
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
65n
Manual transmission Automatic transmission with Steptronic
*
Reverse Select only when the vehicle is station-
ary. Press the gearshift lever to the left
to overcome the resistance.
As you do this, the backup lamps will
turn on automatically when the ignition
key is in position 2.
In addition to fully automatic operation,
you can also manually shift with the
Steptronic, refer to page67.
Under normal operating conditions, fuel
consumption is lowest when driving in
position D.
530us238
Selector lever positions
P R N D M/S
The transmission range display varies in
accordance with the equipment of your
vehicle.
Starting engine The engine can only be started in the
selector lever position Park or Neutral. 530us239

66n
Automatic transmission with Steptronic
*
Range selection >The selector lever can be moved out
of the P position with the ignition
switched on or the engine running:
interlock
>With the vehicle stationary, press the
footbrake before shifting out of P
or N, otherwise, the selector lever is
blocked: shiftlock.
Keep the brake pedal pressed down
until you start off. The vehicle will oth-
erwise creep when a drive position is
engaged.A lock prevents accidentally shifting
into the selector lever positions R
and P. To deactivate the lock, press
the button on the front of the selector
lever knob, refer to arrow.
P Park Select only when the vehicle is station-
ary. The transmission locks to prevent
the rear wheels from turning.R Reverse Select only when the vehicle is station-
ary. N Neutral, idle For example, engage in automatic car
washes. The vehicle can roll.530de263
D Drive, automatic driving
positionThis position is designed for driving
under all normal operating conditions.
All forward gears are available. Kick-down The kick-down mode provides maxi-
mum acceleration.
Depress the accelerator pedal past the
increased resistance point at the full-
throttle position.

OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
67n
Automatic transmission with Steptronic
*
Sport Program and manual
operation M/S Shift selector lever from position D
toward the left into the shifting slot M/S:
the Sport Program is activated and D S
appears in the instrument cluster. This
position is recommended for a perfor-
mance-oriented driving style.
Briefly pressing the selector lever
toward the front or rear activates man-
ual operation and Steptronic changes
gears. The following display appears in
the instrument cluster, depending on
the model:
>1 to 5 or 1 to 6
>M1 to M5 or M1 to M6. 530de264
Upshifts and downshifts are executed
only when they will result in a plausible
combination of engine and vehicle
speed; thus, for example, a downshift
that would cause the engine to overrev
will not be executed by the system. The
gear selected will appear briefly in the
instrument cluster and then the current
gear will reappear.
To return to automatic mode, move the
selector lever toward the right into posi-
tion D.
Malfunction
The warning lamp lights up or
the message TRANS.FAILSAFE
PROG appears in the Check
Control. A malfunction has occurred in
the transmission system. Avoid heavy
loads.
Bring the vehicle to a stop. Move the
transmission selector lever to P. Set the
parking brake and switch the engine off
by turning the ignition key to position 0.
Wait a few seconds, then start the
engine.
If the indicator lamp goes out after a
few seconds, normal transmission per-
formance has been restored. You may
continue to drive as usual. If the indica-
tor lamp does not go out, you can place
the selector lever in all positions, but
the vehicle will now only drive forward
with limited gear selection.
Have the system checked as soon as
possible.
Information on jump starting, tow-
starting and towing begins on
page174.

OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
69n
Washer/wiper system/rain sensor
*
0 Wipers retracted
1 Intermittent mode or rain sensor
2Normal wipe
3Fast wipe
4Brief wipe
5 Windshield washing
6 Special wash program
*
7 Knurled wheel for control of the wipe
interval or the sensitivity of the rain
sensor530de324
Fold-out positionThe left wiper is partially concealed by
the hood. To bring the wipers to roughly
a vertical position, which is important
when changing the wiper blades or
when folding the wipers out during
frosty weather, for example, proceed as
follows:
>With the lever in position 1, switch off
the ignition as soon as the wipers
come to a stop.
If equipped with a rain sensor:
1. Switch on the wipers with the lever in
position 1, 2 or 4
2. When the wipers are roughly vertical,
switch the ignition off.
For changing the wiper blades, refer to
page160.
Fold the wipers back down onto
the windshield before you turn the
ignition key to position 1 or 2 again. If
you do not, they could be damaged.<
Intermittent mode Not provided in vehicles with rain sen-
sor.
You can set the wipe interval to four
stages with the knurled wheel 7.
In addition, the wipe interval is varied
automatically depending on road
speed. Rain sensor The rain sensor automatically controls
the wiper operation as a function of the
rain intensity. It is located on the wind-
shield, directly in front of the interior
rearview mirror.
To activate the rain sensor:
Move the lever to position 1 as of igni-
tion key position 1. The wipers travel
once across the windshield, regardless
of the weather conditions.
You can leave the lever permanently in
position 1. It is then only necessary to
activate the rain sensor as of ignition
key position 1.
To do this, turn the knurled wheel 7
briefly.

70n
Washer/wiper system/rain sensor
*
To adjust the sensitivity of the rain
sensor:
Turn the knurled wheel 7.
To deactivate the rain sensor:
Move the lever to position 0.
Deactivate the rain sensor when
passing through an automatic car
wash. Failure to do so could result in
damage caused by undesired wiper
activation.< Normal wipe The system switches automatically to
intermittent mode when the vehicle is
stationary, not on vehicles with rain
sensor. Fast wipe The wipers operate at normal speed
when the vehicle is not moving, not on
vehicles with rain sensor. Windshield washing The system sprays washer fluid against
the windshield and activates the wipers
for a brief period.
Special wash program
*
As with 5; several additional wash
cycles are carried out and the head-
lamps are cleaned
*.
This program is recommended after you
have driven on extremely dirty roads.
Headlamp washing
*
>With the special wash program 6
>At appropriate intervals, the head-
lamps will also be cleaned upon actu-
ation of the windshield washer func-
tion 5 while the vehicle's headlamps
are switched on.
Do not use the washers if there
is any danger that the fluid will
freeze on the windshield. If you do so,
your vision could be obscured. Use
antifreeze to prevent this, refer to
page152.
Do not actuate washer systems when
the fluid reservoir is empty, otherwise,
the washer pump will be damaged.<
Windshield washer nozzles The windshield washer jets are heated
automatically when the ignition key is in
position 2.

72n
Cruise control* Activating system As of ignition key position 2:
Press the button; the indicator lamp in
the instrument cluster comes on, refer
to page22. Cruise control is ready to
use.Deactivating systemPress the button repeatedly until the
indicator lamp in the instrument cluster
goes out.
The cruise control is also deactivated
when the ignition key is turned to posi-
tion 0.
The speed stored in the memory is
deleted.Maintaining and storing speed or
accelerating Briefly press button
+:
The system maintains and stores the
current vehicle speed. Every time you
briefly press the button, the speed
increases by approx. 0.6 mph/1 km/h.
Press and hold button
+:
The vehicle accelerates without pres-
sure on the accelerator pedal. When
you release the button, the system
maintains and stores the current speed.
On downhill grades, the controlled
speed can be exceeded if the engine's
braking action is insufficient. Speed can
drop on uphill grades if the engine out-
put is insufficient.
DecelerationBriefly press button
–:
When cruise control is active, every
brief touch of the button reduces the
speed by approx. 0.6 mph/1 km/h.
Press and hold button –:
With the cruise control active, the sys-
tem automatically reduces the throttle
opening to slow the vehicle. When you
release the button, the system main-
tains and stores the current speed.
Interrupting cruise control When the system is activated, press
button 1. The indicator lamp stays on.
You can use the cruise control again
whenever required by resuming the
speed that was stored last.
In addition, cruise control is interrupted
automatically:
>When you apply pressure to the
brake pedal
>When you apply pressure to the
clutch pedal or when you move the
automatic transmission selector lever
from Drive to Neutral
>If you exceed or fall below the con-
trolled speed for an extended period,
by depressing the accelerator, for
example
>When DSC Dynamic Stability Control
is active.Resuming stored setting Press the button:
The vehicle accelerates to and main-
tains the last speed stored.

73n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
1Odometer
2 Trip odometer
3 Outside temperature displayOdometer You can activate the displays shown in
the illustration with the ignition key in
position 0 by pressing the button in the
instrument cluster, refer to arrow.
The range of available displays varies
according to your individual vehicle's
equipment.Trip odometer To reset the trip odometer to zero,
press the button, refer to arrow, with
the ignition key in position 1 or 2. 530us253
Outside temperature display The outside temperature appears on
the display as of ignition key position 1.
You can change the units of measure
7/6 by
1. pressing and holding down the but-
ton, refer to arrow, with the ignition
key in position 1 and
2. then turning the ignition key to 0.
At the same time the units of mea-
surement in the temperature display
of the automatic climate control will
be changed, refer to page107.
Refer also to page80.
Outside temperature warning If the display drops to approx. +37.57/
+36, a signal sounds as a warning and
the display flashes for a brief period.
There is an increased danger of ice.
Even at temperatures above
+37.57/+36 ice can form.
Therefore, drive carefully, e.g. on
bridges and sections of road in the
shade, as otherwise there is an
increased accident risk.<
Odometer, outside temperature display

75n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Engine oil temperature gauge Fuel gauge X5 4.8is The general operating temperature lies
between 1767/806 and 2487/
1206. Do not exceed the maximum
value of 3027/1506.530us232
If the LED comes on and stays on, there
are approx.
>2.0 gal./8 liters, 6-cylinder engine
>2.5 gal./10 liters, 8-cylinder engine
of fuel still in the tank.
Tank capacity: approx. 24.6 gal./
93 liters.
If the tilt of the vehicle varies, when you
are driving in mountainous areas, for
example, the indicator may fluctuate
slightly.
Refuel well before the tank is
empty, otherwise engine functions
will not be ensured. Damage can occur
if you drive down to the last drop.<
When you switch on the ignition, the
LED lights up briefly to confirm that the
system is operational.390us006