2004 MERCEDES-BENZ CL600 Owner's Manual

176 Controls in detailAutomatic climate controlNearly 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 ± mode is selected
(page 183).
Setting the temperature
Use temperature controls aand8
(page 175) to separately adjust the air
temperature on each side of the passenger
compartment. You should raise or lower
the temperature setting in small incre-
ments, preferably starting at 72°F (22°C).
Increasing / decreasing

Press button a or 8 repeatedly up or
down until the display shows the de-
sired temperature.
The automatic climate control system
will accordingly adjust the interior air
temperature.
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.
iThe current climate control settings
(ON / OFF, temperature, air volume, ac-
tivated charcoal filter, etc.) are stored
for each SmartKey before it is removed
from the starter switch or when the ve-
hicle is locked using the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* (
page 116).
If the vehicle interior is hot, ventilate
the interior before driving off.
Keep the air intake grille in front of the
windshield free of snow, leaves, sticks,
and any other debris.
Do not obstruct air volume by placing
objects on the air volume-through ex-
haust 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 the temperature for center
air vents
When outside temperatures are low, you
can manually raise the air temperature for
the center and side air vents. The
thumbwheel4 is located between the
center air vents (
page 173).
Automatic temperature control

Turn thumbwheel 4 to A.
The indicator lamp above the thumb-
wheel comes on. The temperature is
automatically adjusted to the set value.
Turning on warm air

Turn thumbwheel4 in the direction of
the white marking.
Warm air will enter from the center air
vent.Turning on cooler air

Turn thumbwheel4 in the direction of
the blue marking.
Cooler air will enter from the center air
vent.
Adjusting air distribution
Use the air distribution controlsc and6
(page 175) to separately adjust the air
distribution on each side of the passenger
compartment. The following symbols are
found on the controls:Adjusting manually

Press left or right buttonU.
The button emerges and theh,
», d and c symbols become
visible.

Turn the marking on the regulator to
the desired symbol.
The air will be directed to the vents cor-
responding to this symbol.
Adjusting automatically

Press left or right buttonU until it
clicks in.
Theh, », d and c sym-
bols are no longer visible.
The air distribution is adjusted auto-
matically.
Symbol
Function
h
Directs air through the cen-
ter air vents
d
Directs air to the windows
»
Directs air into the entire
vehicle interior
c
Directs air to the footwells

178 Controls in detailAutomatic climate controlWindows fogged on the inside
Press button± to switch on the air
conditioning (
page 175).
The indicator lamp in the button goes
out.

Press button, to switch off the air
recirculation (
page 175).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.

Make sure left and right buttonU
emerges.
Theh, », d and
csymbols become visible.

Press left and rightd button.

Set blower to the maximum speed.

Adjust left and right air vents1
and6 upwards (
page 173).

Increase temperature setting.

Open the side air vents9 and direct
them onto the side windows
(page 173).
Windshield fogged on the outside

Switch the windshield wipers on
(page 50).

Press on both U buttons until they
click in.
Theh, », d and c sym-
bols are no longer visible.
Adjusting air volume
Use air volume control9 (
page 175) for
both automatic and manual air volume ad-
justment.
Adjusting automatically

PressA on air volume switch9
(page 175).
The display shows “
AUTO
”. The air vol-
ume is adjusted automatically.
Adjusting manually
Reducing air volume

Press switch 9 down until the desired
air volume is reached.
The display shows the current level.
Increasing air volume

Press switch9 up until the desired air
volume is reached.
The display shows the current level.

179 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Maximum cooling MAXCOOL
If the left and right air distribution controls
as well as the air volume control are set
toU and there is a high need for cool-
ing, the display “
AUTO MAXCOOL
” appears.
This provides the fastest possible cooling
of the vehicle interior (when windows and
sliding / pop-up roof are closed).
Defrosting
Activating
Press buttonP (
page 175).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
Switch off air recirculation, if selected.

Press button, (
page 175).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.

Close center air vents.

Adjust side air vents upwards.
Deactivating

Press buttonP (
page 175).
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 button, (
page 175).
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 button, pressed, the
side windows and the sliding / pop-up
roof will close.

180 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control
Deactivating
Press button, (
page 175).
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)


after five minutes if the air conditioning
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.
Warning!
G
Never operate the side windows and the
sliding/pop-up roof if there is the possibility
of anyone being harmed by the closing pro-
cedure.
In the event that the procedure causes po-
tential danger, the closing of the side win-
dows can be immediately halted by
releasing the, button or by pressing the
respective window switch. The closing of the
sliding/pop-up roof can be immediately
halted by releasing the, button or by
moving the sliding/pop-up roof switch in the
overhead control panel in any direction.
iThe 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 beyond a
predetermined level, for example in
a tunnel.
Please note that the charcoal filter
must be activated (
page 181) for the
air recirculation mode to be activated
automatically.
If you have turned off the air condition-
ing (
page 183) or the outside
temperature is below 41°F (5°C), the
air recirculation mode will not switch
on automatically.
iIf you keep button, pressed, the
side windows and the sliding / pop-up
roof will return to their previous posi-
tion.

181 Controls in detail
Automatic 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 (
page 175).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
Deactivating

Press buttone (
page 175).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.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, for example
in a tunnel.
The automatic air recirculation mode does
not function if ± mode is selected 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.
iIf you keep buttone pressed, the
side windows and the sliding / pop-up
roof will close.
Warning!
G
Never operate the side windows and the
sliding/pop-up roof if there is the possibility
of anyone being harmed by the closing pro-
cedure.
In the event that the procedure causes po-
tential danger, the procedure can be imme-
diately halted by releasing thee button
or by pressing the respective window
switch. The closing of the sliding/pop-up
roof can be immediately halted by releasing
thee button or by moving the slid-
ing/pop-up roof switch in the overhead con-
trol panel in any direction.
iIf you keep buttone pressed, the
side windows and the sliding / pop-up
roof will return to their previous posi-
tions.

182 Controls in detailAutomatic climate controlRear window defroster
The rear window defroster uses a large
amount of power. To keep battery drain to
a minimum, switch off the defroster as
soon as the rear window is clear. The de-
froster is automatically deactivated after
approximately 6 to 17 minutes of opera-
tion depending on the outside tempera-
ture.
Activating
Press buttonF (
page 175).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
Deactivating

Press buttonF (
page 175) again.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.Deactivating the climate control sys-
tem
Deactivating
It is possible to completely deactivate the
automatic climate control system. 
Press button M (
page 175).
The display shows “0”.
Reactivating
There are several ways to reactivate the
automatic climate control system:

Press one of the following buttons,
M, P, U, a temperature con-
trol switch (
page 175) or air volume
switch 9 on the climate control pan-
el.
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 flashing, 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.

183 Controls in detail
Automatic climate 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 automatic
climate control system. The air in the vehi-
cle will then no longer be cooled or dehu-
midified.
Press button± (
page 175).
The indicator lamp on the button±
comes on.Activating
Moist air can fog up the windows. You can
dehumidify the air with the air condition-
ing.

Press± again (
page 175).
The indicator lamp on the button±
goes out.
The air conditioning uses the refrigerant
R134a. This refrigerant is free of CFCs
which are harmful to the ozone layer.
Residual heat and ventilation
With the engine switched off, it is possible
to continue to heat or ventilate the interior
for up to 30 minutes. This feature makes
use of the residual heat produced by the
engine.
Activating
Turn the SmartKey in the starter switch
to position1 or0, or remove it from
the starter switch.

Press buttonT (
page 175).
The indicator lamp on buttonT
comes on.
iCondensation may drip out from under-
neath the vehicle. This is normal and
not an indication of a malfunction.
!If the± button on the automatic cli-
mate control panel starts to flash, this
indicates that the air conditioning is
losing refrigerant. The compressor has
turned itself off. The air conditioning
cannot be turned on again.
Have the air conditioning checked at
the nearest authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.