2006 MERCEDES-BENZ E350 Shift

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.

192 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionThe following instructions describe opera-
tion of the steering wheel gearshift control
when driving in the automatic program
modeC orS.
For instructions on operating the steering
wheel gearshift control and gear selector
lever in the manual program modeM, see
“Manual shift program E 55 AMG”
(page 193).Downshifting

Briefly press button1 on the left side
of the steering wheel.
The transmission will shift to the next
lower gear as permitted by the shift
program. This action simultaneously limits
the gear range of the transmission
(
page 188) when you are driving in the
automatic program mode (CorS).
Upshifting

Briefly press button2 on the right
side of the steering wheel.The transmission will shift to the next
higher gear as permitted by the shift
program. This action simultaneously
extends the gear range of the transmission
when you are driving in the automatic
program mode (CorS).
Canceling gear range limit

Press and hold button 2 on the right
side of the steering wheel 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 button 1 on the left
side of the steering wheel.
The transmission will automatically select
the gear range suited for optimal
acceleration and deceleration. This may
involve shifting down one or more gears.
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.

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.

194 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionThe current gear selector lever position
and the selected program mode (
M/C/S)
are indicated in the multifunction display
(
page 184).Activating manual shift program

Press program mode selector
switch1 repeatedly until the
M for the
manual program modeM appears in
the multifunction display.
The transmission switches to the
manual program modeM. Automatic
shifting is switched off. The gear range
is not limited.
You can change the gears manually when
the gear selector lever is in positionD. You
can upshift or downshift through the gears
in succession.Upshifting
iFor information on automatic program
modesC orS, see “Automatic shift
program” (
page 189), “Gear selector
lever one-touch gearshifting”
(
page 190), and “Steering wheel
gearshift control one-touch gearshift-
ing” (page 191).
iThe manual program modeM will not
be stored. When the engine is turned
off with the manual program modeM
selected, the transmission will go to
the automatic program mode (CorS)
when the engine is restarted.
!In the manual program modeM, the
transmission will not upshift, even if
the engine has reached its overrevving
range. Shift up to the next gear before
the engine has reached its overrevving
range. Make absolutely certain that the
engine speed does not reach the red
marking on the tachometer
(page 24). Otherwise the engine
could be damaged which is not covered
by the Mercedes-Benz Limited
Warranty.

195 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission

Briefly press the gear selector lever to
the right in theD+direction.
or

Briefly press button2 on the right
side of the steering wheel
(page 191).
The transmission shifts to the next
higher gear.
If, instead of the manual program mode
symbolM, thep symbol appears in the
multifunction display (
page 184), shift to
the next higher gear. The fuel supply will
otherwise be interrupted to prevent the
engine from overrevving.Downshifting

Briefly press the gear selector lever to
the left in theD-direction.
or

Briefly press button1 on the left side
of the steering wheel (
page 191).
The transmission shifts to the next
lower gear.Kickdown
Using the kickdown when driving in the
manual program modeM is not possible.
Deactivating manual shift program

Press the program mode selector
switch (
page 193) repeatedly
until
Cor
S appears in the multifunction
display.
or

Restart the engine.
The transmission will go to the
automatic program mode (C orS).
The manual program modeM is not
stored.
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.iWhen you brake or stop, the transmis-
sion shifts down to a gear from which
you can easily accelerate or take off.

196 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionEmergency operation (Limp Home Mode)
If vehicle acceleration worsens or the
transmission no longer shifts, the trans-
mission is most likely operating in limp
home (emergency operation) mode. In this
mode only second gear and reverse gear
can be activated.
Stop the vehicle.

Move gear selector lever toP.

Turn off the engine.

Wait at least 10 seconds before
restarting.

Restart the engine.

Move gear selector lever to positionD
(for second gear) orR.

Have the transmission checked at an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.

244 Controls in detailDriving systems1Set current or higher speed
2Set current or lower speed
3Cancel cruise control
4Resume at last set speedSetting current speed

Accelerate or decelerate to the desired
speed.

Briefly lift1 or depress2 the cruise
control lever.
The current speed is set.

Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
Cruise control is activated.
The selected speed appears in the multi-
function display for approximately
5 seconds, and the corresponding speed-
ometer segments from the selected speed
to the vehicle maximum speed are illumi-
nated.
Warning!
G
The cruise control brakes automatically so
that the set speed is not exceeded.
Keep in mind that the cruise control is a
convenience system designed to assist the
driver during vehicle operation. The driver is
and must remain at all times responsible for
the vehicle speed and for safe brake
operation.
iOn uphill or downhill grades, the cruise
control may not be able to maintain the
set speed. Once the grade eases, the
set speed will be resumed.
On downhill grades, the cruise control
maintains the set speed with active
braking action.
In addition, on longer downhill grades
the automatic transmission will auto-
matically downshift.

253 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Setting the current speed
Accelerate or decelerate to the desired
speed.

Briefly lift or depress the cruise control
lever.
The current speed is set.

Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.Setting a higher speed

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in di-
rection of arrow1 (
page 252) to in-
crease vehicle speed in increments of
5 mph (Canada: 10 km/h).
The new speed is set.
The stored speed is displayed in the
multifunction display for approximately
5 seconds (
page 252), and one or
two segments around the stored speed
come on in the speedometer
(
page 249).Setting a lower speed

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in di-
rection of arrow2 (
page 252) to de-
crease vehicle speed in increments of
5 mph (Canada: 10 km/h).
The new speed is set.
The stored speed is displayed in the
multifunction display for approximately
5 seconds (
page 252), and one or
two segments around the stored speed
come on in the speedometer
(
page 249).
iIf you do not take your foot off the
accelerator completely, the following
message will appear in the multifunc-
tion display: Distronic
overrideThe distance to a slower moving vehi-
cles in front of you will not be set. Your
vehicle speed will then be determined
only by the accelerator pedal position.
iDepressing the accelerator pedal does
not deactivate Distronic. After brief ac-
celeration (e.g. for passing), the cruise
control will resume the last speed set.
iWhen you use the cruise control lever
to decelerate, the brakes will be ap-
plied to support deceleration.
In addition, the transmission will auto-
matically downshift on long downhill
grades.