2006 MERCEDES-BENZ ML500 Owner's Manual

216 Controls in detail3-zone automatic climate control*

217 Controls in detail
3-zone automatic climate control*
Rear automatic climate control panel
1
Door air vent, fixed
2
Side air vent, adjustable
3
Thumbwheel for air volume control
for side air vent
4
Thumbwheel for air volume control
for left center air vent
5
Left center air vent, adjustable
6
Right center air vent, adjustable
7
Thumbwheel for air volume control
for right center air vent
8
Thumbwheel for air volume control
for side air vent
9
Side air vent, adjustable
a
Door air vent, fixed
b
Climate control paneliFor draft-free ventilation, move the
sliders for the center vents5 and6
to the middle position.
1
Left rear center air vent, adjustable
2
Right rear center air vent, adjustable
3
Temperature control
4
Air distribution and air volume
(automatic, manual)
5
Air distribution (directs air through
the side air vents)
6
Air distribution (directs air through
the footwells and both center air
vents)
7
Rear air condition on/off
8
Decrease air volume
9
Increase air volume

218 Controls in detail3-zone automatic climate control*1
Temperature control, left
2
Air distribution and air volume
(automatic, manual)
3
Left side air distribution
4
Defrosting
5
Increase air volume
6
Rear window defroster
7
Right side air distribution
8
Rear air conditioning
9
Temperature control, right
a
Automatic climate control on/off
b
Right side air distribution
c
Right side air distribution
d
AC cooling on/off (A/C)
Residual heat/ventilation (REST)
e
Display
f
Decrease air volume
g
Air recirculation
h
Left side air distribution
j
Left side air distribution
k
Interior temperature sensor
l
Adopt driver zone settings in other
zones

219 Controls in detail
3-zone automatic climate control*
The climate control is a 3-zone intelligent
climate control system. Your vehicle interi-
or is divided into 3 zones.With the help of a sun sensor, the climate
control determines the relation of the sun
to the vehicle and automatically adjusts
the inside temperature for every individual
zone.
The climate control is operational whenev-
er the engine is running. It cools the vehi-
cle’s interior according to the angle and
intensity of the sun’s rays, the outside tem-
perature and the selected temperature.
You can operate the automatic climate
control in either the automatic or manual
mode.
Warning!
G
When operating the climate control, the air
that enters the passenger compartment
through the air vents in the footwell can be
very hot or very cold (depending on the set
temperature). This may cause burns or frost-
bite on unprotected skin in the immediate
area of the air vents.
Always keep sufficient distance between un-
protected parts of the body and the footwell
air vents. If necessary, change the air flow
using the air distribution controls
(page 218) to direct the air away from the
footwell air vents.

220 Controls in detail3-zone automatic climate control*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 218).Deactivating the climate control
system
Deactivating
Press button´ (
page 218).
Reactivating

Press buttonU(
page 218).
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 pollu-
tion) may require replacement of the fil-
ter 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.
Keep the air intake grille in front of the
windshield free of snow and debris.
iWhen the air conditioning is switched
off, the outside air supply and circula-
tion are also switched off. Only choose
this settings for a short time. Otherwise
the windows could fog up.iYou can also press button´ on the
climate control panel.
If you press button0 to reactivate
the climate control system, the defrost-
ing mode is activated.

221 Controls in detail
3-zone automatic climate control*
Rear air conditioning
You can switch on and off the rear air con-
ditioning with the climate control panel in
the front.
Deactivating
Press button> on the climate con-
trol panel (
page 218).
The indicator lamp on button>
comes on. The rear air conditioning is
switched off. REAR OFF
appears in the
climate control display.
Activating

Press button> on the climate con-
trol panel (
page 218).The indicator lamp on button>
goes out. The rear air conditioning is
adjusted automatically.
REAR ON
ap-
pears in the climate control display.
For more information on rear air condition-
ing, see “Rear air conditioning”
(
page 227).
Setting the temperature
Use temperature control1 and9
(page 218) 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).
The climate control will adjust to the set
temperature as fast as possible.Increasing

Turn the temperature control1
and/or9 slightly to the right.
The climate control system will corre-
spondingly adjust the interior air tem-
perature.
Decreasing

Turn the temperature control1
and/or9 slightly to the left.
The climate control system will corre-
spondingly adjust the interior air tem-
perature.
iFor information on operating the rear
climate control panel from the rear
seats, see “Rear air conditioning”
(page 227).
iYou can switch on and off the rear air
conditioning by pressing the respective
button on the rear climate control pan-
el.

222 Controls in detail3-zone automatic climate control*Adjusting air distribution
Use the air distribution controls3,h,
orj for the left side, or7,b, orc
(page 218) for the right side to separate-
ly adjust the air distribution on each side of
the passenger compartment.
The following symbols are found on the
controls:Adjusting manually

Press the desired air distribution con-
trol.
The indicator lamp on buttonU
goes out.
Adjusting automatically

Press buttonU (
page 218).
The indicator lamp on buttonU
comes on. The air distribution is
adjusted automatically.
Windshield fogged on the outside

Switch the windshield wipers on
(page 55).

Press buttonU.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
Adjusting air volume
Adjusting manually
Five blower speeds are available.
Press
to decrease orQ to in-
crease air volume to the desired level
(page 218).
The indicator lamp on buttonU
goes out. The selected blower speed is
shown in the display.
Adjusting automatically

Press buttonU.
The indicator lamp on buttonU
comes on. The air volume is adjusted
automatically.
Symbol
Function
Z
Directs air to the windshield
and side air vents
a
Directs air through the center,
side and rear passenger com-
partment air vents
Y
Directs air to the footwells and
side air vents

223 Controls in detail
3-zone automatic climate control*
Maximum cooling MAX COOL
If the air distribution control as well as the
airflow volume control are set toU and
there is a high need for cooling, the display
“MAX COOL” appears in the front and rear
display.
This provides the fastest possible cooling
of the vehicle interior (when windows and
tilt/sliding sunroof* are closed).Defrosting
If the air volume is switched off or the air
recirculation mode is switched on, the
interior is not any longer ventilated and the
windows can get fogged on the inside.Activating

Press button0 (
page 218).
The indicator lamp on button0
comes on.
The climate control switches automatically
to the following functions:


maximum blower and heating power


air flows onto the windshield and the
front side windows (side air vents must
be open)


The climatic compressor is switched on
at outside temperatures above approx-
imately 41°F (5°C) for air-drying
Deactivating

Press button0.
The yellow 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 (e.g. before a tunnel trav-
el). This setting cuts off the intake of out-
side air and recirculates the air in the
passenger compartment.
iThese settings should only be selected
for a short time.
When the defrost setting has been se-
lected, only the rear window defroster
can be switched on. No other settings
are possible.
iTo switch off you can press also the
button´ orU.
Warning!
G
Fogged windows impair visibility,
endangering you and others. If the windows
begin to fog on the inside, switching off the
air recirculation mode immediately should
clear interior window fogging. If interior win-
dow fogging persists, make sure the air
conditioning (
page 225) is activated, or
press button0.