2007 MERCEDES-BENZ S550 Sound

55 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
For more information, see the “Practical
hints” section (
page 555).
Seat belts
When the engine is started, the seat belt
telltale< illuminates for a maximum of
6 seconds and a warning chime sounds to
remind you and your passengers to fasten
your seat belts.
If after these 6 seconds, the driver’s or the
front passenger’s seat belt (with the front
passenger seat occupied) are not fastened
with all doors closed,

and the vehicle speed does not exceed
15 mph (25 km/h), the seat belt
telltale< remains illuminated for as
long as either the driver’s or front
passenger’s seat belt is not fastened.


and the vehicle speed exceeds
15 mph (25 km/h), the seat belt
telltale< starts flashing and a
warning chime sounds with increasing
intensity until both the driver’s and
front passenger’s seat belt are fas-
tened, or for a maximum of 60 seconds
from the time the vehicle speed exceeded 15 mph (25 km/h) if either
the driver’s or front passenger’s seat
belt remains unfastened.
If the driver’s or front passenger’s seat
belt remains unfastened after
60 seconds, the seat belt telltale<
stops flashing and the warning chime
stops sounding. The seat belt
telltale< then continues to be illu-
minated for as long as either the driv-
er’s or front passenger’s seat belt are
not fastened.
The seat belt telltale< will only go out
if both the driver’s and the front passen-
ger’s seat belt (with the front passenger
seat occupied) are fastened, or the vehicle
is standing still and a front door is opened.
For more information, see “Practical hints”
(
page 550).
Always wear your seat belt. All vehicle
occupants always need to have their seat
belts fastened and wear them properly.
Warning!
G
Never place anything between seat cushion
(e.g. pillow), since it reduces the effective-
ness of the Occupant Classification System.
The bottom of the child seat must make full
contact with the passenger seat cushion. An
incorrectly mounted child seat could cause
injuries to the child in case of an accident,
instead of increasing protection for the
child.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for
installation of child seats.

62 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyInfant and child restraint systems
We recommend all infants and children be
properly restrained at all times while the
vehicle is in motion.
All lap-shoulder belts except the driver’s
seat belt have special seat belt retractors
for secure fastening of child restraints.
To fasten a child restraint, follow child
restraint instructions for mounting. Then
pull the shoulder belt out completely and
let it retract. During seat belt retraction, a
ratcheting sound can be heard to indicate
that the special seat belt retractor is acti-
vated. The belt is now locked. Push down
on child restraint to take up any slack.
To deactivate, release seat belt buckle and
let seat belt retract completely. To deacti-
vate the special seat belt retractor for the
front passenger seat, the front passenger
seat must be in the most backward posi-
tion. The seat belt can again be used in the
usual manner.
Warning!
G
Never release the seat belt buckle while the
vehicle is in motion, since the special seat
belt retractor will be deactivated.i
Information on child seats with mounting fit-
tings for tether anchorages (
page 64).
For information on LATCH-type child seat
mounts (
page 65).
!
The use of infant or child restraints is re-
quired by law in all 50 states, the District of Co-
lumbia, the U.S. territories and all Canadian
provinces.
Infants and small children should be seated in an
appropriate infant or child restraint system prop-
erly secured by a lap/shoulder belt or, if so
equipped, a top tether anchorage point and a
child restraint lower anchorage system that
complies with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards 213 and 225 and Canadian Motor Ve-
hicle Safety Standard 213 and 210.2.
A statement by the child restraint manufacturer
of compliance with this standard can be found
on the instruction label on the restraint and in
the instruction manual provided with the re-
straint.
When using any infant or child restraint system,
make sure to carefully read and follow all manu-
facturer’s instructions for installation and use.
Please read and observe warning labels affixed
to the inside of the vehicle and to infant or child
restraints.Warning!
G
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing position. Thus, we strongly recommend
that children be placed in the rear seats
whenever possible. Regardless of seating
position, children 12 years old and under
must be seated and properly secured in an
appropriate infant, or toddler restraint, or
booster seat recommended for the size and
weight of the child.

89 Control systems
COMAND introduction
Main menus of COMAND
Sound
Muting: Press the F shortcut but-
ton in the center console (
page 80).
The sound of the current audio source
is switched on or is muted.Switching off navigation announce-
ments entirely

Canceling navigation message:
Briefly press F shortcut button dur-
ing an announcement.

Switching off navigation messages:
Press and hold F during an an-
nouncement until the announcement is
switched off.
You will see the message “The driving
instructions have been muted.” for a
short while.Adjusting volume
1Thumbwheel

Adjusting: Turn, thumbwheel.
The volume of the currently selected
audio source changes.
i
The components and operating principles of
COMAND can be found on (
page 79).
i
When the sound is muted, you will see the
symbol
F
in the status line. When you
change the audio source, the sound is automati-
cally switched on. You will be able to hear an-
nouncements from the navigation system even
when the sound is muted.
i
The announcements remain switched off
even if you start a new route guidance or if
COMAND is switched off/on with theo but-
ton.
If you switch COMAND off by removing the
SmartKey from the starter switch and then
switch the ignition back on after more than
3 minutes, the announcements are automatical-
ly switched back on.

90 Control systemsCOMAND introductionVolume of navigation announcements
You can adjust the volume of the naviga-
tion announcements independently from
the volume of the respective audio source.
During a navigation announcement:
turn thumbwheel,
or

pressæ or ç on the multifunc-
tion steering wheel.
Adjusting volume for telephone calls
In hands-free mode, you can adjust the vol-
ume of a telephone call while the call is
currently active.
During a telephone call:

turn thumbwheel,
or

pressæ or ç on the multifunc-
tion steering wheel.Selecting sound settings
You can select different sound settings for
each individual audio source. The respec-
tive sound menu can be found via the sub-
menu for which you wish to make settings.
Example:
“Audio”
“Audio”
“FM/AM Radio”

“Sound” Adjusting treble or bass

Select “Sound”
“Treble” or “Bass”.
The setting last selected is indicated by
an outlined bar.
Adjusting treble and bass1Setting last selected
2Current setting
Changing setting: Slide rmq or
rotateymz until desired treble or bass
setting is reached.

Exiting menu: Press n, L or
Slideomp.
The setting is saved.

91 Control systems
COMAND introduction
Adjusting balance or fader
Balance is used to determine whether the
sound focus should be shifted toward the
driver’s side or the passenger’s side.
Fader is used to determine whether the
sound focus should be shifted toward the
front or rear of the vehicle
Select “Sound”
“Balance/Fader”.
The setting last selected is indicated by
an outlined bar.
Adjusting balance and fader1Current setting indicated by orange
cross-hair symbol

Changing setting: Slide rmq or omp
until desired balance/fader setting is
reached.

Exiting menu: Press n or L.
The setting is saved.
Surround sound
With surround sound, you can choose be-
tween “LOGIC7
® ON” and “LOGIC7
® OFF”.
Harman/kardon LOGIC7
® surround sound
is available for the following operating
modes:


Audio DVD (MLP, DTS, PCM, and Dolby
Digital audio formats)


Audio CD


MP3


Radio (FM, AM, WB,
Satellite* (USA only))


PCMCIA
i
Since some DVDs contain both stereo as
well as multi-channel audio formats, it may be
necessary to adapt the audio format
(
page 114).
i
The “LOGIC7
® ON” function of the har-
man/kardon LOGIC7® surround sound system
makes it possible to play discrete 5.1 and stereo
recordings with optimal surround sound for ev-
ery passenger. Music on CDs or audio DVDs with
high-resolution surround formats such as MLP,
DTS or Dolby Digital is played back optimally.
For an ideal sound experience on all seats,
LOGIC7
® distributes 5.1 surround information
via the 13-channel system architecture. The re-
sult is a sound as intended by the sound engi-
neers during the original recording.
harman/kardon LOGIC7
® converts all two-chan-
nel stereo sound material into multi-channel sur-
round sound. With the help of LOGIC7
®,
surround information stored during the original
recording are read out and distributed through
the 13 channels. No effects are created during
this process; only that which was already there
becomes audible.
In addition, harman/kardon LOGIC7
® moves the
perceived sound source away from the individual
loudspeakers, thus generating a natural 360°
sound experience for every passenger.

92 Control systemsCOMAND introductionAdjusting surround sound
With surround sound, you can choose be-
tween “LOGIC7
® ON” and “LOGIC7
® OFF”.

Select “Sound”
“3D Sound”.
Adjusting surround sound1Current setting

Selecting a setting: Slidermq or
rotateymz.

Saving setting: Press n
The setting is saved and the menu is
closed.

Exiting menu without saving chang-
es: Press L or slide omp.Switching off/on the audio source

Switching off: Select “Audio”
“Au-
dio”
“Audio OFF”.
The audio source is switched off; “Au-
dio OFF” appears in the display.

Switching on: Select “Audio”, then the
desired audio source.
or

Load CD/DVD (
page 107) or a
PCMCIA card (
page 108).
i
By selecting “LOGIC7
® OFF”, all compatible
formats as they are present on the medium are
played back. Due to the vehicle’s spatial charac-
teristics, an optimal sound experience is not en-
sured on all seats.
i
Please note the following:


For an ideal sound experience at all seats,
the balance and fader should be adjusted to
the center of the passenger compartment
with LOGIC7
® switched on.


The best sound results are achieved by play-
ing high-quality audio CDs and audio DVDs.


For MP3 tracks, the bit rate should be at
least 128kBit/s.


Surround sound does not function for
mono-signal sources.


In the event of poor radio reception quality,
e.g. inside a tunnel, you should switch off
LOGIC7®, as a dynamic switch from Stereo
to Mono could occur, resulting in temporary
sound distortion.


With some stereo recordings, the resulting
sound may deviate from conventional stereo
playback.
i
When you insert an audio CD or audio DVD,
it automatically becomes the active audio
source.

93 Control systems
COMAND FM/AM radio
COMAND FM/AM radio
Submenu overviewi
The components and operating principles of
COMAND can be found on (
page 79).
Radio
(except Weather Band)
Presets
(except Weather Band)
Channel
(only Weather Band)
FM or AM or WB
Sound
Station List
(in FM waveband only)
Autostore
Channel list
Switch to FM waveband
Treble
Save Station
Preset station list
Switch to AM waveband
Bass
Frequency Entry
Switch to Weather Band
Balance/Fader
Show Station Info
(in FM waveband only)
3D Sound

94 Control systemsCOMAND FM/AM radioSwitching to radio mode 
Select “Audio”
“Audio”
“FM/AM
Radio”.
or

Press the M shortcut button once or
twice.
The radio display appears once you
have switched to radio mode. You will
hear the station/channel last tuned in
in the previously selected waveband,
provided that the station/channel can
be received.
Illustration: radio mode in FM waveband1Main area with frequency display
2Preset position of selected station
3Frequency of selected station
4Name of selected station
5Sound settings
6To switch to Weather Band
7To switch to AM waveband
8Selected waveband
9Preset options
aRadio options
Switching wavebands
You can switch between the FM, AM and
WB (Weather Band) wavebands.
Select “Audio”
“Audio”
“FM/AM
Radio”
“FM” or “AM” or “WB”.
You will hear the station last tuned in
on the selected waveband.
Selecting stations/channels
You have the following selection options:

The station list


The search function


The station presets


The manual frequency entry


The channel list
Selecting stations using the station list
i
The number of times you have to press the
M shortcut button depends on the operating
mode currently selected.
i
Station name display 4 is available for the
FM waveband and can only be seen when it is
switched on (
page 97) and if the station trans-
mits a name.
i
The station list is only available for the FM
waveband. It contains all the stations that can be
currently received and is sorted by station fre-
quencies.