68 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyAir bagsWarning!
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Air bags are designed to reduce the poten-
tial of injury and fatality in certain frontal im-
pacts (front air bags, driver-side knee bag)
or side impacts (head-thorax air bags). How-
ever, no system available today can totally
eliminate injuries and fatalities.
The deployment of the air bags temporarily
releases a small amount of dust from the air
bags. This dust, however, is neither injurious
to your health, nor does it indicate a fire in
the vehicle. The dust might cause some tem-
porary breathing difficulty for people with
asthma or other breathing trouble. To avoid
this, you may wish to get out of the vehicle
as soon as it is safe to do so. If you have any
breathing difficulty but cannot get out of the
vehicle after the air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
Warning!
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To reduce the risk of injury when the front
air bags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and passenger to always be in a prop-
erly seated position and to wear their seat
belts.
For maximum protection in the event of a
collision always be in normal seated position
with your back against the backrest. Fasten
your seat belt and make sure that it is prop-
erly positioned on your body (
page 49).
Since the air bag inflates with considerable
speed and force, a proper seating and hands
on steering wheel position will help to keep
you at a safe distance from the air bag.
Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the air bag can be seriously
injured or killed by an air bag as it inflates
with great force in the blink of an eye:
Sit properly belted in a nearly upright
position with your back against the seat
backrest.
Adjust the driver’s seat as far as possi-
ble rearward, still permitting proper op-
eration of vehicle controls. The distance
from the center of the driver’s breast-
bone to the center of the air bag cover
on the steering wheel must be at least
10 inches (25 cm) or more. You should
be able to accomplish this by a combina-
tion of adjustments to the seat and
steering wheel. If you have any prob-
lems, please see an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Do not lean your head or chest close to
the steering wheel or dashboard.
Keep hands on the outside of steering
wheel rim. Placing hands and arms in-
side the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand / arm injury
when driver’s front air bag inflates.
Adjust the passenger seat as far as pos-
sible rearward from the dashboard when
the seat is occupied.
101 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Seats
Memory function
Lighting
Instrument cluster
Control system
Automatic transmission
Good visibility
Automatic climate control
Power windows
Retractable hardtop
Driving systems
Useful features
107 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Important notes on using KEYLESS-GO
You can also use the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO like a normal SmartKey
(page 102).
You can combine KEYLESS-GO func-
tions with normal SmartKey functions
(e.g. unlocking with KEYLESS-GO and
locking with the ‹button).
Always carry the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO with you.
Never store the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO together with:
Electronic items such as a cellular
phone or another SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO
Metallic objects such as coins or
metal foil
Doing so could impair the function of
the KEYLESS-GO system.
To lock or unlock the vehicle, the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO must be
located outside the vehicle within ap-
proximately 3 ft (1 m) of a door or the
trunk.
In order to start the engine with the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO:
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO
must be located in the vehicle.
All doors must be closed.
The brake pedal must be firmly de-
pressed. Do not depress the accel-
erator.
If you have started the engine with the
KEYLESS-GO start/stop button
(page 40), you can only turn it off
again with this button, even if you have
put the SmartKey in the starter switch
in the meantime.
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Canada only:
This device complies with RSS-210 of Industry
Canada. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference re-
ceived, including interference that may
cause undesired operation of the device.
Any unauthorized modification to this device
could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.
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You can also close the power windows
(
page 196) and the retractable hardtop using
the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO (
page 201).
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When you unlock the vehicle, the
electro-hydraulic brake system is activated.
111 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Opening the doors from the inside
You can open a locked door from the in-
side. Open door only when conditions are
safe to do so.
1Locking knob
2Inside door handle
Pull on inside door handle2 in direc-
tion of arrow.
If the door was locked, locking knob1
will move up.
Opening the trunk
You can open the trunk if the vehicle is sta-
tionary and the retractable hardtop is fully
opened or closed.
A minimum height clearance of
6.2 ft (1.88 m) is required to open the
trunk lid.
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If you open a door, the side windows on that
side of the vehicle will lower slightly. The win-
dows close again when you close the door.
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If the vehicle has previously been locked
with the SmartKey or KEYLESS-GO*, opening a
door from the inside will trigger the anti-theft
alarm system.
To cancel the alarm, do one of the following:
Press buttonŒ or‹on the
SmartKey.
Insert the SmartKey in the starter switch.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:
Grasp an outside door handle.
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO must be
within 3 ft. (1 m) of the vehicle.
Press the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button
(page 40).
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO must be in-
side the vehicle.
Warning!
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Only drive with the trunk closed as, among
other dangers such as blocked visibility, ex-
haust fumes may enter the vehicle interior.i
If the trunk lid does not open, the trunk lid is
still locked separately (
page 117).
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To facilitate trunk loading and unloading
when the hardtop is retracted, you can raise the
hardtop from its storage position in the trunk us-
ing the load assist feature (
page 241). You
may also unhook the luggage cover.
Remember to re-secure the luggage cover after
loading/unloading the trunk. Otherwise you will
not be able to lower the retractable hardtop.
182 Controls in detailGood visibilitySun visors
The sun visors protect you from sun glare
while driving.
1Mounting
2Vanity mirror cover
3Vanity mirror lamp
4Holder for gas cards
Glare through the windshield
Make sure the sun visor is properly
engaged in mounting 1.
Swing the respective sun visor down.
When you do not experience glare any-
more, swing the sun visor up.Glare through a door window
Swing respective sun visor down.
Disengage the sun visor from
mounting1.
Pivot the sun visor to the side.
Vanity mirror
Swing respective sun visor down.
Flip up vanity mirror cover2 to access
the vanity mirror.
Vanity mirror lamp 3 comes on.
After using the vanity mirror, flip down
vanity mirror cover 2.
Swing the sun visor up.
Warning!
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Do not use the driver’s-side vanity mirror
while driving.
Keep the vanity mirrors in the sun visors
closed while vehicle is in motion. Reflected
glare can endanger you and others.
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When the sun visor is disengaged from
mounting1, vanity mirror lamp3 switches
off.
!
To avoid damage to vanity mirror cover 2,
make sure it is closed before pivoting the sun
visor to the side.
183 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Rear window defroster
The rear window defroster uses a large
amount of power. To keep the battery
drain to a minimum, switch off the defrost-
er as soon as the rear window is clear. The
defroster is automatically deactivated af-
ter approximately 6 to 17 minutes of oper-
ation depending on the outside
temperature.
Switch on the ignition (
page 39).
Activating
Press button F on the automatic cli-
mate control panel (
page 185).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.Deactivating
Press button F (
page 185) once
more.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
Warning!
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Any accumulation of snow and ice should be
removed from the rear window before driv-
ing. Visibility could otherwise be impaired,
endangering you and others.
!
The rear window defroster cannot be
switched on when the retractable hardtop is
open. The indicator lamp will start flashing if the
hardtop is open.
Close the retractable hardtop.
The rear window defroster can then be switched
on.
!
If the rear window defroster switches off too
soon and the indicator lamp starts flashing, too
many electrical consumers are operating simul-
taneously and there is insufficient voltage in the
battery. The system responds automatically by
switching the rear window defroster off.
As soon as the battery has sufficient voltage, the
rear window defroster automatically switches
back on automatically.
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
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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.