556 Operation
Vehicle care
Engine cleaning
Prior to cleaning the engine compartment,
make sure to protect electrical compo-
nents and connectors from contact with
water and cleaning agents.
Corrosion protection, such as
MB Anticorrosion Wax, should be applied
to the engine compartment after every
engine cleaning. Before applying, all
control linkage bushings and joints should
be lubricated. The poly-V-belt and all pul-
leys should be protected from any wax.
Vehicle washing
In the winter, thoroughly remove all traces
of road salt as soon as possible.
When washing the vehicle underbody, do
not forget to clean the inner sides of the
wheels.Hand-wash
Do not use hot water or wash your vehicle
in direct sunlight.
Only use a mild car wash detergent,
such as Mercedes-Benz approved Car
Shampoo.
Thoroughly spray the vehicle with a dif-
fused jet of water.
Direct only a very weak spray towards
the ventilation intake.
Use plenty of water and rinse the
sponge and chamois frequently.
Rinse with clean water and thoroughly
dry with a chamois.
Do not allow cleaning agents to dry on
the finish.Automatic car wash
You can have your car washed in an auto-
matic car wash from the start.
To protect the filter system, switch the
automatic climate control to air recir-
culation mode (
page 458).
If the vehicle is very dirty, prewash it be-
fore running it through the automatic car
wash.
iVehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:
If a door handle is hit by a strong jet of water, and
a SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is in close prox-
imity, i.e. within approximately 3 ft (approxi-
mately 1 m), the vehicle could be inadvertently
locked or unlocked.
!Do not use scouring agents on these parts.
Never apply strong force and only use a soft,
non-scratching cloth when cleaning the vehicle.
Do not attempt to wipe the surface with a dry
cloth or sponge.
Otherwise you may scratch or damage the paint.
!Do not clean your vehicle in an automatic
touchless car wash which uses caustic spray.
Otherwise the caustic spray will damage the
paint or ornamental moldings.
!Make sure that the windshield wiper switch
is set to0 (
page 372). Otherwise, e.g. the rain
sensor could activate and cause the wipers to
move unintentionally. This may lead to vehicle
damage.
Due to the width of the vehicle, fold in exterior
rear view mirrors prior to running the vehicle
through an automatic car wash to prevent dam-
age to the mirrors.
557 Operation
Vehicle care
When taking the vehicle through an auto-
matic conveyor type car wash, observe the
following instructions.
Vehicles with SmartKey:
With the vehicle at a standstill and the
ignition switched on shift the
automatic transmission to neutral
positionN.
If engaged, manually release the
electronic parking brake (
page 385).
Switch off the ignition and leave the
SmartKey in the starter switch.Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:
With the vehicle at a standstill, depress
the brake pedal and keep it pressed.
With the ignition switched on shift the
automatic transmission to park
positionP.
Release the brake pedal.
Remove the KEYLESS-GO start/stop
button from the starter switch
(
page 337).
Insert the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO
into the starter switch.
Switch on the ignition.
Depress the brake pedal.
Shift the automatic transmission to
neutral positionN.
Release the brake pedal.
If engaged, manually release the
electronic parking brake (
page 385).
Switch off the ignition and leave the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO in the
starter switch.Ornamental moldings
For regular cleaning and care of ornamen-
tal moldings, use a damp cloth.
Warning!G
When leaving the SmartKey or SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO* in the starter switch, do
not leave children unattended in the vehicle.
It is possible for children to switch on the
ignition which could result in unsupervised
use of vehicle equipment. Unsupervised use
of vehicle equipment could result in an
accident and/or serious personal injury.
iAfter running the vehicle through an auto-
matic car wash, wipe any wax off of the wind-
shield (
page 562). This will prevent smears
and reduce wiping noise which can be caused by
residual wax on the windshield.
When leaving the car wash, make sure that the
mirrors are folded out. Otherwise they may
vibrate.
!Do not use chrome cleaner on ornamental
moldings. Although ornamental moldings may
have chrome appearance, they could be made of
anodized aluminum that will be damaged when
cleaned with chrome cleaner. Instead, use a
damp cloth to clean those ornamental moldings.
For very dirty ornamental moldings of which you
are sure are chrome-plated, use a chrome clean-
er. If in doubt whether an ornamental molding is
chrome-plated, contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
562 Operation
Vehicle care
Cleaning the windows and the wiper
blades
Make sure the hood is fully closed.
Placing wiper arms in vertical position
Vehicles with SmartKey:
Turn SmartKey in starter switch
position1.
Turn combination switch to wiper
settingu (
page 372).
With wiper arm in vertical position, turn
the SmartKey in starter switch to
position0.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:
Make sure the vehicle’s on-board elec-
tronics have status 1 (
page 337).
Turn combination switch to wiper
settingu (
page 372).
Press KEYLESS-GO start/stop button
repeatedly until windshield wipers
start.
Press KEYLESS-GO start/stop button
when the wiper arms are in a vertical
position.
Cleaning
Fold the wiper arms forward until they
snap into place.
Clean the wiper blade inserts with a
clean cloth and detergent solution.
Use a soft, clean cloth and a mild win-
dow cleaning solution on all outside
and inside glass surfaces.
An automotive glass cleaner is recom-
mended.
!The windshield wipers must be in a vertical
position before folding them away from the wind-
shield. They could otherwise damage the hood.
Never open the hood when the wiper arms are
folded forward.
Warning!G
For safety reasons, switch off wipers and re-
move SmartKey from starter switch (vehi-
cles with KEYLESS-GO*: Make sure the
vehicle’s on-board electronics have
status0) before cleaning the windshield
and/or the wiper blades. Otherwise, the
wiper motor could suddenly turn on and
cause injury.
!Do not pull on the wiper blade inserts. They
could tear.
!Fold the windshield wiper arms back onto
the windshield before turning the SmartKey in
the starter switch or pressing the KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button (vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*).
Hold on to the wiper when folding the wiper arm
back. If released, the force of the impact from
the tensioning spring could crack the windshield.
!To clean the window interior, do not use a
dry cloth, abrasives, solvents or cleaners con-
taining solvents. Do not touch the inside of the
front, rear or side windows with hard objects
such as an ice scraper or ring. Doing so may
damage the windows.
614 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Display Possible cause/consequencePossible solution
Key
not recognizedThe SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is not
recognized while the engine is running be-
cause the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is
not in the vehicle.Stop the vehicle in a safe location or as soon
as it is safe to do.
Search for the SmartKey.
Otherwise the vehicle cannot be centrally
locked nor can the engine be started again
after the engine is stopped.
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is not
recognized while the engine is running be-
cause there is strong radio-frequency inter-
ference.Stop the vehicle in a safe location or as soon
as it is safe to do.
Remove KEYLESS-GO* button from over
starter switch (
page 337).
Operate the vehicle with the SmartKey in the
starter switch.
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is mo-
mentarily not recognized.Change the position of the SmartKey in the
vehicle.
If necessary, operate vehicle using SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO* in starter switch under
KEYLESS-GO* button (
page 337).
615 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Display Possible cause/consequencePossible solution
Close doors
to lock themYou wanted to lock the vehicle but the
doors were not closed.Close doors and lock vehicle again.
Do not
forget keyThis display appears (for a maximum of
60 seconds) if the driver’s door is opened
with the engine turned off and no SmartKey
in the starter switch.
This message is only a reminder.Take the SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* with you when leaving the
vehicle.
Please
remove keyYou have forgotten to remove the
SmartKey.Remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch.
Change
key batteriesThe batteries in the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* are discharged.Replace the batteries (page 639).
Key
still in vehicleA SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* left in the
vehicle was recognized while locking the ve-
hicle from the outside.Take the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* out of
the vehicle.
616 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Display Possible cause/consequencePossible solution
Key
not recognizedThe SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is
momentarily not recognized.Change the position of the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* in the vehicle.
If necessary, operate vehicle using SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO* in starter switch under
KEYLESS-GO* button (
page 337).
Key being
initialized…
Please waitThe SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is being
initialized in the vehicle.Wait until the message disappears from the
multifunction display.
Remove starting
button, then
insert keyThe KEYLESS-GO* system is
malfunctioning.Remove KEYLESS-GO* button from the
starter switch (
page 337).
Operate the vehicle with the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* in the starter switch.
Replace keyThe SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* must be
replaced.Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center as soon as possible.
631 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Display Possible cause/consequencePossible solution
Shift to 'P'You have attempted to turn off the engine
with the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button
and opened the driver’s door with the auto-
matic transmission not shift to positionP.Shift the automatic transmission toP
(
page 389).
or
Close the driver’s door.
You are driving with the trunk open.Close the trunk (page 462).
Washer fluid,
please refillThe water level has dropped to approx.
1.1 US qts (1.0 l).Add washer fluid (page 519).
Seat backrest,
Front Left
not lockedThe driver seat backrest is not engaged.
The driver’s seat belt can not secure the
driverFold back and push the seat backrest until
the seat cushion and seat backrest audibly
engage into the driving position.
Seat backrest,
Front Right
not lockedThe passenger seat backrest is not en-
gaged.
The front passenger’s seat belt can not se-
cure the passengerFold back and push the seat backrest until
the seat cushion and seat backrest audibly
engage into the driving position.
635 Practical hints
Unlocking/locking in an emergency
Unlocking/locking in an emergency
Unlocking the vehicle
If you are cannot unlock the vehicle with
the SmartKey or KEYLESS-GO*, unlock the
driver’s door and the trunk using the me-
chanical key. Removing the mechanical key
1Mechanical key locking tab
2Mechanical key
Move locking tab1 in the direction of
arrow.
Slide mechanical key2 out of the
housing.Unlocking the driver’s door
Insert mechanical key2 into the driv-
er’s door lock until it stops.
Turn mechanical key2 counterclock-
wise to position1 and hold it there.
Pull the door handle until the locking
knob moves up.
The driver’s door is unlocked.
Pull the door handle once more to open
the driver’s door.
iUnlocking the vehicle with the mechanical
key and opening the driver’s door or the trunk
with the mechanical key will trigger the anti-theft
alarm system (
page 77).
To cancel the alarm, insert the SmartKey or
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* in the starter
switch.
1Unlocking
2Mechanical key