2006 MERCEDES-BENZ E350 Control system

186 Controls in detailAutomatic transmission
Driving tips
Accelerator position
Your driving style influences the
transmission’s shifting behavior:
Less throttle Earlier upshifting
More throttle Later upshifting
Kickdown
Use kickdown when you want maximum
acceleration.
Press the accelerator past the point of
resistance.
The transmission shifts into a lower
gear.

Ease on the accelerator when you have
reached the desired speed.
The transmission shifts up again.
!Coasting the vehicle, or driving for any
other reason with gear selector lever
inN can result in transmission damage
that is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.Warning!
G
Getting out of your vehicle with the gear
selector lever not fully engaged in positionP
is dangerous. Also, positionP alone is not
intended to or capable of preventing your
vehicle from moving, possibly hitting people
or objects.
Always set the parking brake in addition to
shifting to positionP (
page 61).
When parked on an incline, turn the front
wheels towards the road curb.
Do not park this vehicle in areas where com-
bustible materials such as grass, hay or
leaves can come into contact with the hot
exhaust system, as these materials could be
ignited and cause a vehicle fire.
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
w i t h a c c e s s t o a n u n l o c k e d v e h i c l e . C h i l d r e n
could move the gear selector lever from
positionP, which could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.

193 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
Manual shift program E 55 AMG
In addition to the automatic shift
programC orS, your vehicle is equipped
with the manual shift programM.
In the manual program modeM,
system-controlled automatic gearshifting
is switched off and you need to change the
gears by manually upshifting or downshift-
ing using the steering wheel gearshift but-
tons to the left and right of the steering
wheel (
page 191) or the gear selector
lever.The program mode selector switch is
located on the lower part of the center
console.
1Program mode selector switch
M Manual For manual gear shifting
C Comfort For comfort driving
S Sport For standard driving
!Allow engine to warm up under low
load use. Do not place full load on the
engine until the operating temperature
has been reached.
Shift into reverse gearR or parking
positionP only when the vehicle is
stopped.
Avoid spinning of a drive wheel for an
extended period when driving off on
slippery road surfaces. This may cause
serious damage to the drivetrain which
is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.

197 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Good visibility
For information on windshield wipers, see
“Windshield wipers” (
page 56).
Headlamp cleaning system*
The button is located on the left side of the
dashboard.
1Headlamp washer button
Switch on the ignition (
page 36).

Press button1.
The headlamps are cleaned with a
high-pressure water jet.For more information on filling up the
washer reservoir, see “Windshield washer
system and headlamp cleaning system*”
(
page 327).
Rear view mirrors
For more information on setting the rear
view mirrors, see “Mirrors” (
page 45).
Auto-dimming mirrors
The reflection brightness of the exterior
rear view mirror on the driver’s side and
the interior rear view mirror will respond
automatically to glare when


the ignition is switched on
and


incoming light from headlamps falls on
the sensor in the interior rear view mir-
ror.
The rear view mirrors will not react if


reverse gear is engaged


the interior lighting is turned on
iThe headlamps will automatically be
cleaned when you have

switched on the headlamps
and


operated the windshield wipers
with windshield washer fluid
fifteen times
When you switch off the ignition, the
counter resets.

198 Controls in detailGood visibility
Activating exterior rear view mirror
parking position
Follow these steps to activate the mirror
parking position so that the passen-
ger-side exterior rear view mirror will be
turned downward to the stored position.
The buttons are located on the driver’s
door.
1Driver’s side exterior rear view mirror
button
2Passenger-side exterior rear view
mirror button
Make sure you have stored a parking
position for the passenger-side exterior
rear view mirror (
page 140).
Warning!
G
The auto-dimming function does not react if
incoming light is not aimed directly at sen-
sors in the interior rear view mirror.
The interior rear view mirror and the exterior
rear view mirror on the driver’s side do not
react, for example, if the rear window sun-
shade* is in raised position.
Glare can endanger you and others.Warning!
G
In case of an accident, liquid electrolyte may
escape from 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 be
completely removed only while in the
liquid state by applying plenty of water.Warning!
G
Exercise care when using the
passenger-side exterior rear view mirror.
The mirror surface is convex (outwardly
curved surface for a wider field of view). Ob-
jects in mirror are closer than they appear.
Check your interior rear view mirror or
glance over your shoulder before changing
lanes.

199 Controls in detail
Good visibility

Make sure the
Mirror adjustment
parking aid function in the
Conve-
nience
submenu of the control system
is switched to
on (page 176).

Switch on the ignition (
page 36).

Press button2 for the passenger-side
exterior rear view mirror.

Place the gear selector lever in reverse
gearR.
The passenger-side exterior rear view
mirror will be turned downward to the
stored position.
The exterior rear view mirror returns to its
previously stored driving position:


10 seconds after you put the gear se-
lector lever out of positionR


immediately once your vehicle exceeds
a speed of approximately 6 mph
(10 km/h)


immediately when you press button1
for driver’s side mirror.
Sun visors
The sun visors protect you from sun glare
while driving.
Swing sun visor1 down when you ex-
perience glare.1Sun visor
2Mirror cover
3Mirror lamp
4Mounting
5Vanity mirror

To use the vanity mirror 5, lift up the
mirror cover2.
Warning!
G
Do not use the vanity mirror while driving.
Keep the mirrors in the sun visors closed
while vehicle is in motion. Reflected glare
can endanger you and others.
iIf sun visor1 is disengaged from
mounting4 with mirror cover2
open, mirror lamp3 will switch off.

201 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Roller sunblind* in the rear doors
Pull the roller sunblind out using the
hooks.

Attach the hooks at the top.
Rear window defroster
The rear window defroster uses a large
amount of power. To keep the battery
drain to a minimum, switch off the defrost-
er as soon as the rear window is clear. The
defroster is automatically deactivated af-
ter approximately 6 to 17 minutes of oper-
ation depending on the outside
temperature.
Activating
Press button1 (
page 204) or
(
page 216) orF (
page 217) on
the respective climate control panel.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.Deactivating

Press buttonF or1 again.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
!Always guide the sunblind by hand. Do
not let it snap back, as the retractor
could be damaged.
Warning!
G
Any accumulation of snow and ice should be
removed from the rear window before driv-
ing. Visibility could otherwise be impaired,
endangering you and others.!If the rear window defroster switches
off too soon and the indicator lamp
starts flashing, this means that too
many electrical consumers are operat-
ing simultaneously and there is insuffi-
cient voltage in the battery. The system
responds automatically by deactivating
the rear window defroster.
As soon as the battery has sufficient
voltage, the rear window defroster au-
tomatically turns itself back on.

205 Controls in detail
Dual-zone automatic climate control (USA only)
The climate control is operational whenev-
er the engine is running. You can operate
the climate control system in either the au-
tomatic or manual mode. The system cools
or heats the interior depending on the se-
lected interior temperature and the cur-
rent outside temperature.Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air en-
ters the passenger compartment through
the air distribution system.
The air conditioning will not engage (no
cooling) if the A/Cmode is deactivated
(
page 212).
Warning!
G
When operating the climate control, the air
that enters the passenger compartment
through the air vents can be very hot or very
cold (depending on the set temperature).
This may cause burns or frostbite to unpro-
tected skin in the immediate area of the air
vents. Always keep sufficient distance be-
tween unprotected parts of the body and the
air vents. If necessary, use the air distribu-
tion control (
page 204) to direct the air to
air vents in the vehicle interior that are not
in the immediate area of unprotected skin.
Warning!
G
Follow the recommended settings for heat-
ing and cooling given on the following pag-
es. Otherwise the windows could fog up,
impairing visibility and endangering you and
others.
iSevere conditions (e.g. strong air pollu-
tion) may require replacement of the fil-
ter before its scheduled interval.
A clogged filter will reduce the air vol-
ume to the interior.
If the vehicle interior is hot, ventilate
the interior before driving off, see
“Summer opening feature”
(page 234). The climate control will
then adjust the interior temperature to
the set value much faster.
Keep the air intake grille in front of the
windshield free of snow and debris.
Do not obstruct air flow by placing ob-
jects on the air flow-through exhaust
slots below the rear window.

206 Controls in detailDual-zone automatic climate control (USA only)Deactivating the climate control system
Deactivating
Press button ´ (
page 204).
Reactivating

Make sure the ignition is switched on.

Press button ´ (
page 204) again.
The previous settings are once again in
effect.Operating the climate control system
in automatic modeActivating

Press buttonU (
page 204) while
the engine is running.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on. The air volume and air distri-
bution are adjusted automatically.

Use temperature controls1 and6
(page 204) to separately adjust the
air temperature on each side of the
passenger compartment.
The temperature of the vehicle interior
is adjusted automatically.
iWhen the climate control system is de-
activated, the outside air supply and
circulation are also deactivated. Only
choose this setting for a short time.
Otherwise the windows could fog up.iTo switch the system on, you can also
press another button, with the excep-
tion of 1.
iWhen operating the climate control
system in automatic mode, you will
only rarely need to adjust the tempera-
ture, air volume and air distribution.
In automatic mode, cooling with dehu-
midify is switched on. This function can
be switched off if necessary.