75 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Self-test Occupant Classification
System
After turning the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position1 or2 or pressing the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button once or
twice, the 56 indicator lamp
located in the center console illuminates. If
an adult occupant is properly sitting on the
front passenger seat and the system
senses the occupant as being an adult,
the56 indicator lamp will
illuminate and go out after
approximately 6 seconds.
If the seat is not occupied and the system
senses the front passenger seat as being
empty, the 56 indicator lamp will
illuminate and not go out. More information can be found in the
“Practical hints” section (
page 376).
Seat belts
The use of seat belts and infant and child
restraint systems is required by law in all
50 states, the District of Columbia, the
U.S. territories and all Canadian provinces.
Even where this is not the case, all vehicle
occupants should have their seat belts
fastened whenever the vehicle is in
motion.
For more information, see “Fastening the
seat belts” (
page 47).
Only have the seat repaired or replaced
by an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
Read and observe all warnings in this
chapter.
Warning!G
If the 56 indicator lamp should not
illuminate, the system is not functioning.
You must see an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center before seating any child on the front
passenger seat.
Warning!G
Never place anything between seat cushion
and child seat (e.g. pillow), since it reduces
the effectiveness of the Occupant Classifi-
cation System. The bottom of the child seat
must make full contact with the passenger
seat cushion. An incorrectly mounted child
seat could cause injuries to the child in case
of an accident, instead of increasing protec-
tion for the child.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for
installation of child seats.
iFor information on infants and children trav-
eling with you in the vehicle and restraint sys-
tems for infants and children, see “Children in
the vehicle” (
page 82).
93 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
The ESP® switch is located on the center
console.
1ESP
® switch
With the engine running, press ESP®
switch1 until the ESP® warning
lampv in the instrument cluster
comes on.
The ESP
® is switched off.Switching off the ESP
®
(CLK 63 AMG only)
Warning!G
When the ESP® warning lampv is
illuminated continuously, the ESP® is
switched off or is not operational due to a
malfunction. Vehicle stability in standard
driving maneuvers reduces.
Adapt your speed and driving to the prevail-
ing road conditions and to the non-operating
status of the ESP
®.
!Avoid spinning of a drive wheel for an
extended period with the ESP® switched off. This
may cause serious damage to the drivetrain
which is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.
Warning!G
The ESP® should not be switched off during
normal driving. Disabling of the system will
result in the following:
no restriction to engine torque
no differential brake support
loss of system supported traction
control
“ESP
® Off” is designed for driving on closed
tracks when the vehicle’s natural oversteer
and understeer characteristics are desired
and requires a highly skilled and
experienced driver able to handle these
critical driving situations.
You could lose control of your vehicle and
cause an accident.
Please be aware of these limits when you
switch off the ESP
®.
94 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
When you switch off the ESP®
the ESP® does not stabilize the vehicle
the engine output is not limited, which
allows the drive wheels to spin and
thus cut into surfaces for better grip
the traction control is not available
the ESP® operates while you are
braking
you cannot activate the cruise control
the cruise control switches off if
currently activatedThe ESP
® switch is located on the center
console.
1ESP
® switch
With the engine running, press ESP®
switch1 until the ESP® warning
lampv in the instrument cluster
comes on.
The ESP
® is switched off.
Switching on the ESP®
Press ESP® switch1 until the ESP®
warning lampv in the instrument
cluster goes out.
You are now again in normal driving
mode with ESP
® switched on.
iWhen the ESP® is switched off and one
or more drive wheels are spinning, the ESP®
warning lampv in the instrument cluster
flashes. However, the ESP
® will then not
stabilize the vehicle.
Warning!G
When the ESP® warning lampv is
illuminated continuously, the ESP® is
switched off or is not operational due to a
malfunction. Vehicle stability in standard
driving maneuvers reduces.
Adapt your speed and driving to the prevail-
ing road conditions and to the non-operating
status of the ESP
®.
!Avoid spinning of a drive wheel for an
extended period with the ESP® switched off. This
may cause serious damage to the drivetrain
which is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.
96 Safety and Security
Anti-theft systems
Arming the alarm system
The indicator lamp is in the center console.
1Indicator lamp
Lock the vehicle with the SmartKey or
KEYLESS-GO*.
The turn signal lamps flash three times,
and an acoustic signal sounds three
times, to indicate that the alarm sys-
tem is armed.
Indicator lamp1 begins to flash after
approximately 30 seconds after arming
the alarm system.Disarming the alarm system
Unlock the vehicle with the SmartKey
or KEYLESS-GO*.
The turn signal lamps flash once, and
an acoustic signal sounds once, to
indicate that the alarm system is
disarmed.Canceling the alarm
With the SmartKey
Press the Œ or ‹button on the
SmartKey.
or
Insert the SmartKey in the starter
switch.
With KEYLESS-GO*
Pull an outside door handle.
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO must
be within 3 ft (1 m) of the vehicle.
or
Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop
button (
page 38).
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO must
be inside the vehicle.
iIf the turn signal lamps do not flash three
times, and the acoustic signal do not sounds
three times (if equipped and feature activated),
one of the following elements may not be prop-
erly closed:
a door
the trunk
Close the respective element and lock the vehi-
cle again.
iThe alarm system will rearm automatically
after approximately 40 seconds if neither a door
nor the trunk lid was opened.
118 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Locking and unlocking from the inside
You can lock or unlock the doors and the
trunk from inside using the central locking
or unlocking switch. This can be useful, for
example, if you want to lock the vehicle
before starting to drive.
You cannot lock or unlock the fuel filler flap
with the central locking or unlocking
switch.The switches are located in the center
console.
1Central locking switch
2Central unlocking switch
Locking
Press central locking switch1.
If both doors are closed, the vehicle
locks.
Unlocking
Press central unlocking switch2.
The vehicle unlocks.
Warning!G
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. A child’s unsupervised ac-
cess to a vehicle could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
iYou can open a locked door from the inside.
Open door only when conditions are safe to do
so.
If the vehicle was previously centrally locked
with the SmartKey or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO*, it will not unlock using the central
unlocking switch2.
If the vehicle was previously locked with the cen-
tral locking switch1
while in the selective remote control mode,
only the door opened from inside is un-
locked.
while in the global remote control mode, the
complete vehicle is unlocked when a door is
opened from the inside.
120 Controls in detail
Seats
Raising rear head restraints
1Rear seat head restraint
Pull head restraint1 to its highest
position.Lowering rear head restraints with
switch in the center console
1Rear head restraint lowering switch
Switch on the ignition (page 36).
Push the rear head restraints lowering
switch1.
The rear head restraints are lowered.
iThe rear head restraints cannot be lowered
using the switch1 when the roll bars have been
released. The roll bars need to be lowered before
the rear head restraints can be operated again
using switch1.
If the roll bars have released and the soft top
is closed, contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center to have the roll bars
lowered. Do not attempt to lower the roll
bars manually with the soft top closed. Low-
ering the roll bars manually with the soft top
closed may impair the function of the roll
bars.
If the roll bars have released and the soft top
is open, you can lower the roll bars manually
(
page 414) or contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center to have the roll bars
lowered.
122 Controls in detail
Seats
Seat heating*
Both switches for the front seats are
located in the center console.
1Seat heating switchThe red indicator lamps on the switch1
show which heating level you have select-
ed.
Switch on the ignition (page 36).Switching on seat heating
Press seat heating switch1 once.
Three red indicator lamps in the switch
come on.
Continue pressing seat heating
switch1 until desired seat heating
level is reached.
Switching off seat heating
Press seat heating switch1
repeatedly until all red indicator lamps
go out.
Level
3Three indicator lamps on
(highest level).
After approximately five minutes,
seat heating is automatically
switched to level 2.
2Two indicator lamps on.
After approximately ten minutes,
seat heating is automatically
switched to level 1.
1One indicator lamp on
(lowest level).
After approximately 20 minutes,
seat heating is automatically
switched off.
offNo indicator lamp on.
iIf one or more of the indicator lamps on the
seat heater switch1 are flashing, there is insuf-
ficient voltage due to too many electrical con-
sumers being switched on. The seat heating
switches off automatically.
The seat heating will switch back on again auto-
matically as soon as sufficient voltage is avail-
able.
123 Controls in detail
Seats
Seat ventilation*
Both switches for the front seats are
located in the center console.
1Seat ventilation switchThe blue indicator lamps in the switch1
show which ventilation level you have
selected:
Switch on the ignition (page 36).
All lamps in the instrument cluster
come on.
Switching on seat ventilation
Press seat ventilation switch1.
Three blue indicator lamps come on.
Press seat ventilation switch1
repeatedly until the desired seat venti-
lation level is reached.Switching off seat ventilation
Press seat ventilation switch1
repeatedly until all blue indicator lamps
go out.
Level
3Three indicator lamps on
2Two indicator lamps on
1One indicator lamp on
offNo indicator lamp on
iThe seat ventilation for the driver’s seat is
automatically set to the highest level if activated
via summer opening feature (
page 252).
iIf one or more of the indicator lamps on the
seat ventilation switch1 are flashing, there is
insufficient voltage due to too many electrical
consumers being switched on. The seat ventila-
tion switches off automatically.
The seat ventilation will switch back on again au-
tomatically as soon as sufficient voltage is avail-
able.