warning lights MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS CABRIOLET 2011 User Guide

It may be best to deactivate ESP
®
in the fol-
lowing situations:
R when using snow chains
R in deep snow
R on sand or gravel G
WARNING
Activate ESP ®
as soon as the situations
describe dabove no longer apply. ESP ®
will
otherwis enot be abletos tabilise the vehicle
if the vehicle starts to skid or awhee lstarts
to spin.
When you deactivate ESP ®
:
R ESP ®
no longer improves driving stability.
R the engine's torque is no longer limited and
the drive wheels can spin. The spinning of
the wheels results in acutting action, which
provide sbetter grip.
R traction control is still activated.
R ESP ®
still provide ssupport when you
brake.
If ESP ®
is deactivated and one or more wheels
start to spin, the ÷ESP®
warning lamp in
the instrument cluster flashes. In such situa-
tions, ESP ®
willn ot stabilise the vehicle.
X To deactivate: (Ypage 223).
The å ESP®
OFF warning lamp in the
instrument cluster lights up. G
WARNING
ESP ®
is deactivated if the åwarning lamp
in the instrument cluster lights up continu-
ouslyw hen the engine is running.
If the ÷ warning lamp and åwarning
lamp are lit continuously, ESP ®
is not availa-
ble due to amalfunction.
There is an increased risk of yourv ehicle skid-
ding in certain situations.
You should alway sadapt your driving style to
suit the prevailing road and weather condi-
tions. X
To activate:(Y page 223).
The å ESP®
OFF warning lamp in the
instrument cluster goes out.
ESP ®
trailer stabilisation If your vehicle with trailer (vehicle/trailer
combination) begins to lurch, you can only
stabilise the vehicle/trailer combination by
depressing the brake firmly.
In this situation ,ESP ®
assists you and can
detec tifthe vehicle/trailer combination
begins to lurch. ESP ®
slows the vehicle down
by braking and limiting the engine output until
the vehicle/trailer combination has stabi-
lised.
Trailer stabilisation is active above speeds of
about 65 km/h. G
WARNING
If road and weather conditions are poor,
trailer stabilisation will not be able to prevent
the trailer from swerving and will thus be
unable to reduce the risk of an accident. Trail-
ers with ahigh centre of gravity can tip over
before ESP ®
can detect this.
Trailer stabilisation does not work if ESP ®
is
deactivated or disabled because of amal-
function. EBD (electronic brake force distribu-
tion)
i Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (Y page 61).
EBD monitors and controls the brake pres-
sure on the rear wheels to improve driving
stability while braking. G
WARNING
If EBD has malfunctioned, the braking system
remains available with full brake boosting
effect.H owever, the rear wheels can still lock,
e.g. under full braking. This could cause you
to lose control of your vehicle and cause an
accident .You should therefor eadapt your Driving safety systems
65Safety
Z

driving style to the differen
thandling charac-
teristics.
X Observ ethe note sonw arning and indicator
lamps (Y page 257) as well as display mes-
sages ( Ypage 234). ADAPTIV
EBRAKE
ADAPTIV EBRAKE enhances braking safety
and offers increased braking comfort. In addi-
tio ntot he brakin gfunction, ADAPTIVE BRAKE
alsoh as the HOLD function (Y page184) and
hills tart assist (Y page149). For further
information, see Driving tips (Y page167). PRE-SAFE
®
Brake
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake is only available in vehicles
with DISTRONIC PLUS.
i Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (Y page61).
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake can help you to minimise
the risk of afrontal collision with avehicle
ahead or reduce the effects of such acolli-
sion. If PRE-SAFE ®
Brake has detected arisk
of collision, you willbew arned visuallya nd
acoustically as wellasbya utomatic braking.
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake cannot prevent acollision
without youri ntervention.
Thi sfun ctio nwill issue awarnin gats peeds of
aroun d30k m/horm orei f:
R for aperiod of several seconds ,the dis-
tance to the vehicle in front is too shor tfor
the speed at which you are travelling. The
· distance warning lamp then lights up
in the instrument cluster.
R you are rapidly approaching the vehicle in
front.Ani ntermittent warning tonew ill
then sound and the ·distance warning
lamp will light up in the instrument cluster. X
Brake immediately in order to increase the
distance from the vehicle in front.
or
X Take evasive action provided it is safe to do
so.
If the driver and passengers have fastened
their seat belts, PRE-SAFE ®
Brake can also
can also perform the following at speeds of
above approximately 30 km/h:
R brake the vehicle automatically from a
speed of up to approximately 200 km/h
R trigger preventative passenger protection
measures (PRE-SAFE ®
)( Ypage 45)
Due to the nature of the system, particularly
complicated driving conditions may cause
unnecessary warnings or the unnecessary
intervention of PRE-SAFE ®
Brake. To end this,
you can either depress the accelerator pedal
further, activate kickdown or release the
brake pedal.
The braking action of PRE-SAFE ®
Brake is
ended automatically if:
R you drive slower than approximately
15 km/h.
R you manoeuvre to avoid the obstacle.
R there is no longer any danger of arear-end
collision.
R there is no longer an obstacle detected in
front of your vehicle.
With the help of the radar sensor system,
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake can detect obstacles that
are in front of your vehicle for an extended
period of time.
At speeds up to approximately 70 km/h,
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake may also detect stationary
obstacles, for example stopped or parked
vehicles.
If you approach an obstacle and PRE-SAFE ®
Brake detect sarisk of acollision, the system
will initially alert you both visually and acous-
tically. If you do not brake or take evasive
action, the system will warn you by automat-
ically braking the vehicle gently. If there is an
increased risk of collision, preventative 66
Driving safety systemsSafety

If you hear
awarning tone when you leave the
vehicle ,the lights may still be switched on.
X Turn the lights witchtoà .
Dipped-beam headlamps X
To switch on th edipped-bea mhead-
lamps: turnthe key in th eignitio nlock to
position 2or start th eengine.
X Turn th elight switch to L.
The L indicator lamp in th einstrument
cluster light sup.
Daytime driving lights You can activat
eordeactivat ethe daytime
driving light sfunction usin gthe on-board
compute r(Ypage 226).
X Daytime driving lights: activatethe day-
tim edriving light sfunction usin gthe on-
board computer.
X Turn th elight switch to Ã.
When th eengine is on: depending on the
ambien tlight conditions, the daytime driv-
ing light sorthe parking and dipped-beam
headlamps are switched on.
When the dipped-beam headlamps are
switched on, the Lindicator lamp in the
instrumen tcluster light sup.
Automatic headlam pmode X
To switch on automatic headlamp
mode: turnthe light switc htoÃ.
Key in position 1in the ignition lock :the
side lamps are switched on or off automat-
ically depending on the brightnes softhe
ambien tlight.
With the engine running: depending on the
brightnes softhe ambien tlight ,the daytime
drivin glights 8
or the dipped-beam head-
lamps are switched on or off automatically.
When the dipped-beam headlamps are
switched on, the Lindicator lamp in the
instrumen tcluster light sup. G
WARNING
If the light switc hisset to Ã,t he dipped-
beam headlamps will not com eonautomati-
cally if it is foggy. This could endanger you and
others. Therefore, tur nthe light switch to
L in fog.
The automatic headlamp feature is only an
aid. The driver is responsible for the vehicle's
lighting at all times.
Foglampsa nd rear foglamp Front foglamps
Only vehicles with front foglamps have the
"Foglamps" function.
G
WARNING
If you suspect that driving conditions will be
foggy, turn the light switch to Lbefore you
start your journey. Otherwise, your vehicle
may not be visible and you could endanger
yourself and others.
X To switch on the front foglamps: turn the
key in the ignition lock to position 2or start
the engine.
X Turn the light switch to T,Lor
Ã.
X Press the Nbutton.
The green Nindicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster lights up.
X To switch off the front foglamps: press
the N button.
The green Nindicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster goes out.
i If you switch the engine off (key in posi-
tion 1in the ignition lock) and then restart
it, the previous foglamp settings are
restored.
8 Only if daytime driving lights have been activated via the on-board computer. Exterior lighting
115Lights and windscreen wipers Z

X
To indicate briefly: press the combination
switch briefl ytothe pressure point in the
direction of arrow ;or?.
The corresponding tur nsignal flashes three
times.
X To indicate: press the combination switch
beyond the pressure point in the direction
of arrow ;or?.
Main-bea mheadlamps X
To switch on th emain-bea mhead-
lamps: turnthe key in the ignition lock to
position 2or start the engine.
X Turn the light switc htoLorÃ.
X Press the combination switc hbeyond the
pressure point in the direction of
arrow :.
In the Ãposition ,the main-beam head-
lamps are only switched on when it is dark
and the engin eisrunning.
The K indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up when the main-beam head-
lamps are switched on.
X To switch off the main-beam head-
lamps: move the combination switch back
to its normal position.
The K indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster goes out.
Headlamp flasher X
To switch on: turn the key in the ignition
lock to position 1or 2or start the engine.
X Pull the combination switch in the direction
of arrow =. Hazard warning lamps
The hazard warning lamps automatically
switch on if:
R
an airbag is deployed.
R the vehicle decelerates rapidly from a
speed of more than 70 km/ha nd comesto
as tandstill.
X To switc honthe hazard warning lamps:
press button :.
All tur nsignals flash. If you now switc hon
at urns ignal using the combination switch,
only the tur nsignal lamp on the corre-
sponding side of the vehicle will flash.
X To switch off th ehazar dwarning
lamps: press button :.
The hazar dwarnin glamps switc hoff auto-
matically if the vehicle reaches aspeed of
over 10 km/h again after full brak eapplica-
tion.
i The hazar dwarnin glamps still operat eif
the ignition is switched off. Exterior lighting
117Lightsand windscreen wipers Z

Active:
if you are driving at speeds below
70 km/h and you switch on th erear foglamp
Not active: if you are driving at speeds above
10 0k m/h or if you switch off the rear foglamp
following activation Adaptive Highbeam Assist
You can use this function to set the head-
lamp stoc hange between dipped beama nd
main beam automatically. The system recog-
nises vehicles with thei rlight son, either
approaching fro mthe opposite direction or
travelling in front of your vehicle, and conse-
quently switches the headlamps from main
beam to dipped beam.
The system automatically adapts the dipped-
beam headlamp range depending on the dis-
tance to the other vehicle. Once the system
no longer detects any other vehicles, it reac-
tivates the main-beam headlamps.
The system's optical sensor is located behind
the windscreen near the overhead control
panel. X
To activate: activate the Adaptive High-
beam Assist function using the on-board
computer (Y page 227).
X Turn the light switch to Ã.
X Press the combination switch beyond the
pressure point in the direction of arrow :
(Y page 116).
The _ indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up if it is dark and the light
sensor activates the dipped-beamh ead-
lamps.
If you are driving at speeds above
45 km/h:
the headlamp range is set automatically
depending on the distanc ebetween the
vehicle and other road users.
If you are driving at speeds above
55 km/ha nd no other road users are rec-
ognised:
the main-beam headlamps are switched on
automatically. The Kindicator lamp in
the instrument cluster also lights up.
If you are driving at speeds below
45 km/ho rother road users are recog-
nised or the roads are adequately lit:
the main-beam headlamps are switched off
automatically. The Kindicator lamp in
the instrument cluster goes out. The _
indicator lamp in the instrument cluster
stays on.
X To deactivate: move the combination
switch back to its normal position.
The _ indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster goes out. G
WARNING
Adaptiv eHighbeam Assist is only an aid
designed to assist driving. The driver is
responsible for adjustin gthe vehicle's lighting
to the prevailing light, vision and traffic con-
ditions. Exterior lighting
119Lights and windscreen wipers
Z

The interior lighting automatically switches
on if you:
R unlock the vehicle
R open adoor
R remove the key from the ignition lock
The interior light is activated for ashort while
when the key is removed from the ignition
lock. You can activat ethis delayed switch-off
using the on-board computer (Y page 228).
Manual interior lighting control X
To switch the interior lighting on/off:
press the cbutton.
X To switch the reading lamps on/off:
press the pbutton. Crash-responsive emergency lighting
The interior lighting is activated automatically
if the vehicle is involved in an accident.
X To switch off the crash-responsive
emergency lighting: press the hazard
warning lamp button.
or
X Lock and then unlock the vehicle using the
key. Changing bulbs
Important safety notes
Xenon bulbs If your vehicle is equipped with xenon bulbs,
you can recognise this by the following: the
cone of light from the xenon bulbs moves
from the top to the bottom and back again
when you start the engine. For this to be
observed, the lights must be switched on
before startingt he engine. G
DANGER
Xenon bulbs carry ahigh voltage. You could
get an electric shock and be seriously or even
fatally injured if you touch the electric con- tacts on xenon bulbs. Therefore, never
remove the cover from xenon bulbs.
Do not change xenon bulbs yourself, but have
them replaced at
aqualified specialist work-
shop which has the necessary specialist
knowledge and tools to carry out the work
required.
Mercedes-Ben zrecommends that you use a
Mercedes-Benz Service Centr efor this pur-
pose. In particular, work relevant to safety or
on safety-related systems must be carried out
at aq ualified specialist workshop.
Bulbs and lamps are an important aspect of
vehicle safety. You must therefore make sure
that these function correctly at all times.
Have the headlamp setting checked regularly.
Other bulbs There are bulbs other than the xenon bulbs
that you cannot replace. Replace only the
bulbs listed (Y
page 122). Have the bulbs that
you cannot replace yourself changed at a
qualified specialist workshop.
Mercedes-Benz recommends that you use a
Mercedes-Benz Service Centr efor this pur-
pose. In particular, work relevant to safety or
on safety-related systems must be carried out
at aq ualified specialist workshop.
If you require assistanc echangin gbulbs, con-
sult aqualified specialist workshop.
Do not touch the glass tube of new bulbs with
your bare hands. Even minor contamination
can burn into the glass surface and reduce
the servic elife of the bulbs. Always use alint-
free cloth or only touch the base of the bulb
when fitting.
Only use bulbs of the correct type.
If the new bulb still does not light up, consult
aq ualified specialist workshop.
Bulbs and lamps are an important aspect of
vehicle safety. You must therefore make sure
that these function correctly at all times.
Have the headlamp setting checked regularly. Changing bulbs
121Lights and windscreen wipers Z

G
WARNING
Bulb sand lights can become very hot. For this
reason, allow them to cool downb efore
changin gthem. Otherwise, you could burn
yourself when you touch them.
Keep bulbs out of the reach of children .Oth-
erwise, the ycould damage them, for example,
and injure themselves.
Never us eabulbw hich ha sbeend ropped.
Suc hab ulbm ayexplode and injure you.
Halogen bulb sarepressurised and could
explode when yo uchange them, especiall yif
the yarever yhot. Yo ushould therefore wear
eye protection and gloves when you are
changing them. Overview of bulb replacement
–bulbs
You can replace the following bulbs. The
details for the bul btype can be found in the
legend. Halogen headlamps
:
Dipped-bea mheadlamps 9
:H755W
; Main-beam headlamp: H7 55 W
= Side lamp/parkin glamp: W5W
? Turn signal lamp 9
:PY21W Bi-xenon headlamps
:
Cornering lamp: H7 55 W Changing the front bulbs
Dipped-beam headlamps (halogen
headlamps) Due to their location, have the bulbs in the
left-hand headlamp changed at
aqualified
specialist workshop, e.g. aMercedes-Benz
Service Centre.
X Switc hoff the lights.
X Open the bonnet.
X Turn housing cover :anti-clockwise and
pull it out.
X Turn bulb holder ;anti-clockwise and pull
it out.
X Take the bulb out of bulb holder ;.
X Inser tthe new bulb into bulb holder ;.
9 Due to their location, have the bulbs in the left-hand headlamp replaced at aqualified specialist workshop,
e.g. aMercedes-Ben zService Centre. 122
Changing bulbsLights and windscreen wipers

X
Turn the bulb anti-clockwise, applying
slight pressure, and remove it from bulb
holder :.
X Insert the new bulb into bulb holder :and
turn it clockwise.
X Insert bulb holder :into the lamp and turn
it clockwise. Windscreen wipers
Switching the windscreen wipers on/
off
G
WARNING
The windscreen will not longer be wiped prop-
erly if the wiper blades are worn. This could
prevent you from observing the traffic condi-
tions, thereby causing an accident .Replace
the wiper blades twice ayear, ideally in spring
and autumn.
! Do not operate the windscreen wipers
when the windscreen is dry, as this could
damage the wiper blades. Moreover ,dust
that has collected on the windscreen can
scratch the glass if wiping takes place when
the windscreen is dry.
! If the windscreen wipers leave smears on
the windscreen after the vehicle has been
washed in an automatic car wash, this may
be due to wax or other residue. Clean the
windscreen with washer fluid after an auto-
matic car wash. Combination switch
1
$ Windscreen wipers off
2 Ä Intermittentw ipe, low10
3 Å Intermittentw ipe, high11
4 ° Continuous wipe, slow
5 ¯ Continuous wipe, fast
B í Single wipe/ îTo wipe the
windscreen using washer fluid
X Turn the key to position 1or 2in the ignition
lock.
X Turn the combination switch to the corre-
spondin gposition.
! Intermittentw iping with rain sensor :due
to optical influences and the windscreen
becomin gdirty in dry weather conditions,
the windscreen wipers may be activated
inadvertently. This could damage the wind-
screen wiper blades or scratch the wind-
screen.
For this reason, you should alway sswitch
off the windscreen wipers in dry weather.
In the ÄorÅ position ,the appropriate
wiping frequenc yisset automatically accord-
ing to the intensity of the rain. In the Å
position ,the rain sensor is more sensitive
than in the Äposition ,causing the wind-
screen wiper to wipe more frequently.
10 Rain sensor set to low sensitivity.
11 Rain sensor set to high sensitivity. 124
Windscreen wipersLights and windscreen wipers

Replacing the wiper blades
Important safety notes G
WARNING
The wiper arm scould star tmoving and cause
an injury if you leave the windscreen wipers
switched on.
Remove the key from the ignition lock before
replacing the wiper blades.
! To avoid damaging the windscreen wiper
blades, make sure that you touch only the
wiper arm of the windscreen wiper.
! Never open the bonnet if awindscreen
wiper arm has been folded away from the
windscreen.
Never fold awindscreen wiper arm without
aw iper blade back ontot he windscreen.
Hold the windscreen wiper arm firmly when
you change the wiper blade. If you release
the windscreen wiper arm without awiper
blade and it falls ontot he windscreen, the
windscreen may be damaged by the force
of the impact.
Mercedes-Benz recommends that you have
the wiper blades replaced by aqualified
specialist workshop, e.g. at aMercedes-
Ben zServic eCentre.
Replacin gthe wiper blades Removing th
ewiper blades
X Remove th ekeyfrom th eignition loc kor
tur nthe key to position 0(KEYLESS-GO).
X Fold the wiper arm away from the wind-
screen until it engages.
X Set the wiper blade at right angles to the
wiper arm. X
Remove the wiper blade from the retaining
pin on the wiper arm in the direction of the
arrow.
Fitting the wiper blades
X Push the new wiper blade onto the retain-
ing pin on the wiper arm in the opposite
direction to the arrow.
Make sure that the wiper blade slides fully
onto the retaining pin on the wiper arm.
X Turn the wiper blade parallel to the wiper
arm.
X Fold the wiper arm back onto the wind-
screen. Problems with the windscreen wipers
The windscreen wipers are obstructed Leaves or snow, for example, may be
obstructing the windscreen wiper movement.
The wiper motor has been deactivated.
X For safety reasons, you should remove the
key from the ignition lock.
or
X Switch off the engine using the Start/Stop
button and open the driver's door.
X Remove the cause of the obstruction.
X Switch the windscreen wipers back on.
The windscreen wipers are inoperative The windscreen wiper drive is malfunctioning. Windscreen wipers
125Lights and windscreen wipers Z

Note
sonu sing THERMOTRONI Cauto-
matic climate control
Below ,you can find anumbe rofnotes and
recommendations to help you use
THERMOTRONIC automatic climate control
optimally.
R Activate climate control using the Ãand
¿ buttons. The indicator lamps above
the à and¿ button slight up. You
can also set the airflow and air distribution
of the automatic climate control to one of
three levels (FOCUS/MEDIUM/DIFFUSE).
You can set the desired level using button
G.T he MEDIUM level is recommended.
R Set the temperature to 22 †.
R Only use the demisting function briefly until
the windscreen is clear again.
R Only use air-recirculation mode briefly, e.g.
if there are unpleasant outside odours or
when in atunnel. The windows could oth-
erwise mist up, as in air-recirculation mode,
no fresh air is drawn into the vehicle.
R Use the ZONE function to adopt the tem-
perature settings on the driver's side for
the front-passenger side and the rear com-
partment as well. The indicator lamp above
the á button goes out.
R Use the residual heat function if you want
to heat or ventilate the vehicle interior
when the ignition is switched off. The resid-
ual heat function can only be activated or
deactivated with the ignition switched off. Operating the climate control system
Switching climate control on/off
Important information i
When climate control is switched off, the
air supply and air circulation are also
switched off. Only select this setting
briefly. Otherwise, the windows may mist
up. i
Switch on climate control primarily using
the à button (Y page 132).
Activating/deactivating X
Turn the key to position 2in the ignition
lock.
X To switch on: press theÃbutton.
The indicator lamp above the Ãbutton
lights up. Airflow and air distribution are set
to automatic mode.
or
X Press button ^.
The indicator lamp above the ^button
goes out. The previously selected settings
come into effect again.
X To switch off: press the^button.
The indicator lamp above the ^button
lights up. Activating/deactivating cooling with
air dehumidification
Important information The cooling with air dehumidification function
is only available when the engine is running.
The air inside the vehicle is cooled and dehu-
midified according to the temperature selec-
ted.
G
WARNING
If the "cooling with air dehumidification" func-
tion is deactivated, the air inside the vehicle
will not be cooled (during warm weather) or
dehumidified. The windows could mist up
more quickly. This may prevent you from
observing the traffic conditions, thereby caus-
ing an accident.
Condensation may drip from the underside of
the vehicle when THERMOTRONIC is in cool-
ing mode. This is normal and not asign that
there is amalfunction.
i The cooling with air dehumidification
function uses refrigerant R134a. This cool- Operating the climate control system
131Climatecontrol Z