153 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission*
Gear selector lever positions
The current gear selector lever position
appears in the multifunction display.
1Current gear selector lever position
Effect
ìPark position
Gear selector lever position
when the vehicle is parked. Place
gear selector lever in park
positionP only when vehicle is
stopped. The park position is not
intended to serve as a brake
when the vehicle is parked.
Effect
Rather, the driver should always
set the parking brake in addition
to placing the gear selector lever
in park positionP to secure the
vehicle.
The SmartKey can only be
removed from the starter switch
with the gear selector lever in
park positionP. With the
SmartKey removed, the gear
selector lever is locked in park
positionP.
If the vehicle’s electrical system
is malfunctioning, the gear
selector lever could remain
locked in park positionP
(
page 363).
íReverse gear
Place gear selector lever in
positionR only when vehicle is
stopped.
Effect
ëNeutral
No power is transmitted from the
engine to the drive axle. When
the brakes are released, the
vehicle can be moved freely
(pushed or towed).
To avoid damage to the trans-
mission, never engage neutral
positionN while driving.
If the ESP
® is deactivated or
malfunctioning:
Move gear selector lever to neu-
tral positionN only if the vehicle
is in danger of skidding, e.g. on
icy roads.
êDrive
The transmission shifts
automatically. All forward gears
are available.
159 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission*
Canceling gear range limit
Press and hold the gear selector lever
in theD+direction until
D reappears in
the multifunction display (
page 153).
The transmission will shift from the
current gear range directly to gear
rangeD.Shifting into optimal gear range
Press and hold the gear selector lever
in theD-direction.
The transmission will automatically
select the gear range suited for optimal
acceleration and deceleration. This will
involve shifting down one or more
gears.Emergency operation (Limp-Home Mode)
If vehicle acceleration becomes less re-
sponsive or sluggish or the transmission
no longer shifts, the transmission is most
likely operating in limp-home (emergency
operation) mode. In this mode only second
gear and reverse gear can be selected.
Stop the vehicle in a safe location.
Move the gear selector lever to park
positionP.
Turn off the engine.
Wait at least 10 seconds before
restarting.
Restart the engine.
Move the gear selector lever to
positionD (for second gear) or
positionR.
Have the transmission checked at an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.
163 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Switch on the ignition (page 32).
Always raise or lower the sunshade fully
for its support against the window frame.
Raising or lowering the sunshade
Press switch1 briefly.
The sunshade is raised or lowered com-
pletely.
Stopping the raising or lowering
procedure
Press switch1 again.
The sunshade stops.
Rear window defroster
The rear window defroster uses a large
amount of power. To keep the battery
drain to a minimum, switch off the
defroster as soon as the rear window is
clear.
The defroster is automatically deactivated
after approximately 6 to 17 minutes of op-
eration depending on the outside tempera-
ture.
Switch on the ignition (page 32).Activating
Press buttonF or 1 in the
climate control panel (
page 165) or
automatic climate control panel*
(
page 175).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
Deactivating
Press buttonF or 1 again.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
!Make sure that the movement of the rear
window sunshade is not restricted by objects on
the rear window shelf. Otherwise, the sunshade
or the objects could be damaged.
Warning!G
Any accumulation of snow and ice should be
removed from the rear window before
driving. Visibility could otherwise be
impaired, endangering you and others.!If the rear window defroster switches off too
soon and the indicator lamp starts flashing, this
means that too many electrical consumers are
operating simultaneously and there is insuffi-
cient voltage in the battery. The system re-
sponds automatically by deactivating the rear
window defroster.
As soon as the battery has sufficient voltage, the
rear window defroster automatically turns itself
back on.
195 Controls in detail
Audio system
Manual tuning
Select desired waveband.
Press S or Tbutton for approx.
3 seconds.
Press button repeatedly until desired
frequency has been reached.
Step-by-step station tuning takes place
in ascending or descending order. Each
time the button is pressed, the radio
tunes further by 0.2 MHz. During
manual tuning, the radio is muted.
Automatic seek tuning
Select desired waveband.
Press S or T button briefly.
The radio will tune to the next highest
or next lowest receivable frequency.Scan search
Starting scan search
Select desired waveband.
Press SC soft key.
SC will appear in the display. The
radio briefly tunes in all receivable
stations on the waveband selected.
Ending scan search
Press SC soft key or S or T.The station last played will be
selected and
SC disappears from
the display.
Station memory
You can store ten AM and ten FM stations
in the memory.
Storing stations
Tune in desired station.
Press and hold desired station
button1 to R until a brief
signal tone is heard.
The frequency is stored on the
selected station button.
Calling up stations
Press desired station button1
to R briefly.
iYou can only enter frequencies within the re-
spective waveband.
If a button is not pressed within 4 seconds, the
radio will return to the last station tuned.iIf no station is received after two
consecutive scans of the complete frequency
range, then the scan stops at the frequency from
which it began.
197 Controls in detail
Audio system
Search
Press S or T button to tune in
the next receivable weather band
station.
Scan search
Starting scan search
Press SC soft key.
SC will appear in the display. The
radio briefly tunes in all receivable
weather band stations.
Ending scan search
Press SC soft key or S or T.
The weather band station last
played will be selected and
SC
disappears from the display.Introduction to satellite radio*
(USA only)
SIRIUS satellite radio provides 100 chan-
nels of digital-quality radio, among others
music, sports, news, and entertainment,
free of commercials. SIRIUS satellite radio
uses a fleet of high-power satellites to
broadcast 24 hours per day, coast to
coast, in the contiguous U.S.
This diverse, satellite-delivered program-
ming is available for a monthly subscrip-
tion fee.
For more information and service
availability call the SIRIUS Service
Center (
page 201), or contact
www.siriusradio.com.
iIf no weather band station is received after
three consecutive scans of the complete fre-
quency range, then the scan stops at the chan-
nel with which it began and
NO WB FOUND
appears in the display.
If this happens, switch back to standard radio
mode.
iAdditional satellite radio equipment and a
subscription to a satellite radio service provider
are required for the satellite radio operation de-
scribed here.
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center
for details and availability for your vehicle.
Note that categories and channels shown in illus-
trations are dependent on programming content
delivered by the service provider. Programming
content is subject to change. Therefore,
channels and categories shown in illustrations
and descriptions contained in this manual may
differ from the channels and categories
delivered by the service provider.
iSatellite radio service may be unavailable or
interrupted from time to time for a variety of rea-
sons, such as environmental or topographic con-
ditions and other things beyond the service
provider’s or our control. Service might also not
be available in certain places (e.g., in tunnels,
parking garages, or within or next to buildings) or
near other technologies.
200 Controls in detail
Audio system
Press X or Y soft key.
This switches between the
individual categories.
When changing the category, the
channel selected last in the new
category becomes audible.
The system will automatically switch to
a station of the selected category if the
currently selected station is not of the
selected category. Otherwise, the
currently selected station remains
tuned.
Tuning a station within the selected
category
The channels identified for the
currently selected category are
arranged numerically. Only one entry is
visible at a time.
Press S or T button briefly.
The next station within the category
is started.
or
Press and hold S or T
button for approx. 3 seconds until
desired station has been reached.
Tuning via scan search
Scan search is characterized as follows:
Scan search plays a channel for
approx. 8 seconds and then skips to
the next channel within the current cat-
egory.
Scan search can be terminated
manually.
Press SC soft key.
The search starts. SC appears in the
display.
Press SC soft key again.
The search stops.Obtaining additional text information
Additional text information (artist, title)
related to the current channel can be
displayed.
Press INF soft key.
The title being played is displayed.
Press INF soft key again.
The name of the artist performing the
title being played is displayed.
Storing stations
Tune in desired station.
Press and hold desired station
button1 to R until a brief signal
tone is heard.
The frequency is stored on the selected
station button.
iIf a button is not pressed within 4 seconds,
the radio will return to the standard display.
221 Controls in detail
Power windows
Power windows
Opening and closing the windows
The side windows are opened and closed
electrically. The switches for all the side
windows are on the driver’s door. The
switches 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 80)
Switch on the ignition (page 32).
Warning!G
When closing the power windows, make
sure 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 switch was pulled past the resistance
point and released, by either pressing or
pulling the respective switch.
If the window encounters an obstruction
that blocks its path in a circumstance where
you pulled 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
that blocks its path in a circumstance where
you are closing the window by pulling and
holding the switch, by pressing and holding
button‹ on the SmartKey, or by press-
ing and holding button, ore on the
climate control panel, the automatic rever-
sal function will not operate.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take it
with you, and lock the vehicle. Do not leave
children unattended in the vehicle, or with
access to an unlocked vehicle. A child’s
unsupervised access to a vehicle could
result in an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
iYou can also open or close the power win-
dows using the SmartKey, see “Summer opening
feature” (
page 223) and “Convenience clos-
ing feature” (
page 223).
Depending on current position, the windows may
also open or close when the air recirculation
button, in the control panel of the climate
control (
page 165) or automatic climate
control* (Canada only) (
page 175), or the
charcoal filter buttone in the control panel
of the automatic climate control* (Canada only)
(
page 183) is pressed and held.
262 Operation
Driving instructions
Power assistanceBrakes
To help prevent brake disk corrosion after
driving on wet road surfaces (particularly
salted roads), it is advisable to brake the
vehicle with considerable force prior to
parking. The heat generated serves to dry
the brakes.
If your brake system is normally only
subject to moderate loads, you should
occasionally test the effectiveness of the
brakes by applying above-normal braking
pressure at higher speeds. This will also
enhance the grip of the brake pads.
Warning!G
With the engine not running, there is no
power assistance for the brake and steering
systems. In this case, it is important to keep
in mind that a considerably higher degree of
effort is necessary to brake and steer the
vehicle.
Warning!G
After driving in heavy rain for some time
without applying the brakes or through wa-
ter deep enough to wet brake components,
the first braking action may be somewhat
reduced and increased pedal pressure may
be necessary to obtain expected braking ef-
fect. Maintain a safe distance from vehicles
in front.
Resting your foot on the brake pedal will
cause excessive and premature wear of the
brake pads.
It can also result in the brakes overheating,
thereby significantly reducing their effec-
tiveness. It may not be possible to stop the
vehicle in sufficient time to avoid an acci-
dent.
!Vehicles without 4MATIC:
Because the ESP® operates automatically, the
engine must be turned off (SmartKey in starter
switch position0 or1) when
the parking brake is being tested on a brake
test dynamometer
the vehicle is being towed with the front axle
raised
Active braking action through the ESP
® may oth-
erwise seriously damage the brake system.
For information on vehicles with 4MATIC, see
“Four wheel electronic traction system (4MATIC)
with the ESP
® ” (page 88).