2007 MERCEDES-BENZ S550 steering

415 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Switching on Dynamic Rear View Moni-
tor

Switch on the ignition (
page 315).

Switch on COMAND (
page 79).

Move gear selector lever to position R
(reverse gear).
The COMAND display will show the
area behind the vehicle with guide lines
to help you reverse into a parking
place.
Reverse parking (back-in parking)This function helps you when you are re-
versing in a straight line or backing in at
any angle.
The space required by the vehicle for re-
versing is shown by guide lines.
When you turn the steering wheel to a
straight-ahead position, you will see the
guide lines on the COMAND display in the
following order:
1Yellow and blue guide lines for vehicle
width
2Yellow 13 ft (4 m) guide line
3Yellow 39 in (1 m) guide line
4Red 10 in (0.25 m) guide line
This may cause injury to you or others, or
damage the vehicle or objects.
Mounting tires/rims of other specification
than the original equipment tires/rims may
impair the function of the Dynamic Rear
View Monitor. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.Warning!
G
Use of Dynamic Rear View Monitor can be
dangerous if you are color-blind or have im-
paired color vision.
Only use Dynamic Rear View Monitor if you
can see and distinguish all colored guide
lines shown by Dynamic Rear View Monitor
on the COMAND display.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).
i
If you activate a different function on the
driver’s COMAND controls while reverse parking
or parallel parking, the image from the back-up
camera is interrupted.
To reactivate the camera, take the vehicle out of
reverse gear and then re-engage reverse gear
again.

416 Controls in detailDriving systemsThe red 10 in (0.25 m) guide line4, the
yellow 39 in (1 m) guide line3 and the
yellow 13 ft (4 m) guide line2 correspond
to the relevant distance from the rear of
the vehicle. The yellow and blue guide lines
for vehicle width1 show the required
width for the vehicle.
5Blue guide lines for straight driving
6Symbol for “reverse parking”
7Yellow and red guide lines for cornering
When you turn the steering wheel out of
the straight-ahead position, the positions
of the yellow and red guide lines7
change depending on the steering wheel’s
position. The space required by the vehicle
for reverse cornering is indicated by yellow
and red guide lines7.Backing in straight

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”
function 6.
You will see the guide lines for reverse
parking on the COMAND display.
The desired parking space is wide
enough if nothing is inside the yellow
and blue guide lines1 of your intend-
ed driving path or protrudes into this
area.

Back in straight carefully.
Warning!
G
Please note that objects which do not touch
the ground, such as the bumper of a vehicle
parked behind you, a trailer hitch, or the
back of a truck, may appear to be further
away than they actually are. In this case, you
should not use the guide lines to judge dis-
tance as the use of the guide lines to judge
distance increases the risk of impacting the
objects.
Even when the object you approach is di-
rectly on the ground (and nothing on the ob-
ject extends above the ground beyond the
object's contours directly touching the
ground) and no objects that do not touch
the ground, such as the bumper of a vehicle
parked behind you, a trailer hitch, or the
back of a truck are in the path, do not ap-
proach the object on the ground any closer
than 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).
!
While parking, do not approach any obsta-
cles closer than indicated by red guide line4.

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).


418 Controls in detailDriving systems
Use the COMAND controller
(page 82) to select “parallel parking”
function2.
You will see the guide lines for parallel
parking on the COMAND display.

Back up carefully parallel to parked car
until the respective vertical blue guide
line1 is at the end of the parked vehi-
cle next to you.

Stop the vehicle.1Vertical blue guide line
3Extended blue guide line
4Blue guide lines for vehicle contour

With the vehicle at a standstill, turn
steering wheel in parking direction until
blue guide lines3 and 4 appear and
the rectangle formed by guide lines 4
shows the desired parking position. If
another vehicle is located next to you,
the extended blue guide line4 must
just touch the corresponding vertical
blue guide line1.
Warning!
G
If the respective vertical guide line1 is not
yet located at the end of the parked vehicle
and you are already turning into the parking
space, you could collide with the parked ve-
hicle. Stop the parking procedure immedi-
ately. Pull out of the parking space and start
the parking procedure over again.
i
If an obstacle is inside of or protrudes into
the area marked by blue guide lines4 for the
vehicle, the parking space is too small for the ve-
hicle.
i
If you turn the steering wheel too far, the
message “Steering wheel turned too far. Please
adjust steering wheel” appears on the COMAND
display. Turn the steering wheel back until the
message disappears and the extended blue
guide line4 intersects with vertical blue guide
line1.
If you back up using the wrong wheel angle, the
following appears in the COMAND display:
“Steering wheel turned too far. Park Assist dis-
abled.”. Pull out of the parking space and start
the parking procedure over again.


419 Controls in detail
Driving systems
5Bent blue guide line
Back up with the set wheel angle.
The guide lines in the COMAND display
disappear. After a short distance, the
bent blue guide line5 appears.

Back up until bent guide line5 inter-
sects the edge of the parking space,
e.g. the curb.

Stop the vehicle.
6Yellow and red guide lines for cornering
7Blue guide line for straight driving

With the vehicle at a standstill, turn
steering wheel as far as it will go in the
opposite direction.
The guide lines for straight driving7
and cornering6 appear in the
COMAND display.

Back up using the set wheel angle until
blue guide line7 for straight driving is
parallel to the edge of the parking
space, e.g. the curb.

Now straighten out steering wheel and
back up until you still have just enough
room behind the vehicle.
While doing so, observe
Parktronic* (
page 405) or Park As-
sist* (
page 409) warning indicators.
i
If you turn the steering wheel while backing
up, the following appears in the COMAND dis-
play: “The steering wheel position has been
changed. Park Assist disabled.”. Pull out of the
parking space and start the parking procedure
over again.

421 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Switching on or off
You can only switch on the Night View As-
sist if

the SmartKey in the starter switch is
set to position2


it is dark


the light switch is set to * or B
or if the daytime driving lamps are
switched on


the automatic transmission is not in
positionR
1Night View Assist on or off

Press button1.
The Night View Assist image appears
on the multifunction display.
Image on multifunction display
When you switch on Night View Assist, the
image for the speed gauge changes on the
multifunction display. The speed gauge is
shown as a bar on the lower edge of the
multifunction display. The line for main
menus is no longer available. If you would
like to change a setting using the steering
wheel buttons, you must first switch off
Night View Assist.1Night View Assist image
2Speedometer display
i
The infrared headlamps only come on above
a speed of approx. 9 mph (15 km/h). Therefore,
when you are at a standstill, you do not have a
complete view and cannot check the function of
the Night View Assist.
i
If you change the brightness of the instru-
ment cluster while Night View Assist is switched
on, only the brightness of the multifunction dis-
play is changed.

459 Controls in detail
Useful features
Telephone*
Radio transmitters, such as a portable tele-
phone or a citizens band unit, should only
be used inside the vehicle if they are con-
nected to an antenna that is installed on
the outside of the vehicle.
The external antenna must be approved by
Mercedes-Benz. Please contact an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center for informa-
tion on the installation of an approved
external antenna. Refer to the radio trans-
mitter operation instructions regarding use
of an external antenna.When the mobile phone is inserted in the
cradle, you can operate the telephone us-
ing the following devices:


mobile phone keypad


COMAND telephone keypad
(page 115)


buttonss andt on the steering
wheel (
page 249)


Voice Control* (
page 262)


Bluetooth headset (
page 217)
See also separate operating manual for in-
structions on how to use the mobile phone.
Warning!
G
Never operate radio transmitters equipped
with a built-in or attached antenna (i.e. with-
out being connected to an external antenna)
from inside the vehicle while the engine is
running. Doing so could lead to a malfunc-
tion of the vehicle’s electronic system, pos-
sibly resulting in an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
Warning!
G
Please do not forget that your primary re-
sponsibility is to drive the vehicle. A driver’s
attention to the road must always be
his/her primary focus when driving. For
your safety and the safety of others, we rec-
ommend that you pull over to a safe location
and stop before placing or taking a tele-
phone call.
If you choose to use the telephone
1 while
driving, please use the hands-free device
and only use the telephone when road,
weather and traffic conditions permit. Some
jurisdictions prohibit the driver from using a
mobile telephone while driving a vehicle.
Only operate the COMAND (Cockpit Man-
agement and Data System)
1 if road, weather
and traffic conditions permit.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km/h), your vehicle is
covering a distance of 44 feet (approximate-
ly 14 m) every second.
1Observe all legal requirements.
i
Various mobile phone cradles can be in-
stalled in the cockpit. These mobile phone cra-
dles can be obtained from an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
The functions and services available to you while
using the mobile phone depend on your service
provider and the type of mobile phone you are
using.

460 Controls in detailUseful featuresThe cradle is located in the center armrest.
Open telephone compartment
(page 448).
Inserting mobile phone in mobile phone
cradle
Once the mobile phone has been inserted
in the mobile phone cradle, calls can only
be made via the hands-free system* or
Bluetooth headset*.

If applicable, remove the cover for the
external antenna connection from the
back of the mobile phone and store it in
a safe place. Be sure to comply with the
mobile phone’s operating instructions,
as well.
Example illustration1Insert the mobile phone
2Connector contact
3Mobile phone cradle
Slide the lower end of the mobile phone
into connector contact 2 on
cradle3.

Push the top of the mobile phone in di-
rection of arrow 1, until the lug on the
mobile phone release button engages.
The mobile phone is connected to the
network via the external antenna. The mobile phone is linked to the
hands-free device and the multifunc-
tion steering wheel.
The battery is charged depending on its
charge status and the position of the
SmartKey in the starter switch. The
charge procedure will be indicated in
the mobile phone’s display.
You can place or receive phone calls. You
can control other functions of the mobile
phone via the control system (
page 249)
or COMAND (
page 115).
!
Do not try to remove the mobile phone along
with the cradle. You could otherwise damage the
mobile phone cradle.
i
When you take the SmartKey or SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO* out of the starter switch, the
mobile phone remains switched on for approx.
10 minutes. If you place or receive a call during
this time, the mobile phone switches off 10 min-
utes after the call has been completed.