2006 MERCEDES-BENZ R500 Owner's Manual

208 Controls in detailGood visibilityFor information on the windshield wipers,
see “Windshield wipers” (
page 59).
Headlamp cleaning system*
The button is located on the left side of the
dashboard.
1Headlamp washer button
Switch on the ignition (
page 38).

Press button1.
The headlamps are cleaned with a
high-pressure water jet.For information on filling up the washer
reservoir, see “Windshield / rear window
washer system and headlamp cleaning
system*” (
page 352).
Rear view mirrors
For more information on setting the rear
view mirrors, see “Mirrors” (
page 47).
Interior rear view mirror, antiglare
position
1Lever

Tilt the mirror to the antiglare night
position by moving lever1 towards
the windshield.
The interior rear view mirror is dimmed.
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.

209 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Auto-dimming rear view 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


incoming light from headlamps falls on
the sensor in the interior rear view
mirror
The rear view mirror will not react if


reverse gearR is engaged


the interior light is turned on
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, when transporting cargo
which covers the rear window.
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
allow 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 and by applying plenty of
water.Warning!
G
Exercise care when using the passen-
ger-side exterior rear view mirror. The mirror
surface is convex (outwardly curved surface
for a wider field of view). Objects in mirror
are closer than they appear. Check your
interior rear view mirror or glance over your
shoulder before changing lanes.

210 Controls in detailGood visibilityActivating exterior rear view mirror
parking position*
Follow these steps to activate the exterior
rear view mirror parking position, so that
the passenger-side exterior rear view mir-
ror will be turned downward to the stored
position.
Make sure that you have stored a park-
ing position for the passenger-side
exterior rear view mirror (
page 146).

Make sure the
Mirror adjustment
parking aid function in the
Convenience
submenu of the control
system is set to
on (page 190).

Start the engine (
page 53).1Driver’s side exterior rear view mirror
button
2Passenger-side exterior rear view
mirror button

Set the automatic transmission in
reverse gear R.
The passenger-side exterior rear view
mirror turns downward to the stored
position (
page 146) if the passen-
ger-side exterior rear view mirror is se-
lected.
The indicator lamp in button 2 should
come on when you select reverse
gearR.

If the passenger-side exterior rear view
mirror is not selected, press button 2.
The exterior rear view mirror returns to its
previous stored driving position:


when you switch off the ignition


10 seconds after you have put the
automatic transmission out of reverse
gear R
Approximately 15 seconds later, the
indicator lamp in button 2 goes out.


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


immediately when you press button 1
for driver’s side exterior rear view
mirror
iWith the automatic transmission in re-
verse gear R, the previously selected
rear view mirror is activated. The indi-
cator lamp in the respective button
comes on.
iWith the automatic transmission in re-
verse gear R, you can deactivate the
exterior rear mirror parking position by
pressing button 1 or activate it by
pressing button 2. The indicator lamp
of the selected button is on.

211 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Power folding exterior rear view mirrors*
Folding the exterior rear view mirrors
in and out automatically
When the corresponding function in the
control system is activated (
page 191):


The exterior rear view mirrors automat-
ically fold in as soon as the vehicle is
locked from the outside.


The exterior rear view mirrors automat-
ically fold out as soon as the vehicle is
unlocked and the driver’s or front pas-
senger door are subsequently opened.Synchronizing exterior rear view
mirrors
The power folding rear view mirrors may
have to be synchronized after the vehicle
battery has been disconnected or dis-
charged. If the exterior rear view mirrors
do not fold properly upon locking or un-
locking the vehicle although the corre-
sponding function in the control system is
activated (
page 191), do the following:

Fold each exterior rear view mirror in
completely (
page 212).

Fold each exterior rear view mirror out
completely (
page 212).
When the exterior rear view mirrors fold
properly upon locking the vehicle, the exte-
rior mirrors are synchronized. Otherwise
repeat the above steps.Folding the exterior rear view mirrors
in and out manually
The button is located on the door control
panel.
1Button for folding exterior rear view
mirrors in and out

Switch on the ignition (
page 38).
!Before you drive the vehicle through an
automatic car wash, fold the exterior
rear view mirrors in. Otherwise they
may get damaged.
iThe exterior rear view mirrors can vi-
brate if they are not folded out com-
pletely.

212 Controls in detailGood visibilityFolding in
Briefly press button1.
Both exterior rear view mirrors fold in.
Folding out

Briefly press button1 again.
Both exterior rear view mirrors fold out.
Sun visors
The sun visors protect you from sun glare
while driving.
iIf you are driving at more than approxi-
mately 30 mph (47 km/h), you will not
be able to fold the exterior mirrors in.
!If an exterior rear view mirror housing
is forcibly pushed forward (hit from the
rear) or forcibly pushed rearward (hit
from the front) press button1 to fold
mirrors in, then press button1 again
to fold mirrors out. Do not force mirrors
by hand as this may damage the adjust-
ment mechanism.
The mirror housing is then properly
positioned and you can adjust the mir-
ror in the usual manner.
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.

213 Controls in detail
Good visibility
1Sun visor
2Additional sun visor*
3Mirror lamp
4Vanity mirror cover
5Vanity mirror
6Holder for gas cards
7Mounting
Glare through the windshield
Swing sun visor1 down.

Make sure sun visor 1 is properly en-
gaged in mounting 7.

When you do not experience glare any-
more, swing sun visor 1 up.Vanity mirror

Swing sun visor1 down.

Flip up cover4 to access vanity
mirror5.
Vanity mirror lamp3 comes on.

After using vanity mirror 5, flip down
cover4.

Swing sun visor 1 up.
Glare through a side window
1Sun visor
2Additional sun visor*

Swing sun visor1 down.

Disengage sun visor1 from
mounting7 (
page 213).

Pivot sun visor1 to the side.

Adjust sun visor 1 by pushing or pull-
ing in the direction of the arrows.

Swing down additional sun visor*2
down when you experience additional
glare through the windshield.!To avoid damage to vanity mirror
cover4 (
page 213), make sure it is
closed before pivoting sun visor 1 to
the side.

214 Controls in detailGood visibilityRear door window sunshade*
1Holder
2Tab
To raise sunshade, pull on tab 2 and
engage it in holder 1.

To lower sunshade, disengage tab 2
from holder 1 and guide retraction.
Third-row sunshade*
1Clip
2Mounting
Insert clips 1 into mountings 2.

Press on clips 1 to engage in mount-
ings 2.
!Always guide the sunshade. Do not let
it snap back abruptly, as the retractor
could be damaged.!With the sunshade raised and the
respective door window open, the sun-
shade could disengage and snap back
when driving at high vehicle speeds,
e.g. on highways, and damage the
retractor. You should therefore always
either close the door window or lower
the sunshade when driving at high
speed.

215 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Rear window defroster
The rear window defroster uses a large
amount of power. To keep battery drain to
a minimum, switch off the defroster as
soon as the rear window is clear. The de-
froster is automatically deactivated after
approximately 6 to 17 minutes of
operation depending on the outside tem-
perature.
Activating
Switch on the ignition (
page 38).

Press button1 on the climate con-
trol panel (
page 218) or the automat-
ic climate control* panel (
page 232).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.Deactivating

Press button3 again.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.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, too many electrical con-
sumers are operating simultaneously
and there is insufficient voltage in the
battery. The system responds automat-
ically by switching the rear window de-
froster off.
As soon as the battery has sufficient
voltage, the rear window defroster
switches back on automatically.