2020 MERCEDES-BENZ S-CLASS AMG Owner's Manual

#
Toactiv ate/ deacti vate:pr ess button 1.
If ind icatorlam p2 islit, manua lge arshif t‐
ing isact ivat ed. The current gear isdispla yed
in themultifunc tiondispla y.
% Toper manen tly shif tth ege arsman uallyin
dr ive pr og ram = using thesteer ing wheel
ge arshif tpaddles ,selec tth eM (Manual) set‐
ting forth etra nsmiss ion.
* NO
TEDama getotheengine duetoshif t‐
ing uptoolat e The
automatic transmission doesnotshif tup
in manual modeeven when theengine' slim‐
iting speed isreac hed.
The fuel suppl yis int erru pte din order topre‐
ve nt theengine from overrev ving. #
Shif tup bef oreth eengine speedrea‐
ch es there dar ea intheta ch ome ter. #
Toshif tup: pull steer ing wheel gearshif t
paddle 2. #
Toshif tdo wn: pullsteer ing wheel gearshif t
paddle 1. If
th eengine speedistoohigh ortoolow, you
canno tch ang ege ar usin gth esteer ing wheel
ge arshif tpaddles .In this case, segme nts1
light upred. Gear
shiftre comm endation The
gearshif tre comme ndation assists youin
adop tingan eco nomic aldrivin gst yle. #
Ifge arshif tre comme ndation mess age1 is
sho wnonthemultifunc tiondispla y,shif tto
th ere comme ndedgear. Dr
ivin gand parking 15

%
Gear shiftre comme ndation isacti veonl yif
yo uha ve act ivat ed man ualgearshif tingwit h
th ebutt ononthecent ercon sole. Using
kickdo wn #
Maxim umacceler ation:depresstheaccel‐
er ator pedal beyond thepr essur epoint .
The automatic transmiss ionshiftsup tothene xt
ge ar when themaximum enginespeedis
re ac hed toprotect theengine from overrev ving.
% Ifyo uha ve act ivat ed man ualgearshif ting
wit hth ebutt oninthecent ercon sole, the
tr ans missi on does notre act tothekic k‐
do wn. Dr
iving anddriving safetysy stems Fu
nction ofESP ®
(Electr onicStabil ityPro‐
gr am) &
WARNIN GRisk ofskid ding ifESP ®
is
mal functi oning
If ESP ®
is mal functi oning,ESP ®
canno tcar ry
out vehicle stabiliz ation.Inaddit ion,ot her
dr iving safetysy stems areswitc hedoff. #
Drive on car efull y. #
Have ESP ®
ch eckedat aqu alif ied spe‐
cialis two rkshop. Yo
ucan selectbetween thefo llo wing modes of
ES P®
:
R ESP®
on
R SPO RThandling modeon
R ESP ®
of f Char
acteristics when ESP®
is activ ated
ESP ®
monit orsand improv es driving stabilit yand
tr act ion,par ticular lyin thefo llo wing situat ions:
R When pulling away on wetor slip pe ry road‐
wa y.
R When braking.
R Instro ng side winds when youar edr ivin g
fa ster than 43 mph(7 0km/h).
ESP ®
can stabiliz eth eve hicle byinterve ning in
th efo llo wing ways:
R One ormor ewheels arebr ak ed.
R The engine outputisadap tedaccor dingto
th esituation .
ES P®
is activ ated everytime theengine isstar‐
te d, rega rdless ofwhe ther ESP®
wa sin SPOR T
handling modeorwa sdeactiv ated bef oreth e
engine wasswitc hedoff.
ESP ®
is int erve ning ifth eES P®
00E5 warning
lam pflashes intheins trument cluster:
R Donotde acti vate ESP ®
. 16
Driving and parking

R
Onlydepr esstheaccelera torpeda las faras
is necessar y.
R Adaptyo ur drivin gst yle to suit thecur rent
ro ad and weather condition s.
Cha racter istics ofact ivat ed SPOR Tha ndl ing
mod e &
WARNIN GRisk ofskid ding dueto inc or‐
re ct applica tion ofSPOR Tha ndli ngmod e
Whe nyo uact ivat eSP OR Than dlingmod e,
th er eis an incr eased risk ofskidding and
ha ving anaccident. #
Onlyactiv ateSPOR Thandling modein
th ecir cums tances descr ibed asfollo ws . Sel
ect SPOR Tha ndl ing mod ewh en theve hicle's
ow nov ersteer ing and under steer ing charact eris‐
tic sar edesir ed,forex am ple when drivin gon
spec iallydesig natedroads.
On lyahigh lyqu alif ied and exper ienced driver
should drive in SPOR Thandling modeorwit h
ES P®
deactiv ated. If
SPOR Thandling modeisactiv ated and one or
mor ewheels star tto spin, the00E5 ESP®
wa rn‐
ing lam pin theins trument clusterflashes .ES P®
th en onlyst abiliz estheve hicle toalimit ed
deg ree.
If SPOR Thandling modeisactiv ated:
R ESP®
onl yim prov es driving stabilit yto alimi‐
te ddeg ree.
R ETS/4 ETStra ction control isstill act ive.
R The engin e'storq ue ison lyrestrict ed toa
limit eddegr eeand thedr ive wheels canspin.
The spinn ingofthewheels results inacut‐
ting action forbe tter traction onloose surfa‐
ces.
R ESP ®
continu estoprov ide assis tance when
th ebr ak es arefirm lyapplied .
Cha racter istics when ESP®
is dea ctiv ated &
WARNIN GRisk ofskid ding ifESP ®
is
dea ctivated
If yo udeac tivateES P®
,ES P®
can notcar ry
out vehicle stabiliz ation. #
ESP®
shoul don lybe deactiv ated inthe
fo llo wing situat ions. ES
P®
is deact ivat ed ifth e00BB ESP®
OFF warn‐
ing lam plight sup con tinuousl yin theins trument
clus ter:
R Driving stabilit ywill nolongerbe improve d.
R Crosswind Assistis no long eractiv e.
R The drive wheels couldspin.
R ETS/4 ETStra ction control isstill act ive.
% Even when ESP®
is deact ivat ed, youar est ill
assis tedby ESP ®
wh en braki ng hard.
In thefo llo wing situat ions,it ma ybe better to
act ivat eSPO RThandling modeordeactiv ate
ESP ®
:
R When usingsnowch ains .
R Indeep snow .
R Onsand orgrave l.
% Spin ningth ewheels results inacutting
action whichpr ov ides better grip. Dr
ivin gand parking 17

%
ActivateESP ®
as soo nas thesituation s
descr ibedaboveno long er apply .ESP ®
wi ll
ot her wise notbe able tostabiliz eth eve hicle
if th eve hicle star ts to skid orawheel star ts
to spin.
If th e00E5 ESP®
wa rning lam plight sup con tinu‐
ousl y,ESP ®
is no tav ailable duetoamalf unction.
Obse rvean yinf ormation whichma ybe displa yed
in theins trument cluster:
R Warning and indic ator lam ps
R Disp lay mess ages
ET S/4ET S(Electr onicTractio nSy stem)
ET S/ 4ETS tracti oncontr olispa rtof ESP ®
.
ET S/4 ETScan improv eth eve hicle's traction by
int erve ning inthefo llo wing ways:
R The drive wheels arebr ak ed individually if
th ey spin.
R Mor edr ive to rq ue istrans ferred tothewheel
or wheels withtraction . Ac
tiv atin g/deac tivatin gES P®
(E lectr onicSta‐
bil ity Prog ram) #
Toactiv ateSPORT handlingmode: brief ly
pr ess butt on1.
The . SPORThandling modewarning
lam pin theins trument clusterlig hts up. The
SPORT handlingmode messa geappear sin
th emultifunc tiondispla y. #
Todeac tivateSPO RThandl ingmode :
br iefly pr ess button1.
The . SPORTha ndl ing mod ewa rning
lam pin theins trument clustergoes out. #
Todeac tivateES P®
:pr ess and holdbu tton
1 unti lth e00BB warning lam plight sup.
The 00E5 OFFmes sageappear sin themulti‐
func tion displa y. #
Toactiv ateESP ®
:br ief lypress butt on1.
The 00BB warning lam pin theins trument
clus tergoes out.
Obser vetheinf ormation onwarning lam psand
displa ymess ages whic hma ybe sho wninthe
ins trumen tclus ter. RA
CE START Fu
nction ofRA CE START
RA CE STAR Tena bles optima lve hicle acceler a‐
tion from ast ands till.Fo rth is, asuit ablyhigh-
gr ip road sur face isrequ ired, thetir es and vehi‐
cle mus talso beingood condition.
% RACE STAR Tis only available afte rth eve hi‐
cle has been brok en in(/ page11 ). 18
Driving and parking

%
RACE STAR Tma yno tbe used on nor mal
ro ads. RACE STAR Tmu stonl ybe activ ated
and used ondedicat edrace circui ts, noton
pu blic roads.
Be sureto read thesaf etyno tesand infor‐
mation onESP ®
(/ page16 ). &
WARNIN GRisk ofskid ding and having
an acci dent from whe elsspi nning
Whe nyo uuse RACE STAR T,indiv idual wheels
could spinandyouco uld lose contro lof the
ve hicle.
Depending ontheES P®
mode selected,ther e
is an incr eased risk ofskidding andhaving an
accident. #
Mak esur eth at no per son sor obs tacles
ar ein theclose vicinit yof your vehicle. Ac
tiv atin gRA CE STAR T
Re quirement s:
R The door s,thehood andthetrunk lidare
closed. R
The engine isrunning andthetra nsmiss ion
and engine areat nor mal oper ating temp era‐
tur e.
R The steer ing wheel isin thest ra ight -ahead
posit ion.
R The vehicle ison leve lgr ound.
R The vehicle isstatio nary,thebr ak epedal is
depr essed (leftfo ot )and thepar king brak eis
re leased.
R The transmiss ionisin posit ion005B.
R One ofthedr ive pr ogr ams C, Bor
I isselect ed(/ page13 ). #
Rapidl ydepr esstheacceler ator pedal fully.
The engine speedincreases.
% Ifth eactiv ation conditions areno tfulf illed,
RA CE STAR Tcanno tbe acti vated. The RACE
STA RTNot Possible SeeOperator 'sManual
messag eappear sin themultifunc tiondis‐
pla y. #
The RACE START Release braketostart mes‐
sag eappear sin themultifunc tiondispla y. %
Inthis phase youcan adjustRA CE STAR T
de pendi ng on thero ad con dition s:youcan
va ry theengine speedbypulling onone of
th esteer ing wheel paddle shifters.The seg‐
ments inthemultifunc tiondispla yflic ke r
ra pidly .
% Ifth ebr ak epedal isno tre leased afte ra
shor twhi le,RACE STAR Tis cance led. The
RAC ESTAR TCa ncel edmes sage appear sin
th emultifunc tiondispla y. #
Take your foot offth ebr ak e, but keep the
acc elerat orpedal depresse d.
The vehicle pullsaway atmax imum acceler a‐
tio n.The RACE STARTActivemes sage
appear sin themultifunc tiondispla y.
RA CE STAR Tis de acti vatedwhen theve hicle rea‐
ch es aspeed ofappr oximat ely31 mp h
(50 km/ h).
RA CE STAR Tis de acti vatedimmediat elyif yo u
re lease theacceler ator pedal during RACE
ST AR Tor ifan yof theactiv ation conditions are
no long erfulf illed. TheRACE STARTCanceled
messag eappear sin themultifunc tiondispla y. Dr
iving and parking 19

%
Afterusi ng itse veraltim esinshor tsucc es‐
sion ,RA CE STAR Tis una vailable untila cer ‐
ta in dis tance hasbe en driven. AM
Gadap tivespo rtsuspension system Fu
nction oftheAMG adaptiv espor tsusp en‐
sion system
The AMG adaptivespor tsuspen sionsystem is
an air suspension system withva riable damping
fo rim prove ddr iving charact eristic s.The all-
ro und leve lcon trol system ensur esthebes tpos‐
sible suspension andconstant groun dcle aranc e,
eve nwi th aladen vehicle. When driving at speed,
theve hicle islowe redaut omatic allyto
im prov edr iving safetyand toreduce fuelcon‐
sum ption. Youalso have theop tion ofmanuall y
adjus tingtheve hicle leve l.
The dam ping issetindiv iduall yfo reac hwhee l
and isaffect ed bythefo llo wing fact or s:
R The drivi ng style, e.g. spor ty
R The road con dition ,e.g .bum ps
R The individual selectionof thedr ive pr ogr am:
A (Comf ort), C (Sport)or B (Sport
+)
The AMG adaptivespor tsuspension system
com prises:
R Airsuspension forgr ound clearance irre spec‐
tiv eof load R
Automatic leve lcon trol system
R Speed-depen dentlowe ring toreduce fuel
con sum ption
R Manuall yselec table high leve lse tting for
gr ea tergr ound clearance
R ADS PLUS (Ada ptive Dam ping System with
con stant dam pingfo rc eadjus tment)
R DYNA MIC SELE CTswitc hand leve lbutt on
R Suspen sionsetting butt on 20
Drivin gand parking

Av
ailab lesuspe nsion settings Dr
ive pr og ramC haracteristics
A (Comfort) R
The susp ension setting iscomf ortable.
R The vehicle issetto thenor mal leve l.
R When drivin gat speeds above77 mph(125 km/h) theve hicle islowe red.
R When driving atspeeds below50 mph(80 km/h) theve hicle israised again.
R 4MA TIC+ isdynamic allysync hroniz ed.
C (Sport) R
The suspen sionsetting isfirm er.
R The vehicle issetto thenor mal leve l.
R When drivin gat speeds above77 mph(125 km/h) theve hicle islowe red.
R When driving atspeeds below50 mph(80 km/h) theve hicle israised again.
R 4MA TIC+ isdynamic allysync hroniz ed.
B (SportPlus)
I (RACE) R
The suspen sionsetting iseve nfirm er.
R The vehicle issetto thenor mal leve l.
R When drivin gat speeds above77 mph(125 km/h) theve hicle islowe red.
R When driving atspeeds below50 mph(80 km/h) theve hicle israised again.
R 4MA TIC+ ismor edynamic allysync hroniz ed. Dr
ivin gand parking 21

Selec
tingtheAMG adaptiv espor tsusp en‐
sion system setting #
COMF ORTsusp ension setting: press but‐
to n1 repeat edly until indicat orlam ps2
and 3goout.
The AMG Suspens ionSystem COMFORT
messag eappear sin themultifunc tiondis‐
pla y. The
driving charact eristic sof your vehicle are
comf ortable. #
SPOR Tsuspension setting: press butt on
1 repeat edlyuntil indicat orlam p3 lights
up.
The AMG Suspens ionSystem SPORTmes‐
sag eappear sin themultifunc tiondispla y.
The suspension isadap tedto be firm er. #
SPOR T+suspension setting: press butt on
1 repeat edlyuntil indicat orlam ps2 and
3 light up.
The AMG Suspens ionSystem SPORT+mes‐
sag eappear sin themultifunc tiondispla y.
The suspension isadap tedto be very firm .
Se tting theve hicl eleve l &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent because
ve hicle leve lis toohigh
If yo udr ive at ahigh ervehicle leve l,th edr iv‐
ing charact eristic sma ybe impair eddue to
th ehigher vehicle centerofgrav ity .
The vehicle candrift outw ards, forex am ple,
when steer ing orcor ner ing. #
Alw aysch oose ave hicle leve lwhic his
suit edtothedr iving style and thero ad
sur face condi tions. &
WARNIN GRisk ofentr apment from vehi‐
cle lowe ring
Whe nlowe ring theve hicle, people could
become trapped ifth eir limbs arebe tween
th eve hicle body andthetir es orunder neath
th eve hicle. #
Mak esur eno one isunder neathth e
ve hicle orintheimmediat evicin ityof
th ewheel arch es when theve hicle is
being lowe red. &
WARNIN GRisk ofbeco ming trap ped
du eto theve hicle lowe ring
Ve hicl eswith AIRBO DY CONT ROLor
le ve lcontr olsystem: when youunlo adlug‐
ga ge orlea vetheve hicle, theve hicle firs t
ri ses slightly andthen retur ns tothese tle ve l
shor tly af te rw ards. 22
Drivin gand parking