2008 MERCEDES-BENZ C300 Steering wheel

133 Controls in detail
Driving and parking
Parking
1Release handle
2Parking brake pedal
Warning!G
With the engine not running, there is no
power assistance for the brake and the
steering systems. In this case, it is impor-
tant 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 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.
To reduce the risk of personal injury as a re-
sult of vehicle movement, before turning off
the engine and leaving the vehicle always:

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, turn front
wheels towards the road curb.

Turn the SmartKey to starter switch
position0 and remove, or press
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button
(
page 84).

Take the SmartKey or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* with you and lock vehicle
when leaving.
Warning!G
Engaging the parking brake while the vehicle
is in motion can cause the rear wheels to
lock up. You could lose control of the vehicle
and cause an accident. In addition, the
vehicle’s brake lights do not light up when
the parking brake is engaged.


151 Controls in detail
Control system
Control system
The control system is activated as soon as
the SmartKey in the starter switch is
turned to position2 or as soon as the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button (Canada
only) is in position 2. The control system
enables you to:

call up information about your vehicle

change vehicle settings
For example, you can use the control
system to find out when your vehicle is
next due for service, to call up statistical
data on your vehicle, and much more.
The control system relays information to
the multifunction display.
Multifunction display
1Text field
2Line for main menus
3Temperature
4Current program mode
(automatic transmission*)
5Current gear selector lever
position/gear range
(automatic transmission*)
Additional speedometer
(manual transmission)
6Digital clock
Settings, functions, submenus as well as
any malfunctions are shown to you in the
text field.
Warning!G
A driver’s attention to the road and traffic
conditions must always be his/her primary
focus when driving.
For your safety and the safety of others,
selecting features through the multifunction
steering wheel should only be done by the
driver when traffic and road conditions
permit it to be done safely.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km/h), your vehicle is
covering a distance of 44 feet
(approximately 14 m) every second.

152 Controls in detail
Control system
Multifunction steering wheel
The displays in the multifunction display
and the settings in the control system are
controlled using the buttons on the multi-
function steering wheel.Item
1Multifunction display
Operating control system
2Volume control:
Press button
æto increase volume
çto decrease volume
Telephone*:
Press button
sto take a call
to dial a call
tto end a call
to reject an incoming call
Fto mute
3!to activate Voice Control*
Item
4Lto cancel Voice Control*,
back, confirm messages
5To call up line for menus and select
menus:
Press button
&to scroll to the right
(to scroll to the left
To select submenu or scroll through
lists:
Press button
$to scroll up
%to scroll down
Press button
#to confirm selection or
messages
iVoice Control* is only available with
COMAND*. Refer to separate operating instruc-
tions.

153 Controls in detail
Control system
Depending on the selected menu
(
page 155), pressing the buttons on the
multifunction steering wheel will alter what
is shown in the multifunction display.
The information available in the multifunc-
tion display is arranged in menus, each
containing a number of functions or sub-
menus.
The individual functions are then found
within the relevant menu (radio or CD op-
erations under
Audio, for example). These
functions serve to call up relevant informa-
tion or to customize the settings for your
vehicle.
In the
Settings menu, instead of functions
you will find a number of submenus for
calling up and changing settings. For
instructions on using these submenus, see
“Submenus in the Settings menu”
(
page 166).
It is helpful to think of the menus, and the
functions within each menu, as being
arranged in a circular pattern.The number of menus available in the sys-
tem depends on which optional equipment
is installed in your vehicle.
Using the control system
To select a menu:
Press button(or&.
To select a submenu:
Press button%or$.
To go to the next higher menu level:
Press buttonL.
To select the standard display: Press
buttonL repeatedly until the stan-
dard display featuring the odometer
and speedometer appears.
or
Press and hold buttonL until the
standard display featuring the odome-
ter and speedometer appears.
To confirm selection:
Press button#.
To confirm display message:
Press button# or L.
The control system saves certain dis-
play messages. Calling up display mes-
sages (
page 164).
For information about warning and mal-
function messages appearing in the multi-
function display (
page 387).
iThe headings used in the menus table are
designed to facilitate navigation within the sys-
tem and are not necessarily identical to those
shown in the control system displays.
The first function displayed in each menu will au-
tomatically show you which part of the system
you are in.

158 Controls in detail
Control system
Digital speedometer
Press ( or & to select the Trip
menu.
Press % or $ to select the digital
speedometer.
1Digital speedometer
Navi* menu
The
Navi menu contains the functions
needed to operate your navigation system.
Press ( or & to select the Navi
menu.

If COMAND* is switched off, the mes-
sage
Navi Off appears in the multi-
function display.

With COMAND* switched on but route
guidance not activated, the direction of
travel and, if available, the name of the
street currently traveled on appear in
the multifunction display.

With COMAND* switched on and route
guidance activated, the direction of
travel and maneuver instructions ap-
pear in the multifunction display.
Please refer to the COMAND* manual for
instructions on how to activate the route
guidance system*.
Audio menu
The functions in the
Audio menu operate
the audio equipment which you currently
have turned on.
If no audio equipment is currently turned
on, the message
Audio Off appears in the
multifunction display.
The following functions are available:
To adjust the volume: Press æ or
ç on the multifunction steering
wheel.
FunctionPage
Selecting radio station159
Selecting satellite radio station*159
Operating CD player*160

174 Controls in detail
Control system
Press #.
The current setting
Enabled
or
Disabled is shown.
Press # again if you would like to
change the current status.
Depending on the previous status, the
automatic central locking feature will
be
Enabled orDisabled.
Convenience submenu
Access the
Convenience submenu via the
Settings menu. Use the Convenience
submenu to change the settings for the
convenience features.
The following functions are available:Activate easy-entry/exit feature*
(Canada only)
FunctionPage
Activate easy-entry/exit
feature* (Canada only)174
Setting fold-in function* for exte-
rior rear view mirrors175Warning!G
You must make sure no one can become
trapped or injured by the moving steering
wheel when the easy-entry/exit feature is
activated.
To stop steering wheel movement, do one of
the following:

Move steering wheel adjustment stalk*
(
page 94).

Press memory position switch*
(
page 104).
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Children could open the driver’s door and
unintentionally activate the easy-entry/exit
feature, which could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.


177 Controls in detail
Audio system
Operating safetyAudio system components
With the audio system you can operate the
following main functions:

audio function with the radio, Sat*,
disc (CD audio or MP3 mode)

the telephone* with the phone book

various system settings
The audio system consists of the following:

audio control unit

audio display

audio controller with back and delete
button
In addition, the audio system can also be
operated with the multifunction steering
wheel (
page 152).
In these instructions, the keypad (right
side of audio control unit) and the function
buttons are referred to as “buttons”.Audio control unit
With the audio control unit you can:

switch the audio system on/off

adjust the volume

select the operating modes

enter telephone numbers and accept,
reject, initiate and end telephone calls

load and eject CDs
Warning!G
Any alterations made to electronic
components can cause malfunctions.
The radio, amplifier, CD changer*, satellite
radio*, and telephone* are interconnected.
When one of the components is not opera-
tional or has not been removed/replaced
properly, the function of other components
may be impaired.
This condition might seriously impair the
operating safety of your vehicle.
We recommend that you have any service
work on electronic components carried out
at an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.

182 Controls in detail
Audio system
Instrument cluster multifunction
display
This section describes features and con-
trols via the audio control unit, display and
controller only.
Please refer to the “Instrument cluster
control system” section of this manual
(
page 151) for function descriptions and
operation of the instrument cluster multi-
function display and multifunction steering
wheel buttons as they relate to audio func-
tions described in this section.Audio controller
1Audio controller
The menu functions are selected on the
audio display using the audio controller.
For this purpose, a selector bar is moved.
In this way, you can open menus or lists,
move within menus or lists, and quit
menus or lists.
Operating audio controller
The audio controller features the following
options:

press briefly or press and hold n

rotate to the left or right ymz

slide to the left or right omp

slide up or down qmr
iYou cannot operate the audio system via the
audio controller when the protective cover is
closed.