71 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Enhanced seat belt reminder system
When the engine is started, the seat belt
telltale< will always illuminate
for 6 seconds to remind you and your pas-
sengers to fasten your seat belts.
If the driver’s seat belt is not fastened
when the engine is started, an additional
warning chime will also sound for a maxi-
mum of 6 seconds or until the driver’ s
seat belt is fastened.
If after these 6 seconds the driver’s or the
front passenger’s seat belt (with the front
passenger seat occupied) is not fastened
with front doors closed,
the seat belt telltale< remains illu-
minated for as long as either the driv-
er’s or front passenger’s seat belt is not
fastened.
and if the vehicle speed once exceeds
15 mph (25 km/h), the seat belt
telltale< starts flashing and a
warning chime sounds with increasing
and side (front side impact air bags, rear
side impact air bags*, window curtain
air bags and ETD) impacts which exceed
preset deployment thresholds.
Never wear the shoulder belt under your
arm, against your neck or off your shoul-
der. In a frontal crash, your body would
move too far forward. That would
increase the chance of head and neck
injuries. The belt would also apply too
much force to the ribs or abdomen,
which could severely injure internal or-
gans such as your liver or spleen.
Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eyeglasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
might cause injuries.
Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips and not across the abdo-
m e n . I f t h e b e l t i s p o s i t i o n e d a c r o s s y o u r
abdomen, it could cause serious injuries
in a crash.
Never use a seat belt for more than one
person at a time. Do not fasten a seat
belt around a person and another
person or other objects.
Belts should not be worn twisted. In a
crash, you wouldn’t have the full width
of the belt to distribute impact forces.
The twisted belt against your body could
cause injuries.
Pregnant women should also always use
a lap-shoulder belt. The lap belt portion
should be positioned as low as possible
on the hips to avoid any possible
pressure on the abdomen.
Never place your feet on the instrument
panel, dashboard, or on the seat. Always
keep both feet on the floor in front of the
seat.
When using a seat belt to secure infant
or toddler restraints or children in
booster seats, always follow the child
seat manufacturer’s instructions.
73 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Active head restraint
The active front seat head restraints are in-
tended to offer the driver and front passen-
ger increased protection from whiplash
type injuries in rear-end collisions. In the
event of a rear-end collision exceeding the
systems’ deployment threshold, the active
head restraints on the driver’s and front
passenger’s seats are designed to move
forward in the direction of travel, providing
the head with increased support earlier on
in the collision sequence. The active head
restraints activate whether the seat is oc-
cupied or not.You cannot remove the active head re-
straints on the driver’s and front passen-
ger’s seat.
For removal of the active head restraints
we recommend that you contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
For information on head restraint adjust-
ment, see “Seats” (
page 34).
For information on resetting the activated
active head restraints, see “Resetting acti-
vated head restraints” (
page 365).
Warning!G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust the head restraint so that it is as
close to the head as possible and the center
of the head restraint supports the back of
the head at eye level. This will reduce the
potential for injury to the head and neck in
the event of an accident or similar situation.
Do not drive the vehicle without the seat
head restraints. Head restraints are intend-
ed to help reduce injuries during an
accident.
Warning!G
Only use seat or head restraint covers which
have been tested and approved by
Mercedes-Benz for your vehicle model.
Using other seat or head restraint covers
may interfere with or prevent the activation
of the active head restraints. Contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center for
availability.
Do not attach any objects (e.g. hangers) to
the head restraint posts. Otherwise, the ac-
tive head restraints may not be able to func-
tion properly or offer the intended degree of
protection in the event of an accident.
99 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Valet locking
The lock is located next to the handle
above the rear license plate recess.
1Neutral position
2Locked
Close the trunk (page 97).
Pull the mechanical key out of the
SmartKey (
page 361).
Insert the mechanical key in the trunk
lid lock.
Turn the mechanical key clockwise to
position2 and remove the mechani-
cal key in that position to lock the
trunk.
The trunk remains locked even when the
vehicle is centrally unlocked.
Insert the mechanical key in the trunk
lid lock.
Turn the mechanical key counterclock-
wise to neutral position1 and remove
the mechanical key in that position to
unlock the trunk.
You can now open the trunk
(
page 96).
Automatic central locking
The doors and the trunk automatically lock
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
inside. Open door only when conditions
are safe to do so.
You can deactivate the automatic locking
mode using the control system, see “Set-
ting automatic locking” (
page 143).
iTo deny any unauthorized person access to
the trunk, lock it separately with the mechanical
key. Leave only the SmartKey less its mechani-
cal key with the vehicle.
iYou can only cancel the separate trunk lock-
ing mode by means of the mechanical key.
iThe doors unlock automatically after an ac-
cident if the force of the impact exceeds a preset
threshold.
To prevent the vehicle door locks from locking,
deactivate the automatic central locking when
the vehicle
is pushed or towed
is on a test stand
114 Controls in detail
Lighting
Driving forward
Switching on corner-illuminating front
fog lamps
Switch on the left or right turn signal
(
page 50), depending on whether
you are turning left or right.
The respective front fog lamp comes on
and illuminates the area in the
direction into which you are turning.
or
Turning steering wheel in desired
direction.
The front fog lamp on the side of your
steering direction comes on.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
making the turn, the turn signal and the
corner-illuminating front fog lamp can be
switched off by returning the combination
switch to its original position.
iIf you have switched on the turn signal for
one side but turn the steering wheel in the
opposite direction, the corner-illuminating front
fog lamp comes on for the side indicated by the
turn signal.
The corner-illuminating front fog lamp remains lit
for a maximum of three minutes. Afterward, it
goes out even if the turn signal is still switched
on.
iThe corner-illuminating front fog lamps tem-
porarily come on, on both sides of the vehicle if
you turn the steering wheel in one direction and
then again in the other direction shortly thereaf-
ter.
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.iThere may be a brief delay before the
corner-illuminating front fog lamps switch off.
118 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
For a full view illustration of the instrument
cluster, see “At a glance” (
page 24).
1Reset button
The instrument cluster is activated when
you
open a door
switch on ignition (page 32)
press reset button1
switch on the exterior lighting
You can change the instrument cluster
settings in the Instrument cluster submenu
of the control system (
page 134).Adjusting instrument cluster
illumination
Use reset button1 to adjust the
illumination brightness for the instrument
cluster.
To brighten illumination
Turn reset button1 clockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
brighten.
To dim illumination
Turn reset button1 counterclock-
wise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
dim.
Warning!G
No messages will be displayed if either the
instrument cluster or the multifunction dis-
play is inoperative.
As a result, you will not be able to see infor-
mation about your driving conditions, such
as speed or outside temperature,
warning/indicator lamps,
malfunction/warning messages or the
failure of any systems. Driving
characteristics may be impaired.
If you must continue to drive, please do so
with added caution. Visit an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as possible.
iThe instrument cluster illumination is
dimmed or brightened automatically to suit am-
bient light conditions.
The instrument cluster illumination will also be
adjusted automatically when you switch on the
vehicle’s exterior lamps.
119 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
Coolant temperature gauge
The coolant temperature gauge is on the
left side in the instrument cluster
(
page 24).
Resetting trip odometer
Make sure you are viewing the trip
odometer and main odometer in the
multifunction display (
page 121).
If it is not displayed, press buttonè
orÿ on the multifunction steering
wheel (
page 122) until the trip
odometer appears in the multifunction
display.
Press and hold the reset button in the
instrument cluster (
page 118) until
the trip odometer is reset.
Warning!G
Driving when your engine is badly
overheated can cause some fluids which
may have leaked into the engine
compartment to catch fire. You could be
seriously burned.
Steam from an overheated engine can
cause serious burns and can occur just
by opening the hood. Stay away from
the engine if you see or hear steam com-
ing 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 a
warning in the multifunction display
(
page 346).
The engine should not be operated with the cool-
ant temperature above 248°F (120°C). Doing so
may cause serious engine damage which is not
covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warran-
ty.
iDuring severe operating conditions, e.g.
stop-and-go traffic, the coolant temperature may
rise close to 248°F (120°C).
125 Controls in detail
Control system
Menus, submenus and functions
Menu1Menu2Menu3Menu4Menu5Menu6Menu7
Standard
displayAUDIONAV*Vehicle status
message memorySettingsTrip computerTEL*
(page 126)(page 127)(page 129)(page 130)(page 131)(page 144)(page 146)
Commands/submenus
Run Flat
Indicator*
(Canada only)Selecting radio
stationShow route guid-
ance instructions,
current direction
traveledCall up vehicle mal-
function, warning and
system status messag-
es stored in memory
1
1The vehicle status message memory menu is only displayed if there is a message stored.
Reset to
factory
settingsFuel consumption
statistics from
startLoad phone
book
Digital speed-
ometer or out-
side temperatureSelecting satel-
lite radio sta-
tion* (USA only)Instrument
cluster sub-
menuFuel consumption
statistics since
the last resetSearch for
name in
phone book
Call up main-
tenance service
displayOperating
CD player* Time/Date
submenuDistance to
empty
Lighting
submenu
Vehicle
submenu
Convenience
submenu
128 Controls in detail
Control system
1SAT mode and preset number
2Channel name or number
Press buttonk orj repeatedly
until the desired channel is found.Operating the CD player*
Selecting CD track
Turn on the radio and select CD or
CD changer* (
page 205).
Vehicles with COMAND*:
Refer to separate operating
instructions.
Press buttonè orÿ repeatedly
until the settings for the CD currently
being played appear in the
multifunction display.1Current CD (with additional number
from 1 to 6 when running from
CD changer*)
2Current track
Press buttonk orj repeatedly
until the desired track is selected.
For more information on CD operation, see
“CD mode” (
page 201) and for the
CD changer*, see (
page 204).
iFor more information on satellite radio oper-
ation, see “Introduction to satellite radio*
(USA only)” (
page 197).
Vehicles with COMAND*:
Refer to separate operating instructions.
iThe COMAND* system and the
CD changer* can play audio CDs as well as CDs
with MP3 files.
iTo select a CD from the CD changer* maga-
zine, press a number on the audio system or the
COMAND* system key pad located in the center
console.