ContentsSafety and Security........................... 65
Occupant safety................................... 66
Air bags .......................................... 68
Occupant Classification System ..... 72
Seat belts ....................................... 77
Roll bar ........................................... 81
Children in the vehicle .................... 83
Panic alarm .......................................... 86
Activating ....................................... 86
Deactivating ................................... 86
Driving safety systems ......................... 87
ABS ................................................ 87
BAS ................................................ 89
ESP
®............................................... 89
Electro-hydraulic brake system ...... 92
Anti-theft systems................................ 96
Immobilizer..................................... 96
Anti-theft alarm system .................. 96
Tow-away alarm ............................. 98
Controls in detail............................. 101
Locking and unlocking ....................... 102
SmartKey ..................................... 102
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ...... 105
Opening the doors from the
inside ........................................... 111
Opening the trunk ........................ 111
Closing the trunk.......................... 113
Valet locking ................................ 117
Trunk lid emergency release ........ 117
Power closing assist for trunk lid . 118
Automatic central locking ............ 119
Locking and unlocking from the
inside ........................................... 119
Seats ................................................. 121
Moving the seats forward and
backward ..................................... 121
Lumbar support............................ 121
Multicontour backrest* ................ 122
Seat heating ................................. 123
Seat ventilation* .......................... 125
Memory function ............................... 126
Storing positions into memory ..... 127
Recalling positions from memory . 127 Lighting ............................................ 128
Exterior lamp switch .................... 128
Corner-illuminating front fog
lamps ........................................... 132
Combination switch ..................... 133
Hazard warning flasher ................ 133
Interior lighting ............................ 134
Courtesy lighting .......................... 135
Trunk lamp ................................... 135
Instrument cluster ............................. 136
Adjusting instrument cluster
illumination .................................. 136
Coolant temperature gauge ......... 137
Trip odometer .............................. 137
Tachometer.................................. 138
Outside temperature indicator ..... 138
Control system .................................. 139
Multifunction display.................... 139
Multifunction steering wheel........ 140
Menus .......................................... 142
Standard display menu ................ 145
AMG menu ................................... 146
AUDIO menu ................................ 149
NAV menu .................................... 151
Distronic* menu .......................... 151
123 Controls in detailSeats
Seat heating
Vehicles without seat ventilation*
The red indicator lamps on the switch indi-
cate the selected heating level:The switch is located on the door control
panel.
1Normal heating
2Rapid heating
Switch on the ignition (
page 39).
Switching on seat heating
Press lower switch position1.
A red indicator lamp on the switch
comes on.
Switching off seat heating
Press lower switch position1 once
more.Switching on rapid seat heating
Press upper switch position2.
Both red indicator lamps on the switch
come on.
Switching off rapid seat heating
Press upper switch position2 again.
Level2
Two red indicator lamps on
(rapid seat heating)
The seat heating automatically
switches to level1 after approxi-
mately 5 minutes.
1
One red indicator lamp on
(normal seat heating)
The seat heating automatically
switches off after approximately
30 minutes.
off
No red indicator lamp on
i
If one lamp or both lamps on the seat heat-
ing switch are flashing, there is insufficient volt-
age available since too many electrical
consumers are turned on. The seat heating
switches off automatically.
The seat heating will switch back on again auto-
matically as soon as sufficient voltage is avail-
able.
124 Controls in detailSeatsVehicles with seat ventilation*
The red indicator lamps on the switch indi-
cate the selected heating level:The switch is located on the door control
panel.
1Seat heating switch
Switch on the ignition (
page 39).
Switching on seat heating
Press button1 repeatedly until the
desired heating level is set.
One or two red indicator lamps on the
button show the selected heating level. Switching off seat heating
Press button1 repeatedly until all in-
dicator lamps go out.
Level2
Two red indicator lamps on
(rapid seat heating)
The seat heating automatically
switches to level1 after approxi-
mately 5 minutes.
1
One red indicator lamp on
(normal seat heating)
The seat heating automatically
switches off after approximately
30 minutes.
off
No red indicator lamp on
i
If one or both of the lamps on the seat heat-
ing switch are flashing, there is insufficient volt-
age available since too many electrical
consumers are turned on. The seat heating
switches off automatically.
The seat heating will switch back on again auto-
matically as soon as sufficient voltage is avail-
able.
137 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
To brighten illumination
Turn reset button 1 in the instrument
cluster clockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
brighten.
To dim illumination
Turn reset button 1 in the instrument
cluster counterclockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
dim.
Coolant temperature gauge
Trip odometer
Make sure you are viewing the trip
odometer display (
page 139).
If it is not displayed, press the j or
k button on the multifunction
steering wheel repeatedly until the trip
odometer appears.
Press and hold reset button1
(page 136) until the trip odometer is
reset.
Warning!
G
Driving when your engine is overheated
can cause some fluids which may have
leaked into the engine compartment to
catch fire. You could be seriously
burned.
Steam from an overheated engine can
cause serious burns which can occur
just by opening the hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see or hear steam
coming from it.
Turn off the engine, get out of the vehicle
and do not stand near the vehicle until the
engine has cooled down.
!
Excessive coolant temperature triggers the
coolant temperature warning lamp (
page 337)
and a warning in the multifunction display
(
page 371).
The engine should not be operated with the cool-
ant temperature above 248°F (120°C). Doing so
may cause serious engine damage which is not
covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited
Warranty.
i
During severe operating conditions, e.g.
stop-and-go traffic, the coolant temperature may
rise close to 248°F (120°C).
138 Controls in detailInstrument clusterTachometer
The red marking on the tachometer de-
notes excessive engine speed.
To help protect the engine, the fuel supply
is interrupted if the engine is operated
within the red marking.
Outside temperature indicator
The outside temperature is displayed in
the left or right multifunction display
(page 26), depending on the setting
(page 156).The temperature sensor is located in the
front bumper area. Due to its location, the
sensor can be affected by road or engine
heat during idling or slow driving. There-
fore, the accuracy of the displayed temper-
ature can only be verified by comparison to
a thermometer placed next the sensor, not
by comparison to external displays, e.g.
bank signs, etc.
When moving the vehicle into colder ambi-
ent temperatures (e.g. when leaving your
garage), you will notice a delay before the
lower temperature is displayed.
A delay also occurs when ambient temper-
atures rise. This prevents inaccurate tem-
perature indications caused by heat
radiated from the engine during idling or
slow driving.
!
Avoid driving at excessive engine speeds, as
it may result in serious engine damage that is not
covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited
Warranty.
Warning!
G
The outside temperature indicator is not de-
signed to serve as an ice-warning device and
is therefore unsuitable for that purpose.
Indicated temperatures just above the freez-
ing point do not guarantee that the road sur-
face is free of ice. The road may still be icy,
especially in wooded areas or on bridges.
168 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionFor more information on driving with an
automatic transmission, see “Automatic
transmission” (
page 52).
Your vehicle’s transmission adapts its gear
shifting process to your individual driving
style by continually adjusting the shift
points up or down. These shift point adjust-
ments are performed based on current
operating and driving conditions.
If the operating conditions change, the
automatic transmission reacts by
adjusting its shift program.
Gearshift pattern for automatic
transmission
The automatic transmission selects indi-
vidual gears automatically, depending on:
the gear selector lever
positionD(
page 170) with
gear ranges (page 172)
the selected program mode:
(C/S) (
page 173)
or
(MANUAL/C/S) (SL 55 AMG and
SL 65 AMG only) (
page 177)
the position of the accelerator pedal
(page 171)
the vehicle speed
i
During the brief warm-up, transmission up-
shifting is delayed. This allows the catalytic con-
verter to heat up more quickly to operating
temperature.
185 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Automatic climate control panel
Item
1
Defroster air vents, fixed
2
Left center air vent, adjustable
3
Cockpit air vent, fixed
4
Right center air vent, adjustable
5
Right side air vent, adjustable
6
Air volume control for right side air
vent
7
Air volume control for center air
vents
8
Air volume control for left side air
vent
9
Automatic climate control panel
a
Left side air vent, adjustable
i
For draft-free ventilation, move the sliders
for center air vent and side air vents to the mid-
dle position.
Item
1
Air distribution, left
2
Front defroster
3
Air recirculation
4
Rear window defroster
5
Air distribution, right
6
Temperature control, right
7
Automatic climate control on/off
(entire system)
8
Residual heat/ventilation
9
Air volume control
a
AC cooling on/off
b
Temperature control, left
186 Controls in detailAutomatic climate controlThe automatic climate control is operation-
al whenever the engine is running. You can
operate the automatic climate control sys-
tem in either the automatic or manual
mode. The system cools or heats the inte-
rior depending on the selected interior
temperature and the current outside tem-
perature.Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air en-
ters the passenger compartment through
the air distribution system.
The air conditioning will not engage (no
cooling) if the A/Cmode is deactivated
(
page 193).
Warning!
G
When operating the automatic climate con-
trol, the air that enters the passenger com-
partment through the air vents can be very
hot or very cold (depending on the set tem-
perature). This may cause burns or frostbite
on unprotected skin in the immediate area
of the air vents. Always keep sufficient dis-
tance between unprotected parts of the
body and the air vents. If necessary, use the
air distribution control (
page 185) to di-
rect the air to air vents in the vehicle interior
that are not in the immediate area of unpro-
tected skin.
Warning!
G
Follow the recommended settings for heat-
ing and cooling given on the following pag-
es. Otherwise the windows could fog up,
impairing visibility 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. The automatic climate control
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 and debris.
When the retractable hardtop is closed, do not
obstruct air flow by placing objects on the air
flow-through exhaust slots below the rear win-
dow.