steering MERCEDES-BENZ S CLASS 2005 User Guide

42 Getting startedAdjustingThe buttons are located on the driver’s
door.
1 Driver’s side exterior rear view mirror
button
2Passenger-side exterior rear view mir-
ror button
3Adjustment button

Switch on ignition (
page 34).

Press button1 for the left mirror or
button2 for the right mirror.

Push adjustment button3 up, down,
left, or right according to the desired
setting.
For more information, see “Folding exteri-
or rear view mirrors in and out
automatically” (
page 188).
!For information on how to reposition
the exterior mirror housing when it was
forcibly pushed forward (hit from the
rear) or forcibly pushed rearward (hit
from the front), see “Folding exterior
rear view mirrors in and out manually”
(page 189).
iThe memory function (
page 128) lets
you store the setting for the exterior
rear view mirrors together with the set-
ting for the steering wheel and the seat
position.
At low ambient temperatures, the mir-
rors will be heated automatically.

50 Getting startedDrivingSwitching on headlamps
Low beam headlamps
The exterior lamp switch is located on the
dashboard to the left of the steering wheel.Exterior lamp switch1Off
2Low beam headlamps on
Turn the switch toB.
The green indicator lampC in the
exterior lamp switch comes on.
For more information, see “Exterior lamp
switch” (
page 131).High beam
The combination switch is located on the
left of the steering column.
Combination switch1High beam
2High beam flasher

Push combination switch in direction of
arrow1.
The high beam headlamps are switched
on.
The high beam headlamp
indicatorA in the tachometer
comes on.
For more information, see “Lighting”
(
page 131).

51 Getting started
Driving
Turn signals
The combination switch is located on the
left of the steering column.Combination switch1Turn signals, right
2Turn signals, left

Press the combination switch up1 or
down2.
The corresponding turn signal indicator
lampL orK flashes in the in-
strument cluster (
page 24).The combination switch resets automati-
cally after major steering wheel move-
ments.
iTo signal minor directional changes,
e.g. passing or changing lanes, move
combination switch to point of resis-
tance only and release. The turn signal
flashes three times.

52 Getting startedDrivingWindshield wipers
The combination switch is located on the
left of the steering column.Combination switch1Single wipe
2Switching on windshield wipers
Switch on ignition (
page 34).Switching on windshield wipers

Turn the combination switch to the de-
sired position depending on the inten-
sity of the rain.
0Windshield wipers off
IIntermittent wiping (interval depen-
dent on wetness of windshield)
IINormal wiper speed
IIIFast wiper speediIntermittent wiping interval is depen-
dent on wetness of windshield. After
the initial wipe, pauses between wipes
are automatically controlled by the rain
sensor.
!Do not leave windshield wipers in inter-
mittent setting when vehicle is taken to
an automatic car wash or during wind-
shield cleaning. Wipers will operate in
the presence of water sprayed on the
windshield, and wipers may be dam-
aged as a result.
The switch should not be left in inter-
mittent setting as the wipers will wipe
the windshield once every time the en-
gine is started. Dust that accumulates
on the windshield might scratch the
glass and/or damage the wiper blades
when wiping occurs on a dry wind-
shield.

55 Getting started
Parking and locking
Parking and locking
You have now completed your first drive.
You have properly stopped and parked
your vehicle. End your drive as follows.Warning!
G
With the engine not running, there is no
power assistance for the brake and the
steering systems. In this case, it is impor-
tant to keep in mind that a considerably
h i g h e r d e g r e e o f e f f o r t i s n e c e s s a r y t o b r a k e
and steer the vehicle.
Warning!
G
Do not park this vehicle in areas where com-
bustible materials such as grass, hay, or
leaves can come into contact with the hot
exhaust system, as these materials could be
ignited and cause a vehicle fire.
To reduce the risk of personal injury as a re-
sult of vehicle movement, before turning off
the engine and leaving the vehicle always:

Keep right foot on brake pedal.


Firmly depress parking brake pedal.


Move the gear selector lever to
positionP.


Slowly release brake pedal.


When parked on an incline, turn front
wheel towards the road curb.


Turn the SmartKey to starter switch
position0 and remove, or press
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button
(page 35).


Take the SmartKey or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* with you and lock vehicle
when leaving.

61 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Air bags
Warning!
G
In the event that the 1 indicator lamp
comes on during driving or does not come
on at all, the SRS self-check has detected a
malfunction. For your safety, we strongly
recommend that you visit an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center immediately to have
the system checked; otherwise the SRS may
not be activated when needed in an acci-
dent, which could result in serious or fatal
injury, or it might deploy unexpectedly and
unnecessarily which could also result in
injury.
In addition, improper repair work on the SRS
creates a risk of rendering the SRS inopera-
tive or causing unintended air bag deploy-
ment. Work on the SRS must therefore only
be performed by qualified technicians. Con-
tact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
Air bags are designed to reduce the poten-
tial of injury and fatality in certain frontal im-
pacts (front air bags), side impacts (side
impact air bags and head protection window
curtain air bags) or rollovers (head protec-
tion window curtain air bags). However, no
system available today can totally eliminate
injuries and fatalities.
The activation of the air bags temporarily re-
leases a small amount of dust from the
air bags. This dust, however, is neither inju-
rious to your health, nor does it indicate a
fire in the vehicle. The dust might cause
some temporary breathing difficulty for peo-
ple with asthma or other breathing trouble.
To avoid this, you may wish to get out of the
vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so. If you
have any breathing difficulty but cannot get
out of the vehicle after the air bag inflates,
then get fresh air by opening a window or
door.
Warning!
G
To reduce the risk of injury when the front
air bags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and passenger front to always be in a
properly seated position and to wear your
seat belts.
For maximum protection in the event of a
collision always be in normal seated position
with your back against the seat backrest.
Fasten your seat belt and make sure it is
properly positioned on your body.
Since the air bag inflates with considerable
speed and force, a proper seating and hands
on steering wheel position will help to keep
you at a safe distance from the air bag. Oc-
cupants who are unbelted, out of position or
too close to the air bag can be seriously in-
jured by an air bag as it inflates with great
force in the blink of an eye:

Sit properly belted in a nearly upright
position with your back against the seat
backrest.


62 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety

Adjust the driver seat as far as possible
rearward, still permitting proper opera-
tion of vehicle controls. The distance
from the center of the driver’s breast-
bone to the center of the air bag cover
on the steering wheel must be at least
10 in (25 cm) or more. You should be
able to accomplish this by a combina-
tion of adjustments to the seat and
steering wheel. If you have any prob-
lems, please see an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


Do not lean with your head or chest
close to the steering wheel or dash-
board.


Keep hands on the outside of steering
wheel rim. Placing hands and arms in-
side the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when driver front air bag inflates.


Adjust the front passenger seat as far as
possible rearward from the dashboard
when the seat is occupied.


Occupants, especially children, should
never lean their heads in the area of the
door where the side air bag inflates.
This could result in serious injuries or
death should the air bag be triggered.
Always sit nearly upright, properly use
the seat belts and appropriate size in-
fant or child restraint system.


Children 12 years old and under must
never ride in the front seat, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized
BabySmart
TM1
compatible child seat,
which operates with the BabySmart
TM
system installed in the vehicle to deacti-
vate the passenger front air bag when it
is properly installed. Otherwise they will
be struck by the air bag when it inflates
in a crash. If this happens, serious or fa-
tal injury will result.
Failure to follow these instructions can re-
sult in severe injuries to you or other occu-
pants.
If you sell your vehicle, it is important that
you make the buyer aware of this safety in-
formation. Be sure to give the buyer this Op-
erator's Manual.
1BabySmart
TM is a trademark of Siemens Automo-
tive Corp.
Warning!
G
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in an automobile is in the
rear seat. Should you choose to place a child
12 years old or under in the front passenger
seat of your vehicle, you must properly use
a BabySmart
TM child restraint which will
turn off the passenger front air bag.
BabySmart
TM will not, however, turn off any
side impact air bag.
It should be noted that with respect to both
front and rear side impact air bags there is a
possibility for a side air bag related injury if
occupants, especially children, are not prop-
erly seated or restrained when next to a side
air bag which needs to deploy rapidly in a
side impact in order to do its job.
To help avoid the possibility of injury, please
follow these guidelines:
(1) Occupants, especially children, should
never place their bodies or lean their
heads in the area of the door where the
side air bag inflates. This could result in


64 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetySafety guidelines for the seat belt,
emergency tensioning device and
air bagWarning!
G


Damaged seat belts or belts that were
highly stressed in an accident must be
replaced and their anchoring points
must also be checked. Use only belts in-
stalled or supplied by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


Air bags and pyrotechnic emergency
tensioning devices (ETDs) are designed
to function on a one-time only basis. An
air bag or ETD that was activated must
be replaced. PRE-SAFE has electrically
operated reversible pre-tensioners in
addition to the pyrotechnic ETDs.


No modifications of any kind may be
made to any components or wiring of
the SRS. This includes changing or re-
moving any component or part of the
SRS, the installation of additional trim
material, badges, etc. over the steering
wheel hub, passenger front air bag
cover, door trim panels, or door frame
trims, and installation of additional elec-
trical/electronic equipment on or near
SRS components and wiring. Keep area
between air bags and occupants free
from objects (e.g. packages, purses,
umbrellas, etc.).


Do not pass belts over sharp edges.
They could tear.


Do not make any modification that could
change the effectiveness of the belts.


Do not bleach or dye seat belts as this
may severely weaken them. In a crash
they may not be able to provide ade-
quate protection.


Do n o t h a ng i te ms su ch as c o at ha n ger s
from the coat hooks or handles over the
door. These items may turn into projec-
tiles and cause head and other injuries
when curtain air bag is deployed.


Never place your feet on the instrument
panel, dashboard, or on the seat. Always
keep both feet on the floor in front of the
seat.


Air bag system components will be hot
after the air bag has inflated. Do not
touch.


In addition, improper repair work on the
SRS creates a risk of rendering the SRS
inoperative or causing unintended
air bag deployment. Work on the SRS
must therefore only be performed by
qualified technicians. Contact an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.


For your protection and the protection
of others, when scrapping the air bag
unit or emergency tensioning device,
our safety instructions must be fol-
lowed. These instructions are available
from your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.


Given the considerable deployment
speed and the textile structure of the
air bags, there is the possibility of abra-
sions or other injuries resulting from
air bag deployment.

81 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
The - indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster (
page 24) comes on when you
switch on the ignition (
page 34). It goes
out when the engine is running.
Braking
At the instant one of the wheels is about to
lock up, a slight pulsation can be felt in the
brake pedal, indicating that the ABS is in
the regulating mode.

Keep firm and steady pressure on the
brake pedal while experiencing the pul-
sation.
Continuous, steady brake pedal pressure
yields the advantages provided by the ABS,
namely braking power and the ability to
steer the vehicle.
The pulsating brake pedal can be an indica-
tion of hazardous road conditions and
functions as a reminder to take extra care
while driving.Emergency brake maneuver

Keep continuous full pressure on the
brake pedal.
For more information, see “Practical hints”
(
page 337).
BAS
The Brake Assist System (BAS) operates in
emergency situations. If you apply the
brakes very quickly, the BAS automatically
provides full brake boost, thereby poten-
tially reducing the braking distance.
Apply continuous full braking pressure
until the emergency braking situation is
over.
The ABS will prevent the wheels from
locking.
When you release the brake pedal, the
brakes function again as normal. The BAS
is then deactivated.
Warning!
G
The ABS cannot prevent the natural laws of
physics from acting on the vehicle, nor can
it increase braking or steering efficiency be-
yond that afforded by the condition of the
vehicle brakes and tires or the traction af-
forded. The ABS cannot prevent accidents,
including those resulting from excessive
speed in turns, following another vehicle too
closely, or hydroplaning. Only a safe, atten-
tive, and skillful driver can prevent acci-
dents. The capabilities of an ABS equipped
vehicle must never be exploited in a reck-
less or dangerous manner which could jeop-
ardize the user’s safety or the safety of
others.
Warning!
G
If the BAS is malfunctioning, the brake sys-
tem is still functioning normally, but without
the additional brake boost available that
BAS would normally provide in an emergen-
cy braking maneuver. Therefore, the braking
distance may increase.

114 Controls in detailSeatsFor more information on seat adjustment,
see “Adjusting” (
page 37).
Easy-entry/exit feature
This feature allows for easier entry into and
exit from the vehicle.
The easy-entry/exit feature can be activat-
ed or deactivated in the
CONVENIENCE
sub-
menu of the control system (
page 170).When exiting the vehicle, with the easy-en-
try/exit feature activated and depending
on your selection, the steering wheel tilts
upwards and/or the driver’s seat moves a
few inches to the rear when you:


remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch,
or


open the driver’s door with the
SmartKey in starter switch position 0
or 1 or the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button (
page 35) in position 1.
Warning!
G
You must make sure no one can become
trapped or injured by the moving steering
wheel and driver’s seat when the easy-en-
try/exit feature is activated.
To cancel seat/steering wheel movement,
do one of the following:

Press seat adjustment switch
(page 38).


Move steering column stalk
(page 40).


Press one of the memory position but-
tons (
page 129).
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Children could open the driver’s door and
unintentionally activate the easy-entry/exit
feature, which could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.