2007 MERCEDES-BENZ ML500 Steering wheel gear shift control

Contents
Control system .................................. 147
Multifunction display .................... 147
Multifunction steering wheel ........ 148
Menus .......................................... 150
Standard display menu ................ 154
AMG menu ................................... 156
Off-road mode menu .................... 159
Audio menu .................................. 159
Navi* menu .................................. 161
AIRMATIC*/Compass menu ........ 162
DISTRONIC* menu ....................... 162
Vehicle status message
memory menu .............................. 163
Settings menu .............................. 164
Vehicle configuration ................... 178
Trip computer menu..................... 180
Tel menu* .................................... 182
Automatic transmission ..................... 185
Gear selector lever ....................... 185
Shifting procedure ....................... 188
Transmission positions................. 189
Driving tips ................................... 191
Gear ranges ................................. 193
Steering wheel gearshift control .. 194
Shift program (ML 63 AMG only).. 195Emergency operation
(Limp-Home Mode) ....................... 198
Transfer case ...................................... 199
Good visibility ..................................... 200
Headlamp cleaning system* ......... 200
Rear view mirrors .......................... 200
Power folding exterior
rear view mirrors* ......................... 202
Sun visors ..................................... 203
Rear window defroster .................. 205
Climate control ................................... 206
Deactivating the
climate control system ................. 210
Operating the climate control
system in automatic mode............ 210
Setting the temperature................ 211
Adjusting air distribution............... 212
Adjusting air volume ..................... 212
Front defroster.............................. 213
Air recirculation mode .................. 214
Air conditioning............................. 216
Residual heat and ventilation ........ 216
Rear climate control*.................... 2173-zone automatic climate control* ..... 220
Deactivating the
automatic climate
control system .............................. 224
Operating the automatic
climate control system in
automatic mode............................ 225
Setting the temperature ............... 225
Adjusting air distribution .............. 226
Adjusting air volume ..................... 227
Front defroster ............................. 227
Maximum cooling MAX COOL ....... 228
Air recirculation mode .................. 228
Air conditioning ............................ 230
Using driver-side settings
for all temperature zones.............. 231
Residual heat and ventilation........ 232
Rear automatic climate control..... 232
Power windows .................................. 236
Opening and closing ..................... 236
Synchronizing the door windows .. 238
Summer opening feature .............. 239
Convenience closing feature......... 239
Power tilt/sliding sunroof* ................ 241
Opening and closing ..................... 241
Synchronizing ............................... 244

25 At a glance
Cockpit
Item
Page
1
Cruise control lever
246
2
Instrument cluster
26
3
Multifunction steering
wheel
30
4
Horn
5
Steering wheel gearshift
buttons
194
6
Gear selector lever for
automatic transmission
54
7
Front Parktronic* warning
indicators
276
8
Overhead control panel
33
Item
Page
9
Glove box release
Glove box lock
294
295
a
Glove box
294
b
Center console
31
c
Starter switch
40
d
Steering wheel adjustment,
manual
47
e
Hood lock release
356
f
Parking brake release
57
g
Parking brake pedal
65
h
Power tailgate switch*
119
j
Door control panel
36
Item
Page
k
Headlamp washer switch*
200
l
Exterior lamp switch
59,
136
m
Steering wheel adjustment,
electrical*
Heated steering wheel*
48
304
n
Combination switch

High beam


Turn signals


Windshield wipers


Rear window wiper
140
59
60
60
62

141 Controls in detail
Lighting
Driving forward
Switching on corner-illuminating front
fog lamps
Switch on the left or right turn signal
(page 60), depending on whether
you are turning left or right.
The respective front fog lamp comes on
and illuminates the area in the direc-
tion into which you are turning.
or

Turn steering wheel in desired direc-
tion.
The front fog lamp on the side of your
steering direction comes on.Switching off corner-illuminating front
fog lamps
The combination switch for the turn signal
resets automatically after major steering
wheel movements. This will switch off the
corner-illuminating front fog lamps if they
were activated by switching on the left or
right turn signal.
If the turn signal should stay on after
making the turn, the turn signal and the
corner-illuminating front fog lamps can be
switched off by returning the combination
switch to its original position.Driving rearward
Switching on corner-illuminating front
fog lamps

Shift the automatic transmission to
reverse gearR (
page 187).
The corner-illuminating front fog lamp
opposite to your steering direction
comes on.
Switching off corner-illuminating front
fog lamps

Shift the automatic transmission to a
gear other than reverse gearR
(page 187).
The respective corner-illuminating
front fog lamp goes out.
i
The corner-illuminating front fog lamps
temporarily come on on both sides of the vehicle
if you turn the steering wheel in one direction
and then again in the other direction shortly
thereafter.
i
The corner-illuminating front fog lamps will
come on automatically depending on the steer-
ing angle and vehicle speed, even if you did not
switch on either turn signal. If the
corner-illuminating front fog lamps came on
automatically, they will also go out automatically
depending on the steering angle and vehicle
speed.
i
There may be a brief delay before the
corner-illuminating front fog lamps switch off.

188 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionShifting from D or R to N
If you want to select neutral positionN
with the transmission being in drive
positionD or reverse gearR:
With the vehicle at a standstill, depress
the brake pedal and keep it pressed.

Step firmly on parking brake pedal
(page 65).

Move gear selector lever up to resis-
tance point when in drive positionD or
down to resistance point when in
reverse gearR to select neutral
positionN.

Release the brake pedal.
Shifting procedure
The automatic transmission selects indi-
vidual gears automatically, depending on:

drive positionD (
page 189) with gear
ranges (
page 193)


the selected program mode (M/C/S)
(ML 63 AMG only) (
page 195)


the position of the accelerator pedal
(page 191)


the vehicle speedWith drive positionD selected, you can use
the steering wheel gearshift control
buttons (
page 194) to influence trans-
mission shifting by:


limiting the gear range


changing gears manually
i
When the vehicle needs to be moved with
the engine switched off and the transmission set
to neutral positionN (
page 186), e.g. in an
automatic car wash, do not depress the parking
brake pedal.
!
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.

193 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
Gear ranges
With the automatic transmission in drive
positionD, you can select a gear range for
the automatic transmission to operate
within.
You can limit the gear range by pressing
the left gearshift button on the steering
wheel gearshift control, and reverse the
gear range limit by pressing the right gear-
shift button on the steering wheel gearshift
control (
page 194).
The selected gear range appears in the
multifunction display.
1Current gear range
Effect
ï
The transmission shifts through
sixth gear only.
î
The transmission shifts through
fifth gear only.
é
The transmission shifts through
fourth gear only.
è
The transmission shifts through
third gear only.
With this selection you can use
the braking effect of the engine.
Effect
ç
The transmission shifts through
second gear only.
Allows the use of engine’s
braking power when driving:

on steep downgrades


in mountainous regions


under extreme operating
conditions
æ
The transmission operates in
first gear only.
For maximum use of engine’s
braking effect on very steep or
lengthy downgrades.

194 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionSteering wheel gearshift control
With drive positionD selected, you can
limit or extend the gear range.
If your vehicle is equipped with manual
shift program M, you can use the steering
wheel gearshift control to manually shift
the gears.
1Left shift button: limiting gear range or
downshift (in program modeM)
2Right shift button: extending gear
range or upshift (in program modeM)Limiting gear range

Briefly press left shift button1.
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 193).
i
ML 63 AMG:
For information on using the steering wheel gear-
shift control in program mode M, see “Shift pro-
gram (ML 63 AMG only)” (
page 195).
!
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 control buttons when the transmission
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 ex-
ceeded.

196 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionThe selected program mode appears in the
multifunction display.
1Current program mode
Automatic shift program
You can choose between automatic shift
program C or S.
Press program mode selector switch
repeatedly until the letter of the
desired program mode appears in the
multifunction display.SelectCfor standard driving:


The vehicle starts out in second
gear (both forward and reverse) for
gentler starts. This does not apply if
full throttle is applied or gear
range1 is selected.


Traction and driving stability are
improved on icy roads.


Upshifts occur earlier even when
you give more gas. The engine then
operates at lower rpms and the
wheels are less likely to spin.
SelectSfor sporty driving:


The vehicle starts out in first gear.


Upshifts occur later.Manual shift program
In the manual program mode M,
system-controlled automatic gearshifting
is switched off and you need to change the
the gears by manually upshifting or down-
shifting using the steering wheel gearshift
control buttons to the left and right of the
steering wheel (
page 194).
Activating manual shift program

Press program mode selector switch
repeatedly until the
M for the manual
program modeM appears in the multi-
function 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 with
drive positionD selected. You can upshift
or downshift through the gears in succes-
sion.
i
The last selected program mode (C or S) is
switched on when the engine is restarted.

554 IndexAutomatic climate control (3-zone)* 220
Air conditioning, Cooling 230, 231
Air distribution, Front 226
Air distribution, Rear 234
Air recirculation mode 228
Air vents, Front 226
Air volume 227
Control panel, Front 222
Control panel, Rear 232
Deactivating system 224
Defogging 227
Defrosting 227
Maximum cooling, MAX COOL 228
Rear passenger compartment 232
Rear window defroster 205
Residual engine heat (REST) 232
Using driver-side settings for
all temperature zones 231
Automatic headlamp mode 137
Automatic lighting control, Interior
lighting 143
Automatic locking when driving 126
Automatic shift program
(ML 63 AMG only) 196Automatic transmission 54
Accelerator position 191
Automatic shift program
(ML 63 AMG only) 196
Emergency operation
(Limp-Home Mode) 198
Gear ranges 193
Gear selector lever 54, 185
Gear shifting malfunctions 198
Hill start assist system 192
Kickdown 191
Kickdown, manual shift program
(ML 63 AMG only) 198
Manual shift progam
(ML 63 AMG only) 196
Program mode selector switch
(ML 63 AMG only) 195
Shift program (ML 63 AMG only) 195
Shifting procedure 188
Starting the engine 54
Steering wheel gearshift control 194
Towing a trailer 192
Transmission fluid level 362
Transmission positions 189
Automatic Transmission Fluid see ATFB
Backrest
Seat 44
Seat, Lumbar support 130
Seat, Multicontour* 130
Backup lamps
Messages in the
multifunction display 458
Replacing bulbs 490
Bar 395
BAS 97
Lamps in instrument cluster 414
Messages in the
multifunction display 430
Basic carrier bars* 281
Batteries, SmartKey
Check lamp 108, 112
Checking battery condition 111
Messages in the
multifunction display 446
Replacing 480
Battery, Vehicle 507
Charging 514
Disconnecting and connecting 509
Jump starting 515
Removing and installing 509