2013 MERCEDES-BENZ S-Class light

The ability of DISTRONIC PLUS to detect
vehicles when cornering is limited. Your
vehicle may brake unexpectedly or late.
Vehicles traveling on adifferent line DISTRONIC PLUS may not detect vehicles
traveling on a different line. The distance to
the vehicle in fron twill be too short.
Other vehicles changing lane DISTRONIC PLUS has not detected the
vehicle cutting in yet. The distance to this
vehicle will be too short.
Narrow vehicles DISTRONIC PLUS has not yet detected the
vehicle in front on the edge of the road,
because of its narrow width
.The distance to
the vehicle in front will be too short.
Obstructions and stationary vehicles DISTRONIC PLUS does not brake for
obstacles or stationary vehicles. If, for
example, the detected vehicle turns a corner
and reveals an obstacle or stationary vehicle,
DISTRONIC PLUS will not brake for these.
Crossing vehicles
DISTRONIC PLUS may mistakenly detect
vehicles that are crossing your lane.
Activating DISTRONIC PLUS at traffic lights
with crossing traffic, for example, could cause
your vehicle to pull away unintentionally. Driving systems
345Driving and parking Z

R
the electrical syste minthe engine
compartment, the battery or the fuses are
tampered with.
R the battery is disconnected.
If you leave the vehicle or park it, deactivate
the HOLD function and secure the vehicle
against rolling away. AIRMATIC
Vehicle level Important safety notes
Your vehicle regulates its height
automatically
.All-round level control ensures
the best possible suspension and constant
ground clearance, even with a laden vehicle.
When you drive fast, the vehicle is lowered
automatically to improve driving safety and to
reduce fuel consumption.
The following vehicle levels are possible on
vehicles without 4MATIC:
R Normal
R raised: the vehicle is raised by about 1in
(25 mm) when compared with the normal
level
R lowered: the vehicle is lowered by about
0.60 in (15 mm) when compared with the
normal level
The following vehicle levels are possible on
vehicles with 4MATIC:
R normal: in Comfor tmode, the vehicle is
raised by about 0.40i n (10mm) when
compared with Sport mode
R raised: in Comfort mode, the vehicle is
raised by about 0.60 in (15 mm) and in
Sport mode by about 1 in (25 mm) when
compared with normal level
R lowered: the vehicle is lowered by about
0.40 in (10mm) when compared with the
normal level
The "Normal" and "Raised" vehicle levels can
be set manually. The "Lowered” vehicle level is set
automatically:
R
in vehicles withou t4MATIC at speeds
above 60 mph (100 km/h)
R in vehicles with 4MATIC at speeds above
50 mph (80 km/h).
Setting the vehicle level
Select the "Normal" setting for normal road
surfaces and "Raised" for driving with snow
chains or on particularly poor road surfaces.
Your selection remains stored even if you
remove the SmartKey from the ignition lock. G
WARNING
To help avoid personal injury, keep hands and
feet away from wheel housing area, and stay
away from under the vehicle when lowering
the vehicle chassis. Setting raised level
X
Start the engine.
If indicator lamp 0003is not lit:
X Press button 0002.
Indicator lamp 0003lights up. The vehicle
height is adjusted to raised level.
The Vehicle Rising message appears in
the display.
The "Raised level" setting is canceled if you:
R drive at speeds above 75 mph (120 km/h)
R drive for about three minutes at speeds
above 50 mph (80 km/h).
The "Raised level" remains active whe nyou
are not driving within these speed ranges. Driving systems
347Driving and parking Z

Setting the normal level
X
Start the engine.
If indicator lamp 0003is lit:
X Press button 0002.
Indicator lamp 0003goes out. The vehicle is
adjusted to normal level.
Suspension tuning General notes
The Adaptive Damping System (ADS)
automatically controls the calibration of the
dampers and springs.
The damping is tuned individually to each
wheel and depends on:
R your driving style, e.g. sporty
R the road surface condition ,e.g. bumps
R your individual selection, i.e .sports or
comfort
Your selection remains stored even if you
remove the SmartKey from the ignition lock. Sports tuning
The firmer suspension tunin
ginSport mode
ensures even better contact with the road.
Select this mode when employing a sporty
driving style, e.g. on winding country roads.
X If indicator lamp 0003 is not lit:
press
button 0002.
Indicator lamp 0003lights up. Sports
suspension tuning is selected.
The AIRMATIC SPORT message appears in
the multifunction display. Comfort tuning
In Comfort mode, the driving characteristics
of your vehicle are more comfortable.
Therefore, select this mode if you favor a
more comfortable driving style. Select
comfort mode also when driving fast on
straight roads, e.g. on straight stretches of
freeway.
X
If indicator lamp 0003 is lit:
press
button 0002.
Indicator lamp 0003goes out. Comfort tuning
is selected.
The AIRMATIC COMFORT message appears
in the multifunction display. Active Body Control (ABC)
Vehicle level Your vehicle automatically adjusts its ride
height to improve driving safety and reduce
fuel consumption.
Depending on the vehicle height that has
been set, the vehicle automatically adjusts its
height dependen
tonthe current speed. As
speed increases, the vehicle is lowered by up
to 0.6 in (15 mm). As the speed is reduced,
the vehicle is raised up to the set vehicle
height. G
WARNING
The vehicle is lowered when the engine is
switched off. Therefore, make sure that
nobody is in the vicinity of the wheel housing
or under the vehicle when you switch off the
engine. Otherwise, limbs could become
trapped.
! The vehicle is lowered when the engine is
switched off. When parking, position your
vehicle so that it does not make contact
with the curb as the vehicle is lowered. Your
vehicle could otherwise be damaged.
i For AMG vehicles: when the engine is
switched off, the vehicle is lowered by
approx. 0.4 in (10 mm). 348
Driving systemsDriving and parking

Setting the vehicle level
Select the "Normal" setting for normal road
surfaces and "Raised" for driving with snow
chains or on particularly poor road surfaces. G
WARNING
To help avoid personal injury, keep hands and
feet away from wheel housing area, and stay
away from under the vehicle when lowering
the vehicle chassis.
Your selection remains stored even if you
remove the SmartKey from the ignition lock. Setting raised level
X
Start the engine.
If indicator lamp 0003is not lit:
X Press button 0002.
Indicator lamp 0003lights up. The vehicle
height is adjusted to raised level.
Setting the normal level
X Start the engine.
If indicator lamp 0003is lit:
X Press button 0002.
Indicator lamp 0003goes out. The vehicle is
adjusted to normal level.
Suspension tuning The electronically controlled ABC suspension
system works continuously.T
his improves
driving safety and comfort. The ABC suspension system is tuned
individually to each wheel and depends on:
R
your driving style, e.g. sporty
R the road surface condition,e .g. bumps
R your individual selection, i.e .sports or
comfort
R the vehicle load
Your selection remains stored even if you
remove the SmartKey from the ignition lock. Sports tuning
The firmer suspension tunin
ginSport mode
ensures even better contact with the road.
Select this mode when employing a sporty
driving style, e.g. on winding country roads.
X If indicator lamp 0003 is not lit:
press
button 0002.
Indicator lamp 0003lights up. You have
selected the suspension for a sporty driving
style.
The ABC Active Body Control SPORT message appears in the multifunction
display.
Comfort tuning
In Comfort mode, the driving characteristics
of your vehicle are more comfortable.
Therefore, select this mode if you favor a
more comfortable driving style.
X If indicator lamp 0003 is lit:
press
button 0002.
Indicator lamp 0003goes out. You have
selected the suspension for acomfortable
driving style. Driving systems
349Driving and parking Z

Range of the sensors
General notes
The sensors mus
tbe free of dirt, ice and
slush. Otherwise, they may not function
correctly. Clean the sensors regularly, taking
care not to scratch or damage them
(Y page 474). Side view
Top view
Front sensors
Center approximately 40in
(approximately 100cm)
Corners approximately 24in
(approximately 60cm)
Rear sensors
Center approximately 48in
(approximately 120cm)
Corners approximately 32in
(approximately 80cm) !
When parking, pay particular attention to
objects above or below the sensors, such
as flower pots or trailer drawbars.
PARKTRONIC does not detec tsuch objects
when they are in the immediate vicinity of
the vehicle. You could damag ethe vehicle
or the objects.
The sensors may not detect snow and other
objects that absorb ultrasonic waves.
Ultrasonic sources such as an automatic
car wash, the compressed-air brakes on a
truck or a pneumatic drill could cause
PARKTRONIC to malfunction.
PARKTRONIC may not function correctly on
uneven terrain.
Minimum distance Center approximately 8in
(approximately 20cm)
Corners approximately 8in
(approximately 20cm)
If there is an obstacle within this range, the
relevant warning displays light up and a
warning tone sounds. If the distance falls
below the minimum, the distance may no
longer be shown.
Warning displays
The warning displays show the distance
between the sensors and the obstacle. The
warning display for the front area is in the
instrumentc
luster. The warning display for
the rear area is located on the headliner in the
rear compartment. Driving systems
351Driving and parking Z

Warning display for the fron
tarea
0002 Segments on the left-hand side of the
vehicle
0003 Segments on the right-hand side of the
vehicle
0026 Segments showing operational readiness
The warning display for each side of the
vehicle is divided into five yellow and two red
segments. PARKTRONIC is operational if
yellow segments showing operational
readiness 0026light up.
The selected transmission position
determines which warning display is active
when the engine is running. Transmission
position Warning display
D
Front area activated
R
Rear and front areas
activated
N
If the electric parking
brake is engaged: no
areas are activated
If the electric parking
brake is released:
rear and front areas
are activated
P
No areas activated
One or more segments light up as the vehicle
approaches an obstacle, depending on the
vehicle's distance from the obstacle.
When the first red segment lights up, you hear
an intermittent warning for about two
seconds. From the second red segment, you hear a continuous warning. This indicates that
you have now reached the minimu
mdistance.
Deactivating/activating PARKTRONIC 0002
To deactivate/activate PARKTRONIC
0003 Indicator lamp
If indicator lamp 0003lights up, PARKTRONIC is
deactivated.
i PARKTRONIC is automatically activated
when you tur nthe SmartKey to position 2
in the ignition lock. 352
Driving systemsDriving and parking

Problems with PARKTRONIC
Problem Possible causes/consequences and
0004 Solutions
Only the red segments
in the PARKTRONIC
warning displays are lit.
You also hear a warning
tone for approximately
two seconds.
PARKTRONIC is
deactivated after
approximately
20 seconds, and the
indicator lamp in the
PARKTRONIC button
lights up. PARKTRONIC has malfunctioned and has switched off.
X
If problems persist, have PARKTRONIC checked at a qualified
specialist workshop. Only the red segments
in the PARKTRONIC
warning displays are lit.
PARKTRONIC is
deactivated after
approximately
20 seconds. The PARKTRONIC sensors are dirty or there is interference.
X
Cleant he PARKTRONIC sensors (Y page 474).
X Switch the ignition back on. The problem may be caused by an external source of radio or
ultrasound waves.
X See if PARKTRONIC functions in a different location. Parking Guidance
Important safety notes Parking Guidance is an electronic parking aid
with ultrasound. Ultrasound is used to
measure the road on both sides of the vehicle.
As uitable parking space is indicated by the
parking symbol. You receive steering
instructions when parking .You may also use
PARKTRONIC (Y page 350). G
WARNING
Parking Guidance is merely an aid and may
display parking spaces that are not suitable
for parking, for example:
R no-parking areas
R parking spaces with unsuitable surfaces
(road surface) R
driveways
R entrances and exits
Parking Guidance detects and measures
potential parking spaces while driving past.
Changes to the parking space after this point
are not taken into account, for example if the
vehicle in front of or behind the parking space
changes position or objects in the parking
space are moved.
Even when using Parking Guidance, you are
still responsible for driving carefully. If you
rely on Parking Guidance alone, you could
cause an accident and injure yourself and
others.
Safety always remains your responsibility and
you must continue paying careful attention to
your immediate surroundings when parking
and maneuvering. Driving systems
353Driving and parking Z

R
the trunk lid is open
R it is raining or snowing strongly or if it is
foggy
R it is night or if you are parking/
maneuvering your vehicle in a very dark
area
R a very bright white light is affecting the
camera
R the immediate vicinity is illuminated with
fluorescent light (the displa yofthe
COMAND system can flicker)
R temperature changes abruptly, for example
if you drive out of the cold into a heated
garage (condensation on the lens)
R the camera lens is dirty or covered
R the rear of your vehicle is damaged
In this case, have the position and the
setting of the camera checked at a
specialist workshop. Mercedes-Benz
recommends that you consult a Mercedes-
Benz Center for this purpose.
Do not use the rear view camera in these
situations. You could otherwise injure
yourself and other people and/or cause
damage -including damage to your vehicle -
while parking/maneuvering.
Activating the rear view camera X
Make sure tha tthe SmartKey is in position
2 in the ignition lock.
X Engage reverse gear.
The area behind the vehicle is shown in the
COMAND display with guide lines.
Guide lines in the COMAND display G
WARNING
Use of rear view camera can be dangerous if
you are color-blind or have impaired color
vision.
Only use rear view camera if you can see and
distinguish all colored guidelines shown by
rear view camera on the COMAND system
display. G
WARNING
Please note that objects that do not touch the
ground may appear to be further away than
they actually are, for example:
R the bumper of a vehicle parked behind you
R the trailer drawbar
R the ball coupling of a trailer tow hitch
R the rear end of a truck
R a slanted post
In such cases, you should not use the guide
lines to judge the distance. You may misjudge
the distance, which increases the risk of
impacting the objects.
Even if the object you approach is directly on
the ground, do not approach the object any
closer than the red guide line. Example: information in the COMAND display
Guide lines
0003and 0026show the approximate
distance to the rear area. Yellow guide
line 0003indicates a distance of approximately
3 ft (1 m) and red guide line 0026indicates a
distance of approximately 10 in (0.25 m).The
distances only apply to objects that are at
ground level. Blue guide lines 0002depict the
width required for the vehicle. They are used
to align the vehicle with the edge of the road,
e.g. the curb. 358
Driving systemsDriving and parking