2011 MERCEDES-BENZ S-Class change time

Changing lanes
If you wish to change to the passing lane (in
left-hand-drive vehicles, the passing lane is
the left-hand lane), DISTRONIC PLUS
supports you if:
R you are driving above 40 mph (60 km/h)
R DISTRONIC PLUS is maintaining the
distance to a vehicle in front
R you switch on the appropriate turn signals
R DISTRONIC PLUS does not detect a danger
of collision
If these conditions are met, your vehicle is
accelerated. Acceleration will be interrupted
if changing lanes takes too long or if the
distance between your vehicle and the
vehicle in front becomes too small.GWarning
DISTRONIC PLUS and Active Blind Spot Assist
are only aids designed to assist driving.
They do not relieve you of the responsibility
of paying attention. The driver remains fully
responsible for the vehicle's distance from
other vehicles, the vehicle's speed and for
braking in good time. Always pay attention to
traffic conditions and your surroundings.
Otherwise, you may fail to recognize dangers
in time, cause an accident and injure yourself
and others.
Stopping
GWarning
Never get out of the vehicle when DISTRONIC
PLUS is activated.
DISTRONIC PLUS must also never be
operated, activated or deactivated by a
passenger or from outside the vehicle.
DISTRONIC PLUS does not replace the
electric parking brake and must not be used
for parking.
The DISTRONIC PLUS braking effect is
canceled and the vehicle can start moving if:
R DISTRONIC PLUS is deactivated using the
cruise control lever.
R you accelerate.
R
there is a malfunction in the system or an
interruption in the power supply, e.g.
battery failure.
R the electrical system in the engine
compartment, the battery or the fuses are
tampered with.
R the battery is disconnected.
If you wish to leave the vehicle or park it,
deactivate DISTRONIC PLUS and secure the
vehicle against rolling away.
If DISTRONIC PLUS detects that the vehicle
in front is stopping, it brakes your vehicle until
it is stationary.
Once your vehicle is stationary, it remains
stationary and you do not need to depress the
brake.
i After a time, the electric parking brake
secures the vehicle and relieves the service
brake.
i Depending on the specified minimum
distance, your vehicle will come to a
standstill at a sufficient distance behind the
vehicle in front. The specified minimum
distance is set using the control on the
cruise control lever.
Setting a speedGWarning
Keep in mind that it may take a brief moment
until the vehicle has made the necessary
adjustments.
Increase or decrease the set vehicle speed to
a value that the prevailing road conditions and
legal speed limits permit. Otherwise, sudden
and unexpected acceleration or deceleration
of the vehicle could cause an accident and/
or serious injury to you and others.
330Driving systemsDriving and parking

Canceling Parking GuidanceXPress the PARKTRONIC button on the
dashboard (Y page 341).
Parking Guidance is canceled immediately
and PARKTRONIC is deactivated.
Parking Guidance is canceled automatically if
it is no longer possible to guide you into the
parking space or if a malfunction occurs.
The parking space symbol disappears and the
Parking Guidance canceled message
appears in the multifunction display.
Rear view camera
Important safety guidelines
The rear view camera is an optical parking aid.
It shows the area behind your vehicle in the
COMAND display.
GWarning!
Make sure no persons or animals are in or
near the area in which you are parking/
maneuvering. Otherwise, they could be
injured.
The rear view camera is located in the handle
strip of the trunk lid.
:Rear view camera
View through the camera
The area behind the vehicle is displayed as a
mirror image, as in the rear-view mirror.
GWarning!
The rear view camera is only an aid and may
display obstacles
Rfrom a distorted perspective
Rinaccurately
Rmay not display obstacles at all
The rear view camera does not relieve you of
the responsibility to be cautious. Take care
and pay careful attention. The rear view
camera may not show objects which are
Rvery close to the rear bumper
Runder the rear bumper
Rabove the trunk handle
You are responsible for safety at all times and
must continue to pay attention to the
immediate surroundings when parking and
maneuvering. This includes the area behind,
in front of, and beside the vehicle. Otherwise
you could endanger yourself and/or others.
GWarning!
The rear view camera either will not function
or will not function to its full capability if
Rthe trunk lid is open
Rit is raining very hard, snowing or foggy
Rit is night or you are parking/maneuvering
your vehicle in an area where it is very dark
Rthe camera is exposed to a very bright white
light
Rthe immediate surroundings are
illuminated with fluorescent light (the
COMAND system display can flicker)
Rthere is a sudden change in temperature,
e.g. if you drive into a heated garage from
the cold (lens condensation)
Rthe camera lens is dirty or covered
Rthe rear of your vehicle is damaged
In this case, have the position and setting
of the camera checked by a qualified
specialist workshop. Mercedes-Benz
recommends that you contact a Mercedes-
Benz Center for this purpose.
346Driving systemsDriving and parking

recognize dangers too late which could result
in an accident and serious injury to you and/
or others.
ATTENTION ASSIST assesses your level of
fatigue or lapses in concentration by taking
the following criteria into account:
Ryour personal driving style, e.g. steering
characteristics
Rdriving conditions, e.g. time, driving time
The functionality of ATTENTION ASSIST is
restricted and warnings may be delayed or
not occur at all:
Rif the road condition is poor, e.g. if the
surface is uneven or if there are potholes
Rif there is a strong side wind
Rif you have adopted a sporty driving style
with high cornering speeds or high rates of
acceleration
Rif you are predominantly driving slower
than 50 mph (80 km/h) or faster than
112 mph (180 km/h)
Rif you are currently operating or making a
call using COMAND
Rif the time has been set incorrectly
Rin active driving situations, such as when
you change lanes or change your speed
Warning and display messages in the
multifunction display
XActivate ATTENTION ASSIST using the on-
board computer (Y page 376).
Symbol : appears in the multifunction
display.
If ATTENTION ASSIST is active, it will not warn
you until at least 20 minutes after your
journey has begun. You then hear an
intermittent warning tone twice and the
Attention Assist Time for a break?
message appears in the multifunction
display.
XIf necessary, take a break.XPress a to confirm the message.
On long journeys, take regular breaks in good
time to allow yourself to rest properly. If you
do not take a break and ATTENTION ASSIST
still detects fatigue or increasing lapses in
concentration, you will be warned again after
15 minutes at the earliest.
ATTENTION ASSIST is reset when you
continue your journey, and it starts assessing
your tiredness again if:
Ryou switch off the engine.
Ryou take off your seat belt and open the
driver's door, e.g. for a change of drivers or
to take a break.
Night View Assist Plus
Important safety notes
In addition to the illumination provided by the
normal headlamps, Night View Assist Plus
uses infrared light to illuminate the road. A
camera at the top of the windshield picks up
the infrared light and displays a black-and-
white image in the multifunction display. The
image shown in the multifunction display
corresponds to a road lit up by high-beam
headlamps. This enables you to see the road's
course and any obstacles in good time. If
pedestrian recognition is activated,
pedestrians recognized by the system are
highlighted in the Night View Assist Plus
display.
GWarning
Night View Assist Plus is only an aid designed
to assist driving. It is not a substitute for
attentive driving. Do not rely solely on the
Night View Assist Plus display. Continue to
look through the windshield. You are
responsible for safety and must drive in
348Driving systemsDriving and parking

The system may be impaired or may not
function if:
Rthere is poor visibility, e.g. due to
insufficient illumination of the road, or due
to snow, rain, fog or spray.
Rthere is glare, e.g. from oncoming traffic,
the sun, or reflection from other vehicles.
Rthe windshield is dirty, fogged up or
covered, for instance by a sticker, in the
vicinity of the camera.
Rseveral or no lane markings for a single lane
are present.
Rthe lane markings are worn away, dark or
covered up, e.g. by dirt or snow.
Rthe distance to the vehicle in front is too
small and the lane markings thus cannot be
detected.
Rthe lane markings on the road are unclear,
e.g. near roadworks.
Rthe lane markings change quickly, e.g.
lanes branch off, cross one another or
merge.
Rthe road is narrow and winding.
Lane Keeping Assist cannot detect road and
traffic conditions. It is not a substitute for
attentive driving. You are responsible for the
vehicle's speed, braking in good time, and
steering correctly. Always adapt your driving
style to suit the prevailing road and weather
conditions. Always pay attention to traffic
conditions and your surroundings. Otherwise,
you may fail to recognize dangers in time,
cause an accident and injure yourself and
others.
A warning can be given when a front wheel
passes over a lane marking. It will warn you
by means of intermittent vibration in the
steering wheel for up to 1.5 seconds.
In order that you are warned only when
necessary and in good time if you cross the
lane marking, the system recognizes certain
conditions and warns you accordingly.
The warning vibration occurs earlier if:
Ryou approach the outer lane marking on a
bend.
Rthe road has very wide lanes, e.g. a
freeway.
Rthe system recognizes solid lane markings.
The warning vibration occurs later if:
Rthe road has narrow lanes.
Ryou cut the corner on a bend.
No warning vibration occurs if:
Ryou clearly and actively steer, brake, or
accelerate.
Ryou cut the corner on a sharp bend.
Ra driving safety system intervenes, such as
ABS, BAS or ESP®.
Ryou switch on the turn signals. In this event,
the warnings are suppressed for a certain
period of time.
Activating Lane Keeping Assist
XActivate Lane Keeping Assist using the on-
board computer (Y page 376).
Symbol : appears in the multifunction
display.
If you drive at speeds above 40 mph
(60 km/h) and lane markings are detected,
symbol : is displayed in green. Lane
Keeping Assist is ready for use.
Active Driving Assistance package
General information
iThe Active Driving Assistance package is
only available on vehicles without HYBRID.
The Active Driving Assistance package
consists of DISTRONIC PLUS (Y page 325),
Driving systems355Driving and parkingZ

Optical and acoustic collision warning
When you switch on the appropriate turn
signals to change lanes, and a vehicle is
detected in the side monitoring range of
Active Blind Spot Assist, you receive an
optical and acoustic collision warning. You
then hear a double warning tone, and red
warning lamp : flashes. If the turn signal
remains on, detected vehicles are indicated
by the flashing of red warning lamp :. There
are no further warning tones.
Course-correcting brake application
If Active Blind Spot Assist detects a risk of
lateral collision in the monitoring range,
under certain circumstances, it will brake the
vehicle briefly on one side. This is designed to
help you avoid a collision.
This function is available in the range between
20 mph and 120 mph (30 km/h and
200 km/h).
When a course-correcting brake application
occurs, red warning lamp : flashes in the
exterior mirror and the following message, for
example, appears in the multifunction
display:
GWarning
Active Blind Spot Assist is only an aid
designed to assist driving. It is not a substitute
for attentive driving. In some cases, the
course-correcting brake application is not
sufficient to avoid a collision. In such a case,
you must steer, brake or accelerate.
In very rare cases, the system may
erroneously detect a danger of collision in the
area of crash barriers or similar lane borders
and apply the brakes. Active Blind Spot Assist
does not detect all traffic situations and road
users. Always make sure that there is
sufficient distance to the side for other traffic
or obstacles. An inappropriate brake
application may be interrupted at any time if
you steer slightly in the opposite direction or
accelerate.
You are responsible for the vehicle's speed,
braking in good time, and steering correctly.
Always adapt your driving style to suit the
prevailing road and weather conditions.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions and
your surroundings. Otherwise, you may fail to
recognize dangers in time, cause an accident
and injure yourself and others.
Either a very slight course-correcting brake
application, or none at all, may occur if:
Rother vehicles and/or objects, such as
crash barriers, are detected in the
immediate vicinity of your vehicle.
Ra vehicle approaches you too closely at the
side.
Ryou have adopted a sporty driving style with
high cornering speeds.
Ryou brake or accelerate decisively.
Ra driving safety system intervenes, such as
ESP® or PRE-SAFE® Brake.
RESP® is deactivated.
Ra loss of tire pressure or a defective tire has
been detected and displayed.
Activating Active Blind Spot Assist
XMake sure that the radar sensor system
(Y page 378) and Active Blind Spot Assist
(Y page 376) are activated in the on-board
computer.
XTurn the key to position 2 in the ignition
lock.
Warning lamps : light up red in the
exterior mirrors for approximately 1.5
seconds and then turn yellow.
358Driving systemsDriving and parking

Active Lane Keeping Assist
Important safety notes
Active Lane Keeping Assist monitors the area
in front of your vehicle by means of a camera
at the top of the windshield. Active Lane
Keeping Assist detects lane markings on the
road and warns you before you leave your
lane unintentionally. If you do not react to the
warning, a lane-correcting application of the
brakes can bring the vehicle back into the
original lane.
:Active Lane Keeping Assist camera
If you select km on the on-board computer in
the Display Unit Speed-/
Odometer (Y page 377) function, Active Lane
Keeping Assist is activated starting at a speed
of 60 km/h. If the mph display unit is selected,
the assistance range begins at 40 mph.
GWarning
Active Lane Keeping Assist does not keep
your vehicle in its lane. It is only an aid and
may detect the lane markings on the road
incorrectly or not at all.
The system may be impaired or may not
function if:
Rseveral or no lane markings for a single lane
are present.
Rthere is poor visibility, e.g. due to
insufficient illumination of the road, or due
to snow, rain, fog or spray.
Rthere is glare, e.g. from oncoming traffic,
the sun, or reflection from other vehicles.
Rthe windshield is dirty, fogged up or
covered, for instance by a sticker, in the
vicinity of the camera.
Rthe lane markings are worn away, dark or
covered up, e.g. by dirt or snow.
Rthe distance to the vehicle in front is too
small and the lane markings thus cannot be
detected.
Rthe lane markings on the road are unclear,
e.g. near roadworks.
Rthe lane markings change quickly, e.g.
lanes branch off, cross one another or
merge.
Rthe road is narrow and winding.
Active Lane Keeping Assist cannot detect
road and traffic conditions. It is not a
substitute for attentive driving. You are
responsible for the vehicle's speed, braking in
good time, and steering correctly. Always
adapt your driving style to suit the prevailing
road and weather conditions. Always pay
attention to traffic conditions and your
surroundings. Otherwise, you may fail to
recognize dangers in time, cause an accident
and injure yourself and others.
Warning vibration in the steering wheel
A warning can be given when a front wheel
passes over a lane marking. It will warn you
by means of intermittent vibration in the
steering wheel for up to 1.5 seconds.
In order that you are warned only when
necessary and in good time if you cross the
lane marking, the system recognizes certain
conditions and warns you accordingly.
The warning vibration occurs earlier if:
Ryou approach the outer lane marking on a
bend.
Rthe road has very wide lanes, e.g. a
freeway.
Rthe system recognizes solid lane markings.
The warning vibration occurs later if:
Rthe road has narrow lanes.
Ryou cut the corner on a bend.
Driving systems359Driving and parkingZ

The coolant temperature gauge is in the
instrument cluster on the left-hand side.
Under normal operating conditions and with
the specified coolant level, the coolant
temperature may rise to 248 ‡ (120 †).
! If the coolant temperature is too high a
display message is shown.
If the coolant temperature rises above
248 ‡(120 †), do not drive any further as
this could damage the engine.
Tachometer
The red band in the tachometer indicates the
engine's overrevving range.
! Do not drive in the overrevving range, as
this could damage the engine.
The fuel supply is interrupted to protect the
engine when the red band is reached.
Outside temperature display
The outside temperature display is in the
multifunction display.
GWarning!
The outside temperature indicator is not
designed to serve as an ice-warning device
and is therefore unsuitable for that purpose.
Indicated temperatures just above the
freezing point do not guarantee that the road
surface is free of ice. The road may still be icy,
especially in wooded areas or on bridges.
Changes in the outside temperature are
displayed after a short delay.
Operating the on-board computer
The on-board computer is activated as soon
as you turn the key to position 2 in the ignition
lock.
You can control the multifunction display and
the settings in the on-board computer using
the buttons on the multifunction steering
wheel.
:Multifunction display;~
Rejects or ends a call
6
Makes or accepts a call
Switches to the redial memory
WX
Adjusts the volume or operates the
RACETIMER in AMG vehicles
8
Mute
=?
Switches on the Voice Control
System; see the separate operating
instructions
?%Press briefly:
Back
Switches off the Voice Control
System
Hides display messages or calls up
the last Trip menu function used
Displays and operation365On-board computer and displaysZ

Display messagesPossible causes/consequences and M Solutionsb
Check Rear Left
Fog Lamp
or
Check Rear Right
Fog LampThe left-hand or right-hand rear fog lamp is faulty.XCheck whether you are permitted to change the bulb yourself
( Y page 278).
or
XVisit a qualified specialist workshop.b
Check Front Left
Parking Lamp
or
Check Front Right
Parking LampThe front left or front right standing lamp is faulty.XCheck whether you are permitted to change the bulb yourself
( Y page 278).
or
XVisit a qualified specialist workshop.b
Check Left Reverse
Lamp
or
Check Right
Reverse LampThe left or right-hand backup lamp is faulty.XCheck whether you are permitted to change the bulb yourself
( Y page 278).
or
XVisit a qualified specialist workshop.b
Check Front Left
Sidemarker Lamp
or
Check Front Right
Sidemarker LampThe left or right front side marker lamp is faulty.XCheck whether you are permitted to change the bulb yourself
( Y page 278).
or
XVisit a qualified specialist workshop.b
Check Rear Left
Sidemarker Lamp
or
Check Rear Right
Sidemarker LampThe rear left or right side marker lamp is faulty.XCheck whether you are permitted to change the bulb yourself
( Y page 278).
or
XVisit a qualified specialist workshop.b
Check Left Daytime
Running Light
or
Check Right
Daytime Running
LightThe left or right-hand daytime running lamp is defective.XCheck whether you are permitted to change the bulb yourself
( Y page 278).
or
XVisit a qualified specialist workshop.396Display messagesOn-board computer and displays