9
Product information
Introduction
Product information
Please observe the following in your own
best interest:
We recommend using Genuine
Mercedes-Benz parts as well as conversion
parts and accessories explicitly approved
by us for your vehicle model.
We have tested these parts to determine
their reliability, safety and special
suitability for Mercedes-Benz vehicles.We are unable to make an assessment for
other products and therefore cannot be
held responsible for them, even if in indi-
vidual cases an official approval or authori-
zation by governmental or other agencies
should exist. Use of such parts and acces-
sories could adversely affect the safety,
performance or reliability of your vehicle.
Please do not use them.Genuine Mercedes-Benz parts as well as
conversion parts and accessories
approved by us are available at your
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center where
you will receive comprehensive informa-
tion, also on permissible technical modifi-
cations, and where proper installation will
be performed.
67 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
When you sell your vehicle, we strongly
urge you to give notice to the subsequent
owner that it is equipped with an SRS by
alerting them to the applicable section in
the Operator’s Manual.Front air bags
1Driver air bag
2Passenger air bag
Driver and front passenger front air bags
are deployed:
in the event of certain frontal impacts
if impact exceeds a preset deployment
threshold
independently of the head-thorax air
bags and/or rear side impact air bags*The air bags will not deploy in impacts
which do not exceed the system’s deploy-
ment thresholds. You will then be protect-
ed by the fastened seat belts.
Given the considerable deployment
speed, required inflation volume, and
the textile structure of the air bags,
there is the possibility of abrasions or
other more significant injuries resulting
from air bag deployment.
Warning!
G
Only use seat covers which have been
tested and approved by Mercedes-Benz for
your vehicle model. Using other seat covers
may interfere with or prevent the
deployment of the head-thorax air bags.
Contact your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center for availability.
iThe front air bags in this vehicle have
been designed to inflate in two stages.
This allows the air bag to have different
rates of inflation that are based on the
rate of relevant vehicle deceleration as
assessed by the air bag control unit.
On the front passenger side, the front
air bag deployment is additionally influ-
enced by the passenger’s weight cate-
gory as identified by the Occupant
Classification System (OCS)
(page 78).
The lighter the front passenger side oc-
cupant, the higher the vehicle deceler-
ation rate required for the second
stage inflation of the air bag.
73 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Active head restraints
The active head restraints are intended to
offer the driver and front passenger in-
creased protection from head and neck in-
jury. In the event of a rear-end collision,
the active head restraints on the driver’s
and front passenger’s seats are designed
to move forward in the direction of travel,
providing the head with increased support
earlier on in the collision sequence. The ac-
tive head restraints move forward whether
the seat is occupied or not.You cannot remove the active head re-
straint on the driver’s and passenger’s
seats.
For removal of the active head restraints
we recommend that you contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
For information on head restraint adjust-
ment, see “Seats” (
page 37).
For information on resetting the activated
active head restraints, see “Resetting acti-
vated head restraints” (page 434).
Warning!
G
Only use seat or head restraint covers which
have been tested and approved by
Mercedes-Benz for your vehicle model.
Using other seat or head restraint covers
may interfere with or prevent the activation
of the active head restraints. Contact your
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center for
availability.
Warning!
G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust head restraint so that the center of
the head restraint supports the back of the
head at eye level. This will reduce the poten-
tial for injury to the head and neck in the
event of an accident or similar situation.
Do not drive the vehicle without the seat
head restraints. Head restraints are intend-
ed to help reduce injuries during an
accident.
157 Controls in detail
Control system
For more information on the daytime run-
ning lamp mode, see “Lighting”
(page 127).Setting locator lighting
With the locator lighting feature activated
and the exterior lamp switch in
positionU, the following lamps will
switch on during darkness when the vehi-
cle is unlocked with the SmartKey:
Parking lamps
Tail lamps
License plate lamps
Side marker lamps
Front fog lamps
The locator lighting switches off when the
driver’s door is opened.
If you do not open a door after unlocking
the vehicle with the SmartKey, the lamps
will switch off automatically after approxi-
mately 40 seconds.
To activate locator lighting:
Make sure the function surround light-
ing is set to
on, see (
page 157).
Move the selection marker with
buttonæ orç to the
Lighting
submenu.
Press buttonj ork repeatedly
until the message
Function Surround
lighting
appears in the multifunction
display.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.
Press buttonæ orç to switch
the locator lighting function
On.
Turn the exterior lamp switch to
position U when exiting the vehicle
(page 127).
The locator lighting feature is
activated.
iIf you turn the exterior lamp switch to
another position, the corresponding
lamp(s) will switch on.
For safety reasons, resetting the Lighting
submenu to factory settings
(
page 149) while driving will not
deactivate the daytime running lamp
mode.
The following message appears in the
multifunction display:
Lighting – Cannot be completely
reset to factory settings while
driving
.
165 Controls in detail
Control system
Press buttonj ork repeatedly
until the desired name appears in the
multifunction display.
The stored names are displayed in
ascending or descending alphabetical
order.
1Name from the phone book
Press buttons.
The system dials the selected phone
number.
If the connection is successful, the
name of the party you called and
the duration of the call will appear
in the multifunction display.
If no connection is made, the
control system stores the dialed
number in the redial memory.Redialing
The control system stores the most
recently dialed phone numbers. This
eliminates the need to search through
your entire phone book.
Press buttonÿ orè repeatedly
until the message
Tel
appears in the
multifunction display.
Press buttons.
The first number in the redial memory
appears in the multifunction display.
Press buttonj ork repeatedly
until the desired name appears in the
multifunction display.
Press buttons.
The control system dials the selected
phone number.
iIf you press and hold buttonj
ork for longer than one second,
the system scrolls rapidly through the
list of names until you release the
button again.
Cancel the quick search mode by
pressingt.
iIf you do not want to use the telephone,
press buttont.
172 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionAutomatic shift program
The program mode selector switch is
located on the lower part of the center
console.
1Program mode selector switch
C Comfort For comfort driving
S Sport For standard driving
The current gear selector lever position
and the selected program mode (
C/S) are
indicated in the multifunction display
(
page 167).
Press program mode selector
switch1 repeatedly until the letter of
the desired program mode appears in
the multifunction display.
SelectCfor comfort driving:
The vehicle starts out in second
gear (both forward and reverse) for
gentler starts. This does not apply if
full throttle is applied or gear
range1 is selected.
Traction and driving stability are
improved on icy roads.
Upshifts occur earlier even when
you give more gas. The engine then
operates at lower rpms and the
wheels are less likely to spin.
!Never change the program mode when
the gear selector lever is out of
positionP. This could result in a
change of driving characteristics for
which you may not be prepared.iThe last selected program
mode (CorS) is switched on when the
engine is restarted.
180 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionDownshifting
Briefly press the gear selector lever to
the left in theD-direction.
or
Briefly press button1 on the left side
of the steering wheel (
page 176).
The transmission shifts to the next
lower gear.Kickdown
Using the kickdown when driving in the
manual program modeM is not possible.
Deactivating manual shift program
Press the program mode selector
switch (
page 178) repeatedly
until
Cor
S appears in the multifunction
display.
or
Restart the engine.
The transmission will go to the
automatic program mode (C orS).
The manual program modeM is not
stored.Emergency operation (Limp Home
Mode)
If vehicle acceleration worsens or the
transmission no longer shifts, the trans-
mission is most likely operating in limp
home (emergency operation) mode. In this
mode only second gear and reverse gear
can be activated.
Stop the vehicle.
Move gear selector lever toP.
Turn off the engine.
Wait at least ten seconds before
restarting.
Restart the engine.
Move gear selector lever to positionD
(for second gear) orR.
Have the transmission checked at an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.
Warning!
G
On slippery road surfaces, never downshift
in order to obtain braking action. This could
result in drive wheel slip and reduced
vehicle control. Your vehicle’s ABS will not
prevent this type of loss of control.iWhen you brake or stop, the transmis-
sion shifts down to a gear from which
you can easily accelerate or take off.
188 Controls in detailClimate control (CLK 350)The climate control is operational when-
ever the engine is running. You can oper-
ate the climate control system in either the
automatic or manual mode. The system
cools or heats the interior depending on
the selected interior temperature and the
current outside temperature.Nearly 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 A/C mode is deactivated
(
page 194).
Warning!
G
When operating the climate control, the air
that enters the passenger compartment
through the air vents can be very hot or very
cold (depending on the set temperature).
This may cause burns or frostbite on unpro-
tected skin in the immediate area of the air
vents. Always keep sufficient distance be-
tween unprotected parts of the body and the
air vents. If necessary, use the air distribu-
tion control (
page 187) to direct the air to
air vents in the vehicle interior that are not
in the immediate area of unprotected skin.
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.
iSevere conditions (e.g. strong air
pollution) may require replacement of
the filter before its scheduled interval.
A clogged filter will reduce the air
volume to the interior.
If the vehicle interior is hot, ventilate
the interior before driving off, see
“Summer opening feature”
(page 252). The climate control will
then adjust the interior temperature to
the set value much faster.
Keep the air intake grille in front of the
windshield free of snow and debris.
Do not obstruct air flow by placing
objects on the air flow-through exhaust
slots below the rear window.