2006 MERCEDES-BENZ E350 Sport

18 IntroductionReporting safety defectsFor the USA only:
The following text is published as required of manufacturers under Title 49, Code of U.S. Federal Regulations, Part 575 pursuant to the
“National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966.”Reporting safety defects
If you believe that your vehicle has a defect which could cause a crash or could cause injury or death, you should immediately inform
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in addition to notifying Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may open an investigation, and if it finds that a safety defect exists in a group of vehicles, it
may order a recall and remedy campaign. However, NHTSA cannot become involved in individual problems between you, your dealer,
or Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
To contact NHTSA, you may either call the Auto Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-888-327-4236 (or 366-0123 in Washington, D.C. area) or
write to: NHTSA, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C. 20590. You can also obtain other information about motor ve-
hicle safety from the Hotline.

80 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety

If you must install a rear-facing child re-
straint on the front passenger seat be-
cause circumstances require you to do
so, make sure that the
75indicator lamp is illuminat-
ed, indicating that the front passenger
air bag is deactivated. Should the light
not illuminate or go out while the re-
straint is installed, please check installa-
tion. Periodically check the indicator
lamp while driving to make sure the
lamp is illuminated. If the
75indicator lamp goes out or
remains out, do not transport a child on
the front passenger seat until the sys-
tem has been repaired. A child in a
rear-facing child restraint on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured
or even killed if the front passenger front
air bag inflates.


If you have to place a child in a
forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger seat, move the seat as
far back as possible, use the proper
child restraint recommended for the
age, size and weight of the child, and se-
cure child restraint with the vehicle’s
seat belt according to the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions. For
children larger than the typical
12-month-old child, the front passenger
air bag may or may not be activated
(page 82).
Warning!
G
Infants and small children should never
share a seat belt with another occupant.
During an accident, they could be crushed
between the occupant and seat belt.
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.
Children too big for a toddler restraint must
ride in seats using regular seat belts. Posi-
tion shoulder belt across chest and shoul-
der, not face or neck. A booster seat may be
necessary to achieve proper belt positioning
for children from 41 lbs until they reach a
height where a lap/shoulder belt fits proper-
ly without a booster.


84 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety

If you must install a rear-facing child re-
straint on the front passenger seat be-
cause circumstances require you to do
so, make sure that the
75indicator lamp is illuminat-
ed, indicating that the front passenger
air bag is deactivated. Should the light
not illuminate or go out while the re-
straint is installed, please check installa-
tion. Periodically check the indicator
lamp while driving to make sure the
lamp is illuminated. If the
75indicator lamp goes out or
remains out, do not transport a child on
the front passenger seat until the sys-
tem has been repaired. A child in a
rear-facing child restraint on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured
or even killed if the front passenger front
air bag inflates.


If you have to place a child in a
forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger seat, move the seat as
far back as possible, use the proper
child restraint recommended for the
age, size and weight of the child, and se-
cure child restraint with the vehicle’s
seat belt according to the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions. For
children larger than the typical
12-month-old child, the front passenger
air bag may or may not be activated
(page 82).
iDeployment of the driver front air bag
does not mean that the front passenger
front air bag also should have de-
ployed.
The Occupant Classification System
(page 81) may have determined:


that the seat was empty or occu-
p i e d b y t h e w e i g h t u p t o o r l e s s t h a n
that of a typical 12-month-old child
seated in a standard child restraint
- both instances where the system
suppresses deployment of the pas-
senger front air bag even though
the impact met the criteria and was
of sufficient severity to deploy the
driver front air bag.


98 Safety and SecurityDriving safety systems
The electrohydraulic brake system is auto-
matically activated when you

unlock the vehicle with the SmartKey
or the KEYLESS-GO*


open the driver’s or passenger door


turn the SmartKey in the starter switch
to position1


in vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*, press
the start/stop button on the gear se-
lector lever once


depress the brake pedal


release the parking brake
Warning!
G
The electrohydraulic brake system requires
electrical power to operate.
A malfunction in the vehicle’s power supply
or electrical system may impair brake sys-
tem operation and switch it into its emer-
gency operation mode. In such a case, the
red brake warning lamp (
page 376) and
warning messages in the instrument cluster
(
page 386) come on while driving. To
brake, the driver must then apply signifi-
cantly greater brake pedal pressure and de-
press the pedal much further to obtain the
expected braking effect. If necessary, apply
full pressure to the brake pedal. Brakes may
only be applied to the front wheels. Stop-
ping distance is increased!
If there is a malfunction in the electrohy-
draulic brake system, we recommend that
the vehicle be transported with all wheels
off the ground using flatbed or appropriate
wheel lift/dolly equipment.
A tow bar must be used if circumstances do
not permit the use of the recommended
towing methods and the vehicle requires
towing with all four wheels on the ground.
Towing the vehicle with all four wheels on
the ground is only permissible for distances
u p t o 3 0 m i l e s ( 5 0 k m ) a n d a t a s p e e d n o t t o
exceed 30 mph (50 km/h). For more infor-
mation, refer to “Towing the vehicle”
(page 457).
iIf the electrohydraulic brake system is
activated as the brake pedal is first de-
pressed, you may feel a reduced pedal
resistance and longer pedal travel than
normal. When releasing the pedal, you
may also feel the brake pedal pulsate
and you may hear a sound which is
caused by the activation of the electro-
hydraulic brake system pump. This is
normal and not an indication of a mal-
function. Pedal travel returns to normal
when you release the brake pedal and
the sound soon ceases.
If you experience the above while driv-
ing and the red brake warning lamp
(page 376) illuminates and/or warn-
ing messages appear in the instrument
cluster (
page 386), the brake system
is malfunctioning. Follow the instruc-
tions of the warning message(s) and
have the brake system checked imme-
diately.

177 Controls in detail
Control system
Dynamic seat* submenu
Access the
Dynamic Seat
submenu via the
Settings
menu. Use the
Dynamic Seat

submenu to change the settings for the dy-
namic seats. The following functions are
available:Adjusting the dynamic seat
The function dynamic seat adjustment lets
you determine the way the seat adjusts
while driving.

Move the selection marker with
buttonæ orç to the Dynamic Seat
submenu.

Press buttonj ork repeatedly
until the message
Dyn. multi-cont.
seat, driver
for the driver seat or
Dyn. multi-cont. seat, fr. pass.

for the passenger seat appears in the
multifunction display.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.

Press buttonæ orç to switch
function to
Weak
or
Powerful
.The following settings are available:
Function
Page
Adjust driver seat
177
Adjust passenger seat
177
Weak
(Comfort) Less lat-
eral support and
slow air pressure
build-up in the air
chambers of the
backrest side bol-
sters
Powerful
(Sporty) Strong lat-
eral support and
fast air pressure
build-up in the air
chambers of the
backrest side bol-
sters

189 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
Automatic shift program
The program mode selector switch is
located on the lower part of the center
console.
1Program mode selector switch
C Comfort For comfort driving
S Sport For standard driving
The current gear selector lever position
and the selected program mode (
C/S) are
indicated in the multifunction display
(
page 184).

Press program mode selector
switch1 repeatedly until the letter of
the desired shift program appears in
the multifunction display (
page 184).
SelectCfor comfort driving:


The vehicle starts out in second
gear (both forward and reverse) for
gentler starts. This does not apply if
full throttle is applied or gear
range1 is selected.


Traction and driving stability are
improved on icy roads.


Upshifts occur earlier even when
you give more gas. The engine then
operates at lower rpms and the
wheels are less likely to spin.
!Never change the program mode when
the gear selector lever is out of
positionP. This could result in a
change of driving characteristics for
which you may not be prepared.iThe last selected program
mode (CorS) is switched on when the
engine is restarted.

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.

237 Controls in detail
Power tilt/sliding sunroof*

Switch on the ignition (
page 36).Opening and closing the power
tilt/sliding sunroof

To open, close, raise or lower the
tilt/sliding sunroof, move the sunroof
switch to resistance point in the re-
quired direction of arrows1to4.
Release the sunroof switch when the
tilt/sliding sunroof has reached the de-
sired position.
Fully opening (Express-open) and clos-
ing (Express-close) the power tilt/slid-
ing sunroof

To open or close the tilt/sliding sun-
roof, move the sunroof switch past the
resistance point in direction of
arrow1to2 and release.
The tilt/sliding sunroof opens or closes
completely.
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
with access to an unlocked vehicle. Unsu-
pervised use of vehicle equipment can
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.!To avoid damaging the seals, do not
transport any objects with sharp edges
which can stick out of the tilt/sliding
sunroof.
Do not open the tilt/sliding sunroof if
there is snow or ice on the roof, as this
could result in malfunctions.
The tilt/sliding sunroof can be opened
or closed manually should an electrical
malfunction occur (
page 429).
iYou can also open or close the tilt/slid-
ing sunroof using the SmartKey, see
“Summer opening feature”
(page 234) or see “Convenience
closing feature” (
page 235).
Depending on current position, the
tilt/sliding sunroof may also open or
close when the air recirculation
button, in the control panel of the
climate control (
page 204),
(
page 216) or (
page 217) is
pressed and held.