Page 67 of 200
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
67n
Manual transmission Automatic transmission with Steptronic
*
Reverse Select only when the vehicle is station-
ary. Press the gearshift lever to the left
to overcome the resistance.
As you do this, the backup lamps will
turn on automatically when the ignition
key is in position 2.
In addition to fully automatic operation,
you can also manually shift with the
Steptronic, refer to page69.
Under normal operating conditions, fuel
consumption is lowest when driving in
position D.
530us238
Selector lever positions
P R N D M/S
The transmission range display varies
according to the equipment of your
vehicle.
Starting engine The engine can only be started in the
selector lever position Park or Neutral. 530us239
Page 68 of 200
68n
Automatic transmission with Steptronic
*
Range selection >The selector lever can be removed
from the P position with the ignition
switched on or the engine running:
interlock
>With the vehicle stationary, press the
footbrake before shifting out of P
or N, as otherwise the selector lever
is blocked: shiftlock.
Hold the footbrake down until starting
off. The vehicle will otherwise creep
when a drive position is engaged.
An interlock prevents inadvertent gear-
shifts into selector-lever positions R
and P. To cancel the interlock, press
the button on the front of the selector
lever knob, refer to arrow.
P Park Select only when the vehicle is station-
ary. The transmission locks to prevent
the rear wheels from turning.R Reverse Select only when the vehicle is station-
ary. N Neutral, idle For example, engage in automatic car
washes. The vehicle can roll.530de263
D Drive, automatic driving
positionThis position is designed for driving
under all normal operating conditions.
All forward gears are available. Kick-down The kick-down mode provides maxi-
mum acceleration.
Depress the accelerator pedal past the
increased resistance point at the full-
throttle position.
Page 69 of 200
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
69n
Automatic transmission with Steptronic
*
M/S manual operation and
Sport Program Shift selector lever from position D
toward the left into the shifting slot M/S:
the Sport Program is activated and D S
appears in the instrument cluster. This
position is recommended for a perfor-
mance-oriented driving style.
When you briefly press the selector
lever in the + or – direction, manual
operation is activated and Steptronic
changes the gear The following appears
in the instrument cluster depending on
the model
>1 to 5 or 1 to 6
>M1 to M5 or M1 to M6. 530de264
Upshifts and downshifts are executed
only when they will result in a plausible
combination of engine and vehicle
speed; thus, for example, a downshift
that would cause the engine to overrev
will not be executed by the system. The
gear selected will appear briefly in the
instrument cluster followed by the cur-
rent gear.
In order to go back to using automatic,
move the selector lever toward the right
into position D.
Malfunction
The warning lamp lights up or
the message TRANS.FAILSAFE
PROG appears in the Check
Control. A malfunction has occurred in
the transmission system. Avoid heavy
loads.
Bring the vehicle to a stop. Move the
transmission selector lever to P. Set the
handbrake and switch the engine off,
ignition key to position 0.
Wait a few seconds, then start the
engine.
If the indicator lamp goes out after a
few seconds, normal transmission per-
formance has been restored. You may
continue to drive as usual. If the indica-
tor lamp does not go out, you can place
the selector lever in all positions. How-
ever, the vehicle will now only drive for-
ward with limited gear selection.
Have the system checked as soon as
possible.
Information on jump starting, tow-start-
ing and towing begins on page171.
Page 70 of 200
70n
Turn signals/headlamp flasher1High beams
2 Headlamp flasher
3Turn signalsSignaling briefly Press lever to resistance point and hold
for as long as you wish to signal.
Atypically rapid flashing of the turn
signal indicator light indicates the
failure of a turn signal lamp and when
towing a trailer, indicates the failure of
one of the trailer's turn signal lamps.
After switching off the ignition, make
sure the roadside parking lamps have
not been left on.<530de265
Page 71 of 200
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
71n
Washer/wiper system/rain sensor
*
0 Wipers retracted
1 Intermittent mode or rain sensor
2Normal wipe
3Fast wipe
4Brief wipe
5 Windshield washing
6 Special wash program
*
7 Serrated dial for control of the wipe
interval or the sensitivity of the rain
sensor530de324
Fold-out positionThe left wiper is partially concealed by
the hood. In order to bring the wipers to
roughly a vertical position, this is impor-
tant for changing the wiper blades or to
fold the wipers out during frosty
weather, for example:
>With the lever in position 1, switch off
the ignition as soon as the wipers
come to a stop.
If equipped with a rain sensor:
1. Switch on the wipers with the lever in
position 1, 2 or 4
2. When the wipers are approx. vertical,
switch the ignition off.
For changing the wiper blades, refer to
page158.
Fold the wipers back down onto
the windshield before you turn the
ignition key to position 1 or 2 again. If
you do not, they could be damaged.<
Intermittent mode Not on vehicles with rain sensor.
You can set the wipe interval to four
stages with serrated dial 7.
In addition, the wipe interval is varied
automatically depending on road
speed. Rain sensor The rain sensor automatically controls
the wiper operation as a function of the
rain intensity. It is positioned on the
windshield, directly in front of the inte-
rior rearview mirror.
To activate the rain sensor:
Move the lever to position 1 as of igni-
tion key position 1. The wipers travel
once across the windshield, regardless
of the weather conditions.
You can leave the lever permanently in
position 1. It is then only necessary to
activate the rain sensor as of ignition
key position 1.
To do this, turn serrated dial 7 briefly.
Page 72 of 200
72n
Washer/wiper system/rain sensor
*
To adjust the sensitivity of the rain sen-
sor:
Turn serrated dial 7.
Deactivating the rain sensor:
Move lever to position 0.
Deactivate the rain sensor when
passing through an automatic car
wash. Failure to do so could result in
damage caused by undesired wiper
activation.< Normal wipe The system switches automatically to
intermittent mode when the vehicle is
stationary, not on vehicles with rain
sensor. Fast wipe The wipers operate at normal speed
when the vehicle is not moving, not on
vehicles with rain sensor. Windshield washing The system sprays washer fluid against
the windshield and activates the wipers
for a brief period.
Special wash program
*
As with 5; several additional wash
cycles are carried out and the head-
lamps are cleaned
*.
This program is recommended after you
have driven on extremely dirty roads.
Headlamp washing
*
>With the special wash program 6
>With every actuation of clean the
windshield 5 when the vehicle's light-
ing is switched on, the headlamps
will be cleaned at appropriate inter-
vals.
Do not use the washers if there
is any danger that the fluid will
freeze on the windshield. If you do so,
your vision could be obscured. There-
fore use antifreeze, refer to page150.
Do not actuate washer systems when
the fluid reservoir is empty, as other-
wise the washer pump will be dam-
aged.<
Windshield washer nozzles The windshield washer jets are warmed
automatically when the ignition key is in
position 2.
Page 74 of 200
74n
Cruise control
*
You can automatically maintain and
store any desired vehicle speed above
approx. 20 mph/30 km/h.
You can use cruise control whenever
the system is active while the engine is
running.
On the sports steering wheel
*, there
are +/– buttons on the right side of the
steering wheel for the cruise control.
Do not use the cruise control
when unfavorable conditions do
not permit driving at constant speed.
Otherwise you could loose control of
the vehicle and cause an accident.
These unfavorable conditions include
winding roads, heavy traffic or poor
road conditions, e.g. snow, rain, ice or
a loose road surface.<
Activating system As of ignition key position 2:
Press button; the indicator lamp in the
instrument cluster comes on, refer to
page22. You are able to use the cruise
control.Deactivating systemPress the button repeatedly until the
indicator lamp in the instrument cluster
goes out.
The cruise control is also deactivated
when the ignition key is turned into
position 0.
The speed stored in the memory is
deleted.
Maintaining and storing speed
or accelerating Briefly press button
+:
The system maintains and stores the
current vehicle speed. Every time you
briefly press the button, the speed
increases by approx. 0.6 mph/1 km/h.
Press and hold button +:
The vehicle accelerates without pres-
sure on the accelerator pedal. When
you release the button, the system
maintains and stores the current speed.
If, on a downhill grade, the engine's
braking effect is not sufficient, the con-
trolled speed can be exceeded. Speed
can drop on uphill grades if the engine
output is insufficient.
Page 76 of 200
76n
1Odometer
2Trip odometer
3 Outside temperature display
Odometer You can activate the displays shown in
the illustration with the ignition key in
position 0 by pressing the button in the
instrument cluster, refer to arrow.
The range of available displays varies
according to your individual vehicle's
equipment.Trip odometer To reset the trip odometer to zero,
press the button, refer to arrow, with
the ignition key in position 1 or 2. 530us253
Outside temperature display The outside temperature appears in the
display as of ignition key position 1.
You can change the units of measure-
ment 7/6 by
1. pressing and holding down the but-
ton, refer to arrow, with the ignition
key in position 1 and
2. then turning the ignition key to 0.
At the same time the units of mea-
surement in the temperature display
of the automatic climate control will
be changed, refer to page110.
Refer also to page83.
Ice warning If the outside temperature drops to
approx. +37.57/+36, a signal sounds
as a warning and the display flashes for
a brief period.
The ice warning does not alter the
fact that surface ice can form at
temperatures above +37.57/+36, on
bridges or shaded road surfaces, for
instance.<
Odometer, outside temperature display
