2005 MERCEDES-BENZ S CLASS wheel

205 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
To open center air vents and to adjust the
booster blower:
Turn thumbwheel3.Rear side air vents
4Rear side air vent, right and left
5Air volume control for rear side air vent
To open rear side air vents:

Turn thumbwheel5 towards the win-
dow.Rear passenger compartment climate
control*
The automatic climate control is operation-
al whenever the engine is running. You can
operate the climate control system in ei-
ther the automatic or manual mode. The
system cools or heats the interior depend-
ing on the selected interior temperature
and the current outside temperature.
The automatic climate control system is
adjustable individually for the rear passen-
ger compartment.
The control panel is located in the rear cen-
ter console.
Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air en-
ters the passenger compartment through
the air distribution system.
iThe booster blower allows air volume
speed to the rear passenger compart-
ment to be increased at four different
levels.
The temperature at the air vents for
rear passenger compartment1
and2 is the same as at the dashboard
center air vents.

206 Controls in detailAutomatic climate controlRear automatic climate control panel
iWhen the rear seats are not occupied
(rear seat belts unbuckled) the rear cli-
mate control system adopts the set-
tings of the front climate control
system.
Item
1
Left center air vent, adjustable
2
Display
3
Right center air vent, adjustable
4
Thumbwheel for air distribution
5
Temperature control, right
6
Air volume (automatic, manual)
7
Temperature control, left
8
Rear climate control system on/off
Residual engine heat utilization
Warning!
G
Follow the recommended settings for heat-
ing and cooling as given in the instructions
for the front automatic climate control
(page 192). Otherwise the windows could
fog up, impairing visibility for the driver and
endangering you and others.

214 Controls in detailDriving systemsThe driving systems of your vehicle are de-
scribed on the following pages:

Cruise control and Distronic*, with
which the vehicle can maintain a preset
speed.


Airmatic adjusts the vehicle suspen-
sion characteristics automatically and
controls the vehicle level.


ABC* with vehicle level control system,
with which you can change vehicle sus-
pension characteristics.


Parktronic*, which serves as a parking
assistant.
For information on the BAS, ABS, and ESP
driving systems, see “Driving safety sys-
tems” (
page 80).
Cruise control
Cruise control automatically maintains the
speed you set for your vehicle.
Use of cruise control is recommended for
driving at a constant speed for extended
periods of time. You can set or resume
cruise control at any speed over 20 mph
(30 km/h).
The cruise control function is operated by
means of the cruise control lever.
The cruise control lever is the uppermost
lever on the left-hand side of the steering
column (
page 22).
Warning!
G
Cruise control is a convenience system de-
signed to assist the driver during vehicle op-
eration. The driver is and must remain at all
times responsible for the vehicle speed and
for safe brake operation.
Only use cruise control if the road, traffic
and weather conditions make it advisable to
travel at a steady speed.

The use of cruise control can be danger-
ous on winding roads or in heavy traffic
because conditions do not allow safe
driving at a steady speed.


The use of cruise control can be danger-
ous on slippery roads. Rapid changes in
tire traction can result in wheel spin and
loss of control.


Deactivate cruise control when driving
in fog.
The “Resume” function should only be oper-
ated if the driver is fully aware of the previ-
ously set speed and wishes to resume this
particular preset speed.

218 Controls in detailDriving systems
iCanada only:
This device complies with RSS-210 of
Industry Canada. Operation is subject
to the following two conditions:

This device may not cause interfer-
ence, and


this device must accept any inter-
ference received, including interfer-
ence that may cause undesired
operation of the device.
Any unauthorized modification to this
device could void the user’s authority
to operate the equipment.
Warning!
G
Distronic cannot take street and traffic con-
ditions into account. Only use Distronic if
the weather, road, and traffic conditions
make it advisable to travel at a steady
speed.
Warning!
G
Use of Distronic can be dangerous on slip-
pery roads. Rapid changes in tire traction
can result in wheel spin and loss of control.
Distronic does not act upon adverse sight
distance conditions. Do not use Distronic
during conditions of fog and heavy rain,
snow or sleet.Warning!
G
Close attention to road and traffic condi-
tions is imperative at all times, regardless of
whether or not Distronic is activated.
Use of Distronic can be dangerous on wind-
ing roads or in heavy traffic because condi-
tions do not allow safe driving at a steady
speed.
Distronic will not react to stationary objects
in the roadway (e.g. a stopped vehicle in a
traffic jam or a disabled vehicle). Distronic
will also not respond to oncoming vehicles.
Switch off Distronic:

when changing from the left to the right
lane if vehicles are moving more slowly
in the left lane


when entering a turn lane or highway off
ramp


in complex driving situations, such as in
highway construction zones
In these situations, Distronic will continue to
maintain the set speed unless deactivated.
Distronic is designed and intended only to
maintain a set speed and keep a set dis-
tance from moving objects in front of it.
Warning!
G
The “Resume” function should only be oper-
ated if the driver is fully aware of the previ-
ously set speed and wishes to resume this
particular preset speed.

225 Controls in detail
Driving systems
The distance warning function on/off but-
ton and thumbwheel for setting distance
are located on the lower part of the front
center console.
1Distance warning function on/off but-
ton
2Thumbwheel for setting distanceIncreasing distance
Increasing the distance setting causes Dis-
tronic to maintain a greater following dis-
tance to the vehicle ahead.

Turn thumbwheel2 towards¯.
Decreasing distance
Decreasing the distance setting causes
Distronic to maintain a shorter following
distance to the vehicle ahead.

Turn thumbwheel2 towards®.Distance warning function
When Distronic is deactivated, this func-
tion will continue to warn you when recog-
nizing a stationary obstacle or a slower
vehicle moving in the vehicle’s path and
the danger of a collision exists:


The distance warning lampl in the
instrument cluster comes on.


An intermittent warning sounds.
If these warnings are issued, you must
brake manually to maintain a safe distance
and avoid a collision with the vehicle
ahead.
When pressing the brake pedal, the warn-
ing sound stops. The warning sound also
stops when the distance to the vehicle
ahead is sufficient again without applying
the brake pedal. In this case the distance
warning lampl also extinguishes.

230 Controls in detailDriving systemsVehicle 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 ¾ in
(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 on the upper part of the front center
console.
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.

232 Controls in detailDriving systemsSuspension for sporty driving style
The setting for sporty driving is selected
when indicator lamp1 is illuminated.
Press button2.
Indicator lamp1 comes on.
Suspension for regular driving style
The setting for regular driving is selected
when indicator lamp1 is off.

Press button2.
Indicator lamp1 goes out. Vehicle level control with ABC*
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 1.4 in
(35 mm).


With decreasing speed, the ride height
is again raised to the selected vehicle
level.Select the level 1 and 2 settings only when
required by current driving conditions.
Otherwise:


Fuel consumption may increase


Handling may be impairediThese height adjustments are so small
that you may not notice any change.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.

253 Controls in detail
Useful features
Heated steering wheel*
The steering wheel heating warms up the
leather area of the steering wheel.
The stalk with the heated steering wheel
switch is on the lower left-hand side of the
steering wheel.
1Switching on
2Indicator lamp
3Switching offSwitching on

Switch on ignition (
page 34).
All the lamps in the instrument cluster
should come on.

Turn switch at the tip of stalk in the di-
rection of arrow1.
The steering wheel is heated. Indicator
lamp2 comes on.
Switching off

Turn switch at the tip of stalk in direc-
tion of arrow3.
The steering wheel heating is turned
off. Indicator lamp2 goes out.
Warning!
G
Never touch the heating element or sides of
the lighter; they are extremely hot. Hold the
knob only.
To avoid possible injury to children sitting in
the rear seat, deactivate the operation of
the rear door windows, see (
page 78). De-
activation of the rear windows also deacti-
vates the lighters.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
iThe steering wheel heating does not
turn off automatically.