2006 MERCEDES-BENZ E350 Steering

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.

43 Getting started
Adjusting
Steering wheel adjustment
The stalk for steering wheel adjustment is
located on the lower left of the steering
column.
1Adjusting steering column, in or out
2Adjusting steering column, up or down
Switch on the ignition (
page 36).
or

Open the driver’s door.Adjusting steering column in or out

Move stalk in direction of arrows1
until a comfortable steering wheel posi-
tion is reached with your arms slightly
bent at the elbow.
Adjusting steering column up or down

Move stalk in direction of arrows2.
Make sure your legs can move freely
and all the displays (incl. malfunction
and indicator lamps) on the instrument
cluster are clearly visible.Easy-entry/exit feature
This feature allows for easier entry into and
exit from the vehicle. When entering and
exiting the vehicle, the steering wheel is in
its uppermost position.
The easy-entry/exit feature can be activat-
ed or deactivated in the
Convenience
sub-
menu of the control system (
page 175).
iThe memory function (
page 138) lets
you store the settings for the steering
wheel together with the settings for the
exterior rear view mirrors and the
driver’s seat position.
Warning!
G
You must make sure no one can become
trapped or injured by the moving steering
wheel when the easy-entry/exit feature is
activated.
To stop steering wheel movement, do one of
the following:

Move steering column stalk.


Press one of the memory buttons or the
memory button M (
page 139).


44 Getting startedAdjustingWith the easy-entry/exit feature activated,
the steering wheel will return to its last set
position when you:

close the driver’s door with the ignition
switched on,
or


insert the SmartKey into the starter
switch or press the KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button (
page 38) once
with the driver’s door closedWith the easy-entry/exit feature activated,
the steering wheel tilts upwards when you:


remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch,
or


open the driver’s door with the
SmartKey in starter switch position 0
or 1 or the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button (
page 38) in position 1.
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Children could open the driver’s door and
unintentionally activate the easy-entry/exit
feature, which could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
iThe last set steering wheel position is
stored when

the ignition is switched off


the position is stored in memory
(page 139)
iIf the current position for the steering
wheel is in the uppermost tilt position,
the steering wheel will no longer be
able to move upward when the
easy-entry/exit feature is activated.
The adjustment procedure is briefly in-
terrupted when the engine is started.Warning!
G
Let the system complete the adjustment
procedure before setting the vehicle in mo-
tion. All steering wheel adjustment 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.


46 Getting startedAdjusting
Switch on the ignition (
page 36).

Press button3 for the driver’s side ex-
terior rear view mirror or button1 for
the passenger-side exterior rear view
mirror.

Push adjustment button2 up, down,
left or right according to the desired
setting.For more information, see “Activating exte-
rior rear view mirror parking position”
(
page 198).
For more information, see “Rear view mir-
rors” (
page 197).
!If an exterior rear view mirror was forc-
ibly pushed forward (hit from the rear)
or forcibly pushed rearward (hit from
the front), reposition it by applying firm
pressure until it snaps into place. The
mirror housing is now properly posi-
tioned and you can adjust the mirror
normally.iThe memory function (
page 138) lets
you store the setting for the seat posi-
tion together with the setting for the
steering wheel and the exterior rear
view mirrors.
At low ambient temperatures, the exte-
rior rear view mirrors will be heated au-
tomatically.

54 Getting startedDrivingAfter a cold start, the automatic transmis-
sion engages at a higher revolution. This al-
lows the catalytic converter (gasoline
engine) or the oxidation catalyst (Diesel
engine) to heat up more quickly to operat-
ing temperature.For more information on driving, see “Driv-
ing instructions” (
page 303).
Switching on headlamps
Low beam headlamps
The exterior lamp switch is located on the
dashboard to the left of the steering wheel.Exterior lamp switch1Off
2Low beam headlamps on
Turn the exterior lamp switch to
positionB.
The low beam headlamp indicator
lampB in the instrument cluster
comes on (
page 24).
!If you hear a warning signal and the
message
Release parking brake
ap-
pears in the multifunction display when
driving off, you have forgotten to re-
lease the parking brake.
Release the parking brake.
Warning!
G
On slippery road surfaces, never downshift
in order to obtain braking action. This could
result in drive wheel slip and reduced vehi-
cle control. Your vehicle’s ABS will not pre-
vent this type of loss of control.
Warning!
G
It is dangerous to shift the gear selector le-
ver out ofP orN if the engine speed is high-
er than idle speed. If your foot is not firmly
on the brake pedal, the vehicle could accel-
erate quickly forward or in reverse. You
could lose control of the vehicle and hit
someone or something. Only shift into gear
when the engine is idling normally and when
your right foot is firmly on the brake pedal.!Simultaneously depressing the acceler-
ator pedal and applying the brake re-
duces engine performance and causes
premature brake and drivetrain wear.


55 Getting started
Driving
High beam
The combination switch is located on the
left of the steering column.Combination switch1High beam
2High beam flasher
Push the combination switch in direc-
tion of arrow1.
The high beam headlamp indicator
lampA in the instrument cluster
comes on (
page 145).
For more information on headlamps, see
“Lighting” (
page 141).
Turn signals
The combination switch is located on the
left of the steering column.Combination switch1Turn signals, right
2Turn signals, left
Press the combination switch in direc-
tion of arrow1 or2.
The corresponding turn signal indicator
lamp L or K in the instrument
cluster flashes.The combination switch resets automati-
cally after major steering wheel move-
ments.
iTo signal minor directional changes
such as changing lanes, press the com-
bination switch only to point of resis-
tance and release. The corresponding
turn signals will flash three times.

56 Getting startedDrivingWindshield wipers
The combination switch is located on the
left of the steering column.Combination switch1Single wipe
Wiping with windshield washer fluid
2Switching on windshield wipers
Switch on the ignition (
page 36).Switching on windshield wipers

Turn the combination switch to the de-
sired position depending on the inten-
sity of the rain.
0Windshield wipers off
IIntermittent wiping
IINormal wiper speed
IIIFast wiper speedIntermittent wiping
Intermittent wiping interval is dependent
on wetness of windshield.

Turn the combination switch to
positionI.
After the initial wipe, pauses between
wipes are automatically controlled by the
rain sensor.
!Do not operate the windshield wipers
when the windshield is dry. Dust that
accumulates on a windshield might
scratch the glass and/or damage the
wiper blades when wiping occurs on a
dry windshield. If it is necessary to op-
erate the windshield wipers in dry
weather conditions, always operate the
windshield wipers with windshield
washer fluid (
page 57).
!Do not leave windshield wipers in
intermittent setting when the vehicle is
taken to an automatic car wash or
during windshield cleaning. Windshield
wipers will operate in the presence of
water sprayed on the windshield, and
windshield wipers may be damaged as
a result.