Page 78 of 474

77 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!G
Damaged seat belts or seat belts that were 
highly stressed in an accident must be re-
placed and their anchoring points must also 
be checked.
Only use seat belts which have been 
approved by Mercedes-Benz. 
Do not make any modifications to the seat 
belts. This can lead to unintended activation 
of the ETDs or to their failure to activate 
when necessary.
Do not bleach or dye seat belts as this may 
severely weaken them. In a crash, they may 
not be able to provide adequate protection.
Have all work carried out only by qualified 
technicians. Contact an authorized 
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!G
USE SEAT BELTS PROPERLY
Seat belts can only work when used 
properly. Never wear seat belts in any 
other way than as described in this 
section, as that could result in serious 
injuries in case of an accident.
Each occupant should wear their seat 
belt at all times, because seat belts help 
reduce the likelihood of and potential 
severity of injuries in accidents, includ-
ing rollovers. The integrated restraint 
system includes SRS (driver air bag, 
knee bags, passenger front air bag, 
head-thorax air bags) and ETD (seat belt 
emergency tensioning device). The 
system is designed to enhance the 
protection offered to properly belted 
occupants in certain frontal (front air 
bags, knee bags and ETD) and side 
(head-thorax air bags and ETD) impacts 
which exceed preset deployment 
thresholds.
Never wear the shoulder belt under your 
arm, against your neck or off your shoul-
der. In a frontal crash, your body would 
move too far forward. That would 
increase the chance of head and neck 
injuries. The belt would also apply too 
much force to the ribs or abdomen, 
which could severely injure internal 
organs such as your liver or spleen.
Never wear sear belts over rigid or 
breakable objects in or on your clothing, 
such as eyeglasses, pens, keys, etc., as 
these might cause injuries.
Position the lap belt as low as possible 
on your hips and not across the abdo-
men. If the belt is positioned across your 
abdomen, it could cause serious injuries 
in a crash.
Never use a seat belt for more than one 
person at a time. Do not fasten a seat 
belt around a person and another 
person or other objects.
 
     
        
        Page 103 of 474

102 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Trunk lid emergency release
With the emergency release button, the 
trunk can be opened from inside the trunk.
1Emergency release button
Briefly press emergency release 
button1.
The trunk lid unlocks and opens 
slightly.
Push up the trunk lid to fully open.Illumination of the emergency release 
button:
The button flashes for 30 minutes after 
opening the trunk.
The button flashes for 60 minutes after 
closing the trunk.
Automatic central locking
The doors and the trunk automatically lock 
when the vehicle is set into motion.
You can deactivate the automatic locking 
using the control system, see “Setting 
automatic locking” (
page 146).
iThe emergency release button unlocks 
the trunk while the vehicle is standing still or 
in motion.
iThe emergency release button does not un-
lock the trunk if the vehicle battery is discharged 
or disconnected.
iIf the vehicle has previously been centrally 
locked with the SmartKey, opening the trunk 
from the inside will trigger the anti-theft alarm 
system.
To cancel the alarm, do one of the following:
Press buttonŒor‹on the 
SmartKey.
Insert the SmartKey in the starter switch.
iYou can open a locked door from the inside. 
Open door only when conditions are safe to do 
so.
iThe doors unlock automatically after an 
accident if the force of the impact exceeds a 
preset threshold.
The vehicle locks automatically when the ignition 
is switched on and the wheels are turning at a 
vehicle speed of approximately 9 mph (15 km/h) 
or more. You could therefore lock yourself out 
when the vehicle
is pushed or towed
is on a test stand 
     
        
        Page 116 of 474

115 Controls in detail
Lighting
Switching off corner-illuminating front 
fog lamps
The combination switch for the turn signal 
resets automatically after major steering 
wheel movements. This will switch off the 
corner-illuminating front fog lamps if they 
where activated by switching on the left or 
right turn signal.
If the turn signal should stay on after 
making the turn, the turn signal and 
corner-illuminating front fog lamp can be 
switched off by returning the combination 
switch to its original position.Driving in reverse
Switching on corner-illuminating front 
fog lamps
Place the gearshift lever (automatic 
transmission*: gear selector lever) in 
positionR.
The front fog lamp opposite to your 
steering direction comes on.
Switching off corner-illuminating front 
fog lamps
Place the gearshift lever (automatic 
transmission*: gear selector lever) out 
of positionR.
The respective front fog lamp goes out.
Hazard warning flasher
The hazard warning flasher can be 
switched on at all times, even with the 
SmartKey removed from the starter 
switch.
The hazard warning flasher switches on 
automatically when an air bag deploys.
The hazard warning flasher switch is 
located on the upper part of the center 
console.
1Hazard warning flasher switch
iThere may be a brief delay before the 
corner-illuminating front fog lamps switch off. 
     
        
        Page 118 of 474

117 Controls in detail
Lighting
Activating
Press automatic control switch2 until 
it is flush to the other switches.
The interior lighting switches on in 
darkness, when you
unlock the vehicle
remove the SmartKey from the 
starter switch
open a door
The interior lighting switches off automati-
cally following a preset time delay.
For more information, see “Setting interior 
lighting delayed shut-off” (
page 145).Manual control
Switching interior lighting on and off
Press interior lighting switch1.
The interior lighting switches on.
Press interior lighting switch1 again.
The interior lighting switches off.
Switching reading lamps on and off
The standard reading lamps are located to 
the left and right of the overhead control 
panel. Reading lamps as part of the interior 
lighting package* are located on the lower 
edge of the interior rear view mirror.
Press reading lamp switch3or4 to 
switch on the desired reading lamp.
Press reading lamp switch3or4 
again to switch off the respective 
reading lamp.
Door entry lamps
For better orientation in the dark, the 
corresponding door entry lamps will switch 
on in darkness when you open a door and 
the automatic control is activated.
The door entry lamps switch off when the 
corresponding door is closed.
iIf the door remains open, the interior lighting 
switches off automatically after approximately 
5minutes.
iThe footwell lighting* is switched on and off 
simultaneously with the manual control.iIf you turn the SmartKey in the starter 
switch to position0 and switch off the exterior 
headlamps, the door entry lamps will remain lit 
for approximately 5 minutes. 
     
        
        Page 119 of 474

118 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
A full view illustration of the instrument 
cluster can be found in the “At a glance” 
section (
page 26).
1To brighten instrument cluster 
illumination (knob+)
2To dim instrument cluster 
illumination (knob-)
3Reset buttonJ 
The instrument cluster is activated when 
you
open a door
switch on the ignition (page 37)
press reset buttonJ 
switch on the exterior lampsFor information on changing the instru-
ment cluster settings, e.g. the language, 
see “Instrument cluster submenu” 
(
page 139).Adjusting instrument cluster 
illumination
Adjusting
Use knobs 1 or 2 to adjust the illumina-
tion brightness of the instrument cluster.
To brighten illumination
Press knob1 briefly.
The instrument cluster illumination 
brightens.
To dim illumination
Press knob2 briefly.
The instrument cluster illumination 
dims.
iOpening a door or pressing the reset 
buttonJ without switching on the ignition or 
the exterior lighting activates the multifunction 
display illumination only for 30 seconds.
Warning!G
No messages will be displayed if either the 
instrument cluster or the multifunction 
display is inoperative.
As a result, you will not be able to see 
information about your driving conditions, 
such as speed or outside temperature, 
warning/indicator lamps, 
malfunction/warning messages or the 
failure of any systems. Driving characteris-
tics may be impaired.
If you must continue to drive, do so with 
added caution. Contact an authorized 
Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as possible.
iThe instrument cluster illumination 
automatically adjusts to the ambient light.
You can only adjust the brightness of the instru-
ment cluster illumination when it is dark outside.
iWith the exterior lighting switched on, the 
brightness of the switches in the center console 
will also be adjusted when using knob 1 or 2. 
     
        
        Page 121 of 474
120 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
Resetting trip odometer
Make sure you are viewing the 
standard display menu (
page 127).
If it is not displayed, press 
buttonèorÿ repeatedly until 
the standard display appears in the 
multifunction display.
Press and hold reset buttonJ until 
the trip odometer is reset.
Clock
Vehicles with COMAND*:
The clock in the instrument cluster can be 
synchronized with the time set in 
COMAND using the time synchronization 
with head unit feature (
page 141), or set 
independently from COMAND using the 
control system (
page 141) with the time 
synchronization with head unit feature set 
to 
Off.
For setting the time in COMAND, see 
separate COMAND operating instructions.
For setting the time with audio system, 
(
page 141). 
     
        
        Page 127 of 474
126 Controls in detail
Control system
Menus, submenus and functions
Menu5Menu6Menu7Menu8
Vehicle status message 
memory1SettingsTrip computerTEL*
(page 135)(page 136)(page 148)(page 149)
Commands/submenus
Calling up vehicle malfunction, 
warning and system status 
messages stored in memoryResetting to factory settingsFuel consumption statistics 
since startLoading phone book
Instrument cluster submenu Fuel consumption statistics 
since last resetSearching for name in phone 
book
Time/Date submenuResetting fuel consumption 
statisticsRedialing
Lighting submenuDistance to empty
Vehicle submenu
Convenience* submenu
1The vehicle status message memory menu is only displayed if there is a message stored. 
     
        
        Page 132 of 474
131 Controls in detail
Control system
Saving lap time and starting a new lap
Press button ç while the timer is 
running.
The intermediate time will be shown for 
5 seconds.
Press button ç within 5 seconds.
The intermediate time shown will be 
saved as a lap time.
The RACETIMER begins timing the new 
lap. The new lap begins to be timed as 
soon as the intermediate time is called 
up.1Gear indicator
2RACETIMER
3Best lap time
4Lap number
Resetting current lap
Press button æ while the timer is 
running.
The timer stops.
Press button ç.
The lap time is reset to “0”.Deleting all laps
Press button æ while the timer is 
running.
The timer stops.
Press the reset button twice 
(
page 26).
Press button æ.
The timer starts. The saved laps are de-
leted.
iYou can save up to nine laps.iIt is not possible to delete a single saved lap.
iWhen you turn off the engine, the 
RACETIMER will be reset to “0” after 
30 seconds. All laps are deleted.