2016 MERCEDES-BENZ S-Class SEDAN Steering

Problems with "Pre-entry climate control via SmartKey"
ProblemPossible causes/consequences andMSolutions
"Pre-entry climate con-
trol via SmartKey" can-
not be switched on or
has switched itself off.The condition of charge of the high-voltage battery is under the speci-
fied minimum condition of charge.
XStart the engine when the vehicle is at a standstill.
The engine powers the electric motor. The electric motor operates
as a generator. The high-voltage battery is being charged.
Further information on charging the high-voltage battery via:
Ra mains socket (Ypage 183)
Ra charging station (Ypage 186)
Ra wallbox (Ypage 185)
"Pre-entry climate control via SmartKey" has been started more than
twice with the engine switched off.
XSwitch on the engine and let it run for more than ten seconds.
XTry again to switch on "Pre-entry climate control via SmartKey".
Pre-entry climate control at time of
departure
Important safety notes
GWARNING
If persons, particularly children are subjected to prolonged exposure to extreme heat or
cold, there is a risk of injury, possibly even
fatal. Never leave children unattended in the
vehicle.
General notes
The "Pre-entry climate control at departure
time" function is only available in PLUG-IN
HYBRID vehicles.
You can use the "Pre-entry climate control at
departure time" function to cool or heat the
vehicle interior if the engine is not running.
The "Pre-entry climate control at departure
time" function can be activated regardless of
whether or not the vehicle is connected to an
electric power supply. The condition of charge of
the high-voltage battery must be higher than the
specified minimum condition of charge, how-
ever.
When the vehicle is connected to an electric
power supply, priority is given to charging the
high-voltage battery to the specified minimum charge. "Pre-entry climate control at departure
time" is only activated subsequently.
The running time of the "Pre-entry climate con-
trol at departure time" function may be reduced
if:
Rthe vehicle is not connected to an electric
power supply and
Rthe high-voltage battery is not fully charged
With active "Pre-entry climate control at depar-
ture time" the condition of charge of the high-
voltage battery can be reduced, even if the
charge cable connector is connected.
When the vehicle is cooled, the following func-
tions are activated if required:
RClimate control system
RBlower
RSeat ventilation
When the vehicle is heated, the following func-
tions are activated if required:
RClimate control system
RBlower
RSeat heating
RSteering wheel heating
RArmrest heating
RExterior mirror heating
RRear window defroster
If you have switched on the perfume atomizer or the ionization using the multimedia system,
Operating the climate control systems157
Climate control
Z

these will be activated together with the "Pre-
entry climate control at departure time".
Activating the perfume atomizer or ionization
(see separate operating instructions).
Setting the departure time
You can set the departure time using the on-
board computer or via the My Mercedes Electric
– Vehicle Homepage. The activation of the "Pre-
entry climate control at departure time" func-
tion can be linked to this departure time. Your
vehicle will then be cooled or heated until the
desired temperature is reached in time for the
set departure time. "Pre-entry climate control at departure time" will be activated a maximum of
55 minutes before departure. If the departure is
delayed, the vehicle will be heated or cooled for
another five minutes.
XTo set the departure time: set the departure
time using the on-board computer
(
Ypage 272). Set the departure time via the
My Mercedes Electric – Vehicle Homepage
(
Ypage 189).
XTo activate or deactivate "Pre-entry cli-
mate control at departure time": activate
or deactivate "Pre-entry climate control at
departure time" via the multimedia system
(see the separate operating instructions).
Activate or deactivate "Pre-entry climate con-
trol at departure time" via the My Mercedes
Electric – Vehicle Homepage (
Ypage 189).
When activating the "Pre-entry climate control
at departure time" function: you can sele ct
w

hether only the driver's area or the whole vehi-
cle interior should be heated or cooled.
The "Pre-entry climate control at departure
time" function switches off automatically when
the vehicle is started. The following functions
remain active:
RSeat heating
RSeat ventilation
RArmrest heating
RSteering wheel heating
RPerfume atomizer
RIonization
Switching off "Pre-entry climate control at
departure time": the activated "Pre-entry cli-
mate control at departure time" can be switched
off using the rocker switch (
Ypage 158).
Activating or deactivating "Immediate
pre-entry climate control" using the
rocker switch
You can activate "Immediate pre-entry climate
control" even if the vehicle interior is already at
the desired temperature. This means that the
vehicle interior continues to be cooled or
heated, e.g. if the journey is interrupted for up to 50 minutes, and the interior temperature is kept
constant.
XTo activate or deactivate "Immediate pre-
entry climate control": press rocker
switch :up or down.
The blue or red indicator lamp on the rocker
switch lights up or goes out.
The colors of the indicator lamps on rocker
switch :have the following meanings:
Rblue: cooling activated
Rred: heating activated
Ryellow: departure time is preselected
Setting the air vents
Important safety notes
GWARNING
Very hot or very cold air can flow from the air
vents. This could result in burns or frostbite in
the immediate vicinity of the air vents. There
is a risk of injury.
Make sure that all vehicle occupants always
maintain a sufficient distance to the air out-
lets. If necessary, redirect the airflow to
another area of the vehicle interior.
158Setting the air vents
Climate control

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
If the parking brake has not been fully
released when driving, the parking brake can:
Roverheat and cause a fire
Rlose its hold function.
There is a risk of fire and an accident. Release
the parking brake fully before driving off.
!Do not warm up the engine with the vehicle
stationary. Drive off immediately. Avoid high
engine speeds and driving at full throttle until
the engine has reached its operating temper-
ature.
Only shift the automatic transmission to the
desired drive position when the vehicle is sta-
tionary.
Where possible, avoid spinning the drive
wheels when pulling away on slippery roads.
You could otherwise damage the drive train.
!Mercedes-AMG vehicles: at low engine oil
temperatures below 68 ‡ (+20 †), the max-
imum engine speed is restricted in order to
protect the engine. To protect the engine and
maintain smooth engine operation, avoid driv-
ing at full throttle when the engine is cold.
Observe the important safety notes for PLUG-IN
HYBRID vehicles (
Ypage 42).
SmartKey positions
SmartKey
gTo remove the SmartKey
1Power supply for some consumers, such as
the windshield wipers
2Ignition (power supply for all consumers)
and drive position
3To start the engine
The SmartKey can be turned in the ignition lock
even if it is not the correct SmartKey for the
vehicle. The ignition is not switched on. The
engine cannot be started.
Start/Stop button
General notes
All vehicles are equipped with a removable
Start/Stop button.
The Start/Stop button must be inserted in the
ignition lock and the Smartkey must be in the
vehicle.
When you insert the Start/Stop button into the
ignition lock, the system needs approximately
two seconds recognition time. You can then use
the Start/Stop button.
Pressing the Start/Stop button several times in
succession corresponds to the different key
positions in the ignition lock. This is only the
case if you are not depressing the brake pedal.
If you depress the brake pedal and press the
Start/Stop button, the engine starts immedi-
ately.
A check which periodically establishes a radio
connection between the vehicle and the Smart-
Key determines whether a valid SmartKey is in
the vehicle. This occurs, for example, when
starting the engine.
162Driving
Driving and parking

Automa tic trans mission
Import ant safety notes
GWARNIN G
If th eengin espee dis abov eth eidlin gspee d
and you engage transmission position Dor R,
th evehicl ecould pull away suddenly. There is
a ris kof an accident.
When engagin gtransmission position Dor R,
always firmly depress th ebrak epedal and do
no tsimultaneously accelerate .
GWARNING
The automatic transmission switches to neu-
tral position Nwhen you switch off th eengine.
The vehicl emay rol laway. There is aris kof an
accident.
Afte rswitching off th eengine, always switch
to parking position P.Preven tth eparked vehi-
cle from rollin gaway by applyin gth eparking
brake.
Observ eth eimportant safet ynote sfor PLUG-I N
HYBRID vehicles (
Ypage 42).
DIRECT SELECT lever
Overview oftrans mission positions
jPark position wit hparking loc k
kReverse gear
iNeutral
hDrive
The DIRECT SELECT lever is on th eright of th e
steering column . The DIRECT SELECT lever always return
sto it s
original position .The curren ttransmission posi-
tion P,R,N or Dappear sin th etransmission
position display (
Ypage 172) in themultifunc-
tion display.
Engaging pa rkposition P
!If th eengin espee dis to ohigh or th evehicl e
is moving ,do no tshif tth eautomatic trans -
mission directl yfrom Dto R,from Rto Dor
directl yto P. The automatic transmission
could otherwise be damaged.
jPark position wit hparking loc k
kReverse gear
iNeutral
hDrive
XPush theDIRECT SELECT lever in th edirection
of arrow P.
Engaging pa rkposition P automatically
Park position Pis automatically engage dif:
Ryou switch off th eengin eusin gth eSmartKey
and remove th eSmartKey
Ryou switch off th eengin eusin gth eSmartKey
or usin gth eStart/Sto pbutto nand open th e
driver's door or front-passenger door
Rth edriver's door is opened when th evehicl eis
stationary or drivin gat ver ylow spee dand th e
transmission is in position Dor R
Under certain conditions, th eautomatic trans -
mission shifts automatically to transmission
position Pif th eHOLD function or DISTRONI C
PLU Sis activated. Observ eth einformation on
th eHOLD function (
Ypage 209) and on
DISTRONI CPLU S (Ypage 203).
170Automatic transmission
Driving an d parking

You can also activate manual drive programM
using the steering wheel paddle shifters
(
Ypage 174). In manual drive program M, you
can briefly change gear yourself by using the
steering wheel paddle shifters.
Mercedes-AMG vehicles
C Controlled
EfficiencyComfortable, economical
driving
S SportSporty driving style
M ManualManual gear shifting
Permanent drive program Mis only available for
Mercedes-AMG vehicles.
Further information about permanent drive pro-
gram M(
Ypage 175).
You can also activate manual drive program M
using the steering wheel paddle shifters
(
Ypage 174). In manual drive program M, you
can briefly change gear yourself by using the
steering wheel paddle shifters.
For further information on the automatic drive
program, see (
Ypage 174).
Steering wheel paddle shifters
You can activate manual drive program Min the
E (C in AMG vehicles) and Sautomatic drive
programs using steering wheel paddle shift-
ers :and ;(
Ypage 174). In manual drive
program M, you can briefly change gear yourself
by using the steering wheel paddle shifters.
Mercedes-AMG vehicles: you can also activate
manual drive program Mwith the program
selector button (
Ypage 175). In manual drive
program M, you can permanently change gear
yourself by using the steering wheel paddle
shifters.
Automatic drive program
Automatic drive program E
Drive program E(drive program Con Mercedes-
AMG vehicles) is characterized by the following:
Rcomfort-oriented engine settings.
Roptimal fuel consumption resulting from the
automatic transmission shifting up sooner.
Rthe vehicle pulling away more gently in
forward and reverse gears, unless the accel-
erator pedal is depressed fully.
Rthe vehicle having improved driving stability,
for example on slippery road surfaces.
Rthe automatic transmission shifting up
sooner. This results in the vehicle being driven
at lower engine speeds and the wheels being
less likely to spin.
Automatic drive program S
Drive program Sis characterized by the follow-
ing:
Rsporty engine settings.
Rthe vehicle pulling away in first gear.
Rthe automatic transmission shifting up later.
the fuel consumption possibly being higher as
a result of the later automatic transmission
shift points.
Manual drive program M
General notes
In this drive program, you can briefly change
gear yourself by using the steering wheel paddle
shifters. The transmission must be in position D.
You can activate manual drive program Min the
E (C in Mercedes-AMG vehicles) and Sauto-
matic drive programs.
Mercedes-AMG vehicles: as well as temporary
drive program M, you can also activate perma-
nent drive program M. Further information
about permanent drive program M
(
Ypage 175).
Activating
XShift the transmission to position D.
XPull the left or right steering wheel paddle
shifter (Ypage 174).
Manual drive program Mis temporarily acti-
vated.
174Automatic transmission
Driving and parking

All vehicles (except Mercedes-AMG vehi-
cles:)Mand the selected gear appear in the
multifunction display.
Further information on activating manual drive
program Mon PLUG-IN HYBRID vehicles
(
Ypage 250).
Shifting gears
If you pull on the left or right steering wheel
paddle shifter, the automatic transmission
switches to manual drive program Mfor a limi-
ted amount of time. Depending on which paddle
shifter is pulled, the automatic transmission
immediately shifts into the next gear down or
up, if permitted.
XTo shift up: pull the right-hand steering wheel
paddle shifter (Ypage 174).
The automatic transmission shifts up to the
next gear.
If the maximum engine speed on the currently
engaged gear is reached and you continue to
accelerate, the automatic transmission auto-
matically shifts up in order to prevent engine
damage.
Mercedes-AMG vehicles: the automatic
transmission will not shift up to the next gear
when the engine speed is very low.
XTo shift down: pull on the left-hand steering
wheel paddle shifter (Ypage 174).
The automatic transmission shifts down to
the next gear.
If the engine exceeds the maximum engine
speed when shifting down, the automatic
transmission protects against engine damage
by not shifting down.
Automatic down shifting occurs when coast-
ing.
Shift recommendation
The gearshift recommendations assist you in
adopting an economical driving style. The rec-
ommended gear is shown in the multifunction
display.
XShift to recommended gear ;according to
gearshift recommendation :when shown in
the multifunction display of the instrument
cluster.
Deactivating
If you have activated manual drive program M, it
will remain active for a certain amount of time.
Under certain conditions the minimum amount
of time is extended, e.g. in the case of lateral
acceleration, during an overrun phase or when
driving on steep terrain.
If manual drive program Mhas been deactiva-
ted, the automatic transmission shifts into the
automatic drive program that was last selected.
You can also deactivate manual drive program
M yourself:
XPull on the right-hand steering wheel paddle
shifter and hold it in place (Ypage 174).
or
XUse the DIRECT SELECT lever to switch the
transmission position.
or
XUse the program selector button to change
the drive program (Ypage 173).
Manual drive program Mis deactivated. The
automatic transmission switches to the pre-
viously activated drive program E(drive pro-
gram Con Mercedes-AMG vehicles) or S.
Manual drive program (Mercedes-
AMG vehicles)
General information
In this drive program, you can permanently
change gear yourself by using the steering
wheel paddle shifters. The transmission must be
in position D.
Manual drive program Mis different from drive
program Swith regard to spontaneity, respon-
siveness and smoothness of gear changes.
As well as this permanent drive program M, you
can also activate temporary drive program
M (
Ypage 174).
Automatic transmission175
Driving and parking
Z

Switching on the manual drive program
In manual drive programM, you can change gear
using the steering wheel paddle shifters if the
transmission is in position D. You can see the
currently selected drive program and which gear
is engaged in the multifunction display.
XPress the program selector button
(Ypage 173) repeatedly until Mappears in
the multifunction display.
Upshifting
!In manual drive program M, the automatic
transmission does not shift up automatically
even when the engine limiting speed for the
current gear is reached. When the engine lim-
iting speed is reached, the fuel supply is cut to
prevent the engine from overrevving. Always
make sure that the engine speed does not
reach the red area of the tachometer. There is
otherwise a risk of engine damage.
:Gear indicator
;Upshift indicator
Before the engine speed reaches the red area,
an upshift indicator will be shown in the multi-
function display.
XWhen message ;appears in the multifunc-
tion display, pull on the right-hand steering
wheel paddle shifter.
Downshifting
XPull the left-hand steering wheel paddle
shifter (Ypage 174).
The automatic transmission shifts down to
the next gear if this is permissible. Maximum acceleration
XPull the left-hand steering wheel paddle
shifter until the transmission selects the opti-
mum gear according to the speed.
If you slow down or stop without shifting down,
the automatic transmission automatically shifts
down.
Switching off the manual drive program
XPress the program selector button
(Ypage 173) repeatedly until Cor Sappears
in the multifunction display.
176Automatic transmission
Driving and parking

Rthe seat belt has been fastened
Ryou depress the accelerator pedal
If the automatic transmission is in position R,
the trunk lid must be closed.
If your seat belt is not fastened, the following
conditions must be fulfilled to automatically
release the electric parking brake:
Rthe driver's door is closed.
Ryou have shifted out of transmission position
P or you have previously driven faster than
2 mph (3 km/h).
Ensure that you do not depress the accelerator
pedal unintentionally. Otherwise the parking
brake will be released and the vehicle will start
to move.
Emergency braking
The vehicle can also be braked during an emer-
gency by using the electric parking brake.
XWhile driving, push handle :of the electric
parking brake (Ypage 190).
The vehicle is braked as long as you keep
handle :of the electric parking brake
pressed. The longer electric parking brake
handle :is depressed, the greater the brak-
ing force.
During braking:
Ra warning tone sounds
Rthe Please Release Parking Brakemes-
sage appears
Rthe red F(USA only) or !(Canada
only) indicator lamp in the instrument cluster flashes
When the vehicle has been braked to a stand-
still, the electric parking brake is engaged.
Parking the vehicle for a long period
If you leave the vehicle parked for longer than
four weeks, the battery may be damaged by
exhaustive discharging.
If you leave the vehicle parked for longer than six
weeks, the vehicle may suffer damage as a
result of lack of use.
XVisit a qualified specialist workshop and seek
advice.
PLUG-IN HYBRID vehicles: observe the impor-
tant safety notes for the high-voltage battery
(
Ypage 374).
Driving tips
General driving tips
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
If you operate mobile communication equip-
ment while driving, you will be distracted from traffic conditions. You could also lose control
of the vehicle. There is a risk of an accident.
Only operate this equipment when the vehicle
is stationary.
Observe the legal requirements for the country
in which you are driving. Some jurisdictions pro-
hibit the driver from using a mobile phone while
driving a vehicle.
If you make a call while driving, always use
hands-free mode. Only operate the telephone
when the traffic situation permits. If you are
unsure, pull over to a safe location and stop
before operating the telephone.
Bear in mind that at a speed of only 30 mph
(approximately 50 km/h), the vehicle covers a
distance of 44 ft (approximately 14 m)per sec-
ond.
Drive sensibly – save fuel
Observe the following tips to save fuel:
XThe tires should always be inflated to the rec-
ommended tire pressure.
XRemove unnecessary loads.
XRemove roof racks when they are not needed.
XWarm up the engine at low engine speeds.
XAvoid frequent acceleration or braking.
XHave all maintenance work carried out as
indicated by the service intervals in the Main-
192Driving tips
Driving and parking