2007 MERCEDES-BENZ C280 display

48 Getting started
Driving
Parking brake
1Release handle
2Parking brake pedalRelease parking brake by pulling on
handle1.
The warning lamp; (USA only)
or3 (Canada only) in the
instrument cluster goes out.
Driving
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 release the parking brake, which
could result in an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
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.
!If you hear a warning signal and the mes-
sage
Release parking brake appears in the
multifunction display when driving off, you have
forgotten to release the parking brake.
Release the parking brake (
page 48).
iAt vehicle speeds of approximately 9 mph
(15 km/h), the automatic central locking system
engages and the locking knobs drop down.
The automatic door lock feature can be deacti-
vated (
page 143).
You can open a locked door from the inside.
Open door only when conditions are safe to do
so.
!Simultaneously depressing the accelerator
pedal and applying the brake reduces engine
performance and causes premature brake and
drivetrain wear.
!Do not run cold engine at high engine
speeds. Running a cold engine at high engine
speeds may shorten the service life of the
engine.

56 Getting started
Parking and locking
Releasing seat belts
Press the seat belt release button
(
page 44).
Allow the retractor to completely
rewind the seat belt by guiding the
latch plate.
Locking
Exit the vehicle and close all doors and
the trunk.
Press lock button‹ on the
SmartKey (
page 32).

All turn signal lamps flash three
times.

An acoustic signal sounds three
times.
For more information, see “Factory
setting” (
page 93).

The locking knobs in the doors
move down.

The anti-theft alarm system* is
armed.
For more information, see “Locking and
unlocking” (
page 92).
!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 pan-
el. Such damage is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited 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 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.
iIf you hear a warning signal you have
forgotten 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.

65 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Both driver and the front passenger should
always use the 56indicator 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 authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
Only seat accessories approved by
Mercedes-Benz may be used.
Warning!G
If the 56indicator 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
56indicator lamp goes out.
More information about air bag display
messages (
page 332).
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 56indicator lamp will
illuminate when the engine is started and re-
main 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
56indicator 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 56indicator lamp will illuminate
for approximately 6 seconds when the en-
gine is started and then, depending on occu-
pant weight sensor readings from the seat,
remain illuminated or go out. With the
56indicator lamp illuminated, the
front passenger front air bag is deactivated.
With the 56indicator lamp out, the
front passenger front air bag is activated.
When the OCS senses that the front passen-
ger seat occupant is classified as an adult or
someone larger than a small individual, the
56indicator lamp will illuminate for
approximately 6 seconds when the engine is
started and then go out, indicating that the
front passenger front air bag is activated.


88 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
Four wheel electronic traction system
(4MATIC) with the ESP®
Models with all-wheel-drive only.
The 4MATIC improves vehicle’s ability to
use available traction, e.g. during winter
operation in mountains under snowy
conditions, by applying power to all four
wheels.
Warning!G
If you see the ESP® warning lampv
flashing in the instrument cluster, proceed
as follows:

While driving off, apply as little throttle
as possible

While driving, ease up on the accelera-
tor

Adapt your speed and driving style to
the prevailing road conditions
Failure to observe these guidelines could
cause the vehicle to skid.
The ESP
® cannot prevent accidents result-
ing from excessive speed.
!Do not tow with one axle raised.
Otherwise the transfer case can be damaged,
which is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.
!Performance testing must only be conduct-
ed on a two-axle dynamometer.
Otherwise the transfer case can be damaged,
which is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.
!Because the ESP® operates automatically,
the engine must be shut off (SmartKey in starter
switch position0 or1) when the parking brake is
being tested on a brake test dynamometer.
Active braking action through the ESP
® may
otherwise seriously damage the front or rear axle
brake system.
Operational tests with the engine running can
only be conducted on a two-axle dynamometer.
iAt highly demanding operating conditions,
the electronic traction system may temporarily
switch off to prevent overheating of the drive
wheel brakes. The message
unavailable
See Operator’s Manual
will then appear in
the multifunction display while the ESP® warning
lampv is flashing. The ESP® is still function-
ing normally.

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.

109 Controls in detail
Lighting
Lighting
For information on how to switch on the
headlamps and use the turn signals, see
“Switching on headlamps” (
page 50)
and “Turn signals” (
page 50).
Exterior lamp switch
Exterior lamp switch
MOff
Daytime running lamp mode
(
page 111)
UAutomatic headlamp mode
Daytime running lamp mode
(
page 111)
CParking lamps (also tail lamps,
license plate lamps, side marker
lamps, instrument panel lamps)BLow beam headlamps or high beam
headlamps when the combination
switch is pushed forward. The tail
lamps, license plate lamps, side
marker lamps, parking lamps and
instrument panel lamps also come
on.
ˆStanding lamps, right (turn left one
stop)
‚Standing lamps, left (turn left two
stops)
‡Indicator lamp for front fog lamps
†Indicator lamp for rear fog lamp
iIf you drive in countries where vehicles drive
on the other side of the road than the country
where the vehicle is registered, you must have
the headlamps modified for symmetrical low
beams. Relevant information can be obtained at
your authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
iIf you hear a warning signal you have
forgotten 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.

118 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
For a full view illustration of the instrument
cluster, see “At a glance” (
page 24).
1Reset button
The instrument cluster is activated when
you

open a door

switch on ignition (page 32)

press reset button1

switch on the exterior lighting
You can change the instrument cluster
settings in the Instrument cluster submenu
of the control system (
page 134).Adjusting instrument cluster
illumination
Use 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 dis-
play is inoperative.
As a result, you will not be able to see infor-
mation about your driving conditions, such
as speed or outside temperature,
warning/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 am-
bient light conditions.
The instrument cluster illumination will also be
adjusted automatically when you switch on the
vehicle’s exterior lamps.

119 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
Coolant temperature gauge
The coolant temperature gauge is on the
left side in the instrument cluster
(
page 24).
Resetting trip odometer
Make sure you are viewing the trip
odometer and main odometer in the
multifunction display (
page 121).
If it is not displayed, press buttonè
orÿ on the multifunction steering
wheel (
page 122) until the trip
odometer appears in the multifunction
display.
Press and hold the reset button in the
instrument cluster (
page 118) until
the trip odometer is reset.
Warning!G

Driving when your engine is badly
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 and can occur just
by opening the hood. Stay away from
the engine if you see or hear steam com-
ing from it.
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 346).
The engine should not be operated with the cool-
ant temperature above 248°F (120°C). Doing so
may cause serious engine damage which is not
covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warran-
ty.
iDuring severe operating conditions, e.g.
stop-and-go traffic, the coolant temperature may
rise close to 248°F (120°C).