2016 MERCEDES-BENZ C-Class SEDAN WHEELS

Automa tic locking featu re
XTo deactivate:press and hold butto n: for
approximately fiv eseconds until atone
sounds.
XTo activate: press and hold butto n; for
approximately fiv eseconds until atone
sounds.
If you press on eof th etwo buttons and do no t
hear atone ,th erelevan tsetting has already
been selected.
The vehicl eis locke dautomatically when th e
ignition is switched on and th ewheels are turn-
ing .
You could therefor ebe locke dout if:
Rth evehicl eis bein gpushed.
Rth evehicl eis bein gtowed.
Rth evehicl eis on aroller dynamometer.
iYou can also activat eand deactivat eth e
automatic locking function via COMAND or
Audio 20 (see th eDigital Operator' sManual).
Unlocking/locking driver's doorwith
mechanical key
i
If you want to centrally loc kth evehicl eusin g
th emechanical key, begi nby pressing th e
locking butto nfor th einterior locking mech-
anism while th edriver's door is open .The n
loc kth edriver's door usin gth emechanical
key.
XInser tth emechanical ke yint oopening :in
th eprotective cap .
XPull and hold th edoor handle.
XPull th eprotective cap on th emechanical ke y
as straight as possibl eaway from th evehicl e
until it releases.
XReleas eth edoor handle.
XTo unlock: turnth emechanical ke ycounter-
clockwise as far as it will go to position 1.
XTo lock:turnth emechanical ke yclockwise as
far as it will go to position 1.
If you use th emechanical ke yto unloc kand
open th edriver's door ,th eanti-thef talarm sys-
te m will be triggered .Switc hoff th ealarm
(
Ypage 79).
Trunk
Import ant safety notes
GWARNIN G
Combustion engines emi tpoisonous exhaust
gase ssuc has carbon monoxide. Exhaust
gase scan ente rth evehicl einterior if th e
trunk lid is open when th eengin eis running,
Trunk89
Opening and closing
Z

Overview of bulb types
You can replace the following bulbs. The bulb
type can be found in the legend.
Vehicles with halogen headlamps
:
Low-beam headlamp: H7 55 W
;High-beam headlamp: H7 55 W
=Turn signal lamp: PWY 24 W
Tail lamp (halogen headlamps)
:
Turn signal lamp: PY 21 W
;Backup lamp: W 16 W
Replacing front bulbs (vehicles with
halogen headlamps)
Removing and installing the cover in the
front wheel housing
You must remove the cover of the front wheel
housing before you can change the front turn
signal lamp.
XTo remove: switch off the lights.
XTurn the front wheels inwards.
XTurn rotary knob :180° outwards until it
stops using a suitable object.
Cover ;is released.
XFold cover ;upwards.
XTo install: insert cover ;into the left, right
and two lower catches.
XTurn rotary knob :180° inwards until it
stops using a suitable object.
Cover ;is locked.
Low-beam headlamps
XSwitch off the lights.
XOpen the hood.
XTurn housing cover :counter-clockwise and
remove it.
Replacing bulbs123
Lights and windshield wipers
Z

GWARNING
If you switch off the ignition while driving,
safety-relevant functions are only available
with limitations, or not at all. This could affect, for example, the power steering and the brake
boosting effect. You will require considerably
more effort to steer and brake. There is a risk
of an accident.
Do not switch off the ignition while driving.
GWARNING
If the parking brake has not been fully
released when driving, the parking brake can:
Roverheat and cause a fire
Rlose its hold function.
There is a risk of fire and an accident. Release
the parking brake fully before driving off.
!Do not warm up the engine with the vehicle
stationary. Drive off immediately. Avoid high
engine speeds and driving at full throttle until
the engine has reached its operating temper-
ature.
Only shift the automatic transmission to the
desired drive position when the vehicle is sta-
tionary.
Where possible, avoid spinning the drive
wheels when pulling away on slippery roads.
You could otherwise damage the drive train.
!Mercedes-AMG vehicles: at low engine oil
temperatures below 68 ‡ (+20 †), the max-
imum engine speed is restricted in order to
protect the engine. To protect the engine and
maintain smooth engine operation, avoid driv-
ing at full throttle when the engine is cold.
Observe the important safety notes for PLUG-IN
HYBRID vehicles (
Ypage 44).
SmartKey positions
SmartKey
gTo remove the SmartKey
1Power supply for some consumers, such as
the windshield wipers
2Ignition (power supply for all consumers)
and drive position
3To start the engine
iThe SmartKey can be turned in the ignition
lock even if it is not the correct SmartKey for
the vehicle. The ignition is not switched on.
The engine cannot be started.
Vehicles with AIRPANEL: you can open the
shutters in the radiator trim by turning the
SmartKey to position 2in the ignition lock. After
approximately 120 seconds the shutters open
automatically. Further information on opening
and cleaning the shutters (
Ypage 339).
Start/Stop button
General notes
When you insert the Start/Stop button into the
ignition lock, the system needs approximately
two seconds recognition time. You can then use
the Start/Stop button.
Pressing the Start/Stop button several times in
succession corresponds to the different key
positions in the ignition lock. This is only the
case if you are not depressing the brake pedal.
If you depress the brake pedal and press the
Start/Stop button, the engine starts immedi-
ately.
A check which periodically establishes a radio
connection between the vehicle and the Smart-
Key determines whether a valid SmartKey is in
the vehicle. This occurs, for example, when
starting the engine.
146Driving
Driving and parking

Transmission positions
BPark position
This prevents the vehicle from rolling
away when stopped.
Only shift the transmission into posi-
tion Pwhen the vehicle is stationary
(
Ypage 156). The parking lock
should not be used as a brake when
parking. Always apply the electronic
parking brake in addition to the park-
ing lock in order to secure the vehi-
cle.
Park position Pis automatically
engaged if:
Ryou switch off the engine using the SmartKey and remove the Smart-
Key
Ryou switch off the engine using thekey or using the Start/Stop button
and open the driver's door or front-
passenger door
Rthe driver's door is opened when
the vehicle is stationary or driving
at very low speed and the trans-
mission is in position Dor R
If the vehicle electronics are malfunc-
tioning, the transmission may be
locked in position P. Have the vehicle
electronics checked immediately at a
qualified specialist workshop.
CReverse gear
Only shift the transmission into posi-
tion Rwhen the vehicle is stationary.
ANeutral
Do not shift the transmission to N
while driving. Otherwise, the auto-
matic transmission could be dam-
aged.
No power is transmitted from the
engine to the drive wheels.
Releasing the brake pedal will allow
you to move the vehicle freely, e.g. to
push it or tow it.
If ESP
®is deactivated or faulty: shift
the transmission to position Nif the
vehicle is in danger of skidding, e.g.
on icy roads.
If you switch the engine off with the
transmission in position Ror D, the
automatic transmission shifts to N
automatically.
!Rolling in neutral Ncan damage
the drive train.
7Drive
The automatic transmission changes
gear automatically. All forward gears
are available.
Driving tips
Changing gear
The automatic transmission shifts to the indi-
vidual gears automatically when it is in trans-
mission position D. This automatic gear shifting
behavior is determined by:
Rthe selected drive program
Rthe position of the accelerator pedal
Rthe road speed
Accelerator pedal position
Your style of driving influences how the auto-
matic transmission shifts gear:
Rlittle throttle: early upshifts
Rmore throttle: late upshifts
Double-clutch function
When shifting down, the double-clutch function
is active regardless of the currently selected
drive program. The double-clutch function
158Automatic transmission
Driving an d parking

Drive program S+ (SportPlus)
Drive progra mS+ is characterized by th efol-
lowing:
Rth evehicl eexhibits particularl ysport ydrivin g
characteristics .
Rthevehicl epullin gaway in first gear .
Rtheautomati ctransmissio nshiftin gup later.
th efue lconsumption possibl ybein ghigher as
a result of th elater automati ctransmissio n
shift points .
Rthesuspensio nexhibits particularl ystiff
springin gand dampin gsetting s(vehicles wit h
AIRMATIC) .
RtheECO start/sto pfunction is no tavailable.
Drive program S(Sport)
Drive progra mSis characterized by th efollow-
ing:
Rth evehicl eexhibits sport ydrivin gcharacter-
istics .
Rthevehicl epullin gaway in first gear .
Rtheautomati ctransmissio nshiftin gup later.
th efue lconsumption possibl ybein ghigher as
a result of th elater automati ctransmissio n
shift points .
Rthesuspensio nexhibits har dspringin gand
dampin gsetting s(vehicles wit hAIRMATIC) .
Drive program C(Comfort)
Drive progra mCis characterized by th efollow-
ing:
Rth evehicl edeliver scomfortable, economical
handlin gcharacteristics .
Rthevehicl epullin gaway mor egentl yin
forwar dand revers egears, unless th eaccel-
erato rpeda lis depressed fully.
Rth evehicl ehavin gimproved drivin gstability,
fo rexampl eon slipper yroa dsurfaces.
Roptimal fue lconsumption resultin gfrom th e
automati ctransmissio nshiftin gup sooner.
The vehicl eis driven in th elow engin espeed
range and th ewheels are less likely to spin .
Drive programE(Economy)
Drive progra mEis characterized by th efollow-
ing:
Rth evehicl eexhibits comfortable, economical
handlin gcharacteristics .
Rthevehicl epullin gaway mor egentl yin
forwar dand revers egears, unless th eaccel-
erato rpeda lis depressed fully.
Rth evehicl ehavin gimproved drivin gstability,
fo rexampl eon slipper yroa dsurfaces.
Roptimal fue lconsumption resultin gfrom th e
automati ctransmissio nshiftin gup sooner.
The vehicl eis driven in th elow engin espeed
range and th ewheels are less likely to spin .
Rduring deceleration,th eengin eis disconnec-
te dfrom th edrive train .The vehicl euses
kineti cenerg yand consumes less fue l(over-
run mode).
Rth eperformanc eof air-conditionin gsystem
and heatin gare reduced.
Mercedes-AMG vehicles
Drive program RACE (S ‑MODEL)
The RACE drive progra mis characterized by th e
following :
Rthevehicl eexhibits drivin gcharacteristics
suitable fo rth eracetrack.
Rall vehicl esystems are set fo rmaximum
sportiness .
Rthegearshift recommendation gives you
information fo rslowly warmin gup th edrive
assemblies and fo radopting afuel-efficien t
drivin gstyle (
Ypage 161). You can follow th e
gearshift recommendation sat all times and
shift gear accordingly usin gth esteerin g
whee lpaddl eshifters .On th ebasi sof th e
gearshift recommendation ,usin gth esteerin g
whee lpaddl eshifters ,you can optimiz eth e
drive train and engin eoperatin gmod eat any
time.
Rif you hav eselected agear manually, this will
be maintaine duntil th evehicl espeed increa-
ses or decreases dramatically.
Rth evehicl epullin gaway in first gear .
Rtheautomati ctransmissio nshiftin gup later.
th efue lconsumption possibl ybein ghigher as
a result of th elater automati ctransmissio n
shift points .
160Automatic transmission
Driving and parking

Rthe suspension exhibits particularly stiff
springing and damping settings (vehicles withAIRMATIC).
Rgliding mode is not available.
Rthe ECO start/stop function is not available.
Drive program S+ (Sport Plus)
Drive program S+is characterized by the fol-
lowing:
Rthe vehicle exhibits particularly sporty driving
characteristics.
Rthe vehicle pulling away in first gear.
Rthe automatic transmission shifting up later.
the fuel consumption possibly being higher as
a result of the later automatic transmission
shift points.
Rthe suspension exhibits particularly stiff
springing and damping settings (vehicles with AIRMATIC).
Rgliding mode is not available.
Rthe ECO start/stop function is not available.
Drive program S (Sport)
Drive program Sis characterized by the follow-
ing:
Rthe vehicle exhibits sporty driving character-
istics.
Rthe vehicle pulling away in first gear.
Rthe automatic transmission shifting up later.
the fuel consumption possibly being higher as
a result of the later automatic transmission
shift points.
Rthe suspension exhibits hard springing and
damping settings (vehicles with AIRMATIC).
Rgliding mode is not available.
Rthe ECO start/stop function is not available.
Drive program C (Comfort)
Drive program Cis characterized by the follow-
ing:
Rthe vehicle delivers comfortable, economical
handling characteristics.
Rthe vehicle pulling away more gently in
forward and reverse gears, unless the accel-
erator pedal is depressed fully.
Rthe vehicle having improved driving stability,
for example on slippery road surfaces.
Roptimal fuel consumption resulting from the
automatic transmission shifting up sooner. The vehicle is driven in the low engine speed
range and the wheels are less likely to spin.
Rgliding mode is available.
Rthe ECO start/stop function is available.
Drive program I (Individual)
In drive program
Ithe following properties of the
drive program can be selected:
Rthe drive (engine management)
Rthe transmission management
RESP®(Ypage 73)
Rthe suspension
Ractivation of the exhaust flap
Information about configuring drive program I
with the multimedia system can be found in the
Digital Operator's Manual.
iTo permanently select the gears in drive
program Iusing the steeri ng wheel paddles,
select the M(manual) setting for the trans-
mission.
Manual gear shifting
General notes
You can change gear yourself using the steering wheel paddle shifters. The transmission must be
in position D.
Depending on which paddle shifter is pulled, the
automatic transmission immediately shifts into
the next gear down or up, if permitted.
Mercedes-AMG vehicles: to use manual shift-
ing, you have two options:
Rtemporary setting
Rpermanent setting
If you activate manual gearshifting, the multi-
function display will show the current gear
instead of transmission position D.
If manual gearshifting is deactivated, the gears
will be selected automatically.
Automatic transmission161
Driving an d parking
Z

Parking
Important safety notes
GWARNING
Flammable material such as leaves, grass or
twigs may ignite if they come into contact with
hot parts of the exhaust system or exhaust
gas flow. There is a risk of fire.
Park the vehicle so that no flammable mate-
rials come into contact with parts of the vehi-
cle which are hot. Take particular care not to
park on dry grassland or harvested grain
fields.
GWARNING
If you leave children unsupervised in the vehi-
cle, they could set it in motion by, for example:
Rrelease the parking brake.
Rshift the automatic transmission out of the
parking position P.
Rstart the engine.
In addition, they may operate vehicle equip-
ment and become trapped. There is a risk of
an accident and injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children unsupervised in the vehicle.
!Always secure the vehicle correctly against
rolling away. Otherwise, the vehicle or its driv-
etrain could be damaged.
To ensure that the vehicle is secured against
rolling away unintentionally:
Rthe electric parking brake must be applied.
Rthe transmission must be in position Pand the
SmartKey must be removed from the ignition
lock.
Rthe front wheels must be turned towards the
curb on steep uphill or downhill gradients.
Rthe empty vehicle must be secured at the
front axle with a wheel chock or similar, for
example, on uphill or downhill gradients.
Ra laden vehicle must also be secured at the
rear axle with a wheel chock or similar, for
example, on uphill or downhill gradients.
Switching off the engine
Important safety notes
GWARNING
The automatic transmission switches to neu-
tral position Nwhen you switch off the engine.
The vehicle may roll away. There is a risk of an
accident.
After switching off the engine, always switch
to parking position P. Prevent the parked vehi-
cle from rolling away by applying the parking
brake.
Vehicles with automatic transmission
XApply the electric parking brake.
XShift the transmission to position P.
XWith the SmartKey:turn the SmartKey to
position 0in the ignition lock and remove it.
The immobilizer is activated.
XWith the Start/Stop button: press the
Start/Stop button (Ypage 146).
The engine stops and all the indicator lamps in
the instrument cluster go out.
When the driver's door is closed, this corre-
sponds to SmartKey position 1. When the
driver's door is open, this corresponds to
SmartKey position 0: "SmartKey removed".
If you switch the engine off with the transmis-
sion in position Ror D, the automatic transmis-
sion shifts to Nautomatically.
With the SmartKey: if you then open the driv-
er's door or the front-passenger door or remove the SmartKey from the ignition, the automatic
transmission shifts to Pautomatically.
With the Start/Stop button: if you then open
the driver's door or the front-passenger door,
the automatic transmission shifts to Pautomat-
ically.
If you want the automatic transmission to
remain in neutral N, e.g. when having the vehicle
cleaned in an automatic car wash with a towing system:
XVehicles with the Start-Stop button:
remove the Start-Stop button from the igni-
tion lock.
XInsert the SmartKey into the ignition lock.
XAll vehicles: switch the ignition on.
Parking177
Driving and parking
Z

In addition to driving style, the actual consump-
tion is affected by other factors, such as:
Rload
Rtire pressure
Rcold start
Rchoice of route
Relectrical consumers switched on
These factors are not included in the ECO dis-
play.
An economical driving style specially requires
driving at moderate engine speeds.
Achieving a higher value in the categories
"Acceleration" and "Constant":
Robserve the gearshift recommendations.
Rdrive in drive program E.
On long journeys at a constant speed, e.g. on the
highway, only the outer area for "constant" will
change.
The ECO display summarizes the driving style
from the start of the journey to its completion.
Therefore, there are more marked changes in
the outer areas at the start of a journey. On lon-
ger journeys, there are fewer changes. For more
marked changes, perform a manual rest
(
Ypage 241).
For further information on the ECO display, see
(
Ypage 240).
Braking
Important safety notes
GWARNING
If you shift down on a slippery road surface in an attempt to increase the engine's braking
effect, the drive wheels could lose their grip.
There is an increased danger of skidding and
accidents.
Do not shift down for additional engine brak-
ing on a slippery road surface.
Downhill gradients
!On long and steep gradients, you must
reduce the load on the brakes by shifting early
to a lower gear. This allows you to take
advantage of the engine braking effect and
helps avoid overheating and excessive wear
of the brakes. When you take advantage of the engine brak-
ing effect, a drive wheel may not turn for some
time, e.g. on a slippery road surface. This
could cause damage to the drive train. This
type of damage is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz warranty.
Heavy and light loads
GWARNING
If you rest your foot on the brake pedal while
driving, the braking system can overheat. This increases the stopping distance and can even
cause the braking system to fail. There is a
risk of an accident.
Never use the brake pedal as a footrest. Never
depress the brake pedal and the accelerator
pedal at the same time.
!Depressing the brake pedal constantly
results in excessive and premature wear to
the brake pads.
If the brakes have been subjected to a heavy
load, do not stop the vehicle immediately. Drive
on for a short while. This allows the airflow to
cool the brakes more quickly.
Wet roads
If you have driven for a long time in heavy rain
without braking, there may be a delayed reac-
tion from the brakes when braking for the first
time. This may also occur after the vehicle has
been washed or driven through deep water.
You have to depress the brake pedal more
firmly. Maintain a greater distance from the
vehicle in front.
After driving on a wet road or having the vehicle
washed, brake firmly while paying attention to
the traffic conditions. This will warm up the
brake discs, thereby drying them more quickly
and protecting them against corrosion.
Limited braking performance on salt-
treated roads
If you drive on salted roads, a layer of salt resi-
due may form on the brake discs and brake
pads. This can result in a significantly longer
braking distance.
182Driving tips
Driving and parking