2006 MERCEDES-BENZ S55AMG Owner's Manual

248 Controls in detailUseful featuresCup holders
Cup holder in front of seat armrestFolding out cup holder
The cup holder is located in the storage
compartment in front of the armrest.
1Button for folding out the cup holder

Open the storage compartment in front
of armrest (
page 244).

Push button1.
The cup holder opens automatically.
Warning!
G
In order to help prevent spilling liquids on
vehicle occupants and/or vehicle equip-
ment, only use containers that fit into the
cup holder. Use lids on open containers and
do not fill containers to a height where the
contents, especially hot liquids, could spill
during braking, vehicle maneuvers, or in an
accident. Liquids spilled on vehicle occu-
pants may cause serious personal injury.
Liquids spilled on vehicle equipment may
cause damage not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
When not in use, keep the cup holder
closed. An open cup holder may cause injury
to you or others when contacted during
braking, vehicle maneuvers, or in an acci-
dent.
Keep in mind that objects placed in the cup
holder may come loose during braking, vehi-
cle maneuvers, or in an accident and be
thrown around in the vehicle interior. Ob-
jects thrown around in the vehicle interior
may cause an accident and/or serious per-
sonal injury. !Only place containers with a maximum
diameter of 2
3/4in (72 mm) in the cup
holder. Larger containers could dam-
age the holder arm.

249 Controls in detail
Useful features
Folding in cup holder
1Cup holder
Swing cup holder1 back and press it
into the storage compartment until it
engages.Cup holder in rear seat armrest
1Compartment for cup holder
Opening cup holder

Push front of sliding compartment1.
The cup holder slides out.
Closing cup holder

Push sliding compartment1 back un-
til it engages.
Ashtrays
Center console ashtray
1Cover plate
2Button for disengaging ashtray
Opening ashtray
Briefly touch cover plate1.
The ashtray opens automatically.

250 Controls in detailUseful featuresRemoving ashtray insert
Secure vehicle from movement by set-
ting the parking brake. Move the gear
selector lever to positionN.
Now you have more room to take out
the insert.

Push sliding button2 to the right.
The ashtray is disengaged and slides
out a short way.

Remove insert from ashtray frame.
Reinstalling the ashtray insert

Install insert by pushing it back into the
frame until it engages.Rear door ashtray
Opening ashtray

Lightly touch the back of the ashtray.
Removing ashtray insert

Pull the ashtray back slightly and re-
move the insert (see arrows).
Reinstalling the ashtray insert

Position the insert and press down
while sliding forward.
Cigarette lighters
Center console lighter
Warning!
G
Remove front ashtray only with vehicle
standing still. Set the parking brake to se-
cure vehicle from movement. Move gear se-
lector lever to positionN. With gear selector
lever in positionN turn off the engine.
Warning!
G
Never touch the heating element or sides of
the lighter; they are extremely hot. Hold the
knob only.
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.

251 Controls in detail
Useful features
1Center console cigarette lighter
Switch on the ignition (
page 34).

Push in cigarette lighter1.
The lighter will pop out automatically
when hot.Rear door lighter
1Rear door lighters

Switch on the ignition (
page 34).

Lightly touch the back of the ashtray to
open it (
page 250).

Push in cigarette lighter1.
The lighter will pop out automatically
when hot.
iThe lighter socket can be used to ac-
commodate electrical accessories up
to a maximum 180 W.
Warning!
G
Never touch the heating element or sides of
the lighter; they are extremely hot. Hold the
knob only.
To avoid possible injury to children sitting in
the rear seat, deactivate the operation of
the rear door windows, see (
page 77). De-
activation of the rear windows also deacti-
vates the lighters.
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.
iOperation of the rear door lighters is
only possible, if the override switch
(page 77) is deactivated.

252 Controls in detailUseful featuresHeated steering wheel* (except S 55 AMG and S 65 AMG)
The steering wheel heating warms up the
leather area of the steering wheel.
The stalk with the heated steering wheel
switch is on the lower left-hand side of the
steering wheel.
1Switching on
2Indicator lamp
3Switching offSwitching on

Switch on the ignition (
page 34).

Turn switch at the tip of stalk in the di-
rection of arrow1.
The steering wheel is heated. Indicator
lamp2 comes on.Switching off

Turn switch at the tip of stalk in the di-
rection of arrow3.
The steering wheel heating is turned
off. Indicator lamp2 goes out.
For information on the steering wheel, see
“Steering wheel” (
page 40).
iThe steering wheel heating is tempo-
rarily suspended while indicator
lamp2 remains on when

the temperature of the vehicle inte-
rior is above 86°F (30°C)


the temperature of the steering
wheel is above 95°F (35°C)
When these conditions do not apply
anymore, steering wheel heating con-
tinues.
iIndicator lamp2 flashes or switches
off

in case of power surge or undervolt-
age


in case of a steering wheel heating
malfunction
iThe steering wheel heating switches off
automatically when you remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch or, on
vehicles with KEYLESS-GO**, when
you switch off the ignition (
page 34)
and open the driver’s door.

253 Controls in detail
Useful features
Telephone*
Radio transmitters, such as a portable tele-
phone or a citizens band unit, should only
be used inside the vehicle if they are con-
nected to an antenna that is installed on
the outside of the vehicle.
The external antenna must be approved by
Mercedes-Benz. Please contact an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center for informa-
tion on the installation of an approved
external antenna. Refer to the radio trans-
mitter operation instructions regarding use
of an external antenna.You can take and place telephone calls us-
ing thes andt buttons on the
steering wheel. To carry out other tele-
phone functions, use the control system
(
page 153).
See separate operating manual for instruc-
tions on how to use the telephone.
Warning!
G
Never operate radio transmitters equipped
with a built-in or attached antenna (i.e. with-
out being connected to an external antenna)
from inside the vehicle while the engine is
running. Doing so could lead to a malfunc-
tion of the vehicle’s electronic system, pos-
sibly resulting in an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
Warning!
G
Please do not forget that your primary re-
sponsibility is to drive the vehicle. A driver’s
attention to the road must always be
his/her primary focus when driving. For
your safety and the safety of others, we rec-
ommend that you pull over to a safe location
and stop before placing or taking a tele-
phone call.
If you choose to use the telephone
1 while
driving, please use the hands-free device
and only use the telephone when road,
weather and traffic conditions permit. Some
jurisdictions prohibit the driver from using a
cellular telephone while driving a vehicle.
Only operate the COMAND (Cockpit Man-
agement and Data System)
1 if road, weather
and traffic conditions permit.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km/h), your vehicle is
covering a distance of 44 feet (approximate-
ly 14 m) every second.
1Observe all legal requirements.

254 Controls in detailUseful featuresTele Aid
The Tele Aid system
(Tele
matic A
larm I
dentification on D
e-
mand)
The Tele Aid system consists of three
types of response:


automatic and manual emergency


roadside assistance, and


informationThe Tele Aid system is operational provid-
ing that the vehicle’s battery is charged,
properly connected, not damaged and cel-
lular and GPS coverage is available.
The speaker volume of a Tele Aid call can
be adjusted when using the volume control
on the multifunction steering wheel. To
raise, press buttonæ and to lower,
press buttonç or use the volume knob
on your COMAND head unit.

To activate, press the SOS button, the
Roadside Assistance button• or
the Information button¡, depend-
ing on the type of response required.Shortly after the completion of your
Tele Aid acquaintance call, you will receive
a user ID and password. By visiting
www.mbusa.com and selecting “Tele Aid”
(USA only), you will have access to account
information, remote door unlock and
more.
!The initial activation of the Tele Aid sys-
tem may only be performed by com-
pleting the subscriber agreement and
placing an acquaintance call using the
Information button¡. Failure to
complete either of these steps will re-
sult in a system that is not activated.
If you have any questions regarding ac-
tivation, please call the Response Cen-
ter at 1-800-756-9018 (in the USA) or
1-888-923-8367 (in Canada).
iThe SOS button is located above the in-
terior rear view mirror.
The Roadside Assistance button•
and the Information button¡ are
located below the center armrest cov-
er.
iThe Tele Aid system utilizes the cellular
network for communication and the
GPS (Global Positioning System) satel-
lites for vehicle location. If either of
these signals are unavailable, the
Tele Aid system may not function and if
this occurs, assistance must be sum-
moned by other means.

255 Controls in detail
Useful features
System self-check
Initially, after switching on the ignition,
malfunctions are detected and indicated
(the indicator lamps in the SOS button, the
Roadside Assistance button• and the
Information button¡ stay on longer
than ten seconds or do not come on). The
message:TELE AID MALFUNCTION
DRIVE TO WORKSHOPappears for approximately ten seconds in
the multifunction display.Emergency calls
An emergency call is initiated
automatically following an accident in
which the emergency tensioning devices
(ETDs) or air bags deploy.
An emergency call can also be initiated
manually by opening the cover next to the
interior rear view mirror labeled SOS, then
briefly pressing the button located under
the cover. See (
page 256) for
instructions on initiating an emergency call
manually.
Once the emergency call is in progress, the
indicator lamp in the SOS button will begin
to flash. The message:
CONNECTING CALL

appears in the multifunction display and
the audio system is muted. When the con-
nection is established, the message:
CALL
CONNECTED
appears in the multifunction
display. All information relevant to the
emergency, such as the location of the ve-
hicle (determined by the GPS satellite loca-
tion system), vehicle model, identification
number and color are generated.
iThe Tele Aid system utilizes the cellular
network for communication and the
GPS (Global Positioning System) satel-
lites for vehicle location. If either of
these signals are unavailable, the Tele
Aid system may not function and if this
occurs, assistance must be summoned
by other means.
Warning!
G
If the indicator lamps in the SOS button, in
the Roadside Assistance button
•

and/or in the Information button
¡
do
not come on during the system self-check,
or if any of these indicators remain illuminat-
ed continuously in red and/or the message:
TELE AID MALFUNCTION
DRIVE TO WORKSHOPis displayed in the multifunction display af-
ter the system self-check, a malfunction in
the system has been detected.
If a malfunction is indicated as outlined
above, the system may not operate as ex-
pected. Have the system checked at the
nearest Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as
possible.