2003 MERCEDES-BENZ ML55AMG Owner's Manual

105 Controls in detail
Lighting
Locator lighting
During darkness, the following lamps will
come on when the vehicle is unlocked by
remote control:

Parking lamps


Tail lamps


License plate lamps


Front fog lamps
The combination switch must be set to
position
U
(page 102).
The locator lighting switches off when the
driver’s door is opened. It switches off au-
tomatically after a period of approximately
40 seconds.
Fog lamps
The switch is located on the upper center
console.
1Front fog lamps
2Indicator lamp
3Front fog lamps and rear fog lampSwitching on front fog lamps

Check that the low beam headlamps
are switched on.

Press upper part1 of switch.
The green indicator lamp
‡
in the
instrument cluster lights up.
Switching on front fog lamps and rear
fog lamp

Check that the low beam headlamps
are switched on.

Press lower part3 of switch.
The green indicator lamp
‡
in the
instrument cluster lights up in addition
to the yellow indicator lamp2 in the
switch.
Switching off front fog lamps and rear
fog lamp

Press lower part3 of switch.
The green indicator lamp
‡
in the
instrument cluster and the yellow indi-
cator lamp2 in the switch go out.
iThe fog lamps can be switched on with
combination switch in position
õ

or U. Consult your state Motor Regula-
tions regarding allowable lamp opera-
tion.

106 Controls in detailLightingSwitching off rear fog lamp
Press upper part1 of switch.
The yellow indicator lamp2 in the
switch goes out.
Switching off front fog lamps

Press upper part1 of switch.
The green indicator lamp
‡
in the
instrument cluster goes out.
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 top of the steering
column.Hazard warning flasher switch
Switching on hazard warning flasher
Press the hazard warning flasher
switch.
All the turn signals will blink.
Switching off hazard warning flasher

Press hazard warning flasher switch
again.iIf the hazard warning flasher was acti-
vated automatically, press the hazard
warning flasher switch twice to deacti-
vate.

107 Controls in detail
Lighting
Interior lighting
1Left front interior lamp
2Right front interior lamp
3Automatic function off
4Automatic function on
5Rear interior lightingAutomatic control
Activating

Bring the rocker switch in center
position4.
Interior lamps (except cargo compart-
ment lamp) are switched on in dark-
ness when you

unlock the vehicle


open a door


remove the key from the steering
lock
In addition, the entry/exit lamps in the
d oor tra ys wi ll com e on when y ou ope n
a door.
When all doors are closed and no key is
inserted in the steering lock, the interi-
or lamps are switched off after a brief
delay.Deactivating

Press lower part3 of rocker switch .
The interior lighting and the entry/exit
lamps remain switched off in darkness,
even when you

unlock the vehicle


open a door


remove the key from the steering
lock
iIf the door remains open, the interior
lamps (except cargo compartment
lamp) switch off automatically after ap-
proximately 30 minutes.

108 Controls in detailLightingManual control
Switching on front interior lamps
Press on lamp lens1 or2.
The respective lamp switches on.
Switching off front interior lamps

Press on lamp lens1 or2 again.
The respective lamp switches off.
Operating rear interior lighting with
rocker switch

Press on upper part5 of rocker switch.
The rear interior lighting goes on.

Press on upper part5 of rocker switch
again.
The rear interior lighting goes off.
If the switch is pressed while the rear
interior lighting is on, the function is re-
versed.
Operating rear interior lighting with
lamp lens
Rear interior lighting
Push on lamp lens (arrow) to switch
rear interior lighting on or off.Reading lamps in inside rear view
mirror
1Reading lamps
2Reading lamps on/off
Switching on reading lamp

Press button2.
Switching off reading lamp

Press button2 again.
iIf a lamp is switched on manually, it will
not go out automatically. This could
cause the battery to become dis-
charged.

109 Controls in detail
Lighting
Cargo compartment lamp
1Switched off
2Switched on continuously
3Automatic controlSwitching off cargo compartment lamp

Slide the switch to position1.
The cargo compartment lamp is
switched off, even when the liftgate is
opened.
Switching on continuous cargo
compartment lamp

Slide the switch to position2.
The cargo compartment lamp is
switched on continuously.Automatic control

Slide the switch to position3.
The cargo compartment lamp is
switched on and off by opening or clos-
ing the liftgate.
iTo prevent the vehicle battery from be-
ing discharged, make sure that the
switch is not in position2 when leaving
the vehicle.

110 Controls in detailInstrument cluster
Instrument clusterA full view illustration of the instrument
cluster can be found in the “At a glance”
section of this manual (
page 24).
1Left knob
2Right knobThe instrument cluster is activated when
you:


open the driver’s door


turn the key in steering lock to
position1 or 2 (
page 33)


press the left knob1
Instrument cluster illumination
To brighten illumination
Turn knob1 clockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
brighten.
To dim illumination

Turn knob1 counterclockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
dim.iYou can set the instrument cluster illu-
mination with the following lamps on:

parking lamps


low beam headlamps


high beam headlamps

111 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
Coolant temperature gauge
Under normal driving conditions, the cool-
ant temperature may rise to 248°F
(120°C). The coolant temperature may
climb to the red marking:

at high outside temperatures


during stop-and-go city traffic


when driving on hilly terrain
The engine should not be operated with
the coolant temperature in the red zone.
Doing so may cause serious engine dam-
age which is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Display in the speedometer
Changing display
Press the left knob1 in the instrument
cluster (
page 110).
The display changes between main
odometer and trip odometer.

Press the left knob1 twice.
The next scheduled service is displayed
(page 215).
Warning!
G
Driving when your engine is badly overheat-
ed can cause some fluids which may have
leaked into the engine compartment to
catch fire. You could be seriously burned.
Steam from an overheated engine can cause
serious burns and can occur just by opening
the engine hood. Stay away from the engine
if you see or hear steam coming from it.
Turn off the engine, get out of the vehicle
and do not stand near the vehicle until it
cools down.

112 Controls in detailInstrument clusterResetting trip odometer
Press the left knob1 (
page 110) re-
peatedly until you see the trip odome-
ter display.

Press and hold the left knob1 until the
trip odometer is reset.
Tachometer
To help protect the engine, the fuel supply
is interrupted if the engine is operated
above its specified limit.
Outside temperature indicator
When moving the vehicle into colder ambi-
ent temperatures (e.g. when leaving your
garage), you will notice a delay before the
lower temperature is displayed.
A delay also occurs when ambient temper-
atures rise. This prevents inaccurate tem-
perature indications caused by heat
radiated from the engine during idling or
slow driving.
Setting the clock
Hour
Pull out the right knob2 in the instru-
ment cluster (
page 110) and turn it
counterclockwise.
Minutes

Pull out the right knob2 in the instru-
ment cluster (
page 110) and turn it
clockwise.
Warning!
G
The outside temperature indicator is not de-
signed to serve as an ice-warning device and
is therefore unsuitable for that purpose.
Indicated temperatures just above the freez-
ing point do not guarantee that the road sur-
face is free of ice. The road may still be icy,
especially in wooded areas or on bridges.
iTo set the clock by a single hour or a
few minutes, turn knob2 just a few de-
grees in the direction indicated for
hours or minutes.