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
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
93 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
Adaptive Brake
Adaptive Brake provides a high level of
braking safety as well as increased braking
comfort.
Important notes on using the brake
system
Following extended periods of only mi-
nor loads to your brake system, you
should occasionally apply the brakes
when traveling at high speeds. This im-
proves the grip of the brake pads.
After driving on wet or snow-covered
roads, you should apply your brakes
firmly before parking your vehicle. This
produces heat which serves to dry the
brake disks and help prevent corro-
sion.
On long and steep grades, shift to a
lower gear (gear range1, 2, or 3) to
prevent the brakes from overheating
and to reduce brake wear.
After hard braking, it is advisable to
drive on for some time so that the air
stream will cool down the brakes fast-
er.
Only Mercedes-Benz approved compo-
nents (e.g. brake pads) should be in-
stalled on your vehicle. Brake pads not
approved by Mercedes-Benz may im-
pair the safety of your vehicle.
EBP
The Electronic Brake Proportioning (EBP)
enhances braking effectiveness by allow-
ing the rear brakes to supply a greater pro-
portion of the braking effort in straight line
breaking without a loss of vehicle stability.
skillful driver can prevent accidents. The ca-
pabilities of a BAS equipped vehicle must
never be exploited in a reckless or danger-
ous manner which could jeopardize the us-
er’s safety or the safety of others.Warning!
G
Make sure not to endanger any other road
users when carrying out these braking
maneuvers.
Warning!
G
When the EBP is malfunctioning, the ABS,
BAS, ESP
® are also switched off.
If the EBP is malfunctioning, the brake sys-
tem will still function with full brake boost.
However, the rear wheels could lock up dur-
ing emergency braking situations, for exam-
ple. You could lose control of the vehicle and
cause an accident. Adapt your driving style
to the changed driving characteristics.
123 Controls in detailSeats
Seat heating*
The red indicator lamps on the switch
show the heating level selected.
1Front seat heating switch
1Rear seat heating switch (Canada only)
Switch on the ignition (
page 38).Switching seat heating on
Press switch1.
Three red indicator lamps in the switch
come on.
Continue pressing switch1 until de-
sired seat heating level is reached.
Switching seat heating off
Press switch1 repeatedly until all in-
dicator lamps go out.
Level3
Three indicator lamps on
(highest level).
The seat heating automatically
switches to level2 after approxi-
mately 5 minutes.
2
Two indicator lamps on.
The seat heating automatically
switches to level1 after approxi-
mately 10 minutes.
1
One indicator lamp on
(lowest level).
The seat heating automatically
switches off after approximately
20 minutes.
off
No indicator lamp on.
i
If one or more of the lamps on the seat heat-
ing switch are flashing, there is insufficient volt-
age available since too many electrical
consumers are turned 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.
199 Controls in detail
4-zone automatic climate control
Front defroster
You can use this setting to defrost the
windshield, for example if it is iced up.
You can also defog the windshield and the
side windows.
Activating
Press buttonP or0
(page 192) or (
page 193).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on. Display4 (
page 192) or
(
page 193) is cleared.The air conditioning switches
automatically to the following functions:
cooling on to dehumidify
maximum blowing and heating
power (depends on cooling
temperature)
air flows onto the windshield and
the front side windows
the air recirculation mode is
switched off
Deactivating
Press buttonP or0
(page 192) or (
page 193) again.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out. Defrosting is turned off.
The previous settings are once again in
effect.Windshield fogged on the outside
Switch windshield wipers on
(page 57).
Press buttonU (
page 192) or
(
page 193).
If the automatic mode of the climate con-
trol is switched off:
Turn air distribution control1 and 7
to a or Y (
page 192) or
(
page 193).
i
Keep this setting selected only until the
windshield or the side windows are clear again.
i
If you have switched on the defrost function
using the0 button, you cannot make any
other settings.
i
The cooling remains switched on.
i
Keep this setting selected only until the
windshield is clear again.
204 Controls in detail4-zone automatic climate controlActivating
Switch off the ignition.
Press buttonT (
page 193).
REST
in the display4 (
page 193)
comes on.
Deactivating
Press buttonT (
page 193) again.
REST
in the display4 (
page 193)
goes out.
Rear climate control
The rear climate control is adjusted via the
front climate control panel (
page 192) or
(
page 193) or the rear climate control
panel.
The rear climate control panel is located in
the rear center console.
i
How long the system will provide heating de-
pends on
the coolant temperature
the temperature set by the operator
The blower will run at speed setting1 regardless
of the air distribution control setting.
i
The residual heat is automatically turned off:
when the ignition is switched on
after about 30 minutes
if the battery voltage drops
if the coolant temperature is too low
1
Left rear center air vent, adjustable
2
Right rear center air vent, adjustable
3
Thumbwheel for air volume control
for right rear center air vent
4
Temperature rocker switch, right
5
Display
6
Temperature rocker switch, left
7
Thumbwheel for air volume control
for left rear center air vent
206 Controls in detail4-zone automatic climate controlAdjusting the rear settings with the
front control panel
You can adjust the temperature for the
rear climate control from the front climate
control panel.
Press button™ or 5
(page 192) or (
page 193).
The display switches over.
1Rear climate control display
Set the desired temperature for the
rear passenger compartment using
temperature rocker switches4
and6 (
page 204).
After approximately 5 seconds after
the last adjustment, the display switch-
es back to its standard display.Front center console storage compart-
ment ventilation
The front center console storage compart-
ment under the armrest has its own air
vent. The air temperature is about the
same as that of the dashboard air vents.
The lever is located in the front center
vent.
1Lever
To open air vent slide the lever1 up.
To close air vent slide the lever1
down.
i
You can also press button™ or5
(
page 192) or (
page 193) once more to
switch back to the standard display.
i
The compartment can get very warm due to
its confined space. When storing heat sensitive
objects (e.g. groceries) in the compartment,
close the air vent while heating the passenger
compartment.
250 Controls in detailUseful featuresReinstalling ashtray insert
Install insert by pushing it back into
frame until it engages again.
Rear door ashtray
1Sliding button
2Insert slides out
3AshtrayOpening rear seat ashtray
Briefly press the top of ashtray3.
The ashtray opens.
Removing ashtray insert
Push sliding button1 and remove
insert2 upwards from ashtray frame.
Reinstalling ashtray insert
Install insert by pushing it back into
ashtray frame until it engages again.
Cigarette lighterWarning!
G
Never touch the heating element or sides of
the lighter; they are extremely hot. Hold the
knob only.
Make sure that any children traveling with
you do not injure themselves or start a fire
with the hot cigarette lighter.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* 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 re-
sult in an accident and/or serious personal
injury.