Page 167 of 521

166 Controls in detailControl systemInstrument cluster submenu
Access the
Instr. cluster
submenu via
the
Settings
menu. Use the
Instr. clus-
ter
submenu to change the instrument
cluster display settings. The following
functions are available:Selecting speedometer display mode
Move the selection marker with
buttonæ orç to the
Instr.
cluster
submenu.
Press buttonj ork repeatedly
until the message
Display unit
Speed-/odometer appears in the multi-
function display.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.
Press button æ or ç to set
speedometer unit to
km or
miles
.Selecting language
Move the selection marker with
buttonæ orç to the
Instr.
cluster
submenu.
Press buttonj ork repeatedly
until the message
Language
appears in
the multifunction display.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.
Press buttonæ orç to select
the language to be used for the multi-
function display messages.
Function
Page
Select speedometer display
mode
166
Select language
166
Select display (speed display or
outside temperature) for status
display
167
Select display (speed display or
outside temperature) for basic
display
167
Page 168 of 521

167 Controls in detail
Control system
Available languages:
German (
Deutsch
)
English (
English
)
French (
Français
)
Italian (
Italiano
)
Spanish (
Español
)
Dutch (
Nederlands
)
Danish (
Dansk
)
Swedish (
Svenska
)
Portuguese (
Português
)
Turkish (
Türkçe
)Selecting display (speed display or out-
side temperature) for status display
Move the selection marker with
buttonæ orç to the
Instr.
cluster
submenu.
Press buttonj ork repeatedly
until the message
Status line dis-
play
appears in the multifunction dis-
play.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.
Press buttonæ orç to select
the status line to
Speed
or
Outside
temp.
.Selecting display (speed display or out-
side temperature) for basic display
Move the selection marker with
buttonæ orç to the
Instr.
cluster
submenu.
Press buttonj ork repeatedly
until the message
Basic display
ap-
pears in the multifunction display.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.
Press buttonæ orç to select
the display permanently shown in the
multifunction display.iYou will see the status indicator when
you have called up a different display
from the standard display.
Page 184 of 521

183 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
Automatic transmission
For more information on driving with an
automatic transmission, see “Automatic
transmission” (
page 50).
Your vehicle’s transmission adapts its gear
shifting process to your individual driving
style by continually adjusting the shift
points up or down. These shift point adjust-
ments are performed based on current
operating and driving conditions.
If the operating conditions change, the
automatic transmission reacts by
adjusting its shift program.
Gearshift pattern for automatic
transmission
The automatic transmission selects indi-
vidual gears automatically, depending on:
the gear selector lever
positionD(
page 185) with
gear ranges (page 188)
the selected program mode:
(C/S)(
page 189)
or
(M/C/S) (E 55 AMG only)
(
page 193)
the position of the accelerator pedal
(page 186)
the vehicle speed
iDuring the brief warm-up, transmission
upshifting is delayed. This allows the
catalytic converter (gasoline engine) or
the oxidation catalyst (Diesel engine)
to heat up more quickly to operating
temperature.
Page 185 of 521

184 Controls in detailAutomatic transmission1Current gear range/gear selector lever
position
2Current program mode
The current gear range/gear selector lever
position and program mode (
C/S) or
(
M/C/S) (E 55 AMG only) appear in the mul-
tifunction display.An additional indication of the current gear
selector lever position can be found on the
cover of the shifting-gate.
The indicators come on when you activate
a switch (e.g. unlocking the vehicle or
opening a door) and go out after approxi-
mately 15 minutes.
When the gear selector lever is in
positionD, you can influence transmission
shifting by:
limiting the gear range
changing gears manually
Warning!
G
It is dangerous to shift the gear selector
lever out ofP orN if the engine speed is
higher than idle speed. If your foot is not
firmly on the brake pedal, the vehicle could
accelerate quickly forward or 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.
!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 gear R 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.
Page 191 of 521

190 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionGear selector lever one-touch gearshifting
Even with an automatic transmission, you
can change the gears manually and limit or
extend the gear range for automatic
shifting with the gear selector lever in
positionD and driving in the automatic
program modeC orS.Downshifting
Briefly press the gear selector lever to
the left in theD-direction.
The transmission will shift from the current
g e a r t o t h e n e x t l o w e r g e a r a s p e r m i t t e d b y
the shift program. This action
simultaneously limits the gear range of the
transmission (
page 188).Upshifting
Briefly press the gear selector lever to
the right in theD+direction.
The transmission will shift from the current
gear to the next higher gear as permitted
by the shift program. This action simul-
taneously extends the gear range of the
transmission.
Canceling gear range limit
Press and hold the gear selector lever
in theD+direction until
D reappears in
the multifunction display.
The transmission will shift from the current
gear range directly to gear rangeD.
Shifting into optimal gear range
Press and hold the gear selector lever
in theD-direction.
The transmission will automatically select
the gear range suited for optimal
acceleration and deceleration. This may
involve shifting down one or more gears.
!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 gear R 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.
Warning!
G
On slippery road surfaces, never downshift
in order to obtain braking action. This could
result in drive wheel slip and reduced
vehicle control. Your vehicle’s ABS will not
prevent this type of loss of control.iTo avoid overrevving the engine when
the gear selector lever is moved to
theD-direction, the transmission will
not shift to a lower gear if the engine’s
max. speed would be exceeded.
Page 192 of 521

191 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
Steering wheel gearshift control one-touch gearshifting E 55 AMG
The steering wheel gearshift control pro-
vides an alternative method for changing
the gears manually and limiting or extend-
ing the gear range for automatic shifting
with the gear selector lever in positionD
and driving in the automatic program
modeC orS.The steering wheel gearshift buttons are
located to the left and right of the steering
wheel.
1Left button: downshift
2Right button: upshift
iFor information on using the steering
wheel gearshift control in manual pro-
gram modeM (E 55 AMG only), see
“Manual shift program” (
page 193).
iTo avoid overrevving the engine when
downshifting with steering wheel
gearshift buttons, the transmission will
not shift to a lower gear if the engine’s
max. speed would be exceeded.
!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.
iYou cannot shift with the steering
wheel gearshift buttons when the gear
selector lever is in positionP,N orR.
The last selected program
mode (CorS) is switched on when the
engine is restarted in the automatic
program mode.
Page 194 of 521

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.
Page 202 of 521

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.