2003 MERCEDES-BENZ E320 AC off

156 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionAccelerator position
Your driving style influences the transmis-
sion’s shifting behavior:
Less throttle Earlier upshifting
More throttle Later upshiftingKickdown
Use kickdown when you want maximum
acceleration.

Press the accelerator past the point of
resistance.
The transmission shifts into a lower
gear.

Ease on the accelerator when you have
reached the desired speed.
The transmission shifts up again.Emergency operation (Limp home
mode)
If vehicle acceleration worsens or the
transmission no longer shifts, the trans-
mission is most likely operating in limp
home (emergency operation) mode. In this
mode, only 2nd gear and reverse gear can
be activated.
Stop the vehicle.

Move selector lever toP.

Turn off the engine.

Wait at least ten seconds before re-
starting.

Restart the engine.

Move selector lever to positionD (for
2nd gear) orR.

Have the transmission checked at an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.

160 Controls in detailGood visibility
Rear window sunshade*
The switch is located in the center console.
Turn the key to starter switch position
1 or 2. Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:
press the start/stop button once or
twice.

Press the switch briefly at 1 to raise the
sunshade.

Press the switch briefly at 1 to lower
the sunshade.
Always raise the sunshade fully for its sup-
port against the window frame.
iIf sunlight enters through a side win-
dow, disengage sun visor from
mounting1 and pivot to the side.
Mirror lamp3 will switch off.
Warning!
G
When operating the rear window sunshade,
be sure that there is no danger of anyone be-
ing harmed by the raising or lowering proce-
dure.
The raising or lowering procedure can be im-
mediately halted by briefly pressing the up-
per or lower half of the switch.
Briefly press upper or lower half of the
switch again to raise or lower the rear win-
dow sunshade completely.Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from 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 can cause serious personal injury.

164 Controls in detailClimate control
1
Temperature, left
2
Windshield defroster
3
Increase airflow
4
MAX COOL display
5
Air distribution rocker switch
6
Rear window defroster
7
Temperature, right
8
Residual heat
9
Economy mode (no cooling)
10
Air distribution display
11
On/off
12
Airflow display
13
Decrease airflow
14
Air recirculation button
15
Air distribution and air volume (au-
tomatic)

165 Controls in detail
Climate control
The climate control is operational whenev-
er the engine is running. You can operate
the climate control system in either the au-
tomatic or manual mode. The system cools
or heats the interior depending on the se-
lected interior temperature and the cur-
rent 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 the AC
OFF
mode is selected
(
page 170).
Setting the temperature
Use temperature controls1 and7 to sepa-
rately adjust the air temperature on each
side of the passenger compartment. You
should raise or lower the temperature set-
ting in small increments, preferably start-
ing at 72°F (22°C).
Increasing
Turn the control slightly to the right.
The climate control system will corre-
spondingly adjust the interior air tem-
perature.
Decreasing

Turn the control slightly to the left.
The climate control system will corre-
spondingly adjust the interior air tem-
perature.
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.

166 Controls in detailClimate controlAdjusting air distribution
Adjusting manually
Use air distribution control5 (
page 164)
to adjust the air distribution.

Press air distribution rocker switch5
(page 164).
The indicator lamp on the U button
goes out.The current air distribution appears in
the air distribution display10.
Adjusting automatically

Press the U button.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on. The air distribution and vol-
ume is adjusted automatically.
Adjusting center air outlets:
The thumbwheels for left2 and right6
center air outlets are automatically posi-
tioned for optimum interior airflow. In this
position, center air outlet4 and swiveling
left and right center outlets3 and5 are ful-
ly opened.Heating:
Only in manual mode is it possible to lower
the temperature in the headroom by regu-
lating the cold-airflow using thumbwheel7
(
page 162).
Windshield fogged on the outside

Switch the windshield wipers on.

Press the U button.
Adjusting air volume
Adjusting manually
Five blower speeds are available.
Press˜ to decrease orQ 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.
Symbol
Function
a
Directs air through the
center, side and rear
passenger compartment
air outlets
Z
Directs air to the win-
dows
X
Directs air into the entire
vehicle interior
Y
Directs air to the foot-
wells

167 Controls in detail
Climate control
Adjusting automatically
Press the U button.
The air volume is adjusted automatical-
ly.
Maximum cooling MAX COOL
If the left air distribution/airflow volume
control15 (
page 164) is set to U and
there is a high need for cooling, the display
"MAX COOL"4 (page 164) appears in
the 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.
or

Switch off air recirculation, if selected.
Press buttonO.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.

Close center air outlets.

Open left and right side air outlets and
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.
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.

168 Controls in detailClimate controlActivating
Press buttonO.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.Deactivating

Press buttonO.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
The air recirculation mode is deactivated
automatically:


after five minutes if the outside temper-
ature is below approximately 41°F
(5°C)
iIf you keep buttonO pressed, the
side windows and sliding/pop-up roof*
will be closed.
The air recirculation mode is activated
automatically at high outside tempera-
tures.
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.
Warning!
G
Never operate the windows or slid-
ing/pop-up roof* if there is the possibility of
anyone being harmed by the opening or
closing procedure.
In case the procedure causes potential dan-
ger, the procedure can be immediately halt-
ed by releasing the control button. To
reverse direction of movement press
button
Œ
for opening or
‹
for clos-
ing.
iIf you keep buttonO pressed, the
side windows and sliding/po-up roof*
will be returned to their previous posi-
tion.

169 Controls in detail
Climate control


after five minutes if the air conditioner
is turned off


after 30 minutes if the outside temper-
ature is above approximately 41°F
(5°C)
At outside temperatures above 79°F
(26°C), the system will not automatically
switch back to outside air. A quantity of
outside air is added after approximately
30 minutes.
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.
Warning!
G
Any accumulation of snow and ice should be
removed from the rear window before driv-
ing. Visibility could otherwise be impaired,
endangering you and others.!If the rear window defroster switches
off too soon and the indicator lamp
starts blinking, this means that too
many electrical consumers are operat-
ing simultaneously and there is insuffi-
cient voltage in the battery. The system
responds automatically by deactivating
the rear window defroster.
As soon as the battery has sufficient
voltage, the rear window defroster au-
tomatically turns itself back on.