2004 MERCEDES-BENZ S500 display

211 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Activating 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 79)
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 210) to
increase 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 210), and one or two
segments around the stored speed come
on on the speedometer (
page 208).
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 vehicles 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.

212 Controls in detailDriving systemsSetting a lower speed
Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow2 (
page 210) to
decrease 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 210), and one or two
segments around the stored speed come
on on the speedometer (
page 208).Fine adjustment in 1 mph
(Canada: 1 km/h) increments
Faster

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow4 (
page 210).Setting to last stored speed (“Resume”
function)

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow4 (
page 210).
Distronic is set to the last stored
speed.

Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
iWhen you use the cruise control lever
to decelerate, the transmission will au-
tomatically downshift if the rate of de-
celeration is too low.
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 you and others.

213 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Deactivating Distronic
There are several ways to deactivate the
Distronic system:
Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow3 (
page 210).
or

Step on the brake pedal.
Distronic will be deactivated. The last
speed set will be stored into memory.Distronic deactivates automatically when:


you set the parking brake


you drive slower than
25 mph (40 km/h)


the ESP is active (
page 79) or you de-
activate the ESP


you move the gear selector lever into
positionN
A signal will sound. The
DISTRONIC OFF

message appears in the multifunction
display for approximately five seconds.Setting the following distance in
Distronic
You can set the specified following dis-
tance for Distronic by varying the time set-
ting between 1.0 and 2.0 seconds. Using
this time setting and the current speed of
your vehicle, Distronic calculates and sets
the required following distance to the vehi-
cle ahead. The set distance will be shown
in the multifunction display field.
The thumbwheel for making the time set-
ting is located on the lower section of the
center console.
iThe following message will appear in
the multifunction display for approxi-
mately five seconds:
DISTRONIC OFF
.
The last stored speed is deleted when
you turn off the engine.
Warning!
G
Distronic switches off and releases the
brakes when the vehicle decelerates below
the minimum speed of approximately
25 mph (40 km / h) by operation of the sys-
tem. At that time the driver must apply the
brakes in order to reduce vehicle speed fur-
ther or bring it to a stop.
Warning!
G
It is up to the driver to exercise discretion to
select the appropriate setting given road
conditions, traffic, driver’s preferred driving
style and applicable laws and driving recom-
mendations for safe following distance.

215 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Activating
Press switch1.
The indicator lamp on the switch
comes on. A loudspeaker symbol ap-
pears in the multifunction display
(page 210).
Deactivating

Press switch1.
The indicator lamp on the switch goes
out.Driving with Distronic
This section describes a number of driving
situations where special precaution is re-
quired on the part of the driver. Be pre-
pared to brake in such situations which will
deactivate the Distronic system.
Warning!
G
If the Distronic warning lampl in the in-
strument cluster comes on while driving
and/or an intermittent warning sounds, im-
mediate attention on the part of the driver is
required.
As required by the traffic situation, apply the
brakes and navigate around a possible ob-
stacle. However, do not drive by relying on
the distance warning function, as this will re-
sult in an emergency braking application.
Especially depending on road surface condi-
tions and driver reaction, this will not always
enable you to avoid a collision.iComplex driving situations are not al-
ways fully recognized by Distronic. This
could result in wrong or missing dis-
tance warnings.
Warning!
G
Distronic works to maintain the speed se-
lected by the driver unless a moving obsta-
cle proceeding directly ahead of it in the
same travel direction is detected (e.g. fol-
lowing another vehicle ahead of you at a dis-
tance set by Distronic). This means that:

Your vehicle can pass another vehicle
after you change lanes.


While in a sharp turn or if the vehicle in
front is in a sharp turn, Distronic could
lose sight of a vehicle traveling in front
of it, then your vehicle could accelerate
to the previously selected speed.


219 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Vehicle level control with AIRMATIC
Your vehicle automatically adjusts its ride
height to:

reduce fuel consumption


increase vehicle safety
The vehicle chassis ride height is raised or
lowered according to the selected level
setting and to the vehicle speed:


With increasing speed, ride height is re-
duced by up to approximately
3/4in
(20 mm).


With decreasing speed, the ride height
is again raised to the selected vehicle
level.The following vehicle level settings can be
selected when the vehicle is stationary:
Select the "Raised" level setting only when
required by current driving conditions.
Otherwise:


Fuel consumption may increase


Handling may be impairedThe switch with the indicator lamps is lo-
cated in the upper part of the center con-
sole.
1Indicator lamp
2Vehicle level control switch

Briefly press switch2 to change from
one level setting to the other.
The message:AIRMATIC
VEHICLE RISING appears in the multifunction display
when changing from normal level to
raised level.
iThese height adjustments are so small
that you may not notice any change.
LevelNormal
For driving on normal roads.
The indicator lamp is off.
Raised
For driving on rough roads or
with snow chains.The indica-
tor lamp is on.
Warning!
G
To help avoid personal injury, keep hands
and feet away from wheel housing area, and
stay away from under the vehicle when low-
ering the vehicle chassis.


220 Controls in detailDriving systems
The indicator lamp is then lit. The dis-
play switches off when the vehicle is
raised.

Press switch2 again to lower the ve-
hicle. The indicator lamp is off.
The selected vehicle level setting remains
stored in memory even if the engine is
turned off and restarted except when you


exceed a speed of 75 mph (120 km/h)
or


maintain a speed of between 50 mph
(80 km/h) and 75 mph (120 km/h) for
more than 5 minutes
The vehicle then lowers to regular level.
The message:
AIRMATIC
LEV. SELECT. CANCELED!appears in the multifunction display and
the indicator lamp is off. The display
switches off when the vehicle is raised.
Active Body Control (ABC)*
The ABC system automatically selects the
optimum suspension tuning and ride
height for your vehicle.
Suspension tuning
The suspension tuning is set according to:

Your driving style


Road surface conditions


The vehicle loading


Your choice of suspension style,
“sporty” or “regular”, which you select
using the ABC button
The selected suspension style is stored
in memory, even after the SmartKey is
removed from the starter switch.The ABC switch with the indicator lamps is
located in the upper part of the center con-
sole.
1Indicator lamp
2ABC switch

Start the engine.


222 Controls in detailDriving systemsThe following vehicle level settings can be
selected when the vehicle is stationary:
The switch with the indicator lamps is lo-
cated in the upper part of the center con-
sole.
1Indicator lamps
2Vehicle level control switch

Briefly press switch2 to change from
one level setting to the next. When ve-
hicle is at level 2, pressing the switch
will return the vehicle to normal level.
The message:ACTIVE BODY CONTROL
VEHICLE RISING! appears in the multifunction display.
The display switches off when the vehi-
cle is raised.
Vehicle level when
stationary
Use for
Ride height increase
over normal
Automatic lowering
Indicator lamps
Normal
Normal operation
None
Max. approx. 0.6 in (15 mm)
Both lamps off
Raised level1
Driving with snow chains
(page 293)
Max. 0.4 in (10 mm)
1
1Dependent on load
Max. approx. 1.0 in (25 mm)
One lamp lit
Raised level 2
Very rough road surface
conditions
Max. 0.8 in (20 mm)
1
Max. approx. 1.4 in (35 mm)
Both lamps lit

242 Controls in detailUseful featuresYou can take and place telephone calls us-
ing thes andt buttons on the
steering wheel. To carry out other tele-
phone functions, use the control system
(page 134).
See separate operating manual for instruc-
tions on how to use the telephone.
Tele Aid The Tele Aid system
(Tele
matic A
larm I
dentification on D
e-
mand)
The Tele Aid system consists of three
types of response:


automatic and manual emergency


roadside assistance, and


information
The Tele Aid system is operational provid-
ing that the vehicle’s battery is charged,
properly connected, not damaged and cel-
lular and GPS coverage is available.
The speaker volume of a Tele Aid call can
be adjusted when using the volume control
on the multifunction steering wheel. To
raise, press buttonæ and to lower,
press buttonç.

To activate, press the SOS button, the
Roadside Assistance button• or
the Information button¡, depend-
ing on the type of response required.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km / h), your vehicle is
covering a distance of 44 feet (approximate-
ly 14 m) every second.
!The initial activation of the Tele Aid sys-
tem may only be performed by com-
pleting the subscriber agreement and
placing an acquaintance call using the
SOS button. Failure to complete either
of these steps will result in a system
that is not activated. If the system is
not activated, the indicator lamp in the
SOS button stays on after turning the
SmartKey in starter switch to
position2, or pressing the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button twice
to position2 . The message
TELE AID –
NOT ACTIVATED
will be shown in the
multifunction display for approximately
ten seconds.
If you have any questions regarding ac-
tivation, please call the Response Cen-
ter at 1-800-756-9018 (in the USA) or
1-888-923-8367 (in Canada).