
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children unsupervised in the vehicle.
The seats can still be adjusted when there is no
SmartKey in the ignition lock.
GWARNING
When you adjust a seat, you or other vehicle
occupants could become trapped, e.g. on the seat guide rail. There is a risk of injury.
Make sure when adjusting a seat that no one
has any body parts in the sweep of the seat.
Observe the safety notes on "Air bags"
(
Ypage 40) and "Children in the vehicle"
(Ypage 46).
GWARNING
You could lose control of your vehicle if you do the following while driving:
Radjust the driver's seat, head restraint,
steering wheel or mirrors
Rfasten the seat belt
There is a risk of an accident.
Adjust the driver's seat, head restraint, steer-
ing wheel and mirror and fasten your seat belt before starting the engine.
GWARNING
If the head restraints are not installed or not
adjusted correctly, they cannot provide pro-
tection as intended. There is an increased risk
of injury in the head and neck area, e.g. in the event of an accident or when braking.
Always drive with the head restraints instal-
led. Before driving off, make sure for every
vehicle occupant that the center of the head
restraint supports the back of the head at
about eye level.
Make sure that you do not rotate the head
restraints of the front and rear seats when
adjusting the head restraints. Otherwise, you
cannot adjust the height and angle of the head
restraints correctly.
Adjust the head restraint so that it is as close as
possible to your head.
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 prop-
erly secured in an appropriately sized child
restraint system or booster seat recommen-
ded 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 sig-
nificantly increased if the child restraints are
not properly secured in the vehicle and/or the
child is not properly secured in the child
restraint.
!To avoid damage to the seats and the seat
heating, observe the following information:
Rkeep liquids from spilling on the seats. If
liquid is spilled on the seats, dry them as
soon as possible.
Rif the seat covers are damp or wet, do not
switch on the seat heating. The seat heat-
ing should also not be used to dry the seats.
Rclean the seat covers as recommended;
see the "Interior care" section.
Rdo not transport heavy loads on the seats.
Do not place sharp objects on the seat
cushions, e.g. knives, nails or tools. The
seats should only be occupied by passen-
gers, if possible.
Rwhen the seat heating is in operation, do
not cover the seats with insulating materi-
als, e.g. blankets, coats, bags, seat covers,
child seats or booster seats.
!Make sure that there are no objects in the
footwell under or behind the seats when mov-
ing the seats back. There is a risk that the
seats and/or the objects could be damaged.
!When the rear bench seat is folded for-
wards, the front seats cannot be moved to
their rearmost position. You could otherwise
damage the seats and the rear bench seat.
!Make sure that the sun visor is folded up
before adjusting the backrest and head
restraint height. The head restraint and sun
Seats73
Seats, steering wheel and mirrors
Z

Steering wheel
Important safety notes
GWARNING
You could lose control of your vehicle if you do the following while driving:
Radjust the driver's seat, head restraint,
steering wheel or mirrors
Rfasten the seat belt
There is a risk of an accident.
Adjust the driver's seat, head restraint, steer-
ing wheel and mirror and fasten your seat belt before starting the engine.
GWARNING
Children could injure themselves if they
adjust the steering wheel. There is a risk of
injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children unsupervised in the vehicle.
The electrically adjustable steering wheel can
still be adjusted when there is no SmartKey in
the ignition lock.
Adjusting the steering wheel
:To adjust the steering wheel height
;To adjust the steering wheel position (fore-
and-aft adjustment)
iIf the driver's door is open, the steering
wheel can be adjusted for up to 30 minutes
after the ignition has been switched off.
iFurther related subjects:
REASY-ENTRY/EXIT feature (Ypage 79)
RStoring settings (Ypage 82)
Steering wheel heating
Activating/deactivating
:To switch on the steering-wheel heating
;To switch off the steering-wheel heating
=Indicator lamp
The steering-wheel heating heats the leather
areas of the steering wheel.
XTo activate: make sure that the SmartKey is
in position 1or 2in the ignition lock.
XTurn the catch in the direction of arrow :.
Indicator lamp =lights up.
XTo deactivate: make sure that the SmartKey
is in position 1or 2in the ignition lock.
XTurn the catch in the direction of arrow ;.
Indicator lamp =goes out.
iThe steering wheel heating does not switch
off automatically.
iThe steering wheel heating may switch off
temporarily if:
Rthe temperature in the vehicle interior is
above 86 ‡ (30 †)
Rthe temperature of the steering wheel is
above 95 ‡ (35 †)
Indicator lamp =remains on.
iThe steering wheel heating is deactivated if
you remove the SmartKey from the ignition
lock.
78Steering wheel
Seats, steering wheel and mirrors

Problems with the steering wheel heat-
ing
:To switch on the steering-wheel heating
;To switch off the steering-wheel heating
=Indicator lamp
If steering wheel heating indicator lamp =is
flashing, the steering wheel heating has
switched off automatically. The vehicle's elec-
trical system voltage is too low because too
many electrical consumers are switched on.
XSwitch off electrical consumers that you do
not need, such as the rear window defroster
or interior lighting.
Once the battery is sufficiently charged, the
steering wheel heating will switch back on
automatically.
Steering wheel EASY-ENTRY/EXIT fea-
ture
Important safety notes
GWARNING
When the EASY-ENTRY/EXIT feature adjusts
the steering wheel and the driver's seat, you
and other vehicle occupants – particularly
children – could become trapped. There is a
risk of injury.
While the EASY-ENTRY/EXIT feature is mak-
ing adjustments, make sure that no one has
any body parts in the sweep of the seat and
the steering wheel.
If somebody becomes trapped:
Rpress one of the memory function position
buttons, or
Rpress one of the memory function memory
buttons, or
Rmove the switch for steering wheel adjust-
ment in the opposite direction to that in
which the steering wheel is moving
The adjustment process is stopped.
GWARNING
If you drive off while the EASY-ENTRY/EXIT
feature is making adjustments, you could lose
control of the vehicle. There is a risk of an
accident.
Always wait until the adjustment process is
complete before driving off.
!Do not activate the EASY-ENTRY/EXIT fea-
ture, if the seat backrest is reclined too far
backwards. This can damage the front or rear
seats. You must first move the backrest to a
vertical position.
The EASY-ENTRY/EXIT feature makes getting in
and out of your vehicle easier.
You can activate and deactivate the EASY-
ENTRY/EXIT feature in the on-board computer
(
Ypage 181).
Position of the steering wheel when the
EASY-ENTRY/EXIT feature is active
The steering wheel moves upwards and towards
the dashboard if:
Ryou remove the SmartKey from the ignition
lock or
Ryou open the driver's door with the SmartKey
in position 0or 1in the ignition lock
iThe steering wheel only moves upwards and
towards the dashboard if it has not already
reached the upper steering limiter.
Steering wheel79
Seats, steering wheel and mirrors
Z

pants – particularly children – could become
trapped. There is a risk of injury.
While the memory function is making adjust-
ments, make sure that no one has any body
parts in the sweep of the seat or steering
wheel. If somebody becomes trapped, imme-diately release the memory function position
button. The adjustment process is stopped.
GWARNING
Children could become trapped if they acti-
vate the memory function, particularly when
unattended. There is a risk of injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children unsupervised in the vehicle.
With the memory function, you can store up to
three different settings, e.g. for three different
people.
The following settings are stored as a single
memory preset:
Rposition of the seat, backrest and head
restraint
Rdriver's side: steering wheel position
Rdriver's side: position of the exterior mirrors
on the driver's and front-passenger sides
XMake sure that the SmartKey is in position 2
(Ypage 112) or that the respective door is
open.
XAdjust the seat (Ypage 74) and head restraint
(Ypage 74).
XOn the driver's side, adjust the steering wheel (Ypage 78) and the exterior mirrors
(Ypage 80).
XPress the Mmemory button.
XPress one of memory buttons 1,2or 3within
three seconds.
The settings are stored in the selected stor-
age position.
Calling up a stored setting
!
If you want to move the seat from the fully
reclined position to a stored seat position,
first raise the backrest using the seat switch.
The seat could otherwise be damaged.
XPress and hold the relevant memory button 1,
2 or 3, until the seat, head restraints, steering
wheel and mirrors are in the stored position.
iThe setting procedure is interrupted as soon
as you release the memory button.
Memory functions83
Seats, steering wheel and mirrors
Z

Park positionPis automatically engaged:
Rif you remove the SmartKey from the ignition
lock
Rif you open the driver's door while traveling at
low speed in transmission position Dor R
Rif DISTRONIC PLUS (Ypage 147) brakes your
vehicle until it is stationary and at least one of
the following conditions is fulfilled:
-the engine is switched off.
-the driver's door is open and the seat belt is not fastened.
-there is a system malfunction.
-the power supply is insufficient.
Engaging reverse gear R
!Only shift the automatic transmission to R
when the vehicle is stationary.
XWhen the vehicle is stationary, depress the
brake pedal and keep it depressed.
XPush the selector lever forwards past the first
point of resistance.
Transmission position Ris engaged.
iWhen reverse gear is engaged and the ECO
start/stop function is switched on, the engine starts up automatically (
Ypage 114).
Shifting to neutral N
GWARNING
If children are left unsupervised in the vehicle,
they could:
Ropen the doors, thus endangering other
people or road users.
Rget out and disrupt traffic.
Roperate the vehicle's equipment.
Additionally, children could set the vehicle in
motion if, for example, they:
Rrelease the parking brake.
Rshifting the automatic transmission out of
park position P
RStart the engine.
There is a risk of an accident and injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children or animals unattended in the
vehicle. Always keep the SmartKey out of
reach of children.
If the vehicle is stationary:
XDepress the brake pedal.
XDepending on the current transmission posi-
tion, press the selector lever forwards or
backwards to the first point of resistance.
The automatic transmission shifts into N.
If the engine has been switched off, the auto-
matic transmission automatically shifts to N.
iIf the vehicle is braked to a standstill when in
neutral Nand the brake pedal continues to be
depressed, the ECO start/stop function
switches the engine off automatically
(
Ypage 114).
Remaining in neutral N
GWARNING
If children are left unsupervised in the vehicle,
they could:
Ropen the doors, thus endangering other
people or road users.
Rget out and disrupt traffic.
Roperate the vehicle's equipment.
Additionally, children could set the vehicle in
motion if, for example, they:
Rrelease the parking brake.
Rshifting the automatic transmission out of
park position P
RStart the engine.
There is a risk of an accident and injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children or animals unattended in the
vehicle. Always keep the SmartKey out of
reach of children.
XMake sure that the ignition is switched on.
XWhen the vehicle is stationary, depress the
brake pedal and keep it depressed.
XShift to neutral N.
XRelease the brake pedal.
120Automatic transmission
Driving and parking

Problems with the automatic transmission
ProblemPossible causes/consequences andMSolutions
The acceleration ability
is deteriorating.
The transmission no lon-
ger changes gear.The transmission is in emergency mode.
It is only possible to shift intosecondgear and reverse gear.
XStop the vehicle.
XShift the transmission to position P.
XTurn the SmartKey to position0in the ignition lock.
XWait at least ten seconds before restarting the engine.
XShift the transmission to position Dor R.
If D is selected, the transmission shifts into secondgear; ifRis
selected, the transmission shifts into reverse gear.
XHave the transmission checked at a qualified specialist workshop
immediately.
You hear a warning tone.You have:
Rswitched off the engine
Ropened the driver's door
Rnot shifted the selector lever to position P
XShift the selector lever to positionP.
Refueling
Important safety notes
GWARNING
Fuel is highly flammable. If you handle fuel
incorrectly, there is a risk of fire and explo-
sion.
You must avoid fire, open flames, creating
sparks and smoking. Switch off the engine
and, if applicable, the auxiliary heating before refueling.
GWARNING
Fuel is poisonous and hazardous to health.
There is a risk of injury.
You must make sure that fuel does not come into contact with your skin, eyes or clothing
and that it is not swallowed. Do not inhale fuel
vapors. Keep fuel away from children.
If you or others come into contact with fuel,
observe the following:
RWash away fuel from skin immediately
using soap and water.
RIf fuel comes into contact with your eyes,
immediately rinse them thoroughly with
clean water. Seek medical assistance with-
out delay.
RIf fuel is swallowed, seek medical assis-
tance without delay. Do not induce vomit-
ing.
RImmediately change out of clothing which
has come into contact with fuel.
!Do not use diesel to refuel vehicles with a
gasoline engine. Even small amounts of the
wrong fuel result in damage to the fuel system
and engine.
!Do not switch on the ignition if you acciden-
tally refuel with the wrong fuel. Otherwise, the
fuel will enter the fuel lines. Notify a qualified
specialist workshop and have the fuel tank
and fuel lines drained completely.
Refueling127
Driving and parking
Z

Problems with the fuel and fuel tank
ProblemPossible causes/consequences andMSolutions
Fuel is leaking from the
vehicle.The fuel line or the fuel tank is defective.
GWARNING
Risk of explosion or fire.
XTurn the SmartKey to position 0(Ypage 112) immediately and
remove it.
XDo not restart the engine under any circumstances.
XConsult a qualified specialist workshop.
The fuel filler flap cannot
be opened.The fuel filler flap is not unlocked.
or
The SmartKey batteries are discharged.
XUnlock the vehicle (Ypage 60).
or
XUnlock the vehicle using the mechanical key (Ypage 61).
XOpen the rear door.
XManually unlock the fuel filler flap using the emergency release
(Ypage 129).
The fuel filler flap is unlocked, but the opening mechanism is jammed.
XManually unlock the fuel filler flap using the emergency release
(Ypage 129).
XConsult a qualified specialist workshop.
Parking
Important safety notes
GWARNING
If you leave children unsupervised in the vehi-
cle, they could set it in motion by, for example:
Rrelease the parking brake.
Rshift the automatic transmission out of the
parking position P.
Rstart the engine.
In addition, they may operate vehicle equip-
ment and become trapped. There is a risk of
an accident and injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children unsupervised in the vehicle.
GWARNING
Flammable material such as leaves, grass or
twigs may ignite if they come into contact with
hot parts of the exhaust system or exhaust
gas flow. There is a risk of fire.
Park the vehicle so that no flammable mate-
rials come into contact with parts of the vehi-
cle which are hot. Take particular care not to
park on dry grassland or harvested grain
fields.
GWARNING
If you switch off the ignition while driving,
safety-relevant functions are only available
with limitations, or not at all. This could affect, for example, the power steering and the brake
boosting effect. You will require considerably
more effort to steer and brake. There is a risk
of an accident.
130Parking
Driving and parking

Do not switch off the ignition while driving.
Switching off the engine
Important safety notes
GWARNING
If you switch off the ignition while driving,
safety-relevant functions are only available
with limitations, or not at all. This could affect, for example, the power steering and the brake
boosting effect. You will require considerably
more effort to steer and brake. There is a risk
of an accident.
Do not switch off the ignition while driving.
GWARNING
The automatic transmission switches to neu-
tral position Nwhen you switch off the engine.
The vehicle may roll away. There is a risk of an
accident.
After switching off the engine, always switch
to parking position P. Prevent the parked vehi-
cle from rolling away by applying the parking
brake.
Vehicles with automatic transmission
XShift the transmission to position P.
XTurn the SmartKey to position 0in the ignition
lock and remove it (Ypage 112).
The immobilizer is activated.
XApply the parking brake firmly.
XTurn the steering wheel until the steering
wheel lock engages.
iIf you switch off the engine using the Smart-
Key and then remove the SmartKey from the
ignition lock or open one of the front doors,
the automatic transmission automatically
shifts to park position P.
iThe SmartKey can only be removed if the
automatic transmission is in position P.
Parking brake
GWARNING
If you must brake the vehicle with the parking brake, the braking distance is considerably
longer and the wheels could lock. There is an
increased danger of skidding and accidents.
Only use the parking brake to brake the vehi-
cle when the service brake is faulty. Do not
apply the parking brake too firmly. If the
wheels lock, release the parking brake until
the wheels begin turning again.
GWARNING
If you leave children unsupervised in the vehi-
cle, they could set it in motion by, for example:
Rrelease the parking brake.
Rshift the automatic transmission out of the
parking position P.
Rstart the engine.
In addition, they may operate vehicle equip-
ment and become trapped. There is a risk of
an accident and injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children unsupervised in the vehicle.
iWhen you apply parking brake ;to brake
the vehicle, the brake lamps do not light up.
XTo apply: pull parking brake ;up firmly.
Parking brake ;is applied.
When the ignition is switched on or the engine
is running, the F(USA only) or J(Can-
ada only) indicator lamp is lit in the instrument
cluster.
Parking131
Driving an d parking
Z