77 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Active head restraints
The active head restraints are intended to
offer the driver and front passenger in-
creased protection from head and neck in-
jury. In the event of a rear-end collision,
the active head restraints on the driver’s
and front passenger’s seats are designed
to move forward in the direction of travel,
providing the head with increased support
earlier on in the collision sequence. The ac-
tive head restraints move forward whether
the seat is occupied or not.You cannot remove the active head re-
straint on the driver’s and passenger’s
seats.
For removal of the active head restraints
we recommend that you contact an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.
For information on reseting the activated
active head restraints, see “Resetting acti-
vated head restraints” (
page 430).
For information on head restraint adjust-
ment, see “Seats” (
page 40).
Warning!
G
Only use seat or head restraint covers which
have been tested and approved by
Mercedes-Benz for your vehicle model. Us-
ing other seat or head restraint covers may
interfere with or prevent the activation of
the active head restraints. Contact your au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center for availabil-
ity.
Warning!
G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust head restraint so that the center of
the head restraint supports the back of the
head at eye level. This will reduce the poten-
tial for injury to the head and neck in the
event of an accident or similar situation.
Do not drive the vehicle without the seat
head restraints. Head restraints are intend-
ed to help reduce injuries during an acci-
dent.
83 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
If the 75 indicator lamp is illumi-
nated, the front passenger front air bag is
deactivated and will not be deployed.
If the 75 indicator lamp is not illu-
minated, the front passenger front air bag is
activated and will be deployed:
in the event of certain frontal impacts
if impact exceeds a preset deployment
threshold
independently of the side impact
air bags.
If the front passenger front air bag is
deployed, the rate of inflation will be
influenced by:
the rate of relevant vehicle deceleration
as assessed by the air bag control unit
front passenger’s weight category as
identified by the Occupant Classification
System (OCS).
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 child restraint recom-
mended for the size and weight of the child.
The infant or child restraint must be properly
secured with the vehicle’s seat belt, the seat
belt and top tether strap, or lower anchors
and top tether strap, fully in accordance
with the child seat manufacturer’s instruc-
tions.
Children can be killed or seriously injured by
an inflating air bag. Note the following im-
portant information when circumstances re-
quire you to place a child in the front
passenger seat:
Your vehicle is equipped with air bag
technology designed to turn off the front
passenger front air bag in your vehicle
when the system senses the weight of a
typical 12-month-old child or less along
with the weight of a standard appropri-
ate child restraint on the front passen-
ger seat.
A child in a rear-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat will be serious-
ly injured or even killed if the front pas-
senger front air bag inflates in a collision
which could occur under some circum-
stances, even with the air bag technolo-
gy installed in your vehicle. The only
means to completely eliminate this risk
is to never place a child in a rear-facing
child restraint in the front seat. We
therefore strongly recommend that you
always place a child in a rear-facing
child restraint in the back seat.
129 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Automatic central locking
The doors and the trunk automatically lock
when the ignition is switched on and the
wheels are turning at vehicle speeds of ap-
proximately 9mph (15km/h) or more.
You can open a locked door from the in-
side. Open door only when conditions are
safe to do so.For more information on towing the vehi-
cle, see the “Practical hints” section
(
page 457).
You can deactivate the automatic locking
mode using the control system
(page 174).
Locking and unlocking from the inside
You can lock or unlock the doors and the
trunk from inside using the central locking
switch. This can be useful, for example, if
you want to lock the vehicle before starting
to drive.
The fuel filler flap cannot be locked or un-
locked with the central locking switch.
iThe doors unlock automatically after an
accident if the force of the impact ex-
ceeds a preset threshold.
The vehicle automatically locks when
the ignition is switched on and the
wheels are turning at vehicle speeds of
approximately 9 mph (15 km/h) or
more. You could therefore lock yourself
out when the vehicle
is pushed or towed
is on a test stand
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.
150 Controls in detailInstrument clusterA full view illustration of the instrument
cluster can be found in the “At a glance”
section of this manual (
page 24).
1Reset button
The instrument cluster is activated when
you
open a door
switch on the ignition (
page 36)
press the reset button1
switch on the exterior lamps
You can modify the instrument cluster set-
tings in the instrument cluster submenu of
the control system (
page 166).
Instrument cluster illumination
Use the reset button1 to adjust the illu-
mination brightness for the instrument
cluster.
Warning!
G
If the instrument cluster or the multifunction
display, or both, are inoperative or malfunc-
tioning, warning messages will not be re-
layed when potential danger exists. This
may cause you and others to be unaware of
certain risks and/or personal injury.
Contact the nearest authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as possible.
iThe instrument cluster illumination is
dimmed or brightened automatically to
suit ambient light conditions.
The instrument cluster illumination will
also be adjusted automatically when
you switch on the vehicle’s exterior
lamps.
151 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
To brighten illumination
Turn the reset button1 in the instru-
ment cluster clockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
brighten.
To dim illumination
Turn the reset button1 in the instru-
ment cluster counterclockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
dim.
Coolant temperature indicator
During severe operating conditions, e.g.
stop-and-go traffic, the coolant tempera-
ture may rise close to 248°F (120°C).
The engine should not be operated with
the coolant temperature above 248°F
(120°C). Doing so may cause serious en-
gine damage which is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Trip odometer
Make sure you are viewing the trip odome-
ter display (
page 153).
If it is not displayed, press button è
or ÿ repeatedly until the trip
odometer appears.
Press and hold the reset button1
(page 150) until the trip odometer is
reset.
Warning!
G
Driving when your engine is overheated
can cause some fluids which may have
leaked into the engine compartment to
catch fire. You could be seriously
burned.
Steam from an overheated engine can
cause serious burns and can occur just
by opening the hood. Stay away from
the engine if you see or hear steam com-
ing from it.
Turn off the engine, get out of the vehicle
and do not stand near the vehicle until the
engine has cooled down.
iExcessive coolant temperature trigger
a warning in the multifunction display
(page 379).
158 Controls in detailControl system
Menu5
Menu6
Menu7
Menu8
Vehicle status message
memory
1
1The vehicle status message memory menu is only displayed if there is a message stored.
Settings
Trip computer
TEL*
(page 162)
(page 163)
(page 178)
(page 180)
Commands/submenusCall up vehicle malfunction,
warning and system status mes-
sages stored in memory
Reset to factory settings
Fuel consumption statistics after
start
Load phone book
Instrument cluster submenu
Fuel consumption statistics since
the last reset
Search for name in phone
book
Time/Date submenu
Call up range
Lighting submenuVehicle submenuConvenience submenuDynamic seat* submenu
iThe headings used in the menus table
are designed to facilitate navigation
within the system and are not neces-
sarily identical to those shown in the
control system displays.
The first function displayed in each
menu will automatically show you
which part of the system you are in.
160 Controls in detailControl systemSelect satellite radio station*
(USA only)
The satellite radio is treated as a radio ap-
plication.
Select SAT radio with the correspond-
ing softkey in the radio menu.
1SAT mode and preset number
2Setting for station selection using
memory
3Channel name or number
Press buttonk orj repeatedly
until the desired channel is found.Operate the CD player
Turn on COMAND and select CD. Refer
to separate COMAND operating in-
structions.
Press buttonè orÿ repeatedly
until the settings for the CD currently
being played appear in the multifunc-
tion display.
1Current CD (for CD changer*)
2Current track
Press buttonk orj repeatedly
until the desired track is selected.
iYou can only store new stations using
the corresponding feature on the radio,
see separate operating instructions.
You can also operate the radio in the
usual manner.
iAdditional optional satellite radio
equipment and a subscription to satel-
lite radio service provider are required
for satellite radio operation. Contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center for
details and availability for your vehicle.
For more information, refer to separate
COMAND operating instructions.
iTo select a CD from the magazine,
press a number on the COMAND
system key pad located in the center
console.
161 Controls in detail
Control system
NAV* menu
The
NAV
menu contains the functions
needed to operate your navigation system.
Press buttonè orÿ repeatedly
until you see the message
NAV
in the
multifunction display.
If COMAND is switched off, the mes-
sage
NAV off
appears in the multifunc-
tion display.
With COMAND switched on but route
guidance not activated, the direction of
travel and, if available, the name of the
street currently traveled on appear in
the multifunction display.
With COMAND switched on and route
guidance activated, the direction of
travel and maneuver instructions ap-
pear in the multifunction display.
Please refer to the COMAND manual for in-
structions on how to activate the route
guidance system.
Distronic* menu
Use the Distronic menu to display the cur-
rent settings for your Distronic system.
What information is shown in the multi-
function display depends on whether the
Distronic system is active or inactive.
Please refer to the “Driving systems” sec-
tion of this manual (
page 247) for in-
structions on how to activate Distronic.
Press buttonè orÿ repeatedly
until you see one of the following two
pictures in the multifunction display.Distronic deactivated
When Distronic is deactivated, you will see
the standard display in the multifunction
display.
1Vehicle ahead, if detected
2Actual distance to vehicle ahead
3Preset distance threshold to vehicle
ahead
4Your vehicle
5Symbol for activated distance warning
function