2003 MERCEDES-BENZ C32AMG Thumbwheel

155 Controls in detail
Climate control
Ventilated storage compartment
The front center console storage compart-
ment has its own air vent that allows for
cooling ventilation when the automatic cli-
mate control system is activated.
1LeverOpening the air vent

Raise lever1.
Closing the air vent

Lower lever1.Rear passenger compartment adjust-
able air vents
1Center air vent, left
2Thumbwheel for air volume control for
center air vents
3Center air vent, right
To open center air vents:
Turn thumbwheel2 upward.
iYou should keep this air vent closed
when outside temperatures are low.
iThe compartment can get very warm
due to its confined space. When storing
heat sensitive objects in the compart-
ment, close the air vent while heating
the passenger compartment.!Do not obstruct the air vent in the
storage compartment.
iThe temperature at the air vents for the
rear passenger compartment1 and3
is the same as at the dashboard center
air vents.

157 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control*
Automatic climate control panel
Item
1
Air volume control for left center air
vent
2
Left center air vent, adjustable
3
Thumbwheel for adding outside air
4
Right center air vent, adjustable
5
Air volume control for right center
air vent
6
Air volume control for side air vent
7
Side air vent, adjustable
8
Side defroster vent, fixed
9
Automatic climate control paneliFor draft-free ventilation, move the slid-
ers for the center air vents to the mid-
dle position.
Item
1
Temperature control, left, raising
2
Left-side air distribution control
(automatic or manual operation)
3
Activated charcoal filter
4
Display
5
Right-side air distribution control
(automatic or manual operation)
6
Temperature control, right, raising
7
Temperature control, right,
lowering
8
Rear window defroster
9
AC cooling on/off (AC
OFF
)
Residual heat/ventilation
10
Air volume control
11
Automatic climate control on/off
(complete system)
12
Air recirculation
13
Defrosting
14
Temperature control, left, lowering

158 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control*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 theAC
OFF
mode is selected
(
page 149).
Setting the temperature
Use temperature controls1 and14 for the
left side or6 and7 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 control1 and/or6.
The automatic climate control system
will correspondingly adjust the interior
air temperature.
Decreasing

Push temperature control7
and/or14.
The automatic climate control system
will correspondingly adjust the interior
air temperature.
Adding outside air

Turn thumbwheel3 in dashboard
(page 156) to increase airflow 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.
Do not obstruct air flow by placing ob-
jects on the air flow-through exhaust
slots below the rear window.iWhen operating the climate control
system in automatic mode, you will
only rarely need to adjust the tempera-
ture, air volume and air distribution.

164 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control*The residual heat is automatically turned
off

when the ignition is switched on


after about 30 minutes


if the battery voltage dropsRear passenger compartment adjust-
able air vents
1Center air vent, left
2Thumbwheel for air volume control for
center air vents
3Center air vent, right
4Closing center air vents
5Opening center air vents
6Switching on blower
Adjusting the air volume
Turn thumbwheel2.
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
setting1 regardless of the air distribu-
tion control setting.
iFour blower speeds are available.
The temperature at the air vents for
rear passenger compartment1 and3
is the same as at the dashboard center
air vents.