2006 MERCEDES-BENZ E350 4MATIC seats

Contents
Introduction.......................................... 9
Product information ................................ 9
Operator’s Manual ............................... 10
Service and warranty information .. 10
Important notice for California
retail buyers and lessees of
Mercedes-Benz automobiles .......... 11
Maintenance .................................. 12
Roadside Assistance ...................... 12
Change of address or ownership.... 12
Operating your vehicle outside
the USA or Canada......................... 13
Where to find it .................................... 14
Symbols ............................................... 15
Operating safety .................................. 16
Proper use of the vehicle ............... 16
Problems with your vehicle .................. 17
Reporting safety defects...................... 18
Reporting safety defects ................ 18
Vehicle data recording......................... 19
Information regarding electronic
recording devices........................... 19
At a glance.......................................... 21
Cockpit ................................................. 22
Instrument cluster ................................ 24
Multifunction steering wheel ................ 26
Center console ..................................... 27
Upper part ...................................... 27
Lower part ...................................... 28
Overhead control panel ........................ 29
Storage compartments ......................... 30
Door control panel................................ 32
Getting started................................... 33
Unlocking ............................................. 34
Unlocking with the SmartKey ......... 34
Unlocking with KEYLESS-GO*......... 35
Starter switch positions .................. 36
Adjusting .............................................. 40
Seats .............................................. 40
Steering wheel ................................ 42
Mirrors ............................................ 45
Driving .................................................. 47
Fastening the seat belts ................. 47
Starting the engine ......................... 50
Parking brake ................................. 53
Driving ............................................ 53
Switching on headlamps ................. 54
Turn signals .................................... 55
Windshield wipers ........................... 56
Problems while driving.................... 58
Parking and locking .............................. 60
Parking brake ................................. 61
Switching off headlamps................. 62
Turning off engine ........................... 62
Releasing seat belts........................ 63
Locking ........................................... 63

ContentsSafety and Security........................... 65
Occupant safety................................... 66
Air bags .......................................... 67
Seat belts ....................................... 73
Active head restraints .................... 77
Children in the vehicle .................... 78
Blocking of rear door window
operation ........................................ 89
Panic alarm .......................................... 91
Activating ....................................... 91
Deactivating ................................... 91
Driving safety systems ......................... 92
ABS ................................................ 92
BAS ................................................ 94
ESP
®.............................................. 94
Electrohydraulic brake system ....... 97
Four wheel electronic traction
system (4MATIC) with the ESP
®... 100
Anti-theft systems.............................. 101
Immobilizer................................... 101
Anti-theft alarm system ................ 101
Tow-away alarm ........................... 103
Controls in detail............................. 105
Locking and unlocking ....................... 106
SmartKey ..................................... 106
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ...... 111
Opening the doors
from the inside ............................. 119
Opening the trunk ........................ 120
Closing the trunk.......................... 121
Trunk emergency release ............. 127
Valet locking ................................ 128
Automatic central locking ............ 129
Locking and unlocking
from the inside ............................. 129
Seats ................................................ 131
Front seat active head restraints . 131
Rear seat head restraints ............. 131
Lumbar support............................ 133
Drive - Dynamic seat* with
multicontour features................... 134
Seat heating* ............................... 135
Seat ventilation* .......................... 136Memory function ............................... 138
Storing positions into memory ..... 139
Recalling positions from memory . 139
Storing exterior rear view mirror
parking position ........................... 140
Lighting ............................................. 141
Exterior lamp switch .................... 141
Combination switch ..................... 145
Hazard warning flasher ................ 146
Interior lighting in the front .......... 147
Door entry lamps ......................... 148
Interior lighting in the rear ........... 149
Trunk lamp ................................... 149
Instrument cluster ............................. 150
Instrument cluster illumination .... 150
Coolant temperature indicator ..... 151
Trip odometer .............................. 151
Tachometer .................................. 152
Outside temperature indicator ..... 152

40 Getting startedAdjustingSeatsWarning!
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
backrest in an excessively reclined position
as this can be dangerous. You could slide
under 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 47).
Never place hands under the seat or near
any moving parts while a seat is being ad-
justed.
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.
Even with the SmartKey or the SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO* removed from the start-
er switch or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* removed from the vehicle,
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. Unsu-
pervised use of vehicle equipment may
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.
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. Re-
gardless 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 recom-
mended for the size and weight of the child.
For additional information, see “Children in
the vehicle” (
page 78).
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle and
the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint.

41 Getting started
Adjusting
Seat adjustment
The seat adjustment switches are located
on the front doors.
1Head restraint height
2Seat height
3Seat cushion tilt
4Seat fore and aft adjustment
5Backrest tilt
Switch on the ignition (
page 36).
or

Open the respective door.Seat fore and aft adjustment

Press the switch forward or backward
in direction of arrow4.
Adjust a comfortable seating position
that still allows you to reach the accel-
erator/brake pedal safely. The position
should be as far to the rear as possible,
consistent with ability to properly oper-
ate controls.Seat cushion tilt

Press the switch up or down in direc-
tion of arrow3 until your upper legs
are lightly supported.
Backrest tilt

Press the switch forward or backward
in direction of arrow5 until your arms
are slightly angled when holding the
steering wheel.
Seat height

Press the switch up or down in direc-
tion of arrow2.
iThe memory function (
page 138) lets
you store the settings for the seat posi-
tion together with the settings for the
steering wheel and the exterior rear
view mirrors.
!When moving the seat, make sure
there are no items in the footwell or be-
hind the seats. Otherwise you could
damage the seats.

42 Getting startedAdjustingHead restraint height
Press the switch up or down in direc-
tion of arrow1.Head restraint tilt
Manually adjust the angle of the head re-
straint.

Push or pull on the lower edge of the
head restraint cushion.
For more information on seats, see the
“Controls in detail” section (
page 131).
Steering wheel
iAdjust the head restraint in such a way
that it is as close to the head as possi-
ble.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.
iAdjust the head restraint in such a way
that it is as close to the head as possi-
ble.
Warning!
G
Do not adjust the steering wheel while driv-
ing. Adjusting the steering wheel while driv-
ing could cause the driver to lose control of
the vehicle.
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.
Even with the SmartKey or the SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO* removed from the start-
er switch or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* removed from the vehicle,
the steering wheel adjustment feature can
be operated when the driver’s 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.

47 Getting started
Driving
Driving
Fastening the seat beltsWarning!
G
Do not lay any objects in the driver’s foot-
well. Be careful that floor mats or carpets in
the driver’s footwell have sufficient clear-
ance for the pedals.
During sudden driving or braking maneuvers
the objects could get caught between the
pedals. You could then no longer brake or
accelerate.Warning!
G
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure all of your passengers
are properly restrained, even those sitting in
the rear and pregnant women.
Failure to wear and properly fasten and
position your seat belt greatly increases
your risk of injuries and their likely severity
in an accident. You and your passengers
should always wear seat belts.
If you are ever in an accident, your injuries
can be considerably more severe without
your seat belt properly buckled. Without
your seat belt buckled, you are much more
likely to hit the interior of the vehicle or be
ejected from it. You can be seriously injured
or killed.
In the same crash, the possibility of injury or
death is lessened if you are wearing your
seat belt. The air bags can only provide the
protection they were designed to afford if
the occupants are using their seat belts
(page 73).
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.
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 recom-
mended for the size and weight of the child.
For additional information, see “Children in
the vehicle” (
page 78).
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle and
the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint.

49 Getting started
Driving

Place the shoulder portion of the belt
across the top of your shoulder and the
lap portion across your hips.

Push latch plate2 into buckle3 until
it clicks.

If necessary, tighten the lap portion to
a snug fit by pulling shoulder portion
up.
Belt outlet height adjustment
1Release button

Press release button1 and move the
seat belt height adjuster upward or
downward.Proper use of seat belts


Do not twist the belt when fastening.


Adjust seat belt so that the shoulder
portion is located as close as possible
to the middle of the shoulder (it should
not touch the neck). Never pass the
shoulder portion of the belt under your
arm.


Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips (over hip joint) and not
across the abdomen.


Place the seat backrest in a nearly
upright position.


Never use a seat belt for more than one
person at a time.


Do not fasten a seat belt around a
person and another object at the same
time. When using a seat belt to secure
infant or toddler restraints or children
in booster seats, always follow the
child seat manufacturer’s instructions.


Check your seat belt periodically
during travel to make sure that it is
properly positioned.


Make sure that the seat belt is always
fitted snugly. Take special care of this
when wearing loose clothing. Warning!
G
Do not pass belts over sharp edges. They
could tear.
Do not allow the belt to get caught in the
door or in the seat adjustment mechanism.
This could damage the belt.
Never attempt to make modifications to
seat belts. This could impair the effective-
ness of the belts.
Do not bleach or dye seat belts as this may
severely weaken them. In a crash they may
not be able to provide adequate protection.
Damaged seat belts or belts that were highly
stressed in an accident must be replaced.
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.

76 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
Emergency tensioning device (ETD),
seat belt force limiter
The seat belts for the front and rear outer
seats are equipped with emergency ten-
sioning devices and belt force limiters.
The ETD is designed to activate in the fol-
lowing cases:

in frontal or rear-end impacts exceed-
ing a preset severity level


in certain vehicle rollovers


if the restraint systems are operational
and functioning correctly, see
1indicator lamp (
page 66)In an impact, emergency tensioning devic-
es remove slack from the belts. Belt force
limiters reduce the force exerted by the
seat belts on occupants during a crash.
Automatic comfort-fit feature seat belt
An automatic comfort-fit feature for front
seats reduces the retracting force of the
seat belts when they are in normal use.


Pregnant women should also use a
lap-shoulder belt. The lap belt portion
should be positioned as low as possible
on the hips to avoid any possible pres-
sure on the abdomen.


Never place your feet on the instrument
panel, dashboard, or on the seat. Always
keep both feet on the floor in front of the
seat.


When using a seat belt to secure infant
or toddler restraints or children in boost-
er seats, always follow the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions.
iThe ETDs for the front seats will only
activate if the front seat belts are fas-
tened (latch plate properly inserted
into buckle).
The ETDs for the rear outer seats will
activate with or without the respective
seat belts fastened.
Warning!
G
An emergency tensioning device (ETD) that
was activated must be replaced.
When disposing of the emergency tension-
ing device, our safety instructions must be
followed. These are available at your autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.