Contents
Safety and Security........................... 57
Occupant safety................................... 58
Air bags .......................................... 59
Occupant Classification System ..... 64
Seat belts ....................................... 69
Active head restraint ...................... 73
Children in the vehicle .................... 74
Blocking of
rear door window operation ........... 80
Panic alarm* ........................................ 81
Activating ....................................... 81
Deactivating ................................... 81
Driving safety systems ......................... 82
ABS ................................................ 82
BAS ................................................ 84
ESP
®............................................... 85
Four wheel electronic traction
system (4MATIC) with the ESP
®..... 88
Anti-theft systems................................ 89
Immobilizer..................................... 89
Anti-theft alarm system* ................ 89
Controls in detail............................... 91
Locking and unlocking ......................... 92
SmartKey ....................................... 92
Checking the batteries ................... 95
Loss of SmartKey
or mechanical key .......................... 95
Opening the doors from the inside . 96
Opening the trunk .......................... 96
Closing the trunk............................ 97
Trunk emergency release ............... 98
Valet locking .................................. 99
Automatic central locking .............. 99
Locking and unlocking
from the inside ............................. 100
Seats ................................................. 101
Front seat active head restraints . 101
Rear seat head restraints ............. 101
Lumbar support............................ 105
Multicontour seats*
(Canada only) ............................... 105
Seat heating* ............................... 106
Memory function* ............................. 107
Storing positions into memory ..... 108
Recalling positions from memory . 108Lighting ............................................. 109
Exterior lamp switch .................... 109
Combination switch ..................... 113
Corner-illuminating front
fog lamps* (C 230 (Canada only),
C 280, C 350 and models
with 4MATIC: with
Bi-Xenon* headlamps)................. 113
Hazard warning flasher ................ 115
Interior lighting ............................ 116
Door entry lamps ......................... 117
Trunk lamp ................................... 117
Instrument cluster ............................. 118
Adjusting
instrument cluster illumination .... 118
Coolant temperature gauge ......... 119
Resetting trip odometer ............... 119
Tachometer.................................. 120
Outside temperature indicator ..... 120
Control system .................................. 121
Multifunction display.................... 121
Multifunction steering wheel........ 122
Menus .......................................... 124
Standard display menu ................ 126
AUDIO menu ................................ 127
NAV* menu .................................. 129
27 At a glance
Center console
Center console
Upper partItemPage
1Seat heating*, driver’s side106
2Rear window sunshade
switch*162
3ESP® control switch85
4Hazard warning flasher
switch – switching on/off115
5Central locking switch100
Central unlocking switch100
6Switch for folding back rear
seat head restraints103
7Anti-theft alarm system
indicator lamp*90
ItemPage
8Seat heating*, passenger
side106
9Front passenger front
air bag off indicator lamp68,
332,
339
aAudio system,187
or
COMAND* (see separate
operating instructions)
bAutomatic climate control*174
Climate control164
Rear window defroster163
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.
106 Controls in detail
Seats
Seat heating*
Both switches for the front seats are locat-
ed in the center console. The red indicator
lamps in the switch come on to show heat-
ing level you have selected.
1Seat heating switch
2Indicator lamps
Switch on the ignition (page 32).Switching on seat heating
Press switch1 once.
Three red indicator lamps2 in the
switch come on.
Continue pressing switch1 until
desired seat heating level is reached.
Switching off seat heating
Press switch1 repeatedly until all
indicator lamps2 go out.
Level
3Three indicator lamps on
(highest level).
After approximately 5 minutes,
seat heating is automatically
switched to level2.
2Two indicator lamps on.
After approximately 10 minutes,
seat heating is automatically
switched to level1.
1One indicator lamp on (lowest
level).
After approximately 20 minutes,
seat heating is automatically
switched off.
offNo indicator lamp on.
iIf one or more of the indicator lamps2 on
the seat heating switch are flashing, there is in-
sufficient voltage due to too many electrical con-
sumers are turned on. The seat heating switches
off automatically.
The seat heating will switch back on again auto-
matically as soon as sufficient voltage is avail-
able.
169 Controls in detail
Climate control
Press buttonU (page 165).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out. The automatic air distribution is
switched off. The air distribution is
controlled according to the selected
control setting.
Turn air distribution control 4
(
page 165) to the desired symbol.
Opening center and side air vents
Turn thumbwheels 3, 4, 7 and 8
(
page 164) upward.
The center air vents 5 and 6 and side
air vents 2 and 9 are open.
Closing center and side air vents
Turn thumbwheels 3, 4, 7 and 8
(
page 164) downward.
The center air vents 5 and 6 and side
air vents 2 and 9 are closed.
Adjusting air volume
Six blower speeds are available.
Press buttonU (page 165).
The indicator lamp in the button goes
out. The automatic air volume control
is switched off. The air volume is
adjusted according to the currently
selected setting.
Use the air volume control1
(
page 165) to adjust the air volume.
Front defroster
You can use this setting to defrost the
windshield, for example if it is iced up.
You can also defog the windshield and the
side windows.
Activating
Press buttonP or0
(
page 165).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
The air conditioning switches
automatically to the following functions:
maximum blowing and heating
power
air flows onto the windshield and
the front side windows
the air recirculation mode is
switched off
iKeep this setting selected only until the
windshield or the side windows are clear again.
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.
179 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
The automatic air distribution is
switched off. The air distribution is
controlled according to the selected
control setting.
Opening center and side air vents
Turn thumbwheels 3, 4, 7 and 8
(
page 174) upward.
The center air vents 5 and 6 and side
air vents 2 and 9 (
page 175) are
open.
Closing center and side air vents
Turn thumbwheels 3, 4, 7 and 8
(
page 174) downward.
The center air vents 5 and 6 and side
air vents 2 and 9 (
page 174) are
closed.
Adjusting air volume
Use buttonU (
page 175) for auto-
matic mode or air volume controls
orQ (
page 175) to adjust air volume
manually.
Seven blower speeds are available.
Press button to decrease
orQ (
page 175) to increase air
volume to the desired level.
The indicator lamp on the buttonU
goes out.
The automatic air distribution remains
switched on.
Front defroster
You can use this setting to defrost the
windshield, for example if it is iced up.
You can also defog the windshield and the
side windows.
Activating
Press buttonP or 0
(
page 175).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
The air conditioning switches
automatically to the following functions:
cooling on to dehumidify
maximum blowing and heating
power
air flows onto the windshield and
the front side windows
the air recirculation mode is
switched off
iYou can also turn the air distribution control
to a position between two symbols.
iKeep this setting selected only until the
windshield or the side windows are clear again.
185 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Activating
Moist air can fog up the windows. You can
dehumidify the air with the air condi-
tioning.
Press button2 or9
(
page 175) again.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
The air conditioning uses the refrigerant
R134a. This refrigerant is free of CFCs
which are harmful to the ozone layer.Residual heat and ventilation
(Canada only)
With the engine switched off, it is possible
to continue to heat or ventilate the interior
for up to 30 minutes. This feature makes
use of the residual heat produced by the
engine.ActivatingSwitch off the ignition (page 32).
Press button9 (page 175).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
Deactivating
Press button9 (page 175).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
The residual heat is automatically turned
off:
when the ignition is switched on
after about 30 minutes
if the battery voltage drops
!If the air conditioning cannot be turned on
again, this indicates that the air conditioning is
losing refrigerant. The compressor has turned it-
self off.
Have the air conditioning checked at the nearest
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
iHow long the system will provide heating de-
pends on
the coolant temperature
the temperature set by the operator
The blower will run at speed setting 1 regardless
of the air distribution control setting.