2007 MERCEDES-BENZ C230 Exhaust

46 Getting started
Driving
Starting the engine Manual transmission
Gearshift pattern for manual transmission
For more information, see “Manual trans-
mission” (
page 149).Starting
Depress brake pedal.
Make sure the gearshift lever is in
neutral position (no gear selected).
Fully depress clutch pedal.
Otherwise the engine cannot be
started due to the integrated safety
interlock.
Do not depress the accelerator.
Turn the SmartKey in the starter switch
to position3 (
page 32) and hold until
the engine starts.
For information on turning off the engine,
see “Turning off engine” (
page 55).
Warning!G
Inhalation of exhaust gas is hazardous to
your health. All exhaust gas contains carbon
monoxide (CO), and inhaling it can cause un-
consciousness and possible death.
Do not run the engine in confined areas
(such as garage) which are not properly ven-
tilated. If you think that exhaust gas fumes
are entering the vehicle while driving, have
the cause determined and corrected imme-
diately. If you must drive under these condi-
tions, drive only with at least one window
fully open.

54 Getting started
Parking and locking
You have now completed your first drive.
You have properly stopped and parked
your vehicle. End your drive as follows.
Parking brake
Warning!G
Vehicles with manual transmission:
Wait until the vehicle is stationary before
removing the SmartKey from the starter
switch. The vehicle cannot be steered when
the SmartKey is removed.
Warning!G
With the engine not running, there is no
power assistance for the brake and steering
system. In this case, it is important to keep
in mind that a considerably higher degree of
effort is necessary to brake and steer the
vehicle.
Warning!G
Do not park this vehicle in areas where
combustible materials such as grass, hay or
leaves can come into contact with the hot
exhaust system, as these materials could be
ignited and cause a vehicle fire.
To reduce the risk of personal injury, or
damage to the vehicle or the vehicle
drivetrain, as a result of vehicle movement,
always do the following before turning off
the engine and leaving the vehicle:

Keep right foot on brake pedal.

Manual transmission: Move the gear-
shift lever into neutral position (no gear
is selected).

Firmly depress parking brake pedal.

Manual transmission: Move the gear-
shift lever into first or reverse gear.

Automatic transmission*: Move the
gear selector lever to positionP.

Slowly release brake pedal.

When parked on an incline, always turn
the front wheels towards the road curb.

Turn the SmartKey in the starter switch
to position0 and remove.

Take the SmartKey with you and lock
the vehicle when leaving, which could
endanger other road users when you en-
gage the parking brake.
Warning!G
Do not engage the parking brake while the
vehicle is in motion. Doing so can cause the
rear wheels to lock up. You could lose con-
trol of the vehicle and cause an accident. In
addition, the vehicle’s brake lights do not
light up when the parking brake is engaged,
which could endanger other road users.

96 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Opening the doors from the inside
You can open a locked door from the
inside. Open door only when conditions
are safe to do so.
1Locking knob
2Inside door handleFront doors
Pull on door handle2 on the
respective front door to open door.
If door was locked, locking knob1 will
move up.
Rear doors
Pull up locking knob1 on the
respective rear door to unlock door.
Pull on door handle2 on the
respective rear door to open door.
Opening the trunk
You can open the trunk if the vehicle is sta-
tionary.
A minimum height clearance of 5.71 ft
(1.74 m) is required to open the trunk lid.
iIf the vehicle has previously been locked
with the SmartKey, opening a door from the
inside will trigger the anti-theft alarm system*.
To cancel the alarm, do one of the following:

Insert the SmartKey in the starter switch.

Press buttonŒ or‹ on the
SmartKey.
iIf you hear a warning signal you have forgot-
ten to switch off the headlamps before opening
the driver’s door.
In addition the message
Switch off lights
appears in the multifunction display.
Switch off the headlamps.
Warning!G
Only drive with the trunk closed as, among
other dangers such as blocked visibility,
exhaust fumes may enter the vehicle
interior.
!The trunk lid swings open upwards automat-
ically. Always make sure there is sufficient over-
head clearance.

98 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Trunk emergency release
With the emergency release button, the
trunk can be opened from inside the trunk.
The emergency release button is located
on the inside of the trunk lid.
1Emergency release button
Briefly press emergency release
button1.
The trunk unlocks and the trunk lid
opens.Illumination of the emergency release
button:

The button flashes 30 minutes after
opening the trunk.

The button flashes 60 minutes after
closing the trunk.
Be especially careful when small children
are around.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take it
with you, and lock the vehicle. Do not leave
children unattended in the vehicle, or with
access to an unlocked vehicle. A child’s
unsupervised access to a vehicle could
result in an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
Warning!G
Only drive with the trunk closed as, among
other dangers such as a blocked visibility,
exhaust fumes may enter the vehicle
interior.
iDo not place the SmartKey in the open
trunk. You may lock yourself out.
iIf the vehicle was previously centrally
locked, the trunk will lock automatically after
closing it. The turn signals will flash three times
to confirm locking.
!The trunk lid swings open upwards
automatically.
iThe emergency release button unlocks and
opens the trunk while the vehicle is standing still
or in motion.
iThe emergency release button does not
open the trunk lid if the vehicle battery is dis-
charged or disconnected.
iIf the vehicle has previously been locked
with the SmartKey, opening the trunk from the
inside using the emergency release button will
trigger the anti-theft alarm system*.
To cancel the alarm, do one of the following:

Press buttonŒ or‹ on the
SmartKey.

Insert the SmartKey in the starter switch.


149 Controls in detail
Manual transmission
Manual transmission
Manual transmission is standard
equipment on select models and not
available on all models.
For information on driving with a manual
transmission, see “Manual transmission”
(
page 46).
Warning!G
For vehicles equipped with a manual trans-
mission, getting out of your vehicle with the
gearshift lever not engaged in first or
reverse gear and parking brake engaged is
dangerous.
Also, when parked on an incline, an engaged
first or reverse gear alone may not prevent
your vehicle from moving, possibly hitting
people or objects.
Always set the parking brake in addition to
engaging first or reverse gear (
page 54).
When parked on an incline, turn front wheels
towards the road curb.
Do not park this vehicle in areas where
combustible materials such as grass, hay or
leaves can come into contact with the hot
exhaust system, as these materials could be
ignited and cause a vehicle fire.
Warning!G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take it
with you, and lock the vehicle. Do not leave
children unattended in the vehicle, or with
access to an unlocked vehicle. Children
could move the gearshift lever, which could
result in an accident and/or serious person-
al injury.
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.
Warning!G
Make sure that absolutely no objects are ob-
structing the pedals’ range of movement.
Keep the driver’s footwell clear of all obsta-
cles. If there are any floormats or carpets in
the footwell, make sure that the pedals still
have sufficient clearance.
During sudden driving or braking maneuvers
the objects could get caught between or be-
neath the pedals. You could then no longer
brake or accelerate. This could lead to acci-
dents and injury.

154 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission*
!Coasting the vehicle, or driving for any other
reason with gear selector lever in neutral
positionN can result in transmission damage
that is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.Warning!G
PositionP alone is not intended to or capa-
ble of preventing your vehicle from moving,
possibly hitting people or objects. Always
set the parking brake in addition to shifting
to park positionP (
page 54).
When parked on an incline, turn the front
wheels towards the road curb.
Do not park this vehicle in areas where com-
bustible materials such as grass, hay or
leaves can come into contact with the hot
exhaust system, as these materials could be
ignited and cause a vehicle fire.
Warning!G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take it
with you, and lock the vehicle. Do not leave
children unattended in the vehicle, or with
access to an unlocked vehicle. Children
could move the gear selector lever from
park positionP, which could result in an
accident and/or serious personal injury.
Getting out of your vehicle without taking
the above measurements to secure it is
dangerous.

166 Controls in detail
Climate control
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 theA/C mode is deactivated
(
page 172).
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 168) 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 fea-
ture” (
page 223). The climate control will then
adjust the interior temperature to the set value
much faster.
Keep the air intake grille in front of the wind-
shield free of snow and debris.
Do not obstruct air flow by placing objects on the
air flow-through exhaust slots below the rear
window.

176 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
The automatic climate control is operation-
al whenever the engine is running. You can
operate the automatic climate control sys-
tem in either the automatic or manual
mode. The system cools or heats the inte-
rior depending on the selected interior
temperature and the current outside tem-
perature.Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air
enters the passenger compartment
through the air distribution system.
The air conditioning will not engage (no
cooling) if theA/C mode is deactivated
(
page 184).
Warning!G
When operating the automatic 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 frost-
bite on unprotected skin in the immediate
area of the air vents. Always keep sufficient
distance between unprotected parts of the
body and the air vents. If necessary, use the
air distribution control (
page 178) 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
heating and cooling given on the following
pages. 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 fea-
ture” (
page 223). The automatic climate con-
trol will then adjust the interior temperature to
the set value much faster.
Keep the air intake grille in front of the wind-
shield free of snow and debris.
Do not obstruct air flow by placing objects on the
air flow-through exhaust slots below the rear
window.