2003 MERCEDES-BENZ C320 WAGON airbag off

40 Getting startedDriving
DrivingFastening the seat beltWarning
G
Do not lay any objects in the driver’s foot-
well. Be careful that floor mats or carpets in
the driver’s footwell have sufficient clear-
ance for the pedals.
During sudden driving or braking maneuvers
the objects could get caught between the
pedals. You could then no longer brake or
accelerate.Warning!
G
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure your passengers are
properly restrained, even those sitting in the
rear and pregnant women.
Failure to wear and properly fasten and po-
sition your seat belt greatly increases your
risk of injuries and their likely severity in an
accident. You and your passenger should al-
ways wear seat belts.
If you are ever in an accident, your injuries
can be considerably more severe without
your seat belt properly buckled. Without
your seat belt buckled, you are much more
likely to hit the interior of the vehicle or be
ejected from it. You can be seriously injured
or killed.
In the same crash, the possibility of injury or
death is lessened if you are wearing your
seat belt. The airbags can only protect as ex-
pected if the occupants are using their seat
belts (
page 56).
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.
S203 MY03_A.book Page 40 Tuesday, January 28, 2003 2:22 PM

58 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety

Adjust the driver seat as far as possible
rearward, still permitting proper opera-
tion of vehicle controls. The distance
from the center of the driver’s breast-
bone to the center of the airbag cover on
the steering wheel must be at least ten
inches (25 cm) or more. You should be
able to accomplish this by a combina-
tion of adjustments to the seat and
steering wheel. If you have any prob-
lems, please see your authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


Do not lean with your head or chest
close to the steering wheel or dash-
board.


Keep hands on the outside of steering
wheel rim. Placing hands and arms in-
side the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when driver front airbag inflates.


Adjust the front passenger seat as far as
possible rearward from the dashboard
when the seat is occupied.


Occupants, especially children, should
never lean their heads in the area of the
door where the side airbag inflates. This
could result in serious injuries or death
should the airbag be triggered. Always
sit upright, properly use the seat belts
and appropriate size infant or child re-
straint system.


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 vehicle to deacti-
vate the passenger side front airbag
when it is properly installed. Otherwise
they will be struck by the airbag when it
inflates in a crash. If this happens, seri-
ous or fatal injury will result.
Failure to follow these instructions can re-
sult in severe injuries to you or other occu-
pants.
If you sell your vehicle you are responsible
to make the buyer aware of these points. Be
sure to give the buyer this Operator’s Manu-
al.
Warning!
G
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in an automobile is in the
rear seat. Should you choose to place a child
12 years old or under in the front passenger
seat of your vehicle, you must properly use
a BabySmart
TM child restraint which will
turn off the passenger side front airbag.
BabySmart
TM will not, however, turn off any
side impact airbag.
It should be noted that with respect to both
front and rear side impact airbags there is a
possibility for a side airbag related injury if
occupants, especially children, are not prop-
erly seated or restrained when next to a side
airbag which needs to deploy rapidly in a
side impact in order to do its job.
To help avoid the possibility of injury, please
follow these guidelines:
(1) Occupants, especially children, should
never place their bodies or lean their
heads in the area of the door where the
side airbag inflates. This could
S203 MY03_A.book Page 58 Tuesday, January 28, 2003 2:22 PM

62 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyAfter starting the engine the seat belt non-
usage warning lamp blinks for a brief peri-
od to remind the driver and passengers to
fasten the seat belts.
The use of seat belts and infant and child
restraint systems is required by law in
most states and all Canadian provinces.
Even where this is not the case, all vehicle
occupants should have their seat belts fas-
tened whenever the vehicle is in motion.
Information on fastening seat belts is
found in the “Getting started” section
(page 40).iFor information on infants and children
traveling with you in the vehicle and re-
straint systems for infants and chil-
dren, see “Children in the vehicle”
(page 65).
Warning!
G
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure your passengers are
properly restrained, even those sitting in the
rear and pregnant women.
Failure to wear and properly fasten and po-
sition your seat belt greatly increases your
risk of injuries and their likely severity in an
accident. You and your passengers should
always wear seat belts.
If you are ever in an accident, your injuries
can be considerably more severe without
your seat belt properly buckled. Without
your seat belt buckled, you are much more
likely to hit the interior of the vehicle or be
ejected from it. You can be seriously injured
or killed.
In the same crash, the possibility of injury or
death is lessened if you are properly wearing
your seat belt. Airbags can only protect as
they are designed if the occupants are prop-
erly wearing their seat belts.
Warning!
G
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
backrest reclined. Sitting in an excessively
reclined 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 even fatal injuries. The seat
backrest and seat belt provide the best re-
straint when the wearer is in an upright po-
sition and the belt is properly positioned on
the body.Warning!
G
Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are seat belts available. Be sure
everyone riding in the vehicle is correctly re-
strained with a separate seat belt.
S203 MY03_A.book Page 62 Tuesday, January 28, 2003 2:22 PM

63 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!
G
Damaged seat belts or belts that were highly
stressed in an accident must be replaced
and their anchoring points must also be
checked.
Only use seat belts which have been ap-
proved by Mercedes-Benz.
Do not make any modifications to the seat
b e l t s . T h i s c a n l e a d t o u n i n t e n d e d a c t i v a t i o n
or to failure.
Have all work carried out only by an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
USE SEAT BELTS PROPERLY

Seat belts can only work when used
properly. Never wear seat belts in any
other way than as described in this sec-
tion, as that could result in serious inju-
ries in case of an accident.


Each occupant should wear their seat
belt at all times, because seat belts help
reduce the likelihood of and potential
severity of injuries in accidents, includ-
ing rollovers. The integrated restraint
system includes SRS (driver airbag,
front passenger airbag, side impact air-
bags, head protection window curtain
airbags for side windows), ETD (seat belt
emergency tensioning device), and front
seat knee bolsters. The system is de-
signed to enhance the protection of-
fered to properly belted occupants in
certain frontal (front airbags) and side
(side impact and window curtain air-
bags) impacts which exceed preset de-
ployment thresholds.


Never wear the shoulder belt under your
arm, against your neck or off your shoul-
der. In a crash, your body would move
too far forward. That would increase the
chance of head and neck injuries. The
belt would also apply too much force to
the ribs or abdomen, which could se-
verely injure internal organs such as
your liver or spleen.


Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eyeglasses, pens, keys etc., as these
might cause injuries.


Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips and not across the abdo-
men. If the belt is positioned across your
abdomen, it could cause serious injuries
in a crash.
S203 MY03_A.book Page 63 Tuesday, January 28, 2003 2:22 PM

101 Controls in detail
Lighting
Combination switch
The combination switch is located on the
left side of the steering column.
1High beam
2High beam flasher
Switching on high beams
Turn exterior lamp switch to
position
B
or to
U
(page 98).

Push the combination switch in
direction1.
The high beam symbol is illuminated on
the instrument cluster.High beam flasher

Pull the combination switch briefly in
direction2.
Hazard warning flasher
The hazard warning flasher can be activat-
ed with the ignition switched on or off. It is
activated automatically when an airbag is
deployed.
The switch is located on the center con-
sole.
1Hazard warning flasher switchSwitching on the hazard warning
flasher

Press the hazard warning flasher
switch.
All turn signals will blink.
Switching off the hazard warning
flasher

Press hazard warning flasher switch
again.iWith the hazard warning flasher acti-
vated and the combination switch set
for either left or right turn, only the re-
spective left or right turn signals will
operate when the key in the starter
switch is in position1 or2.
S203 MY03_A.book Page 101 Tuesday, January 28, 2003 2:22 PM

259 Practical hints
What to do if …
Lamp in center consoleProblem
Possible cause
Suggested solution
7
The indicator lamp lights up.
A BabySmart
TM child seat is installed on the
front passenger seat. Therefore the front
passenger airbag is switched off.
The system is malfunctioning when there is
no BabySmart
TM child seat installed on the
front passenger seat.

Have the system checked as soon as
possible by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
7
The indicator lamp does not light
up with a BabySmart
TM child
seat properly installed on the
front passenger seat.
The system is malfunctioning.

Make sure that there is nothing be-
tween seat cushion and child seat and
check installation of the child seat.

If the light remains out, have the sys-
tem checked as soon as possible by
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Do not use the BabySmart
TM restraint
to transport children on the front pas-
senger seat until the system has been
repaired.
S203 MY03_A.book Page 259 Tuesday, January 28, 2003 2:22 PM

342 Technical termsPower train
Collective term designating all compo-
nents used to generate and transmit
motive power to the drive axles, includ-
ing


engine


clutch/torque converter


transmission


transfer case


drive shaft


differential


axle shafts/axles
Program mode selector switch
Used to switch the automatic transmission
between standard operation S and winter
operation W.Remote Vehicle Diagnostics
Transmission of vehicle data and current
location to the Mercedes-Benz Customer
Assistance Center for subscribers to
Tele Aid service.
REST
(Residual engine heat utilization)
Feature that uses the engine heat
stored in the coolant to heat the vehi-
cle interior for a short time after the en-
gine has been turned off.
Restraint systems
Seat belts, belt tensioners, airbags and
child restraint systems. As independent
systems, their protective functions com-
plement one another.RON
(Research Octane Number)
The Research Octane Number for gaso-
line as determined by a standardized
method. It is an indication of a gaso-
line's ability to resist undesired detona-
tion (knocking). The average of both
the ->MON (Motor Octane Number)
and RON (Research Octane Number) is
posted at the pump, also known as AN-
TI-KNOCK INDEX.
Shift lock
When the vehicle is parked, this lock pre-
vents the transmission selector lever from
being moved out of position P without key
turned and brake pedal depressed.
SRS
(Supplemental Restraint System)
Seat belts, emergency tensioning de-
vice and airbags. Though independent
systems, they are closely interfaced to
provide effective occupant protection.
S203 MY03_A.book Page 342 Tuesday, January 28, 2003 2:22 PM

346 IndexAir volume
Adjusting 147, 155
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp 259
Airbags 57
BabySmart
TM deactivation
system 67
Children 58
Front 60
Passenger 60
Safety guidelines 59
Side impact 61
Window curtain 61
Alarm
Audible 72, 80
Canceling 80
Visual 79
Alarm system
Anti-theft 79
Alignment bolt 302, 339
Anticorrosion/antifreeze 335
Antiglare
Automatic 141
Antilock brake system (ABS) 339
Anti-theft alarm system
Arming 79
Canceling alarm 80Disarming 80
Anti-theft systems 79
Anti-theft alarm system* 79
Immobilizer 79
Tow-away alarm 80
Aquaplaning see Hydroplaning 226
Armrest
Storage compartment in front of 205
Storage spaces 206
Ashtray 207
ATF (automatic transmission fluid) 237
AUDIO menu 112
Selecting radio station 113
Audio system
Audio and telephone, operation 161
Button and soft key operation 164
Cassette mode 170
CD mode 174
Operating and display elements 162
Operating safety 161
Operation 164
Radio mode 167
Switching off 164
Switching on 164
Telephone operation 178
Audio systems 161Automatic antiglare for rear view
mirror 141
Automatic central locking
Activating/deactivating (control
system) 125
Automatic climate control 152
Adjusting air distribution 155
Air recirculation mode 156
Deactivating 150
Defrosting 156
Rear window defroster 158
Residual heat utilization 159
Residual ventilation 159
Setting the temperature 154
Automatic headlamp mode 99
Automatic lighting control
Activating 102
Deactivating 102
Automatic locking when driving 88
Automatic transmission 135
Accelerator position 140
Emergency operation (Limp Home
Mode) 140
Fluid level 237
Gear ranges 137
Gear selector lever position 138
S203 MY03_A.book Page 346 Tuesday, January 28, 2003 2:22 PM