2005 MERCEDES-BENZ E500 Seat

125 Controls in detailSeats
Removing and installing rear seat head
restraints
1Release catch
Removing rear seat head restraints

Fold the backrest forward
(page 257).

Fold back head restraint (
page 124).

Press head restraint release catch1
and pull the head restraints out of the
guides.

Fold the backrest back to its original
position.Installing rear seat head restraints
Warning!
G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust head restraint so that the head re-
straint supports the back of the head at eye
level. This will reduce the potential for injury
to the head and neck in the event of an ac-
cident or similar situation.
Do not drive the vehicle without the seat
head restraints. Head restraints are intend-
ed to help reduce injuries during an acci-
dent.
Do not interchange head restraints from
front and rear seat.
iWhen installing the head restraints,
make sure that:

you place the correct head restraint
on the middle seat. It is marked
with the letter “M” on the outside of
the metal bars.


the head restraints engage fully.

126 Controls in detailSeatsDrive - Dynamic seat* with multicon-tour features
The Drive - Dynamic seat automatically ad-
justs the lateral support provided by the
backrest to your driving style.
The Drive - Dynamic seat electronically
controls the air pressure in the air cham-
bers of the backrest side bolsters. This
function improves driving comfort and
pleasure.
Additional the Drive-Dynamic seat has a
movable seat cushion and inflatable air
cushions built into the backrest to provide
additional lumbar and side support.
The seat cushion movement, backrest
cushion height and curvature can be con-
tinuously varied with switches on the right
side of the seat after turning the SmartKey
in the starter switch to position2 or press-
ing the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button
twice.1Backrest center
2Backrest bottom
3Seat cushion depth
4Activate drive dynamic function
5Backrest side bolsters
6Massage function

Switch on the ignition (
page 33).Multicontour features
Seat cushion depth

Adjust the seat cushion depth to the
length of your upper leg using
switch3.
Backrest contour

Adjust the contour of the backrest to
the desired position using æ or
ç.

Move the backrest support to the bot-
tom by using button2 or to the center
by using button1.
Backrest side bolders

Adjust the side bolsters so that they
provide good lateral support using
switch5.

127 Controls in detailSeats
Drive-dynamic features
Activating
Press button4 (
page 126).
The indicator lamp in the button comes
on for five seconds and the following
display appears in the multi-function
display for about five seconds.
Deactivating

Press button4 (
page 126) again.
The indicator lamp in the button goes
out.Massage function (PULSE)
The massage function can help prevent
muscle tension during long drives.

Press button6 (
page 126).
The indicator lamp in button2 comes
on. The air cushions in the lumbar area
pulsate.
Seat heating*
Both switches for the front seats are locat-
ed in the center console. The red indicator
lamps in the switch come on to show
which heating level you have selected.
iYou can adjust the characteristics of
the Drive - Dynamic seat using the con-
trol system (
page 169).
iWhen the engine is turned off, the last
cushion setting is retained in memory.
The cushion is automatically adjusted
to this setting when the engine is re-
started.iThe massage function turns off auto-
matically after approximately five min-
utes.
Leveloff
No indicator lamps on
1
One indicator lamp on
2
Two indicator lamps onThe seat heater automatically
switches to level 1 after approxi-
mately ten minutes.
3
Three indicator lamps onThe seat heater automatically
switches to level 2 after approxi-
mately five minutes.

128 Controls in detailSeats1Seat heating switch
Switch on the ignition (
page 33).
Switching seat heating on

Press button1 repeatedly until the
desired heating level is set.
One or more red indicator lamps on the
switch show the selected heater level.Switching seat heating off

Press button1 repeatedly until all in-
dicator lamps go out.
Seat ventilation*
The switch is located on the center con-
sole. Seat ventilation can be activated
manually with the ignition on, or by the
summer opening feature (
page 220).
The blue indicator lamps on the switch
show the ventilation level selected:
iThe seat heating will be automatically
switched off after approximately
20 minutes.!If one or more of the lamps on the seat
heater switch are flashing, there is in-
sufficient voltage available since too
many electrical consumers are turned
on. The seat heater switches off auto-
matically.
The seat heater will switch back on
again automatically as soon as suffi-
cient voltage is available.
Level3
Three indicator lamps on
2
Two indicator lamps on
1
One indicator lamp on
off
No indicator lamp on

129 Controls in detailSeats
1Seat ventilation switch
Switch on the ignition (
page 33).Switching seat ventilation on

Press button1 repeatedly until the
desired ventilation level is set.
Switching seat ventilation off

Press button1 repeatedly until all in-
dicator lamps go out.iThe seat ventilation is automatically set
to the highest level if activated via sum-
mer opening feature (
page 220).
!If one or all of the lamps flash on the
seat ventilation switch, there is insuffi-
cient voltage due to too many electrical
consumers being switched on. The seat
ventilation switches off automatically.
The seat ventilation will switch back on
again automatically as soon as suffi-
cient voltage is available.

130 Controls in detailMemory function
You can store up to three different settings
for each SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO*.
The following settings are stored when us-
ing the buttons on the driver’s door:

Driver’s seat, backrest, head restraint
position and settings for multicontour
seat


Steering wheel position


Exterior rear view mirror positions
These SmartKey-dependent memory set-
tings can be deactivated if desired. For in-
formation on SmartKey-dependent
memory settings, see “Setting
SmartKey-dependency” (
page 168).
The following settings are not
SmartKey-dependent. They are stored
when using the buttons on the front pas-
senger door:


Front passenger seat, backrest, head
restraint position and settings for mul-
ticontour seat
!Prior to operating the vehicle, the driv-
er should check and adjust the seat
height, seat position fore and aft, and
seat backrest angle if necessary, to
ensure adequate control, reach and
comfort. The head restraint should also
be adjusted for proper height. See also
the section on air bags (
page 61) for
more information on proper seat posi-
tioning.
In addition, adjust the steering wheel to
ensure adequate control, reach, opera-
tion and comfort. Both the interior and
exterior rear view mirrors should be ad-
justed for adequate rear vision.
Fasten seat belts. Infants and small
children should be seated in a properly
secured restraint system that complies
with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards 213 and 225 and Canadian
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 213
and 210.2.
Warning!
G
Do not activate the memory function while
driving. Activating the memory function
while driving could cause the driver to lose
control of the vehicle.

131 Controls in detail
Memory function
The memory button and stored position
button are located on the door.
MMemory button
1, 2, 3Stored position button
Switch on the ignition (
page 33).
or

Open the respective door and insert
the SmartKey in the starter switch.
Storing positions into memory
Adjust the seats, steering wheel and
exterior rear view mirrors to the de-
sired position (
page 37).

Press memory buttonM.

Release memory buttonM and press
stored position button 1, 2 or 3 within
three seconds.
All the settings are stored to the select-
ed position.
Recalling positions from memory
Press and hold stored position
button1, 2 or3 until the seat, steering
wheel and exterior rear view mirrors
have completely moved to the stored
positions.!Do not operate the power seats using
the memory button if the seat backrest
is in an excessively reclined position.
Doing so could cause damage to front
or rear seats.iReleasing the stored position button
stops movement to the stored posi-
tions immediately.

141 Controls in detail
Lighting
Interior lighting in the rear
The overhead control panel is located
above the rear seat bench.
1Ambient lighting switch, to brighten
2Rear reading lamp
3Rear reading lamp on/off
4Rear interior lamp
5Ambient lighting
6Ambient lighting switch, to dimRear reading lamps

Press desired rear reading lamp
switch3 to switch on the correspond-
ing rear reading lamp.

Press respective rear reading lamp
switch3 again to switch off the corre-
sponding rear reading lamp.
Ambient lighting

Press ambient lighting switch1or6
repeatedly until ambient lighting5
has reached the desired intensity.
You can switch the ambient lighting on and
off, using the Control system
(
page 165).
Trunk lamp
The trunk lamp switches on if the trunk lid
is opened.
If the trunk lid remains open, the trunk
lighting switches off automatically after ap-
proximately ten minutes.