2008 MERCEDES-BENZ S-Class change wheel

420 Controls in detailDriving and parkingFor more information, see “Driving instruc-
tions” (
page 559).
Turn signalsCombination switch1Turn signals, right
2Turn signals, left
Press the combination switch in the
direction of arrow1 or2.
The corresponding turn signal indicator
lampL orK in the instrument
cluster flashes (
page 28).
The combination switch resets automati-
cally after major steering wheel move-
ments.
Problems while driving
The engine runs erratically and misfires

An ignition cable may be damaged.


The engine electronics may not be op-
erating properly.


Unburned gasoline may have entered
the catalytic converter and damaged it.

Give very little gas.

Have the problem repaired by an au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.
!
Shift the automatic transmission to park
positionP or reverse gearR only when the vehi-
cle is stopped in order to avoid damaging the
transmission.
!
Do not run cold engine at high engine
speeds. Running a cold engine at high engine
speeds may shorten the service life of the en-
gine. This is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.
S63AMG and S65AMG only:
At engine temperatures below 68°F (20° C), the
maximum speed is restricted in order to protect
the engine. Avoid driving the vehicle at full speed
while the engine is cold in order to prevent pre-
mature engine wear as well as diminished com-
fort.
!
Simultaneously depressing the accelerator
pedal and applying the brakes reduces engine
performance and causes premature brake and
drivetrain wear which is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
i
To signal minor directional changes such as
changing lanes, press combination switch only
to point of resistance and release. The corre-
sponding turn signals will flash three times.

437 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
The selected program mode appears in the
multifunction display.
1Current program mode

Press the program mode selector
switch repeatedly until the letter of the
desired program mode appears in the
multifunction display.
SelectC for comfort driving (S 63 AMG
and S 65 AMG: standard driving):

The vehicle starts out in second
gear (both forward and reverse) for
gentler starts. This does not apply if
full throttle is applied or gear
range1 is selected.


Traction and driving stability are
improved on icy roads.


Upshifts occur earlier even when
you give more gas. The engine then
operates at lower rpms and the
wheels are less likely to spin.SelectS for standard driving
(S 63 AMG and S 65 AMG: sporty driv-
ing):


The vehicle starts out in first gear.


Upshifts occur later.
!
Never change the program mode when the
automatic transmission is out of park positionP.
This could result in a change of driving character-
istics for which you may not be prepared.
i
The last selected program mode (CorS) is
switched on when the engine is restarted.

440 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionShifting into optimal gear range
Press and hold left shift button1 or
pull and hold left shift paddle1.
The transmission will automatically
select the gear range suited for optimal
acceleration and deceleration. This will
involve shifting down one or more
gears.Manual shift program (S 63 AMG and
S65AMGonly)
In addition to the automatic shift
programC orS, your vehicle is equipped
with the manual shift programM.
Manual shift programM differs with regard
to spontaneity, response time, and shifting
smoothness from automatic shift
programS.
In the manual program modeM,
system-controlled automatic gearshifting
is switched off and you need to change the
gears by manually upshifting or downshift-
ing using the steering wheel gearshift con-
trol paddles to the left and right of the
steering wheel (
page 438).
Program mode selector switchM Manual For manual gear shifting
C Comfort For standard driving
S Sport For sporty driving!
Allow engine to warm up under low load use.
Do not place full load on the engine until the op-
erating temperature has been reached.
Shift into reverse gearR or park positionP only
when the vehicle is stopped.
Avoid spinning of a drive wheel for an extended
period when driving off on slippery road
surfaces. This may cause serious damage to the
drivetrain which is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.

441 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
The selected program mode appears in the
multifunction display (
page 437).Activating manual shift program

Press the program mode selector
switch repeatedly until the “M” for
manual program modeM appears in
the multifunction display.
The transmission switches to the
manual program modeM. Automatic
shifting is switched off. The gear range
is not limited.
You can change the gears manually with
drive positionD selected. You can upshift
or downshift through the gears in succes-
sion.Upshifting

Briefly pull right shift paddle2
(page 438).
The transmission shifts to the next
higher gear.
i
For information on automatic program
modesC orS, see “Automatic shift program”
(
page 436) and “Steering wheel gearshift con-
trol” (page 438).
i
The manual program modeM will not be
stored. When the engine is turned off with the
manual program modeM selected, the transmis-
sion will go to the automatic program mode
(CorS) when the engine is restarted.
!
In the manual program modeM, the trans-
mission will not upshift, even if the engine has
reached its overrevving range. Shift up to the
next gear before the engine has reached its over-
revving range. Make absolutely certain that the
engine speed does not reach the red marking on
the tachometer (
page 28). Otherwise the en-
gine could be damaged which is not covered by
the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.


446 Controls in detailDriving systemsThe driving systems of your vehicle are de-
scribed on the following pages:

Cruise control (
page 446) and
DISTRONIC Plus*(page 451), with
which the vehicle can maintain a preset
speed.


Airmatic (
page 468) and ABC*
(
page 470) adjust the vehicle sus-
pension characteristics automatically
and control the vehicle level.


Parktronic* (
page 472), Park Assist*
(
page 476) and Advanced Parking
Guidance* (
page 481), which serve
as a parking assistant.


Rear View Camera* (
page 487) is an
electronic and visual parking aid.


Night View Assist* (
page 491) illumi-
nates the road with infrared light in ad-
dition to the normal headlamps.


Blind Spot Assist* (
page 495) de-
tects and warns you about vehicles in
your blind spot.For information on the ABS, Adaptive
Brake, BAS, BAS Plus*, EBP, ESP
® and
PRE-SAFE
® Brake*, see “Driving safety
systems” (page 67).
Cruise control
The cruise control automatically maintains
the speed you set for your vehicle.
The use of the cruise control is recom-
mended for driving at a constant speed for
extended periods of time.
You can set or resume the cruise control at
any speed over 20 mph (30 km/h).
The cruise control function is operated by
means of the cruise control lever.
Warning!
G
The cruise control is a convenience system
designed to assist the driver during vehicle
operation. The driver is and must always re-
main responsible for the vehicle’s speed and
for safe brake operation.
Only use the cruise control if the road,
traffic, and weather conditions make it ad-
visable to travel at a steady speed.

The use of the cruise control can be dan-
gerous on winding roads or in heavy traf-
fic because conditions do not allow safe
driving at a steady speed.


The use of the cruise control can be dan-
gerous on slippery roads. Rapid changes
in tire traction can result in wheel spin
and loss of control.


Deactivate the cruise control when driv-
ing in fog.
The “Resume” function should only be oper-
ated if the driver is fully aware of the previ-
ously set speed and wishes to resume this
particular preset speed.

452 Controls in detailDriving systemsWarning!
G
DISTRONIC Plus is a convenience system.
Its speed adjustment reduction capability is
intended to make the cruise control more ef-
fective and usable when traffic speeds vary.
It is not however, intended to, nor does it, re-
place the need for extreme care. The re-
sponsibility for the vehicle speed and the
distance to the vehicle ahead, including
most importantly brake operation to assure
safe stopping distance, always remains with
the driver.
DISTRONIC Plus cannot take street and traf-
fic conditions into account.
Complex driving situations are not always
fully recognized by DISTRONIC Plus. This
could result in wrong or missing distance
warnings.
Warning!
G
DISTRONIC Plus adaptive cruise control is
no substitute for active driving involvement.
It does not react to pedestrians or stationary
objects, nor does it recognize or predict the
curvature and lane layout or the movement
of vehicles ahead. DISTRONIC Plus can only
apply a maximum of 40% of the vehicle’s
braking power.
DISTRONIC Plus may not detect narrow ve-
hicles possibly driving in front of you, such
as motorcycles and vehicles driving in an
offset formation.
It is the driver’s responsibility at all times to
be attentive to road, weather and traffic con-
ditions and to provide the steering, braking
and other driving inputs necessary to retain
control of the vehicle.
High-frequency sources such as toll sta-
tions, speed measuring systems etc. can
cause the DISTRONIC Plus system to tem-
porarily cease functioning.
Warning!
G
DISTRONIC Plus requires familiarity with its
operational characteristics. We strongly rec-
ommend that you review the following infor-
mation carefully before operating the
system.Warning!
G
DISTRONIC Plus cannot take street and traf-
fic conditions into account. Only use
DISTRONIC Plus if the road, weather and
traffic conditions make it advisable to travel
at a steady speed.Warning!
G
Use of DISTRONIC Plus can be dangerous
on slippery roads. Rapid changes in tire trac-
tion can result in wheel spin and loss of
control.

469 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Vehicle level control with Airmatic
Your vehicle automatically adjusts its ride
height to:

increase vehicle safety


reduce fuel consumption
The vehicle chassis ride height is raised or
lowered according to the selected level
setting and to the vehicle speed:


W it h inc re a sing s pe ed, ri de hei ght is re -
duced by up to approximately 0.8 in
(20 mm).


With decreasing speed, the ride height
is again raised to the selected vehicle
level.The following vehicle level settings can be
selected when the vehicle is stationary:
Select the “Raised” level setting only when
required by current driving conditions.
Otherwise:


Fuel consumption may increase.


Handling may be impaired.1Vehicle level control switch
2Indicator lamp

Start the engine.

Briefly press switch1 to change from
one level setting to the other.
The message:
“Vehicle Rising”
appears in the multifunction display
when changing from normal level to
raised level.
The indicator lamp2 is then lit. The
display switches off when the vehicle is
raised.
Warning!
G
To help avoid personal injury, keep hands
and feet away from wheel housing area, and
stay away from under the vehicle when low-
ering the vehicle chassis.
i
These height adjustments are so small that
you may not notice any change.
LevelNormal
For driving on normal roads.
The indicator lamp is off.
Raised
For driving on rough roads or
with snow chains. The indica-
tor lamp is on.


471 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Vehicle level control with ABC
Your vehicle automatically adjusts its ride
height to:

increase vehicle safety


reduce fuel consumption
The vehicle chassis ride height is raised or
lowered according to the selected level
setting and to the vehicle speed:


W it h inc re a sing s pe ed, ri de hei ght is re -
duced by up to approximately 0.6 in
(15 mm).


With decreasing speed, the ride height
is again raised to the selected vehicle
level.
The following vehicle level settings can be
selected when the vehicle is stationary:
Select the “Raised” level setting only when
required by current driving conditions.
Otherwise:


Fuel consumption may increase.


Handling may be impaired.1Vehicle level control switch
2Indicator lamp
Selecting a higher level

Start the engine.
If indicator lamp2 is off:

Press switch1.
Indicator lamp2 comes on. The vehi-
cle is raised to a higher level.
i
S63AMG and S65AMG only:
When you switch off the engine, the entire vehi-
cle is lowered by 0.2 in (5 mm).
Warning!
G
To help avoid personal injury, keep hands
and feet away from wheel housing area, and
stay away from under the vehicle when low-
ering the vehicle chassis.
i
These height adjustments are so small that
you may not notice any change.
LevelNormal
For driving on normal roads.
The indicator lamp is off.
Raised
For driving on rough roads or
with snow chains. The indica-
tor lamp is on.
i
The selected vehicle level setting remains
stored in memory even if the engine is turned off
and restarted.