Page 28 of 761

27 At a glance
Cockpit
ItemPage
1Combination switch
High beam
Corner-illuminating lamps
Windshield wipers
Turn signals
375
376
381
393
2Lever for
Cruise control
DISTRONIC Plus*
420
424
3Horn
4Multifunction steering wheel265
5Instrument cluster28
6Steering wheel gearshift con-
trol411
7Gear selector lever for 
automatic transmission389
ItemPage
8Control panel with
Front passenger front 
air bag indicator lamp
Vehicle level control 
switch
Electronic Stability Pro-
gram (ESP®) switch
Parktronic*/Park Assist* 
deactivation switch
Swivel COMAND display 
COMAND/instrument 
cluster display 
illumination
50
441,
443
73
447,
452
87
417
9COMAND display85
aOverhead control panel33
bAutomatic climate control
Center console, upper part 469
32
ItemPage
cGlove box lock494
dCover of compartment with
CD/DVD changer
PCMCIA card slot
115
117
eCenter console, lower part30
fStarter switch
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop 
button344
345
gSteering wheel adjustment 
Heated steering wheel* 359
360
hHeadlamp cleaning button375
jElectronic parking brake395
kHood lock release541
lDoor control panel34
mNight View Assist*461
nExterior lamp switch371 
     
        
        Page 397 of 761

396 Controls in detail
Driving and parking
Automatically releasing electronic park-
ing brake
Your vehicle’s electronic parking brake is 
automatically released when:
The engine is running.
Transmission is in position D or R.
The hood is closed.
You have fastened your seat belt.
You step on the accelerator pedal.
If reverse gear R is engaged, the trunk 
must be closed. Manually engaging electronic parking 
brake
Press handle1.
The red indicator lamp 0 (USA only) 
or ! (Canada only) in the instru-
ment cluster comes on.Automatically engaging electronic park-
ing brake* (USA only)
Your vehicle’s electronic parking brake is 
automatically engaged when DISTRONIC 
Plus* (
page 424) brings your vehicle to a 
standstill and at least one of the following 
conditions is met:
The engine is switched off.
The driver’s door is opened and the 
seat belt is not inserted in the seat belt 
buckle.
The hood is released.
The trunk lid is open while reverse 
gearR is engaged.
The vehicle is parked for an extended 
period of time.
The red indicator lamp 0 (USA only) or 
! (Canada only) in the instrument clus-
ter comes on.
iIf you have not fastened your seat belt, the 
following conditions must be met in order for the 
electronic parking brake to be automatically re-
leased:
The driver’s door is closed.
You must move the gear selector out of P po-
sition or drive faster than 2 mph (3 km/h).
iYou can also engage the electronic parking 
brake when the SmartKey is removed from the 
starter switch.
iIn addition to the electronic parking brake, 
park position P can be automatically engaged. 
     
        
        Page 405 of 761

404 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
!DISTRONIC Plus*:
The transmission will shift to park positionP 
automatically, only when DISTRONIC Plus brings 
your vehicle to a standstill, and when it meets at 
least one of the following conditions at the same 
time:
the engine is turned off
the driver’s or passenger door opens and the 
seat belt is not engaged in the buckle
The hood is released.
The trunk lid is open while reverse gearR is 
engaged.
The vehicle is parked for an extended period 
of time.
In addition to shifting to park positionP, the 
electronic parking brake will be engaged auto-
matically.
iMake it a practice to always shift into park 
positionP before turning off the engine and
remove the SmartKey from the starter 
switch
or
open a front door
or when using KEYLESS-GO*, before turning off 
the engine with the start/stop button and open-
ing a front door.
Effect
íReverse gear
Shift into reverse gearR only 
when the vehicle is stopped.
ëNeutral
No power is transmitted from the 
engine to the drive axle. When 
the brakes are released, the 
vehicle can be moved freely 
(pushed or towed).
To avoid damage to the trans-
mission, never shift into neutral 
positionN while driving.
If the ESP
® is deactivated or 
malfunctioning:
Shift into neutral positionN only 
if the vehicle is in danger of 
skidding, e.g. on icy roads.
Effect 
     
        
        Page 542 of 761

541 Operation
Engine compartment
Engine compartment
Hood
Opening1Release lever
Pull release lever 1.
The hood is unlocked.
2Handle for opening the hood
Lift the hood slightly.
Handle2 will extend out of the radia-
tor grille.
Pull handle 2 to its stop out of radiator 
grille.
Lift bottom of hood at edge of radiator 
grille.
The hood will be automatically held 
open at shoulder height by gas-filled 
struts.
Warning!G
Do not pull the release lever while the vehi-
cle is in motion. Otherwise the hood could 
be forced open by passing air flow. 
This could cause the hood to come loose 
and injure you and/or others.
Warning!G
You could be injured when the hood is open 
– even when the engine is turned off.
Parts of the engine can become very hot. To 
prevent burns, let the engine cool off com-
pletely before touching any components on 
the vehicle. Comply with all relevant safety 
precautions.
!To avoid damage to the windshield wipers or 
hood, never open the hood if the wiper arms are 
folded forward away from the windshield.
!To avoid damage to handle2 never pull up 
the hood on handle2.
 
     
        
        Page 617 of 761

616 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Display Possible cause/consequencePossible solution
DISTRONIC PLUS
overrideYou 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
- - - km/h
(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 427).
Drive faster than 20 mph (30 km/h) and activate DISTRONIC 
Plus* again.
ESP® is switched off.Switch on ESP® (page 75).
The automatic transmission is in position P, 
R or N.Shift the automatic transmission toD (page 399).
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 395).
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 542). 
     
        
        Page 685 of 761

684 Practical hints
Replacing wiper blades
Placing wiper arms in vertical position
Wiper blades in vertical position
Make sure the hood is fully closed.
Vehicles with SmartKey
Turn SmartKey in starter switch 
position1.
Turn combination switch to wiper 
settingu (
page 381).
With wiper arm in vertical position, turn 
the SmartKey in starter switch to 
position0.
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 front window will not 
be properly wiped. As a result, you may not 
be able to observe surrounding traffic condi-
tions and could cause an accident. 
!To avoid damage to the hood: 
The wiper arms should only be folded for-
ward when in the vertical position.
Never open the hood when the wiper arm is 
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 wind-
shield.
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.