2006 MERCEDES-BENZ CLK COUPE display

51 Getting started
Driving
Driving
Depress the brake pedal.

Move gear selector lever to
positionDorR.

Release the brake pedal.

Carefully depress the accelerator
pedal.
Once the vehicle is in motion, the auto-
matic central locking system engages
and the locking knobs drop down.After a cold start, the automatic transmis-
sion shifts at a higher engine revolution.
This allows the catalytic converter to reach
its operating temperature earlier.iWait for the gear selection process to
complete before setting the vehicle in
motion.
iYou can open a locked door from the
inside. Open door only when conditions
are safe to do so.
You can deactivate the automatic
locking using the control system
(page 163).
!Simultaneously depressing the
accelerator pedal and applying the
brake reduces engine performance and
causes premature brake and drivetrain
wear.!If you hear a warning signal and the
message
Release parking brake
ap-
pears in the multifunction display when
driving off, you have forgotten to re-
lease the parking brake.
Release the parking brake.
Warning!
G
On slippery road surfaces, never downshift
in order to obtain braking action. This could
result in drive wheel slip and reduced vehi-
cle control. Your vehicle’s ABS will not pre-
vent this type of loss of control.!Place the gear selector lever in
positionRorP only when the vehicle is
stopped in order to avoid damaging the
transmission.

59 Getting started
Parking and locking
Releasing seat belts
Press the seat belt release button
(page 46).
Allow the retractor to completely re-
wind the seat belt by guiding the latch
plate.
Locking
!If you hear a warning signal, you have
probably tried to turn off the engine
without the gear selector lever inP.
Place the gear selector lever inP.!Make sure the seat belt retracts fully so
that the seat belt and/or latch plate
cannot get caught or pinched in the
door or in the seat mechanism. This
can damage the seat belt and impair
the effectiveness of the seat belt,
and/or cause damage to the door
and/or door trim panel. Such damage
is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limit Warranty.
Damaged seat belts must be replaced.
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the door
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Before closing doors, make sure there is no
possibility of someone getting caught in a
door during closing.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.iOpening a door causes the windows on
that side of the car to open slightly.
They will return to the up position when
the door is closed.iA warning sounds and the message Turn off lamps
appears in the multi-
function display if the vehicle’s exterior
lamps are not switched off


with the SmartKey removed from
the starter switch and

78 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyOccupants must sit properly belted in a
nearly upright position with their back
against the seat backrest and feet on the
floor to be correctly classified. If the
occupant's weight is transferred to
another object in the vehicle (e.g. by
leaning on armrests), the OCS may not be
able to properly approximate the
occupant’s weight category.
Both driver and the front passenger should
always use the 56 indicator lamp
as an indication of whether or not the front
passenger is properly positioned.
iIf your seat, including your trim cover
and cushion needs to be serviced in
any way, take the vehicle to an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Only seat accessories approved by
Mercedes-Benz may be used.
Warning!
G
If the 56 indicator lamp illuminates
when an adult or someone larger than a
small individual is in the front passenger
seat, have the front passenger re-position
himself or herself in the seat until the
56 indicator lamp goes out.
More information about air bag display
messages (
page 376).
In the event of a collision, the air bag control
unit will not allow front passenger front air
bag deployment when the OCS classified
the front passenger seat occupant as being
up to or less than the weight of a typical
12-month-old child in a standard child
restraint or if the front passenger seat is
sensed as being empty.
When the OCS senses that the front passen-
ger seat occupant is classified as being up
to or less than the weight of a typical
12-month-old child in a standard child
restraint, the 56 indicator lamp will
illuminate when the engine is started and
remain illuminated, indicating that the front
passenger front air bag is deactivated.
When the OCS senses that the front passen-
ger seat is classified as being empty, the
56 indicator lamp will illuminate
when the engine is started and remain
illuminated, indicating that the front
passenger front air bag is deactivated.
When the OCS senses that the front passen-
ger seat occupant is classified as being
heavier than the weight of a typical
12-month-old child seated in a standard
child restraint or as being a small individual
(such as a young teenager or a small adult),
the 56 indicator lamp will illuminate
for approximately 6 seconds when the
engine is started and then, depending on
occupant weight sensor readings from the
seat, remain illuminated or go out. With the
56 indicator lamp illuminated, the
front passenger front air bag is deactivated.
With the 56 indicator lamp out, the
front passenger front air bag is activated.

105 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking


To lock or unlock the vehicle, the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO must be
located outside the vehicle within ap-
proximately 3 ft (1 m) of the door to be
opened or the trunk lid.


In order to start the engine with the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO:

The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO
must be located in the vehicle.


All doors must be closed.


The brake pedal must be firmly de-
pressed. Do not depress the accel-
erator.


If the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO is
positioned farther away from the vehi-
cle, the system may no longer recog-
nize the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO.
The vehicle then cannot be locked or
the engine started via the KEYLESS-GO
system.


If the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO is re-
moved from the vehicle (e.g. if passen-
ger exits the vehicle with the SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO).


with the starter switch position1,
the message:Key not recognizedappears in the multifunction display


with the engine running, the
message:Key not recognizedappears in the multifunction display
while driving off.
Find the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO or
change its present location immediate-
ly (e.g. place it on the front passenger
seat or insert it in shirt pocket).


If you have started the engine with the
KEYLESS-GO start/stop button
(page 35), you can turn it off again
with:


the KEYLESS-GO start/stop button


the SmartKey inserted in the starter
switch, when the gear selector le-
ver is in positionP


Remember that the engine can be
started by anyone with a SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO that is left inside the
vehicle.
Possibility 1:
(One SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO in
the vehicle, one SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO outside the vehicle):
If you leave the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO behind when exiting and
locking the vehicle, no message ap-
pears in the multifunction display.
Possibility 2:
(One SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO in
the vehicle, no SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO outside the vehicle):
When exiting and trying to lock the ve-
hicle, the messageKey recognized in vehiclewill appear in the multifunction display.
The vehicle will not be locked.

132 Controls in detailLightingManual headlamp mode
The low beam headlamps and the parking
lamps can be switched on and off with the
exterior lamp switch.
Automatic headlamp mode
The following lamps switch on and off au-
tomatically depending on the brightness of
the ambient light:

Low beam headlamps


Tail and parking lamps


License plate lamps


Side marker lamps

Turn the exterior lamp switch to
positionU.
With the SmartKey in starter switch
position1 or the KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button pressed once, only
the parking lamps will switch on and off
automatically.
When the engine is running, the low
beam headlamps, the tail and parking
lamps, the license plate lamps, and the
side marker lamps will switch on and
off automatically.
iWith the SmartKey removed from the
starter switch or the engine turned off
with KEYLESS-GO* and the driver’s
door open, a warning sounds if the
parking lamps or low beam headlamps
are switched on.
The message
Turn off lamps
appears
in the multifunction display.
Warning!
G
If the exterior lamp switch is set toU,

the headlamps may switch off unexpect-
edly when the system senses bright
ambient light, for example light from
oncoming traffic.


the headlamps will not be automatically
switched on under foggy conditions.
To minimize risk to you and to others,
activate headlamps by turning exterior lamp
switch to B when driving or when traffic
and / or ambient lighting conditions require
you to do so.
In low ambient lighting conditions, only
switch from position U to B with the
vehicle at a standstill in a safe location.
Switching from U to B will briefly
switch off the headlamps. Doing so while
driving in low ambient lighting conditions
may result in an accident.
The automatic headlamp feature is only an
aid to the driver. The driver is responsible for
the operation of the vehicle’s lights at all
times.

140 Controls in detailInstrument clusterFor a full view illustration of the instrument
cluster, see “Instrument cluster”
(page 24).
1Reset button
The instrument cluster is activated when
you


open a door


switch on the ignition (
page 36)


press the reset button1


switch on the exterior lamps
You can change the instrument cluster
settings in the Instrument cluster submenu
of the control system (
page 155).
Instrument cluster illumination
Use the reset button1 to adjust the
illumination brightness for the instrument
cluster.To brighten illumination

Turn reset button1 clockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
brighten.
To dim illumination

Turn reset button1 counterclock-
wise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
dim.
Warning!
G
No messages will be displayed if either the
instrument cluster or the multifunction
display is inoperative.
As a result, you will not be able to see infor-
mation about your driving conditions, such
as speed or outside temperature, warn-
ing/indicator lamps, malfunction/warning
messages or the failure of any systems.
Driving characteristics may be impaired.
If you must continue to drive, please do so
with added caution. Visit an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as possible.
iThe instrument cluster illumination is
dimmed or brightened automatically to
suit ambient light conditions.
The instrument cluster illumination will
also be adjusted automatically when
you switch on the vehicle’s exterior
lamps.

141 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
Coolant temperature indicator
The coolant temperature indicator is on
the right side in the instrument cluster
(page 24).
Trip odometer
Make sure you are viewing the stan-
dard display in the multifunction dis-
play (
page 148).

If it is not displayed, press buttonè
orÿ on the multifunction steering
wheel repeatedly until the standard dis-
play appears (
page 144).

Press and hold the reset button on the
instrument cluster (
page 140) until
the trip odometer is reset.
Warning!
G


Driving when your engine is overheated
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 which can occur
just by opening the hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see or hear steam
coming from it.
Stop the vehicle in a safe location away from
other traffic. Turn off the engine, get out of
the vehicle and do not stand near the vehicle
until the engine has cooled down.
!Excessive coolant temperature triggers
a warning in the multifunction display
(page 385) and the red coolant warn-
ing lamp in the instrument cluster
comes on (
page 364).
The engine should not be operated with
the coolant temperature above 248°F
(120°C). Doing so may cause serious
engine damage which is not covered by
the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
iDuring severe operating conditions,
e.g. stop-and-go traffic, the coolant
temperature may rise close to 248°F
(120°C).

142 Controls in detailInstrument clusterTachometer
The red marking on the tachometer
(page 24) denotes excessive engine
speed.
To help protect the engine, the fuel supply
is interrupted if the engine is operated
within the red marking.
Clock
In vehicles with Audio 20, the clock can be
set via the control system (
page 157).
Outside temperature indicator
The outside temperature is indicated in the
multifunction display (
page 144).The temperature sensor is located in the
front bumper area. Due to its location, the
sensor can be affected by road or engine
heat during idling or slow driving. This
means that the accuracy of the displayed
temperature can only be verified by com-
parison to a thermometer placed next to
the sensor, not by comparison to external
displays (e.g. bank signs etc.).
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.
!Avoid driving at excessive engine
speeds, as it may result in serious
engine damage that is not covered by
the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.iVehicles with COMAND*:
For information on setting the time in
COMAND, refer to the separate
COMAND operating instructions.
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.