2011 MERCEDES-BENZ S-Class steering wheel

GWarning!
The system cannot detect objects located
above the area that the sensors scan. These
objects, e.g. protruding load, overhang, or
truck tail lifts, will be ignored when computing
the parking procedure. The Parking Guidance
might therefore provide untimely steering
instructions. This could cause a collision.
Thus, do not use the Parking Guidance in such
situations.
GWarning!
Make sure no persons or animals are in the
area in which you are maneuvering. You could
otherwise injure them.
! Pay particular attention to low objects or
objects with flat surfaces, such as trailer
drawbars, posts, cross beams and curbs.
These types of objects cannot be detected
by Parking Guidance and may damage the
vehicle.
When PARKTRONIC is deactivated, Parking
Guidance is also unavailable.
Use Parking Guidance for parking spaces:
Rthat are parallel to the direction of travel
Rthat are on straight roads, not bends
Rthat are on the same level as the road, i.e.
not on the pavement, for example. Parking
Guidance may not detect flat curbs
Parking tips:
ROn narrow roads, drive as close to the
parking space as possible.
RParking spaces that are littered, overgrown
or partially occupied by trailer drawbars
might be identified incorrectly or not at all.
RSnowfall or heavy rain may lead to a parking
space being measured inaccurately.
RPay attention to the PARKTRONIC warning
messages during the parking procedure
(Y page 341).
RWhen transporting a load which protrudes
from your vehicle, you must not use Parking
Guidance.
RNever use Parking Guidance with snow
chains or an emergency spare wheel
installed.
RMake sure that the tire pressures are
always correct. This has a direct effect on
the steering instructions.
RThe way your vehicle is positioned in the
parking space after parking is dependent
on various factors. These include the
position and shape of the vehicles parked
in front and behind it and the conditions of
the location. In some cases, Parking
Guidance may guide you too far or not far
enough into a parking space. In some
cases, it may also lead you across or onto
the curb. If necessary, cancel the parking
procedure with Parking Guidance.
! If unavoidable, you should drive over
obstacles such as curbs slowly and not at
a sharp angle. Otherwise, you may damage
the wheels or tires.
Detecting parking spaces
:Detected parking space on the left;Parking symbol=Detected parking space on the right
Parking Guidance is automatically activated
when you drive forwards. The system is
operational at speeds of up to approximately
22 mph (35 km/h). While in operation, the
system independently locates and measures
parking spaces on both sides of the vehicle.
At speeds below 19 mph (30 km/h), you see
white parking symbol ; in the instrument
cluster as a status indicator. Parking
Guidance only shows parking spaces on the
passenger side in the default setting. Parking
spaces on the driver's side are displayed as
Driving systems343Driving and parkingZ

soon as the turn signal on the driver's side is
activated. To park on the driver's side, you
must leave the driver's side turn signal
switched on until you have engaged reverse
gear. If a parking space is detected, parking
symbol ; changes to blue. Additionally, an
arrow pointing right = or left : is shown.
Parking Guidance will only detect parking
spaces:
Rthat are closed in at the back
Rthat are parallel to the direction of travel
Rthat are at least 5 ft (1.5 m) wide
Rthat are at least 4.3 ft (1.3 m) longer than
your vehicle
A parking space is displayed while you are
driving past it, and until you are
approximately 50 ft (15 m) away from it.
Parking
The following instructions refer to parking in
a space on the front-passenger side. To park
in a space on the driver's side, mirror the
instructions.
GWarning!
The Parking Guidance is only an aid and may
not detect all obstacles. The Parking
Guidance does not relieve you of the
responsibility to pay attention. You are always
responsible for safety and must continue to
pay attention to your immediate surroundings
when parking and maneuvering. Otherwise,
you could endanger yourself and others.
XStop the vehicle when the blue parking
space symbol shows the desired parking
space in the instrument cluster.
XEngage reverse gear.
The multifunction display shows the
message: Check surroundings
Confirm with OK.
XPress a on the multifunction steering
wheel to confirm.
The display in the instrument cluster
switches to Parking Guidance.
:Green lane;White bracket marking the target positionXDepending on the distance, you may have
to reverse along the lane towards the
parking space. This is indicated by green
lane :.
Continue backing up until you hear a tone.
Stop; the parking position has been
reached and is marked by white
bracket ; with an arrow for the target
position.
Steering tips
:Red lane indicating the route the vehicle
will take with the steering wheel in its
current position
;Yellow lane indicating the route the
vehicle will take when you have turned the
steering wheel in the required direction
XTurn the steering wheel while the vehicle is
stationary until red lane : and yellow
lane ; overlap.
Lane ; is then marked in green and you
hear a tone. If the parking space is inside
the area displayed, the end of the green
344Driving systemsDriving and parking

lane is marked with a white bracket and an
arrow showing the target position.
Backing up into a parking space
:Lane turns green when the steering wheel
is turned in the correct directionXKeep the steering wheel in that position
and reverse carefully.XStop as soon as you hear a tone.
The vehicle has reached the position in
which you need to countersteer.
Countersteering
:Red lane indicating the route the vehicle
will take with the steering wheel in its
current position;Yellow lane indicating the route the
vehicle will take when you have turned the
steering wheel in the required directionXTurn the steering wheel while the vehicle is
stationary until red lane : and yellow
lane ; overlap.
Lane ; is then marked in green and you
hear a tone. A white arrow and whitebracket are shown to indicate the target
position.
Driving to the final position
:Lane turns green when the steering wheel
is turned in the correct directionXKeep the steering wheel turned in that
direction and reverse carefully until you
have reached the final position.
The Parking Guidance finished
message appears in the multifunction
display and a tone sounds.
Final position
Depending on the size of the parking space,
you may now be in an angled position in the
parking space. If possible, Parking Guidance
will guide you as far back as possible towards
the rear limit of the parking space.
XManeuver to the final position if necessary.XAlways observe the warning messages
displayed by PARKTRONIC ( Y page 341).Driving systems345Driving and parkingZ

stationary and cannot check whether Night
View Assist Plus is working.
When you activate Night View Assist Plus,
speed display A in the multifunction display
changes. Speed display A is shown as a bar
at the bottom edge of the multifunction
display. This line is no longer available for
basic menus. You have to deactivate Night
View Assist Plus if you wish to change a
setting using the buttons on the multifunction
steering wheel.
Pedestrian recognition
The Night View Assist Plus recognizes
pedestrians using typical characteristics, i.e.
a silhouette in the shape of a person.
Pedestrian recognition is then switched on
automatically if:
R Night View Assist Plus is activated.
R you are driving above
approximately 6 mph (10 km/h).
R the surroundings are dark, e.g. when
driving outside built-up areas without
street lighting.
If pedestrian recognition is active,
symbol ? appears. If a pedestrian is now
recognized, they are framed = and thereby
highlighted. If the pedestrian recognition
system has brought a pedestrian to your
attention, look through the windshield to
evaluate the situation. The actual distance to
objects and pedestrians cannot be gauged
accurately by looking at a screen.
It may be the case that objects are highlighted
as well as pedestrians.
GWarning!
The pedestrian detection may be impaired or
unavailable when
R pedestrians are obstructed fully or in part
by other objects such as parking vehicles
R the silhouette in the Night View Assist Plus
image is displayed incomplete or
interrupted, e.g. by significant light
reflection
R a pedestrian's silhouette is not rich enough
in contrast compared to the background
R pedestrians are not in erected position but,
for example, sit, crouch down, or lie
i Animals are not identified by pedestrian
recognition.
Setting the brightness of the
multifunction displayXTo make brighter or dimmer : make sure
that Night View Assist Plus is activated.XTurn control : counterclockwise or
clockwise.
Fogged up or dirty windshield
If the windshield in front of the camera is
fogged up or dirty on the inside or outside, the
Night View Assist Plus display is affected.
GWarning!
Please do not forget that your primary
responsibility is to drive the vehicle. A driver's
attention to the road must always be his/her
primary focus when driving. For your safety
and the safety of others, stop before trying to
remove window fogging or cleaning the
windshield in front of the Night View Assist
Plus camera.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km/h), your vehicle is
covering a distance of 44 feet
(approximately 14 m) every second.
350Driving 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

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

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.
Lane-correcting brake application
If you leave your lane under certain
circumstances, the vehicle will brake briefly
on one side. This is designed to help you bring
the vehicle back into the original lane.
This function is available in the range between
40 mph and 120 mph (60 km/h and
200 km/h).
A lane-correcting brake application can only
be made after driving over a solid,
recognizable lane marking. You will be
warned beforehand by means of an
intermittent vibration in the steering wheel.
In addition, a lane with lane markings on both
sides must be recognized. The brake
application also slightly reduces driving
speed.
If a lane-correcting brake application occurs,
the following message appears in the
multifunction display:
iA further lane-correcting brake
application can only occur after your
vehicle has returned to the original lane.
GWarning
Active Lane Keeping Assist does not keep
your vehicle in its lane. It is only an aid
designed to assist driving. It is not a substitute
for attentive driving. In some cases, the lane-
correcting brake application is not sufficient
to bring your vehicle back to the original lane.
In such cases, you must steer the vehicle
yourself to ensure that it does not leave the
lane.
Active Lane Keeping Assist does not detect
road and traffic conditions. Always make sure
that there is sufficient distance to the side for
other traffic or obstacles. In rare cases,
unclear markings or particular structures on
the roadway can be recognized as solid lane
markings. An inappropriate brake application,
e.g. after intentionally driving over a solid lane
marking, may be interrupted at any time by
steering slightly in the opposite direction.
Active Lane Keeping Assist cannot take
account of weather conditions.
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.
No lane-correcting brake application occurs
if:
Ryou clearly and actively steer, brake, or
accelerate.
Ryou cut the corner on a sharp bend.
Ryou switch on the turn signals.
Ra driving safety system intervenes, such as
ESP®, PRE-SAFE® Brake or Active Blind
Spot Assist.
Ryou have adopted a sporty driving style with
high cornering speeds or high rates of
acceleration.
RESP® is deactivated.
Rthe transmission is not in position D.
Ra loss of tire pressure or a defective tire has
been detected and displayed.
360Driving systemsDriving and parking

Vehicle equipment
i This manual describes all the standard
and optional equipment of your vehicle
which was available at the time of
purchase. Country-specific differences are
possible. Bear in mind that your vehicle
may not feature all functions described
here. This also refers to safety-related
systems and functions.
Important safety notes
You will find an illustration of the instrument
cluster in the "At a glance" section
( Y page 32).
GWarning
A driver's attention to the road and traffic
conditions must always be his/her primary
focus when driving.
For your safety and the safety of others,
selecting features through the multifunction
steering wheel should only be done by the
driver when traffic and road conditions permit
it to be done safely.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km/h ), your vehicle is
covering a distance of 44 feet (approximately
14 m) every second.
GWarning!
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
R speed
R outside temperature
R warning/indicator lamps
R malfunction/warning messages
R failure of any systems
Driving characteristics may be impaired.
If you must continue to drive, do so with added
caution. Contact an authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center as soon as possible.GWarning!
HYBRID vehicles: It is imperative that you read
the HYBRID Supplemental Operating
Instructions included in your vehicle literature
portfolio. You may otherwise not receive all
necessary safety information and warning for
the operation of your vehicle.
GWarning
Malfunction and warning messages are only
indicated for certain systems and are
intentionally not very detailed. The
malfunction and warning messages are
simply a reminder with respect to the
operation of certain systems. They do not
replace the owner's and/or driver's
responsibility to maintain the vehicle's
operating safety. Have all required
maintenance and safety checks performed on
the vehicle. Bring the vehicle to an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center to address the
malfunction and warning messages.
Displays and operation
Coolant temperature gauge
GWarning
Driving when your engine is overheated can
cause some fluids which may have leaked into
the engine compartment to catch fire. You
could be seriously burned.
Steam from an overheated engine can cause
serious burns which can occur just by opening
the engine hood. Stay away from the engine
if you see or hear steam coming from it.
Stop the vehicle in a safe location away from
other traffic. Turn off the engine, get out of the
vehicle and do not stand near the vehicle until
the engine has cooled down.
364Displays and operationOn-board computer and displays