2008 MERCEDES-BENZ S65AMG Distronic

74 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
Switching off the ESP® (S 63 AMG only)When you switch off the ESP®

the ESP® does not stabilize the vehicle

the engine output is not limited, which
allows the drive wheels to spin and
thus cut into surfaces for better grip

the traction control will still apply the
brakes to a spinning wheel

the ESP® operates while you are
braking

you cannot activate the cruise control
or the Distronic*

the cruise control or Distronic* switch
off if currently activated
Warning!G
When the ESP® warning lampv is illumi-
nated continuously, the ESP® is switched
off.
Adapt your speed and driving to the prevail-
ing road conditions and to the non-operating
status of the ESP
®.
!Avoid spinning of a drive wheel for an ex-
tended period with the ESP® switched off. This
may cause serious damage to the drivetrain
which is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz Lim-
ited Warranty.
Warning!G
The ESP® should not be switched off during
normal driving. Disabling of the system will
result in the following:

no restriction to engine torque

loss of system supported traction
control
“ESP
® OFF” is designed for driving on closed
tracks when the natural oversteer and un-
dersteer characteristics are desired and re-
quires a highly skilled and experienced
driver able to handle these critical driving
situations.
You could lose control of your vehicle and
cause an accident.
Please be aware of these limits when you
switch off the ESP
®.
Do not switch off the ESP
® when a spare
wheel is mounted.

76 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
PRE-SAFE® Brake* (vehicles with
DISTRONIC Plus* only)
PRE-SAFE
® Brake* can assist you in mini-
mizing the risk of a rear-end collision with
a vehicle in front of you and in reducing the
severity of an accident. At speeds over ap-
prox 20 mph (30 km/h), it will

warn you of a possible collision

automatically begin to brake the vehi-
cle lightly in a speed range of up to
112 mph (180 km/h)

activate preventative occupant safety
measures (PRE-SAFE®) (page 56)
Warning!G
If you see the ESP® warning lampv
flashing in the speedometer, proceed as fol-
lows:

While driving off, apply as little throttle
as possible

While driving, ease up on the accelera-
tor

Adapt your speed and driving style to
the prevailing road conditions
Failure to observe these guidelines could
cause the vehicle to skid.
The ESP
® cannot prevent accidents result-
ing from excessive speed.
!Do not tow with one axle raised.
Otherwise the transfer case can be damaged,
which is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz Lim-
ited Warranty.
!Performance testing must only be conduct-
ed on a two-axle dynamometer.
Otherwise the transfer case can be damaged,
which is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz Lim-
ited Warranty.
!Because the ESP® operates automatically,
the engine and the ignition must be shut off
(SmartKey in starter switch position0 or1 or
KEYLESS-GO start/stop button* in position0
or1) when the parking brake is being tested on a
brake test dynamometer.
Active braking action through ESP
® may other-
wise seriously damage the front or rear axle
brake system.
Operational tests with the engine running can
only be conducted on a two-axle dynamometer.
Warning!G
PRE-SAFE® Brake is a convenience system
designed to assist the driver during vehicle
operation. The responsibility for the vehicle
speed and the distance to the vehicle ahead,
including most importantly brake operation
to assure safe stopping distance, always re-
mains with the driver.

77 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
PRE-SAFE® Brake will only assist you by
automatically initiating braking if the driver
and front passenger have their seat belts
fastened.
Using the radar sensors, PRE-SAFE
® Brake
detects obstacles that are in your driving
path for a sufficient period of time for the
system to recognize it. If you approach a
vehicle and PRE-SAFE
® Brake has estab-
lished that the distance to the vehicle
ahead at your current speed is so close
that PRE-SAFE
® Brake will not be capable
of slowing the vehicle sufficiently, the sys-
tem will initially warn you visually and
acoustically.When travelling in Canada in a vehicle not
registered in Canada, you must switch off
the radar sensor system* (
page 282).
Canadian law does not permit the use of
the radar sensor system* (
page 282) for
vehicles from outside of Canada. When you
switch off the radar sensor system*, the
following functions are deactivated:

BAS Plus* (page 69)

DISTRONIC Plus* (page 424)

Park Assist* (page 448)

PRE-SAFE® Brake
Always pay attention to traffic conditions
even while PRE-SAFE® Brake is switched on.
Otherwise, you may not be able to recognize
dangerous situations until it is too late and
could cause an accident resulting in person-
al or fatal injury to you or others.
iUSA only:
This device has been approved by the FCC as a
“Vehicular Radar System”. The radar sensor is
intended for use in an automotive radar system
only. Removal, tampering, or altering of the de-
vice will void any warranties, and is not permitted
by the FCC. Do not tamper with, alter, or use in
any non-approved way.
Any unauthorized modification to this device
could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.
iCanada only:
This device complies with RSS-210 of Industry
Canada. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference re-
ceived, including interference that may
cause undesired operation of the device.
Removal, tampering, or altering of the device will
void any warranties, and is not permitted. Do not
tamper with, alter, or use in any non-approved
way.
Any unauthorized modification to this device
could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.

80 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
PRE-SAFE® Brake does not always clearly
interpret complex traffic situations. If a vi-
sual and/or acoustic warning is issued in
an uncritical driving situation, or if the ve-
hicle brakes lightly, you can interrupt the
PRE-SAFE
® Brake maneuver by

pressing down all the way on the accel-
erator or using kickdown

releasing the brake pedalThe PRE-SAFE
® Brake maneuver is termi-
nated immediately when

you avoid the obstacle by evasive
steering

you drive less than 9 mph (15 km/h)

an obstacle can no longer be identified
ahead of you

the system no longer senses the risk of
a collisionAfter a hard collision or damage to the
front of the vehicle from an accident, have
the settings and operation of the radar
sensors checked by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
iPRE-SAFE® Brake will remain passive while
DISTRONIC Plus* is switched on (
page 424).

267 Control systems
Instrument cluster control system
Telephone* (page 276)Assistance* (page 279)Service (page 280)Settings (page 281)
Commands/submenus
Dialing a number from the
phone bookDisplaying the distance graph-
ic*, DISTRONIC Plus*
(USA only)Calling up vehicle malfunction,
warning and system status
messages stored in memorySetting daytime running lamp
mode (USA only)
RedialingActivating/deactivating
PRE-SAFE® Brake* (USA only)
Checking tire inflation pres-
sureSwitching additional speedome-
ter on or off
Answering a callSwitching on the Dynamic
Rear View Monitor*
automaticallyCalling up maintenance ser-
vice displaySwitching radar sensors* on or
off (USA only)
Ending a call or rejecting an in-
coming callChecking engine oil level*

279 Control systems
Instrument cluster control system
Answering a call
When your telephone is ready to receive
calls, you can answer a call at any time
with the ignition on. When you are in the
“Telephone” menu, you will see the follow-
ing message on the multifunction display:
Press s.
Ending a call or rejecting an incoming
call
Press t.
Assistance* menu
In the “Assistance” menu, you can change
the settings of your driving systems.
Displaying distance graphic*,
DISTRONIC Plus* (USA only)
For information about displaying distance
graphic (
page 428).
Activating/deactivating PRE-SAFE
®
Brake* (USA only)
Press ( or & to select the
“Assistance” menu.
Press % or $ to select the
“PRE-SAFE Brake” function.
Press #.1PRE-SAFE
® Brake* indicator:
Press # again if you would like to
change the current status.
After the function has been activated,
indicator: appears on the
left-hand side of the multifunction dis-
play.
For more information (
page 76).
Switching on the Dynamic Rear View
Monitor* automatically
Press ( or & to select the
“Assistance” menu.
iThe caller’s number appears only if it is
transmitted.
The caller’s name appears only if the number and
the name are stored in the phone book.
iThe menu overview can be found on
(
page 266).
iThe image from the Dynamic Rear View
Monitor is shown on the COMAND display.


282 Control systems
Instrument cluster control system
With “Daytime driving lamps” mode select-
ed and the exterior lamp switch at position
M or *, the low beam headlamps
are switched on when the engine is run-
ning.
In low ambient light conditions the follow-
ing lamps will switch on additionally:

Parking lamps

Tail lamps

License plate lamps

Side marker lamps
For more information on the daytime run-
ning lamp mode (
page 373).Showing or hiding additional
speedometer
You can have an additional digital speed-
ometer shown on the multifunction dis-
play. The speed is shown in the unit of
kilometers/hour (USA) or miles/hour
(Canada).
Press ( or & to select the “Set-
tings” menu.
Press % or $ to select the “Add.
speedometer” function.
Press #.
Press # again if you would like to
change the current status.
Depending on the previous status, the
additional speedometer will be
switched on or off.Switching radar sensors* on/off
If your vehicle is equipped with DISTRONIC
Plus*, BAS Plus*, or Park Assist* it is
equipped with a radar sensor system
which you can switch on and off.
When travelling in Canada in a vehicle not
registered in Canada, you must switch off
the radar sensor system. Canadian law
does not permit the use of the radar sensor
system for vehicles from outside of Cana-
da. When you switch off the radar sensor
system, the following functions are deacti-
vated:
BAS Plus* (page 69)

DISTRONIC Plus* (page 424)

Park Assist* (page 448)

PRE-SAFE® Brake* (page 76)
iIf you turn the exterior lamp switch to anoth-
er position, the corresponding lamp(s) will
switch on.
iMake sure that the light switch is set
toB or * when you switch off the day-
time running lamps while driving at night.

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.