2008 MERCEDES-BENZ S550 4MATIC wheel

457 Controls in detail
Driving systems
1Yellow and blue guide lines for vehicle
width
2Yellow 13 ft (4 m) guide line
3Yellow 39 in (1 m) guide line
4Red 10 in (0.25 m) guide line
The red 10 in (0.25 m) guide line4, the
yellow 39 in (1 m) guide line3 and the
yellow 13 ft (4 m) guide line2 correspond
to the relevant distance from the rear of
the vehicle. The yellow and blue guide lines
for vehicle width1 show the required
width for the vehicle.5Blue guide lines for straight driving
6Symbol for “reverse parking”
7Yellow and red guide lines for cornering
When you turn the steering wheel out of
the straight-ahead position, the positions
of the yellow and red guide lines7
change depending on the steering wheel’s
position. The space required by the vehicle
for reverse cornering is indicated by yellow
and red guide lines7.
Warning!G
Please note that objects which do not touch
the ground, such as the bumper of a vehicle
parked behind you, a trailer hitch, or the
back of a truck, may appear to be further
away than they actually are. In this case, you
should not use the guide lines to judge dis-
tance as the use of the guide lines to judge
distance increases the risk of impacting the
objects.
Even when the object you approach is di-
rectly on the ground (and nothing on the ob-
ject extends above the ground beyond the
object’s contours directly touching the
ground) and no objects that do not touch
the ground, such as the bumper of a vehicle
parked behind you, a trailer hitch, or the
back of a truck are in the path, do not ap-
proach the object on the ground any closer
than red guide line4.

458 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Backing in straight
Switch on the ignition (page 344).
Switch on COMAND (page 85).
Move gear selector lever to position R
(reverse gear).
Use the COMAND controller
(
page 88) to select “reverse parking”
function6.
You will see the guide lines for reverse
parking on the COMAND display.
The desired parking space is wide
enough if nothing is inside the yellow
and blue guide lines1 of your intend-
ed driving path or protrudes into this
area.
Back in straight carefully.Backing in at any angle
Switch on the ignition (page 344).
Switch on COMAND (page 85).
Move gear selector lever to position R
(reverse gear).
Use the COMAND controller
(
page 88) to select “reverse parking”
function6.
You will see the guide lines for reverse
parking on the COMAND display.
Turn steering wheel so that the yellow
and red guide lines for cornering7 are
pointing towards the desired parking
space.
The desired parking space is wide
enough if nothing is inside yellow and
red guide lines7 of your intended
driving path or protrudes into this area.
Back in carefully.
When the blue guide lines5 for
straight driving lie parallel inside the
desired parking space, straighten the
steering wheel for straight driving.
Back in enough to leave sufficient free
space around the vehicle.
Parallel parking
This function assists you when you wish to
park in a row, e.g. in a parking place paral-
lel to the road.
iThe Dynamic Rear View Monitor must be ac-
tivated in the instrument cluster control system
in order for it to be switched on (
page 279).
!While parking, do not approach any obsta-
cles closer than indicated by red guide line4.
iThe Dynamic Rear View Monitor must be ac-
tivated in the instrument cluster control system
in order for it to be switched on (
page 279).
!While parking, do not approach any obsta-
cles closer than indicated by red guide line4.
iThe Dynamic Rear View Monitor must be ac-
tivated in the instrument cluster control system
in order for it to be switched on (
page 279).

459 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Stop the vehicle

at a distance of approximately
three feet (one meter) parallel to
the vehicle that is in front of the de-
sired parking space.

in such a way that the front of the
parked vehicle is parallel to your
rear wheel.
Switch on COMAND (page 85).
Move gear selector lever to position R
(reverse gear).
1Vertical blue guide line
2Symbol for “parallel parking”
Use the COMAND controller
(
page 88) to select “parallel parking”
function2.
You will see the guide lines for parallel
parking on the COMAND display.
Back up carefully parallel to parked car
until the respective vertical blue guide
line1 is at the end of the parked vehi-
cle next to you.
Stop the vehicle.1Vertical blue guide line
3Extended blue guide line
4Blue guide lines for vehicle contour
With the vehicle at a standstill, turn
steering wheel in parking direction until
blue guide lines3 and 1 appear and
the rectangle formed by guide lines 4
shows the desired parking position. If
another vehicle is located next to you,
the extended blue guide line3 must
just touch the corresponding vertical
blue guide line1.Warning!G
If the respective vertical blue guide line1
is not yet located at the end of the parked
vehicle and you are already turning into the
parking space, you could collide with the
parked vehicle. Stop the parking procedure
immediately. Pull out of the parking space
and start the parking procedure over again.


460 Controls in detail
Driving systems
5Bent blue guide line
Back up with the set wheel angle.
The guide lines in the COMAND display
disappear. After a short distance, the
bent blue guide line5 appears.
Back up until bent guide line5 inter-
sects the edge of the parking space,
e.g. the curb.
Stop the vehicle.
6Yellow and red guide lines for cornering
7Blue guide line for straight driving
iIf an obstacle is inside of or protrudes into
the area marked by blue guide lines4 for the
vehicle, the parking space is too small for the ve-
hicle.
iIf you turn the steering wheel too far, the
message “Steering wheel turned too far. Please
adjust steering wheel” appears on the COMAND
display. Turn the steering wheel back until the
message disappears and the extended blue
guide line3 intersects with vertical blue guide
line1.
If you back up using the wrong wheel angle, the
following appears in the COMAND display:
“Steering wheel turned too far. Park Assist dis-
abled.”. Pull out of the parking space and start
the parking procedure over again.
iIf you turn the steering wheel while backing
up, the following appears in the COMAND dis-
play: “The steering wheel position has been
changed. Park Assist disabled.”. Pull out of the
parking space and start the parking procedure
over again.


461 Controls in detail
Driving systems
With the vehicle at a standstill, turn
steering wheel as far as it will go in the
opposite direction.
The guide lines for straight driving7
and cornering6 appear in the
COMAND display.
Back up using the set wheel angle until
blue guide line7 for straight driving is
parallel to the edge of the parking
space, e.g. the curb.
Now straighten out steering wheel and
back up until you still have just enough
room behind the vehicle.
While doing so, observe
Parktronic* (
page 444) or Park As-
sist* (
page 448) warning indicators.
Night View Assist*
Night View Assist illuminates the road with
infrared light in addition to the normal
headlamps.
A camera at the top of the windshield mea-
sures the infrared light and shows a
black-and-white image on the multifunc-
tion display. The image on the multifunction display cor-
responds to a road lit up by high-beam
headlamps.
Warning!G
Night View Assist is only an aid to support
you while driving and cannot substitute your
careful attention. Do not rely on the display
of the Night View Assist; instead, continue
to look through the windshield. You are al-
ways responsible for safety and must drive
in accordance with traffic conditions. Other-
wise, you could endanger yourself and oth-
ers.
If it is foggy, raining or snowing, the clarity of
the Night View Assist image on the multi-
function display may be diminished.Warning!G
Night View Assist cannot record objects im-
mediately in front of or next to the vehicle.
When maneuvering, continue to look
through the windshield. Make sure no per-
sons or animals are in the area in which you
are maneuvering. You could otherwise in-
jure them.

462 Controls in detail
Driving systems
The Night View Assist image on the multi-
function display is not impaired

by the headlamps of approaching vehi-
cles

if you cannot switch on the high beams
due to oncoming traffic
As a result, you can better follow the
course of the road and detect obstacles
earlier on.
The camera is at the top of the windshield.
1Night View Assist cameraSwitching on or off
You can only switch on the Night View As-
sist if

the SmartKey in the starter switch is
set to position2

it is dark

the light switch is set to * or B
or if the daytime driving lamps are
switched on

the automatic transmission is not in
positionR
1Night View Assist on or off
Press button1 up or down.
The Night View Assist image appears
on the multifunction display.
Image on multifunction display
When you switch on Night View Assist, the
image for the speed gauge changes on the
multifunction display. The speed gauge is
shown as a bar on the lower edge of the
multifunction display. The line for main
menus is no longer available. If you would
like to change a setting using the steering
wheel buttons, you must first switch off
Night View Assist.
iInfrared light is invisible to the human eye
and can therefore remain permanently switched
on without blinding oncoming traffic.
iThe infrared headlamps only come on above
a speed of approximately 9 mph (15 km/h).
Therefore, when you are at a standstill, you do
not have a complete view and cannot check the
function of the Night View Assist.

467 Controls in detail
Air vents
Please comply with the following instruc-
tions in order for the automatic climate
control to function optimally:

Keep the air intake grille in front of the
windshield free of snow, leaves, sticks,
and any other debris.

Always keep all air vents and grilles in
the passenger compartment free from
obstruction.
Item
1Left side defroster vent, fixed
2Left side air vent, adjustable
3Left center air vent, adjustable
4Thumbwheel for air volume control
for left center air vent
5Thumbwheel for air volume control
for right center air vent
6Right center air vent, adjustable
7Right side defroster vent, fixed
8Right side air vent, adjustable
9Front climate control panel
aThumbwheel for left rear center air
vents
bLeft rear center air vent, adjustable
cRight rear center air vent, adjustable
dThumbwheel for right rear center air
vents
eRear climate control panel*
Warning!G
When operating the automatic climate con-
trol, the air that enters the passenger com-
partment through the air vents can be very
hot or very cold (depending on the set tem-
perature). This may cause burns or frostbite
to unprotected skin in the immediate area of
the air vents.
Always keep sufficient distance between un-
protected parts of the body and the air
vents. If necessary, use the air distribution
adjustment (
page 253) to direct the air to
air vents in the vehicle interior that are not
in the immediate area of unprotected skin.

468 Controls in detail
Air vents
Opening and closing air vents
Center air vents
Opening: Turn thumbwheels 4
and5 upward (
page 466).
Closing: Turn thumbwheels 4 and 5
downward.
Side air vents
Opening: Turn thumbwheels next to
side air vents2 and8 upward
(
page 466).
Closing: Turn thumbwheels down-
ward.
Rear center console air vents
Increasing/decreasing air volume:
Turn thumbwheelsa or d to the left
or right (
page 466).
Ventilated storage compartment
In vehicles without rear passenger com-
partment climate control*: the storage
compartment under the front armrest can
be ventilated when the automatic climate
control is switched on.1Switching ventilation off
2Switching ventilation on
The air volume is dependent on the setting
of:

air distribution control

air volume control

air vents in the dashboard
The air temperature is about the same as
that of the dashboard air vents. It cannot
be regulated separately.
iFor draft-free ventilation, move the sliders
for the center air vents 3 and 6 (
page 466)
to the middle position.
iVehicles without rear passenger compart-
ment climate control*:
The temperature at the air ventsb andc
(
page 466) for rear passenger compartment
will be approximately the same as at the dash-
board center air vents.
!Extreme temperatures can occur in the stor-
age compartment. Switch off the air vents in the
storage compartment while the heating is
switched on if you are transporting heat-sensi-
tive items in the compartment.
Keep the air vents free of obstruction.