2006 MERCEDES-BENZ C230 air

341 Operation
Vehicle care
Vehicle care
Cleaning and care of the vehicle
While in operation, even while parked, your
vehicle is subjected to varying external
influences which, if gone unchecked, can
attack the paintwork as well as the under-
body and cause lasting damage.Such damage is caused not only by
extreme and varying climatic conditions,
but also by:


Air pollution


Road salt


Tar


Gravel and stone chipping
To avoid paint damage, you should
immediately remove:


Grease and oil


Fuel


Coolant


Brake fluid


Bird droppings


Insects


Tree resins, etc.
Frequent washing reduces and/or elimi-
nates the aggressiveness and potency of
the above adverse influences.More frequent washings are necessary to
deal with unfavorable conditions:


near the ocean


in industrial areas (smoke, exhaust
emissions)


during winter operation
You should check your vehicle from time to
time for stone chipping or other damage.
Any damage should be repaired as soon as
possible to prevent corrosion.
In doing so, do not neglect the underbody
of the vehicle. A prerequisite for a thor-
ough check is a washing of the underbody
followed by a thorough inspection. Dam-
aged areas need to be re-undercoated.
Your vehicle has been treated at the facto-
ry with a wax-base rustproofing in the body
cavities which will last for the lifetime of
the vehicle. Post-production treatment is
neither necessary nor recommended by
Mercedes-Benz because of the possibility
of incompatibility between materials used
in the production process and others
applied later.
Warning!
G
Many cleaning products can be hazardous.
Some are poisonous, others are flammable.
Always follow the instructions on the partic-
ular container. Always open your vehicle’s
doors or windows when cleaning the inside.
Never use fluids or solvents that are not de-
signed for cleaning your vehicle.
Always lock away cleaning products and
keep them out of reach of children.

342 OperationVehicle careWe have selected car-care products and
compiled recommendations which are
specially matched to our vehicles and
which always reflect the latest technology.
You can obtain Mercedes-Benz approved
car-care products at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Scratches, corrosive deposits, corrosion or
damage due to negligent or incorrect care
cannot always be removed or repaired with
the car-care products recommended here.
In such cases it is best to seek aid at an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
The following topics deal with the cleaning
and care of your vehicle and give important
“how-to” information as well as references
to Mercedes-Benz approved car-care
products.Power washer
Tar stains
Quickly remove tar stains before they dry
and become more difficult to remove. A tar
remover is recommended.Paintwork, painted body components
Mercedes-Benz approved Paint Care
should be applied when water drops on the
paint surface do not “bead up”. This should
normally be done every 3 to 5 months, de-
pending on the climate and washing deter-
gent used.
Mercedes-Benz approved Paint Cleaner
should be applied if the paint surface
shows signs of embedded dirt (i.e. loss of
gloss).
Do not apply any of these products or wax
if your vehicle is parked in the sun or if the
hood is still hot.

Use the appropriate MB-Touch-Up
Stick for quick and provisional repairs
of minor paint damage (i.e. chips from
stones, vehicle doors, etc.).
!Follow the instructions provided by the
power washer manufacturer on main-
taining a distance between the vehicle
and the nozzle of the power washer.
Never use a round nozzle to
power-wash tires. The intense jet of
water can result in damage to the tire.
Always replace a damaged tire.
Always keep the jet of water moving
across the surface. Do not aim directly
at electrical parts, electrical connec-
tors, seals, or other rubber parts.
!Affixing stickers, adhesive tape or sim-
ilar materials to painted body compo-
nents may damage the paintwork.

355 Practical hints
What to do if …
Problem
Possible cause/consequence
Suggested solution
<
The red seat belt telltale comes
on after starting the engine with
all doors closed.
The seat belt telltale reminds you and your
passengers to fasten your seat belts before
driving off.

Fasten your seat belts.
The red seat belt telltale flashes
and you additionally hear an in-
termittent warning signal with in-
creasing intensity for a maximum
of 60 seconds when the vehicle’s
speed exceeds 15 mph
(25 km/h).
You and/or your front passenger have for-
gotten to fasten your seat belts.
There are items placed on the front passen-
ger seat and therefore the system senses the
front passenger seat as being occupied.

Fasten your seat belts.

Remove the items from the front pas-
senger seat and put them in a safe
place.
1
The red SRS indicator lamp
comes on while driving.
There is a malfunction in the restraint
systems. The air bags or emergency
tensioning devices (ETDs) could deploy
unexpectedly or fail to deploy in an accident.

Drive with added caution to the
nearest authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
Warning!
G
In the event a malfunction of the SRS is
indicated as outlined above, the SRS may
not be operational.
For your safety, we strongly recommend
that you visit an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center immediately to have the system
checked; otherwise the SRS may not be
deployed when needed in an accident,
which could result in serious or fatal injury,
or it might deploy unexpectedly and
unnecessarily which could also result in an
accident and/or injury to you or to others.

356 Practical hintsWhat to do if …Lamp in center consoleProblem
Possible cause/conse-
quence
Suggested solution
56
The front passenger front air bag
off indicator lamp illuminates and
remains illuminated with the
weight of a typical adult or some-
one larger than a small individual
on the front passenger seat.
The system is malfunctioning.

Have the system checked as soon as possible
by an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer.

Also note any messages in the multifunction
display and follow corrective steps
(page 358).
Warning!
G
If the 56indicator lamp illuminates
and remains illuminated with the weight of a
typical adult or someone larger than a small
individual on the front passenger seat, do
not have any passenger use the front
passenger seat until the system has been
repaired.

357 Practical hints
What to do if …
Problem
Possible cause/conse-
quence
Suggested solution
56
The front passenger front
air bag off indicator lamp
does not illuminate
and/or does not remain
illuminated with the
weight of a typical
12-month-old child in a
standard child restraint or
less on the front passen-
ger seat.
The system is malfunctioning.

Make sure there is nothing between seat cushion and
child seat and check installation of the child seat.

Make sure that no objects applying supplemental
weight onto the seat are present.

If the front passenger front air bag off indicator lamp
remains out, have the system checked as soon as pos-
sible by an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer. Do not
transport a child on the front passenger seat until the
system has been repaired.

Also note any messages in the multifunction display
and follow corrective steps (
page 364).
Warning!
G
If the 56indicator lamp does not
illuminate or remains out with the weight of
a typical 12-month-old child in a standard
child restraint or less on the front passenger
seat, do not transport a child on the front
passenger seat until the system has been
repaired.

358 Practical hintsWhat to do if …Vehicle status messages in the multifunction display
Warning and malfunction messages
appear in the multifunction display located
in the instrument cluster.
Certain warning and malfunction messag-
es are accompanied by an audible signal.
Address these messages accordingly and
follow the additional instructions given in
this Operator’s Manual.
Selecting the vehicle status message
memory menu in the control system
(page 138) displays both cleared and
uncleared messages.
High-priority messages appear in the
multifunction display in red color.Certain messages of high priority cannot
be cleared from the multifunction display
using the reset button (
page 127) or
buttonj, k, ÿ, orè on the
steering wheel.
Other messages of high priority and
messages of less immediate priority can
be cleared from the multifunction display
using the reset button (page 127) or
buttonj, k, ÿ, orè on the
steering wheel. They are then stored in the
vehicle status message memory
(
page 138). Remember that clearing a
message will only make the message
disappear. Clearing a message will not
correct the condition that caused the
message to appear.
Warning!
G
All categories of messages contain
important information which should be
taken note of and, where a malfunction is
indicated, addressed as soon as possible at
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Failure to repair condition noted may cause
damage not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty, or result in property
damage or personal injury.Warning!
G
No messages will be displayed if either the
instrument cluster or the multifunction
display is inoperative.
Contact your nearest authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.

364 Practical hintsWhat to do if …Display message
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Front-pass.
airbag
activated
See Operator’s
Manual
Front passenger front air bag is
activated while driving even though
a child, small individual, or object
below the system’s weight
threshold is on the front passenger
seat, or the front passenger seat is
empty. Objects on the seat or
forces acting on the seat may
make the system sense supple-
mental weight.
Stop the vehicle in a safe location as soon as possible and check the front
passenger seat for the following:
Switch off the ignition (
page 33).

Remove child and child restraint from front passenger seat and proper-
ly secure the child in rear seat employing the child restraint if neces-
sary.

Make sure that no objects applying supplemental weight onto the seat
are present. The system may recognize such supplemental weight and
sense that an occupant on the front passenger seat is of a greater
weight than actually present.

Keep the seat unoccupied, close the front passenger door and switch
on the ignition (
page 33).
(Continued on next page)

365 Practical hints
What to do if …
Display message
Possible cause/
consequence
Possible solution
Front-pass.
airbag
activated
See Operator’s
Manual
Monitor the 56indicator lamp on the center console (
page 27) and the mul-
tifunction display in the instrument cluster (
page 24) for the following:
With the seat unoccupied and the ignition turned on,


the 56indicator lamp on the center console should illuminate and remain
illuminated, indicating that the OCS (
page 77) has deactivated the air bag.


the message
Front-pass. airbag activated See Operator’s Manual
or the
message
Front-pass. airbag deactivated See Operator’s Manual
should not
appear in the multifunction display at any time the seat is unoccupied. Wait at last
60 seconds for the system to complete the necessary check cycles and to make
sure neither message appears in the multifunction display.
If above conditions are met, you can occupy the front passenger seat again. Depend-
ing on the front passenger classification sensed by the OCS (
page 77), the
56indicator lamp will remain illuminated or go out.
If above conditions are not met, the system is not working properly. Have the system
checked as soon as possible by an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
If the 56indicator lamp remains
out even after performing the above correc-
tive steps, do not have any children 12 years
old and under and other small individuals
use the front passenger seat until the sys-
tem has been repaired.