2003 MERCEDES-BENZ E320 tme

176 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control*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
is se-
lected (
page 174).
Setting the temperature
Use temperature control3 for the left side
or5 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 top of temperature control rocker
switch3 and/or5.
The automatic climate control system
will correspondingly adjust the interior
air temperature.
Decreasing

Push bottom of temperature control
rocker switch3 and/or5.
The automatic climate control system
will correspondingly adjust the interior
air temperature.
Heating:
Only in manual air distribution mode is it
possible to lower the temperature in the
headroom by adding outside air using
thumbweel7 (
page 172) in the dash-
board.
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.

177 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control*
Adjusting air distribution
Adjusting manually
Turn air distribution controls1 and7
(page 174) to manually adjust to the
desired air distribution on each side of
the passenger compartment.
The indicator lamp in the U button
goes out.The following pages use symbol set 1 to
explain the operation of the air distribution
control. Please see above chart for refer-
ence to the corresponding function of sym-
bol set 2 should your vehicle show those
on the air distribution control switch.
Adjusting automatically

Press left or right U button again.
The indicator lamp in the U button
illuminates. The air distribution is ad-
justed automatically
Windshield fogged on the outside

Switch the windshield wipers on.

Press the left or right U button.
Adjusting air volume
Adjusting manually
Nine blower speeds are available.
Press˜ to decrease or Q to in-
crease air volume to the desired level.
The
Auto
display disappears and the
automatic mode is switched off. The
selected blower speed is shown in the
display.
Adjusting automatically

Press left or right U button.
The air volume is adjusted automatical-
ly.
Maximum cooling MAX COOL
If the left and right air distribution controls
as well as the airflow volume control are
set toU and there is a high need for
cooling, the display "MAX COOL" appears
in the front and rear display.
Symbol
Function
Set 1
Set 2
Õ
a
Directs air through the
center, side and rear
passenger compartment
air outlets
Ô
Z
Directs air to the win-
dows
Ò
X
Directs air into the entire
vehicle interior
Ó
Y
Directs air to the foot-
wells

178 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control*This provides the fastest possible cooling
of the vehicle interior (when windows and
sliding/pop-up roof are closed).Defrosting
Activating
Press buttonP.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.

Switch off air recirculation, if selected.

Press buttonO.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.

Close center air outlets.

Adjust side air outlets upwards.Deactivating

Press buttonP.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out. Defrosting is turned off.
Air recirculation mode
Switch to air recirculation mode to prevent
unpleasant odors from entering the vehicle
from the outside. This setting cuts off the
intake of outside air and recirculates the
air in the passenger compartment.
Activating
Press buttonO.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
iThese settings should only be selected
for a short time.
Warning!
G
When the outside temperature is below
41°F (5°C), only switch to air recirculation
mode for short periods to prevent window
fogging.
iIf you keep buttonO pressed, the
side windows and the sliding/pop-up
roof* will be closed.
The air recirculation mode is activated
automatically:

at high outside temperatures


if the concentration of carbon mon-
oxide and nitrogen oxide in the out-
side air increases, for example in a
tunnel (charcoal filter activated
(page 180))
If you have turned off the air condition-
er (
page 170) or the outside
temperature is below 41°F (5°C), the
air recirculation mode will not switch
on automatically.

180 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control*Charcoal filter
An activated charcoal filter markedly re-
duces bad odors and removes pollutants
from air entering the passenger compart-
ment.
Activating
Press buttone.
The indicator lamp on the button lights
up.
The system switches automatically to the
air recirculation mode if the carbon
monoxide (CO) or nitrogen oxide (NO
X)
concentration of the outside air increases
beyond a predetermined level.Deactivating

Press buttone.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
The automatic air recirculation mode does
not function if economy mode AC
OFF
is se-
lected or if the outside temperature has
fallen below 41
°F(5
°C).
The activated charcoal filter should be
switched off when windows fog up on the
inside, or if the passenger compartment
needs to be quickly heated or cooled
down.
Rear window defroster
The rear window defroster uses a large
amount of power. To keep the battery
drain to a minimum, switch off the defrost-
er as soon as the rear window is clear. The
defroster is automatically deactivated af-
ter approximately 6 to 17 minutes of oper-
ation depending on the outside
temperature.
Activating
Press buttonF.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
Deactivating

Press buttonF again.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
iIf you keep buttone pressed, the
side windows and the sliding/pop-up
roof* will be closed.
iIf you keep buttone pressed, the
side windows and the sliding/pop-up
roof* will be returned to their previous
position.

190 Controls in detailPanorama sliding/pop-up roof*
Panorama sliding/pop-up roof*Panorama sliding/pop-up roof* Opening and closing the roller sunblind
The roller sunblinds can only be opened or
closed when the panorama sliding/pop-up
roof is closed. The front and rear roller sun-
blind cannot be operated individually.
Panorama sliding/pop-up roof switch 1Open
2Close
Warning!
G
When closing the panorama sliding/pop-up
roof, ensure that no one is in danger of being
injured.
If the panorama sliding/pop-up roof is
closed with the convenience closing feature
and becomes blocked, it will not open auto-
matically.
Should this occur, press the release button
on the key and hold it down; the panorama
sliding/pop-up roof opens again.
Make sure to remove the key from the igni-
tion lock even when leaving the vehicle for
only a brief period of time.
In the event of an accident, the glass in ve-
hicles with a glass roof may shatter.
If the vehicle rolls over, there is a danger of
occupants without fastened seat belts being
thrown out of the opening.
In this case there is an increased risk of in-
jury even for passengers with fastened seat
belts, as entire body parts or portions of
them may protrude from the passenger
compartment.

196 Controls in detailDriving systemsSetting stored speed ("Resume"
function)
Briefly push the cruise control lever to
position4.
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
position1 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
position2 and hold it down until the
desired speed is reached.

Release the cruise control lever.
The new speed is set.Fine adjustment in 0.6 mph (1 km/h)
increments
Faster

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow1.
Slower

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow2.
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 endanger yourself 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.

197 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Distronic*
When activated, the Distronic adaptive
cruise control system increases driving
convenience afforded by the cruise control
during travel on expressways and other
major roads.

If the Distronic distance sensor detects
a slower moving vehicle directly ahead,
your vehicle speed will be reduced so
that you follow that vehicle at a preset
distance.


If there is no vehicle directly ahead of
you, Distronic will function in the same
way as cruise control (
page 201).
Warning!
G
Distronic adaptive cruise control is no sub-
stitute for active driving involvement. It does
not react to stationary objects, nor recog-
nize or predict the curvature and lane layout
or the movement of vehicles ahead. Distron-
ic can only apply a maximum of 20% of the
vehicle’s braking power.
It is the driver’s responsibility at all times to
be attentive to traffic and road conditions
and to provide the steering, braking and oth-
er driving inputs necessary to retain control
of the vehicle.Warning!
G
Distronic is a convenience system. Its speed
adjustment reduction capability is intended
to make cruise control more effective and
usable when traffic speeds vary. However, it
is not intended to, nor does it, replace the
need for extreme care. The responsibility for
the vehicle speed and the distance to the ve-
hicle ahead, including most importantly
brake operation to assure safe stopping dis-
tance, always rests with the driver.
Distronic cannot take street and traffic con-
ditions into account.
Warning!
G
Distronic requires familiarity with its opera-
tional characteristics. We strongly recom-
mend that you review the following
information carefully before operating the
system.iFor operation in the USA only: This de-
vice complies with Part 15 of the
FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions:

This device may not cause harmful
interference, and


this device must accept any inter-
ference received, including interfer-
ence that may cause undesired
operation.
Any unauthorized modification to this
device could void the user’s authority
to operate the equipment.

203 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Setting a lower speed
Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow2 (
page 201) to
decrease vehicle speed in increments
of 5 mph (Canada: 10 km/h).
The new speed is set.
The stored speed is displayed in the
multifunction display for approximately
five seconds (
page 199), and one or
two segments around the stored speed
light up on the speedometer
(
page 199).Fine adjustment in 1 mph
(Canada: 1 km/h) increments
Faster

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow4 (
page 201).Resetting stored speeds

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow4 (
page 201).
Distronic is set to the last stored
speed.

Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
iWhen you use the cruise control lever
to decelerate, the transmission will au-
tomatically downshift if the rate of de-
celeration is too low.
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 endanger yourself and others.