2008 MERCEDES-BENZ CL550 arrow

47 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Side impact air bags
1Front side impact air bag
2Rear side impact air bag
The side impact air bags are deployed:

in side impacts exceeding a preset de-
ployment threshold


on the impacted side of the vehicle


independently of the front air bagsThe front passenger side impact air bag1
will not deploy if the OCS senses that the
front passenger seat is empty and the front
passenger seat belt is not fastened (latch
plate is not inserted into the buckle). With
an empty front passenger seat and the
seat belt fastened (latch plate properly in-
serted into buckle) the front passenger
side impact air bag will deploy regardless
of the empty seat.
The side impact air bags are not deployed
in side impacts which do not exceed the
system’s deployment threshold.Window curtain air bags
1Window curtain air bag
The side window curtain air bags are de-
ployed:


in side impacts exceeding a preset de-
ployment threshold


on the impacted side of the vehicle


independently of the front air bags


in certain vehicle rollovers
The side window curtain air bags are not
deployed in side impacts which do not ex-
ceed the system’s deployment threshold.
The window curtain air bags fill up the area
indicated by the arrows.

69 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
When you step quickly on the brake pedal
in an emergency braking situation,
BAS Plus automatically regulates the
brake power boost to a level that is suit-
able for the traffic situation.
If BAS Plus requires a particularly high
brake power boost, PRE-SAFE
® is activat-
ed at the same time.

Keep constant pressure on the brake
pedal until the emergency braking situ-
ation is over.
During this process, ABS prevents the
wheels from locking up.The brakes will resume normal operation
after


the brake pedal is released


no obstacles are detected in your path


the system no longer senses a risk of a
collision
BAS Plus is deactivated.
BAS Plus can react to stationary obstacles
such as standing or parked vehicles at
road speeds of up to approximately
40 mph (70 km/h).
BAS Plus can only assist you when the
radar sensors are switched on and func-
tional. You can check whether the sensors
are active by switching on DISTRONIC
Plus* (
page 443) or using the “Radar
Sensors” menu (
page 302) in the instru-
ment cluster control system.
Warning!
G
BAS Plus will only respond with brake assis-
tance if it has clearly detected an object. De-
tection can be impeded by

dirty or covered sensors


snowfall or heavy rain


disturbance from other radar sources


strong radar reflection such as in park-
ing garages
BAS Plus uses radar signals that are not re-
flected well by narrow objects and absorp-
tive materials. For this reason BAS Plus will
not react to


persons and animals


approaching traffic or cross-traffic
BAS Plus may not detect narrow vehicles
driving in front of you, such as motorcycles
and vehicles driving offset from your vehicle
center.

76 Safety and SecurityDriving safety systems
When the distance to the forward vehicle is
too small, the distance warning lampl
comes on in the instrument cluster. If you
approach the forward vehicle very quickly,
you will hear a warning tone.
If you do not apply the brakes yourself or
maneuver around a sensed obstacle, the
vehicle will automatically initiate light
braking. PRE-SAFE
® (page 56) is activat-
ed when the distance to the vehicle ahead
at your current speed is so close that
PRE-SAFE
® Brake will not be capable of
slowing the vehicle sufficiently.
i
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.
Removal, tampering, or altering of the device will
void any warranties, and is not permitted. Do not
tamper with, alter, or use in any non-approved
way.
Any unauthorized modification to this device
could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.
Warning!
G
PRE-SAFE
® Brake will only respond with
brake assistance if it has clearly detected an
object. Detection can be impeded by


dirty or covered sensors


snowfall or heavy rain


disturbance from other radar sources


strong radar reflection such as in park-
ing garages
PRE-SAFE
® Brake uses radar signals that
are not reflected well by narrow objects and
absorptive materials. For this reason BAS
Plus will not react to


persons and animals


approaching traffic or cross-traffic
PRE-SAFE
® Brake may not detect narrow ve-
hicles driving in front of you, such as motor-
cycles and vehicles driving offset from your
vehicle center.

182 Control systemsCOMAND navigationSafety precautionsWarning!
G
For safety reasons, only enter a destination
when the vehicle is stationary. When the ve-
hicle is in motion, a passenger should enter
the destination. Study manual and select
route before driving.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km/h), your vehicle is
covering a distance of 44 feet (approximate-
ly 14 m) every second.
COMAND calculates the route to the desti-
nation without taking account of the follow-
ing, for example:

Traffic lights


Stop and right-of-way signs


Parking or stopping prohibited areas


Lane merging


Other road and traffic rules and regula-
tions


Narrow bridges
COMAND may give incorrect navigation
commands if the data in the digital map
does not correspond with the actual
road/traffic situation. DVD maps do not
cover all areas nor all routes within an area.
For example, if the traffic routing has been
changed or the direction of a one-way road
has been reversed.
For this reason, you must always observe
applicable road and traffic rules and regula-
tions during your journey. Road and traffic
rules and regulations always have priority
over the navigation commands generated by
the system.
Warning!
G
Navigation announcements are intended to
direct you while driving without diverting
your attention from the road and driving.
Please always use this feature instead of
consulting the map display for directions.
Consulting the symbols or map display for
directions may cause you to divert your at-
tention from driving and increase your risk
of an accident.

187 Control systems
COMAND navigation (introduction)
General notes
Operational readiness of the navigation
system following a system software
update by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center
After a system software update by an au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center, the in-
stalled map software may no longer be
compatible. If this is the case, the naviga-
tion system will not be operational.
You will know if this is the case, when the
following message will appear when you
switch to navigation mode: “The system
software has been updated. The map soft-
ware must be updated now. Please insert
the DVD with the map software.”
Updating map software: Proceed as
described in the “Updating the map
software” section (
page 183). Use
map software which is compatible with
the system software.Initial use or use following a system
software update
In both these cases, the navigation system
must determine the position of the vehicle.
You may have to drive for a while before
precise route guidance is possible.
GPS reception
Correct functioning of the navigation sys-
tem depends on GPS reception, among
other things. In certain situations, GPS re-
ception may be impaired, there may be in-
terference or no reception at all, e.g. in
tunnels, in multistory parking garages or
there is snow covering the trunk lid where
the GPS antenna is located. If there is
snow on the trunk lid it should be removed.Route guidance after vehicle transpor-
tation
COMAND has to redetermine the position
of the vehicle if the vehicle has been trans-
ported (e.g. by ferry, by train or after tow-
ing).
Positioning takes place automatically even
when COMAND is switched off. The dura-
tion varies from one case to another.
Route guidance may be restricted as fol-
lows during vehicle positioning:


Navigation announcements, route
guidance displays and displayed street
names are not consistent with the ac-
tual location of the vehicle.


COMAND does not generate navigation
announcements.


Instead of the route guidance displays,
you see the “Off Road” display and a di-
rection arrow. The direction arrow
shows the compass heading to the des-
tination.
i
Please note that the update must be allowed
to run to the end in this case. If you interrupt it,
the navigation system will continue to be non-op-
erational.

218 Control systemsCOMAND navigation system (entering a destination)Starting the route calculation
After entering the destination, select
“Start”.
The route calculation will start if route
guidance has not already been activat-
ed.
If route guidance has already been ac-
tivated, a prompt will appear asking
whether you want to end the current
route guidance.

Select “Yes” or “No”.
If you select “Yes”, COMAND will stop
the route guidance and start the route
calculation for the new destination.
If you select “No”, COMAND will con-
tinue with the active route guidance.
The new destination is discarded.
During the route calculation, an arrow
will indicate the linear direction to the
destination. Below this, you will see the
message “Calculating Route”.
Once the route has been calculated,
route guidance begins (
page 233).
i
You cannot start the route calculation until
all the necessary address data has been en-
tered.
i
With “Change Name” you can change the
name of the chosen entry from the destination
memory before starting the route calculation.
i
Route calculation requires a certain amount
of time. The time depends on the distance from
the destination, for example.
COMAND calculates the route using the digital
map data. The calculated route may differ from
the actual road situation, e.g. due to road con-
struction or incomplete map data. Please make
sure that you observe the notes about the digital
map (page 183).

233 Control systems
COMAND navigation system (route guidance)
COMAND navigation system (route guidance)
Route guidance
COMAND guides you to the destination us-
ing navigation commands in the form of
audible navigation announcements and
route guidance displays.
If, for any reason, you do not follow the
navigation commands or if you leave the
calculated route, COMAND automatically
calculates a new route to the destination.
If the map data contains the relevant infor-
mation, COMAND tries to avoid roads that
only have limited access, e.g. roads closed
to through-traffic and non-residents.Roads that have time restrictions (e.g.
closed on Sundays and public holidays) are
not considered for route guidance, if the
digital map contains the relevant informa-
tion.
Examples of displays and announce-
ments for a driving maneuver
Driving maneuvers have three phases:

Preparation phase


Announcement phase


Maneuver phase
Warning!
G
COMAND calculates the route to the desti-
nation without taking account of the follow-
ing, for example:

Traffic lights


Stop and right-of-way signs


Parking or stopping prohibited areas


Lane merges


Other road and traffic rules and regula-
tions


Narrow bridges
COMAND may give incorrect navigation
commands if the data in the digital map
does not correspond with the actual
road/traffic situation. For example, if the
traffic routing has been changed or the di-
rection of a one-way road has been re-
versed.
For this reason, you must always observe
applicable road and traffic rules and regula-
tions during your journey. Road and traffic
rules and regulations always have priority
over the navigation commands generated by
the system.i
The route guidance displays can only be
seen if the display is switched to navigation
mode.

236 Control systemsCOMAND navigation system (route guidance)Partially digitized areas If the destination is within a partially
digitized area
COMAND guides you through fully digitized
areas for as long as possible. Route guid-
ance is conducted in the usual manner, i.e.
with navigation announcements and route
guidance displays.
Before the vehicle reaches a partially digi-
tized area, COMAND notifies you of this
with the following announcements:


“Be prepared to enter an area where
turn by turn guidance cannot be provid-
ed.”


“In 700 feet you will enter an area
where turn by turn guidance cannot be
provided.”


“You are about to enter an area where
turn by turn guidance cannot be provid-
ed.”Route guidance within a partially digi-
tized area
If you start route guidance in this type of
area, you will hear the following announce-
ment: “You are currently in an area where
turn by turn guidance cannot be provided.”
Route guidance is provided by means of a
direction arrow showing the compass
heading to the destination. COMAND will
not generate automatic navigation an-
nouncements.
If you try to call up an announcement man-
ually, (
page 239) you will hear the an-
nouncement “You are currently in an area
where turn by turn guidance cannot be pro-
vided.”.
i
The digital map may contain areas that are
only partially digitized although they are within a
digitized region.Warning!
G
Due to incomplete digitization, the route
shown on the map may differ from the actual
road/traffic situation.
If you follow the route shown on the map, for
example, it is possible that you could drive
the wrong way down a one-way street or
that a street cannot be driven on.
When using route guidance in a partially dig-
itized area, you must therefore be sure to
observe all relevant traffic regulations and
the course of the road.
All relevant traffic regulations and the
course of the road always take priority over
the route shown on the map.
i
The indicated distance can be seen here by
way of example. In reality, it may be different.
i
When you call up the route info to this type
of destination, (
page 241) the following data
shown there may differ from the actual situation:


Distance to the destination


Estimated driving time to the destination


Estimated arrival time