air condition MERCEDES-BENZ S550 4MATIC 2008 W221 User Guide
[x] Cancel search | Manufacturer: MERCEDES-BENZ, Model Year: 2008, Model line: S550 4MATIC, Model: MERCEDES-BENZ S550 4MATIC 2008 W221Pages: 761
Page 420 of 761
419 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Driving systems
The driving systems of your vehicle are de-
scribed on the following pages:
Cruise control (page 419) and
DISTRONIC Plus*(
page 424), with
which the vehicle can maintain a preset
speed.
Airmatic (page 440) (S 550 only) and
ABC* (
page 442) adjust the vehicle
suspension characteristics automati-
cally and control the vehicle level.
Parktronic* (page 444) and Park As-
sist* (
page 448), which serve as a
parking assistant.
Dynamic Rear View Monitor*
(
page 453) is an electronic and visu-
al parking aid.
Night View Assist* (page 461) illumi-
nates the road with infrared light in ad-
dition to the normal headlamps.
For information on the ABS, Adaptive
Brake, BAS, BAS Plus*, EBP, ESP
® and
PRE-SAFE® Brake*, see “Driving safety
systems” (
page 66).
Cruise control
The cruise control automatically maintains
the speed you set for your vehicle.
The use of the cruise control is recom-
mended for driving at a constant speed for
extended periods of time.
You can set or resume the cruise control at
any speed over 20 mph (30 km/h).
The cruise control function is operated by
means of the cruise control lever.
Warning!G
The cruise control is a convenience system
designed to assist the driver during vehicle
operation. The driver is and must always re-
main responsible for the vehicle’s speed and
for safe brake operation.
Only use the cruise control if the road,
traffic, and weather conditions make it ad-
visable to travel at a steady speed.
The use of the cruise control can be dan-
gerous on winding roads or in heavy traf-
fic because conditions do not allow safe
driving at a steady speed.
The use of the cruise control can be dan-
gerous on slippery roads. Rapid changes
in tire traction can result in wheel spin
and loss of control.
Deactivate the cruise control when driv-
ing in fog.
The “Resume” function should only be oper-
ated if the driver is fully aware of the previ-
ously set speed and wishes to resume this
particular preset speed.
Page 427 of 761
426 Controls in detail
Driving systems
DISTRONIC Plus does not act upon adverse
sight distance conditions. Do not use
DISTRONIC Plus during conditions of fog
and heavy rain, snow or sleet.
Warning!G
DISTRONIC Plus cannot take weather condi-
tions into account. Switch off
DISTRONIC Plus or do not turn it on if:
roads are slippery or covered with snow
or ice. The wheels could lose traction
while braking or accelerating, and the
vehicle could skid.
the sensor is dirty or visibility is
diminished due to snow, rain or fog. The
distance control could be impaired.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions
even while DISTRONIC Plus is switched on.
Otherwise, you may not be able to recognize
dangerous situations until it is too late and
could cause an accident resulting in person-
al or fatal injury to you or others.
Warning!G
The “Resume” function should only be oper-
ated if the driver is fully aware of the previ-
ously set speed and wishes to resume this
particular preset speed.
Warning!G
Close attention to road and traffic condi-
tions is imperative at all times, regardless of
whether or not DISTRONIC Plus is activated.
Use of DISTRONIC Plus can be dangerous
on winding roads as conditions do not allow
safe driving at a steady speed.
DISTRONIC Plus may not react to stationary
objects in the roadway (e.g. a stopped vehi-
cle in a traffic jam or a disabled vehicle).
DISTRONIC Plus will also not respond to on-
coming vehicles.
Switch off DISTRONIC Plus:
when changing from the left to the right
lane if vehicles are moving more slowly
in the left lane
when entering a turn lane or highway off
ramp
in complex driving situations, such as in
highway construction zones
In these situations, DISTRONIC Plus will
continue to maintain the set speed unless
deactivated.
DISTRONIC Plus is designed and intended
only to maintain a set speed and keep a set
distance from moving objects in front of it.
iDo not use DISTRONIC Plus if you are driv-
ing on a road with steep uphill or downhill slopes.
iDue to its radar-emitting nature DISTRONIC
Plus may have an appearance similar to a radar
detector to law enforcement officials. You may
want to refer to this section of your Operator’s
Manual when asked.
Page 441 of 761
440 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Obstacles and stationary vehicles
DISTRONIC Plus does not brake for obsta-
cles or stationary vehicles. If, for example,
the vehicle detected in front of you chang-
es lanes to bypass an obstacle or station-
ary vehicle in front of it, DISTRONIC Plus
will not brake for the obstacle or stationary
vehicle.Cross-traffic
DISTRONIC Plus may inadvertently detect
crossing vehicles. If you switch on DIS-
TRONIC Plus, for example, at a traffic light
with cross-traffic, the vehicle may sudden-
ly start to drive off.Airmatic (S 550 only)
Airmatic automatically selects the opti-
mum suspension tuning and ride height for
your vehicle.
Airmatic consists of two components:
Level control system
Adaptive Damping System (ADS)
The ADS automatically selects the opti-
mum damping for the respective driv-
ing conditions. At the same time the
suspension is set to either sporty or
comfort.
Page 442 of 761
441 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Vehicle level control with Airmatic
Your vehicle automatically adjusts its ride
height to:
increase vehicle safety
reduce fuel consumption
The vehicle chassis ride height is raised or
lowered according to the selected level
setting and to the vehicle speed:
With increasing speed, ride height is re-
duced by up to approximately 0.8 in
(20 mm).
With decreasing speed, the ride height
is again raised to the selected vehicle
level.The following vehicle level settings can be
selected when the vehicle is stationary:
Select the “Raised” level setting only when
required by current driving conditions.
Otherwise:
Fuel consumption may increase.
Handling may be impaired.1Vehicle level control switch
2Indicator lamp
Start the engine.
Briefly press switch1 to change from
one level setting to the other.
The message:
“Vehicle rising”
appears in the multifunction display
when changing from normal level to
raised level.
The indicator lamp2 is then lit. The
display switches off when the vehicle is
raised.
Warning!G
To help avoid personal injury, keep hands
and feet away from wheel housing area, and
stay away from under the vehicle when low-
ering the vehicle chassis.
iThese height adjustments are so small that
you may not notice any change.
Level
NormalFor driving on normal roads.
The indicator lamp is off.
RaisedFor driving on rough roads or
with snow chains. The indica-
tor lamp is on.
Page 444 of 761
443 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Vehicle level control with ABC
Your vehicle automatically adjusts its ride
height to:
increase vehicle safety
reduce fuel consumption
The vehicle chassis ride height is raised or
lowered according to the selected level
setting and to the vehicle speed:
With increasing speed, ride height is re-
duced by up to approximately 0.6 in
(15 mm).
With decreasing speed, the ride height
is again raised to the selected vehicle
level.
The following vehicle level settings can be
selected when the vehicle is stationary:
Select the “Raised” level setting only when
required by current driving conditions.
Otherwise:
Fuel consumption may increase.
Handling may be impaired.1Vehicle level control switch
2Indicator lamp
Selecting a higher level
Start the engine.
If indicator lamp2 is off:
Press switch1.
Indicator lamp2 comes on. The vehi-
cle is raised to a higher level.
iS63AMG and S65AMG only:
When you switch off the engine, the entire vehi-
cle is lowered by 0.2 in (5 mm).
Warning!G
To help avoid personal injury, keep hands
and feet away from wheel housing area, and
stay away from under the vehicle when low-
ering the vehicle chassis.
iThese height adjustments are so small that
you may not notice any change.
Level
NormalFor driving on normal roads.
The indicator lamp is off.
RaisedFor driving on rough roads or
with snow chains. The indica-
tor lamp is on.
iThe selected vehicle level setting remains
stored in memory even if the engine is turned off
and restarted.
Page 471 of 761
470 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
The automatic climate control is operation-
al whenever the engine is running. You can
operate the climate control system in ei-
ther the automatic or manual mode. The
system cools or heats the interior depend-
ing on the selected interior temperature
and the current outside temperature.
It can only function optimally when you are
driving with the windows and the tilt/slid-
ing sunroof/panorama sunroof* closed.
It is possible to completely deactivate the
climate control system (
page 471). Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air en-
ters the passenger compartment through
the air distribution system.The following automatic climate control
functions can be operated via COMAND:
iIf you have the air distribution and air vol-
ume automatically controlled, you can adjust the
temperature, footwell temperature and air flow.
The following basic settings are recommended:
Automatic air distribution control
(
page 469)
Temperature: 72°F (22°C) (page 472)
Footwell temperature: 0 (page 255)
Air flow: focused (page 256)
Warning!G
Follow the recommended settings for heat-
ing and cooling given on the following pages
and in the “COMAND automatic climate
control” section (
page 251). Otherwise
the windows could fog up, impairing visibili-
ty and endangering you and others.
iSevere conditions (e.g. strong air pollution)
may require replacement of the filter before its
scheduled interval. A clogged filter will reduce
the air volume to the interior.
If the vehicle interior is hot, ventilate the interior
before driving off, see “Summer opening fea-
ture” (
page 385). The automatic climate con-
trol will then adjust the interior temperature to
the set value much faster.
Keep the air intake grille in front of the wind-
shield free of snow, leaves, sticks, and any other
debris.
Do not obstruct air volume by placing objects on
the air volume-through exhaust slots below the
rear window.
FunctionPage
Temperature252
Air distribution253
Air volume253
Switching off cooling (“ACOFF”)254
Central climate control (“Mono”)255
Footwell temperature255
Air flow from air vents256
Rear climate control*257
Page 473 of 761
472 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Setting temperature
Use temperature controls %$
2anda (
page 469) in the center con-
sole or COMAND (
page 252) to sepa-
rately adjust the air temperature on each
side of the passenger compartment. You
should raise or lower the temperature set-
ting in small increments, preferably start-
ing at 72°F (22°C). The automatic climate
control will adjust to the set temperature
as fast as possible.
Press temperature control %$
2and/ora (
page 469) upward or
downward.
The climate control system will corre-
spondingly adjust the interior air tem-
perature.
Adjusting air volume
Use buttonsQ (
page 469) in the cen-
ter console or COMAND to separately ad-
just the air volume on each side of the
passenger compartment.
Press buttonQ up to increase or
down to decrease air volume.
The indicator lamps on buttonsU
(
page 469) goes out.
The automatic function is switched off.
The air volume is adjusted correspond-
ing to the set blower speed.
Front defroster
You can use this setting to defrost the
windshield, for example if it is iced up. You
can also defog the windshield and the door
windows.Activating
Press button; (page 469) up or
down.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
The air conditioning switches to the follow-
ing functions automatically:
most efficient blower speed and heat-
ing power, depending on outside tem-
perature
air flows onto the windshield and the
front door windows
the air conditioning compressor
switches on at outside temperatures
above approximately 41°F (5°C) for
air-drying
the air recirculation mode is switched
off
iKeep this setting selected only until the
windshield is clear again.
Page 474 of 761
473 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Adjustments
Depending on vehicle production date, you
can adjust the air volume and the temper-
ature when the front defroster is switched
on. The air flow will remain on the wind-
shield and door windows.
Press buttonQ up or down to in-
crease or decrease air volume to the
desired level.
The air volume increases/decreases to
the next higher/lower blower speed
and heating switches to the tempera-
ture that was set before the front de-
froster was switched on.
The indicator lamp on button;
goes out.
or
Press temperature control %$
2and/ora (
page 469) upward or
downward.
Heating switches to the temperature
that was set before the front defroster
was switched on.The indicator lamp on button; goes
out.
Deactivating
Press button; (page 469) up or
down.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
The previous settings are once again in
effect, except air recirculation mode
stays off.
Windshield fogged on the outside
Switch the windshield wipers on
(
page 381).
Press buttonU (page 469) up or
down.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
Rear window defroster
Activating
Switch on the ignition (page 344).
Press button< (page 469) up or
down.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
Deactivating
Press button< (page 469) up or
down.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
iThe air conditioning compressor remains on
even with the indicator lamp on button;
goes out. This helps to prevent windshield from
fogging.
!The rear window defroster uses a large
amount of power. To keep battery drain to a min-
imum, switch off the defroster as soon as the
rear window is clear.
iThe defroster is automatically deactivated
after some time of operation depending on the
outside temperature.
Page 475 of 761
474 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Maximum cooling MAXCOOL (USA only)
If U is selected on both the left and
right side and there is a high demand for
cooling, the display “MAXCOOL” appears
in the COMAND display.
This provides the fastest possible cooling
of the vehicle interior (when windows and
tilt/sliding sunroof or tilt/sliding panel*
are closed).
Air recirculation mode
Switch to air recirculation mode to prevent
unpleasant odors from entering the vehicle
from the outside (e.g. before driving in a
tunnel). This setting cuts off the intake of
outside air and recirculates the air in the
passenger compartment.
Activating: Press button,
(
page 469) up or down.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
Deactivating: Press button,
(
page 469) up or down.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
Warning!G
Any accumulation of snow and ice should be
removed from the rear window before driv-
ing. Visibility could otherwise be impaired,
endangering you and others.
iIf the rear window defroster switches off too
soon and the indicator lamp goes out, this indi-
cates that too many electrical consumers are op-
erating simultaneously and the load on the
battery is reducing available voltage. The system
responds automatically by deactivating the rear
window defroster.
iMaximum cooling MAXCOOL is only avail-
able when the engine is running.
Warning!G
Fogged windows impair visibility, endanger-
ing you and others. If the windows begin to
fog on the inside, switching off the air
recirculation mode immediately should clear
interior window fogging. If interior window
fogging persists, make sure the air
conditioning (
page 254) is activated, or
press button;.
iThe air recirculation mode is activated auto-
matically at high outside temperatures.
The indicator lamp on button, is not lit when
the air recirculation mode is automatically acti-
vated.
A quantity of outside air is added when the cool-
ing demand is not at maximum.
If the air conditioning has been turned off
(
page 254) or the outside temperature is be-
low 41°F (5°C), the air recirculation mode will
not switch on automatically.
Page 476 of 761
475 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Air recirculation mode with conve-
nience closing or opening feature
Vehicles with tilt/sliding sunroof
Convenience closing: Press
button
, for approximately
2 seconds.
The door windows and/or tilt/sliding
sunroof will close. You can release
button
, once the closing proce-
iThe manually selected air recirculation
mode is deactivated automatically:
after 5 minutes if the outside temperature is
below approximately 41°F (5°C)
after 5 minutes if the air conditioning is
turned off
after 30 minutes if the outside temperature
is above approximately 41°F (5°C)
Warning!G
Never operate the door windows and the
tilt/sliding sunroof or tilt/sliding panel* if
there is the possibility of anyone being
harmed by the closing procedure.
Vehicles with tilt/sliding sunroof:
In the event that the procedure causes po-
tential danger, the closing of the door win-
dows can be immediately halted by pressing
the respective window switch. The closing of
the tilt/sliding sunroof can be immediately
halted by moving the tilt/sliding sunroof
switch in the overhead control panel in any
direction.
Vehicles with panorama roof*:
When using the air recirculation mode with
convenience closing feature, should the up-
ward movement of a window be blocked by
some obstruction including, but not limited
to arms, hands, fingers, etc., the automatic
reversal feature will not operate.
In the event that the procedure causes po-
tential danger, the closing of the door win-
dows or the tilt/sliding panel can be
immediately halted by releasing
button,.
The closing of the door windows and the
tilt/sliding sunroof or tilt/sliding panel* can
be reversed by again pressing and holding
button,.