2007 MERCEDES-BENZ S CLASS air condition

380 Controls in detailDriving systemsThe driving systems of your vehicle are de-
scribed on the following pages:

Cruise control and DISTRONIC Plus*,
with which the vehicle can maintain a
preset speed.


Distance warning function* (only avail-
able with DISTRONIC Plus*), which
warns of a stationary obstacle or slow-
er moving vehicle that you are closing
on to quickly.


Airmatic (S 550 only) and ABC* adjust
the vehicle suspension characteristics
automatically and control the vehicle
level.


Parktronic* and Park Assist*, which
serve as a parking assistant.


Dynamic Rear View Monitor* is an
electronic and visual parking aid.


Night View Assist* illuminates the road
with infrared light in addition to the nor-
mal headlamps.For information on the ABS, Adaptive
Brake, BAS, BAS Plus*, EBP, and ESP
® driv-
ing systems, see “Driving safety systems”
(
page 69).
Cruise control
Cruise control automatically maintains the
speed you set for your vehicle.
The use of cruise control is recommended
for driving at a constant speed for extend-
ed periods of time. You can set or resume
cruise control at any speed over 20 mph
(30 km/h).
The cruise control function is operated by
means of the cruise control lever.
Warning!
G
Cruise control is a convenience system de-
signed to assist the driver during vehicle op-
eration. The driver is and must always
remain responsible for the vehicle’s speed
and for safe brake operation.
Only use the cruise control if the road, traffic
and weather conditions make it advisable to
travel at a steady speed.

The use of cruise control can be danger-
ous on winding roads or in heavy traffic
because conditions do not allow safe
driving at a steady speed.


The use of cruise control can be danger-
ous on slippery roads. Rapid changes in
tire traction can result in wheel spin and
loss of control.


Deactivate cruise control when driving
in fog.
The “Resume” function should only be oper-
ated if the driver is fully aware of the previ-
ously set speed and wishes to resume this
particular preset speed.

386 Controls in detailDriving systemsWarning!
G
DISTRONIC Plus requires familiarity with its
operational characteristics. We strongly rec-
ommend that you review the following infor-
mation carefully before operating the
system.Warning!
G
DISTRONIC Plus cannot take street and traf-
fic conditions into account. Only use
DISTRONIC Plus if the road, weather and
traffic conditions make it advisable to travel
at a steady speed.Warning!
G
Use of DISTRONIC Plus can be dangerous
on slippery roads. Rapid changes in tire trac-
tion can result in wheel spin and loss of con-
trol.
DISTRONIC Plus does not act upon adverse
sight distance conditions. Do not use
DISTRONIC Plus during conditions of fog
and heavy rain, snow or sleet.Warning!
G
DISTRONIC Plus cannot take weather condi-
tions into account. Switch off
DISTRONIC Plus or do not turn it on if:

roads are slippery or covered with snow
or ice. The wheels could lose traction
while braking or accelerating, and the
vehicle could skid.


the sensor is dirty or visibility is
diminished due to snow, rain or fog. The
distance control could be impaired.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions
even while DISTRONIC Plus is switched on.
Otherwise, you may not be able to recognize
dangerous situations until it is too late and
could cause an accident resulting in person-
al or fatal injury to you or others.
Warning!
G
The “Resume” function should only be oper-
ated if the driver is fully aware of the previ-
ously set speed and wishes to resume this
particular preset speed.Warning!
G
Close attention to road and traffic condi-
tions is imperative at all times, regardless of
whether or not DISTRONIC Plus is activated.
Use of DISTRONIC Plus can be dangerous
on winding roads as conditions do not allow
safe driving at a steady speed.
DISTRONIC Plus may not react to stationary
objects in the roadway (e.g. a stopped vehi-
cle in a traffic jam or a disabled vehicle).
DISTRONIC Plus will also not respond to on-
coming vehicles.

401 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Airmatic (S 550 only)
Airmatic automatically selects the opti-
mum suspension tuning and ride height for
your vehicle.
Airmatic consists of two components:

Level control system


Adaptive Damping System (ADS)
The ADS automatically selects the opti-
mum damping for the respective driv-
ing conditions. At the same time the
suspension is set to either sporty or
regular.Vehicle level control with Airmatic
Your vehicle automatically adjusts its ride
height to:


reduce fuel consumption


increase vehicle stability
The vehicle chassis ride height is raised or
lowered according to the selected level
setting and to the vehicle speed:


With increasing speed, ride height is re-
duced by up to approximately 0.8 in
(20 mm).


With decreasing speed, the ride height
is again raised to the selected vehicle
level.The following vehicle level settings can be
selected when the vehicle is stationary:
Select the “Raised” level setting only when
required by current driving conditions.
Otherwise:


Fuel consumption may increase.


Handling may be impaired.
i
These height adjustments are so small that
you may not notice any change.
LevelNormal
For driving on normal roads.
The indicator lamp is off.
Raised
For driving on rough roads or
with snow chains. The indica-
tor lamp is on.

402 Controls in detailDriving systemsThe Airmatic button with the indicator
lamp is located on the control panel on the
right-hand side of the instrument cluster.
1Vehicle level control switch
2Indicator lamp

Start the engine.

Briefly press switch1 to change from
one level setting to the other.
The message:
Vehicle rising
appears in the multifunction display
when changing from normal level to
raised level.
The indicator lamp2 is then lit. The
display switches off when the vehicle is
raised.

Press switch1 again to lower the ve-
hicle. The indicator lamp2 is off.Suspension tuning
The Adaptive Damping System (ADS) auto-
matically tunes shock absorbers and
springs.
The program mode selector switch (S/C)
(
page 374) is used to adjust the suspen-
sion tuning:
In addition, suspension characteristics in
both driving programs (S/C) depend on:


your driving style


road surface conditions


the vehicle loading
Warning!
G
To help avoid personal injury, keep hands
and feet away from wheel housing area, and
stay away from under the vehicle when low-
ering the vehicle chassis.
i
The selected vehicle level setting remains
stored in memory even if the engine is turned off
and restarted except when you


exceed a speed of 75 mph (120 km/h)
or


maintain a speed of between 50 mph
(80 km/h) and 75 mph (120 km/h) for more
than 3 minutes
The vehicle then lowers to regular level.
Driving program
Suspension tuning
CComfort
Comfortable
(default setting)
SStandard
Standard
for dynamic driving

403 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Active Body Control (ABC)*
The ABC system automatically selects the
optimum suspension tuning and ride
height for your vehicle.
The ABC system consists of an active, hy-
draulically controlled suspension and
damping system.
Vehicle level control with ABC*
Your vehicle automatically adjusts its ride
height to:

reduce fuel consumption


increase vehicle stability
The vehicle chassis ride height is raised or
lowered according to the selected level
setting and to the vehicle speed:


With increasing speed, ride height is re-
duced by up to approximately 0.6 in
(15 mm).


With decreasing speed, the ride height
is again raised to the selected vehicle
level.The following vehicle level settings can be
selected when the vehicle is stationary:
Select the “Raised” level setting only when
required by current driving conditions.
Otherwise:


Fuel consumption may increase.


Handling may be impaired.
i
These height adjustments are so small that
you may not notice any change.
LevelNormal
For driving on normal roads.
The indicator lamp is off.
Raised
For driving on rough roads or
with snow chains. The indica-
tor lamp is on.
i
The selected vehicle level setting remains
stored in memory even if the engine is turned off
and restarted.
Warning!
G
To help avoid personal injury, keep hands
and feet away from wheel housing area, and
stay away from under the vehicle when low-
ering the vehicle chassis.

420 Controls in detailDriving systemsNight View Assist*
Night View Assist illuminates the road with
infrared light in addition to the normal
headlamps.
A camera at the top of the windshield mea-
sures the infrared light and shows a
black-and-white image on the multifunc-
tion display. The image on the multifunction display cor-
responds to a road lit up by high-beam
headlamps.The Night View Assist image on the multi-
function display is not impaired


by the headlamps of approaching vehi-
cles


if you cannot switch on the high beams
due to oncoming traffic
As a result, you can better follow the
course of the road and detect obstacles
earlier on.
The camera is at the top of the windshield.
1Night View Assist camera
Warning!
G
Night View Assist is only an aid to support
you while driving and cannot substitute your
careful attention. Do not rely on the display
of the Night View Assist; instead, continue
to look through the windshield. You are al-
ways responsible for safety and must drive
in accordance with traffic conditions. Other-
wise, you could endanger yourself and oth-
ers.
If it is foggy, raining or snowing, the clarity of
the Night View Assist image on the multi-
function display may be diminished.
Warning!
G
Night View Assist cannot record objects im-
mediately in front of or next to the vehicle.
When maneuvering, continue to look
through the windshield. Make sure that no
persons or animals are in or near the area in
which you are maneuvering.
i
Infrared light is invisible to the human eye
and can therefore remain permanently switched
on without blinding oncoming traffic.

427 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
The automatic climate control is operation-
al whenever the engine is running. You can
operate the climate control system in ei-
ther the automatic or manual mode. The
system cools or heats the interior depend-
ing on the selected interior temperature
and the current outside temperature.
It can only function optimally when you are
driving with the windows and the tilt/slid-
ing sunroof/panorama sunroof* closed.
It is possible to completely deactivate the
climate control system (
page 428). Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air en-
ters the passenger compartment through
the air distribution system.The following automatic climate control
functions can be operated via COMAND:
i
If you have the air distribution and air vol-
ume automatically controlled, you can adjust the
temperature, footwell temperature and air flow.
The following basic settings are recommended:


Automatic air distribution control
(page 428)


Temperature: 72°F (22°C) (
page 429)


Footwell temperature: 0 (
page 232)


Air flow: focused (
page 233)
Warning!
G
Follow the recommended settings for heat-
ing and cooling given on the following pages
and in the “COMAND automatic climate
control” section (
page 229). Otherwise
the windows could fog up, impairing visibili-
ty and endangering you and others.
i
Severe conditions (e.g. strong air pollution)
may require replacement of the filter before its
scheduled interval. A clogged filter will reduce
the air volume to the interior.
If the vehicle interior is hot, ventilate the interior
before driving off, see “Summer opening fea-
ture” (page 355). The automatic climate con-
trol will then adjust the interior temperature to
the set value much faster.
Keep the air intake grille in front of the wind-
shield free of snow, leaves, sticks, and any other
debris.
Do not obstruct air volume by placing objects on
the air volume-through exhaust slots below the
rear window.Function
Page
Temperature
230
Air distribution
230
Air volume
230
Switching off cooling (“AC
OFF”)
231
Central climate control (“Mono”)
232
Footwell temperature
232
Air flow from air vents
233
Rear climate control*
234

429 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Setting temperature
Use temperature controls %$
2anda (
page 426) in the center con-
sole or COMAND (
page 230) to sepa-
rately adjust the air temperature on each
side of the passenger compartment. You
should raise or lower the temperature set-
ting in small increments, preferably start-
ing at 72°F (22°C). The automatic climate
control will adjust to the set temperature
as fast as possible.

Press temperature control %$
2and/ora (
page 426) upward or
downward.
The climate control system will corre-
spondingly adjust the interior air tem-
perature.
Adjusting air volume
Use buttonsQ (
page 426) in the cen-
ter console or COMAND to separately ad-
just the air volume on each side of the
passenger compartment.

Press buttonQ up to increase or
down to decrease air volume.
The indicator lamps on buttonsU
(page 426) goes out.
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 button; (
page 426) up or
down.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
The air conditioning switches to the follow-
ing functions automatically:


increased blowing and heating power


air flows onto the windshield and the
front side windows


the air conditioning compressor
switches on at outside temperatures
above approximately 41°F (5°C) for
dehumidifying the air


the air recirculation mode is switched
off
i
When you change the air volume, the auto-
matic function of the climate control system is
switched off.
i
Keep this setting selected only until the
windshield is clear again.