Page 53 of 474

51 Getting started
Driving
Once the vehicle is in motion, the automat-
ic central locking system engages and the 
locking knobs drop down.
After a cold start, the transmission engag-
es at a higher revolution. This allows the 
catalytic converter to reach its operating 
temperature earlier.
Switching on headlamps
Low beam headlamps
The exterior lamp switch is located on the 
dashboard to the left of the steering wheel.Exterior lamp switch1Off
2Low beam headlamps on
Turn the exterior lamp switch to 
position B.
The low beam headlamps come on.
!If you hear a warning signal when driv-
ing off, you have forgotten to release 
the parking brake. 
Release the parking brake.!Do not run cold engine at high engine 
speed. Running a cold engine at high 
engine speed may shorten the service 
life of the engine.
!Simultaneously depressing the acceler-
ator pedal and applying the brake re-
duces engine performance and causes 
premature brake and drivetrain wear.iYou can open a locked door from the 
inside. Open door only when conditions 
are safe to do so.
You can deactivate the automatic lock-
ing using the control system 
(page 156). 
     
        
        Page 54 of 474
52 Getting startedDrivingHigh beam
The combination switch is located on the 
left of the steering column.Combination switch1High beam
2High beam flasher
Push the combination switch in direc-
tion of arrow 1.
The high beam headlamps come on.
The high beam headlamp indicator 
A in the instrument cluster comes 
on (
page 27).
For more information, see “Lighting” 
(
page 123).
Turn signals
The combination switch is located on the 
left of the steering column.Combination switch1Turn signals, right
2Turn signals, left
Press the combination switch in direc-
tion of arrow1 or2.
The corresponding turn signal indicator 
lampKorLin the instrument 
cluster flashes (
page 25).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 point of resis-
tance and release. The corresponding 
turn signals will flash three times. 
     
        
        Page 60 of 474

58 Getting startedParking and lockingTurning off the engine
Place the gear selector lever in 
positionP.
Turning off with the SmartKey
Turn the SmartKey in the starter switch 
(page 36) to position0 and remove 
it.
Press the seat belt release button 
(page 45).
Allow the retractor to completely re-
wind the seat belt by guiding the latch 
plate.
After exiting the vehicle, press the lock 
button‹on the SmartKey 
(page 34).
All turn signal lamps flash three times. 
The locking knobs on the doors move 
down. The anti-theft alarm system is 
armed.
iAlways set the parking brake in addi-
tion to shifting to positionP.
On slopes, turn the front wheels to-
wards the road curb. iThe immobilizer is activated.iThe SmartKey can only be removed 
from the starter switch with the gear 
selector lever in positionP.
iWith the SmartKey removed and the 
driver’s door open, a warning sounds if 
the vehicle’s exterior lamps are not 
switched off.iOpening a door causes the windows on 
that side of the car to open slightly. 
They will return to the up position when 
the door is closed.
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always 
keep hands and fingers away from the door 
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are 
around.
Before closing doors, make sure that there 
is no possibility of someone getting caught 
in a door during closing. 
     
        
        Page 61 of 474

59 Getting started
Parking and locking
For more information, see “Locking and 
unlocking” (
page 94).Turning off with KEYLESS-GO* 
Place the gear selector lever inP.
Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop but-
ton to shut off the engine.
With the driver’s door closed, the start-
er switch is now in position1. With the 
driver’s door opened, the starter switch 
is set to position0, same as SmartKey 
removed from starter switch 
(page 36). 
Press the seat belt release button 
(page 45).
Allow the retractor to completely re-
wind the seat belt by guiding the latch 
plate.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the 
SmartKey from the starter switch, take it 
with you, and lock the vehicle. Do not leave 
children unattended in the vehicle, or with 
access to an unlocked vehicle. Unsuper-
vised use of vehicle equipment may cause 
an accident and/or serious personal injury.
iIf you hear a warning signal you have 
either
forgotten to turn off the lights be-
fore opening the driver’s door
or
tried to turn off the engine while the 
gear selector lever is not inP 
Turn off the lights or place the gear se-
lector lever inP.
iOpening a door causes the windows on 
that side of the car to open slightly. 
They will return to the up position when 
the door is closed. 
     
        
        Page 62 of 474

60 Getting startedParking and locking1Lock button on the door handle
After exiting the vehicle, press lock 
button1 on the door handle or the 
lock button on the trunk lid 
(page 104).
All turn signal lamps flash three times. 
The locking knobs on the doors move 
down. The anti-theft alarm system is 
armed.
For more information, see “Locking and 
unlocking” (
page 94).
Emergency engine shut-down
If the engine cannot be turned off as de-
scribed, you may use the following backup 
procedure.
Open the main fuse box (
page 412).
Pull out the two fuses labeled “ENGINE 
EMERGENCY STOP”.
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always 
keep hands and fingers away from the door 
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are 
around.
Before closing doors, make sure that there 
is no possibility of someone getting caught 
in a door during closing.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the 
SmartKey or the SmartKey with 
KEYLESS-GO* from the starter switch, take 
it with you, and lock the vehicle. Do not 
leave children unattended in the vehicle, or 
with access to an unlocked vehicle. Unsu-
pervised use of vehicle equipment may 
cause an accident and/or serious personal 
injury. 
     
        
        Page 91 of 474

89 Safety and Security
Anti-theft systems
The alarm system will also be triggered 
when 
someone attempts to raise the vehicle
unlocking and opening the driver’s 
door with the mechanical key
someone opens a door from the inside 
if the vehicle was locked from the out-
side with the SmartKey
someone opens the trunk lid with the 
emergency release buttonArming the alarm system
The alarm system is armed after locking 
the vehicle with the SmartKey or 
KEYLESS-GO*. The turn signal lamps flash 
three times to indicate that the alarm sys-
tem is activated. The ‹indicator lamp 
in the central locking switch (
page 29) 
begins to flash after arming the alarm sys-
tem.Disarming the alarm system
The alarm system is disarmed when you 
unlock your vehicle with the SmartKey or 
KEYLESS-GO*. The turn signal lamps flash 
once to indicate that the alarm system is 
deactivated.
iIf the alarm stays on for more than 
30 seconds, a call to the Response 
Center is initiated automatically by the 
Tele Aid system (
page 239) provided 
Tele Aid service was subscribed to and 
properly activated, and that necessary 
cellular service and GPS coverage are 
available.
iIf the turn signal lamps do not flash 
three times, a door or the trunk lid may 
not be properly closed.
Close the respective element and lock 
the vehicle again.
iThe alarm system will rearm automati-
cally again after approximately 40 sec-
onds if no door was opened. 
     
        
        Page 98 of 474

96 Controls in detailLocking and unlocking
Factory setting
Global unlocking
Press button Œ.
All turn signals flash once. The locking 
knobs in the doors move up. The 
anti-theft alarm system is disarmed.
The vehicle will lock again automatically 
within approximately 40 seconds of un-
locking if:
neither door nor trunk is opened
the SmartKey is not inserted in the 
starter switch
the central locking switch is not acti-
vated
Global locking
Press button ‹.
All turn signals flash three times. The 
locking knobs in the doors move down. 
The anti-theft alarm system is armed.Selective setting
If you frequently travel alone, you may wish 
to reprogram the SmartKey so that 
pressingŒ only unlocks the driver’s 
door, interior lockable storage compart-
ments and the fuel filler flap.
Press and hold buttons Œ and ‹ 
simultaneously for about six seconds 
until battery check lamp5 flashes 
twice.
The SmartKey will then function as fol-
lows:
Unlocking driver’s door and fuel filler 
flap
Press button Œ once.
All turn signals flash once. The locking 
knob in the driver’s door moves up. 
The anti-theft alarm system is disarmed.
iCanada only: 
This device complies with RSS-210 of 
Industry Canada. Operation is subject 
to the following two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause interfer-
ence, and
(2) this device must accept any inter-
ference received, including interfer-
ence that may cause undesired 
operation undesired operation of 
the device.
Any unauthorized modification to this 
device could void the user’s authority 
to operate the equipment.iYou can also open and close the power 
windows (
page 193) and the retract-
able hardtop using the SmartKey 
(
page 200). 
     
        
        Page 99 of 474

97 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Global unlocking
Press button Œ twice.
All turn signals flash once. The locking 
knobs in the doors move up. The anti-theft 
alarm system is disarmed.
Global locking
Press button ‹.
All turn signals flash three times. The lock-
ing knobs in the doors move down. 
The anti-theft alarm system is armed.
Restoring to factory setting
Press and hold buttons Œ and ‹ 
simultaneously for about six seconds 
until battery check lamp5 
(page 94) flashes twice.Checking the batteries
Press button ‹ or Œ.
Battery check lamp5 (
page 94) 
comes on briefly to indicate that the 
SmartKey batteries are in order.
!If you can no longer lock or unlock the 
vehicle with the SmartKey, then the 
batteries in the SmartKey are dis-
charged, the SmartKey is malfunction-
ing or the vehicle battery is drained.
Check the batteries in the 
SmartKey (
page 97) and replace 
them if necessary (
page 377).
Use the mechanical key to unlock 
the driver’s door (
page 374).
Have the vehicle batteries and their 
connections checked 
(page 401).
Use the mechanical key to lock or 
unlock the doors (
page 376).
If the SmartKey is malfunctioning, con-
tact an authorized Mercedes-Benz 
Center.
iIf battery check lamp5 does not 
come on briefly during check, then the 
SmartKey batteries are discharged.
Replace the batteries (
page 377). 
You can obtain the required batteries 
at any authorized Mercedes-Benz 
Center.
iIf the batteries are checked within sig-
nal range of the vehicle, pressing 
the‹ orŒ button will lock or 
unlock the vehicle accordingly.