2004 MERCEDES-BENZ S55AMG steering

35 Getting started
Adjusting
Seat adjustment
The seat adjustment switches are located
on the front doors.
1Head restraint height
2Seat height
3Seat cushion tilt
4Seat cushion depth
5Seat fore and aft adjustment
6Seat backrest tilt

Switch on ignition.
or

Open the respective door.
Seat fore and aft adjustment

Press the switch forward or backward
in the direction of arrow5.
Adjust seat to a comfortable seating
position that still allows you to reach
the accelerator / brake pedal safely.
The position should be as far to the rear
as possible, consistent with ability to
properly operate controls.Seat cushion tilt

Press the switch up or down in the di-
rection of arrow3until your upper
legs are lightly supported.
Seat cushion depth

Press the switch forward or backward
in the direction of arrow4 until your
legs are supported comfortably.
Seat backrest tilt

Press the switch forward or backward
in the direction of arrow6 until your
arms are slightly angled when holding
the steering wheel.
Seat height

Press the switch up or down in the di-
rection of arrow2.
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle and
the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint.
iWhen moving the seat, make sure
there are no items in the footwell or be-
hind the seats. Otherwise you could
damage the seats.
The memory function (
page 121) lets
you store the setting for the seat posi-
tion together with the settings for the
steering wheel and the exterior rear
view mirrors.

37 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 arrow1 until a comfortable
steering wheel position is reached with
your arms slightly bent at the elbow.
Adjusting steering column up or down

Move the stalk up or down in the direc-
tion of arrow2.
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 240).
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 121) lets
you store settings for the steering
wheel together with the settings for the
exterior rear view mirrors and the seat
position.

39 Getting started
Adjusting
The buttons are located on the driver’s
door.
1 Driver’s side exterior rear view mirror
button
2Passenger-side exterior rear view mir-
ror button
3Adjustment button

Switch on ignition.

Press button1 for the left mirror or
button2 for the right mirror.

Push adjustment button3 up, down,
left, or right according to the desired
setting.
For more information, see “Folding the ex-
terior mirrors in and out automatically”
(
page 176).
!For information on how to reposition
the exterior mirror housing when it was
forcibly pushed forward (hit from the
rear) or forcibly pushed rearward (hit
from the front), see “Folding the exteri-
or mirrors in and out manually”
(page 176).
iThe memory function (
page 121) lets
you store the setting for the exterior
rear view mirrors together with the set-
ting for the steering wheel and the seat
position.
At low ambient temperatures, the mir-
rors will be heated automatically.

47 Getting started
Driving
For more information, see “Driving instruc-
tions” (
page 259).
Switching on headlampsExterior lamp switch1Off
2Low beam headlamps on
Turn the switch toB.
For more information, see “Exterior lamp
switch” (
page 124).
Turn signals and high beam
The combination switch is located on the
left of the steering column.Combination switch1Turn signals, right
2Turn signals, left
Press the combination switch up1 or
down2.
!Simultaneously depressing the acceler-
ator pedal and applying the brake re-
duces engine performance and causes
premature brake and drivetrain wear.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 159).
iTo signal minor directional changes,
move combination switch to point of
resistance only and release. The turn
signal flashes three times.

48 Getting startedDrivingHigh beam
Push the combination switch forward.
The high beam headlamps are switched
on.
The high beam headlamp
indicatorA in the tachometer
comes on.
For more information, see “High beam
flasher” (
page 128).
Windshield wipers
The combination switch is located on the
left of the steering column.Combination switch1Single wipe
2Switching on windshield wipers
Make sure the ignition is switched on.
All the lamps in the instrument cluster
come on.Switching on windshield wipers

Turn the combination switch to the de-
sired position depending on the inten-
sity of the rain.
0Windshield wipers off
IIntermittent wiping (interval depen-
dent on wetness of windshield)
IINormal wiper speed
IIIFast wiper speediThe intermittent wiping interval is de-
pendent on wetness of windshield.
Wiping will not occur with a door open.

51 Getting started
Parking and locking
Parking and locking
You have now completed your first drive.
You have properly stopped and parked
your vehicle. End your drive as follows.Warning!
G
Wait until the vehicle is stationary before re-
moving the SmartKey from the starter
switch. The vehicle cannot be steered when
the SmartKey is removed.Warning!
G
With the engine not running, there is no
power assistance for the brake and the
steering systems. In this case, it is impor-
tant to keep in mind that a considerably
higher degree of effort is necessary to brake
and steer the vehicle.
Warning!
G
Do not park this vehicle in areas where com-
bustible materials such as grass, hay, or
leaves can come into contact with the hot
exhaust system, as these materials could be
ignited and cause a vehicle fire.
To reduce the risk of personal injury as a re-
sult of vehicle movement, before turning off
the engine and leaving the vehicle always:

Keep right foot on brake pedal.


Firmly depress parking brake pedal.


Move the gear selector lever to
positionP.


Slowly release brake pedal.


When parked on an incline, turn front
wheel towards the road curb.


Turn the SmartKey to starter switch
position0 and remove, or press
start / stop button (vehicles with
KEYLESS-GO*).


Take the SmartKey or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* and lock vehicle when
leaving.

59 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Airbags
Warning!
G
In the event that the 1 indicator lamp
comes on during driving or does not come
on at all, the SRS self-check has detected a
malfunction. For your safety, we strongly
recommend that you visit an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center immediately to have
the system checked; otherwise the SRS may
not be activated when needed in an acci-
dent, which could result in serious or fatal
injury, or it might deploy unexpectedly and
unnecessarily which could also result in
injury.
In addition, improper repair work on the SRS
creates a risk of rendering the SRS inopera-
tive or causing unintended airbag deploy-
ment. Work on the SRS must therefore only
be performed by qualified technicians. Con-
tact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
Airbags are designed to reduce the potential
of injury and fatality in certain frontal im-
pacts (front airbags), side impacts (side im-
pact airbags and head protection window
curtain airbags) or rollovers (head protec-
tion window curtain airbags). However, no
system available today can totally eliminate
injuries and fatalities.
The activation of the airbags temporarily re-
leases a small amount of dust from the air-
bags. This dust, however, is neither injurious
to your health, nor does it indicate a fire in
the vehicle. The dust might cause some tem-
porary breathing difficulty for people with
asthma or other breathing trouble. To avoid
this, you may wish to get out of the vehicle
as soon as it is safe to do so. If you have any
breathing difficulty but cannot get out of the
vehicle after the airbag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
Warning!
G
To reduce the risk of injury when the front
airbags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and passenger front to always be in a
properly seated position and to wear your
seat belts.
For maximum protection in the event of a
collision always be in normal seated position
with your back against the seat backrest.
Fasten your seat belt and ensure that it is
properly positioned on your body.
Since the airbag inflates with considerable
speed and force, a proper seating and hands
on steering wheel position will help to keep
you at a safe distance from the airbag. Oc-
cupants who are unbelted, out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in-
jured by an airbag as it inflates with great
force in the blink of an eye:

Sit properly belted in a nearly upright
position with your back against the seat
backrest.


60 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety

Adjust the driver seat as far as possible
rearward, still permitting proper opera-
tion of vehicle controls. The distance
from the center of the driver’s breast-
bone to the center of the airbag cover on
the steering wheel must be at least 10 in
(25 cm) or more. You should be able to
accomplish this by a combination of ad-
justments to the seat and steering
wheel. If you have any problems, please
see an authorized Mercedes-Benz Cen-
ter.


Do not lean with your head or chest
close to the steering wheel or dash-
board.


Keep hands on the outside of steering
wheel rim. Placing hands and arms in-
side the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when driver front airbag inflates.


Adjust the front passenger seat as far as
possible rearward from the dashboard
when the seat is occupied.


Occupants, especially children, should
never lean their heads in the area of the
door where the side airbag inflates.
This could result in serious injuries or
death should the airbag be triggered. Al-
ways sit nearly upright, properly use the
seat belts and appropriate size infant or
child restraint system.


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 vehicle to deacti-
vate the passenger front airbag when it
is properly installed. Otherwise they will
be struck by the airbag when it inflates
in a crash. If this happens, serious or fa-
tal injury will result.
Failure to follow these instructions can re-
sult in severe injuries to you or other occu-
pants.
If you sell your vehicle, it is extremely impor-
tant that you make the buyer aware of this
safety information. Be sure to give the buyer
this Operator's Manual.
Warning!
G
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in an automobile is in the
rear seat. Should you choose to place a child
12 years old or under in the front passenger
seat of your vehicle, you must properly use
a BabySmart
TM child restraint which will
turn off the passenger front airbag.
BabySmart
TM will not, however, turn off any
side impact airbag.
It should be noted that with respect to both
front and rear side impact airbags there is a
possibility for a side airbag related injury if
occupants, especially children, are not prop-
erly seated or restrained when next to a side
airbag which needs to deploy rapidly in a
side impact in order to do its job.
To help avoid the possibility of injury, please
follow these guidelines:
(1) Occupants, especially children, should
never place their bodies or lean their
heads in the area of the door where the
side airbag inflates. This could result in