2006 MERCEDES-BENZ R500 tailgate

126 Controls in detailLocking and unlocking
Closing the tailgate from the outside
(vehicles without KEYLESS-GO*)
In vehicles with tailgate opening/closing
system* you can close the tailgate sepa-
rately from the outside using the tailgate
closing switch or the Šbutton on the
SmartKey.
1Tailgate closing switch
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the cargo
compartment opening when closing the tail-
gate. Be especially careful when small chil-
dren are around.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.Warning!
G
Only drive with the tailgate closed as,
among other dangers such as blocked
visibility, exhaust fumes may enter the
vehicle interior.
iTo prevent an inadvertent lockout, do
not place the SmartKey in the cargo
compartment.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:
To prevent a possible inadvertent lock-
out, the tailgate will open automatically
if a SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO is
recognized inside the vehicle.iIf the vehicle was previously centrally
locked with the SmartKey or
KEYLESS-GO, the tailgate will lock
automatically after closing it. The turn
signals flash three times to confirm
locking.


127 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking

Press tailgate closing switch1 briefly.
The tailgate closes.
If the tailgate comes into contact with an
object while closing (e.g. luggage that has
been piled too high), the closing procedure
is stopped and the tailgate reopens
slightly.iYou can also close the tailgate manual-
ly (
page 125).
Warning!
G
Monitor the closing procedure carefully to
make sure no one is in danger of being in-
jured. To prevent possible personal injury,
always keep hands and fingers away from
the cargo compartment opening when clos-
ing the tailgate. Be especially careful when
small children are around. To stop the clos-
ing procedure, do one of the following:

Press the tailgate closing switch1.


Press the Šbutton on the SmartKey.


Press or pull the remote tailgate switch
(on the driver’s door).
Even with the SmartKey removed from the
starter switch, the tailgate closing switch
can be operated. Therefore, do not leave
children unattended in the vehicle, or with
access to an unlocked vehicle. Unsuper-
vised use of vehicle equipment may cause
an accident and/or serious personal injury.
Warning!
G
Only drive with the tailgate closed as,
among other dangers such as blocked
visibility, exhaust fumes may enter the vehi-
cle interior.iDo not place the SmartKey in the open
cargo compartment. You may lock
yourself out.iIf the vehicle was previously centrally
locked, the tailgate will lock automati-
cally after closing it. The turn signals
will flash three times to confirm lock-
ing.

128 Controls in detailLocking and unlockingClosing the tailgate from the outside
(vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*)
In vehicles with tailgate opening/closing
system* you can close the tailgate sepa-
rately from the outside using the tailgate
closing switch or the Šbutton on the
SmartKey.
1Tailgate closing switch
Make sure you have the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* with you.

Press tailgate closing switch 1 briefly.
The tailgate closes.If the tailgate comes into contact with an
object while closing (e.g. luggage that has
been piled too high), the closing procedure
is stopped and the tailgate reopens slight-
ly.
iYou can also close the tailgate manual-
ly (
page 125).
iTo prevent a possible inadvertent lock-
out, the tailgate will open automatically
if a SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is
recognized inside the vehicle.
Warning!
G
Monitor the closing procedure carefully to
make sure no one is in danger of being in-
jured. To prevent possible personal injury,
always keep hands and fingers away from
the cargo compartment opening when clos-
ing the tailgate. Be especially careful when
small children are around. To stop the clos-
ing procedure, do one of the following:

Press the tailgate closing switch1.


Press the KEYLESS-GO locking/closing
switch.


Press the Šbutton on the SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO.


Press or pull the remote tailgate switch
(on the driver’s door).

129 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Closing the tailgate and locking the
vehicle from the outside (vehicles with
KEYLESS-GO*)
In vehicles with tailgate opening/closing
system* and KEYLESS-GO*, you can close
the tailgate and lock the vehicle simulta-
neously from the outside using the
KEYLESS-GO* locking/closing switch or
the Šbutton on the SmartKey.
1KEYLESS-GO* locking/closing switch
Make sure you have the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* with you.

Press switch1 briefly.
The vehicle is locked and the tailgate
closes automatically. The turn signals
flash three times to confirm locking.
The locking knobs in the doors move
down. The anti-theft alarm system is
armed.
If the tailgate comes into contact with an
object while closing (e.g. luggage that has
been piled too high), the closing procedure
is stopped and the tailgate reopens
slightly.
Even with the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
removed from the vehicle, the tailgate
closing switch can be operated. Therefore,
do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Unsupervised use of vehicle equipment may
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.Warning!
G
Only drive with the tailgate closed as,
among other dangers such as blocked
visibility, exhaust fumes may enter the vehi-
cle interior.iIf the vehicle was previously centrally
locked, the tailgate will lock automati-
cally after closing it. The turn signals
will flash three times to confirm lock-
ing.
iYou can also close the tailgate manual-
ly (
page 125).
iTo prevent a possible inadvertent lock-
out, the tailgate will open automatically
if a SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is
recognized inside the vehicle.

130 Controls in detailLocking and unlocking
Automatic central locking
The doors and the tailgate lock automati-
cally when the ignition is switched on and
the wheels are turning at vehicle speeds of
approximately 9 mph (15 km/h) or more.You can open a locked door from the in-
side. Open door only when conditions are
safe to do so.
For information on towing the vehicle, see
“Towing the vehicle” (
page 499).
You can deactivate the automatic locking
mode using the control system
(
page 188).
Warning!
G
Monitor the closing procedure carefully to
make sure no one is in danger of being in-
jured. To prevent possible personal injury,
always keep hands and fingers away from
the cargo compartment opening when clos-
ing the tailgate. Be especially careful when
small children are around. To stop the clos-
ing procedure, do one of the following:

Press the tailgate closing switch1.


Press the KEYLESS-GO locking/closing
switch*.


Press the Šbutton on the SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO*.


Press or pull the remote tailgate switch
(on the driver’s door).
Even with the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
removed from the vehicle, the tailgate
closing switch can be operated. Therefore,
do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Unsupervised use of vehicle equipment may
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.Warning!
G
Only drive with the tailgate closed as,
among other dangers such as blocked
visibility, exhaust fumes may enter the vehi-
cle interior.
iThe doors unlock automatically after an
accident if the force of the impact ex-
ceeds a preset threshold.
The vehicle automatically locks when
the ignition is switched on and the
wheels are turning at vehicle speeds of
approximately 9 mph (15 km/h) or
more. You could therefore lock yourself
out when the vehicle

is pushed or towed


is on a test stand


during a wheel change

131 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Locking and unlocking from the inside
You can lock or unlock the doors and the
tailgate from inside using the central lock-
ing or unlocking switch. This can be useful,
for example, if you want to lock the vehicle
before starting to drive.
The fuel filler flap cannot be locked or un-
locked with the central locking or unlock-
ing switch.The switches are located in the front-door
control panels.
1Central unlocking switch
2Central locking switch
Locking

Press central locking switch2.
If all doors and the tailgate are closed,
the vehicle locks.
Unlocking

Press central unlocking switch1.
The vehicle unlocks.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
iYou can open a locked door from the
inside. Open door only when conditions
are safe to do so.
If the vehicle was previously centrally
locked with the SmartKey or the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*, it will
not unlock using the central unlocking
switch1.
If the vehicle was previously locked
with the central locking switch2:

While in the selective remote con-
trol mode, only the front door
opened from the inside is unlocked.


While in the global remote control
mode, the vehicle is unlocked com-
pletely when a front door is opened
from the inside.
iWith the passenger-side door opened,
you cannot lock the vehicle with the
central locking switch.

155 Controls in detail
Lighting
Deactivating automatic control
Press switch3.
The interior lighting and the locator
lighting (
page 183) remain switched
off even when you


unlock the vehicle


open a door


open the tailgate


remove the SmartKey from the
starter switchActivating automatic control

Press switch3.
The interior lighting and the locator
lighting (
page 183) come on when
you


unlock the vehicle


open a door


open the tailgate


remove the SmartKey from the
starter switch
The interior lamps go out following an
adjustable time delay (
page 185).Manual control
Switching front interior lighting on and
off

Press button4.
The lamps in the front passenger com-
partment come on.

Press button4 once more.
The lamps in the front passenger com-
partment go out.
Switching rear interior lighting on and
off

Press button2.
The lamps in the rear passenger com-
partment come on.

Press button2 once more.
The lamps in the rear passenger com-
partment go out.
iIf a door remains open, the interior
lamps switch off automatically after ap-
proximately 5 minutes when the
SmartKey is removed or in starter
switch position0.
An interior lamp switched on manually
does not go out automatically.

157 Controls in detail
Lighting

Press button 1 or 2.
The corresponding reading lamp
comes on.

Press button 1 or 2 once more.
The corresponding reading lamp goes
out.
Door entry lamps
The corresponding door entry lamp comes
on if a door is opened and if the interior
lighting is switched to automatic mode.
The entry lamp goes out automatically
when the door is closed.
Cargo compartment lamp
The cargo compartment lamp comes on
when the tailgate is opened.
If you leave the tailgate open for an extend-
ed period of time, the cargo compartment
lamp will switch off automatically after ap-
proximately 10 minutes.
iThe rear interior lighting is switched on
and off using the button on the front
overhead control panel (
page 154).
iIf you turn the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position0 or remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, the
door entry lamps will remain lit for
approximately 5 minutes.