2008 MERCEDES-BENZ C300 Controls in detail

114 Controls in detail
Lighting
Hazard warning flasher
The hazard warning flasher can be
switched on at all times, even with the
SmartKey removed from the starter switch
or with the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
removed from the vehicle.
The hazard warning flasher is automatical-
ly switched on if

an air bag has been triggered

you brake the vehicle strongly at a
speed of more than 50 mph (70 km/h)
and bring it to a complete stop
1Hazard warning flasher switch
Switching on: Press hazard warning
flasher switch.
All turn signals will flash.
Switching off: Press hazard warning
flasher switch again.
If the hazard warning flasher was acti-
vated automatically, press hazard
warning flasher switch
1 twice to
switch off the hazard warning flasher.
The hazard warning flasher switched
off automatically at vehicle speeds of
approximately 6 mph (10 km/h) or
more.
Interior lighting
Overhead control panel
1Rear interior lighting on/off
2Interior lighting control
3Right reading lamp on/off
4Front interior lighting on/off
5Left reading lamp on/off
6Left/right reading lamp
7Front interior lamps
iWith the hazard warning flasher activated
and the combination switch set for either left or
right turn, only the respective left or right turn
signals will operate when the SmartKey in the
starter switch is in position
1 or2 or the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button (Canada only)
(
page 84) is pressed once or twice.

115 Controls in detail
Lighting
Automatic control
Deactivating: Press button2.
The button engages when pressed in.
Automatic control of the interior light-
ing is deactivated.
The interior lighting remains switched
off in darkness, even when you:

unlock the vehicle

open a door

remove the SmartKey from the
starter switch
Activating: Press button2 again.
The button returns to its original posi-
tion and sits flush with the other but-
tons. Automatic control of the interior
lighting is activated.
The interior lighting switches on in
darkness, when you:

unlock the vehicle

open a door

remove the SmartKey from the
starter switch
The interior lighting switches off
automatically.
You can set whether the interior light-
ing should come on when you remove
the key from the starter switch via the
control system, see “Setting interior
lighting delayed shut-off”
(
page 173).Manual control
Switching on/off front interior light-
ing: Press button4.
Switching on/off rear interior light-
ing: Press button 1.
Switching on/off front reading
lamps: Press button 3 or 5.
The left and right front reading lamps
are located in the lower edge of the in-
terior rear view mirror.
!An interior lamp switched on manually does
not go out automatically.
Leaving an interior light switch in the ON position
for extended periods of time with the engine
turned off could result in a discharged battery.
iThe interior lighting is factory-set to auto-
matic mode.
iIf the door remains open, the interior lighting
switches off automatically after approximately
5minutes.

116 Controls in detail
Lighting
Interior lighting in the rear
1Right rear reading lamp on/off
2Left rear reading lamp on/off
3Left reading lamp
4Rear interior lamp
5Right reading lamp
Switching on/off rear reading
lamps: Press button 1 or 2.
The respective left or right rear reading
lamp comes on.
Switch the rear interior lamp on/off with
the button in the overhead control panel.
Door entry lamps
For better orientation in the dark, the cor-
responding door entry lamps will switch on
in darkness when you open a door and the
automatic control is activated.
The door entry lamps switch off when the
corresponding door is closed.Trunk lamp
The trunk lamp switches on if the trunk is
opened.
If the trunk remains open, the trunk light-
ing switches off automatically after ap-
proximately 10 minutes.
iIf you turn the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position0 and switch off the exterior
headlamps, the door entry lamps will remain lit
for approximately 5 minutes.

117 Controls in detail
Windshield wipers
Windshield wipers
Combination switch
1Switching on windshield wipers
2Single wipe
Wiping with windshield washer fluid
Switch on the ignition.
!If the windshield wipers leave smears on the
windshield after the car has been driven through
an automatic car wash, then wax or other resi-
due is on the windshield. Shortly after washing
the car in an automatic car wash, clean the wind-
shield with windshield washer fluid.
!Do not operate the windshield wipers when
the windshield is dry. Dust that accumulates on
a windshield might scratch the glass and/or
damage the wiper blades when wiping occurs on
a dry windshield. If it is necessary to operate the
windshield wipers in dry weather conditions, al-
ways operate the windshield wipers with wind-
shield washer fluid.
!If anything blocks the windshield wipers
(leaves, snow, etc.), switch them off immediate-
ly.

For safety reasons, stop the vehicle in a safe
location and,

remove the SmartKey from starter
switch
or

turn off the engine by pressing the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button and
open the driver’s door (with the driver’s
door open, starter switch is in
position0, same as with SmartKey re-
moved from starter switch)

engage the parking brake
before attempting to remove any blockage.

Remove blockage.

Turn the windshield wipers on again.
If the windshield wipers fail to function at all in
combination switch position U or V,

set the combination switch to the next
higher wiper speed

have the windshield wipers checked at the
nearest authorized Mercedes-Benz Center

118 Controls in detail
Windshield wipers
Switching on/off windshield wipers
Turn the combination switch to the
desired position depending on the
intensity of the rain.
MWindshield wipers off
USlow intermittent wiping
(rain sensor* operation with low
sensitivity)
VFast intermittent wiping
(rain sensor* operation with
high sensitivity)
uSlow continuous wiping
tFast continuous wiping
Single wipe
Press the combination switch briefly in
the direction of arrow2 (
page 117)
to the resistance point.
The windshield wipers wipe one time
without washer fluid.
Intermittent wiping
Only switch on intermittent wiping under
wet weather conditions or in the presence
of precipitation.
iWhen the windshield wipers are switched on
and you brake the vehicle to a stop, the wipers
operate more slowly.
!Vehicles with rain sensor*:
Do not leave windshield wipers in intermittent
setting when the vehicle is taken to an automatic
car wash or during windshield cleaning. Wipers
will operate in the presence of water sprayed on
the windshield, and the windshield wipers may
be damaged as a result.
!Vehicles with rain sensor*:
If you have set intermittent wiping, dirt on the
surface of the rain sensor or optical effects may
cause the windshield wipers to wipe in an undes-
ired fashion. This could then damage the wind-
shield wiper blades or scratch the windows. You
should therefore switch off the windshield wip-
ers when weather conditions are dry.

119 Controls in detail
Windshield wipers
Turn the combination switch to posi-
tion U or V.
Intermittent wiping starts with selected
wiping interval.
Vehicles with rain sensor*:
After the initial wipe, pauses between
wipes are automatically controlled by
the rain sensor.
Intermittent wiping interval is depen-
dent on wetness of windshield.Wiping with windshield washer fluid
Press the combination switch in the di-
rection of arrow2 (
page 117) past
the resistance point.
The windshield wiper operates with
washer fluid.
For information on filling up the washer
reservoir, see “Windshield washer system
and headlamp cleaning system*”
(
page 330).
iIntermittent wiping is interrupted when the
vehicle is at a standstill and a front door is
opened. This protects persons getting into or out
of the vehicle from being sprayed.
Intermittent wiping will be continued when

all doors are closed
and

the clutch pedal is depressed (vehicles with
manual transmission
or

the gear selector lever is positionD orR (ve-
hicles with automatic transmission*)
or

the wiper setting is changed using the com-
bination switch
iTo prevent smears on the windshield or
noisy/chattering wiper blades, wipe with wind-
shield washer fluid every now and then even
when it is raining.
iVehicles with headlamp cleaning system*:
The headlamp cleaning system* will clean the
headlamps automatically after the first and every
tenth time windshield washer fluid is used while
the engine is running (
page 112).

120 Controls in detail
Power windows
Opening and closing power windows
The door windows are opened and closed
electrically. The switches

for all door windows are on the driver’s
door

for the front passenger door window
are on the front passenger door

for each rear door window are on the
respective rear door
1Left front door window
2Right front door window
3Right rear door window
4Override switch
5Left rear door window
Warning!G
Do not keep any part of your body up against
the side window pane when opening a win-
dow. The downward motion of the pane may
pull that part of your body down between
the window pane and the door frame and
trap it there. If there is a risk of entrapment,
release the switch and press it again to
close the window.
Warning!G
When closing the windows, make sure there
is no danger of anyone being harmed by the
closing procedure.
Activate the override switch (
page 57)
when children are riding in the back seats of
the vehicle. The children may otherwise in-
jure themselves, e.g. by becoming trapped
in the window opening.
The closing of the door windows can be im-
mediately halted by releasing the switch or,
if the switch was pressed past the resis-
tance point and released, by pressing the
lower part of the respective switch again.
The door windows are equipped with the ex-
press-close and automatic reversal func-
tion. If the window encounters an
obstruction that blocks its path in a circum-
stance where you pressed the switch past
the resistance point and released it to close
the window, the automatic reversal function
will stop the window and open it slightly.

121 Controls in detail
Power windows
Switch on the ignition (page 82).
Opening: Press the desired switch1
to 4 (
page 120) to the resistance
point.
The corresponding window will move
down until you release the switch.
Closing: Pull the desired switch1 to
4 (
page 120) to the resistance
point.
The corresponding window will move
up until you release the switch.
If the window encounters an obstruction
that blocks its path in a circumstance where
you are closing the window by pressing and
holding the switch, by pressing and holding
button ‹ on the SmartKey or SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO*, by pressing and holding
the sensor surface (vehicles with
KEYLESS-GO*) on an outside door handle,
or by pressing and holding button, on
the climate control panel (Canada only), the
automatic reversal function will not operate.
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.iYou can also open or close the windows us-
ing the SmartKey, see “Summer opening fea-
ture” (
page 123) and “Convenience closing
feature” (
page 124).
iOperating the windows from the rear is not
possible if you activate the override switch
(
page 57).
iWith the SmartKey in starter switch
position0 or removed from the starter switch,
the power windows can be operated:

until you open the driver’s or front passenger
door

for approximately 5 minutes if no door was
openedWarning!G
If you press and hold the switch up when
closing the window, and upward movement
of the window is blocked by some obstruc-
tion including but not limited to arms, hands,
fingers, etc., the automatic reversal will not
operate.