central locking system engages and the
locking knobs drop down.After a cold start, the automatic transmis-
sion shifts at a higher engine revolution.
This allows the catalytic converter to reach
its operating temperature earlier.Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* with you and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Children could release the
parking brake, which could result in an acci-
dent and/or serious personal injury.
iYou can open a locked door from the
inside. Open doors only when condi-
tions are safe to do so.
You can deactivate the automatic lock-
ing using the control system
(page 149).
!If you hear a warning signal when driv-
ing off, you have forgotten to release
the parking brake.
Release the parking brake.iWait for the gear selection process to
complete before setting the vehicle in
motion.
ProCarManuals.com
53 Getting started
Parking and locking
Parking brake
1Parking brake
2Release handle
Step firmly on parking brake1.
When the engine is running, the indica-
tor lamp ;(USA only)
or3(Canada only) in the instru-
ment cluster will be illuminated.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* with you and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Children could release the
parking brake and/or move the gear selec-
tor lever from positionP, either of which
could result in an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
Warning!
G
Getting out of your vehicle with the gear se-
lector lever not fully engaged in positionP is
dangerous. Also, when parked on an incline,
positionP alone may not prevent your vehi-
cle from moving, possibly hitting people or
objects.
Always set the parking brake in addition to
shifting to positionP (
page 159).
When parked on an incline, turn front wheels
towards the road curb.
ProCarManuals.com
55 Getting started
Parking and locking
After exiting the vehicle, press the lock
button‹ on the SmartKey
(page 30).
All turn signal lamps flash three times.
The locking knobs in the doors move
down.
For more information, see “Locking and
unlocking” (
page 88).Turning off the engine with
KEYLESS-GO*
Place the gear selector lever inP.
Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop but-
ton to shut off the engine.
With the driver's door closed, the start-
er switch is now in position1. With the
driver’s door opened, the starter switch
is set to position0, same as SmartKey
removed from starter switch
(page 31).
Press the seat belt release button
(page 42).
Allow the retractor to completely re-
wind the seat belt by guiding the latch
plate.
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the door
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Before closing doors, make sure there is no
possibility of someone getting caught in a
door during closing.iOpening a door causes the windows on
that side of the car to open slightly.
T h e y w i l l r e t u r n t o t h e u p p o s i t i o n w h e n
the door is closed.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch and lock
your vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle may cause an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
ProCarManuals.com