Page 637 of 801

636 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Problem
Possible cause/consequence
Suggested solution
<
You hear a warning chime for a
maximum of 6 seconds after
starting the engine.
You have forgotten to fasten your seat belt.
Fasten your seat belt.
The warning chime stops sounding.
<
The red seat belt telltale comes
on while the vehicle is standing
still and the engine is running or
during driving.
You and/or your front passenger have for-
gotten to fasten your seat belts.
Fasten your seat belts.
The seat belt telltale goes out.
There are items placed on the front passen-
ger seat and therefore the system senses
the front passenger seat as being occupied.
Remove the items from the front pas-
senger seat and put them in a safe
place.
The seat belt telltale goes out.
<
During driving the red seat belt
telltale flashes and you addition-
ally hear an intermittent warning
chime with increasing intensity.
The vehicle’s speed once exceeded 15 mph
(25 km/h) and you and/or your front pas-
senger have forgotten to fasten your seat
belts.
Fasten your seat belts.
The seat belt telltale goes out and the
warning chime stops sounding.
There are items placed on the front passen-
ger seat and therefore the system senses
the front passenger seat as being occupied.
Remove the items from the front pas-
senger seat and put them in a safe
place.
The seat belt telltale goes out and the
warning chime stops sounding.
i
After 60 seconds with an unfastened seat
belt the warning chime stops sounding and the
seat belt telltale illuminates continuously.The seat belt telltale will only go out if both, the
driver and front passenger’s seat belt arefastened, or the vehicle is standing still and a
front door is opened.
Page 648 of 801

647 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
DISTRONIC PLUS
Override
You have depressed the accelerator pedal,
DISTRONIC Plus* is no longer controlling
the speed of the vehicle.
Release the accelerator pedal.
DISTRONIC PLUS
- - - mph
(USA only)
Canada only:
DISTRONIC PLUS
- - - kmh
(Canada only)
You have attempted to activate DISTRONIC
Plus* at a speed below 20 mph (30 km/h)
without the vehicle in front being displayed
in the multifunction display (
page 454).
Drive faster than 20 mph (30 km/h) and activate DISTRONIC
Plus* again.
ESP
® is switched off.
Switch on ESP
® (page 76).
The automatic transmission is in park posi-
tion P, reverse gearR or neutral positionN.
Shift the automatic transmission to drive positionD
(page 426).
The system is overheated.
Wait until the system cools down.
The vehicle is secured in place by the elec-
tronic parking brake.
Release electronic parking brake (
page 422).
The driver’s door is open and the drivers
seat belt is unbuckled.
Close the driver’s door and fasten your seat belt.
The hood is open.
Close the hood (
page 574).
Page 679 of 801
678 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
The battery is no longer charging.
Possible causes:
alternator malfunctioning
broken poly-V-belt
Stop the vehicle immediately in a safe loca-
tion.
Engage the electronic parking brake
(page 422).
Check the poly-V-belt.
If it is broken:
Do not continue to drive. Otherwise the en-
gine will overheat due to an inoperative water
pump which may result in damage to the en-
gine.
Notify an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
If it is intact:
Drive immediately to the nearest authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
There is a malfunction in the electronic
system.
Have the system checked by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as possible.
Page 682 of 801
681 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Coolant Low
Stop Vehicle
Turn Engine Off
The poly-V-belt could be broken.
Stop the vehicle in a safe location or as soon
as it is safe to do so and immediately turn off
the engine.
Engage the electronic parking brake
(page 422).
Check the poly-V-belt.
If it is broken:
Do not continue to drive. Otherwise the en-
gine will overheat due to an inoperative water
pump which may result in damage to the en-
gine.
Notify an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
If it is intact:
Do not continue to drive the vehicle with this
message displayed. Doing so could result in
serious engine damage that is not covered by
the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Observe the coolant temperature gauge in
the instrument cluster (
page 28).
(Continued on next page)
Page 746 of 801
745 Technical data
Parts service
Warranty coverage
Identification labels
Layout of poly-V-belt drive
Engine
Rims and tires
Electrical system
Main dimensions and weights
Fuels, coolants, lubricants, etc.
Page 751 of 801
750 Technical dataLayout of poly-V-belt driveS 450 4MATIC
1, S 550 and
S 550 4MATIC
1Idler pulley
2Idler pulley
3Automatic belt tensioner
4Pump for power-steering assistance
Vehicles with ABC*: ABC* tandem
pump (pump for power-steering assis-
tance and ABC* chassis)
5Air conditioning compressor
6Crankshaft
7Coolant pump
8Generator (alternator)
S63 AMG
1Idler pulley
2Idler pulley
3Idler pulley
4Automatic belt tensioner
5Pump for power-steering assistance
6Air conditioning compressor
7Crankshaft
8Coolant pump
9Generator (alternator)
S 600 and S 65 AMG
1Automatic belt tensioner
2ABC tandem pump (pump for
power-steering assistance and ABC
chassis)
3Air conditioning compressor
4Crankshaft
5Coolant pump
6Generator (alternator)
7Idler pulley
8Idler pulley
9Idler pulley
1Canada only
Page 752 of 801

751 Technical data
Engine
Engine
Model
S 450 4MATIC (221.184)
1,2
1The quoted data apply only to the standard vehicle. Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center for the corresponding data of all special bodies and special equip-
ment.2Canada only
S 550 (221.171)
1
Engine
273
273
Mode of operation
4-stroke engine, gasoline injection
4-stroke engine, gasoline injection
No. of cylinders
8
8
Bore
3.66 in (92.90 mm)
3.86 in (98.00 mm)
Stroke
3.39 in (86.00 mm)
3.56 in (90.50 mm)
Total piston displacement
284.6 cu in (4 663 cm
3)
333.3 cu in (5 461 cm
3)
Compression ratio
10.5:1
10.7:1
Output acc. to SAE J 1349
3
3Premium fuel required. Performance may vary with fuel octane rating.
335 hp/6 000 rpm
(250 kW/6 000 rpm)
382 hp/6 000 rpm
(285 kW/6 000 rpm)
Maximum torque
acc. to SAE J 1349
391 lb-ft/2 700 - 5 000 rpm
(460 Nm/2 700 - 5 000 rpm)
391 lb-ft/3 000 rpm
(530 Nm/3 000 rpm)
Maximum engine speed
6 500 rpm
6500 rpm
Firing order
1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8
1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8
Poly-V-belt
2 404 mm
2404 mm
Page 753 of 801

752 Technical dataEngineModel
S 550 4MATIC (221.186)
1
S 600 (221.176)
1
1The quoted data apply only to the standard vehicle. Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center for the corresponding data of all special bodies and special equip-
ment.Engine
273
275
Mode of operation
4-stroke engine, gasoline injection
4-stroke engine, gasoline injection
No. of cylinders
8
12
Bore
3.86 in (98.00 mm)
3.23 in (82.00 mm)
Stroke
3.56 in (90.50 mm)
3.43 in (87.00 mm)
Total piston displacement
333.3 cu in (5 461 cm
3)
336.4 cu in (5 513 cm
3)
Compression ratio
10.5:1
9:1
Output acc. to SAE J 1349
2
2Premium fuel required. Performance may vary with fuel octane rating.
382 hp/6 000 rpm
(285 kW/6 000 rpm)
510 hp/5 000 rpm
(380 kW/5 000 rpm)
Maximum torque
acc. to SAE J 1349
391lb-ft/2800-4800rpm
(530 Nm/2 800 - 4 800 rpm)
612 lb-ft/1 800 - 3 500 rpm
(830 Nm/1 800 - 3 500 rpm)
Maximum engine speed
6500 rpm
5 950 rpm
Firing order
1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8
1-12-5-8-3-10-6-7-2-11-4-9
Poly-V-belt
2404 mm
2 370 mm