ContentsSafety and Security........................... 67
Occupant safety................................... 68
Air bags .......................................... 70
Occupant Classification System
(USA only) ...................................... 75
BabySmart
TM air bag deactivation
system (Canada only) ..................... 81
Seat belts ....................................... 82
Preventive occupant safety
(PRE-SAFE®) ................................... 86
Active head restraints .................... 87
Children in the vehicle .................... 88
Blocking of rear door window
operation ........................................ 95
Panic alarm .......................................... 96
Activating ....................................... 96
Deactivating ................................... 96
Driving safety systems ......................... 97
ABS ................................................ 97
BAS ................................................ 99
Adaptive Brake ............................... 99
EBP............................................... 100
ESP
®............................................. 100
Four wheel electronic traction
system (4MATIC) with the ESP
®... 104Anti-theft systems ............................. 106
Immobilizer .................................. 106
Anti-theft alarm system................ 106
Controls in detail............................. 109
Locking and unlocking ....................... 110
SmartKey ..................................... 110
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ...... 113
Checking batteries in the
SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* .............................. 119
Loss of the SmartKey or
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ...... 119
Opening the doors from the
inside ........................................... 120
Opening the tailgate ..................... 121
Closing the tailgate ...................... 123
Automatic central locking ............ 126
Locking and unlocking from the
inside ........................................... 127Seats ................................................. 128
Front seat active head restraints . 128
Rear seat head restraints ............. 128
Lumbar support ........................... 131
Multicontour seat*....................... 131
Seat heating*............................... 132
Seat ventilation* .......................... 133
Folding bench seat in cargo
compartment
(optional on E 63 AMG) ................ 134
Memory function ............................... 138
Storing positions into memory ..... 139
Recalling positions from memory. 139
Storing exterior rear view mirror
parking position ........................... 140
Lighting ............................................. 141
Exterior lamp switch .................... 141
Combination switch ..................... 145
Corner-illuminating front fog
lamps* ......................................... 146
Hazard warning flasher ................ 148
Interior lighting in the front .......... 149
Interior lighting in the rear ........... 150
Door entry lamps ......................... 151
Cargo compartment lamps .......... 151
29 At a glance
Center console
Center console
Upper part
Item
Page
1
Seat heating*, driver’s side
132
2
Hazard warning flasher
switch
148
3
Front passenger front air
bag off indicator lamp
79, 81
4
Central unlocking switch
127
5
Electronic Stability Program
(ESP
®) control switch
102
6
Seat heating*, front passen-
ger side
132
7
Seat ventilation*, front pas-
senger side
133
Item
Page
8
Central locking switch
127
9
Opening/closing button for
CD changer, see separate
COMAND operating instruc-
tions
a
Seat ventilation*, driver’s
side
133
100 Safety and SecurityDriving safety systems
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 range 1, 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.
ESP
®
The Electronic Stability Program (ESP
®) is
operational as soon as the engine is run-
ning and monitors the vehicle’s traction
(force of adhesive friction between the
tires and the road surface) and handling.
The ESP
® recognizes when a wheel is spin-
ning or if the vehicle starts to skid. By ap-
plying the brakes to the appropriate wheel
and by limiting engine output, the ESP
®
works to stabilize the vehicle. The ESP® is
especially useful while driving off and on
wet or slippery road surfaces. The ESP®
also stabilizes the vehicle during braking
maneuvers.
The ESP
® warning lamp v in the
instrument cluster flashes when the ESP
®
is engaged.
The ESP
® warning lamp v in the
instrument cluster comes on when you
switch on the ignition. It goes out when the
engine is running.
Warning!
G
When the EBP is malfunctioning, the ABS,
BAS, and 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.
132 Controls in detailSeatsSeat heating*
The red indicator lamps in the switch show
the heating level selected.
1Front seat heating switch
1Rear seat heating switch (Canada only)
Depending on production date, your
vehicle may not be equipped with the rear
seat heating.Switching seat heating on
Switch on the ignition (
page 37).
Press switch1.
Three red indicator lamps on 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.
215 Controls in detail
Dual-zone automatic climate control
Activating
Press button0 or
P(
page 208) or (
page 209).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
The air conditioning switches
automatically to the following func-
tions:
cooling on to dehumidify
maximum blowing and heating
power (depends on cooling
temperature)
air flows onto the windshield and
the front windows
the air recirculation mode is
switched offDeactivating
Press button0 or
P(
page 208) or (
page 209)
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 the windshield wipers on
(page 58).
If the automatic air distribution is switched
off:
Turn air distribution control5 to a
or Y (
page 208) or (
page 209).
i
If you have switched on the defrost function
using the0 or Pbutton, you cannot
make any other settings.
i
The cooling remains switched on.
i
Keep this setting selected only until the
windshield is clear again.
219 Controls in detail
Dual-zone automatic climate control
Deactivating
It is possible to deactivate the air condi-
tioning (cooling) function of the climate
control system. The air in the vehicle will
then no longer be cooled or dehumidified.
Press button2 (
page 208) or
(
page 209).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
Activating
Moist air can fog up the windows. You can
dehumidify the air with the air condition-
ing.
Press button2 (
page 208) or
(
page 209) again.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
The air conditioning uses the refrigerant
R134a. This refrigerant is free of CFCs
which are harmful to the ozone layer.Residual heat and ventilation
(Canada only)
With the engine switched off, it is possible
to continue to heat or ventilate the interior
for up to 30 minutes. This feature makes
use of the residual heat produced by the
engine.
!
If the air conditioning cannot be turned on
again, this indicates that the air conditioning is
losing refrigerant. The compressor has turned it-
self off.
Have the air conditioning checked at the nearest
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
i
If you switch on the residual heat function
when temperatures are high, only the ventilation
will be switched on.
i
Regardless of the selected air volume, the
blower operates at low speed.
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.
231 Controls in detail
4-zone automatic climate control
Adjusting air volume
Use buttonsU (
page 224) or
(
page 225) for automatic mode or air
volume buttons orQ
(page 224) or (
page 225) to adjust air
volume manually.
Nine blower speeds are available.
Press button to decrease or
buttonQ to increase air volume to
the desired level.
The
AUTO
indicator for air volume in the
display4 (
page 224) or
(
page 225) goes out. The selected
blower speed is shown in the
display4. Automatic air distribution
remains switched on.
The indicator lamps on the U but-
tons remain lit.
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
windows.
Activating
Press button0 or P
(page 224) or (
page 225).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on. Display4 (
page 224) or
(
page 225) 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 windows
the air recirculation mode is switched
off
Deactivating
Press button0 or P
(page 224) or (
page 225) again.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out. Defrosting is turned off.
The previous settings are once again in
effect.
i
Keep this setting selected only until the
windshield or the windows are clear again.
i
If you have switched on the defrost function
using the0 or P button, you cannot
make any other settings.
i
The cooling remains switched on.
236 Controls in detail4-zone automatic climate control
Residual heat and ventilation (Canada only)
With the engine switched off, it is possible
to continue to heat or ventilate the interior
for up to 30 minutes. This feature makes
use of the residual heat produced by the
engine.Activating
Switch off the ignition.
Press buttonT (
page 225).
REST
in the display4 (
page 225)
comes on.
Deactivating
Press buttonT (
page 225) again.
REST
in the display4 (
page 225)
goes out.
!
If the air conditioning cannot be turned on
again, this indicates that the air conditioning is
losing refrigerant. The compressor has turned it-
self off.
Have the air conditioning checked at the nearest
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
i
If you switch on the residual heat function
when temperatures are high, only the ventilation
will be switched on.
i
Regardless of the selected air volume, the
blower operates at low speed.
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 setting 1 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