2003 MERCEDES-BENZ C CLASS COUPE engine

148 Controls in detailClimate controlAir conditioning
The air conditioning is operational while
the engine is running and cools the interior
air to the temperature set by the operator.
Deactivating
It is possible to deactivate the air condi-
tioning (cooling) function of the climate
control system. The air in the vehicle will
then no longer be cooled or dehumidified.
Press buttonAC
OFF
(page 143).
The indicator lamp on the
button AC
OFF
lights up. Activating
Moist air can fog up the windows. You can
dehumidify the air with the air condition-
ing.

Press
AC
OFF
again (
page 143).
The indicator lamp on the
button AC
OFF
goes out.
The air conditioning system uses the refrig-
erant R134a. This refrigerant is free of
CFCs which are harmful to the ozone layer.
Ventilated storage compartment
The front center console storage compart-
ment has its own air vent that allows for
cooling ventilation when the climate con-
trol system is activated.
1 Lever
iCondensation may drip out from under-
neath the vehicle. This is normal and
not an indication of a malfunction.
!If the air conditioning cannot be turned
on again, this indicates that the air con-
ditioning system is losing refrigerant.
The compressor has turned itself off.
Have the air conditioning system
checked at the nearest authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
iYou should keep this air vent closed
when outside temperatures are low.

152 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control* (Canada only)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.
Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air en-
ters the passenger compartment through
the air distribution system.
The air conditioning will not engage (no
cooling) if the economy mode AC
OFF
mode
is selected (
page 151).
Setting the temperature
Use temperature controls 1 and 14 for the
left side or 6 and 7 for the right side to
separately adjust the air temperature on
each side of the passenger compartment.
You should raise or lower the temperature
setting in small increments, preferably
starting at 72°F (22°C). Increasing

Push temperature control
1 and/or 6.
The automatic climate control system
will correspondingly adjust the interior
air temperature.
Decreasing

Push temperature control 7
and/or 14.
The automatic climate control system
will correspondingly adjust the interior
air temperature.
Adding outside air

Turn thumbwheel 5 in dashboard
(page 150) to increase flow of out-
side air through air vents for center, left
and right sides and rear passenger
compartment.
Warning!
G
Follow the recommended settings for heat-
ing and cooling given on the following pag-
es. Otherwise the windows could fog up,
impairing visibility and endangering you and
others.
iIf the vehicle interior is hot, ventilate
the interior before driving off.
Keep the air intake grille in front of the
windshield free of snow and debris.iWhen operating the climate control
system in automatic mode, you will
only rarely need to adjust the tempera-
ture, air volume and air distribution.

157
Controls in detail
Automatic climate control* (Canada only)
Air conditioning
The air conditioning is operational while
the engine is running and cools the interior
air to the temperature set by the operator.
Deactivating
It is possible to deactivate the air condi-
tioning (cooling) function of the automatic
climate control system. The air in the vehi-
cle will then no longer be cooled or dehu-
midified.
Press button
AC
OFF
(page 151).
The indicator lamp on the
button AC
OFF
lights up. Activating
Moist air can fog up the windows. You can
dehumidify the air with the air condition-
ing.

Press
AC
OFF
again (
page 151).
The indicator lamp on the
button AC
OFF
goes out.
The air conditioning system uses the refrig-
erant R134a. This refrigerant is free of
CFCs which are harmful to the ozone layer.
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.!If the rear window defroster switches
off too soon and the indicator lamp
starts blinking, this means that too
many electrical consumers are operat-
ing simultaneously and there is insuffi-
cient voltage in the battery. The system
responds automatically by deactivating
the rear window defroster.
As soon as the battery has sufficient
voltage, the rear window defroster au-
tomatically turns itself back on.
iCondensation may drip out from under-
neath the vehicle. This is normal and
not an indication of a malfunction.
!If the air conditioning cannot be turned
on again, this indicates that the air con-
ditioning system is losing refrigerant.
The compressor has turned itself off.
Have the air conditioning system
checked at the nearest authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.

158 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control* (Canada only)Residual heat and ventilation*
With the engine switched off, it is possible
to continue to heat or ventilate the interior
for up to 30 minutes. This feature makes
use of the residual heat produced by the
engine.
Activating
Turn the key in the starter switch to
position1 o r r e m ov e i t f r o m t h e s t a r t e r
switch.

Press button
T
(page 151)
The indicator lamp on button
T

comes on.
Deactivating

Press button
T
(page 151).
The indicator lamp on button
T

goes off.
The residual heat is automatically turned
off:


when the ignition is switched on


after about 30 minutes


if the battery voltage drops
Rear passenger compartment adjust-
able air vents Adjusting the air volume

Turn thumbwheel
2.
iHow long the system will provide heat-
ing depends on the coolant tempera-
ture and the temperature set by the
operator. The blower will run at speed
setting 1 regardless of the air distribu-
tion control setting.
Item
1
Left center air vent
2
Thumbwheel
3
Right center air vent
4
Air vent, closed
5
Air vent, opened
6
BloweriFour blower speeds are available.
The temperature at the air vents for
rear passenger compartment 1 and 3
is the same as at the dashboard center
air vents.

190 Controls in detailDriving systems1Set current or higher speed
2 Set current or lower speed
3 Cancel cruise control
4 Resume at previously set speed
Saving current speed
Accelerate or decelerate to the desired
speed.

Briefly lift 1 or depress 2 the cruise
control lever.
The current speed is set.

Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
Cruise control is activated. Canceling cruise control
There are several ways to cancel cruise
control:

Step on the brake pedal.
or

Briefly push the cruise control lever to
position 3.
Cruise control will be canceled. The
last speed set will be stored for later
use.iOn uphill or downhill grades, cruise
control may not be able to maintain the
set speed. Once the grade eases, the
set speed will be resumed.
!Moving gear selector lever to
position N while driving also cancels
cruise control. However, the gear se-
lector lever should not be moved to
position N while driving except to coast
when the vehicle is in danger of skid-
ding (e.g. on icy roads).iVehicles with manual transmission:
The set cruise controlled speed is
switched off when declutching exceeds
four seconds during downshifting a
gear.iThe last stored speed is canceled when
you turn off the engine.

191
Controls in detail
Driving systems
Setting stored speed (“Resume”
function)
Briefly push the cruise control lever to
position
4.
The cruise control will resume the last
previously set speed.

Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal. Setting a higher speed

Lift the cruise control lever to
position
1 and hold it up until the de-
sired speed is reached.

Release the cruise control lever.
The new speed is set.
Setting a lower speed

Depress the cruise control lever to
position 2 and hold it down until the
desired speed is reached.

Release the cruise control lever.
The new speed is set. Fine adjustment in 1 mph
(Canada: 1 km/h) increments
Faster

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow
1.
Slower

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow 2.
Warning!
G
The speed stored in memory should only be
set again if prevailing road conditions per-
mit. Possible acceleration or deceleration
differences arising from returning to preset
speed could cause an accident and/or seri-
ous injury to you and others.
iDepressing the accelerator pedal does
not deactivate cruise control. After
brief acceleration (e.g. for passing),
cruise control will resume the last
speed set.
iVehicles with automatic transmission:
When you use the cruise control lever
to decelerate, the transmission will au-
tomatically downshift if the engine’s
braking power does not brake the vehi-
cle sufficiently.

198 Controls in detailUseful featuresParcel net in front passenger footwell
A small convenience parcel net is located
in the front passenger footwell. It is for
small and light items, such as road maps,
mail, etc.
Ashtrays
Center console ashtray
Opening ashtray
Briefly touch cover plate1.
The ashtray opens automatically. Removing ashtray insert

Secure vehicle from movement by set-
ting the parking brake. Move the selec-
tor lever to position
N.
Now you have more room to take out
the insert.

Slide ashtray insert in direction of
arrow 2 until it disengages.

Grip ashtray at indents (arrows 3) and
remove insert from ashtray frame.
Reinstalling the ashtray insert

Install insert by pushing back into
frame until it engages again.
Warning!
G
Do not place heavy or fragile objects, or ob-
jects having sharp edges, in the parcel net.
In an accident, during hard braking or sud-
den maneuvers, they could be thrown
around inside the vehicle, and cause injury
to vehicle occupants.
Warning!
G
Remove front ashtray only with vehicle
standing still. Set the parking brake to se-
cure vehicle from movement. Move gear se-
lector lever to position N. With gear selector
lever in position N, turn off the engine.

200 Controls in detailUseful featuresTelephone*
Radio transmitters, such as a portable tele-
phone or a citizens band unit, should only
be used inside the vehicle if they are con-
nected to an antenna that is installed on
the outside of the vehicle.
The external antenna must be approved by
Mercedes-Benz. Please contact an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center for informa-
tion on the installation of an approved
external antenna. Refer to the radio trans-
mitter operation instructions regarding use
of an external antenna.You can take and place telephone calls us-
ing the
í
and
ì
buttons on the
steering wheel. To carry out other tele-
phone functions, use the control system
(
page 126).
See separate operating manual for instruc-
tions on how to use the telephone.
Warning!
G
Never operate radio transmitters equipped
with a built-in or attached antenna (i.e. with-
out being connected to an external antenna)
from inside the vehicle while the engine is
running. Doing so could lead to a malfunc-
tion of the vehicle’s electronic system, pos-
sibly resulting in an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
Warning!
G
Please do not forget that your primary re-
sponsibility is to drive the vehicle. A driver’s
attention to the road must always be
his /her primary focus when driving. For
your safety and the safety of others, we rec-
ommend that you pull over to a safe location
and stop before placing or taking a tele-
phone call.
If you choose to use the telephone
1 while
driving, please use the hands-free device
and only use the telephone when road,
weather and traffic conditions permit. Some
jurisdictions prohibit the driver from using a
cellular telephone while driving a vehicle.
Only operate the COMAND* (Cockpit Man-
agement and Data System)
1 if road, weather
and traffic conditions permit.
1Observe all legal requirements.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km / h), your vehicle is
covering a distance of approx. 44 feet (ap-
proximately 13.5 m) every second.Warning!
G
Some jurisdictions prohibit the driver from
using a cellular telephone while driving a ve-
hicle. Whether or not prohibited by law, for
safety reasons, the driver should not use the
cellular telephone while the vehicle is in mo-
tion.
Stop the vehicle in a safe location before an-
swering or placing a call.