2003 MERCEDES-BENZ C240 Water

ContentsOperation......................................... 221
The first 1 000 miles (1 500 km) ......... 222
Driving instructions ............................ 223
Drive sensibly – save fuel ............. 223
Drinking and driving ..................... 223
Pedals .......................................... 223
Power assistance ......................... 224
Brakes .......................................... 224
Driving off..................................... 225
Parking ......................................... 225
Tires ............................................. 226
Hydroplaning ................................ 227
Tire traction .................................. 227
Tire speed rating .......................... 227
Winter driving instructions ........... 228
Standing water ............................. 229
Passenger compartment .............. 230
Driving abroad .............................. 230
Control and operation of
radio transmitter .......................... 230
Catalytic converter ....................... 231
Emission control........................... 231
Coolant temperature .................... 232At the gas station .............................. 233
Check regularly and before
a long trip ..................................... 234
Engine compartment ......................... 235
Hood ............................................ 235
Engine oil ..................................... 236
Transmission fluid level ................ 238
Coolant level ................................ 238
Battery ......................................... 240
Windshield washer system and
headlamp cleaning* system ......... 241
Tires and wheels ................................ 242
Important guidelines .................... 242
Life of tire..................................... 243
Direction of rotation ..................... 243
Checking tire inflation pressure ... 243
Rotating wheels ........................... 244
Winter driving .................................... 245
Winter tires .................................. 245
Block heater (Canada only) .......... 246
Snow chains ................................. 246Maintenance...................................... 247
Clearing the service indicator ...... 247
Service term exceeded ................ 247
Calling up the service indicator .... 248
Resetting the service indicator .... 248
Vehicle care....................................... 249
Cleaning and care of vehicle ........ 249

39 Getting started
Adjusting
Mirrors
Adjust the inside and exterior rear view
mirrors before driving so that you have a
good view of the road and traffic condi-
tions.Inside rear view mirror

Manually adjust the inside rear view
mirror.
More information can be found in the
“Controls in detail” section (
page 144).
Exterior rear view mirrorThe buttons are located above the exterior
lamp switch.
1Driver’s side mirror
2Adjustment button
3Passenger side mirror

Make sure that the ignition is switched
on.
All the lights in the instrument cluster
light up.
Warning!
G
In the case of an accident liquid electrolyte
may escape the mirror housing if the mirror
glass breaks.
Electrolyte has an irritating effect. Do not al-
low the liquid to come into contact with
eyes, skin, clothing, or respiratory system.
In case it does, immediately flush affected
area with water, and seek medical help if
necessary.
Warning!
G
Exercise care when using the passenger
side exterior rear view mirror. The mirror
surface is convex (outwardly curved surface
for a wider field of view). Objects in mirror
are closer than they appear. Check your in-
side rear view mirror or glance over your
shoulder before changing lanes. !Electrolyte drops coming into contact
with the vehicle paint finish can only be
completely removed while in their liq-
uid state by applying plenty of water.


144 Controls in detailGood visibility
Good visibilityInformation on the windshield wipers
(page 48) and for setting the rear view
mirrors (
page 39) is found in the “Get-
ting started” section.
Rear view mirror
Inside rear view mirror, antiglare
position
Tilt the mirror to the antiglare night posi-
tion using the lever at its lower edge.
Automatic antiglare rear view mirror*
The reflection brightness of the exterior
rear view mirror on the driver’s side and
the inside rear view mirror will respond au-
tomatically to glare when

the ignition is switched on, and


incoming light from headlamps falls on
the sensor in the inside rear view mir-
ror.The rear view mirror will not react if


reverse gear is engaged


the interior lighting is turned onWarning!
G
The automatic antiglare function does not
react if incoming light is not aimed directly
at sensors in the inside rear view mirror.
The inside rear view mirror and the exterior
rear view mirror on the driver’s side do not
react, for example, if the rear window sun-
shade is in raised position.
Glare can endanger you and others.
Warning!
G
In the case of an accident liquid electrolyte
may escape from the mirror housing if the
mirror glass breaks.
Electrolyte has an irritating effect. Do not al-
low the liquid to come into contact with
eyes, skin, clothing, or respiratory system.
In case it does, immediately flush affected
area with water, and seek medical help if
necessary.Warning!
G
Exercise care when using the passenger
side exterior rear view mirror. The mirror
surface is convex (outwardly curved surface
for a wider field of view). Objects in mirror
are closer than they appear. Check your in-
side rear view mirror or glance over your
shoulder before changing lanes.

145 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Activating exterior rear view mirror
parking position
Follow these steps to activate the mirror
parking position so that the
passenger-side exterior rear view mirror
will be turned downward to the stored
position.
Make sure you stored a parking
position for the passenger-side exterior
rear view mirror (
page 100).

Make sure that the
MIRROR SETTING
WHEN PARKING
function, found under
the
CONVENIENCE
submenu in the
control system, is switched to
ON
(
page 131).

Switch on ignition.

Press button3 (
page 39) for the pas-
senger-side exterior rear view mirror.

Place the gear selector lever in reverse
gearR.
The passenger-side exterior rear view
mirror will be turned downward to the
stored position.The exterior rear view mirror returns to its
previously stored driving position:


ten seconds after you put the gear
selector lever out of positionR


immediately once you exceed a vehicle
speed of approx. 6 mph (10 km/h)


immediately when you press the button
for driver’s side mirror (
page 39)
!Electrolyte drops coming into contact
with the vehicle paint finish can be
completely removed only while in the
liquid state by applying plenty of water.

146 Controls in detailGood visibilityHeadlamp cleaning system*
The switch is located on the left side of the
dashboard.
1Headlamp washer switch
Switch on ignition.

Press switch1.
The headlamps are cleaned with a
high-pressure water jet.
Information on filling up the washer
reservoir can be found in the “Operation”
section (
page 241).
Sun visors
The sun visors protect you from sun glare
while driving.
Swing sun visors down when you
experience glare.1Mounting
2Mirror cover
3Mirror lamp
4Sun visor

To use illuminated mirror, lift up
cover2.
Warning!
G
Do not use the vanity mirror while driving.
Keep the mirrors in the sun visors closed
while vehicle is in motion. Reflected glare
can endanger you and others.
iIf sunlight enters through a side
window, disengage sun visor from
mounting1 and pivot to the side.
The mirror lamp3 will switch off.

227 Operation
Driving instructions
Hydroplaning
Depending on the depth of the water layer
on the road, hydroplaning may occur, even
at low speeds and with new tires. Reduce
vehicle speed, avoid track grooves in the
road and apply brakes cautiously in the
rain.
Tire traction
The safe speed on a wet, snow covered or
icy road is always lower than on a dry road.
You should pay particular attention to the
condition of the road whenever the outside
temperatures are close to the freezing
point.
Mercedes-Benz recommends M+S rated
radial-ply tires for the winter season for all
four wheels to insure normal balanced
handling characteristics. On packed snow,
they can reduce your stopping distance
compared to summer tires. Stopping dis-
tance, however, is still considerably great-
er than when the road is not covered with
snow or ice. Exercise appropriate caution.
Tire speed rating
Additional information on winter tires can
be found under “Winter tires”
(page 245).
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 or driving at high
speed with a flat tire will cause excessive
heat build-up and possibly a fire.
Warning!
G
If ice has formed on the road, tire traction
will be substantially reduced. Under such
weather conditions, drive, steer and brake
with extreme caution.
Warning!
G
Even when permitted by law, never operate
a vehicle at speeds greater than the maxi-
mum speed rating of the tires.
Exceeding the maximum speed for which
tires are rated can lead to sudden tire fail-
ure, causing loss of vehicle control and pos-
sibly resulting in an accident and/or
personal injury and possible death, for you
and for others.

229 Operation
Driving instructions
Road salts and chemicals can adversely af-
fect braking efficiency. Increased pedal
force may become necessary to produce
the normal braking effect.
We therefore recommend depressing the
brake pedal periodically when traveling at
length on salt-strewn roads.
This can bring road salt impaired braking
efficiency back to normal. Be very careful
that you carry out these braking maneu-
vers without endangering any other road
users.
If the vehicle is parked after being driven
on salt treated roads, the braking efficien-
cy should be tested as soon as possible af-
ter driving is resumed while observing the
safety rules in the previous paragraph.
For more information, see “Winter driving”
(
page 245).
Standing water
Warning!
G
If the vehicle becomes stuck in snow, make
sure that snow is kept clear of the exhaust
pipe and from around the vehicle with the
engine running. Otherwise, deadly carbon
monoxide (CO) gases may enter vehicle in-
terior resulting in unconsciousness and
death.
To assure sufficient fresh air ventilation,
open a window slightly on the side of the ve-
hicle not facing the windWarning!
G
The outside temperature indicator is not de-
s i g n e d t o s e r v e a s a n i c e - w a r n i n g d e v i c e a n d
is therefore unsuitable for that purpose. In-
dicated temperatures just above the freez-
ing point do not guarantee that the road
surface is free of ice.
!Do not drive through flooded areas or
water of unknown depth.
If you must drive through standing wa-
ter, drive slowly to prevent water from
entering the passenger compartment
or the engine compartment. Water in
these areas could cause damage to
electrical components or wiring of the
engine or transmission, or could result
in water being ingested by the engine
through the air intake causing severe
internal engine damage. Any such
damage is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.

234 OperationAt the gas station
Check regularly and before a long trip
1Coolant level
More information on the coolant level
can be found in the “Operation” section
(
page 238).
2Brake fluid (fuse box cover removed)
More information on brake fluid can be
found in the “Technical data” section
(page 332).
Removing fuse box cover
(page 312).
3Windshield washer and headlamp
cleaning system*
For more information on refilling the
reservoir, see the “Operation” section
(page 241).Engine oil level
More information on engine oil can be
found in the “Operation” section
(
page 236).
Opening hood (
page 235).
Coolant
For normal replenishing, use water (pota-
ble water quality). More information on
coolant can be found in the “Operation”
section (
page 238).
Vehicle lighting
Check function and cleanliness. For more
information on replacing light bulbs, see
the “Practical hints” section (
page 290).
Exterior lamp switch (
page 101).
Tire inflation pressure
More information on tire inflation pressure
can be found in the “Operation” section
(
page 243).
iUse only premium unleaded gasoline
with a minimum Posted Octane Rating
of 91 (average of 96 RON / 86 MON).
Information on gasoline quality can
normally be found on the fuel pump.
More information on gasoline can be
found in the Factory Approved Service
Products pamphlet.
Flexible Fuel Vehicles (MY 2003
Mercedes-Benz C 320 models, except
those equipped with manual transmis-
sion or 4MATIC*):
More information on Flexible Fuel Vehi-
cles can be found in the “Technical da-
ta” section (
page 334).
iLeaving the engine running and the fuel
cap open can cause the
?
lamp to
illuminate.
See also “Practical hints” section
(
page 259).