ContentsSafety and Security........................... 63
Occupant safety................................... 64
Air bags .......................................... 66
Occupant Classification System
(USA only) ...................................... 71
BabySmart
TM air bag deactivation
system (Canada only) ..................... 76
Seat belts ....................................... 78
Preventive occupant safety
(PRE-SAFE®) ................................... 82
Active head restraints .................... 83
Children in the vehicle .................... 84
Blocking of
rear door window operation ........... 89
Panic alarm .......................................... 90
Activating ....................................... 90
Deactivating ................................... 90
Driving safety systems ......................... 91
ABS ................................................ 91
BAS ................................................ 92
Adaptive Brake ............................... 93
EBP................................................. 93
ESP
®............................................... 94Anti-theft systems ............................... 99
Immobilizer .................................... 99
Anti-theft alarm system.................. 99
Controls in detail............................. 101
Locking and unlocking ....................... 102
SmartKey ..................................... 102
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ...... 105
Checking batteries in the
SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* .............................. 110
Loss of the SmartKey or
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ...... 110
Opening the doors
from the inside ............................. 111
Opening the trunk ........................ 112
Closing the trunk.......................... 113
Trunk emergency release ............. 116
Valet locking ................................ 117
Automatic central locking ............ 118
Locking and unlocking
from the inside ............................. 118 Seats ................................................ 120
Front seat active head restraints . 120
Rear seat head restraints ............. 120
Lumbar support ........................... 121
Multicontour seat*....................... 122
Seat heating*............................... 123
Seat ventilation* .......................... 124
Memory function ............................... 125
Storing positions into memory ..... 126
Recalling positions from memory. 126
Storing exterior rear view mirror
parking position ........................... 127
Lighting ............................................. 128
Exterior lamp switch .................... 128
Combination switch ..................... 132
Corner-illuminating
front fog lamps* (CLS 550 with
Bi-Xenon* headlamps only).......... 132
Hazard warning flasher ................ 134
Interior lighting in the front .......... 135
Interior lighting in the rear ........... 136
Door entry lamps ......................... 137
Trunk lamp ................................... 137
Contents
Instrument cluster ............................. 138
Adjusting instrument cluster
illumination .................................. 138
Coolant temperature indicator ..... 139
Resetting trip odometer ............... 139
Tachometer .................................. 139
Outside temperature indicator ..... 140
Control system .................................. 141
Multifunction display .................... 141
Multifunction steering wheel ........ 142
Menus .......................................... 144
Standard display menu ................ 147
AMG menu ................................... 147
AUDIO menu ................................ 150
NAV* menu .................................. 152
Distronic* menu........................... 153
Vehicle status message
memory menu .............................. 153
Settings menu .............................. 154
Trip computer menu..................... 167
TEL* menu ................................... 168Automatic transmission...................... 171
Gear selector lever........................ 171
Shifting procedure ........................ 172
Gear selector lever positions ........ 173
Driving tips.................................... 175
Gear ranges .................................. 176
Automatic shift program ............... 177
Gear selector lever one-touch
gearshifting ................................... 178
Steering wheel gearshift control
one-touch gearshifting* ................ 179
Manual shift program
CLS 63 AMG ................................. 181
Emergency operation
(Limp-Home Mode) ....................... 184
Good visibility ..................................... 185
Headlamp cleaning system* ......... 185
Rear view mirrors .......................... 185
Sun visors ..................................... 187
Rear window sunshade* ............... 188
Rear window defroster .................. 1894-zone automatic climate control ....... 190
Deactivating the climate control
system .......................................... 195
Operating the climate control
system in automatic mode ........... 196
Setting the temperature ............... 197
Adjusting air distribution .............. 197
Adjusting air volume ..................... 198
Front defroster ............................. 199
Maximum cooling MAX COOL
(USA only) ..................................... 200
Air recirculation mode .................. 200
Air conditioning ............................ 203
Residual heat and ventilation
(Canada only)................................ 203
Rear climate control ..................... 204
Front center console
storage compartment ventilation.. 206
Power windows .................................. 207
Opening and closing
the windows ................................. 207
Synchronizing power windows ...... 209
Summer opening feature .............. 210
Convenience closing feature......... 210
23 At a glance
Exterior view
Item
Page
1
Trunk
Unlocking
102
Opening and closing
112
Spare wheel
391
Vehicle tool kit
393
2
Rear lamps
404
3
Rear window, defrosting
193
4
Fuel filler flap
283
Fuel requirements
452
5
Doors
Locking and unlocking
102
Opening and closing
111
Item
Page
6
Towing eye bolt
393
Installing towing eye bolt
425
7
Rims and tires
Checking tire inflation
pressure
302
Flat tire
412
8
Front lamps
404
9
Hood, opening
286
Engine oil
287
Coolant
290
a
Windshield wipers
56
Wiper blades, replacing
410
Wiper blades, cleaning
337
Item
Page
b
Window, cleaning
337
c
Power tilt/sliding sunroof
212
d
Exterior rear view mirrors
Adjusting
47
Auto-dimming
185
Parking position
187
e
Side marker lamps
404
29 At a glance
Center console
Center console
Upper part
Item
Page
1
4-zone automatic climate
control
190
2
COMAND system, see sepa-
rate operating instructions
3
Seat heating*, front passen-
ger side
123
Seat ventilation*, front pas-
senger side
124
4
Electronic Stability Program
(ESP
®) control switch
95
5
Central locking switch
119
Item
Page
6
Opening/closing button for
CD changer, see separate
COMAND operating instruc-
tions
7
Rear seat head restraints
switch, folding down
121
8
Rear window sunshade*
switch
188
9
Seat heating*, driver’s side
123
Seat ventilation*, driver’s
side
124
a
Hazard warning flasher
switch
134
b
Front passenger front
air bag off indicator lamp
76
34 At a glanceDoor control panel
Item
Page
1
Inside door handle
111
2
Seat adjustment
42
3
Memory function (for stor-
ing seat, exterior mirror and
steering wheel settings)
125
4
Exterior rear view mirror ad-
justment
47
5
Switches for opening/clos-
ing front and rear side win-
dows, rear window override
switch
207
6
Remote trunk release
switch, trunk opening/clos-
ing system*
113
37 Getting started
Unlocking
For more information, see “Locking and
unlocking” (
page 102).
Unlocking with KEYLESS-GO*
With the KEYLESS-GO function, you can
lock and unlock the vehicle without using
the remote control buttons on the
SmartKey and start the engine without in-
serting the SmartKey in the starter switch.
Pull an outside door handle.
All turn signal lamps flash once.
An acoustic signal sounds once.
The locking knobs in the doors
move up.
The anti-theft alarm system is dis-
armed.
Get in the vehicle.
For more information, see “SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO*” (
page 105).
i
Opening a door causes the window on that
door to open slightly. They will return to the up
position when the door is closed.
!
The side windows will not open or close if
the battery is discharged or the windows are cov-
ered with ice. As a result, you may no longer be
able to properly close the door. Do not attempt
to force the door shut. Doing so may damage the
door or the side window. Correct the condition
that prevents the windows from operating before
attempting to close the door.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO 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.i
To unlock the vehicle, the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO must be outside the vehicle, no fur-
ther than approximately 3 feet (1 meter) away
from the door.
i
Opening a door causes the window on that
door to open slightly. They will return to the up
position when the door is closed.
!
The side windows will not open or close if
the battery is discharged or the windows are cov-
ered with ice. As a result, you may no longer be
able to properly close the door. Do not attempt
to force the door shut. Doing so may damage the
door or the side window. Correct the condition
that prevents the windows from operating before
attempting to close the door.
57 Getting started
Driving
Switching on windshield wipers
Turn the combination switch to the de-
sired position depending on the inten-
sity of the rain.
MWindshield wipers off
USlow intermittent wiping
Rain sensor operation with low
sensitivity.
VFast intermittent wiping
Rain sensor operation with high
sensitivity.
uSlow continuous wiping
tFast continuous wipingIntermittent wiping
Only switch on intermittent wiping under
wet weather conditions or in the presence
of precipitation.Intermittent wiping interval is dependent
on wetness of windshield.
Turn the combination switch to
positionU or V.
After the initial wipe, pauses between
wipes are automatically controlled by the
rain sensor.
!
If windshield wipers fail to function at all in
combination switch positionU or V,
set the combination switch to the next high-
est wiper speed
have the windshield wipers checked at the
nearest authorized Mercedes-Benz Center
!
Do not leave windshield wipers in
intermittent setting when the vehicle is taken to
an automatic car wash or during windshield
cleaning. Windshield wipers will operate in the
presence of water sprayed on the windshield,
and windshield wipers may be damaged as a re-
sult.
!
If you have set intermittent wiping, dirt on
the surface of the rain sensor or optical effects
may cause the windshield wipers to wipe in an
undesired fashion. This could then damage the
windshield wiper blades or scratch the windows.
You should therefore switch off the windshield
wipers when weather conditions are dry.
i
Intermittent wiping is interrupted when the
vehicle is at a standstill and a front door is
opened. This protects persons getting into or out
of the vehicle from being sprayed.
Intermittent wiping will be continued when
all doors are closed
and
the gear selector lever is in positionD orR
or
the wiper setting is changed using the com-
bination switch
66 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyAir bagsWarning!
G
Air bags are designed to reduce the poten-
tial of injury and fatality in certain frontal im-
pacts (front air bags, driver-side knee bag),
side impacts (side impact air bags and win-
dow curtain air bags) or rollovers (window
curtain air bags). However, no system avail-
able today can totally eliminate injuries and
fatalities.
The activation of the air bags temporarily re-
leases a small amount of dust from the
air bags. This dust, however, is neither inju-
rious to your health, nor does it indicate a
fire in the vehicle. The dust might cause
some temporary breathing difficulty for peo-
ple with asthma or other breathing trouble.
To avoid this, you may wish to get out of the
vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so. If you
have any breathing difficulty but cannot get
out of the vehicle after the air bag inflates,
then get fresh air by opening a window or
door.
Warning!
G
To reduce the risk of injury when the front
air bags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and front passenger to always be in a
properly seated position and to wear their
respective seat belts.
For maximum protection in the event of a
collision always be in normal seated position
with your back against the backrest. Fasten
your seat belt and make sure that it is prop-
erly positioned on your body.
Since the air bag inflates with considerable
speed and force, a proper seating and hands
on steering wheel position will help to keep
you at a safe distance from the air bag.
Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the air bag can be seriously
injured or killed by an air bag as it inflates
with great force in the blink of an eye:
Sit properly belted in an upright position
with your back against the seat back-
rest.
Adjust the driver seat as far as possible
rearward, still permitting proper opera-
tion of vehicle controls. The distance
from the center of the driver’s breast-
bone to the center of the air bag cover
on the steering wheel must be at least
10 in (25 cm) or more. You should be
able to accomplish this by a combina-
tion of adjustments to the seat and
steering wheel. If you have any prob-
lems, please contact your authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Do not lean with your head or chest
close to the steering wheel or dash-
board.
Keep hands on the outside of steering
wheel rim. Placing hands and arms in-
side the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when driver front air bag inflates.
Adjust the front passenger seat as far as
possible rearward from the dashboard
when the seat is occupied.