2016 MERCEDES-BENZ S-Class SEDAN engine

XTo activate:press ECO button :.
Indicator lamp ;lights up.
If drive program Sor Mis active, the auto-
matic transmission switches to drive program
C .
If indicator lamp ;is off, the ECO start/stop
function has been deactivated manually or as
the result of a malfunction. The engine will then
not be switched off automatically when the vehi-
cle stops.
If drive program Sor Mhas been selected, the
ECO start/stop function is always deactivated.
If you switch on the ECO start/stop function
while drive program Sis selected, the drive pro-
gram automatically switches to C.
168Driving
Driving an d parking

Problems with the engine
ProblemPossible causes/consequences andMSolutions
The engine does not
start. The starter motor
can be heard.RThere is a malfunction in the engine electronics.
RThere is a malfunction in the fuel supply.
Before attempting to start the engine again:
XTurn the SmartKey back to position 0in the ignition lock.
or
XPress the Start/Stop button repeatedly until all indicator lamps in
the instrument cluster go out.
XTry to start the engine again (Ypage 164). Avoid excessively long
and frequent attempts to start the engine as these will drain the
battery.
If the engine does not start after several attempts:
XConsult a qualified specialist workshop.
The engine does not
start. You cannot hear
the starter motor.The on-board voltage is too low because the battery is too weak or
discharged.
XJump-start the vehicle (Ypage 376).
If the engine does not start despite attempts to jump-start it:
XConsult a qualified specialist workshop.
The starter motor was exposed to a thermal load that was too high.
XTry to start the engine again.
If the engine still does not start:
XConsult a qualified specialist workshop.
The engine is not running
smoothly and is misfir-
ing.There is a malfunction in the engine electronics or in a mechanical
component of the engine management system.
XOnly depress the accelerator pedal slightly.
Otherwise, non-combusted fuel may get into the catalytic converter
and damage it.
XHave the cause rectified immediately at a qualified specialist work-
shop.
The coolant temperature
gauge shows a value
above 248 ‡ (120 †).The coolant level is too low. The coolant is too hot and the engine is no
longer being cooled sufficiently.
XStop as soon as possible and allow the engine and the coolant to
cool down.
XCheck the coolant level (Ypage 356). Observe the warning notes
as you do so and add coolant if necessary.
Driving169
Driving and parking
Z

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

Engaging reverse gear R
!Only shift the automatic transmission toR
when the vehicle is stationary.
XIf the transmission is in position Dor N: push
the DIRECT SELECT lever up past the first
point of resistance.
XIf the transmission is in position P: depress
the brake pedal and push the DIRECT SELECT
lever up past the first point of resistance.
The ECO start/stop function is not available
when reverse gear is engaged. Further informa-
tion on the ECO start/stop function
(
Ypage 166).
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.
XIf the transmission is in position Dor R: push
the DIRECT SELECT lever up or down to the
first point of resistance.
XIf the transmission is in position P: depress
the brake pedal and push the DIRECT SELECT lever up or down to the first point of resist-
ance.
If you switch the engine off with the transmis-
sion in position Ror D, the automatic transmis-
sion shifts to Nautomatically. With the SmartKey:
if you then open the driv-
er's door or the front-passenger door or remove
the SmartKey from the ignition, the automatic
transmission shifts to Pautomatically.
With the Start/Stop button: ifyou t
hen open
the driver's door or the front-passenger door,
the automatic transmission shifts to Pautomat-
ically.
If you want the automatic transmission to
remain in neutral N, e.g. when having the vehicle
cleaned in an automatic car wash with a towing system:
Using the SmartKey:
XSwitch on the ignition.
XDepress the brake pedal and keep it
depressed.
XShift to neutral N.
XRelease the brake pedal.
XRelease the electric parking brake.
XSwitch off the ignition and leave the SmartKey
in the ignition lock.
With the Start/Stop button:
XRemove the Start/Stop button from the igni-
tion lock.
XInsert the SmartKey into the ignition lock.
XSwitch on the ignition.
XDepress the brake pedal and keep it
depressed.
XShift to neutral N.
XRelease the brake pedal.
XRelease the electric parking brake.
XSwitch off the ignition and leave the SmartKey
in the ignition lock.
Engaging drive position D
XIf the transmission is in position Ror N: push
the DIRECT SELECT lever down past the first
point of resistance.
XIf the transmission is in position P: depress
the brake pedal and push the DIRECT SELECT lever down past the first point of resistance.
Automatic transmission171
Driving and parking
Z

Transmission position display
All vehicles (except Mercedes-AMG
vehicles)
The current transmission position and drive pro-
gram appear in the multifunction display.
:Transmission position
;Gear
=Drive program
The arrows in the transmission position display
show how and into which transmission positions
you can shift using the DIRECT SELECT lever.
If the transmission position display in the mul-
tifunction display is not working, you should pull
away carefully to check whether the desired
transmission position is engaged. Ideally, you
should select transmission position Dand drive
program E(for PLUG-IN HYBRID vehicles select
drive program E+) or S.
Mercedes-AMG vehicles
The current transmission position and drive pro-
gram appear in the multifunction display.
:Transmission position
;Drive program The arrows in the transmission position display
show how and into which transmission positions
you can shift using the DIRECT SELECT lever.
If the transmission position display in the mul-
tifunction display is not working, you should pull
away carefully to check whether the desired
transmission position is engaged. Ideally, you
should select transmission position Dand drive
program Cor S.
Transmission positions
BPark position
Only shift the transmission into posi-
tion Pwhen the vehicle is stationary
(
Ypage 189). The parking lock
should not be used as a brake when
parking. Always apply the electronic
parking brake in addition to the park-
ing lock in order to secure the vehi-
cle.
If the vehicle electronics are malfunc- tioning, the transmission may be
locked in position P. Have the vehicle
electronics checked immediately at a
qualified specialist workshop.
CReverse gear
Only shift the transmission into posi-
tion Rwhen the vehicle is stationary.
ANeutral
Do not shift the transmission to N
while driving. Otherwise, the auto-
matic transmission could be dam-
aged.
No power is transmitted from the
engine to the drive wheels.
Releasing the brakes will allow you to
move the vehicle freely, e.g. to push
it or tow it.
If ESP
®is deactivated or faulty: shift
the transmission to position Nif the
vehicle is in danger of skidding, e.g.
on icy roads.
!Rolling in neutral Ncan damage
the drive train.
7Drive
The automatic transmission changes
gear automatically. All forward gears
are available.
172Automatic 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