hood release MERCEDES-BENZ S63AMG 2008 W221 Owner's Manual

27 At a glance
Cockpit
ItemPage
1Combination switch

High beam

Corner-illuminating lamps

Windshield wipers

Turn signals
375
376
381
393
2Lever for

Cruise control

DISTRONIC Plus*
420
424
3Horn
4Multifunction steering wheel265
5Instrument cluster28
6Steering wheel gearshift con-
trol411
7Gear selector lever for
automatic transmission389
ItemPage
8Control panel with

Front passenger front
air bag indicator lamp

Vehicle level control
switch

Electronic Stability Pro-
gram (ESP®) switch

Parktronic*/Park Assist*
deactivation switch

Swivel COMAND display

COMAND/instrument
cluster display
illumination
50
441,
443
73
447,
452
87
417
9COMAND display85
aOverhead control panel33
bAutomatic climate control
Center console, upper part 469
32
ItemPage
cGlove box lock494
dCover of compartment with

CD/DVD changer

PCMCIA card slot
115
117
eCenter console, lower part30
fStarter switch
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button344
345
gSteering wheel adjustment
Heated steering wheel* 359
360
hHeadlamp cleaning button375
jElectronic parking brake395
kHood lock release541
lDoor control panel34
mNight View Assist*461
nExterior lamp switch371

396 Controls in detail
Driving and parking
Automatically releasing electronic park-
ing brake
Your vehicle’s electronic parking brake is
automatically released when:

The engine is running.

Transmission is in position D or R.

The hood is closed.

You have fastened your seat belt.

You step on the accelerator pedal.
If reverse gear R is engaged, the trunk
must be closed. Manually engaging electronic parking
brake
Press handle1.
The red indicator lamp 0 (USA only)
or ! (Canada only) in the instru-
ment cluster comes on.Automatically engaging electronic park-
ing brake* (USA only)
Your vehicle’s electronic parking brake is
automatically engaged when DISTRONIC
Plus* (
page 424) brings your vehicle to a
standstill and at least one of the following
conditions is met:

The engine is switched off.

The driver’s door is opened and the
seat belt is not inserted in the seat belt
buckle.

The hood is released.

The trunk lid is open while reverse
gearR is engaged.

The vehicle is parked for an extended
period of time.
The red indicator lamp 0 (USA only) or
! (Canada only) in the instrument clus-
ter comes on.
iIf you have not fastened your seat belt, the
following conditions must be met in order for the
electronic parking brake to be automatically re-
leased:

The driver’s door is closed.

You must move the gear selector out of P po-
sition or drive faster than 2 mph (3 km/h).
iYou can also engage the electronic parking
brake when the SmartKey is removed from the
starter switch.
iIn addition to the electronic parking brake,
park position P can be automatically engaged.

404 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
!DISTRONIC Plus*:
The transmission will shift to park positionP
automatically, only when DISTRONIC Plus brings
your vehicle to a standstill, and when it meets at
least one of the following conditions at the same
time:

the engine is turned off

the driver’s or passenger door opens and the
seat belt is not engaged in the buckle

The hood is released.

The trunk lid is open while reverse gearR is
engaged.

The vehicle is parked for an extended period
of time.
In addition to shifting to park positionP, the
electronic parking brake will be engaged auto-
matically.
iMake it a practice to always shift into park
positionP before turning off the engine and

remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch
or

open a front door
or when using KEYLESS-GO*, before turning off
the engine with the start/stop button and open-
ing a front door.
Effect
íReverse gear
Shift into reverse gearR only
when the vehicle is stopped.
ëNeutral
No power is transmitted from the
engine to the drive axle. When
the brakes are released, the
vehicle can be moved freely
(pushed or towed).
To avoid damage to the trans-
mission, never shift into neutral
positionN while driving.
If the ESP
® is deactivated or
malfunctioning:
Shift into neutral positionN only
if the vehicle is in danger of
skidding, e.g. on icy roads.
Effect

541 Operation
Engine compartment
Engine compartment
Hood
Opening1Release lever
Pull release lever 1.
The hood is unlocked.
2Handle for opening the hood
Lift the hood slightly.
Handle2 will extend out of the radia-
tor grille.
Pull handle 2 to its stop out of radiator
grille.
Lift bottom of hood at edge of radiator
grille.
The hood will be automatically held
open at shoulder height by gas-filled
struts.
Warning!G
Do not pull the release lever while the vehi-
cle is in motion. Otherwise the hood could
be forced open by passing air flow.
This could cause the hood to come loose
and injure you and/or others.
Warning!G
You could be injured when the hood is open
– even when the engine is turned off.
Parts of the engine can become very hot. To
prevent burns, let the engine cool off com-
pletely before touching any components on
the vehicle. Comply with all relevant safety
precautions.
!To avoid damage to the windshield wipers or
hood, never open the hood if the wiper arms are
folded forward away from the windshield.
!To avoid damage to handle2 never pull up
the hood on handle2.


616 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Display Possible cause/consequencePossible solution
DISTRONIC PLUS
overrideYou have depressed the accelerator pedal,
DISTRONIC Plus* is no longer controlling
the speed of the vehicle.Release the accelerator pedal.
DISTRONIC PLUS
- - - mph
(USA only)
Canada only:
DISTRONIC PLUS
- - - km/h
(Canada only)You have attempted to activate DISTRONIC
Plus* at a speed below 20 mph (30 km/h)
without the vehicle in front being displayed
in the multifunction display (
page 427).
Drive faster than 20 mph (30 km/h) and activate DISTRONIC
Plus* again.
ESP® is switched off.Switch on ESP® (page 75).
The automatic transmission is in position P,
R or N.Shift the automatic transmission toD (page 399).
The system is overheated.Wait until the system cools down.
The vehicle is secured in place by the elec-
tronic parking brake.Release electronic parking brake (page 395).
The driver’s door is open and the drivers
seat belt is unbuckled.Close the driver’s door and fasten your seat belt.
The hood is open.Close the hood (page 542).

684 Practical hints
Replacing wiper blades
Placing wiper arms in vertical position
Wiper blades in vertical position
Make sure the hood is fully closed.
Vehicles with SmartKey
Turn SmartKey in starter switch
position1.
Turn combination switch to wiper
settingu (
page 381).
With wiper arm in vertical position, turn
the SmartKey in starter switch to
position0.
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 replacing a wiper blade.
Otherwise, the wiper motor could suddenly
turn on and cause injury.
Warning!G
Wiper blades are components that are sub-
ject to wear and tear. Replace the wiper
blades twice a year, preferably in the spring
and fall. Otherwise the front window will not
be properly wiped. As a result, you may not
be able to observe surrounding traffic condi-
tions and could cause an accident.
!To avoid damage to the hood:

The wiper arms should only be folded for-
ward when in the vertical position.

Never open the hood when the wiper arm is
folded forward.
!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 wind-
shield.
Do not allow the wiper arms to contact the wind-
shield glass without a wiper blade inserted.
For your convenience, we recommend that you
have this work carried out by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.