V
Vanity mirror (in sun visor) .............. 291
Vehicle Correct use ...................................... 25
Data acquisition ............................... 26
Display message ............................ 257
Equipment ....................................... 22
Individual settings ..........................226
Limited Warranty ............................. 26
Loading .......................................... 358
Locking (in an emergency) ...............84
Locking (SmartKey) .......................... 75
Lowering ........................................ 333
Maintenance .................................... 23
Parking for a long period ................ 169
Pulling away ................................... 147
Raising ........................................... 330
Reporting problems .........................25
Towing away .................................. 340
Transporting .................................. 342
Unlocking (in an emergency) ...........83
Unlocking (SmartKey) ......................75
Vehicle data ................................... 390
Vehicle battery
see Battery (vehicle)
Vehicle data ....................................... 390
see Technical data
Vehicle dimensions ........................... 390
Vehicle emergency locking ................ 84
Vehicle identification number see VIN
Vehicle identification plate .............. 381
Vehicle level AIRMATIC ...................................... 189
Vehicle level (display message) ....... 249
Vehicle tool kit .................................. 322
Video (DVD) ........................................ 222
VIN ...................................................... 381
W
Warning and indicator lamps ABS ................................................ 264
Brakes ........................................... 263
Check Engine ................................. 267
Coolant .......................................... 268
Cruise control ................................ 176
Distance warning ........................... 270
DISTRONIC PLUS ........................... 270
ESP ®
.............................................. 264
ESP ®
OFF ....................................... 265
Fuel tank ........................................ 267
LIM (DISTRONIC PLUS) ..................180
Overview .......................................... 30
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
indicator lamp .................................. 44
Reserve fuel ................................... 267
Seat belt ........................................ 261
SPORT handling mode ...................265
SRS ................................................ 266
Tire pressure monitor ....................271
Warranty ............................................ 381
Washer fluid Display message ............................ 259
see Windshield washer system
Wheel bolt tightening torque ........... 333
Wheel chock ...................................... 329
Wheels Changing a wheel .......................... 329
Checking ........................................ 347
Cleaning ......................................... 315
Important safety notes ..................346
Interchanging/changing ................370
Mounting a wheel .......................... 332
Removing a wheel ..........................331
Storing ........................................... 371
Tightening torque ........................... 333
Wheel size/tire size .......................371
Window curtain air bag
Display message ............................ 239
Operation ......................................... 44
Windows
Cleaning ......................................... 317
see Side windows
Windshield
Defrosting ...................................... 138
Windshield washer system .............. 311
Notes ............................................. 389
Windshield wipers
Problem (malfunction) ...................126
Rear window wiper ........................125
Replacing the wiper blades ............125
Switching on/off ........................... 12420Index
RIf you place a child in a forward-facing child
restraint on the front-passenger seat:
- move the seat as far back as possible
- use the proper child restraint
recommended for the age, size and
weight of the child
- secure child restraint with the vehicle's
seat belt according to the child seat
manufacturer's instructions
R For children larger than the typical 12-
month-old child, the front-passenger front
air bag may or may not be activated.
If the driver's air bag deploys, this does not
mean that the front-passenger front air bag
also has to deploy.
The OCS may have detected that the seat:
R was empty or occupied by a person with a
weight of up to or less than that of a typical
12-month-old child seated in a standard
child restraint
R was occupied by a small individual, such as
a young teenager or a small adult
R was occupied by a child in a child restraint
system, whose weight is greater than that
of a typical 12-month-old child.
These are examples of when the OCS
deactivates the front-passenger front air bag.
Deactivation takes place although the
collision fulfills the criteria for deploying the
driver's air bag.
If the SmartKey has been removed from the
ignition lock or is in position 0, indicator lamp
45 : does not light up.
GWARNING
If the red 6 SRS warning lamp in the
instrument cluster and the 45
indicator lamp light up simultaneously, the
OCS is malfunctioning. The front passenger
front air bag will be deactivated in this case.
Have the system checked by qualified
technicians as soon as possible. Contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Only have the seat repaired or replaced at an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
In order to ensure proper operation of the air
bag system and OCS:
R Sit with the seat belt properly fastened in a
position that is as upright as possible with
your back against the seat backrest.
R When seated, a passenger should not
position him/herself in such a way as to
cause the passenger's weight to be lifted
from the seat cushion as this may result in
the OCS being unable to correctly
approximate the passenger's weight
category.
R Read and observe all warnings in this
chapter.
System self-test
The 45 indicator lamp illuminates
when you:
R turn the SmartKey to position 1 or 2 in the
ignition lock
R on vehicles with KEYLESS-GO, press the
Start/Stop button once or twice
If an adult occupant is properly sitting on the
passenger seat and the OCS classifies the
occupant as an adult, the 45 indicator
lamp illuminates and goes out again after
approximately 6 seconds.
If the seat is not occupied and the OCS
classifies the front passenger seat as being
unoccupied, the 45 indicator lamp
will illuminate and not go out.
Occupant safety47SafetyZ
ribs or abdomen, which could severely
injure internal organs such as your liver or
spleen.
Adjust the seat belt so that the shoulder
section is located as close as possible to
the middle of the shoulder. It should not
touch the neck. Never pass the shoulder
portion of the seat belt under your arm. For
this purpose, you can adjust the height of
the seat belt outlet.
R Position the lap belt as low as possible on
your hips and not across the abdomen. If
the lap belt is positioned across your
abdomen, it could cause serious injuries in
a crash.
R Never wear seat belts over rigid or
breakable objects in or on your clothing,
such as eyeglasses, pens, keys etc., as
these might cause injuries.
R Make sure the seat belt is always fitted
snugly. Take special care of this when
wearing loose clothing.
R 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 at the same time.
R Seat belts should not be worn twisted. In a
crash, you would not have the full width of
the seat belt to distribute impact forces.
The twisted seat belt against your body
could cause injuries.
R Pregnant women should also always use a
lap-shoulder belt. The lap belt portion
should be positioned as low as possible on
the hips to avoid any possible pressure on
the abdomen.
R Place the seat backrest in a position that is
as upright as possible.
R Check your seat belt during travel to make
sure it is properly positioned.
R Never place your feet on the instrument
panel, dashboard, or on the seat. Alwayskeep both feet on the floor in front of the
seat.
R When using a seat belt to secure infant
restraints, toddler restraints, or children in
booster seats, always follow the child seat
manufacturer's instructions.GWARNING
Do not pass seat belts over sharp edges. They
could tear.
Do not allow the seat belt to get caught in the
door or in the seat adjustment mechanism.
This could damage the seat belt.
Never attempt to make modifications to seat
belts. This could impair the effectiveness of
the seat belts.
Fastening seat belts
GWARNING
According to accident statistics, children are
safer when properly restrained on the rear
seats than on the front-passenger seat. Thus,
we strongly recommend that children be
placed in the rear seat whenever possible.
Regardless of seating position, children 12
years old and under must be seated and
properly secured in an appropriately sized
child restraint system or booster seat
recommended for the size and weight of the
child. For additional information, see the
"Children in the vehicle" section.
A child's risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle and/
or the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint.
Occupant safety53SafetyZ
Example: Sedan
XAdjust the seat and move the backrest to
an almost vertical position ( Y page 98).XPull the seat belt smoothly through belt
sash guide :.XWithout twisting it, guide the shoulder
section of the seat belt across the middle
of your shoulder and the lap section across
your hips.XEngage belt tongue ; in buckle =.
Seat-belt adjustment: if necessary, the
driver's and front-passenger seat belts
automatically adjust to the upper body
( Y page 54).XIf necessary, adjust the seat belt to the
appropriate height ( Y page 54).XIf necessary, pull upwards on the shoulder
section of the seat belt to tighten the belt
across your body.
All seat belts except the driver's seat belt are
equipped with a special seat belt retractor to
securely fasten child restraint systems in the
vehicle. For further information on special
seat belt retractors, see ( Y page 59).
For more information about releasing the seat
belt with release button ?, see "Releasing
seat belts" ( Y page 55).
Seat belt adjustment
The seat-belt adjustment function adjusts the
driver's and front-passenger seat belt to the
upper body of the occupants.
The belt strap is tightened slightly when:
R you engage the belt tongue in the belt
buckle and you then turn the SmartKey to
position 2 in the ignition lock.
R the SmartKey is in position 2 in the ignition
lock and you then engage the belt tongue
in the buckle.
The seat-belt adjustment will apply a
retraction force if any slack is detected
between the occupant and the seat belt. Do
not hold on to the seat belt tightly while it is
adjusting. You can switch the seat-belt
adjustment on and off in the on-board
computer ( Y page 229).
The seat-belt adjustment is an integral part of
the PRE-SAFE ®
convenience function. More
information about PRE-SAFE ®
can be found
in the "PRE-SAFE ®
(preventative occupant
protection)" section ( Y page 50).
Belt height adjustment
You can adjust the seat belt height on the
driver's seat and the front-passenger seat.
Wagon: you can also adjust the belt height
on the outer rear seats.
Adjust the height so that the upper part of the
seat belt is routed across the center of your
shoulder.
54Occupant safetySafety
A child in a rear-facing child restraint on the
front passenger seat will be seriously
injured or even killed if the front passenger
front air bag inflates.
R If you have to place a child in a forward-
facing child restraint on the front passenger
seat, move the seat as far back as possible,
use the proper child restraint
recommended for the age, size and weight
of the child, and secure child restraint with
the vehicle's seat belt according to the
child seat manufacturer's instructions.GWARNING
Infants and small children should never share
a seat belt with another occupant. During an
accident, they could be crushed between the
occupant and seat belt.
A child's risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle and/
or the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint.
Children too big for a toddler restraint must
ride in seats using regular seat belts. Position
the shoulder belt across the chest and
shoulder, not face or neck. A booster seat
may be necessary to achieve proper seat belt
positioning for children over 41 lb (18 kg) until
they reach a height where a lap/shoulder belt
fits properly without a booster.
When the child restraint is not in use, remove
it from the vehicle or secure it with the seat
belt to prevent the child restraint from
becoming a projectile in the event of an
accident.
If an infant or child is traveling in the vehicle:
XSecure the infant or child with an
appropriate infant or child restraint
recommended for the child's age and
weight.XMake sure that the infant or child is
properly secured at all times while the
vehicle is in motion.GWARNING
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the ignition lock. Always take
the SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle.
Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle, even if they are secured in a child
restraint system, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. A child's unsupervised
access to a vehicle could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury. The children
could:
R injure themselves on parts of the vehicle
R be seriously or fatally injured through
excessive exposure to extreme heat or cold
R injure themselves or cause an accident with
vehicle equipment that can be operated
even if the SmartKey is removed from the
ignition lock or removed from the vehicle,
such as seat adjustment, steering wheel
adjustment, or the memory function
If children open a door, they could injure other
persons or get out of the vehicle and injure
themselves or be injured by following traffic.
Do not expose the child restraint system to
direct sunlight. The child restraint system's
metal parts, for example, could become very
hot, and the child could be burned on these
parts.
GWARNING
Do not carry heavy or hard objects in the
passenger compartment, or trunk (sedan), or
cargo compartment (wagon) unless they are
firmly secured in place.
Unsecured or improperly positioned cargo
increases a child's risk of injury in the event
of
R strong braking maneuvers
R sudden changes of direction
R an accident
58Children in the vehicleSafety
Wagon
The Top Tether anchorages are attached to
the rear of the rear seat backrests.XMove head restraint : upwards.XRemove combined cargo cover and net
= (Y page 282).XRoute Top Tether belt B under head
restraint : between both head restraint
bars.XHook Top Tether hook A into Top Tether
anchorage ? on the back of rear seat
backrest ;.XMake sure that Top Tether belt B is not
twisted.XMove head restraint : back down again
slightly if necessary ( Y page 101). Make
sure that the routing of Top Tether belt B
is not impaired.XInstall the LATCH-type (ISOFIX) child
restraint system with Top Tether. Comply
with the manufacturer's installationinstructions when doing so. Make sure that
Top Tether belt B sits taut.XInstall combined cargo cover and net
= (Y page 282).
Child-proof locks
Important safety notes
GWARNING
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the ignition lock. Always take
the SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle.
Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle, even if they are secured in a child
restraint system, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. A child's unsupervised
access to a vehicle could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury. The children
could:
R injure themselves on parts of the vehicle
R be seriously or fatally injured through
excessive exposure to extreme heat or cold
R injure themselves or cause an accident with
vehicle equipment that can be operated
even if the SmartKey is removed from the
ignition lock or removed from the vehicle,
such as seat adjustment, steering wheel
adjustment, or the memory function
If children open a door, they could injure other
persons or get out of the vehicle and injure
themselves or be injured by following traffic.
Do not expose the child restraint system to
direct sunlight. The child restraint system's
metal parts, for example, could become very
hot, and the child could be burned on these
parts.
Child-proof locks for the rear doors
GWARNING
Children could open a rear door from inside
the vehicle. This could result in serious
injuries or an accident. Therefore, when
Children in the vehicle61SafetyZ
children ride in the rear always secure the rear
doors with the child-proof locks.
You secure each door individually with the
child-proof locks on the rear doors. A door
secured with a child-proof lock cannot be
opened from inside the vehicle. When the
vehicle is unlocked, the door can be opened
from the outside.
Example: Sedan
XTo activate: press the child-proof lock
lever up in the direction of arrow :.XMake sure that the child-proof locks are
working properly.XTo deactivate: press the child-proof lock
lever down in the direction of arrow ;.
Override feature for the rear side
windows
GWARNING
When children ride on the vehicle's rear seats,
activate the override switch. Otherwise, the
children could be injured, e.g. by trapping
themselves in the rear side window.
XTo activate/deactivate: press button ;.
If indicator lamp : is lit, operation of the
rear side windows is deactivated.
Operation is only possible using the
switches in the driver's door. If indicator
lamp : is off, operation is possible using
the switches in the rear compartment.
Panic alarm
X To activate: press ! button : for at
least one second.
An alarm sounds and the exterior lighting
flashes.XTo deactivate: press ! button :
again.
or
XInsert the SmartKey into the ignition lock.
or
XPress the KEYLESS-GO Start/Stop button.
The KEYLESS-GO key must be in the
vehicle.62Panic alarmSafety
iUSA only:
This device complies with Part 15 of the
FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions:
1. This device may not cause harmful
interference, and
2. this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.
Any unauthorized modification to this
device could void the user's authority to
operate the equipment.
The product label with FCC ID and IC
certification number can be found in the
battery case of the SmartKey.
i Canada only:
This device complies with RSS-Gen 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
received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.
Any unauthorized modification to this
device could void the user's authority to
operate the equipment.
The product label with FCC ID and IC
certification number can be found in the
battery case of the SmartKey.
Driving safety systems
Driving safety systems overview
In this section, you will find information about
the following driving safety systems:
R ABS ( Anti-lock Braking System)
R BAS ( Brake Assist System)
R BAS PLUS ( Brake Assist System Plus*)
R ESP ®
(E lectronic Stability Program)
R EBD ( Electronic Brake force Distribution)
R ADAPTIVE BRAKE
R PRE-SAFE ®
Brake
Important safety notesGWARNING
The following factors increase the risk of
accidents:
R Excessive speed, especially in turns
R Wet and slippery road surfaces
R Following another vehicle too closely
The driving safety systems described in this
section cannot reduce these risks or prevent
the natural laws of physics from acting on the
vehicle. They cannot increase braking or
steering efficiency beyond that afforded by
the condition of the vehicle brakes and tires
or the traction afforded.
Only a safe, attentive, and skillful driver can
prevent accidents.
The capabilities of a vehicle equipped with the
driving safety systems described in this
section must never be exploited in a reckless
or dangerous manner which could jeopardize
the user's safety or the safety of others.
Always adjust your driving style to the
prevailing road and weather conditions and
keep a safe distance to other road users and
objects on the street.
If a driving system malfunctions, other driving
safety systems may also switch off. Observe
indicator and warning lamps that may come
on as well as messages in the multifunction
display that may appear.
i Please note that the driving safety
systems described only work as effectively
as possible when there is adequate contact
between the tires and the road surface. Pay
particular attention to the information
regarding tires, recommended minimum
tire tread depths etc. in the "Wheels and
tires" section ( Y page 346).
In wintry driving conditions, always use
winter tires (M+S tires) and if necessary,
snow chains. Only in this way will the
driving safety systems described in this
section work as effectively as possible.
Driving safety systems63SafetyZ