MERCEDES-BENZ S55AMG 2005 W220 Owner's Manual

139 Controls in detail
Lighting
Courtesy lighting
For better orientation in the dark, courtesy
lamps will illuminate the interior of your ve-
hicle as follows:
With parking lamps switched on:

the door handles


the driver and passenger footwells
With the SmartKey in the starter switch
position1:


the door handles


the center console
Door entry lamps
For better orientation in the dark, the cor-
responding door entry lamps will switch on
in darkness when you open a door and the
automatic control is activated.
The door entry lamps switch off when the
corresponding door is closed.
Trunk lighting
The trunk lighting switches on if the trunk
lid is opened.
If you leave the trunk open for an extended
period of time, the trunk lighting will switch
off automatically after approximately
ten minutes.
iIf you turn the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position0 and switch off the
exterior headlamps, the door handle
lamps will remain lit for approximately
five minutes.
iIf you turn the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position0 and switch off the
exterior headlamps, the door entry
lamps will remain lit for approximately
five minutes.

140 Controls in detailInstrument clusterA full view illustration of the instrument
cluster can be found in the “At a glance”
section of this manual (
page 24).
1Reset buttonJ
The instrument cluster is activated when
you:


open a door


turn on the ignition


press the reset buttonJ1


switch on the exterior lamps
You can change the instrument cluster set-
tings in the instrument cluster submenu of
the control system (
page 163).
Instrument cluster illumination
1Knob for adjusting instrument cluster
illumination
Use knob1 to adjust the illumination
brightness for the instrument cluster.

Press knob1.
The knob will pop out.
To brighten illumination

Turn knob1 in the instrument cluster
clockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
brighten.
To dim illumination

Turn knob1 in the instrument cluster
counterclockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
dim.
iThe instrument cluster illumination is
dimmed or brightened automatically to
suit ambient light conditions.
The instrument cluster illumination will
also be adjusted automatically when
you switch on the vehicle’s exterior
lamps.

141 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
Coolant temperature gauge
During severe operating conditions,
e.g. stop-and-go traffic, the coolant tem-
perature may rise close to 248°F (120°C),
i.e. close to the red zone of the tempera-
ture gauge.
The engine should not be operated with
the coolant temperature above 248°F
(120°C), i.e. in the red zone of the coolant
temperature gauge. Doing so may cause
serious engine damage which is not cov-
ered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited War-
ranty.
Trip odometer
Make sure you are viewing the trip
odometer display.

If it is not displayed, press the è or
ÿ button on the multifunction
steering wheel repeatedly until the trip
odometer appears (
page 143).

Press and hold reset buttonJ
(page 140) until the trip odometer is
reset.
Warning!
G


Driving when your engine is badly over-
heated can cause some fluids which
may have leaked into the engine com-
partment to catch fire. You could be se-
riously burned.


Steam from an overheated engine can
cause serious burns and can occur just
by opening the hood. Stay away from
the engine if you see or hear steam com-
ing from it.
Turn off the engine, get out of the vehicle
and do not stand near the vehicle until the
engine has cooled down.
iExcessive coolant temperature triggers
a warning in the multifunction display
(page 359).

142 Controls in detailInstrument clusterTachometer
The red marking on the tachometer de-
notes excessive engine speed.
To help protect the engine, the fuel supply
is interrupted if the engine is operated
within the red marking.
S 55 AMG
The tachometer of the S 55 AMG does not
have a red marking denoting excessive en-
gine speed.
To help protect the engine, the fuel supply
is interrupted if the engine is operated at
an excessive engine speed.
Outside temperature indicator
The outside temperature is displayed in
the instrument cluster (
page 24). For in-
formation on how to select the unit of the
displayed temperature, i.e. degrees
Celsius (°C) or degrees Fahrenheit (°F),
see “Selecting temperature display mode”
(
page 163).
The temperature sensor is located in the
front bumper area. Due to its location, the
sensor can be affected by road or engine
heat during idling or slow driving. There-
fore, the accuracy of the displayed temper-ature can only be verified by comparison to
a thermometer placed next to the sensor,
not by comparison to external displays
(e.g. bank signs, etc.).
When moving the vehicle into colder ambi-
ent temperatures (e.g. when leaving your
garage), you will notice a delay before the
lower temperature is displayed.
A delay also occurs when ambient temper-
atures rise. This prevents inaccurate tem-
perature indications caused by heat
radiated from the engine during idling or
slow driving.
Clock
The time is indicated in the instrument
cluster in the tachometer display.
You can adjust the clock using the
COMAND system. Refer to separate
COMAND operating instructions.
!Avoid driving at excessive engine
speeds, as it may result in serious en-
gine damage that is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Warning!
G
The outside temperature indicator is not de-
signed to serve as an ice-warning device and
is therefore unsuitable for that purpose.
Indicated temperatures just above the freez-
ing point do not guarantee that the road sur-
face is free of ice. The road may still be icy,
especially in wooded areas or on bridges.

143 Controls in detail
Control system
Control system
The control system is activated as soon as
the SmartKey in the starter switch is
turned to position1 or as soon as the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button
(page 35) is in position1. The control
system enables you to:


call up information about your vehicle


change vehicle settings
For example, you can use the control sys-
tem to find out when your vehicle is next
due for service, to set the language for
messages in the instrument cluster dis-
play, and much more.
The control system relays information to
the multifunction display.
Multifunction display
1Trip odometer
2Main odometer
iThe displays for the audio systems (ra-
dio, CD player) will appear in English,
regardless of the language selected.
Warning!
G
A driver’s attention to the road and traffic
conditions must always be his/her primary
focus when driving.
For your safety and the safety of others, se-
lecting features through the multifunction
steering wheel should only be done by the
driver when traffic and road conditions per-
mit it to be done safely.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km/h), your vehicle is
covering a distance of 44 feet (approximate-
ly 14 m) every second.

144 Controls in detailControl systemMultifunction steering wheel
The displays in the multifunction display
and the settings in the control system are
controlled using the buttons on the multi-
function steering wheel.
1
Multifunction display in the speed-
ometerOperating the control system
2
Selecting the submenu or setting
the volumeæ
up/to increase
ç
down/to decrease
3
Telephone*s
to take a call
t
to end a call
4
Menu systemsè
for next menu
ÿ
for previous menu
5
Moving within a menuj
for next display
k
for previous display

145 Controls in detail
Control system
Pressing any of the buttons on the multi-
function steering wheel will alter what is
shown in the multifunction display.
The information available in the multifunc-
tion display is arranged in menus, each
containing a number of functions or sub-
menus.
The individual functions are then found
within the relevant menu (radio or CD op-
erations under
AUDIO
, for example). These
functions serve to call up relevant informa-
tion or to customize the settings for your
vehicle.It is helpful to think of the menus, and the
functions within each menu, as being ar-
ranged in a circular pattern.


If you press buttonè orÿ
repeatedly, you will pass through each
menu one after the other.


If you press buttonk orj
repeatedly, you will pass through each
function display, one after the other, in
the current menu.In the
SETTINGS
menu, instead of functions
you will find a number of submenus for
calling up and changing settings. For in-
structions on using these submenus, see
“Settings menu” (page 160).
The number of menus available in the sys-
tem depends on which optional equipment
is installed in your vehicle.
The menus are described on the following
pages.

146 Controls in detailControl systemMenusThis is what you will see when you scroll
through the menus.The table on the next page provides an
overview of the individual menus.

147 Controls in detail
Control system
Menus, submenus and functions
Menu1
Standard dis-
play
Menu2
AUDIO
Menu3
Telephone*
Menu4
NAVI
Menu5
Distronic*
Menu6
Trip computer
Menu7
Vehicle status
message memory
Menu8
Settings
(page 148)
(page 148)
(page 153)
(page 155)
(page 156)
(page 157)
(page 159)
(page 160)
Commands/submenusCall up mainte-
nance service
display
Select radio
station
Load phone
book
Activate
route guid-
ance
Call up set-
tings
Fuel consump-
tion statistics
after start
Call up vehicle mal-
function, warning
and system status
messages stored in
memory
Reset to fac-
tory settings
Check tire in-
flation pres-
sure*
Select satellite
radio station*
(USA only)
Search for
name in
phone book
Fuel consump-
tion statistics
since the last
reset
Instrument
cluster
submenu
Check engine
oil level
Select CD
track
Select
number last
dialed
Call up range
Lighting
submenu
Digital speed-
ometer
Select MP3-CD
track
Vehicle
submenuConvenience
submenu

148 Controls in detailControl system
Standard display menu
You can select the functions in the stan-
dard display menu with buttonk
orj.
The following functions are available:
Display digital speedometer
Press the j or k button repeat-
edly until you see the digital speedom-
eter appear in the multifunction
display.
The current vehicle speed is shown in
the multifunction display.
AUDIO menu
The functions in the
AUDIO
menu operate
the audio equipment which you currently
have turned on.
If no audio equipment is currently turned
on, the message
AUDIO OFF
is shown in the
multifunction display.
The following functions are available:
iThe headings used in the menus table
are designed to facilitate navigation
within the system and are not neces-
sarily identical to those shown in the
control system displays.
The first function displayed in each
menu will automatically show you
which part of the system you are in.
Function
Page
Call up maintenance service
display
329
Check tire inflation pres-
sure*
307
Check engine oil level
288
Call up digital speedometer
148
Function
Page
Select radio station
149
Select satellite radio* station
(USA only)
149
Select CD track
150
Select MP3-CD track
150