2007 MERCEDES-BENZ S CLASS tow

365 Controls in detail
Driving and parking
Manually engaging electric parking
brake
Press handle1.
The red indicator lamp 0 (USA only)
or ! (Canada only) in the instru-
ment cluster comes on.
Automatically engaging electric parking
brake
Your vehicle’s electric parking brake is au-
tomatically engaged when DISTRONIC
Plus* (
page 385) brings your vehicle to a
standstill and at least one of the following
conditions is met:


The engine is switched off


The driver’s door is opened and the
seat belt is not inserted in the belt
buckle


The hood is released


The trunk lid is open while gear R is en-
gaged


The vehicle is parked for an extended
period
The red indicator lamp 0 (USA only) or
! (Canada only) in the instrument clus-
ter comes on.
Emergency braking with electric park-
ing brake
In an emergency situation, you can also
brake your vehicle while driving by using
the electric parking brake.

While driving, press handle for electric
parking brake (
page 364).During the braking procedure, the red indi-
cator lamp 0 (USA only) or !
(Canada only) flashes in the instrument
cluster, the message “Please release park-
ing brake” appears on the multifunction
display and you will hear a warning tone.
Once the vehicle comes to a complete stop
the electronic parking brake will engage.
Turning off the engine
i
When parked on an incline, turn front wheels
towards the road curb.
i
You can also engage the electric parking
brake when the SmartKey is removed from the
starter switch.
i
In addition to the electric parking brake,
park position P can be automatically engaged.
i
Your vehicle will be braked for as long as you
press and hold the switch for the electric parking
brake. The longer you keep the electric parking
brake pressed, the more strongly your vehicle
will be braked. This method occurs on all
4 wheels, not just the rear wheels.
Warning!
G
Do not turn off the engine before the vehicle
has come to a complete stop. With the en-
gine not running, there is no power assis-
tance for the brake and steering systems. In
this case, it is important to keep in mind that
a considerably higher degree of effort is nec-
essary to brake and steer the vehicle.i
With the SmartKey removed from the starter
switch or the engine turned off with
KEYLESS-GO* and the driver’s door open, a
warning sounds if the parking lamps or low beam


366 Controls in detailDriving and parking
Shift the automatic transmission toP.
Turning off with SmartKey

Turn the SmartKey in the starter switch
to position0 (
page 315) and remove
it.
The immobilizer is activated.Turning off with KEYLESS-GO*

Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop
button (
page 317) to turn off the en-
gine.
With the driver’s door closed, the start-
er switch is now in position1. With the
driver’s door opened, the starter switch
is set to position0, same as SmartKey
removed from starter switch
(
page 315).
Releasing seat belts
Press the seat belt release button
(page 340).
Allow the retractor to completely re-
wind the seat belt by guiding the latch
plate.
headlamps are switched on.
The message: “Please switch off lights” appears
in the multifunction display.i
When parked on an incline, also turn front
wheels towards the road curb.
i
If the engine can no longer be stopped using
the SmartKey or KEYLESS-GO*, the engine can
be turned off by withdrawing two fuses. For more
information, see “Emergency engine shut-down”
(
page 648).
i
If you turn off the engine using the SmartKey
and remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch with the automatic transmission in a posi-
tion other than P, the transmission will automat-
ically shift toP.
Keep in mind that turning off the engine with the
SmartKey alone will not automatically shift the
transmission to P.Only when the SmartKey is removed from the
starter switch will the transmission automatical-
ly shift to P.
i
In an emergency you can turn off the engine
while driving by pressing and holding the
KEYLESS-GO start/ stop button for approxi-
mately 3 seconds.
i
If you turn off the engine using the
KEYLESS-GO start/stop button and open the
driver’s door with the automatic transmission in
a position other than P, the transmission will au-
tomatically shift toP.Keep in mind that turning off the engine with the
KEYLESS-GO start/stop button alone will not au-
tomatically shift the transmission to P. Only
when the driver’s door is opened will the trans-
mission automatically shift to P.
i
If you drive through an automatic conveyor
type car wash, you can switch on the ignition
with the KEYLESS-GO button and engage gear N
or insert the SmartKey into the starter switch.
!
M a k e s u r e t h e s e a t b e l t r e t r a c t s f u l l y s o t h a t
the seat belt and/or latch plate cannot get
caught or pinched in the door or in the seat
mechanism. This can damage the seat belt and
impair the effectiveness of the seat belt, and/or
cause damage to the door and/or door trim pan-
el. Such damage is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Damaged seat belts must be replaced. Contact
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.


371 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
Even though this is possible, make it a practice
to always shift into park positionP before turning
off the engine and remove the SmartKey from
the starter switch, or when using KEYLESS-GO*,
before turning off the engine with the start/stop
button and opening the driver’s door.!
If you want the gear position to remain in
neutral positionN (for example when the vehicle
is pulled through a car wash)


do not remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch
or, when using KEYLESS-GO*


do not turn off the engine using the
KEYLESS-GO start/stop button* and open
the driver’s door
Otherwise, the automatic transmission will shift
to park positionP and lock the wheels, prevent-
ing the vehicle from being pulled through a car
wash.
Effect
í
Reverse gear
Shift into reverse gearR only
when the vehicle is stopped.
ë
Neutral
No power is transmitted from the
engine to the drive axle. When
the brakes are released, the
vehicle can be moved freely
(pushed or towed).
To avoid damage to the automat-
ic transmission, avoid shifting
into neutral positionN while
driving.
If the ESP
® is deactivated or
malfunctioning:
Shift into neutral positionN only
if the vehicle is in danger of
skidding, e.g. on icy roads.
ê
Drive
The automatic transmission
shifts automatically. All forward
gears are available.
!
Coasting the vehicle, or driving for any other
reason in neutral positionN can result in auto-
matic transmission damage that is not covered
by the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Warning!
G
Getting out of your vehicle without shifting
into park positionP is dangerous. Also, park
positionP alone is not intended to or capa-
ble of preventing your vehicle from moving,
possibly hitting people or objects.
Always set the electric parking brake in
addition to shifting to park positionP
(page 364).
When parked on an incline, turn the front
wheels towards the road curb.
Do not park this vehicle in areas where com-
bustible materials such as grass, hay or
leaves can come into contact with the hot
exhaust system, as these materials could be
ignited and cause a vehicle fire.

390 Controls in detailDriving systemsDISTRONIC Plus lever
The DISTRONIC Plus system is operated by
means of the DISTRONIC Plus lever.
1Setting current or higher speed
Adjustment in 1 mph or 5 mph
increments (Canada: 1 km/h or
10 km/h)
2Setting current or lower speed
Adjustment in 1 mph or 5 mph
increments (Canada: 1 km/h or
10 km/h)
3Canceling DISTRONIC Plus
4Activating DISTRONIC Plus or resum-
ing to last set speed
5Setting target distanceActivating DISTRONIC PlusYou can activate DISTRONIC Plus when:


you are driving slower than 20 mph
(30 km/h) and DISTRONIC Plus has
detected a vehicle ahead of you


you are driving above 20 mph
(30 km/h)
If DISTRONIC Plus has not been activated
after pressing the DISTRONIC Plus lever,
you will see the message: “DISTRONIC
PLUS Off” in the multifunction display.
In the following cases you cannot activate
DISTRONIC Plus:


up to 2 minutes after starting the en-
gine


if the engine is switched off


if you step on the brake pedal while
driving


the vehicle is secured with the electric
parking brake
Warning!
G
When DISTRONIC Plus is braking, the brake
pedal is retracted (i.e. depressed automati-
cally). The pedals’ range of motion must not
be impeded by any obstacles:

Do not place any objects in the footwell.


Make sure that the floor mats and car-
pets are securely in place.


Do not rest your foot underneath the
brake pedal, as it could otherwise be
trapped.
You could otherwise cause an accident and
injure yourself and others.
Warning!
G
When DISTRONIC Plus is switched on, the
vehicle can be braked. You should therefore
switch off DISTRONIC Plus if the vehicle
must be towed.
i
The maximum speed you can set is 124 mph
(200 km/h).

410 Controls in detailDriving systemsRange of the sensors
The sensors of the Park Assist system are
integrated in the front and rear bumpers.
Make sure that the bumpers are clear of
dirt, ice and slush in the area of the sen-
sors, as otherwise, Park Assist may not
function properly, see “Cleaning the Park
Assist* system sensors” (
page 538).Front sensors
Rear sensors
i
Due to the sensors’ broad detection range,
it is possible that Park Assist also detects the fol-
lowing obstacles and issues a warning:


obstacles in the ground, e.g. sewer canal
covers, rails, bumps in the road or gutters


obstacles moving upward quickly, e.g. rolling
garage doors
Center
approx. 40 in (100 cm)
Corners
approx. 24 in (60 cm)
Center
approx. 50 in (125 cm)
Corners
approx. 24 in (60 cm)
!
While parking, pay particular attention to ob-
jects over or underneath the sensors, e.g. flower
boxes, an elevated crossbar or a trailer tow
hitch. Park Assist does not detect such nearby
objects. You could otherwise damage the vehicle
or the objects.

412 Controls in detailDriving systemsCollision warning
Park Assist can detect obstacles from a
considerable distance. If you drive in re-
verse towards an obstacle, you will hear a
warning tone. You must then brake in or-
der to avoid a collision. The warning tone
for a collision will not sound when the vehi-
cle is at a standstill very close to the obsta-
cle. In this case, you will hear a
corresponding tone for the warning indica-
tor in the rear area.Switching Park Assist system on/off
The Park Assist system can be switched off
manually.
The Park Assist button with the indicator
lamp is located on the control panel on the
right-hand side of the instrument cluster.
1Park Assist button
2Indicator lamp

Switching off Park Assist system:
Press button 1.
Indicator lamp 2 comes on.

Switching on Park Assist system:
Press button 1 again.
Indicator lamp 2 goes out.
i
During strong rainfall, the collision warning
may be triggered, for example, by water splash-
ing into the area of the sensors.
i
When the indicator lamp is on, the Park
Assist system is switched off.
i
The Park Assist system is automatically
switched on when the ignition (
page 315) and
radar sensors are switched on (page 256).

417 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Backing in at any angle
Switch on the ignition (
page 315).

Switch on COMAND (
page 79).

Move gear selector lever to position R
(reverse gear).

Use the COMAND controller
(page 82) to select “reverse parking”
function6.
You will see the guide lines for reverse
parking on the COMAND display.

Turn steering wheel so that the yellow
and red guide lines for cornering7 are
pointing towards the desired parking
space.
The desired parking space is wide
enough if nothing is inside yellow and
red guide lines7 of your intended
driving path or protrudes into this area.

Back in carefully.

When the blue guide lines5 for
straight driving lie parallel inside the
desired parking space, straighten the
steering wheel for straight driving.

Back in enough to leave sufficient free
space around the vehicle.
Parallel parking
This function assists you when you wish to
park in a row, e.g. in a parking place paral-
lel to the road.

Stop the vehicle

at a distance of approximately
three feet (one meter) parallel to
the vehicle that is in front of the de-
sired parking space.


in such a way that the front of the
parked vehicle is parallel to your
rear wheel.

Switch on COMAND (
page 79).

Move gear selector lever to position R
(reverse gear).
1Vertical blue guide line
2Symbol for “parallel parking”
i
The Dynamic Rear View Monitor must be ac-
tivated in the instrument cluster control system
in order for it to be switched on (
page 253).
!
While parking, do not approach any obsta-
cles closer than indicated by red guide line4.
i
The Dynamic Rear View Monitor must be ac-
tivated in the instrument cluster control system
in order for it to be switched on (
page 253).


465 Controls in detail
Useful features
Roadside Assistance button• and
Information button¡
The Roadside Assistance button• and
the Information button¡ are located in
the storage compartment below the front
armrest (
page 448).
1Information button¡
2Roadside Assistance button•Roadside Assistance button•

Press and hold Roadside Assistance
button • (for longer than
2 seconds).
A call to a Mercedes-Benz Roadside As-
sistance dispatcher will be initiated.
The button will flash while the call is in
progress. The message:

“Connecting call” appears in the
multifunction display


“Roadside Assistance Activated”
appears in the COMAND display
and the audio system is muted.
When the connection is established, the
message:


“Call connected” appears in the multi-
function display


“Roadside Assistance Activated”
appears in the COMAND display The Tele Aid system will transmit data gen-
erating the vehicle identification number,
model, color and location (subject to avail-
ability of cellular and GPS signals).
A voice connection between the Roadside
Assistance dispatcher and the occupants
of the vehicle will be established.

Describe the nature of the need for as-
sistance.
The Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance
dispatcher will either dispatch a qualified
Mercedes-Benz technician or arrange to
tow your vehicle to the nearest authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center. For services such
as labor and/or towing, charges may ap-
ply. Refer to the Roadside Assistance Man-
ual for more information.
These programs are only available in the
USA:


Sign and Drive services: Services such
as jump start, a few gallons of fuel or
the replacement of a flat tire with the
vehicle spare tire are obtainable.
vehicle’s approximate location if they
receive an automatic SOS signal and cannot
make voice contact with the vehicle occu-
pants.