2007 MERCEDES-BENZ S600 Manual park brake release

364 Controls in detailDriving and parkingElectric parking brake
1Handle for electric parking brake
Manually releasing electric parking
brake

Pull handle1.
The red indicator lamp 0 (USA only)
or ! (Canada only) in the instru-
ment cluster goes out.
You cannot release the electric parking
brake until the ignition is switched on.Automatically releasing electric parking
brake
Your vehicle’s electric parking brake is au-
tomatically released when:


The engine is running.


Transmission is in position D or R.


The hood is closed.


You have fastened your seat belt.


You step on the accelerator pedal.
If gear R is engaged, the trunk must be
closed.
Warning!
G
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Children could release the parking brake
and/or shift the automatic transmission out
of position P, either of which could result in
an accident and/or serious personal injury.Warning!
G
Getting out of your vehicle with the automat-
ic transmission not fully engaged in
positionPis dangerous. Also, when parked
on an incline, position P alone may not pre-
vent your vehicle from moving, possibly hit-
ting people or objects.
Always set the parking brake in addition to
shifting to position P (
page 359).
i
If you have not fastened your seat belt, the
following conditions must be met in order for the
parking brake to be automatically released:


The driver's door is closed


You must move the gear selector out of P po-
sition or drive faster than 2 mph (3 km/h).

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


369 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission

With the vehicle at a standstill, depress
the brake pedal and keep it pressed.

Press the handle for electric parking
brake (
page 364).

Press button at the end of the gear
selector lever in direction of arrow
(page 367) to select park positionP.

Release the brake pedal.
Shifting from D or R to N
If you want to select neutral positionN
with the automatic transmission being in
drive positionD or reverse gearR:

With the vehicle at a standstill, depress
the brake pedal and keep it pressed.

Press the handle for electric parking
brake (
page 364).

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

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

drive positionD(
page 370) with
gear ranges (
page 372)


the selected program mode (C/S)
(page 374)


the position of the accelerator pedal
(page 373)


the vehicle speed
With drive positionD selected, you can use
the steering wheel gearshift control
buttons (
page 375) to influence auto-
matic transmission shifting by:


limiting the gear range


changing gears manually
!
Shift the automatic transmission directly
from drive positionD to reverse gearR, from
reverse gearR to drive positionD or directly to
park positionP only when the vehicle is stopped.
Otherwise the automatic transmission could be
damaged.
When trying to free a vehicle stuck in mud or
snow, see “Rocking the vehicle” (
page 373).
i
When the vehicle needs to be moved with
the engine switched off and the automatic trans-
mission set to neutral positionN (
page 371),
e.g. in an automatic car wash, do not press the
handle for electric parking brake.
!
Allow engine to warm up under low load use.
Do not place full load on the engine until the op-
erating temperature has been reached.
Shift into reverse gearR or parking positionP
only when the vehicle is stopped.
Avoid spinning of a drive wheel for an extended
period when driving off on slippery road surfac-
es. This may cause serious damage to the driv-
etrain which is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.

576 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Parking brake
See Oper. Manual
The red indicator lamp for the electric park-
ing brake is either on or off and the yellow
warning lamp for the electric parking brake
comes on.
The electric parking brake is malfunction-
ing.
To release:
Pull handle of electric parking brake
(page 364).
or

Drive off carefully (
page 364).

Visit an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.
or

Release electric parking brake mechanically
(page 616).

Visit an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.
To engage:

Switch off ignition and press handle for elec-
tric parking brake until the warning message
on the multifunction display disappears.
(USA only)(Canada only)

577 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Parking brake
See Oper. Manual
The red indicator lamp for the electric park-
ing brake flashes.
The power supply for the electric parking
brake was malfunctioning or the electric
parking brake was previously mechanically
released.

Pull handle for electric parking brake
(page 364).
or

Carefully drive off (
page 364).
or

Press handle for electric parking brake until
the warning message disappears from the
multifunction display.
(USA only)(Canada only)

578 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Parking brake
See Oper. Manual
The red indicator lamp for the electric park-
ing brake flashes and the yellow warning
lamp for the electric parking brake lights
up.
The electric parking brake is malfunction-
ing.

Switch ignition off and back on again, and en-
gage or release electric parking brake
(page 364).
or

Carefully drive off (
page 364).

Visit an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.
or

Release electric parking brake mechanically
(page 616).

Visit an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.
(USA only)(Canada only)

579 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Parking brake
See Oper. Manual
When you engage or release the electric
parking brake, the red indicator lamp for
the electric parking brake flashes for
approx.10 seconds. Afterward, it goes out
or lights up continuously. The yellow warn-
ing lamp for the electric parking brake lights
up.
The electric parking brake is malfunctioning
or overheated for example due to over- or
undervoltage.

Carefully drive off (
page 364).

Visit an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.
In the event of overvoltage or undervoltage:

Remove the cause of the overvoltage or und-
ervoltage, e.g. charge the battery or restart
the engine.

Switch ignition off and back on again, and en-
gage or release electric parking brake
(page 364).
If the electric parking brake still cannot be re-
leased:

Release electric parking brake mechanically
(page 616).

Visit an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.
(Continued on next page)
(USA only)(Canada only)

580 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Parking brake
See Oper. Manual
If overheated:
Let vehicle cool down, and do not engage
electric parking brake during this time.
or

Switch ignition off and back on again, and en-
gage or release electric parking brake.
(USA only)(Canada only)
Parking brake
inoperative
When you engage or release the electric
parking brake, the red indicator lamp for
the electric parking brake flashes and goes
out after approx. 10 seconds. The yellow
warning lamp for the electric parking brake
lights up.
The electric parking brake is malfunction-
ing.

Switch ignition off and back on again, and en-
gage electric parking brake (
page 364).
If the electric parking brake cannot be engaged:

Shift the automatic transmission to P
(page 367).

Protect vehicle from rolling away while
parked by using a chock from the vehicle tool
kit (
page 613).

Visit an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.