2003 MERCEDES-BENZ SLK320 ESP

90 Controls in detailInstrument clusterOutside 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 clock
Hours
Pull out the right knob5 in the instru-
ment cluster (
page 20) and turn it
counterclockwise.
Minutes

Pull out the right knob5 in the instru-
ment cluster 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 adjust the time by a single hour or a
few minutes, turn knob5 just a few de-
grees in the direction indicated for
hours or minutes.

96 Controls in detailAutomatic transmission*Gear selector lever position
Effect
P
Park position
Selector position when the vehicle
is parked. Only place selector lever
in positionP when vehicle is
stopped. The park position is not in-
tended to serve as a brake when
the vehicle is parked. Rather, the
driver should always set the park-
ing brake in addition to placing the
selector lever in positionP to se-
cure the vehicle.
The key can only be removed from
the steering lock with the selector
lever in positionP. With the key re-
moved the selector lever is locked
in positionP.
Effect
R
Reverse gear
Place selector lever in positionR only
when vehicle is stopped.
N
Neutral
No power is transmitted from the en-
gine to the drive axle. When the
brakes are released, the vehicle can
be moved freely (pushed or towed).
To avoid damage to the transmission,
never engageN while driving.
If the ESP is deactivated or malfunc-
tioning:
Only move selector lever toN if the
vehicle is in danger of skidding (e.g.
on icy roads).
D
Drive
The transmission shifts automatical-
ly. All five forward gears are avail-
able.
!Coasting the vehicle, or driving for any
other reason with selector lever inN
can result in transmission damage that
is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.Warning!
G
Getting out of your vehicle with the selector
lever not fully engaged in positionP is dan-
gerous. Also, positionP alone is not intend-
ed to or capable of preventing your vehicle
from moving, possibly hitting people or ob-
jects.
Always set the parking brake in addition to
shifting to positionP (
page 47).
When parked on an incline, turn front wheels
towards the road curb.

99 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Good visibility
Information on the windshield wipers
(page 44) and for adjusting the rear view
mirrors (
page 35) is found in the “Get-
ting started” section.
Rear view mirror
Automatic antiglare rear view mirror
The reflection brightness of the exterior
rear view mirror on the driver’s side and
the inside rear view mirror will respond au-
tomatically to glare when

the ignition is switched on, and


incoming light from headlamps falls on
the sensor in the inside rear view mir-
ror.
The rear view mirror will not react if


reverse gear is engaged


the interior lighting is turned on


the wind screen is installed
(page 134)
Warning!
G
The automatic antiglare function does not
react if incoming light is not aimed directly
at sensors in the inside rear view mirror.
The inside rear view mirror and the exterior
rear view mirror on the driver’s side do not
react, for example, if the wind screen is in-
stalled.
Glare can endanger you and others.
Warning!
G
In the case of an accident, liquid electrolyte
may escape from the mirror housing if the
mirror glass breaks.
Electrolyte has an irritating effect. Do not al-
low the liquid to come into contact with
eyes, skin, clothing, or the respiratory sys-
tem. In case it does, immediately flush af-
fected area with water, and seek medical
help if necessary.

106 Controls in detailClimate control
Air conditioning
The air conditioning is operational while
the engine is running and cools the interior
air to the temperature set by the operator.Deactivating
It is possible to deactivate the air condi-
tioning (cooling) function of the climate
control system. The air in the vehicle will
then no longer be cooled or dehumidified.

Press buttonAC
OFF
(page 102).
The indicator lamp on the
AC
OFF
button lights up.
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.
iCondensation may drip out from under-
neath the vehicle. This is normal and
not an indication of a malfunction.
Warning!
G
While driving, deactivate the air conditioning
only temporarily to prevent window fogging.

117 Controls in detail
Audio system
Seek tuning
Press either the
f
or
e
button.
The radio will tune to the next receiv-
able station.
Scan tuning

Press the
SC
key.
Each station with a strong signal on the
band selected will be tuned in for
8 seconds. The first scan will tune only
the stations with a high signal strength.
The second scan will tune every receiv-
able station.
By pressing either the
d
, c
, f
or
e
buttons, or the
SC
key, the scan
mode can be cancelled.Station memory
Ten stations can be stored in the AM and
FM bands via the alpha-numeric keypad.
The “0” button corresponds to location 10.
Weatherband (WB) channels 1 to 7 can be
retrieved via the alpha-numeric keypad
and are preset at the factory.
Storing stations

Hold the number button down for ap-
proximately 2 seconds.
The currently displayed frequency is
stored on the selected station button.
The storage procedure is confirmed by
a short signal tone.
Retrieving a station from memory

Press the desired station button.Direct frequency input (AM and FM
only)

Select the band.

Press the
“
button and enter the
desired frequency using the
alpha-numeric keypad.
Frequencies outside of the frequency
ranges (frequencies specified on
page 116) will not be accepted. The
frequency input mode is cancelled if no
button is pressed within 4 seconds.

118 Controls in detailAudio systemCassette mode
Playing cassettes
Press the “TAPE” button.

Press the eject (EJ) key.
The display folds down and the cas-
sette slot becomes visible.

Push the cassette into the slot until it
engages.
The cassette will be pulled in automati-
cally.
The radio will switch to cassette mode.
Track 1 will be played and
SIDE 1
dis-
played. Track 1 is the side of the cassette
which is facing upwards. The cassette
deck will automatically detect the type of
tape and switch the equalization automati-
cally. A cassette symbol in the display indi-cates that a tape is in the mechanism. This
symbol appears in all modes but not in cas-
sette mode.
The cassette will not be ejected when the
radio is switched off or another mode is se-
lected.
If a cassette is in the mechanism, cassette
mode can be selected by using the “TAPE”
button. If no cassette has been inserted,
the display will show
NO TAPE
.
Cassette eject

Press the eject (
EJ) key.
The display will fold down and the
cassette will be ejected.
iDo not press directly on the radio dis-
play face.
Return the display panel to its normal
position by folding it back up and
pressing gently on the display frame to
lock in place.
When playing mono recorded tapes
(e.g. books) through a stereo system,
the sound from one track might bleed
to the other track, despite setting the
balance to the full left or full right
speakers.!If the display is in the down position for
more than 20 seconds, two successive
beeps will be heard. This will continue
at 5 second intervals until the display is
returned to its normal position.


122 Controls in detailAudio systemCD changer* installed
1CD
2CD changer
3CD tray
4CD magazine
If a CD changer is installed, it can be oper-
ated from the front control panel of the ra-
dio. A loaded magazine must be installed
for CD playing.Loading/unloading the CD magazine

Slide the changer door to the right.

Press the eject button
d
.
The magazine will be ejected.

Remove the magazine.

Pull out the CD tray until its stop is
reached.

Place the CDs in the recess of the tray,
label side up.

Push the tray into the magazine in the
direction shown by the arrow.

Insert the loaded magazine into the
changer.Playing CDs

Press the CD button.
The CD most recently played will start
at the point where it was last switched
off. CDs stored in the magazine can be
selected by using the station preset
buttons 1-6.
The magazine slot number of the selected
CD will then be displayed after
CD. The
number of the track being played will be
displayed after
TRACK
.
If there is no CD in the selected magazine
slot,
NO CD
and the corresponding slot
number will be displayed (e.g.
NO CD3
). Af-
ter the last track on a CD has been played,
the next CD will automatically be selected
and played.
!Close the door after the magazine has
been inserted.

123 Controls in detail
Audio system
Skipping tracks forwards / backwards
Press the
f
button.
The next track on the CD will be played.

Press the
e
button.
If the track has been playing for more
than 10 seconds, it will revert to the
start of that track. If it has been playing
for less than 10 seconds, it will revert
to the preceding track.
To skip several tracks, the respective
button must be pressed until the de-
sired track is reached. If the beginning
or end of the CD is reached during the
search, the first or last track will be
played.Fast forward/reverse

Press the
d
button and hold it down
for audible fast forward.

Press the
c
button and hold it down
for audible reverse.
The search will stop when the button is re-
leased. The relative time of the track will
be displayed during the search. The search
mode will cancel if the beginning or end of
the CD is reached.
Scanning

Press the
SC key.
Each track will be played for 8 seconds
in ascending order.
The search will stop at the track in
question if the d
, c
, f
, e

buttons or the
SC key are pressed.Random play/repeat function
The tracks of the current CD are played in
random order when the random feature
(
RDM
) is selected.

Press the
RDM
key to switch on, and
press
RDM
again to switch off.
When the repeat function (
RPT
) has been
selected, a particular track can be played
for as many times as desired.

Press the
RPT
key to switch on.

Press
RPT
again to switch off.
iBoth functions cannot be used simulta-
neously.