2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SLK55AMG window

66 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Air bags
Warning!G
Air bags are designed to reduce the poten-
tial of injury in certain frontal impacts (front
air bags, knee bags), or side impacts
(head-thorax air bags) which may cause
significant injuries. However, no system
available today can completely eliminate
injuries and fatalities.
The deployment of the air bags temporarily
releases a small amount of dust from the air
bags. This dust, however, is neither injurious
to your health, nor does it indicate a fire in
the vehicle. The dust might cause some tem-
porary breathing difficulty for people with
asthma or other breathing trouble. To avoid
this, you may wish to get out of the vehicle
as soon as it is safe to do so. If you have any
breathing difficulty but cannot get out of the
vehicle after the air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
Warning!G
To reduce the risk of injury when the front
air bags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and passenger to always be in a prop-
erly seated position and to wear their seat
belts.
For maximum protection in the event of a
collision always be in normal seated position
with your back against the backrest.
Fasten your seat belt and ensure it is prop-
erly positioned on your body (
page 48).
Since the air bag inflates with considerable
speed and force, a proper seating and hands
on steering wheel position will help to keep
you at a safe distance from the air bag.
Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the air bag can be seriously
injured or killed by an air bag as it inflates
with great force in the blink of an eye:

Sit properly belted in a position that is
as upright as possible with your back
against the seat backrest.

Adjust the driver’s seat as far as possi-
ble rearward, still permitting proper
operation of vehicle controls. The dis-
tance from the center of the driver’s
breastbone to the center of the air bag
cover on the steering wheel must be at
least 10 inches (25 cm) or more. You
should be able to accomplish this by a
combination of adjustments to the seat
and steering wheel. If you have any
problems, please contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.

Do not lean your head or chest close to
the steering wheel or dashboard.

Keep hands on the outside of the steer-
ing wheel rim. Placing hands and arms
inside the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when the driver’s front air bag inflates.

Adjust the passenger seat as far as pos-
sible rearward from the dashboard when
the seat is occupied.

93 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Seats
Memory function*
Lighting
Instrument cluster
Control system
Manual transmission
Automatic transmission*
Good visibility
Climate control
Automatic climate control*
Audio system
Power windows
Retractable hardtop
Driving systems
Loading
Useful features

98 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Loss of SmartKey or mechanical key
If you lose a SmartKey or mechanical key,
you should do the following:
Have the SmartKey deactivated by an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Report the loss of the SmartKey or the
mechanical key to your car insurance
company immediately.
If necessary have the mechanical lock
replaced.
Any authorized Mercedes-Benz Center will
be glad to supply you with a replacement.
Opening the doors from the inside
You can open a locked door from the in-
side. Open door only when conditions are
safe to do so.
1Inside door handle
2Locking knob
Pull on door handle1 on the respec-
tive door.
If the door was locked, locking knob2
will move up.
Opening a door causes its window to
open slightly. It will fully close when the
door is shut.
!A side window will not work if it is blocked
with ice or if the battery needs charging. If you
cannot shut a door, do not force it or you could
damage the door or the side window.
Fix whatever is affecting the window before
trying to shut the door.
iIf you hear a warning signal, you have forgot-
ten to switch off the low beam headlamps or the
parking lamps before opening the driver’s door.
In addition, the message
Switch Off Lights
appears in the multifunction display.
Switch off the low beam headlamps or the park-
ing lamps.
If the message
Switch off lights or
remove key.
appears in the multifunction
display, remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch or switch off the automatic headlamp
mode.
!Failure to switch off the exterior lamps when
leaving the vehicle may result in a discharged
battery.

170 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Swing sun visors down when you
experience glare.
To use mirror and switch on mirror
lamp*, lift up mirror cover3.
Rear window defroster
The rear window defroster uses a large
amount of power. To keep the battery
drain to a minimum, switch off the defrost-
er as soon as the rear window is clear.
The defroster is automatically deactivated
after approximately 6 to 17 minutes of
operation depending on the outside
temperature.Switching on
Press the rear window defroster
switchF in the control panel of
the climate control (
page 174) or
the automatic climate control*
(
page 184).
The indicator lamp on the rear window
defroster switchF comes on.
Warning!G
Do not use the vanity mirror while driving.
Keep the mirrors in the sun visors closed
while vehicle is in motion. Reflected glare
can endanger you and others.
iVehicles with interior lighting package*:
If sunlight enters through a side window, disen-
gage sun visor from mounting2 and pivot it to
the side. You then can slide the sun visor along
the pivot arm to a different position if so desired.
Mirror lamp*1 will switch off as soon as sun
visor is disengaged from mounting2.
!Vehicles with interior lighting package*:
Close mirror cover3 if open before you
disengage the sun visor4 from mounting2
and pivot it to the side.
Warning!G
Any accumulation of snow and ice should be
removed from the rear window before driv-
ing. Visibility could otherwise be impaired,
endangering you and others.
!The rear window defroster cannot be
switched on when the retractable hardtop is
open. The indicator lamp starts flashing if the
hardtop is open.

Close the retractable hardtop first.
The rear window defroster can be switched on
again.

171 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Switching off
Press the rear window defroster
switchF again in the control panel
of the climate control or the automatic
climate control*.
The indicator lamp on the rear window
defroster switchF goes out.
!If the rear window defroster switches off too
soon and the indicator lamp starts flashing, this
means that too many electrical consumers are
operating simultaneously and there is insuffi-
cient voltage in the battery. The system
responds automatically by deactivating the rear
window defroster.
As soon as the battery has sufficient voltage, the
rear window defroster automatically turns itself
back on.

174 Controls in detail
Climate control
Climate control panel
The climate control is operational when-
ever the engine is running. The system
cools or heats the interior depending on
the selected interior temperature and the
current outside temperature.Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air
enters the interior through the air distribu-
tion system.
The air conditioning will not engage (no
cooling) if the A/Cmode is deactivated
(
page 174).
Item
1Temperature control, left side
2Air volume control, climate control
on/off
3Air distribution control
4Temperature control, right side
5Rear window defroster (page 170)
6Front defroster
7AC cooling on/off,
Residual heat/ventilation
8Air recirculation
Warning!G
When operating the 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 frostbite to unpro-
tected 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 controls (
page 174) to direct
the air to air vents in the vehicle interior
that are not in the immediate area of un-
protected skin.
Warning!G
Severe conditions (e.g. strong air pollution)
may require replacement of the filter before
its scheduled replacement interval.
A clogged filter will reduce the air volume to
the interior and the windows could fog up,
impairing visibility and endangering you and
others. Have a clogged filter replaced as
soon as possible at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.

175 Controls in detail
Climate control
Switching climate control system
on/off
Switching off
Set air volume control2 (page 174)
to position0.
Switching on
Switch on the ignition (page 37).
Set air volume control2 to any speed
(
page 174).
The previous settings are once again in
effect.
Setting the temperature
Use temperature controls1 and4
(
page 174) to separately adjust the air
temperature on each side of the passenger
compartment. You should raise or lower
the temperature setting in small incre-
ments, preferably starting at 72°F (22°C).
The climate control will adjust to the set
temperature as fast as possible.
Increasing
Turn temperature control 1
and/or4 (
page 174) slightly
clockwise.
The climate control system will corre-
spondingly adjust the interior air tem-
perature.
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.
iIf the vehicle interior is hot, ventilate the in-
terior before driving off. The climate control 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.
When the retractable hardtop is closed, do not
obstruct air flow by placing objects on the air
flow-through exhaust slots below the rear
window.
Warning!G
When the climate control is switched off, the
outside air supply and circulation are also
switched off. Only choose this setting for a
short time. Otherwise the windows could
fog up, impairing visibility and endangering
you and others.

177 Controls in detail
Climate control
Adjusting air volume
Ten blower speeds are available.
Use air volume control2
(
page 174) to adjust the air volume.
Basic settings
Heating (winter)
Turn temperature controls1and4
(
page 174) to the desired position.
Turn air volume control2
(
page 174) to level2 or higher.
Otherwise the windows may fog over.
Turn air distribution control3
(
page 174) to a position
betweenbandY.
Open the side air vents if necessary.
Close the center air vents.Heating (summer)
Turn air temperature
control1and4 (
page 174) to the
desired position.
Turn air volume control2
(
page 174) to level1 or higher.
Turn air distribution control3
(
page 174) to positiona.
Open the center and side air vents.
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 (page 174).
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
iKeep this setting selected only until the
windshield or the side windows are clear again.
iWhen you have activated the front defroster
using buttonP, no other settings are
possible.