Page 50 of 481

49 Getting started
Driving
Driving
Depress the brake pedal.
Move gear selector lever to positionD
orR.
Release the brake pedal.
Carefully depress the accelerator
pedal.Once the vehicle is in motion, the automat-
ic central locking system engages and the
locking knobs drop down.
After a cold start, the automatic transmis-
sion shifts at a higher engine revolution.
This allows the catalytic converter to reach
its operating temperature earlier.
Warning!
G
It is dangerous to shift the gear selector le-
ver out ofP orN if the engine speed is high-
er than idle speed. If your foot is not firmly
on the brake pedal, the vehicle could accel-
erate quickly forward or in 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.
Warning!
G
On slippery road surfaces, never downshift
in order to obtain braking action. This could
result in drive wheel slip and reduced vehi-
cle control. Your vehicle’s ABS will not pre-
vent this type of loss of control.!In order to avoid damaging the trans-
mission,
wait for the gear selection process
to complete before setting the vehi-
cle in motion.
place the gear selector lever in
positionP orR only when the vehi-
cle is stopped.
!If you hear a warning signal and the
message: RELEASE
PARKING BRAKEappears in the multifunction display
when driving off, you have forgotten to
release the parking brake.
Release the parking brake.!Do not run cold engine at high engine
speeds. Running a cold engine at high
engine speeds may shorten the service
life of the engine.
Page 175 of 481

174 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) appear in the tachometer
display.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 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 291 of 481

290 OperationEngine compartmentOther display messages
If the SmartKey or KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button (
page 35) is not in po-
sition 2, the following message will appear:
FOR ENGINE OIL LEVEL
SWITCH IGNITION ON
Switch on the ignition (
page 34).
If you see the message:
PERF. SERV. ON TIME
If engine is at operating temperature,
wait five minutes before repeating
check procedure.
If engine is not at operating tempera-
ture yet, wait 30 minutes before re-
peating check procedure.If you see the message:
ENGINE OIL LEVEL
NOT WHEN ENGINE ON
Turn off the engine.
If the engine is at operating tempera-
ture, wait five minutes before checking
oil.
If the engine is not at operating temper-
ature yet, you must wait 30 minutes be-
fore checking oil.
If there is excess engine oil with the engine
at normal operating temperature, the fol-
lowing message will appear:
ENGINE OIL LEVEL
REDUCE OIL LEVEL
Have excess oil siphoned or drained
off. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.For more information on messages in the
multifunction display concerning engine
oil, see the “Practical hints” section
(
page 366). !Excess oil must be siphoned or drained
off. It could cause damage to the en-
gine and catalytic converter not cov-
ered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited
Warranty.iPerform the engine oil level check with
the dipstick (S 430, S 500, and
S 55 AMG only) if it cannot be complet-
ed with the control system.
In this case we recommend that you
have the system checked at a
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Page 447 of 481

446 Technical termsGPS
(G
lobal P
ositioning S
ystem)
Satellite-based system for relaying
geographic location information to and
from vehicles equipped with special re-
ceivers. Employs DVD digital maps for
navigation.
GVW
(G
ross V
ehicle W
eight)
(
page 323)
GVWR
(Gross V
ehicle W
eight R
ating)
(
page 324)
Instrument cluster
The displays and indicator/warning
lamps in the driver’s field of vision, in-
cluding the tachometer, speedometer,
engine temperature and fuel gauge.
KEYLESS-GO*
System for entering and operating the
vehicle without the use of a SmartKey.Kickdown
Depressing the accelerator past the
point of resistance shifts the transmis-
sion down to the lowest possible gear.
This very quickly accelerates the vehi-
cle and should not be used for normal
acceleration needs.
Kilopascal (kPa)
(
page 324)
Line of fall
The direct line that an object moves
downhill when influenced by the force
of gravity alone.
Locking knob
Knob on the door which indicates
whether the door is locked or un-
locked. Pushing the locking knob down
on an individual door from inside will
lock that door.Maintenance System (U.S. vehicles)
Maintenance service indicator in the
multifunction display that informs the
driver when the next vehicle mainte-
nance service is due. The Maintenance
System in your vehicle tracks distance
driven and the time elapsed since your
last maintenance service, and calls for
the next maintenance service accord-
ingly.
Maximum load rating
(
page 324)
Maximum loaded vehicle weight
(page 324)
Maximum tire inflation pressure
(page 324)
Memory function
Used to store three individual seat,
steering wheel and exterior mirror posi-
tions for each SmartKey or SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO*.