2006 MERCEDES-BENZ S500 Button

207 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Adjusting air volume
Adjusting automatically
PressA on air volume switch6
(page 205).
The display shows
AUTO
The air volume
is adjusted automatically.
Reducing air volume

Press switch6 down until the desired
air volume is reached.
The display shows the current level.
Increasing air volume

Press switch6 up until the desired air
volume is reached.
The display shows the current level.Residual heat and ventilation
With the engine switched off, it is possible
to continue to heat or ventilate the interior.
This feature makes use of the residual heat
produced by the engine.
Activating

Turn the SmartKey in the starter switch
to position1 or0, or remove it from
the starter switch.

Press buttonT (
page 205).Deactivating

Press buttonT (
page 205).
The residual heat is automatically turned
off:


when the ignition is switched on


after approximately 30 minutes
(15 minutes when residual heat and
ventilation in the front are also
switched on)


if the battery voltage dropsiHow long the system will provide heat-
ing depends on the coolant tempera-
ture and the temperature set by the
operator. The blower will run at speed
setting 1 regardless of the air distribu-
tion control setting.

208 Controls in detailPower windowsOpening and closing the power windows
The side windows are opened and closed
electrically. The switches for all side win-
dows are on the driver’s door. The switch-
es for the respective windows are on the
front passenger door and the rear doors.
1Left front window
2Right front window
3Right rear window
4Left rear window
5Rear window override switch
(
page 77)
Warning!
G
When closing the windows, make sure that
there is no danger of anyone being harmed
by the closing procedure.
The closing of the door windows can be im-
mediately halted by releasing the switch or,
if the switch was pressed past the resis-
tance point and released, by pressing the re-
spective switch.
The door windows are equipped with the ex-
press-close and automatic reversal func-
tion. If the window encounters an
obstruction that blocks its path in a circum-
stance where you pressed the switch past
the resistance point and released it to close
the window, the automatic reversal function
will stop the window and open it slightly.
If the window encounters an obstruction
t h a t b l o c k s i t s p a t h i n a c i r c u m s t a n c e w h e r e
you are closing the window by pressing and
holding the switch, by pressing and holding
button ‹ on the SmartKey, by pressing
and holding the lock button (vehicles with
KEYLESS-GO*) on an outside door handle,
or by pressing and holding button
,
or
button
e
on the climate control panel,
the automatic reversal function will not op-
erate.
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 also open or close the win-
dows using the SmartKey, see “Sum-
mer opening feature” (
page 210) and
“Convenience closing feature”
(
page 211).
You can close and reopen the windows
using the air recirculation button,
or the charcoal filter buttone in the
climate control panel (
page 193).

210 Controls in detailPower windowsStopping windows during Express-op-
eration
Briefly press the respective power win-
dow switch again.
Synchronizing the power windows
The power windows must be synchronized

after the battery has been disconnect-
ed


if the power windows cannot be fully
opened (Express-open) or closed
(Express-close)
Each power window must be synchronized.

Close all doors.

Switch on the ignition (
page 34).

Press and hold switch1 to 4 at the
symbolj until the windows are
completely closed.

Hold on to switches1 to 4 for ap-
proximately one second.
The power windows are synchronized.
Summer opening feature
If the weather is warm, you can ventilate
the vehicle before driving off by simulta-
neously:

opening the side windows


opening the tilt/sliding sunroof


turning on the seat ventilation* for the
driver’s seat

Aim transmitter eye of the SmartKey or
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* at the
driver’s outside door handle. The
SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* must be in close proxim-
ity to the driver’s door handle.

Press and hold button Πuntil the
side windows and tilt/sliding sunroof
have reached the desired position.

Release button Πto interrupt pro-
cedure. still does not close when there is no ob-
struction, press and hold the respec-
tive power window switch at the
symbolj. The side window will
then close without the obstruction sen-
sor function.
iThe seat ventilation* for the driver’s
seat is automatically set to the highest
level if activated via summer opening
feature.


211 Controls in detail
Power windows
Convenience closing feature
When you lock the vehicle, you can close
the side windows and tilt/sliding sunroof
simultaneously. 
Aim transmitter eye of the SmartKey or
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* at the
driver’s outside door handle
(page 210). The SmartKey or
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* must be
in close proximity to the driver’s door
handle.

Press and hold button ‹ until the
side windows and tilt/sliding sunroof
are completely closed.

Release button ‹ to interrupt pro-
cedure.Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:

Press and hold the lock button on an
outside door handle (
page 58) until
the side windows and the tilt/sliding
sunroof are completely closed.

Release the lock button on the outside
door handle to interrupt procedure.
Warning!
G
When closing the side windows and the
tilt/sliding sunroof, make sure that there is
no danger of anyone being harmed by the
closing procedure.
If potential danger exists, proceed as fol-
lows:

Release button ‹to stop the closing
procedure. To open, press and hold but-
ton Œ. To continue the closing after
making sure that there is no danger of
anyone being harmed by the closing pro-
cedure, press and hold button‹.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:


Release the lock button on the outside
door handle (
page 58) to stop the
closing procedure.


Pull on the outside door handle and hold
firmly. The side windows and the
tilt/sliding sunroof will open for as long
as the outside door handle is held but
the door is not opened.

213 Controls in detail
Power tilt/sliding sunroof

Switch on the ignition (
page 34).
Opening and closing the power
tilt/sliding sunroof

To open, close, raise or lower the
tilt/sliding sunroof, move the switch to
resistance point in the required
direction1to4.

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 the
tilt/sliding sunroof

To open, close, raise or lower the
tilt/sliding sunroof, move the switch
past the resistance point in the re-
quired direction1to4 and release.
The tilt/sliding sunroof opens or closes
completely.
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 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 391).
iYou can also open or close the tilt/slid-
ing sunroof using the SmartKey, see
“Summer opening feature”
(page 210) and “Convenience clos-
ing feature” (
page 211).
You can close and reopen the tilt/slid-
ing sunroof using the air recirculation
button, or the charcoal filter
buttone in the climate control pan-
el (
page 193).
iWith the SmartKey in starter switch po-
sition 0 or removed from the starter
switch, the tilt/sliding sunroof can be
operated

until you open the driver’s or pas-
senger door


for up to approximately five min-
utes


221 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Distronic menu in the control system
In the Distronic menu you see the current
settings for Distronic. What appears in the
multifunction display depends on whether
Distronic and the distance warning func-
tion are turned on or off.
Press buttonè orÿ repeatedly
until you see one of the following dis-
plays.
Warning!
G
An intermittent warning sounds and the
Distronic warning lampl in the instru-
ment cluster is illuminated if the Distronic
system calculates that the distance to the
vehicle ahead and your vehicle’s current
speed indicate that Distronic will not be ca-
pable of slowing the vehicle sufficiently to
maintain the preset following distance,
which creates a danger of a collision.
Immediately brake your vehicle to increase
the distance between your vehicle and the
vehicle in front of you. The warning sound is
intended as a final caution that you have not
interceded with your own braking inputs to
avoid a potentially dangerous situation. Do
not wait for the operation of the warning sig-
nal to intercede with your own braking, as
that will result in potentially dangerous
emergency braking which will not always re-
sult in an impact being avoided.
Tailgating increases the risk of an accident.
Warning!
G
Distronic brakes your vehicle with a maxi-
mum of 6.5 ft/s
2 (2 m/s
2). This corre-
sponds to about 20% of the maximum
deceleration ability of your vehicle.
Distronic brakes the vehicle in an effort to
restore the preset distance or to maintain
the speed. The brake pedal is automatically
applied as this happens which results in the
brake pedal moving.
Keep driver’s foot area clear at all times, in-
cluding the area under the brake pedal. Ob-
jects stored in this area may impair pedal
movement which could interfere with the
braking ability of the Distronic system.
Do not place your foot under the brake pedal
– your foot could become caught.

227 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Activating
Press button1.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on. A loudspeaker symbol ap-
pears in the multifunction display
(page 222).
Deactivating

Press button1.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.Driving with Distronic
This section describes a number of driving
situations where special precaution is re-
quired on the part of the driver. Be pre-
pared to brake in such situations which will
deactivate the Distronic system.
Warning!
G
Distronic works to maintain the speed se-
lected by the driver unless a moving obsta-
cle proceeding directly ahead of it in the
same travel direction is detected (e.g. fol-
lowing another vehicle ahead of you at a dis-
tance set by Distronic). This means that:

Your vehicle can pass another vehicle
after you change lanes.


While in a sharp turn or if the vehicle in
front is in a sharp turn, Distronic could
lose sight of a vehicle traveling in front
of it, then your vehicle could accelerate
to the previously selected speed.
Distronic regulates only the distance be-
tween your vehicle and those directly ahead
of it, but does not register stationary objects
in the road, e.g.:

a stopped vehicle in a traffic jam


a disabled vehicle


an oncoming vehicle
The driver must always be on the alert, ob-
serve all traffic and intercede as required by
steering or braking the vehicle.
Warning!
G
Distronic should not be used in snowy or icy
road conditions.

229 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Lane changing
Distronic has not yet detected the vehicle
changing lanes. There will be insufficient
distance to the lane-changing vehicle.Narrow vehicles
Because of their narrow profile, the vehi-
cles traveling near the outer edge of the
lane have not yet been detected by Dis-
tronic. There will be insufficient distance to
the vehicles ahead.
Airmatic
Airmatic automatically selects the opti-
mum suspension tuning and ride height for
your vehicle. Airmatic consists of two com-
ponents:

Adaptive Damping System (ADS)


Level control system
The ADS automatically selects the opti-
mum damping for the respective driving
conditions. At the same time the suspen-
sion is set to either sporty or regular.
Suspension tuning
The suspension tuning is set according to:


Your driving style


Road surface conditions


Your choice of suspension style,
“Comfort”, “Sports 1” or “Sports 2”,
which you select using the damping
button.