2008 MERCEDES-BENZ C300 keyless

269 Controls in detail
Trunk
Trunk
Opening trunk
You can open the trunk if the vehicle is sta-
tionary.
A minimum height clearance of 5.9 ft
(1.90 m) is required to open the trunk lid.Opening trunk from outside
1Trunk lid handle
Press and hold button Š on the
SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* until trunk unlocks and
begins to open.
or
Pull on handle1.
In vehicles without KEYLESS-GO*: The
vehicle must be unlocked.Opening trunk from inside
1Remote trunk opening switch
Press switch1 until the trunk begins
to open.
Warning!G
Make sure the trunk is closed when the en-
gine is running and while driving. Among
other dangers, such as blocked visibility, ex-
haust fumes may enter the vehicle interior.
These fumes are damaging to your health.
!The trunk lid swings open upwards automat-
ically. Always make sure there is sufficient over-
head clearance.
iIf the trunk does not open, it is still locked
separately (
page 272).

270 Controls in detail
Trunk
Closing trunk Closing trunk from outside manually
1Handles
Lower trunk lid by pulling firmly on
handles1 or2.
Close the trunk with hands placed flat
on the trunk lid.
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. All turn signal lamps flash three times
and an acoustic signal sounds three times to
confirm locking.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO* (Canada only): To
prevent a possible inadvertent lockout, the trunk
will open automatically if a SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* (Canada only) is recognized
inside the vehicle or in the trunk.
The vehicle is only locked when the turn signals
flash three times and an acoustic signal sounds
three times. If you are carrying a second
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* (Canada only) with
you, you can still lock the vehicle.
Warning!G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the trunk
lid opening when closing the trunk. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
(Canada only) 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 re-
sult in an accident and/or serious personal
injury.

272 Controls in detail
Trunk
Valet lockingClose the trunk (page 270).
Remove the mechanical key from the
SmartKey (
page 424).
Insert the mechanical key in the trunk
lid lock.
Turn the mechanical key clockwise to
position 2 to lock the trunk.
Remove the mechanical key from the
trunk lid lock.
The trunk remains locked even when the
vehicle is centrally unlocked.
Insert the mechanical key in the trunk
lid lock.
Turn the mechanical key counterclock-
wise to neutral position 1 to unlock the
trunk.
You can now open the trunk
(
page 269).
iTo deny any unauthorized person access to
the trunk, e.g. when you valet park the vehicle,
lock it separately with the mechanical key. Leave
only the SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* (Canada only) less its mechanical
key with the vehicle.
1Neutral position
2Locked
iYou can only cancel the separate trunk lock-
ing mode by means of the mechanical key.

273 Controls in detail
Power tilt/sliding sunroof
Power tilt/sliding sunroof
Opening and closing power tilt/sliding
sunroof
Warning!G
When closing the tilt/sliding sunroof, make
sure there is no danger of anyone being
harmed by the closing procedure.
If the tilt/sliding sunroof is blocked while
closing and reopens, it can be closed with
greater force if you pull the switch to the re-
sistance point in the direction indicated by
arrow
3 within 2 seconds.
If the tilt/sliding sunroof is blocked again
and reopens, you can close it with deactivat-
ed obstruction sensor function by pulling
the switch again to the resistance point in
the direction indicated by arrow
3 within 2
seconds.
When closing the tilt/sliding sunroof with
the obstruction sensor function deactivated,
make sure no one can become trapped, as
this could result in serious or fatal injuries.
The opening/closing procedure of the
tilt/sliding sunroof can be immediately halt-
ed by releasing the switch or, if the switch
was moved past the resistance point and re-
leased, by moving the switch in any direc-
tion.
The tilt/sliding sunroof is made out of glass.
In the event of an accident, the glass may
shatter. This may result in an opening in the
roof.
In a vehicle rollover, occupants not wearing
their seat belts or not wearing them properly
may be thrown out of the opening. Such an
opening also presents a potential for injury
for occupants wearing their seat belts
properly as entire body parts or portions of
them may protrude from the passenger
compartment.When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. A child’s unsupervised ac-
cess to a vehicle could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
!To avoid damaging the seals, do not trans-
port any objects with sharp edges which can
stick out of the tilt/sliding sunroof.
Do not open the tilt/sliding sunroof if there is
snow or ice on the roof, as this could result in
malfunctions.
!Please keep in mind that weather conditions
can sometimes change rapidly. Make sure to
close the tilt/sliding sunroof when leaving the
vehicle. If water enters the vehicle interior, vehi-
cle electronics could be damaged which is not
covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited
Warranty.

277 Controls in detail
Panorama roof with power tilt/sliding panel*
Opening and closing panorama roof
with power tilt/sliding panel
The tilt/sliding panel only operates with
the roller sunblinds extended.
Warning!G
When opening or closing the tilt/sliding pan-
el, make sure there is no danger of anyone
being harmed by the opening or closing pro-
cedure.
The opening procedure of the tilt/sliding
panel can be immediately halted by releas-
ing the switch or, if the switch was moved
past the resistance point and released, by
moving the switch in any direction.
The closing procedure of the tilt/sliding
panel can be immediately halted by releas-
ing the switch.
The panorama roof with power tilt/sliding
panel is made out of glass. In the event of an
accident, the glass may shatter. This may re-
sult in an opening in the roof.
In a vehicle rollover, occupants not wearing
their seat belts or not wearing them properly
may be thrown out of the opening.
Such an opening also presents a potential
for injury for occupants wearing their seat
belts properly as entire body parts or por-
tions of them may protrude from the pas-
senger compartment.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
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 acci-
dent and/or serious personal injury.
!To avoid damaging the seals, do not trans-
port any objects with sharp edges which can
stick out of the tilt/sliding panel.
Do not open the tilt/sliding panel if there is snow
or ice on the roof, as this could result in malfunc-
tions.
!Please keep in mind that weather conditions
can sometimes change rapidly. Make sure to
close the tilt/sliding panel when leaving the ve-
hicle. If water enters the vehicle interior, vehicle
electronics could be damaged which is not cov-
ered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
iWhen the panorama roof with power
tilt/sliding panel is open, resonance noises may
result in addition to the usual wind noises. They
are caused by minimal pressure changes in the
passenger compartment. To reduce or eliminate
these noises, change the position of the panora-
ma roof with power tilt/sliding panel or open a
side window slightly.
iYou can also open or close the tilt/sliding
panel using the SmartKey, see “Summer open-
ing feature” (
page 123) and “Convenience
closing feature” (
page 124).


290 Controls in detail
Useful features
Rear window sunshade*
The switch is located in the center console.
1Rear window sunshade switch
Switch on the ignition.
Always raise the sunshade fully for its sup-
port against the window frame.
Raising: Press switch1 briefly.
The sunshade is raised completely.
Stopping the raising procedure:
Press switch1 again.
The sunshade stops.
Lowering: Press switch1 briefly.
The sunshade is lowered completely.
Stopping the lowering procedure:
Press switch1 again.
The sunshade stops.
!Make sure the movement of the rear win-
dow sunshade is not restricted by objects on the
rear window shelf. Otherwise, the sunshade or
the objects could be damaged.
Warning!G
When operating the rear window sunshade,
make sure there is no danger of anyone be-
ing harmed by the raising or lowering
procedure.
The raising or lowering procedure can be
immediately halted by briefly pressing the
switch1.
Briefly press switch1 again to raise or low-
er the rear window sunshade completely.
Warning!G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
(Canada only) 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. Unsu-
pervised use of vehicle equipment may
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.

292 Controls in detail
Useful features
Rear seat ashtray
1Ashtray insert
2Cover
3Button
Opening: Pull at top of cover2.
Removing ashtray insert: Push
button3 to disengage ashtray
insert1 and remove it.
Reinstalling ashtray insert: Push the
ashtray insert1 down into the retain-
er until it engages.
Push at top of cover2 to close
ashtray.
Cigarette lighter
Switch on the ignition.1Cover
2Cigarette lighter
Press cover plate1 forward until it en-
gaged.
Push in cigarette lighter2.
The cigarette lighter will pop out
automatically when hot.
Warning!G
Never touch the heating element or sides of
the cigarette lighter; they are extremely hot.
Hold the knob only.
Make sure any children traveling with you do
not injure themselves or start a fire with the
hot cigarette lighter.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
(Canada only) 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.

312 Operation
Driving instructions
Brakes
To help prevent brake disk corrosion after
driving on wet road surfaces (particularly
salted roads), it is advisable to brake the
vehicle with considerable force prior to
parking. The heat generated serves to dry
the brakes.
If your brake system is normally only sub-
jected to moderate loads, you should occa-
sionally test the effectiveness of the brakes by applying above-normal braking
pressure at higher speeds. This will also
enhance the grip of the brake pads.
Refer to the description of the Brake Assist
System (BAS) (
page 60).
Brake pad wear or a leak in the system may
be the reason for low brake fluid level in
the reservoir.
The brake fluid level in the reservoir may
be too low if the red brake warning lamp in
the instrument cluster comes on while the
engine is running and an acoustic warning
sounds (
page 376). Observe additional
messages in the multifunction display that
may appear (
page 387).
Warning!G
After driving in heavy rain for some time
without applying the brakes or through wa-
ter deep enough to wet brake components,
the first braking action may be somewhat
reduced and increased pedal pressure may
be necessary to obtain expected braking
effect. Maintain a safe distance from
vehicles in front.
Resting your foot on the brake pedal will
cause excessive and premature wear of the
brake pads.
It can also result in the brakes overheating,
thereby significantly reducing their effec-
tiveness. It may not be possible to stop the
vehicle in sufficient time to avoid an
accident.
!Vehicles without 4MATIC:
Because the ESP® operates automatically, the
engine and ignition must be shut off (SmartKey
in starter switch position0 or1 or KEYLESS-GO
(Canada only) start/stop button* in position0
or1) when

the parking brake is being tested on a brake
test dynamometer

the vehicle is being towed with the front axle
raised
Active braking action through the ESP
® may oth-
erwise seriously damage the brake system.
For information on vehicles with 4MATIC, see
“Four wheel electronic traction system (4MATIC)
with the ESP®” (
page 65).
Warning!G
Make sure not to endanger any other road
users when carrying out these braking ma-
neuvers.