2006 MERCEDES-BENZ C55AMG ESP

35 Getting started
Adjusting
Adjusting
Seats
The seats can be adjusted electrically.
For more information, see “Seats”
(
page 106).
Warning!G
All seat, head restraint, steering wheel, and
rear view mirror adjustments, as well as fas-
tening of seat belts, must be done before
the vehicle is put into motion.
Warning!G
Do not adjust the driver’s seat while driving.
Adjusting the seat while driving could cause
the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
back in an excessively reclined position as
this can be dangerous. You could slide un-
der the seat belt in a collision. If you slide
under it, the belt would apply force at the ab-
domen or neck. That could cause serious or
fatal injuries. The seat back and seat belts
provide the best restraint when the wearer
is in a nearly upright position and belts are
properly positioned on the body. Your seat
must be adjusted so that you can correctly
fasten your seat belt (
page 42).
Never place hands under the seat or near
any moving parts while a seat is being
adjusted.
Warning!G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take it
with you, and lock the vehicle.
Even with the SmartKey removed from the
starter switch, the power seats* can be
operated when the respective door is open.
Therefore, do not leave children unattended
in the vehicle, or with access to an unlocked
vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehicle equip-
ment may cause an accident and/or serious
personal injury.

36 Getting started
Adjusting
Power seat adjustment
The seat adjustment switches are located
on the respective front door.
1Head restraint height
2Seat height
3Seat cushion tilt
4Seat fore and aft adjustment
5Seat backrest tilt
Switch on the ignition (page 33).
or
Open the respective door.
Seat fore and aft adjustment
Press switch forward or backward in
direction of arrow4.
Adjust seat to a comfortable seating
position that still allows you to reach
the accelerator/brake pedal safely.
The position should be as far rearward
as possible, consistent with ability to
properly operate controls.
Warning!G
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing position. Thus, we strongly recommend
that children be placed in the rear seats
whenever possible. Regardless of seating
position, children 12 years old and under
must be seated and properly secured in an
appropriate infant, or toddler restraint, or
booster seat recommended for the size and
weight of the child. For additional
information, see “Children in the vehicle”
(
page 72).
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle
and/or the child is not properly secured in
the child restraint.
!
When moving the seats, make sure
there are no items in the footwell or
behind the seat. Otherwise you could
damage the seats.
i
The memory function (page 111) lets
you store the settings for the power
seat, the steering wheel adjustment
and the exterior rear view mirrors.

40 Getting started
Adjusting
Mirrors
Adjust the interior and exterior rear view
mirrors before driving so that you have a
good view of the road and traffic condi-
tions.Interior rear view mirror
Manually adjust the interior rear view
mirror.
For more information, see “Rear view mir-
rors” (
page 169).
Exterior rear view mirrors
Warning!G
Let the system complete the adjustment
procedure before setting the vehicle in mo-
tion. All steering wheel adjustments must be
completed before setting the vehicle in mo-
tion. Driving off with the steering wheel still
adjusting could cause the driver to lose con-
trol of the vehicle.
Warning!G
In case of an accident, liquid electrolyte may
escape the mirror housing if the mirror glass
breaks.
Electrolyte has an irritating effect. Do not al-
low the liquid to come into contact with
eyes, skin, clothing, or respiratory system.
In case it does, immediately flush affected
area with water, and seek medical help if
necessary.
!
Electrolyte drops coming into contact
with the vehicle paint finish can only be
completely removed while in their
liquid state and by applying plenty of
water.
Warning!G
Exercise care when using the passen-
ger-side exterior rear view mirror. The mirror
surface is convex (outwardly curved surface
for a wider field of view). Objects in mirror
are closer than they appear. Check your in-
terior rear view mirror or glance over your
shoulder before changing lanes.

49 Getting started
Driving
High beam
The combination switch is located on the
left of the steering column.
Combination switch
1High beam
2High beam flasher
Push combination switch in direction of
arrow1.
The high beam headlamp indicator
lampA in the instrument cluster
comes on (
page 24).
For more information on headlamps, see
“Lighting” (
page 114).
Turn signals
The combination switch is located on the
left of the steering column.
Combination switch
1Turn signals, right
2Turn signals, left
Press combination switch in direction
of arrow1 or2.
The corresponding turn signal indicator
lampL orK in the instrument
cluster flashes (
page 24).
The combination switch resets auto-
matically after major directional
changes.
i
If the combination switch is pressed to
point of resistance the turn signals will
flash three times.

56 Getting started
Parking and locking
Turning off engine
Place the gear selector lever in
positionP.
Turn the SmartKey in the starter switch
to position0.
Remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch.
The immobilizer is activated.
Releasing seat belts
Press the seat belt release button
(
page 43).
Allow the retractor to completely
rewind the seat belt by guiding the
latch plate.
Locking
i
Always set the parking brake in addi-
tion to shifting to positionP.
On slopes, turn the front wheels
towards the road curb.
i
The SmartKey can only be removed
from the starter switch with the gear
selector lever in positionP.
!
M a k e s u r e t h e s e a t b e l t r e t r a c t s f u l l y s o
that the seat belt and/or latch plate
cannot get caught or pinched in the
door or in the seat mechanism. This
can damage the seat belt and impair
the effectiveness of the seat belt,
and/or cause damage to the door
and/or door trim panel. Such damage
is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.
Damaged seat belts must be replaced.
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
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 there is no
possibility of someone getting caught in a
door during closing.
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.

62 Safety and Security
Occupant safety

Adjust the driver seat as far as possible
rearward, still permitting proper opera-
tion of vehicle controls. The distance
from the center of the driver’s breast-
bone to the center of the air bag cover
on the steering wheel must be at least
10 in (25 cm) or more. You should be
able to accomplish this by a combina-
tion of adjustments to the seat and
steering wheel. If you have any prob-
lems, please see an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.

Do not lean with your head or chest
close to the steering wheel or dash-
board.

Keep hands on the outside of steering
wheel rim. Placing hands and arms in-
side the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when driver front air bag inflates.

Adjust the front passenger seat as far as
possible rearward from the dashboard
when the seat is occupied.

Occupants, especially children, should
never place their bodies or lean their
heads in the area of the door or the rear
side trim panel where the front side im-
pact air bag and/or the rear side impact
air bag* inflates. This could result in se-
rious injuries or death should the air bag
be triggered. Always sit nearly upright,
properly use the seat belts and appropri-
ate size infant or child restraint system.

Children 12 years old and under must
never ride in the front seat, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized
BabySmart
TM compatible child seat,
which operates with the BabySmartTM
system installed in the vehicle to deacti-
vate the passenger front air bag when it
is properly installed. Otherwise they will
be struck by the air bag when it inflates
in a crash. If this happens, serious or fa-
tal injury will result.
Failure to follow these instructions can
result in severe injuries to you or other
occupants.
If you sell your vehicle, it is important that
you make the buyer aware of this safety
information. Be sure to give the buyer this
Operator’s Manual.

63 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!G
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in an automobile is in the
rear seat. Should you choose to place a child
12 years old or under in the front passenger
seat of your vehicle, you must properly use
a BabySmart
TM child restraint which will
turn off the passenger front air bag.
BabySmart
TM will not, however, turn off any
side impact air bag (front side impact
air bag and/or rear side impact air bag*).
It should be noted that with respect to both
front side impact air bags and rear side im-
pact air bags* there is a possibility for a side
air bag related injury if occupants, especial-
ly children, are not properly seated or re-
strained when next to a side air bag which
needs to deploy rapidly in a side impact in
order to do its job.
To help avoid the possibility of injury, please
follow these guidelines:
(1) Occupants, especially children, should
never place their bodies or lean their
heads in the area of the door where the
front side impact air bag and/or rear
side impact air bag* inflates. This could
result in serious injuries or death should
the front side impact air bag and/or rear
side impact air bag* be activated.
(2) Always sit nearly upright, properly use
the seat belts and use an appropriately
sized infant or child restraint system for
all children 12 years old or under.
(3) Always wear seat belts properly.
If you believe that, even with the use of
these guidelines, it would be safer for your
rear seat occupants to have both rear door
mounted side air bags* deactivated, then
deactivation can be accomplished upon
your written request to do so at an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center at an additional
cost.Please contact your local authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center or call our Customer
Assistance Center at 1-800-FOR-MERCedes
(1-800-367-6372) for details.
i
Air bags are designed to activate only
in certain frontal impacts (front
air bags) and in side impacts (front side
impact air bags, rear side impact
air bags* and head protection window
curtain air bags) which exceed preset
thresholds.
Only during these types of impacts, if of
sufficient severity to meet the deploy-
ment tresholds, will they provide their
supplemental protection.
The driver and passengers should
always wear their seat belts. Otherwise
it is not possible for air bags to provide
their supplemental protection.

70 Safety and Security
Occupant safety

and the vehicle speed exceeds 15 mph
(25 km/h), the seat belt telltale <
starts flashing and a warning chime
sounds with increasing intensity until
both the driver’s and front passenger’s
seat belt are fastened, or for a maxi-
mum of 60 seconds from the time the
vehicle speed exceeded 15 mph
(25 km/h) if either the driver’s or front
passenger’s seat belt remains unfas-
tened.
If the driver’s or front passenger’s seat
belt remains unfastened after 60 sec-
onds, the seat belt telltale< stops
flashing and the warning chime stops
sounding. The seat belt telltale <
then continues to be illuminated for as
long as either the driver’s or front pas-
senger’s seat belt are not fastened.
The seat belt telltale < will only go out
if both the driver and front passenger’s
seat belt (with the front passenger seat oc-
cupied) are fastened, or the vehicle is
standing still and a front door is opened. For more information on the seat belt
telltale<, see “Practical hints”
(
page 355).
Emergency tensioning device (ETD),
seat belt force limiter
The seat belts for the front and rear outer
seats are equipped with emergency
tensioning devices and belt force limiters.
The ETD is designed to activate in the
following cases:

in frontal or rear-end impacts
exceeding a preset severity level.

if the restraint systems are operational
and functioning correctly.
See 1indicator lamp (
page 60).In an impact, emergency tensioning
devices remove slack from the belts in
such a way that the seat belts fit more
snugly against the body. Belt force limiters
reduce the force exerted by the seat belts
on occupants during a crash.
i
The ETDs for the front seats will only
activate if the respective front seat belt
is fastened (latch plate properly
inserted into buckle).
The ETDs for the rear outer seats will
activate with or without the respective
seat belt fastened.
Warning!G
An emergency tensioning device (ETD) that
was activated must be replaced.
When scrapping the emergency tensioning
device, our safety instructions must be
followed. These are available at your
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.