2008 MERCEDES-BENZ S-Class seat adjustment

373 Controls in detailSeats
Seats
Seat adjustmentWarning!
G
All seat, head restraint adjustments, as well
as fastening of seat belts, must be done be-
fore the vehicle is put into motion.Warning!
G
Do not adjust the driver’s seat while driving.
Adjusting the seat while driving could cause
the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
back in an excessively reclined position as
this can be dangerous. You could slide un-
der the seat belt in a collision. If you slide
under it, the seat belt would apply force at
the abdomen or neck. That could cause se-
rious or fatal injuries. The seat backrest and
seat belts provide the best restraint when
the wearer is in a nearly upright position and
seat belts are properly positioned on the
body.
Warning!
G
Your seat must be adjusted so that you can
correctly fasten your seat belt
(page 395).
Observe the following points:


Adjust the backrest until your arms are
slightly angled when holding the steer-
ing wheel.


Adjust the seat to a comfortable seating
position that still allows you to reach the
accelerator/brake pedal safely. The po-
sition should be as far back as possible
with the driver still able to operate the
controls properly.


Adjust the head restraint so that it is as
close to the head as possible and the
center of the head restraint supports
the back of the head at eye level.


Never place hands under the seat or
near any moving parts while a seat is be-
ing adjusted.
Failure to do so could result in injury to per-
sons.
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.
Even with the SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* removed from the starter
switch or the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
removed from the vehicle, the power seats
can be operated. Therefore, do not leave
children unattended in the vehicle, or with
access to an unlocked vehicle. A child’s un-
supervised access to a vehicle could result
in an accident and/or serious personal
injury.

374 Controls in detailSeats
You can adjust the lumbar support, multi-
contour seats* for driver and front passen-
ger, as well as drive-dynamic multicontour
seats* using COMAND (
page 282).
Front power seat adjustment
Example driver’s door1Head restraint height (
page 379)
2Seat height
3Seat cushion tilt
4Seat cushion depth
5Seat fore and aft
6Seat backrest tilt

Seat height: Press the switch up or
down in the direction of arrow2.

Seat cushion tilt: Press the switch up
or down in the direction of
arrow3until your upper legs are
lightly supported.

Seat cushion depth: Press the switch
forward or backward in the direction of
arrow4 until your legs are supported
comfortably.
Warning!
G
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing position. Thus, we strongly recommend
that children be placed in the rear seats
whenever possible. Regardless of seating
position, children 12 years old and under
must be seated and properly secured in an
appropriately sized infant restraint, toddler
restraint, or booster seat recommended for
the size and weight of the child. For addi-
tional information, see “Children in the vehi-
cle” (
page 58).
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle and
the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint.
i
If PRE-SAFE
® has been activated, the front
passenger’s seat and/or electrically adjustable
rear seats* will be moved to a more favorable
seat position.
i
The memory function (
page 392) lets you
store the settings for the seat positions together
with the settings for the steering wheel and the
exterior rear view mirrors.
!
When moving the seats, make sure there are
no items in the footwell or behind the seats; oth-
erwise, you could damage the seats.

375 Controls in detailSeats

Seat fore and aft: Press the switch for-
ward or backward in the direction of
arrow5.

Seat backrest tilt: Press the switch
forward or backward in the direction of
arrow6.Rear power seat* adjustment
(rear outer seats)
Example rear right door1Seat cushion tilt
2Seat backrest tilt
3Folding down and placing upright head
restraint (
page 382)
4Head restraint tilt (
page 382)
5Seat fore and aft

Adjust desired seat using seat
switches1,2 and5.
i
Depending on the set height of the head re-
straint, the seat fore and aft position is automat-
ically pre-set.
i
Depending on vehicle production date you
have to switch on the ignition or open the re-
spective door before adjusting the rear power
seats.

376 Controls in detailSeatsAdjusting front passenger seat from
driver’s seat/rear*
Adjusting front passenger seat from
driver’s seat*
You can adjust the front passenger seat
using the seat switches on the driver’s
side.
1Adjusting front passenger seat

Press button1.When the indicator lamp on button1 is
on, you can operate the following features
of the front passenger seat:


seat adjustment


seat heating/ventilation*


memory function
Warning!
G
When adjusting the front passenger seat,
make sure the seat, if occupied, is as far
from the passenger front air bag as possi-
ble.
Otherwise, the passenger could be seriously
or even fatally injured in the event of an ac-
cident or braking maneuver.
Make sure no one is caught or injured while
the seat is being adjusted.
Even with the SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* removed from the starter
switch or the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
removed from the vehicle, the power seats
can be operated. Therefore, do not leave
children unattended in the vehicle, or with
access to an unlocked vehicle. A child’s un-
supervised access to a vehicle could result
in an accident and/or serious personal
injury.
!
Do not move the front passenger seat com-
pletely forward if objects are stored in the parcel
net in the front passenger-side footwell. Items in
the net may be damaged.

383 Controls in detailSeats
Multicontour seats*, rear
You can adjust the rear outer multicontour
seats using the buttons on the center con-
sole.
1To select right rear passenger seat
2Massage setting, gentle
3Massage setting, vigorous
4To adjust position of backrest curva-
ture (lordosis)
5Lumbar region support
6Side bolster adjustment
7To select left rear passenger seat

Switch on the ignition.

Selecting a seat: Press rocker
switch1 or7 forward or backward.
The indicator lamp on the selected but-
ton lights up for a short while.
Gentle massage

Switching on: Press rocker switch2
forward.

Switching off: Pull rocker switch2
backward.
Vigorous massage

Switching on: Press rocker switch3
forward.

Switching off: Pull rocker switch3
backward.Position of backrest curvature

Moving upward: Press rocker
switch4 forward.

Moving downward: Pull rocker
switch4 backward.
Lumbar region support

Selecting greater curvature: Press
rocker switch5 forward.

Selecting less curvature: Pull rocker
switch5 backward.
Side bolster adjustment

Reducing width: Press rocker
switch6 forward.

Increasing width: Pull rocker
switch6 backward.

384 Controls in detailSeatsEasy-entry/exit feature
This feature allows for easier entry into and
exit from the vehicle. When entering and
exiting the vehicle, the driver’s seat is in its
maximum rearward position and the steer-
ing wheel is in its uppermost position.
The easy-entry/exit feature can be activat-
ed or deactivated in the “Vehicle” menu of
the COMAND system (
page 268).With the easy-entry/exit feature activated,
the steering wheel and driver’s seat will re-
turn to their last set memory position or a
factory-set maximum forward position
when you:


close the driver’s door with the ignition
switched on


insert the SmartKey into the starter
switch or press the KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button (
page 372) once
with the driver’s door closed
Warning!
G
You must make sure no one can become
trapped or injured by the moving steering
wheel and driver’s seat when the easy-en-
try/exit feature is activated.
To stop seat/steering wheel movement, do
one of the following:

Press seat adjustment switch
(page 374).


Move steering wheel adjustment stalk
(page 386).


Press one of the memory position but-
tons or the memory buttonM
(page 393).
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Children could open the driver’s door and
unintentionally activate the easy-entry/exit
feature, which could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
!
Do not activate the easy-entry/exit feature
if the seat backrest is in an excessively reclined
position. Doing so could cause damage to front
or rear seats.
First move the seat backrest to an upright posi-
tion.
i
For safety reasons, the driver’s seat will not
return to its last set position with the easy-en-
try/exit feature activated if the system recogniz-
es the last set position as an extreme forward
position. Instead, the driver’s seat will remain at
or move to a factory-set maximum forward posi-
tion. To again fully return the driver’s seat to

385 Controls in detailSeats
With the easy-entry/exit feature activated
the steering wheel tilts upwards and the
driver’s seat moves a few inches to the
rear when you:

remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch,
or


open the driver’s door with the
SmartKey in starter switch position0
or1 or the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button (
page 372) in position1
your last set position or to memory position, ad-
just the seat to the desired position or press and
hold the respective memory position button
(page 393).
i
The last set driver’s seat and steering wheel
positions are stored when


the ignition is switched off (
page 370)


the position is stored in memory
(page 392)
i
If the current position for the steering wheel
is in the uppermost tilt position, the steering
wheel will no longer be able to move upward
when the easy-entry/exit feature is activated.
If the current seat position falls into a factory-set
position range and the system recognizes the
current seat position to be rearward enough for
easy entry and exit, the driver’s seat will not
move to the rear when the easy-entry/ exit fea-
ture is activated.
The adjustment procedure is briefly interrupted
when the engine is started.Warning!
G
Let the system complete the adjustment
procedure before setting the vehicle in mo-
tion. All driver’s seat and steering wheel ad-
justments must be completed before setting
the vehicle in motion. Driving off with the
driver’s seat/steering wheel still adjusting
could cause the driver to lose control of the
vehicle.

386 Controls in detailSteering wheel
Make sure that

you can reach the steering wheel with
your arms slightly bent at the elbows


you can move your legs freely


all displays (including malfunction and
indicator lamps) on the instrument
cluster are clearly visible
Steering wheel adjustment
1Adjusting steering wheel, in or out
2Adjusting steering column, up or down
Adjusting steering wheel in or out:
Move stalk forward or back in the direc-
tion of arrow1 until a comfortable
steering wheel position is reached with
your arms slightly bent at the elbow.

Adjusting steering wheel up or
down: Move stalk up or down in the di-
rection of arrow2.
Warning!
G
Do not adjust the steering wheel while driv-
ing. Adjusting the steering wheel while driv-
ing could cause the driver to lose control of
the vehicle.
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.
Even with the SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* removed from the starter
switch or the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
removed from the vehicle, the steering
wheel adjustment feature can be operated.
Therefore, do not leave children unattended
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.
i
The memory function (
page 392) lets you
store settings for the steering wheel together
with the settings for the seat position and the ex-
terior rear view mirrors.