Contents
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Standards (U.S. vehicles) ............. 333
Tire ply material ........................... 335
Tire and loading terminology ........ 335
Rotating tires ............................... 339
Winter driving .................................... 340
Winter tires .................................. 340
Block heater* (Canada only) ........ 341
Snow chains................................. 341
Maintenance...................................... 342
Clearing the maintenance
service indicator........................... 343
Maintenance
service term exceeded ................. 343
Calling up the
maintenance service indicator ..... 343
Resetting the
maintenance service indicator ..... 344
Vehicle care ....................................... 345
Cleaning and care of vehicle ........ 345
Practical hints.................................. 353
What to do if …? ................................. 354
Lamps in instrument cluster ......... 354
Lamp in center console................. 361
Vehicle status messages
in the multifunction display........... 363
Where will I find...? ............................. 391
First aid kit.................................... 391
Vehicle tool kit .............................. 391
Minispare wheel............................ 394
Unlocking/locking in an emergency... 397
Unlocking the vehicle.................... 397
Locking the vehicle ....................... 398
Fuel filler flap ................................ 399
Manually unlocking
the gear selector lever .................. 400
Opening/closing in an emergency ..... 401
Operating roll bars manually ......... 401
Soft top emergency operation ...... 403
Replacing batteries in the SmartKey/
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ............. 412
SmartKey ...................................... 412
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ....... 413Replacing bulbs .................................. 414
Bulbs............................................. 414
Replacing bulbs for front lamps .... 416
Replacing bulbs for rear lamps ..... 420
Replacing wiper blades ...................... 421
Removing wiper blades ................. 421
Installing wiper blades .................. 421
Flat tire............................................... 422
Preparing the vehicle .................... 422
Mounting the Minispare wheel...... 423
Battery ............................................... 427
Disconnecting the battery ............ 428
Removing the battery ................... 428
Charging and reinstalling battery .. 428
Reconnecting the battery ............. 429
Jump starting...................................... 430
Towing the vehicle.............................. 432
Towing the vehicle ........................ 432
Installing towing eye bolt .............. 434
Fuses.................................................. 436
Aids for changing fuses ................ 436
Mainfuse box in passenger
compartment ................................ 437
Fuse box in engine compartment . 437
Fuse box in trunk .......................... 438
25 At a glance
Instrument cluster
Item
Page
1
LLeft turn signal indi-
cator lamp
51
2
vESP warning lamp
358
3
Speedometer
4
Multifunction display
133
5
lDistance warning
lamp
Warning lamp without func-
tion. It illuminates with the
ignition on. It should go out
when the engine is running.
6
KRight turn signal indi-
cator lamp
51
7
Coolant temperature indi-
cator with:
131
•Coolant temperature
warning lamp
357,
377
Item
Page
8
Tachometer with:
132
1Supplemental
restraint system
indicator lamp
360,
388
-Antilock Brake Sys-
tem (ABS) warning
lamp
354
388
BLow beam headlamp
indicator lamp
126
AHigh beam headlamp
indicator lamp
126
9
Main odometer with:
Gear selector lever posi-
tion
133
Program mode
133
Item
Page
a
Clock with:
147
;Brake warning lamp,
USA only
355
3Brake warning lamp,
Canada onlyúEngine malfunction
indicator lamp,
USA only
356
±Engine malfunction
indicator lamp,
Canada only
356
CRoll bar warning lamp
b
Fuel display with:AFuel reserve warning
lamp
359
c
Reset button for:
Resetting trip odometer
130
Adjusting instrument
cluster illumination
130
Confirming new time set-
tings
147
51 Getting started
Driving
Turn exterior lamp switch to
positionB.
The low beam headlamp indicator
lampB in the instrument cluster
comes on (
page 24).
High beam
The combination switch is located on the
left of the steering column.
Combination switch1High beam
2High beam flasher
Push combination switch in direction of
arrow1.
The high beam headlamp indicator
lampA in the instrument cluster
comes on (
page 24).
Turn signals
The combination switch is located on the
left of the steering column.Combination switch1Turn signals, right
2Turn signals, left
Press combination switch in direction
of arrow1or2.
The corresponding turn signal indicator
lampLorK in the instrument
cluster flashes (
page 24).
The combination switch resets automati-
cally after major steering wheel move-
ments.
iTo signal minor directional changes
such as changing lanes, press combi-
nation switch only to the point of resis-
tance and release. The corresponding
turn signals will flash three times.
63 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!
G
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in an automobile is in the
rear seat.
It should be noted that with respect to both
front and rear side impact air bags there is a
possibility for a side impact air bag related
injury if occupants, especially children, are
not properly seated or restrained when next
to a front head-thorax air bag or a rear side
impact air bag 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 or the rear
side trim panel where the front
head-thorax or rear side-impact air bag
inflates. This could result in serious inju-
ries or death should the front
head-thorax air bag or rear side-impact
air bag be deployed.
(2) Always sit nearly upright, properly use
the seat belts and for children 12 years
old and under, use an appropriately
sized infant or toddler restraint or
booster seat recommended for the size
and weight of the child.
(3) Always wear seat belts properly.
If you believe that, even with the use of
these guidelines, it would be safer for your
rear seat occupants to have the rear mount-
ed side impact air bags deactivated, then
deactivation can be accomplished upon
your written request to do so at an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center at an
additional cost.
Please contact your local authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center or call our Customer
Assistance Center at 1-800-FOR-MERCedes
(1-800-367-6372) for details.
iAir bags are designed to deploy only in
certain frontal impacts (front air bags),
and in side impacts (head-thorax air
bags and rear side-impact air bags)
which exceed preset thresholds. Only
during these events will they provide
their supplemental protection.
The driver and passengers should al-
ways wear their seat belts. Otherwise it
is not possible for the air bags to pro-
vide their supplemental protection.
In case of other types of impacts and
impacts below air bag deployment
thresholds, air bags will not deploy. The
driver and passenger will then be pro-
tected to the extent possible by a prop-
erly fastened seat belt. A properly
fastened seat belt is also needed to
provide the best possible protection in
a rollover.
65 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
When you sell your vehicle, we strongly
urge you to give notice to the subsequent
owner that it is equipped with an SRS by
alerting them to the applicable section in
the Operator’s Manual.Front air bags
1Driver air bag
2Passenger air bag
Driver and front passenger front air bags
are deployed:
in the event of certain frontal impacts
if impact exceeds a preset deployment
threshold
independently of the side impact air
bags
In addition, improper repair work on the
SRS creates a risk of rendering the SRS
inoperative or causing unintended air
bag deployment. Work on the SRS must
therefore only be performed by qualified
technicians. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
For your protection and the protection
of others, when scrapping the air bag
unit or emergency tensioning device,
our safety instructions must be fol-
lowed. These instructions are available
from your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
Given the considerable deployment
speed, required inflation volume, and
the textile structure of the air bags,
there is the possibility of abrasions or
other more significant injuries resulting
from air bag deployment.
Warning!
G
Only use seat covers which have been
tested and approved by Mercedes-Benz for
your vehicle model. Using other seat covers
may interfere with or prevent the
deployment of the head-thorax air bags.
Contact your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center for availability.
66 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
The air bags will not deploy in impacts
which do not exceed the system’s deploy-
ment thresholds. You will then be protect-
ed by the fastened seat belts.
The front passenger front air bag will only
be deployed if:
the system, based on OCS weight sen-
sor readings, senses that the front pas-
senger seat is occupied
the56 indicator lamp in the
center console is not lit (
page 79)
the impact exceeds a preset deploy-
ment thresholdHead-thorax air bags
1Head-thorax air bag
The head-thorax air bags1 in the drivers
and front passenger seat are deployed:
on the impacted side of the vehicle
in impacts exceeding a preset deploy-
ment threshold
independently of the front air bags
The head-thorax air bags1 are not de-
ployed in impacts which do not exceed the
system’s deployment threshold.
iThe front air bags in this vehicle have
been designed to inflate in two stages.
This allows the air bag to have different
rates of inflation that are based on the
rate of relevant vehicle deceleration as
assessed by the air bag control unit.
On the front passenger side, the front
air bag deployment is additionally influ-
enced by the passenger’s weight cate-
gory as identified by the Occupant
Classification System (OCS)
(page 75).
The lighter the front passenger side oc-
cupant, the higher the vehicle deceler-
ation rate required for the second
stage inflation of the air bag.
67 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Rear side-impact air bags
1Rear side-impact air bag
The rear side-impact air bags1 are de-
ployed:
on the impacted side of the vehicle
in impacts exceeding a preset deploy-
ment threshold
independently of the front air bags
The rear side-impact air bags1 are not
deployed in impacts which do not exceed
the system’s deployment threshold.
Seat belts
When the engine is started, the seat belt
telltale < illuminates to remind you and
your passengers to fasten your seat belts.
If the driver’s seat belt is not fastened be-
fore the engine is started, the seat belt
telltale < illuminates and a warning
chime sounds for approximately six sec-
onds when the engine is started.
The use of seat belts and infant and child
restraint systems is required by law in all
50 states, the District of Columbia, the
U.S. territories and all Canadian provinces.
Even where this is not the case, all vehicle
occupants should have their seat belts fas-
tened whenever the vehicle is in motion.
For more information, see “Fastening the
seat belts” (
page 43).
Warning!
G
Only use seat covers which have been
tested and approved by Mercedes-Benz for
your vehicle model. Using other seat covers
may interfere with or prevent the
deployment of the head-thorax air bags.
Contact your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center for availability.
69 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!
G
Damaged seat belts or belts that were highly
stressed in an accident must be replaced
and their anchoring points must also be
checked.
Only use seat belts which have been
approved by Mercedes-Benz.
Do not make any modifications to the seat
belts. This can lead to unintended activation
of the ETDs or to failure.
Do not bleach or dye seat belts as this may
severely weaken them. In a crash they may
not be able to provide adequate protection.
Have all work carried out only by qualified
technicians. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
USE SEAT BELTS PROPERLY
Seat belts can only work when used
properly. Never wear seat belts in any
other way than as described in this sec-
tion, as that could result in serious inju-
ries in case of an accident.
Each occupant should wear their seat
belt at all times, because seat belts help
reduce the likelihood of and potential
severity of injuries in accidents, includ-
ing rollovers. The integrated restraint
system includes SRS (driver air bag, pas-
senger front air bag, head-thorax air
bags and rear side-impact air bags), ETD
(seat belt emergency tensioning device),
and front seat knee bolsters. The sys-
tem is designed to enhance the protec-
tion offered to properly belted
occupants in certain frontal (front air
bags and ETD) and side (head-thorax
and rear side-impact air bags and ETD)
impacts which exceed preset deploy-
ment thresholds.
Never wear the shoulder belt under your
arm, against your neck or off your shoul-
der. In a frontal crash, your body would
move too far forward. That would in-
crease the chance of head and neck in-
juries. The belt would also apply too
much force to the ribs or abdomen,
which could severely injure internal or-
gans such as your liver or spleen.
Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eyeglasses, pens, keys etc., as these
might cause injuries.
Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips and not across the abdo-
men. If the belt is positioned across your
abdomen, it could cause serious injuries
in a crash.
Never use a seat belt for more than one
person at a time. Do not fasten a seat
belt around a person and another per-
son or other objects.