2008 MERCEDES-BENZ CL-Class warning

610 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Problem
Possible cause/consequence
Suggested solution
-
v
The yellow ABS malfunc-
tion indicator lamp and
the yellow ESP
® warning
lamp come on while the
engine is running and an
acoustic warning sounds.
ABS and ESP
® are switched off due to a
malfunction.
The BAS, EBP and PRE-SAFE
® are also
switched off.
The brake system is still functioning nor-
mally but without the ABS available.

Continue driving with added caution.
Wheels may lock during hard braking,
reducing steering capability.

Read and observe messages in the mul-
tifunction display (
page 622).

Have the system checked at an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as
possible.
Failure to follow these instructions increas-
es the risk of an accident.
0(USA only)!(Canada only)
The red indicator lamp
for the electronic parking
brake flashes and/or the
yellow warning lamp for
the electronic parking
brake is on.
The electronic parking brake is malfunction-
ing or defective.

Read and observe messages in the mul-
tifunction display (
page 622).

Have the system checked at an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as
possible.

611 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Problem
Possible cause/consequence
Suggested solution
;(USA only)3(Canada only)
The red brake warning
lamp comes on while the
engine is running and an
acoustic warning sounds.
There is insufficient brake fluid in the reser-
voir.
Risk of accident!
Carefully stop the vehicle in a safe loca-
tion or as soon as it is safe to do so.

Engage the electronic parking brake
(page 412).

Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.

Do not add brake fluid! This will not
solve the problem.
Warning!
G
Driving with the brake warning lamp illumi-
nated can result in an accident. Have your
brake system checked immediately if the
brake warning lamp stays on. Do not add
brake fluid before checking the brake
system. Overfilling the brake fluid reservoir
can result in spilling brake fluid on hot en-
gine parts and the brake fluid catching fire.
You can be seriously burned.
!
If you find that the brake fluid in the brake
fluid reservoir has fallen to the minimum mark or
below, have the brake system checked for brake
pad thickness and leaks.

614 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Problem
Possible cause/consequence
Suggested solution
l
PRE-SAFE
® Brake*: The red dis-
tance warning lamp comes on
while driving.
You are too close to the vehicle in front of
you to maintain selected speed.

Apply the brakes immediately to in-
crease the following distance.
l
DISTRONIC Plus* or PRE-SAFE
®
Brake*: The red distance warn-
ing lamp comes on while driving
and an acoustic warning
sounds.You are gaining too rapidly on the vehicle
ahead of you.

Apply the brakes immediately.
DISTRONIC Plus* or PRE-SAFE
® Brake* has
recognized a stationary obstacle on your
probable line of travel.

Apply the brakes immediately.

Carefully observe the traffic situation.
You may need to brake or maneuver to
avoid hitting an obstacle.
v
The yellow ESP
® warning lamp
flashes while driving.
The ESP
® or electronic traction system has
come into operation because of detected
traction loss in at least one tire.
Cruise control and DISTRONIC Plus* are de-
activated.

When driving off, apply as little throttle
as possible.

While driving, ease up on the accelera-
tor.

Adapt your speed and driving to the pre-
vailing road and weather conditions.

Do not deactivate the ESP
®. Exceptions:
(
page 72).
Failure to follow these instructions increas-
es the risk of an accident.

615 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Problem
Possible cause/consequence
Suggested solution
v
The yellow ESP
® warning lamp
comes on while the engine is
running.
The ESP
® is deactivated.
Risk of accident!
Adapt your speed and driving to the prevail-
ing road, weather, and traffic conditions.

Switch the ESP
® back on (
page 70).
Exceptions: (
page 72).
If the ESP
® cannot be switched back on:

Have the system checked at an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as
possible.
ESP
® is switched off due to a malfunction.
Risk of accident!
Adapt your speed and driving to the prevail-
ing road, weather, and traffic conditions.

Continue driving with added caution.

Read and observe messages in the mul-
tifunction display (
page 622).

Have the system checked at an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as
possible.
<
The red seat belt telltale comes
on for a maximum of 6 seconds
after starting the engine.
The seat belt telltale reminds you and your
passengers to fasten your seat belts before
driving off.

Fasten your seat belts.
Regardless of whether the seat belts are
fastened or not, the seat belt telltale al-
ways comes on and remains lit for
6 seconds after starting the engine.

616 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Problem
Possible cause/consequence
Suggested solution
<
You hear a warning chime for a
maximum of 6 seconds after
starting the engine.
You have forgotten to fasten your seat belt.

Fasten your seat belt.
The warning chime stops sounding.
<
The red seat belt telltale comes
on while the vehicle is standing
still and the engine is running or
during driving.
You and/or your front passenger have for-
gotten to fasten your seat belts.

Fasten your seat belts.
The seat belt telltale goes out.
There are items placed on the front passen-
ger seat and therefore the system senses
the front passenger seat as being occupied.

Remove the items from the front pas-
senger seat and put them in a safe
place.
The seat belt telltale goes out.
<
During driving the red seat belt
telltale flashes and you addition-
ally hear an intermittent warning
chime with increasing intensity.
The vehicle’s speed once exceeded 15 mph
(25 km/h) and you and/or your front pas-
senger have forgotten to fasten your seat
belts.

Fasten your seat belts.
The seat belt telltale goes out and the
warning chime stops sounding.
There are items placed on the front passen-
ger seat and therefore the system senses
the front passenger seat as being occupied.

Remove the items from the front pas-
senger seat and put them in a safe
place.
The seat belt telltale goes out and the
warning chime stops sounding.
i
After 60 seconds with an unfastened seat
belt the warning chime stops sounding and the
seat belt telltale illuminates continuously.The seat belt telltale will only go out if both, the
driver and front passenger’s, seat belt arefastened, or the vehicle is standing still and a
door is opened.

617 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Problem
Possible cause/consequence
Suggested solution
=
The red SRS indicator lamp
comes on while the engine is
running.
There is a malfunction in the supplemental
restraint systems. The air bags or emergen-
cy tensioning devices (ETDs) could deploy
unexpectedly or fail to deploy in an
accident.

Drive with added caution to the nearest
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
In the event that a malfunction of the SRS is
indicated as outlined above, the SRS may
not be operational. For your safety, we
strongly recommend that you contact an au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center immediate-
ly to have the system checked; otherwise
the SRS may not be deployed when needed
in an accident, which could result in serious
or fatal injury, or it might deploy unexpect-
edly and unnecessarily which could result in
an accident and/or injury to you or to
others.

619 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Warning!
G
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
should be checked monthly when cold and
inflated to the inflation pressure recom-
mended by the vehicle manufacturer on the
vehicle placard or the tire inflation pressure
label. (If your vehicle has tires of a different
size than the size indicated on the vehicle
placard or the tire inflation pressure label,
you should determine the proper tire infla-
tion pressure for those tires).
As an added safety feature, your vehicle has
been equipped with a Advanced Tire Pres-
sure Monitoring System (Advanced TPMS)
that illuminates a low tire pressure telltale
when one or more of your tires is significant-
ly under-inflated. Accordingly, when the low
tire pressure telltale illuminates, you should
stop and check your tires as soon as possi-
ble, and inflate them to the proper pressure.
Driving on a significantly under-inflated tire
causes the tire to overheat and can lead to
tire failure.
Under-inflation also reduces fuel efficiency
and tire tread life, and may affect the vehi-
cle’s handling and stopping ability. Please
note that the Advanced TPMS is not a sub-
stitute for proper tire maintenance, and it is
the driver’s responsibility to maintain cor-
rect tire pressure, even if under-inflation has
not reached the level to trigger illumination
of the Advanced TPMS low tire pressure
telltale.
USA only
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a
Advanced TPMS malfunction indicator to in-
dicate when the system is not operating
properly. The Advanced TPMS malfunction
indicator is combined with the low tire pres-
sure telltale. When the system detects a
malfunction, the telltale will flash for approx-
imately 1 minute and then remain continu-
ously illuminated. This sequence will
continue upon subsequent vehicle start-ups
as long as the malfunction exists. When the
malfunction indicator is illuminated, the sys-
tem may not be able to detect or signal low
tire pressure as intended.
Advanced TPMS malfunctions may occur for
a variety of reasons, including the installa-
tion of replacement or alternate tires or
wheels on the vehicle that prevent the Ad-
vanced TPMS from functioning properly. Al-
ways check the Advanced TPMS
malfunction telltale after replacing one or
more tires or wheels on your vehicle to en-
sure that the replacement or alternate tires
and wheels allow the Advanced TPMS to
continue to function properly.

620 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Air bag off indicator lampProblem
Possible cause/consequence
Suggested solution
59The front passenger front
air bag off indicator lamp
illuminates and remains il-
luminated with the weight
of a typical adult or some-
one larger than a small in-
dividual on the front
passenger seat.
The system is malfunctioning.

Have the system checked as soon as possible by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.

Also read and observe any messages in the multifunction display
and follow corrective steps (
page 622).
Warning!
G
If the59indicator lamp
illuminates and remains illuminated with the
weight of a typical adult or someone larger
than a small individual on the front passen-
ger seat, do not have any passenger use the
front passenger seat until the system has
been repaired.