2008 MERCEDES-BENZ S600 manual transmission

Contents
Shifting procedure ....................... 402
Transmission positions................. 403
Driving tips ................................... 406
Gear ranges ................................. 408
Automatic shift program .............. 409
Steering wheel gearshift control .. 411
Manual shift program
(S 63 AMG and S 65 AMG only) ... 413
Emergency operation
(Limp-Home Mode) ...................... 416
Instrument cluster ............................. 417
Adjusting instrument cluster
display illumination ...................... 417
Coolant temperature gauge ......... 417
Tachometer .................................. 418
Outside temperature indicator ..... 418
Fuel gauge ................................... 418
Driving systems ................................. 419
Cruise control .............................. 419
DISTRONIC Plus* ......................... 424
Airmatic (S 550 only) ................... 440
Active Body Control (ABC)*.......... 442
Parktronic system* ...................... 444
Park Assist* ................................. 448
Dynamic Rear View Monitor* ....... 453
Night View Assist* ....................... 461Air vents ............................................. 466
Opening and closing air vents ....... 468
Ventilated storage compartment .. 468
Automatic climate control .................. 469
Deactivating climate control
system .......................................... 471
Operating climate control system
in automatic mode ........................ 471
Setting temperature...................... 472
Adjusting air volume ..................... 472
Front defroster.............................. 472
Rear window defroster .................. 473
Maximum cooling MAXCOOL
(USA only) ..................................... 474
Air recirculation mode .................. 474
Residual engine heat and
ventilation ..................................... 476
Rear passenger compartment
climate control* ............................ 477
Trunk .................................................. 479
Opening trunk ............................... 479
Closing trunk ................................ 480
Trunk emergency release.............. 484
Valet locking ................................. 484
Power tilt/sliding sunroof................... 486Opening and closing
power tilt/sliding sunroof ............. 486
Synchronizing ............................... 488
Panorama roof with power
tilt/sliding panel*............................... 489
Roller sunblinds ............................ 489
Opening and closing panorama
roof with power tilt/sliding panel . 490
Synchronizing ............................... 492
Loading and storing............................ 493
Roof rack* .................................... 493
Loading instructions ..................... 493
Storage compartments ................. 494
Cup holders .................................. 498
Trunk ............................................ 500
Useful features ................................... 502
Sun visors ..................................... 502
Vanity mirror in rear...................... 502
Rear window sunshade ................. 503
Ashtrays........................................ 503
Cigarette lighters .......................... 504
Power outlet ................................. 506
Floormats* ................................... 506
Telephone* ................................... 507
Tele Aid......................................... 510
Garage door opener ...................... 518

395 Controls in detail
Driving and parking
Electronic parking brake1Handle for electronic parking brake
Manually releasing electronic parking
brake
Pull handle1.
The red indicator lamp 0 (USA only)
or ! (Canada only) in the instru-
ment cluster goes out.
You cannot release the electronic parking
brake until the ignition is switched on.

Shift the automatic transmission toP.

Slowly release brake pedal.

When parked on an incline, turn front
wheels towards the road curb.

Turn the SmartKey to starter switch
position0 and remove, or press
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button
(
page 346).

Take the SmartKey or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* with you and lock vehicle
when leaving.
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. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Children could release the
electronic parking brake and/or shift the
automatic transmission out of
park positionP, either of which could result
in an accident and/or serious personal
injury.
Warning!G
Getting out of your vehicle with the automat-
ic transmission not fully engaged in park
positionPis dangerous. Also, when parked
on an incline, park position P alone may not
prevent your vehicle from moving, possibly
hitting people or objects.
Always engage the electronic parking brake
in addition to shifting to park positionP
(
page 389).
W h e n p a r k e d o n a n i n c line, turn front wheels
towards the road curb.

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.

402 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
Shifting from D or R to N
If you want to select neutral positionN
with the transmission being in drive
positionD or reverse gearR:
With the vehicle at a standstill, depress
the brake pedal and keep it pressed.
Press the handle for electronic parking
brake (
page 395).
Move gear selector lever up to resis-
tance point when in drive positionD or
down to resistance point when in
reverse gear R to select neutral
positionN.
Release the brake pedal.
Shifting procedure
The automatic transmission selects indi-
vidual gears automatically, depending on:

drive positionD(page 403) with
gear ranges (
page 408)

the selected program mode:
(C/S) (
page 409)
or
(M/C/S) (S 63 AMG and S 65 AMG
only) (
page 413)

the position of the accelerator pedal
(
page 406)

the vehicle speedWith drive positionD selected, you can use
the steering wheel gearshift control
buttons (
page 411) or gearshift control
paddles (
page 411) to influence trans-
mission shifting by:

limiting the gear range

changing gears manually
iWhen the vehicle needs to be moved with
the engine switched off and the transmission set
to neutral positionN (
page 403), do not press
the handle for electronic parking brake.
!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.

405 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
If you want the gear position to remain in
neutral positionN, e.g. when taking the
vehicle through an automatic conveyor
type car wash or when towing the vehicle,
observe the following instructions.Vehicles with SmartKey:
With the vehicle at a standstill and the
ignition switched on shift the
automatic transmission to neutral
positionN.
If engaged, manually release the
electronic parking brake (
page 395).
Switch off the ignition and leave the
SmartKey in the starter switch.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:
With the vehicle at a standstill, depress
the brake pedal and keep it pressed.
Shift the automatic transmission to
park positionP.
Release the brake pedal.
Remove the KEYLESS-GO start/stop
button from the starter switch
(
page 345).
Insert the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO
into the starter switch.
With the ignition switched on shift the
automatic transmission to neutral
positionN.
If engaged, manually release the
electronic parking brake (
page 395).
Switch off the ignition and leave the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO in the
starter switch.
!If you turn off the engine using the
SmartKey or the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button, the transmission will shift to neutral
positionN automatically.
Warning!G
When leaving the SmartKey or SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO* in the starter switch, do
not leave children unattended in the vehicle.
It is possible for children to switch on the
ignition which could result in unsupervised
use of vehicle equipment. Unsupervised use
of vehicle equipment could result in an
accident and/or serious personal injury.
!Coasting the vehicle, or driving for any other
reason in neutral positionN can result in trans-
mission damage that is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
!Observe instructions

when taking the vehicle through an
automatic conveyor type car wash
(
page 588)

when towing the vehicle (page 702)

409 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
Automatic shift program
The program mode selector switch is used
to adjust

shift program

suspension tuning of Airmatic
(
page 440) or ABC* (page 442)

engine control
Program mode selector switch
C Comfort For comfort driving
S Sport For standard driving
Program mode selector switch (S 63 AMG
and S 65 AMG only)
M Manual For manual gear shifting
(
page 413)
C Comfort For standard driving
S Sport For sporty driving
Effect
èThe transmission shifts through
third gear only.
With this selection you can use
the braking effect of the engine.
çThe transmission shifts through
second gear only.
Allows the use of engine’s
braking power when driving:

on steep downgrades

in mountainous regions

under extreme operating
conditions
æThe transmission operates in
first gear only.
For maximum use of engine’s
braking effect on very steep or
lengthy downgrades.

411 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
Steering wheel gearshift control
With drive positionD selected and driving
in program modeC orS, you can limit or
extend the gear range.
If your vehicle is equipped with manual
shift program M, you can use the steering
wheel gearshift control to manually shift
the gears.
Gearshift control buttons
1Left shift button: limiting gear range
2Right shift button: extending gear
range
Gearshift control paddles (S 63 AMG and
S65AMGonly)
1Left shift paddle: limiting gear range or
downshift (in program modeM)
2Right shift paddle: extending gear
range or upshift (in program modeM)
The following instructions describe opera-
tion of the steering wheel gearshift control
when driving in program modeC orS.
iS63AMG and S65AMG only:
For information on using the steering wheel gear-
shift control in program mode M, see “Manual
shift program (S 63 AMG and S 65 AMG only)”
(
page 413).
!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.
iYou cannot shift with the steering wheel
gearshift control buttons or paddles when the
transmission in positionP,N orR.

413 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
Shifting 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 411).
Program mode selector switch
M 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.