2008 MERCEDES-BENZ CLK550 steering

Contents
Introduction.......................................... 9
Product information ................................ 9
Operator’s Manual ............................... 10
Service and warranty information .. 10
Important notice for California
retail buyers and lessees of
Mercedes-Benz automobiles .......... 11
Maintenance .................................. 12
Roadside Assistance ...................... 12
Change of address or ownership.... 12
Operating your vehicle
outside the USA or Canada ............ 13
Where to find it .................................... 14
Symbols ............................................... 15
Operating safety .................................. 16
Proper use of the vehicle ............... 16
Problems with your vehicle .................. 17
Reporting safety defects...................... 18
Reporting safety defects ................ 18
Vehicle data recording......................... 19
Information regarding electronic
recording devices........................... 19At a glance.......................................... 21
Exterior view (Coupe) ........................... 22
Exterior view (Cabriolet) ....................... 24
Cockpit ................................................. 26
Instrument cluster ................................ 28
Multifunction steering wheel ................ 30
Center console ..................................... 31
Upper part ...................................... 31
Lower part ...................................... 32
Overhead control panel ........................ 33
Door control panel................................ 34Getting started................................... 35
Unlocking ............................................. 36
Unlocking with the SmartKey ......... 36
Unlocking with KEYLESS-GO*......... 37
Starter switch positions .................. 38
Adjusting .............................................. 41
Seats .............................................. 41
Steering wheel ................................ 44
Mirrors ............................................ 47
Driving .................................................. 48
Fastening the seat belts ................. 48
Starting the engine ......................... 51
Parking brake ................................. 53
Driving ............................................ 54
Switching on headlamps ................. 55
Turn signals .................................... 56
Windshield wipers ........................... 56
Problems while driving.................... 58
Parking and locking .............................. 59
Parking brake ................................. 59
Switching off headlamps................. 60
Turning off the engine ..................... 60
Releasing seat belts........................ 61
Locking ........................................... 61

Contents
Safety and Security........................... 63
Occupant safety................................... 64
Air bags .......................................... 65
Occupant Classification System ..... 72
Seat belts ....................................... 77
Active head restraints .................... 81
Roll bars (only CLK cabriolet) ......... 82
Children in the vehicle .................... 83
Blocking of rear
side window operation ................... 88
Panic alarm .......................................... 89
Activating ....................................... 89
Deactivating ................................... 89
Driving safety systems ......................... 90
ABS ................................................ 90
BAS ................................................ 92
ESP
®............................................... 92
Anti-theft systems................................ 97
Immobilizer..................................... 97
Anti-theft alarm system .................. 97
Controls in detail............................... 99
Locking and unlocking ....................... 100
SmartKey ..................................... 100
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ...... 103
Checking the batteries in the
SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* .............................. 108
Loss of the SmartKey or
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ...... 109
Opening the doors from the inside 109
Opening the trunk ........................ 110
Closing the trunk.......................... 112
Trunk emergency release ............. 117
Valet locking ................................ 118
Automatic central locking ............ 118
Locking and unlocking
from the inside ............................. 119
Seats ................................................. 120
Front seat active head restraints . 120
Rear seat head restraints
(CLK coupe) ................................. 120
Rear seat head restraints
(CLK cabriolet) ............................. 123
Multicontour seat* ....................... 124
Seat heating* ............................... 125Seat ventilation* .......................... 126
Memory function ............................... 127
Storing positions into memory ..... 128
Recalling positions from memory . 128
Lighting ............................................. 129
Exterior lamp switch .................... 129
Combination switch ..................... 133
Corner-illuminating
front fog lamps* (With Bi-Xenon*
headlamps only)........................... 133
Hazard warning flasher ................ 135
Interior lighting ............................ 136
Door entry lamps ......................... 137
Trunk lamp ................................... 137
Instrument cluster ............................. 138
Adjusting instrument cluster
illumination .................................. 138
Coolant temperature indicator ..... 139
Resetting trip odometer ............... 139
Tachometer .................................. 140
Clock............................................ 140
Outside temperature indicator ..... 140
Control system .................................. 141
Multifunction display.................... 141
Multifunction steering wheel........ 142
Menus .......................................... 144

Contents
Standard display menu ................ 147
AMG menu ................................... 148
AUDIO menu ................................ 151
Navi* menu .................................. 153
Vehicle status
message memory menu ............... 154
Settings menu .............................. 155
Trip computer menu..................... 167
TEL* menu ................................... 169
Automatic transmission ..................... 172
Gear selector lever ....................... 172
Shifting procedure ....................... 173
Gear selector lever positions ....... 174
Driving tips ................................... 176
Gear ranges ................................. 177
Automatic shift program .............. 178
Gear selector lever
one-touch gearshifting ................. 179
Steering wheel gearshift
control one-touch gearshifting* ... 180
Manual shift program
CLK 63 AMG ................................ 182
Emergency operation
(Limp-Home Mode) ...................... 184Good visibility ..................................... 185
Headlamp cleaning system* ......... 185
Rear view mirrors.......................... 185
Sun visors ..................................... 187
Rear window sunshade*
(CLK coupe: Canada only) ............. 188
Rear window defroster .................. 189
Climate control ................................... 190
Deactivating the climate control
system .......................................... 193
Operating the climate control
system in automatic mode............ 193
Setting the temperature................ 194
Adjusting air distribution............... 194
Adjusting air volume ..................... 195
Front defroster.............................. 195
Air recirculation mode .................. 196
Air conditioning............................. 198
Rear passenger compartment
adjustable air vents....................... 199
Automatic climate control .................. 200
Deactivating the automatic
climate control system ................. 203
Operating the automatic climate
control system
in automatic mode ........................ 203Setting the temperature ............... 204
Adjusting air distribution .............. 205
Adjusting air volume ..................... 206
Front defroster ............................. 206
Maximum cooling MAXCOOL ........ 207
Air recirculation mode .................. 207
Charcoal filter ............................... 209
Air conditioning ............................ 210
Residual heat and ventilation*
(Canada only)................................ 211
Rear passenger compartment
adjustable air vents ...................... 212
Audio system...................................... 213
Audio and telephone*, operation .. 213
Operating safety ........................... 213
Sound system* ............................. 213
Operating and display elements ... 214
Button and soft key operation ...... 216
Operation...................................... 216
Radio operation ............................ 221
Satellite radio* ............................. 225
CD mode....................................... 229
GSM network phones ................... 236
TDMA or CDMA network phones .. 242
Emergency calls “911” ................. 248

21 At a glance
Exterior view (Coupe)
Exterior view (Cabriolet)
Cockpit
Instrument cluster
Multifunction steering wheel
Center console
Overhead control panel
Door control panel

27 At a glance
Cockpit
ItemPage
1Steering wheel gearshift
paddles*180
2Combination switch

Turn signals

Windshield wipers

High beam
56
56
55
3Cruise control lever267
4Multifunction steering
wheel30,
142
5Instrument cluster28,
138
6Starter switch38
7Front Parktronic* warning
indicator (Canada all vehi-
cles, USA only CLK 63 AMG
cabriolet)271
ItemPage
8Overhead control panel33
9Glove box285
aStorage box285
bCenter console31, 32
cHood lock release324
dHorn
eSteering wheel adjustment
stalk45
fParking brake pedal53
gDoor control panel34
hParking brake release53
jExterior lamp switch55,
129
kExterior rear view mirror ad-
justment47
lHeadlamp washer switch*185

30 At a glance
Multifunction steering wheel
ItemPage
1Multifunction display141
Operating control system142
2Selecting the submenu or
setting the volume:
Press button
æup / to increase
çdown / to decrease
3Telephone*:
Press button
sto take a call
to dial a call170
170
tto end a call
to reject an incoming
call170
170
ItemPage
4Menu systems:
Press button
èfor next menu
ÿfor previous menu
5Moving within a menu:
Press button
jfor next display
kfor previous display

34 At a glance
Door control panel
ItemPage
1Inside door handle109
2Seat adjustment42,
120
3Memory function (for stor-
ing seat, exterior mirror and
steering wheel settings)127
4Switches for opening/clos-
ing front door windows250
5Rear window override
switch88
6Switches for opening/clos-
ing rear windows250
7Remote trunk opening
switch111
Remote trunk
opening/closing* switch111

38 Getting started
Unlocking
Starter switch positions
SmartKey
Starter switch
0For removing SmartKey
The steering is locked when the
SmartKey is removed from the starter
switch.
1Power supply for some electrical
consumers, such as seat adjustment
2Ignition (power supply for all electrical
consumers) and driving position
All lamps (except low beam headlamp
indicator lamp, high beam headlamp in-
dicator lamp, and turn signal indicator
lamps unless activated) in the instru-
ment cluster come on. If a lamp in the
instrument cluster fails to come on
when the ignition is switched on, have
it checked and replaced if necessary. If
a lamp in the instrument cluster re-
mains on after starting the engine or
comes on while driving, refer to “Lamps
in instrument cluster” (
page 378).
3Starting position
Warning!G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. A child’s unsupervised
access to a vehicle could result in an
accident and/or serious personal injury.
iWhen you switch on the ignition, the
indicator and warning lamps (except low beam
headlamp indicator lamp, high beam headlamp
indicator lamp, and turn signal indicator lamps
unless activated) in the instrument cluster come
on. The indicator and warning lamps (except low
beam headlamp indicator lamp, high beam head-
lamp indicator lamp, and turn signal indicator
lamps if activated) will go out when the engine is
running. This indicates that the respective sys-
tems are operational.
iThe SmartKey can only be removed from the
starter switch with the gear selector lever in
positionP.
iIf the SmartKey is left in starter switch
position0 for an extended period of time, it can
no longer be turned in the switch. In this case,
the steering is locked. To unlock, remove
SmartKey from starter switch and reinsert.