2004 MERCEDES-BENZ S430 ignition

224 Controls in detailDriving systemsParktronic* (Parking assist)
The Parktronic system is an electronic aid
designed to assist the driver during park-
ing maneuvers. It visually and audibly indi-
cates the relative distance between the
vehicle and an obstacle.
The Parktronic system is automatically ac-
tivated when you switch on the ignition
and release the parking brake. The Park-
tronic system deactivates at speeds over
11 mph (18 km/h). At lower speeds the
Parktronic system turns on again.The Parktronic system monitors the sur-
roundings of your vehicle with six sensors
in the front bumper and four sensors in the
rear bumper.
1Sensors in the front bumperWarning!
G
The Parktronic is a supplemental system. It
is not intended to, nor does it replace, the
need for extreme care. The responsibility
during parking and other critical maneuvers
always rests with the driver.
Special attention must be paid to objects
with smooth surfaces or low silhouettes
(e.g. trailer couplings, painted posts, or road
curbs). Such objects may not be detected by
the system and can damage the vehicle.
The operational function of the Parktronic
system can be affected by dirty sensors, es-
pecially at times of snow and ice, see
“Cleaning the Parktronic* system sensors”
(page 299).
Interference caused by other ultrasonic sig-
nals (e.g. working jackhammers or the air
brakes of trucks) can cause the system to
send erratic indications, and should be tak-
en into consideration.
Warning!
G
Make sure that no persons or animals are in
the area in which you are maneuvering. You
could otherwise injure them.

228 Controls in detailDriving systemsParktronic malfunction
There is a malfunction in the Parktronic
system if the red segments of the Park-
tronic warning indicator come on and a
warning sounds. The Parktronic system
will switch itself off after 30 seconds and
the indicator lamp on the Parktronic switch
comes on.
Have the Parktronic system checked
by an authorized Mercedes-Benz Cen-
ter as soon as possible.If only the red segments of the Parktronic
warning indicator come on and no warning
sounds, then the sensors of the Parktronic
system are dirty or malfunctioning. Mal-
function may also be caused by interfer-
ence from other radio or ultrasonic signals.
The Parktronic system will switch itself off
after 20 seconds.

Clean Parktronic system sensors
(page 299).

Switch on ignition.
or

Check Parktronic operation at another
location to rule out interference from
outside radio or ultrasonic signals.

239 Controls in detail
Useful features
Rear door ashtray
Opening ashtray
Lightly touch the back of the ashtray.
Removing ashtray insert

Pull the ashtray back slightly and re-
move the insert (see arrows).
Reinstalling the ashtray insert

Position the insert and press down
while sliding forward.
Cigarette lighters
1Center console cigarette lighter
Make sure the ignition is switched on.
All the lamps in the instrument cluster
should come on.

Push in cigarette lighter1.
The lighter will pop out automatically
when hot.
Warning!
G
Never touch the heating element or sides of
the lighter; they are extremely hot. Hold the
knob only.
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 lighter socket can be used to ac-
commodate electrical accessories up
to a maximum 85 W.

240 Controls in detailUseful features1Rear door lighters
Make sure the ignition is switched on.
All the lamps in the instrument cluster
should come on.

Lightly touch the back of the ashtray to
open it (
page 239).

Push in cigarette lighter1.
The lighter will pop out automatically
when hot.
Heated steering wheel*
The steering wheel heating warms up the
leather area of the steering wheel.
The stalk with the heated steering wheel
swith is on the lower left-hand side of the
steering wheel.
1Switching on
2Indicator lamp
3Switching off
iOperation of the rear door lighters is
only possible, if the override switch
(page 74) is deactivated.
Warning!
G
Never touch the heating element or sides of
the lighter; they are extremely hot. Hold the
knob only.
To avoid possible injury to children sitting in
the rear seat, deactivate the operation of
the rear door windows, see (
page 74). De-
activation of the rear windows also deacti-
vates the lighters.
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.

241 Controls in detail
Useful features
Switching on
Switch on ignition.
All the lamps in the instrument cluster
should come on.

Turn switch at the tip of stalk in the di-
rection of arrow1.
The steering wheel is heated. Indicator
lamp2 comes on.
Switching off

Turn switch at the tip of stalk in direc-
tion of arrow3.
The steering wheel heating is turned
off. Indicator lamp2 goes out.
Telephone*
Radio transmitters, such as a portable tele-
phone or a citizens band unit, should only
be used inside the vehicle if they are con-
nected to an antenna that is installed on
the outside of the vehicle.
The external antenna must be approved by
Mercedes-Benz. Please contact an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center for informa-
tion on the installation of an approved
external antenna. Refer to the radio trans-
mitter operation instructions regarding use
of an external antenna.
iThe steering wheel heating does not
turn off automatically.
Warning!
G
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 serious
personal injury.
Warning!
G
Please do not forget that your primary re-
sponsibility is to drive the vehicle. 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-
ommend that you pull over to a safe location
and stop before placing or taking a tele-
phone call.
If you choose to use the telephone
1 while
driving, please use the hands-free device
and only use the telephone when road,
weather and traffic conditions permit. Some
jurisdictions prohibit the driver from using a
cellular telephone while driving a vehicle.
Only operate the COMAND (Cockpit Man-
agement and Data System)
1 if road, weather
and traffic conditions permit.
1Observe all legal requirements.


243 Controls in detail
Useful features
Shortly after the completion of your Tele
Aid acquaintance call, you will receive a
user ID and password via first call mail. By
visiting www.mbusa.com and selecting
“Tele Aid” (USA only), you will have access
to account information, remote door un-
lock, and more.System self-check
Initially, after turning the ignition on, mal-
functions are detected and indicated (the
indicator lamps in the SOS button, the
Roadside Assistance button• and the
Information button¡ stay on longer
than ten seconds or do not come on). The
message
TELE AID – DRIVE TO WORKSHOP!

appears for approximately ten seconds in
the multifunction display.
iThe SOS button is located above the in-
terior rear view mirror.
The Roadside Assistance button•
and the Information button¡ are
located below the center armrest cov-
er.iThe Tele Aid system utilizes the cellular
network for communication and the
GPS (Global Positioning System) satel-
lites for vehicle location. If either of
these signals are unavailable, the
Tele Aid system may not function and if
this occurs, assistance must be sum-
moned by other means.
iThe Tele Aid system utilizes the cellular
network for communication and the
GPS (Global Positioning System) satel-
lites for vehicle location. If either of
these signals are unavailable, the Tele
Aid system may not function and if this
occurs, assistance must be summoned
by other means.
Warning!
G
If the indicator lamps in the SOS button, in
the Roadside Assistance button and/or in
the Information button do not come on dur-
ing the system self-check, or if any of these
indicators remain illuminated continuously
in red and/or the message
TELE AID –
DRIVE TO WORKSHOP!
is displayed in the
multifunction display after the system
self-check, a malfunction in the system has
been detected.
If a malfunction is indicated as outlined
above, the system may not operate as ex-
pected. Have the system checked at the
nearest Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as
possible.

246 Controls in detailUseful featuresRoadside Assistance button•
The Roadside Assistance button• is
located below the center armrest cover. 
Press and hold the button • (for
longer than two seconds).
A call to a Mercedes-Benz Roadside As-
sistance dispatcher will be initiated.
The button will flash while the call is in
progress. The message
ROADSIDE AS-
SISTANCE – CONNECTING CALL
will ap-
pear in the multifunction display.
When the connection is established, the
message
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE –
CALL CONNECTED
appears in the multifunc-
tion display. The Tele Aid system will trans-
mit data generating the vehicle
identification number, model, color and lo-
cation (subject to availability of cellular
and GPS signals).A voice connection between the Roadside
Assistance dispatcher and the occupants
of the vehicle will be established. When a
voice connection is established, the audio
system mutes and the message
TELE AID
– ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE CALL ACTIVE
ap-
pears in the multifunction display.

Describe the nature of the need for as-
sistance.
The Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance
dispatcher will either dispatch a qualified
Mercedes-Benz technician or arrange to
tow your vehicle to the nearest authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center. For services such
as labor and/or towing, charges may ap-
ply. Refer to the Roadside Assistance Man-
ual for more information.These programs are only available in the
USA:


Sign and Drive services: Services such
as jump start, a few gallons of fuel or
the replacement of a flat tire with the
vehicle spare tire are obtainable.


Remote Vehicle Diagnostics: This func-
tion permits the Mercedes-Benz Road-
side Assistance dispatcher to
download malfunction codes and actu-
al vehicle data.iThe indicator lamp in the Roadside As-
sistance button• remains illumi-
nated in red for approximately
ten seconds during the system
self-check after turning the ignition on
(together with the SOS button and the
Information button¡).

248 Controls in detailUseful features
Upgrade Signals
The Tele Aid system processes calls using
the following priority:

Automatic emergency – First priority


Manual emergency – Second priority


Roadside Assistance – Third priority


Information – Fourth priority
Should a higher priority call be initiated
while you are connected, an upgrade (al-
ternating) tone will be heard, and the ap-
propriate indicator lamp will flash. If
certain information such as vehicle identi-
fication number or customer information is
not available, the operator may need to re-
transmit.
During this time you will hear a beep and
voice contact will be interrupted. Voice
contact will resume once the retransmis-
sion is completed. Once a call is conclud-
ed, a beep will be heard and the respective
indicator lamp will stop flashing. The
COMAND system operation will resume.
iThe indicator lamp on the Information
button¡ remains illuminated in red
for approximately ten seconds during
the system self-check after turning the
ignition on (together with the SOS but-
ton and the Roadside Assistance
button•).
See System self-check (
page 243)
when the indicator lamp does not come
on in red or stays on longer than ap-
proximately ten seconds.
If the indicator lamp in the Information
button¡ is illuminated continuous-
ly and no voice connection to the Re-
sponse Center was established, then
the Tele Aid system could not initiate
an Information call (e.g. the relevant
cellular phone network is not avail-
able). The message
INFO –
CALL FAILED
appears in the multifunc-
tion display.
Information calls can be terminated us-
ing the tbutton on the multifunc-
tion steering wheel.!If the indicator lamps do not start flash-
ing after pressing one of the buttons or
remain illuminated (in red) at any time,
the Tele Aid system has detected a
fault or the service is not currently ac-
tive, and may not initiate a call. Visit an
Mercedes-Benz Center and have the
system checked or contact the Re-
sponse Center at 1-800-756-9018 (in
the USA) or 1-888-923-8367 (in Cana-
da) as soon as possible.