2005 MERCEDES-BENZ S CLASS service interval

12 IntroductionOperator’s ManualMaintenance
The Maintenance Booklet describes all the
necessary maintenance work which should
be performed at regular intervals.
Always have the Maintenance Booklet with
you when you take the vehicle to your au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center for ser-
vice. The service advisor will record each
service in the booklet for you.
Roadside Assistance
The Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance
Program provides factory trained technical
help in the event of a breakdown. Calls to
the toll-free Roadside Assistance number
1-800-FOR-MERCedes (in the USA)
1-800-387-0100 (in Canada)
will be answered by Mercedes-Benz
Customer Assistance Representatives
24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
For additional information refer to the
Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance Pro-
gram brochure in your vehicle literature
portfolio.
Change of address or ownership
If you change your address, be sure to
send in the “Change of Address Notice”
found in the Service and Warranty Informa-
tion Booklet, or simply call the
Mercedes-Benz Customer Assistance
Center (in the USA) at
1-800-FOR-MERCedes, or Customer Ser-
vice (in Canada) at 1-800-387-0100. It is in
your own interest that we can contact you
should the need arise.
If you sell your Mercedes, please leave all
literature with the vehicle to make it avail-
able to the next operator.
If you bought this vehicle used, be sure to
send in the “Notice of Purchase of Used
Car” found in the Service and Warranty In-
formation Booklet, or call the
Mercedes-Benz Customer Assistance Cen-
ter (in the USA) at 1-800-FOR-MERCedes,
or Customer Service (in Canada) at
1-800-387-0100.

291 Operation
Engine compartment
Adding engine oil
S 430, S 430 4MATIC, S 500, S 500 4MATIC,
and S 55 AMG1Oil dipstick (S 430, S 500, and
S 55 AMG only)
2Filler cap
Unscrew filler cap2 from filler neck.

Add engine oil as required. Be careful
not to overfill with oil.
Be careful not to spill any oil when adding.
Avoid environmental damage caused by oil
entering the ground or water.

Screw filler cap2 back on filler neck.
S 6001Filler cap
Unscrew filler cap1 from filler neck.

Add engine oil as required. Be careful
not to overfill with oil.
!Only use approved engine oils and oil
filters required for vehicles with Main-
tenance System (U.S. vehicles) or FSS
(Canada vehicles). For a listing of ap-
proved engine oils and oil filters, refer
to the Factory Approved Service Prod-
ucts pamphlet in your vehicle literature
portfolio, or contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Using engine oils and oil filters of spec-
ification other than those expressly re-
quired for the Maintenance System
(U.S. vehicles) or FSS (Canada vehi-
cles), or changing of oil and oil filter at
change intervals longer than those
called for by the Maintenance System
(U.S. vehicles) or FSS (Canada Vehi-
cles) will result in engine damage not
covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited
Warranty.
!Excess oil must be siphoned or drained
off. It could cause damage to the en-
gine and catalytic converter not cov-
ered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited
Warranty.


328 OperationMaintenanceWe strongly recommend that you have
your vehicle serviced by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center, in accordance with
the Maintenance Booklet at the times
called for by the maintenance service indi-
cator display.
Failure to have the vehicle maintained in
accordance with the Maintenance Booklet
and maintenance service indicator at the
designated times /mileage will result in ve-
hicle damage not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
The maintenance service indicator will no-
tify you when your next maintenance ser-
vice is due.Starting approximately one month before
your next maintenance service is due, one
of the following messages will appear in
the multifunction display while you are
driving or when you switch on the ignition
(example service A):
'A' SERVICE IN XXXXX MILES (KM)
'A' SERVICE IN XXX DAYS
'A' SERVICE IN X DAY
'A' SERVICE DUE NOWThe type of maintenance service due is in-
dicated in the multifunction display:9
Basic service (A)
´
Extended service (B)Clearing the maintenance service indi-
cator
The maintenance service indicator is auto-
matically cleared after 30 seconds when
you switch on the ignition or when reach-
ing the maintenance service threshold
while driving. You can also clear it yourself.
Press the reset buttonJ in the instru-
ment cluster (
page 140).
iVehicles equipped with FSS (Flexible
Service System) only (Canada vehi-
cles):
The interval between services depends
on your driving habits. A gentle driving
style, moderate engine speeds and the
avoidance of short-distance trips will
lengthen the interval between services.

431 Technical data
Fuels, coolants, lubricants, etc.
Engine oils
Engine oils are specifically tested for their
suitability in our engines and durability for
our service intervals. Therefore, only use
approved engine oils and oil filters
required for vehicles with Maintenance
System (U.S. vehicles) or FSS (Canada
vehicles). For a listing of approved engine
oils and oil filters, refer to the Factory
Approved Service Products pamphlet, or
contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
Using engine oils and oil filters of
specification other than those expressly
required for the Maintenance System
(U.S. vehicles) or FSS (Canada vehicles), or
changing of oil and oil filter at change
intervals longer than those called for by
the Maintenance System (U.S. vehicles) or
FSS (Canada Vehicles) will result in engine
damage not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.Please follow Maintenance System
(U.S. vehicles) or FSS (Canada vehicles)
recommendations for scheduled oil
changes. Failure to do so will result in
engine damage not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Engine oil additives
Do not blend oil additives with engine oil.
They may damage the engine.Damage or
malfunctions resulting from blending oil
additives are not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.Air conditioning refrigerant
R-134a (HFC) refrigerant and special PAG
lubricating oil is used in the air condition-
ing system.Never use R-12 (CFC) or miner-
al-based lubricating oil. Otherwise damage
to the system will occur.
Brake fluid
During vehicle operation, the boiling point
of the brake fluid is continuously reduced
through the absorption of moisture from
the atmosphere. Under extremely strenu-
ous operating conditions, this moisture
content can lead to the formation of bub-
bles in the system, thus reducing the sys-
tem’s efficiency.Therefore, the brake fluid
must be replaced every two years, prefera-
bly in the spring.Only brake fluid approved
by Mercedes-Benz is recommended. Your
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center will pro-
vide you with additional information.

433 Technical data
Fuels, coolants, lubricants, etc.
In areas where carbon deposits may be en-
countered due to lack of availability of gas-
olines which contain these additives,
Mercedes-Benz recommends the use of
additives approved by us for use on
Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Refer to Factory
Approved Service Products Pamphlet for a
listing of approved product(s). Follow di-
rections on product label.
Do not blend any specific fuel additives
with fuel. This only results in unnecessary
cost and may be harmful to the engine op-
eration.
Damage or malfunction resulting from
poor fuel quality or from blending addition-
al fuel additives other than those tested
and approved by us for use on
Mercedes-Benz vehicles listed in the Fac-
tory Approved Service Products Pamphlet
are not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.
Coolants
The engine coolant is a mixture of water
and anticorrosion/antifreeze, which pro-
vides:

Corrosion protection


Freeze protection


Boiling protection (by increasing the
boiling point)
The cooling system was filled at the factory
with a coolant providing freeze protection
to approximately -22°F (-30°C) and corro-
sion protection.
If the antifreeze mixture is effective to
-22°F (-30°C), the boiling point of the cool-
ant in the pressurized cooling system is
reached at approximately 266°F (130°C).The coolant solution must be used
year-round to provide the necessary corro-
sion protection and increase boil-over pro-
tection. Refer to Maintenance Booklet for
replacement interval.
Coolant system design and coolant used
determine the replacement interval. The
replacement interval published in the
Maintenance Booklet is only applicable if
MB 325.0 Anticorrosion/Antifreeze solu-
tion or other Mercedes-Benz approved
products of equal specification (see
Factory Approved Service Products pam-
phlet) are used to renew the coolant con-
centration or bring it back up to the proper
level.
To provide important corrosion protection,
the solution must be at least 45% anticor-
rosion/antifreeze [equivalent to freeze
protection to approximately - 22°F
(-30°C)]. If you use a solution that is more
than 55% anticorrosion/antifreeze [freeze
protection to approximately - 49°F
(-45°C)], the engine temperature will in-
crease due to the lower heat transfer capa-

463 Index
Seating capacity 301
Seats 114
Adjusting 37
Adjusting lumbar support 123
Adjusting shoulder support 123
Easy entry/exit feature 114
Heater 125
Massage function 123
Multicontour backrest* 122
Rear power seat bench* 117
Rear seats 117
Securing cargo
Cargo tie-down hooks 241
Selector lever
Lock 46, 173
Message in display 353
Self-test
BabySmart
TM air bag deactivation
system 74
Tele Aid 256
Service
Major service (Service B) 328
Minor service (Service A) 328
When due 328
Service (maintenance) 328
Service and warranty information 10Service indicator 328
Service life (tires) 297
Service System see FSS 328
Setting
Convenience functions 169
Cruise control 215
Daytime running lamp mode 165
Digital clock 25
Distronic* time interval 224
Following distance in Distronic* 224
Higher speed in cruise control 216
Higher speed in Distronic* 222
Individual vehicle settings 160
Interior illumination delayed
switch-off 167
Lamps and lighting (control
system) 164
Language, multifunction display 164
Locator lighting 166
Lower speed in cruise control 216
Lower speed in Distronic* 223
Miles/kilometers in
speedometer 163Parking position for exterior rear view
mirrors 171
Slower speed in cruise control 216
Slower speed in Distronic* 223
SmartKey dependent memory 169
Speed in Distronic* 222
Speedometer display mode 163
Suspension tuning 231
Temperature (interior) 195
Temperature indicator 163
Tire inflation pressure units 164
To last stored speed (“Resume” func-
tion) in cruise control 216
To last stored speed in Distronic* (“Re-
sume” function) 223
Units
Speedometer 163
Temperature 163
Tire inflation pressure 164
Vehicle level control 230, 232
Setting current speed 215
Setting front passenger seat position from
rear* 118