2003 MERCEDES-BENZ C240 DOOR

32 Getting startedAdjusting
AdjustingSeats
The seats can be adjusted either manually
or electrically, depending on the vehicle’s
equipment.Warning!
G
All seat, head restraint, steering wheel, and
rear view mirror adjustments, as well as fas-
tening of seat belts, must be done before
the vehicle is put into motion.Warning!
G
Do not adjust the driver’s seat while driving.
Adjusting the seat while driving could cause
the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
back reclined. Sitting in an excessively re-
clined position can be dangerous. You could
slide under the seat belt in a collision. If you
slide under it, the belt would apply force at
the abdomen or neck.
That could cause serious or fatal injuries.
The seat back and seat belts provide the
best restraint when the wearer is in an up-
right position and belts are properly posi-
tioned on the body. Your seat must be
adjusted so that you can correctly fasten
your seat belt (
page 41).
Never place hands under the seat or near
any moving parts while a seat is being ad-
justed.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
key from the starter switch, and lock your
vehicle.
The power seats* can also be operated with
the driver’s or front passenger door open.
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Unsupervised use of vehicle equipment may
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.
Warning!
G
Children 12 years old and under must never
ride in the front seat, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized BabySmart
TM
compatible child seat, which operates with
the BabySmart
TM system installed in the ve-
hicle to deactivate the passenger side front
airbag when it is properly installed. Other-
wise they will be struck by the airbag when
it inflates in a crash. If this happens, serious
or fatal injury will result.
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing positions. Infants and small children
must ride in back seats and be seated in an
appropriate infant or child restraint system,
which is properly secured with the vehicle’s
seat belt and top tether strap, or secured via
lower anchors and top tether strap, fully in
accordance with the child seat manufactur-
er’s instructions.

34 Getting startedAdjusting1Release knob
Manually adjust the height of the head
restraint by pulling it upward. To lower
the head restraint, push release knob1
and push down on the head restraint.
Head restraint tilt

Manually adjust the angle of the head
restraint. Push or pull on the lower
edge of the head restraint cushion.
More information can be found in the
“Controls in detail” section (
page 93).Power seat*

Turn the key in the starter switch to
position1 or2 .
or

Open the driver’s or front passenger
door.
The seat adjustment switches are located
in each front door.
1Head restraint height
2Seat height
3Seat cushion tilt
4Seat fore and aft adjustment
5Backrest tiltSeat fore and aft adjustment

Press the switch forward or backward
in the direction of arrow4.
Adjust to a comfortable seating posi-
tion that still allows you to reach the
accelerator/brake pedal safely. The
position should be as far rearward as
possible, consistent with ability to
properly operate controls.iWhen moving the seat, be sure that
there are no items in the footwell or be-
hind the seat. Otherwise you could
damage the seat.
With the memory function*
(page 98), you can store seat
positions together with settings for the
steering wheel and the exterior rear
view mirrors.

37 Getting started
Adjusting
Head restraint height (rear outer seats)
Raising:
Pull up on head restraint.
Lowering:

Push button1.

Push down on head restraint.
Steering wheel Steering wheel adjustment, manual
1Release lever
2Steering column, lengthen or shorten
3Steering column, height

To unlock the steering column, pull
lever1 out until its stop limit.

Adjust the steering wheel to the de-
sired position.

To lock, press lever1 all the way in un-
til it engages.
The steering wheel is once again
locked into position.
Warning!
G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust head restraint to support the back of
the head approximately at ear level.
Warning!
G
Do not adjust the steering wheel while driv-
ing. Adjusting the steering wheel while driv-
ing, or driving without the adjustment
locked could cause the driver to lose control
of the vehicle.
When leaving the vehicle always remove the
key from the starter switch and lock your ve-
hicle.
The electrical steering wheel adjustment
feature* can also be operated with the driv-
er’s door open. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of
vehicle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.

38 Getting startedAdjusting
Steering wheel adjustment, electrical*
The stalk is located on the steering column
(lower left).
1Steering column, lengthen or shorten
2Steering column, height
Turn the key in the starter switch to
position1 or2.
or

Open the driver’s door.Steering column, lengthen or shorten

Move stalk forward or backward in the
direction of arrow1 until a comfortable
steering wheel position is reached with
your arms slightly bent at the elbow.
Steering column, height

Move stalk up or down in the direction
of arrow2. Make sure that your legs
can move freely and that all the dis-
plays (including malfunction and indi-
cator lamps) on the instrument cluster
are clearly visible.
!Do not drive the vehicle until you have
properly locked the steering column.
If the warning message
STEERING
WHEEL ADJUST - LOCK ! is displayed
while the engine is running, the steer-
ing column is not locked properly
(
page 276).
iWith the memory function*
(page 98), you can store steering
wheel positions together with settings
for the seats and the exterior rear view
mirrors.

43 Getting started
Driving

If necessary, tighten the lap portion to
a snug fit by pulling shoulder portion
up.
Seat belt height adjustment
Adjust seat belt so that shoulder portion is
located as close as possible to the middle
of your shoulder (it should not touch the
neck).
Front seats
4Button for belt outlet height adjust-
ment

Press button4 and slide belt outlet up-
ward or downward.Proper use of seat belts


Do not twist the belt when fastening.


Adjust seat belt so that the shoulder
portion is located as close as possible
to the middle of the shoulder (it should
not touch the neck or pass under the
arm). For this purpose, you can adjust
the height of the belt outlet.


Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips (over hip joint) and not
across the abdomen.


Place the seat backrest in a nearly up-
right position.


Never use a seat belt for more than one
person at a time.


Do not fasten a seat belt around a per-
son and another object at the same
time.


Check your seat belt during travel to
ensure that it is properly positioned.


Ensure that the seat belt is always fit-
ted snugly. You should avoid wearing
bulky clothing, such as winter coats,
when traveling in the vehicle.Warning!
G
Do not pass belts over sharp edges. They
could tear.
Do not allow the belt to get caught in the
door or in the seat adjustment mechanism.
This could damage the belt.
Never attempt to make modifications to
seat belts. This could impair the effective-
ness of the belts.
Damaged seat belts or belts that were highly
stressed in an accident must be replaced by
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.

46 Getting startedDriving
Release the parking brake by pulling on
handle2.
The indicator lamp
;
(USA only)
or
3
(Canada only) in the instru-
ment cluster goes out.
Driving

Depress the brake pedal.

Move selector lever to positionD orR
(manual transmission: first or reverse
gear).

Release the brake pedal.

Carefully depress the accelerator.
Once the vehicle is in motion, the auto-
matic central locking system engages
and the locking knobs drop down.After a cold start, the automatic transmis-
sion engages at a higher revolution. This al-
lows the catalytic converter to reach its
operating temperature earlier.
More information on driving can be found
in the “Operation” section (
page 223).
iVehicles with automatic transmission:
Wait for the gear selection process to
complete before setting the vehicle in
motion.
iYou can open a locked door from the
inside. Open door only when conditions
are safe to do so.!Simultaneously depressing the
accelerator pedal and applying the
brake reduces engine performance and
causes premature brake and drivetrain
wear.!If you hear a warning signal when driv-
ing off, you have forgotten to release
the parking brake.
Release the parking brake.
Warning!
G
On slippery road surfaces, never downshift
in order to obtain braking action. This could
result in drive wheel slip and reduced vehi-
cle control. Your vehicle’s ABS will not pre-
vent this type of loss of control.Warning!
G
Vehicles with automatic transmission:
It is dangerous to shift the selector lever out
ofP orN if the engine speed is higher than
idle speed. If your foot is not firmly on the
brake pedal, the vehicle could accelerate
quickly forward or in reverse. You could lose
control of the vehicle and hit someone or
something. Only shift into gear when the en-
gine is idling normally and when your right
foot is firmly on the brake pedal.

48 Getting startedDrivingWindshield wipers
The combination switch is on the left of the
steering column.Combination switch1Single wipe
2Switching on windshield wipers 
Make sure that the ignition is switched
on.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
IINormal wiper speed
IIIFast wiper speediVehicles without rain sensor*:
Fast wiper speedIII goes to settingII
when the vehicle is standing still.
Vehicles with rain sensor*:
Intermittent wiping interval dependent
on wetness of windshield. Wiping will
not occur with a front door open.
!Vehicles with rain sensor*:
Do not leave in intermittent setting
when vehicle is taken to an automatic
car wash or during windshield cleaning.
Wipers will operate in presence of wa-
ter sprayed on the windshield, and wip-
ers may be damaged 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 when wiping occurs on a dry
windshield.

53 Getting started
Parking and locking
Turning off engine 
Place the gear selector lever in
positionP (manual transmission: first
or reverse gear).

Turn the key in the starter switch to
position0 and remove it.
The immobilizer is activated.

Press the seat belt release button
(page 42).

After exiting the vehicle press the lock
button
‹
on the key (
page 30).
The locking knobs on the doors move
down.
More information can be found in the
“Controls in detail” section (page 84).
iAlways set the parking brake in addi-
tion to shifting to positionP (manual
transmission: first or reverse gear).
On steep slopes, turn the front wheels
towards the road curb. iVehicles with automatic transmission:
The SmartKey can only be removed
from the starter switch with the gear
selector lever in positionP.
!With the SmartKey removed and the
driver’s door open, a warning sounds if
the vehicle’s exterior lamps are not
switched off.Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the door
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Before closing doors, make sure that there
is no possibility of someone getting caught
in a door during closing.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
key from the starter switch, and lock your
vehicle. Do not leave children unattended in
the vehicle, or with access to an unlocked
vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehicle equip-
ment may cause an accident and/or serious
personal injury.