Page 113 of 480

112 Controls in detailLocking and unlockingIllumination of the emergency release but-
ton:
The button flashes for 30 minutes after
opening the trunk.
The button flashes for 60 minutes after
closing the trunk.
Automatic central locking
The doors and the trunk lid lock automati-
cally when the vehicle is set into motion.
You can open a locked door from the in-
side. Open door only when conditions are
safe to do so.
You can deactivate the automatic locking
using the control system (
page 155).
iThe emergency release button unlocks
the trunk while the vehicle is standing
still or in motion.iThe emergency release button does
not open the trunk lid if the vehicle bat-
tery is discharged or disconnected.
iIf the vehicle has previously been
locked with the SmartKey or
KEYLESS-GO*, opening the trunk from
the inside using the emergency release
button will trigger the alarm system.
To cancel the alarm, do one of the fol-
lowing:
Press buttonŒ or‹ on the
SmartKey.
Insert the SmartKey in the starter
switch.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*
Grasp an outside door handle.
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO
must be within 3 ft. (1 m) of the
vehicle.
Press the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button (
page 37).
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO
must be inside the vehicle.
iThe doors unlock automatically after an
accident if the force of the impact ex-
ceeds a preset threshold.
The vehicle locks automatically 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
is on a test stand
Page 129 of 480

128 Controls in detailLightingDriving forward
Switching on corner-illuminating front
fog lamps
Depending on whether you are turning
left or right, switch on the left or right
turn signal (
page 53).
The respective front fog lamp comes on
and illuminates the road onto which
you are turning.Switching off corner-illuminating front
fog lamps
The combination switch for the turn signal
resets automatically after major steering
wheel movements. This will switch off the
corner-illuminating front fog lamps if they
were activated by switching on the left or
right turn signal.
If the turn signal should stay on after mak-
ing the turn, the turn signal and corner-illu-
minating front fog lamp can be switched
off by returning the combination switch to
its original position.Driving rearward
Switching on corner-illuminating front
fog lamps
Place the gear selector lever in
positionR.
The inverse front fog lamp comes on
automatically depending on the steer-
ing direction and steering angle.
Switching off corner-illuminating front
fog lamps
Place the gear selector lever out of
positionR.
The respective front fog lamp goes out.
iCorner-illuminating front fog lamps will
only come on in low ambient lighting
conditions.
The corner-illuminating front fog lamps
function is not available at a vehicle
speed above 25 mph (40 km/h).
iThe corner-illuminating front fog lamps
will come on automatically depending
on the steering angle, even if you did
not switch on either turn signal.
If the corner-illuminating front fog
lamps came on automatically, they will
also go out automatically depending on
the steering angle.
Page 131 of 480

130 Controls in detailLightingSwitching on the hazard warning
flasher
Press hazard warning flasher
switch1.
All turn signals are flashing.
Switching off the hazard warning
flasher
Press hazard warning flasher switch1
again.
Interior lighting
1Left reading lamp
2Right reading lamp
3Interior lighting on/off
4Slide switch for interior lighting controlAutomatic control
Activating
Slide switch4 to the left.
Interior lamps are switched on in dark-
ness when you
unlock the vehicle
open a door
remove the SmartKey from the
starter switch
open the trunk
In addition, the entry/exit lamps in the
door trays will come on when you open
a door.
The interior lamps are switched off af-
ter a preset time (
page 155).
iWith the hazard warning flasher acti-
vated and the combination switch set
for either left or right turn, only the re-
spective turn signals will operate when
the ignition is switched on.iIf the hazard warning flasher was
switched on automatically because of
an airbag that has deployed, press haz-
ard warning flasher switch 1 once to
switch it off.
iIf the door remains open, the interior
lamps switch off automatically after ap-
proximately 5 minutes.
Page 133 of 480

132 Controls in detailInstrument clusterFor a full view illustration of the instrument
cluster, see “Instrument cluster”
(page 24).
The instrument cluster is activated when
you
open a door
switch on the ignition
press the reset button (
page 24)
switch on the exterior lamps
Opening a door will activate the instrument
cluster only for about 30 seconds.
You can change the instrument cluster set-
tings in the Instrument cluster submenu of
the control system (
page 149).
Instrument cluster illumination
Use the reset button to adjust the illumina-
tion brightness for the instrument cluster
and the switches on the center console.
1Reset buttonTo brighten illumination
Turn reset button 1 in the instrument
cluster clockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
brighten.
To dim illumination
Turn reset button 1 in the instrument
cluster counterclockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
dim.
iThe instrument cluster illumination is
dimmed or brightened to suit ambient
light conditions.
Page 134 of 480

133 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
Coolant temperature gaugeDuring severe operating conditions, e.g.
stop-and-go traffic, the coolant tempera-
ture may rise close to 248°F (120°C).
The engine should not be operated with
the coolant temperature above 248°F
(120°C). Doing so may cause serious en-
gine damage which is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Trip odometer
Make sure you are viewing the trip
odometer display (
page 135).
If it is not displayed, press the j or
k button on the multifunction
steering wheel repeatedly until the trip
odometer appears.
Press and hold reset button1
(page 132) until the trip odometer is
reset.
Tachometer
The red marking on the tachometer de-
notes excessive engine speed.
To help protect the engine, the fuel supply
is interrupted if the engine is operated
within the red marking.
Warning!
G
Driving when your engine is badly over-
heated can cause some fluids which
may have leaked into the engine com-
partment to catch fire. You could be se-
riously burned.
Steam from an overheated engine can
cause serious burns an can occur just by
opening the hood. Stay away from the
engine if you see or hear steam coming
from it.
Turn off the engine, get out of the vehicle
and do not stand near the vehicle until the
engine has cooled down.!Excessive coolant temperature triggers
the coolant temperature warning lamp
(page 336) and a warning in the
multifunction display (
page 366).
!Avoid driving at excessive engine
speeds, as it may result in serious en-
gine damage that is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Page 140 of 480

139 Controls in detail
Control system
Menus, submenus and functions
Menu 1
Menu 2
Menu 3
Menu 4
Menu 5
Menu 6
Menu 7
Menu 8
Standard dis-
play
AUDIO
NAV
Distronic*
Vehicle status
message memory
Settings
Trip computer
Telephone
(page 140)
(page 141)
(page 143)
(page 143)
(page 144)
(page 146)
(page 157)
(page 159)
Commands/submenusDigital speedom-
eter/Outside
temperature
Selecting
radio station
Show route
guidance
instructions,
current
direction
traveled
Calling up
settings
Calling up vehicle
malfunction, warn-
ing and system sta-
tus messages
stored in memory
Resetting to
factory set-
tings
Fuel consump-
tion statistics
after start
Loading
phone book
Calling up main-
tenance service
indicator
Selecting
satellite radio
station*
(USA only)
Instrument
cluster sub-
menu
Fuel consump-
tion statistics
since the last
reset
Searching for
name in
phone book
Checking tire in-
flation pressure*
Operating CD
player
Time
submenu
Calling up
range
Checking engine
oil level
Lighting sub-
menuVehicle sub-
menuConvenience
submenu
Page 144 of 480

143 Controls in detail
Control system
NAV menu
The
NAV
menu contains the functions need-
ed to operate your navigation system.
Press button è or ÿ repeatedly
until you see the message
NAV
in the
left multifunction display.
The message shown in the multifunction
display depends on the status of the navi-
gation system:
With COMAND switched off, the mes-
sage
NAV off
appears in the
multifunction display.
With COMAND switched on but route
guidance not activated, the direction of
travel and, if applicable, the name of
the street currently traveled on appear
in the multifunction display.
With COMAND switched on and route
guidance activated, the direction of
travel and maneuver instructions ap-
pear in the multifunction display.Please refer to the COMAND manual for in-
structions on how to activate the route
guidance system.
Distronic* menu
Use the Distronic menu to display the cur-
rent settings for your Distronic system.
What information is given in the left multi-
function display depends on whether the
Distronic system is active or inactive.
Please refer to the “Driving systems” sec-
tion of this manual (
page 207) for in-
structions on how to activate Distronic.
Press button è or ÿ repeatedly
until you see one of the following two
displays in the multifunction display.Distronic deactivated
When Distronic is deactivated you will see
the standard display in the left multifunc-
tion display.
1Vehicle ahead, if detected
2Actual distance to vehicle ahead
3Preset distance threshold to vehicle
ahead
4Your vehicle
5Symbol for activated distance warning
function
Page 147 of 480

146 Controls in detailControl systemSettings menu
In the
Settings
menu there are two func-
tions:
The function
Reset
, with which you can
reset all the settings to those set at the
factory.
A collection of submenus with which
you can make individual settings for
your vehicle.
Press button è or ÿ repeatedly
until the
Settings...
menu appears in
the left multifunction display.The following settings and submenus are
available:Resetting all settings
You can reset all the functions of all sub-
menus to the factory settings.
Press the reset button in the instru-
ment cluster for approximately
3 seconds.
In the right multifunction display you
will see the request to press the reset
button again to confirm.
Press the reset button again.
The functions of all the submenus will
reset to factory settings.
Function
Page
Resetting all settings
146
Submenus in the Settings menu
147
Resetting the functions of a sub-
menu
147
Instrument cluster submenu
149
Time submenu
150
Lighting submenu
152
Vehicle submenu
155
Convenience submenu
156
iThe settings you have changed will not
be reset unless you confirm the action
by pressing the reset button a second
time.