ContentsSafety and Security...........................  61
Occupant safety...................................  62
Air bags ..........................................  63
Seat belts .......................................  69
Active head restraint ......................  73
Children in the vehicle ....................  74
Blocking of rear door window 
operation ........................................  85
Panic alarm* ........................................  86
Activating .......................................  86
Deactivating ...................................  86
Driving safety systems .........................  87
ABS ................................................  87
BAS ................................................  88
ESP
®..............................................  89
Four wheel electronic traction 
system (4MATIC) with the ESP
®.....  92
Anti-theft systems................................  93
Immobilizer.....................................  93
Anti-theft alarm system* ................  93
Tow-away alarm* ...........................  95
Controls in detail...............................  97
Locking and unlocking .........................  98
SmartKey .......................................  98
Opening the doors from 
the inside .....................................  102
Opening the trunk ........................  103
Closing the trunk..........................  104
Trunk emergency release .............  105
Valet locking ................................  106
Automatic central locking ............  107
Locking and unlocking from 
the inside .....................................  107
Seats .................................................  109
Front seat active head restraints .  109
Rear seat head restraints .............  109
Lumbar support*..........................  112
Multicontour seats* 
(Canada only) ...............................  113
Seat heating* ...............................  113
Memory function* .............................  115
Storing positions into memory .....  116
Recalling positions from memory .  116
Storing exterior rear view mirror 
parking position ...........................  117Lighting .............................................  118
Exterior lamp switch ....................  118
Combination switch .....................  122
Corner-illuminating front fog lamps* 
(C 280, C 350 4MATIC: with 
Bi-Xenon* headlamps) .................  123
Hazard warning flasher ................  124
Interior lighting ............................  125
Door entry lamps .........................  126
Trunk lamp ...................................  126
Instrument cluster .............................  127
Instrument cluster illumination ....  127
Coolant temperature gauge .........  128
Trip odometer ..............................  128
Tachometer ..................................  129
Outside temperature indicator .....  129
Control system ..................................  130
Multifunction display....................  130
Multifunction steering wheel........  131
Menus ..........................................  133
Standard display menu ................  135
AUDIO menu ................................  136
NAV* menu ..................................  138
Vehicle status message memory 
menu............................................  138
Settings menu ..............................  140 
418 Practical hintsTowing the vehicle
!
To be certain to avoid a possibility of 
damage to the drivetrain, however, we 
recommend the drive shaft be discon-
nected at the rear axle drive flange 
(vehicles with 4MATIC: disconnected at 
the front and rear axle drive flanges) for 
any towing beyond a short tow to a 
nearby garage.
Warning!
G
If circumstances require towing the vehicle 
with all wheels on the ground, always tow 
with a tow bar if:
the engine will not run
there is a malfunction in the power 
supply or in the vehicle’s electrical 
system
as that will be necessary to adequately 
control the towed vehicle.
Prior to towing the vehicle with all wheels on 
the ground, make sure the SmartKey is in 
starter switch position2.
If the SmartKey is left in starter switch 
position0 for an extended period of time, it 
can no longer be turned in the switch. In this 
case, the steering is locked. To unlock, 
remove SmartKey from starter switch and 
reinsert.
iTo signal turns while being towed with 
the hazard warning flasher in use, 
switch on the ignition and activate the 
combination switch for the left or right 
turn signal in the usual manner – only 
the selected turn signal will operate.
Upon canceling the turn signal, the 
hazard warning flasher will operate 
again.