Contents
Automatic transmission ..................... 173
One-touch gearshifting................. 175
Gear ranges ................................. 176
Gear selector lever position ......... 177
Automatic shift program .............. 179
Driving tips ................................... 180
Steering wheel gearshift control
(Speedshift) S 55 AMG................. 181
Manual shift program S 55 AMG .. 183
Emergency operation
(Limp Home Mode) ...................... 185
Good visibility .................................... 186
Headlamp cleaning system*
(Standard on S 500, S 600,
S 55 AMG).................................... 186
Rear view mirrors ......................... 186
Electrically folding exterior
rear view mirrors .......................... 188
Windshield wipers ........................ 189
Sun visors .................................... 190
Rear window sunshade* .............. 191
Rear door window sunshade* ...... 191Automatic climate control .................. 192
Setting the temperature................ 195
Adjusting air distribution............... 196
Adjusting air volume ..................... 198
Maximum cooling MAXCOOL ........ 198
Defrosting ..................................... 199
Air recirculation mode .................. 199
Charcoal filter ............................... 200
Rear window defroster .................. 201
Deactivating the climate
control system .............................. 202
Air conditioning............................. 202
Residual heat and ventilation ........ 203
Ventilated storage compartment .. 204
Rear passenger compartment
adjustable air vents....................... 204
Rear passenger compartment
climate control* ............................ 205
Power windows .................................. 207
Opening and closing the power
windows........................................ 207
Synchronizing the power
windows........................................ 209
Summer opening feature .............. 209
Convenience closing feature......... 210Power tilt/sliding sunroof .................. 211
Opening and closing the power
tilt/sliding sunroof........................ 211
Synchronizing the power
tilt/sliding sunroof........................ 213
Driving systems .................................. 214
Cruise control ............................... 214
Distronic* ..................................... 217
Airmatic ........................................ 229
Active Body Control (ABC)* .......... 231
Parktronic system*
(Parking assist) ............................. 235
Loading .............................................. 240
Roof rack* .................................... 240
Loading instructions ..................... 241
Cargo tie-down hooks ................... 241
Useful features ................................... 242
Vanity mirrors ............................... 242
Storage compartments ................. 243
Ashtrays........................................ 251
Cigarette lighters .......................... 252
Heated steering wheel* ................ 253
Telephone* ................................... 254
Tele Aid ......................................... 255
Garage door opener ...................... 264
Infrared reflecting windshield ....... 270
ContentsFuels, coolants, lubricants, etc. ......... 429
Capacities .................................... 429
Engine oils .................................... 431
Engine oil additives ...................... 431
Air conditioning refrigerant .......... 431
Brake fluid .................................... 431
Premium unleaded gasoline ......... 432
Fuel requirements ........................ 432
Gasoline additives ........................ 432
Coolants ....................................... 433
Windshield and headlamp
washer system ............................. 436
Technical terms............................... 437Index................................................. 443
11 Introduction
Operator’s Manual
Important notice for California retail
buyers and lessees of Mercedes-Benz automobiles
Under California law you may be entitled to
a replacement of your vehicle or a refund
of the purchase price or lease price, if
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC and/or its au-
thorized repair or service facilities fail to fix
one or more substantial defects or mal-
functions in the vehicle that are covered by
its express warranty after a reasonable
number of repair attempts. During the pe-
riod of 18 months from original delivery of
the vehicle or the accumulation of
18 000 miles (approx. 29 000 km) on the
odometer of the vehicle, whichever occurs
first, a reasonable number of repair at-
tempts is presumed for a retail buyer or
lessee if one or more of the following oc-
curs: (1) the same substantial defect or mal-
function results in a condition that is
likely to cause death or serious bodily
injury if the vehicle is driven, that de-
fect or malfunction has been subject to
repair two or more times, and you have
directly notified Mercedes-Benz USA,
LLC in writing of the need for its repair,
(2) the same substantial defect or mal-
function of a less serious nature than
category (1) has been subject to repair
four or more times and you have direct-
ly notified us in writing of the need for
its repair, or(3) the vehicle is out of service by reason
of repair of the same or different sub-
stantial defects or malfunctions for a
cumulative total of more than
30 calender days.
Written notification should be sent to us,
not a dealer, at Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC,
Customer Assistance Center,
One Mercedes Drive, Montvale,
NJ 07645-0350.
70 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyAutomatic comfort-fit feature seat belt
An automatic comfort-fit feature for front
seats and for the rear outer seats (only for
vehicles with electrically adjustable rear
bench seat* or with individual seats* in the
rear) reduces the retracting force of the
seat belts when they are in normal use.
Preventive occupant safety (PRE-SAFE)
Your vehicle automatically takes preven-
tive measures to better protect the occu-
pants in the following hazardous
situations:
You execute an emergency braking ma-
neuver and the Brake Assist System
(page 81) is activated.
The PRE-SAFE system detects a critical
driving dynamics situation.In such cases, the following systems are
automatically activated:
A front seat belt with the seat belt
buckled is pre-tensioned electrically.
If the occupied front passenger seat or
rear seats are in an unfavorable posi-
tion, they are adjusted to a better posi-
tion. Rear seat adjustment occurs only
in vehicles with individual seats* in the
rear.
The tilt/sliding sunroof closes if the ve-
hicle is in a severe skid or is spinning.
!Do not place objects heavier than
20 lbs (9 kg) on the front passenger
seat. This could cause the front or side
impact air bag on the front passenger
side to deploy in a crash which exceeds
the system's deployment threshold.
Warning
G
The PRE-SAFE system is intended to reduce
the effects of an accident on properly seat
belted vehicle occupants. Despite having
the PRE-SAFE systems in your car, the pos-
sibility of injuries occurring as a result of an
accident cannot be totally eliminated.
Therefore you should always drive carefully
and adjust your driving to the prevailing
road, weather, and traffic conditions.
195 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air en-
ters the passenger compartment through
the air distribution system.
The air conditioning will not engage (no
cooling) if the ± mode is selected
(page 202).
Setting the temperature
Use temperature controls aand8
(page 194) to separately adjust the air
temperature on each side of the passenger
compartment. You should raise or lower
the temperature setting in small incre-
ments, preferably starting at 72°F (22°C).
Increasing/decreasing
Press button a or 8 repeatedly until
the display shows the desired tempera-
ture.
The automatic climate control system
will correspondingly adjust the interior
air temperature.
Warning!
G
Follow the recommended settings for heat-
ing and cooling given on the following pag-
es. Otherwise the windows could fog up,
impairing visibility and endangering you and
others.
iThe current climate control settings
(ON/OFF, temperature, air volume, ac-
tivated charcoal filter, etc.) are stored
for each SmartKey before it is removed
from the starter switch or when the ve-
hicle is locked using the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* (
page 108).
If the vehicle interior is hot, ventilate
the interior before driving off.
Keep the air intake grille in front of the
windshield free of snow, leaves, sticks,
and any other debris.
Do not obstruct air volume by placing
objects on the air volume-through ex-
haust slots below the rear window.
iWhen operating the climate control
system in automatic mode, you will
only rarely need to adjust the tempera-
ture, air volume and air distribution.
197 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Adjusting manually
Press left or right buttonU.
The button emerges and theh,
», d and csymbols become
visible.
Turn the marking on the regulator to
the desired symbol.
The air will be directed to the vents cor-
responding to this symbol.
Adjusting automatically
Press left or right buttonU until it
clicks in.
Theh, », d and
csymbols are no longer visible.
The air distribution is adjusted auto-
matically.Windows fogged on the inside
Press button± to switch on the air
conditioning (
page 194).
The indicator lamp in the button goes
out.
Press button, to switch off the air
recirculation (
page 194).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
Make sure left and right buttonU
emerges.
Theh, », d and
csymbols become visible.
Press left and rightd button.
Set blower to the maximum speed.
Adjust left and right air vents1
and6 upwards (
page 192).
Increase temperature setting.
Open side air vents9 and direct them
onto the side windows (
page 192).
Windshield fogged on the outside
Switch the windshield wipers on
(page 52).
Press on both U buttons until they
click in.
Theh, », d and c sym-
bols are no longer visible.
200 Controls in detailAutomatic climate controlDeactivating
Press button, (
page 194).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.The air recirculation mode is deactivated
automatically:
after five minutes if the outside temper-
ature is below approximately 41°F
(5°C)
after five minutes if the air conditioning
is turned off
after 30 minutes if the outside temper-
ature is above approximately 41°F
(5°C)
At outside temperatures above 79°F
(26°C) the system will not automatically
switch back to outside air. A quantity of
outside air is added after approximately
30 minutes.
Charcoal filter
An activated charcoal filter markedly re-
duces bad odors and removes pollutants
from air entering the passenger compart-
ment.
Activating
Press buttone (
page 194).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
iThe air recirculation mode is activated
automatically:
at high outside temperatures
if the concentration of carbon mon-
oxide and nitrogen oxide in the out-
side air increases beyond a
predetermined level, for example in
a tunnel.
Please note that the charcoal filter
must be activated (
page 200) for the
air recirculation mode to be activated
automatically.
If you have turned off the air condition-
ing (
page 202) or the outside tem-
perature is below 41°F (5°C), the air
recirculation mode will not switch on
automatically.
iIf you keep button, pressed, the
side windows and the tilt/sliding sun-
roof will return to their previous posi-
tion.
iIf you keep buttone pressed, the
side windows and the tilt/sliding sun-
roof will close.
202 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control
Deactivating the climate control sys-tem
Deactivating
It is possible to completely deactivate the
automatic climate control system.
Press button M (
page 194).
The display shows “0”.
Reactivating
There are several ways to reactivate the
automatic climate control system:
Press one of the following buttons,
M, P, U, a temperature con-
trol switch (
page 194) or air volume
switch 9 on the automatic climate
control panel.
Air conditioning
The air conditioning is operational while
the engine is running and cools the interior
air to the temperature set by the operator.
Deactivating
It is possible to deactivate the air condi-
tioning (cooling) function of the automatic
climate control system. The air in the vehi-
cle will then no longer be cooled or dehu-
midified.
Press button± (
page 194).
The indicator lamp on the button±
comes on.
Warning!
G
Any accumulation of snow and ice should be
removed from the rear window before driv-
ing. Visibility could otherwise be impaired,
endangering you and others.!If the rear window defroster switches
off too soon and the indicator lamp
starts flashing, this means that too
many electrical consumers are operat-
ing simultaneously and there is insuffi-
cient voltage in the battery. The system
responds automatically by deactivating
the rear window defroster.
As soon as the battery has sufficient
voltage, the rear window defroster au-
tomatically turns itself back on.
iCondensation may drip out from under-
neath the vehicle. This is normal and
not an indication of a malfunction.