2008 MERCEDES-BENZ CLS500 Owner's Manual

408 Practical hints
Replacing bulbs
Low beam bulb (halogen headlamps
only)
Turn housing cover1 counterclock-
wise and remove it.
Turn bulb holder6 with the bulb coun-
terclockwise and remove it.
Pull the bulb at its socket out of bulb
holder6.
Insert the new bulb so that its socket
locates in the recess of bulb holder6
and is level to it.
Reinsert bulb holder6 with the bulb in
the lamp and turn clockwise.
Align housing cover1 and turn it
clockwise.High beam bulb/high beam flasher
bulb (halogen headlamps)/high beam
flasher bulb (Bi-Xenon* headlamps)
Turn housing cover2 counterclock-
wise and remove it.
Turn bulb holder4 with the bulb coun-
terclockwise and remove it.
Pull the bulb at its socket out of bulb
holder4.
Insert the new bulb so that its socket
locates in the recess of bulb holder4
and is level to it.
Reinsert bulb holder4 with the bulb in
the lamp and turn clockwise.
Align housing cover2 and turn it
clockwise.Front turn signal lamp bulb
Turn bulb socket3 with the bulb
counterclockwise and remove it.
Press gently onto the bulb and turn
counterclockwise out of bulb
socket3.
Press the new bulb gently into bulb
socket3 and turn clockwise until it
engages.
Place bulb socket3 back into the
lamp and turn it clockwise.

409 Practical hints
Replacing bulbs
Parking and standing lamp bulb
Halogen headlamps
Turn housing cover2 counterclock-
wise and remove it.
Pull out bulb socket5 with the bulb.
Pull the bulb out of the bulb socket5.
Press the new bulb into bulb socket5.
Press bulb socket5 back into the
lamp.
Align housing cover2 and turn it
clockwise.
Bi-Xenon* headlamps
In vehicles with Bi-Xenon* headlamps, the
bulbs of the parking and standing lamps
are LEDs.
Replacing bulbs for rear lamps
Tail lamp unit
The tail lamps are equipped with HiP bulbs.License plate lamp
1License plate lamp
2Screws
Turn the exterior lamp switch to
positionM (
page 126).
Loosen both screws2.
Remove license plate lamp1.
Replace the bulb.
Reinstall license plate lamp1.
Retighten screws2.
!Do not replace the LEDs yourself. You could
otherwise damage the LEDs or parts of the vehi-
cle. Only have the LEDs replaced by an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!G
The bulbs in the tail lamps cannot be re-
placed individually. The tail lamp bulbs are
under pressure and could explode during an
attempt to replace them.
If the tail lamps are malfunctioning, have
them exchanged at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.

410 Practical hints
Replacing wiper blades
Wiper bladesTurn the SmartKey in the starter switch
to position1.
Turn combination switch to wiper
settingu (
page 56).
With wiper arms in the vertical position,
turn SmartKey in the starter switch to
position0.
Wiper blades in vertical position
Remove SmartKey from the starter
switch.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:
Make sure the vehicle’s on-board
electronics have status0.
Warning!G
For safety reasons, switch off wipers and re-
move SmartKey from starter switch (vehi-
cles with KEYLESS-GO*: make sure the
vehicle’s on-board electronics have
status0) before replacing a wiper blade.
Otherwise, the wiper motor could suddenly
turn on and cause injury.
Warning!G
Wiper blades are components that are sub-
ject to wear and tear. Replace the wiper
blades twice a year, preferably in the spring
and fall. Otherwise the windows will not be
properly wiped. As a result, you may not be
able to observe surrounding traffic condi-
tions and could cause an accident.
!Never open the hood when the wiper arms
are folded forward.
Hold on to the wiper when folding the wiper arm
back. If released, the force of the impact from
the tensioning spring could crack the windshield.
Do not allow the wiper arms to contact the wind-
shield glass without a wiper blade inserted.
For your convenience, we recommend that you
have this work carried out by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
!To avoid damage to the hood the wiper arms
should only be folded forward when in the verti-
cal position.

411 Practical hints
Replacing wiper blades
Removing
Fold the wiper arm forward until it
snaps into place.
Turn the wiper blade at a right angle to
wiper arm.
Slide the wiper blade sideways out of
the retainer.Installing
Slide the wiper blade onto wiper arm
until it locks in place.
Rotate the wiper blade into position
parallel to wiper arm.
Fold the wiper arm backward to rest on
the windshield. Make sure you hold on
to the wiper when folding the wiper arm
back.
!Do not pull on the wiper blade inserts. They
could tear.
!Make sure that the wiper blades are proper-
ly installed. Improperly installed wiper blades
may cause windshield damage.

412 Practical hints
Flat tire
Preparing the vehicle
Park the vehicle in a safe distance from
moving traffic on a hard, flat surface
when possible.
Turn on the hazard warning flashers.
Turn the steering wheel so that the
front wheels are in a straight ahead
position.
Set the parking brake.
Move the gear selector lever toP.
Turn off the engine (page 60).
Have any passenger exit the vehicle at
a safe distance from the roadway.
Vehicles with SmartKey: Remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*: Open the
driver’s door (this puts the starter
switch in position 0, same as with the
SmartKey removed from the starter
switch). The driver’s door then can be
closed again.
Mounting the spare wheel
iOpen door only when conditions are safe to
do so.
Warning!G
The dimensions of the spare wheel
(Minispare or collapsible tire) are different
from those of the road wheels. As a result,
the vehicle handling characteristics change
when driving with a spare wheel mounted.
Adapt your driving style accordingly.
The spare wheel is for temporary use only.
When driving with spare wheel mounted,
ensure proper tire pressure and do not ex-
ceed a vehicle speed of 50 mph (80 km/h).
Drive to the nearest Mercedes-Benz Center
as soon as possible to have the spare wheel
replaced with a regular road wheel.
Never operate the vehicle with more than
one spare wheel mounted.
Do not switch off the ESP
® when a Minis-
pare or collapsible tire is mounted.

413 Practical hints
Flat tire
Preparing the vehicle
Prepare the vehicle as described under
“Preparing the vehicle” on this page.
Take the spare wheel out of the trunk
(
page 393).
Take the wheel wrench and the jack
out of the trunk (
page 393).
Removing tensioning straps
(CLS 63 AMG with Performance Pack-
age* only)
A 19" spare wheel has two tensioning
straps on it that must both be removed be-
fore mounting the spare wheel.1Buckle
2Clip
Press on both clips2 simultaneously
to release buckle1.Lifting the vehicle
Prevent the vehicle from rolling away
by blocking wheels with wheel chocks
or other sizeable objects.
When changing wheel on a level surface:
Place the wheel chock in front of and
another sizeable object behind the
wheel that is diagonally opposite to the
wheel being changed.
Always try lifting the vehicle using the jack
on a level surface. However, should cir-
cumstances require you to do so on a hill,
place the wheel chock and the other size-
able object as follows:
Place the wheel chock and another
sizeable object on the downhill side
blocking both wheels of the axle not
being worked on.iThe tensioning straps are shown in red for
illustration purposes. The tensioning straps on
the spare wheel of your vehicle are black.
iKeep the tensioning straps in a safe place.
You will need them to store the spare wheel in
the trunk after use (
page 394).

414 Practical hints
Flat tire
1Wheel wrench
On wheel to be changed, loosen but do
not yet remove the wheel bolts (ap-
proximately one full turn with wheel
wrench1).
The jack take-up brackets are located di-
rectly behind the front wheel housings and
in front of the rear wheel housings.1Jack take-up bracket
2Jack
Place jack2 on firm ground.
Position jack2 under take-up
bracket1 so that it is always vertical
(plumb-line) as seen from the side,
even if the vehicle is parked on an
incline.
Warning!G
The jack is designed exclusively for jacking
up the vehicle at the jack take-up brackets
built into either side of the vehicle. To help
avoid personal injury, use the jack only to lift
the vehicle during a wheel change. Never
get beneath the vehicle while it is supported
by the jack. Keep hands and feet away from
the area under the lifted vehicle. Always
firmly set parking brake and block wheels
before raising vehicle with jack.
Do not disengage parking brake while the
vehicle is raised. Be certain that the jack is
always vertical (plumb line) when in use, es-
pecially on hills. Always try to use the jack
on level surface. Be sure that the jack arm is
fully seated in the jack take-up bracket. Al-
ways lower the vehicle onto sufficient ca-
pacity jackstands before working under the
vehicle.

415 Practical hints
Flat tire
Jack up the vehicle until the wheel is a
maximum of 1.2 in (3 cm) from the
ground. Never start engine while
vehicle is raised.Removing the wheel
1Alignment bolt
Unscrew the upper-most wheel bolt
and remove.
Replace this wheel bolt with alignment
bolt1 supplied in the tool kit.
Remove the remaining bolts.
Remove the wheel.Mounting the spare wheel
Clean contact surfaces of wheel and
wheel hub.
Guide the spare wheel onto the align-
ment bolt and push it on.
Insert wheel bolts and tighten them
slightly.
Warning!G
The jack is intended only for lifting the
vehicle briefly for wheel changes. It is not
suited for performing maintenance work
under the vehicle.

Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised.

Never lie down under the raised vehicle.
!Do not place wheel bolts in sand or dirt. This
could result in damage to the bolt and wheel hub
threads.
Warning!G
Vehicles with collapsible tire:
Inflate collapsible tire only after the wheel is
properly mounted.
Inflate the collapsible tire using the electric
pump (
page 416) before lowering the
vehicle.
!To avoid paint damage, place wheel flat
against hub and hold it there while installing first
wheel bolt.