193 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
Gearshift paddles
(example illustration E 63 AMG)1Left shift paddle: limiting gear range or
downshift (in program modeM)
2Right shift paddle: extending gear
range or upshift (in program modeM)
The following instructions describe opera-
tion of the steering wheel gearshift control
when driving in the automatic program
modeC orS.Limiting gear range
Briefly pull left shift paddle1.
The transmission will shift to the next
lower gear as permitted by the shift
program. This action simultaneously
limits the gear range of the transmis-
sion (
page 189).
!
Allow engine to warm up under low load use.
Do not place full load on the engine until the
operating temperature has been reached.
Shift into reverse gearR or park positionP only
when the vehicle is stopped.
Avoid spinning of a drive wheel for an extended
period when driving off on slippery road
surfaces. This may cause serious damage to the
drivetrain which is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
i
You cannot shift with the steering wheel
gearshift paddles when the gear selector lever is
in positionP,N orR.
Warning!
G
On slippery road surfaces, never downshift
in order to obtain braking action. This could
result in drive wheel slip and reduced
vehicle control. Your vehicle’s ABS will not
prevent this type of loss of control.i
To avoid overrevving the engine when down-
shifting, the transmission will not shift to a lower
gear if the engine’s max. speed would be
exceeded.
194 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionExtending gear range
Briefly pull right shift paddle2.
The transmission will shift to the next
higher gear as permitted by the shift
program. This action simultaneously
extends the gear range of the transmis-
sion.Canceling gear range limit
Pull and hold right shift paddle2
until
D reappears in the multifunction
display (page 186).
The transmission will shift from the
current gear range directly to gear
rangeD.
Shifting into optimal gear range
Pull and hold left shift paddle1.
The transmission will automatically
select the gear range suited for optimal
acceleration and deceleration. This will
involve shifting down one or more
gears.
Manual shift program E 63 AMG
In addition to the automatic shift
programC orS, your vehicle is equipped
with the manual shift programM.
In the manual program modeM,
system-controlled automatic gearshifting
is switched off and you need to change the
gears by manually upshifting or downshift-
ing using the steering wheel gearshift
paddles (
page 193) or the gear selector
lever.
i
If you press on the accelerator when the en-
gine has reached its rpm limit, the transmission
will upshift beyond any gear range limit selected.
!
Allow engine to warm up under low load use.
Do not place full load on the engine until the
operating temperature has been reached.
Shift into reverse gearR or park positionP only
when the vehicle is stopped.
Avoid spinning of a drive wheel for an extended
period when driving off on slippery road
surfaces. This may cause serious damage to the
drivetrain which is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
195 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
The program mode selector switch is
located on the lower part of the center
console.Program mode selector switchM Manual For manual gear shifting
C Comfort For standard driving
S Sport For sporty driving
The selected program mode appears in the
multifunction display (
page 190).Activating manual shift program
Press program mode selector switch
repeatedly until the
M for manual pro-
gram modeM appears in the multifunc-
tion display.
The transmission switches to the
manual program modeM. Automatic
shifting is switched off. The gear range
is not limited.
You can change the gears manually when
the gear selector lever is in drive
positionD. You can upshift or downshift
through the gears in succession.Upshifting
Briefly press the gear selector lever to
the right in theD+direction.
or
Briefly pull right shift paddle2
(page 193).
The transmission shifts to the next
higher gear.
If, instead of the manual program mode
symbolM, thep symbol appears in the
multifunction display (
page 190), shift to
the next higher gear. The fuel supply will
otherwise be interrupted to prevent the
engine from overrevving.
i
For information on automatic program
modesC orS, see “Automatic shift program”
(
page 190), “Gear selector lever one-touch
gearshifting” (
page 191), and “Steering wheel
gearshift control one-touch gearshifting*”
(
page 192).
i
The manual program modeM will not be
stored. When the engine is turned off with the
manual program modeM selected, the transmis-
sion will go to the automatic program mode
(CorS) when the engine is restarted.
!
In the manual program modeM, the trans-
mission will not upshift, even if the engine has
reached its overrevving range. Shift up to the
next gear before the engine has reached its over-
revving range. Make absolutely certain that the
engine speed does not reach the red marking on
the tachometer (
page 26). Otherwise the
engine could be damaged which is not covered
by the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
196 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionIf you have selected the AMG menu in the
control system and you are driving in the
manual program modeM, upshift
indicator2 in the multifunction display
advises you to upshift before the engine
reaches the overspeed range. Thus you
can drive at the maximum engine speed for
each gear without overrevving the engine.
1Gear indicator
2Upshift indicator
Shift to the next higher gear.
The fuel supply will otherwise be inter-
rupted to prevent the engine from over-
revving.Downshifting
Briefly press the gear selector lever to
the left in theD-direction.
or
Briefly pull left shift paddle1
(page 193).
The transmission shifts to the next
lower gear.Kickdown
Using the kickdown when driving in the
manual program modeM is not possible.
Deactivating manual shift program
Press the program mode selector
switch (
page 195) repeatedly
until
Cor
S appears in the multifunction
display.
or
Restart the engine.
The transmission will go to the
automatic program mode (C orS).
The manual program modeM is not
stored.
Warning!
G
On slippery road surfaces, never downshift
in order to obtain braking action. This could
result in drive wheel slip and reduced
vehicle control. Your vehicle’s ABS will not
prevent this type of loss of control.i
When you brake or stop, the transmission
shifts down to a gear from which you can easily
accelerate or take off.
197 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
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.
250 Controls in detailDriving systems1Set current or higher speed
2Set current or lower speed
3Cancel cruise control
4Resume at last set speedSetting current speed
Accelerate or decelerate to the desired
speed.
Briefly lift1 or depress2 the cruise
control lever.
The current speed is set.
Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
Cruise control is activated.
The selected speed appears in the multi-
function display for approximately
5 seconds, and the corresponding speed-
ometer segments from the selected speed
to the vehicle maximum speed are illumi-
nated.Canceling cruise control
There are several ways to cancel the cruise
control:
Step on the brake pedal.
The cruise control is canceled. The last
speed set is stored for later use.
or
Briefly push the cruise control lever in
direction of arrow3 (
page 250).
The cruise control is canceled. The last
speed set is stored for later use.
Warning!
G
The cruise control brakes automatically so
that the set speed is not exceeded.
Keep in mind that the cruise control is a
convenience system designed to assist the
driver during vehicle operation. The driver is
and must always remain responsible for the
vehicle’s speed and for safe brake
operation.
i
On uphill or downhill grades, the cruise con-
trol may not be able to maintain the set speed.
Once the grade eases, the set speed will be re-
sumed.
On downhill grades, the cruise control maintains
the set speed with active braking action.
In addition, on longer downhill grades the auto-
matic transmission will automatically downshift.
i
The last stored speed is canceled when you
turn off the engine.
259 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Setting a higher speed
Briefly tip the cruise control lever in di-
rection of arrow1 (
page 258) to in-
crease vehicle speed in increments of
5 mph (Canada: 10 km/h).
The new speed is set.
The stored speed is displayed in the
multifunction display for approximately
5 seconds (
page 257), and one or
two segments around the stored speed
come on in the speedometer
(
page 255).Setting a lower speed
Briefly tip the cruise control lever in di-
rection of arrow2 (
page 258) to de-
crease vehicle speed in increments of
5 mph (Canada: 10 km/h).
The new speed is set.
The stored speed is displayed in the
multifunction display for approximately
5 seconds (
page 257), and one or
two segments around the stored speed
come on in the speedometer
(
page 255).Fine adjustment in 1 mph
(Canada: 1 km/h) increments
Faster
Briefly tip the cruise control lever in di-
rection of arrow4 (
page 258).
i
Depressing the accelerator pedal does not
deactivate Distronic. After brief acceleration
(e.g. for passing), the cruise control will resume
the last speed set.
i
When you use the cruise control lever to de-
celerate, the brakes will be applied to support
deceleration.
In addition, the transmission will automatically
downshift on long downhill grades.
304 Controls in detailUseful featuresStep 9:
Press the “training” button on the ga-
rage door opener motor head unit.
The “training light” is activated.
You have 30 seconds to initiate the follow-
ing two steps.
Step 10:
Return to the vehicle and firmly press,
hold for 2 seconds and release the pro-
grammed signal transmitter button
(2, 3 or4).
Step 11:
Press, hold for 2 seconds and release
same signal transmitter button a sec-
ond time to complete the training pro-
cess.Step 12:
Confirm the garage door operation by
pressing the programmed signal trans-
mitter button (2, 3 or4).
Step 13:
To program the remaining two signal
transmitter buttons, repeat the steps
above starting with step 3.
Gate operator/Canadian programming
Canadian radio-frequency laws require
transmitter signals to “time-out” (or quit)
after several seconds of transmission
which may not be long enough for the
integrated signal transmitter to pick up the
signal during programming. Similar to this
Canadian law, some U.S. gate operators
are designed to “time-out” in the same
manner.
If you live in Canada or if you are having
difficulties programming a gate operator
(regardless of where you live) by using the
programming procedures, replace step 4
with the following:Step 4:
Press and hold the signal transmitter
button (2, 3 or4). Do not release
this button until it has been successful-
ly trained.
While still holding down the signal
transmitter button (2, 3 or4),
“cycle” your hand-held remote control
button6 as follows: Press and hold
button6 for 2 seconds, then release
it for 2 seconds, and again press and
hold it for 2 seconds. Repeat this se-
quence on the hand-held remote con-
trol until the frequency signal has been
learned. Upon successful training, indi-
cator lamp1 will flash slowly and then
rapidly after several seconds.
Proceed with programming step 5 and
step 6 to complete.
i
Some garage door openers (or other rolling
code equipped devices) may require you to
press, hold for 2 seconds and release the same
signal transmitter button a third time to com-
plete the training process.