stop start MERCEDES-BENZ S-Class 2008 W221 Comand Manual

623 Operation
Vehicle care
Cleaning
Fold the wiper arms forward until they
snap into place.

Clean the wiper blade inserts with a
clean cloth and detergent solution.

Use a soft, clean cloth and a mild win-
dow cleaning solution on all outside
and inside glass surfaces.
An automotive glass cleaner is recom-
mended.Cleaning the panorama roof with
tilt/sliding panel*
The rear part of the tilt/sliding panel has a
protective layer on the inside.

Use a soft, clean cloth and a mild
window cleaning solution.
An automotive glass cleaner is recom-
mended.Light alloy wheels
If possible, clean wheels once a week.

Use Mercedes-Benz approved Wheel
Care, a soft bristle brush and a strong
spray of water for cleaning the light al-
loy wheels.
Warning!
G
For safety reasons, switch off wipers and re-
move SmartKey from starter switch (vehi-
cles with KEYLESS-GO*: Make sure the
vehicle’s on-board electronics have
status0) before cleaning the windshield
and/or the wiper blades. Otherwise, the
wiper motor could suddenly turn on and
cause injury.!
Do not pull on the wiper blade inserts. They
could tear.
!
Fold the windshield wiper arms back onto
the windshield before turning the SmartKey in
the starter switch or pressing the KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button (vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*).
Hold on to the wiper when folding the wiper arm
back. If released, the force of the impact from
the tensioning spring could crack the windshield.
!
To clean the window interior, do not use a
dry cloth, abrasives, solvents or cleaners con-
taining solvents. Do not touch the inside of the
front, rear or door windows with hard objects
such as an ice scraper or ring. Doing so may
damage the windows.
!
Do not use a dry cloth, abrasives, solvents
or cleaners containing solvents. Do not touch
the protective layer with hard objects such as an
ice scraper or ring. Never apply strong force and
only use a soft, non-scratching cloth when clean-
ing the rear part of the tilt/sliding panel.
Otherwise you may scratch or damage the pro-
tective layer.
!
Only use acid-free cleaning materials. Acid
may cause corrosion or damage the clear coat.
!
The vehicle should not be parked for an
extended period of time immediately after it has
been cleaned, especially not after the wheel rims
have been cleaned with wheel rim cleaner.
Wheel rim cleaners can lead to increased
corrosion of the brake disks and brake pads.
Non-approved wheel cleaners may also damage
the wheel paint if the car is not driven after
cleaning.

636 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Problem
Possible cause/consequence
Suggested solution
<
You hear a warning chime for a
maximum of 6 seconds after
starting the engine.
You have forgotten to fasten your seat belt.

Fasten your seat belt.
The warning chime stops sounding.
<
The red seat belt telltale comes
on while the vehicle is standing
still and the engine is running or
during driving.
You and/or your front passenger have for-
gotten to fasten your seat belts.

Fasten your seat belts.
The seat belt telltale goes out.
There are items placed on the front passen-
ger seat and therefore the system senses
the front passenger seat as being occupied.

Remove the items from the front pas-
senger seat and put them in a safe
place.
The seat belt telltale goes out.
<
During driving the red seat belt
telltale flashes and you addition-
ally hear an intermittent warning
chime with increasing intensity.
The vehicle’s speed once exceeded 15 mph
(25 km/h) and you and/or your front pas-
senger have forgotten to fasten your seat
belts.

Fasten your seat belts.
The seat belt telltale goes out and the
warning chime stops sounding.
There are items placed on the front passen-
ger seat and therefore the system senses
the front passenger seat as being occupied.

Remove the items from the front pas-
senger seat and put them in a safe
place.
The seat belt telltale goes out and the
warning chime stops sounding.
i
After 60 seconds with an unfastened seat
belt the warning chime stops sounding and the
seat belt telltale illuminates continuously.The seat belt telltale will only go out if both, the
driver and front passenger’s seat belt arefastened, or the vehicle is standing still and a
front door is opened.

639 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Warning!
G
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
should be checked monthly when cold and
inflated to the inflation pressure recom-
mended by the vehicle manufacturer on the
vehicle placard or the tire inflation pressure
label. (If your vehicle has tires of a different
size than the size indicated on the vehicle
placard or the tire inflation pressure label,
you should determine the proper tire infla-
tion pressure for those tires).
As an added safety feature, your vehicle has
been equipped with a tire pressure monitor-
ing system (TPMS) that illuminates a low tire
pressure telltale when one or more of your
tires is significantly under-inflated. Accord-
ingly, when the low tire pressure telltale illu-
minates, you should stop and check your
tires as soon as possible, and inflate them to
the proper pressure. Driving on a significant-
ly under-inflated tire causes the tire to over-
heat and can lead to tire failure.
Under-inflation also reduces fuel efficiency
and tire tread life, and may affect the vehi-
cle’s handling and stopping ability. Please
note that the TPMS is not a substitute for
proper tire maintenance, and it is the driv-
er’s responsibility to maintain correct tire
pressure, even if under-inflation has not
reached the level to trigger illumination of
the TPMS low tire pressure telltale.
USA only:
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a
TPMS malfunction indicator to indicate
when the system is not operating properly.
The TPMS malfunction indicator is com-
bined with the low tire pressure telltale.
When the system detects a malfunction, the
telltale will flash for approximately
one minute and then remain continuously
illuminated. This sequence will continue
upon subsequent vehicle start-ups as long
as the malfunction exists. When the mal-
function indicator is illuminated, the system
may not be able to detect or signal low tire
pressure as intended.
TPMS malfunctions may occur for a variety
of reasons, including the installation of
replacement or alternate tires or wheels on
the vehicle that prevent the TPMS from
functioning properly. Always check the
TPMS malfunction telltale after replacing
one or more tires or wheels on your vehicle
to ensure that the replacement or alternate
tires and wheels allow the TPMS to continue
to function properly.

657 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Shift to P or N
to Start Engine
You have attempted to start the engine
while the automatic transmission was set to
reverse gearR or drive positionD.

Shift the automatic transmission to park positionP or neutral
positionN (
page 426).
Tire Pressure Monitor
Inoperative
The Advanced TPMS or a wheel sensor is
malfunctioning.

Have the Advanced TPMS checked by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
Do not drive with a flat tire. A flat tire affects
the ability to steer or brake the vehicle. You
may lose control of the vehicle. Continued
driving with a flat tire will cause excessive
heat build-up and possibly a fire.
Follow recommended tire inflation pres-
sures.
Do not underinflate tires. Underinflated tires
wear excessively and/or unevenly, adverse-
ly affect handling and fuel economy, and are
more likely to fail from being overheated. Do
not overinflate tires. Overinflated tires can
adversely affect handling and ride comfort,
wear unevenly, increase stopping distance,
and result in sudden deflation (blowout) be-
cause they are more likely to become punc-
tured or damaged by road debris, potholes
etc.

660 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Symbol messagesDisplay
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Malfunction
Stop Vehicle!
You have started driving although the vehi-
cle level is still too low.
The vehicle is raised. The ABC* message
goes out after a few seconds.

Stop your vehicle as soon as it is safe to do
so.

Engage the electronic parking brake
(page 422).

Wait until the message disappears from the
multifunction display.
You may then drive off.
The vehicle is losing oil.
The ABC* message is continuously shown.

Stop your vehicle as soon as it is safe to do
so.

Engage the electronic parking brake
(page 422).

Call Roadside Assistance.
Or

Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.

676 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
STOP,
Car Too Low
You have started driving although the vehi-
cle level was too low.
The vehicle will be raised. The Airmatic
warning lamp goes out after several sec-
onds.

Stop your vehicle as soon as it is safe to do
so.

Engage the electronic parking brake
(page 422).

Wait until the message disappears from the
multifunction display.
You may then drive off.
STOP,
Car Too Low
The Airmatic is malfunctioning.
The Airmatic warning lamp lights up contin-
uously.

Stop and press the vehicle level control but-
ton to select a higher vehicle level
(page 468).

Do not turn steering wheel too far to avoid
damaging the front fenders.

Listen for scraping noises.

Do not exceed a speed of 50 mph (80 km/h).

Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center as soon as possible.
There is otherwise danger of an accident.

680 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?
During severe operating conditions,
e.g. stop-and-go traffic, the coolant tem-
perature may rise close to 248°F (120°C).
Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Coolant Low
Stop Vehicle
Turn Engine Off
The coolant is too hot.

Stop the vehicle in a safe location or as soon
as it is safe to do so and immediately turn off
the engine.

Engage the electronic parking brake
(page 422).

Only start the engine again after the message
disappears. You could otherwise damage the
engine.

Observe the coolant temperature gauge in
the instrument cluster (
page 28).
Warning!
G


Driving when your engine is overheated
can cause some fluids which may have
leaked into the engine compartment to
catch fire. You could be seriously
burned.


Steam from an overheated engine can
cause serious burns which can occur
just by opening the engine hood. Stay
away from the engine if you see or hear
steam coming from it.
Stop the vehicle in a safe location away from
other traffic. Turn off the engine, get out of
the vehicle and do not stand near the vehicle
until the engine has cooled down.
!
The engine should not be operated with the
coolant temperature above 248°F (120°C). Do-
ing so may cause serious engine damage which
is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited
Warranty.

682 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Coolant Low
Stop Vehicle
Turn Engine Off

Restart the engine.
If this message disappears from the multi-
function display:
Drive immediately to the nearest autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.
If this message does not disappear from the
multifunction display:

Call Roadside Assistance.
The cooling fan for the coolant is malfunc-
tioning.

Observe the coolant temperature gauge in
the instrument cluster (
page 28).

Have the fan replaced as soon as possible.
You are driving with one or more doors
open.
The display symbol shows you which doors
are open.

Close the doors.

684 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Key Not
Detected
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is not
recognized while the engine is running be-
cause the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is
not in the vehicle.

Stop the vehicle in a safe location or as soon
as it is safe to do.

Engage the electronic parking brake
(page 422).

Search for the SmartKey.
Otherwise the vehicle cannot be centrally
locked nor can the engine be started again
after the engine is stopped.
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is not
recognized while the engine is running be-
cause there is strong radio-frequency inter-
ference.

Stop the vehicle in a safe location or as soon
as it is safe to do.

Engage the electronic parking brake
(page 422).

Remove KEYLESS-GO* button from the
starter switch (
page 371).

Operate the vehicle with the SmartKey in the
starter switch.
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is mo-
mentarily not recognized.

Change the position of the SmartKey in the
vehicle.

If necessary, operate vehicle using SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO* in starter switch under
KEYLESS-GO* button (
page 371).

704 Practical hintsWhat to do if …?Display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Shift to P
You have attempted to turn off the engine
with the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button
and opened the driver’s door with the auto-
matic transmission not shift to park
positionP.

Shift the automatic transmission to park
positionP (
page 426).
or

Close the driver’s door.
You are driving with the trunk open.

Close the trunk (
page 512).
Check
Washer Fluid
The water level has dropped to approx.
1.1 US qts (1.0 l).

Add washer fluid (
page 580).