Screen MERCEDES-BENZ C-Class 2004 W203 Comand Manual
Page 4 of 243
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Where to find it  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Symbols   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
Operating safety  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3At a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
COMAND control unit  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
Screen displays  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Multifunction display  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
Quick reference COMAND . . . . . . . . . . 12
Switching the COMAND control unit 
on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Adjusting the volume  . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Radio operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
CD operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Satellite radio* operation . . . . . . . . 16
Telephone* operation . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Entering a destination and 
calculating a route  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Selecting beeps  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Radio operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Quick reference  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Switching on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Switching another system on . . . . . 28
Changing the Radio band . . . . . . . . 29
Selecting a station  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Memory functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Multifunction display  . . . . . . . . . . . 40
CD operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Quick reference  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
General information on 
CD operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Menu overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Switching on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Switching another system on . . . . . 50
Track select  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Selecting a CD  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Fast forward/reverse . . . . . . . . . . . 54
CD track scan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Naming a CD  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Playback mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Muting CD playback . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Error messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Multifunctional display . . . . . . . . . . 62
Sound settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Adjusting sound settings  . . . . . . . . 63
Satellite radio*. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Important notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  68
Subscribing to satellite radio  . . . . . 69
Satellite radio operation . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Quick reference  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Switching on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Switching another system on . . . . . 75
Changing the program category . . . 75
Selecting a station  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Memory functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Displaying track information . . . . . . 81
Displaying station information  . . . . 82
Displaying service information . . . . 82
Sound settings  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Multifunction display  . . . . . . . . . . . 84 
Page 10 of 243
3 Introduction
Operating safety
 Operating safety
Warning
G
Any alterations made to electronic compo-
nents and the software can cause malfunc-
tions.
The radio, amplifier, CD changer*, navigati-
on module, satellite radio*, telephone* and 
voice control system* are interconnected. 
Therefore, when one of the components is 
not operational 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 
only by qualified personnel. 
Warning
G
In order to avoid distraction which could 
lead to an accident, the driver should enter 
system settings with the vehicle at a stand-
still and operate the system only when road 
and traffic conditions permit. 
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 
30 mph (approximately 50 km/h), your car 
is covering a distance of 50 feet (approxima-
tely 14 m) every second.
COMAND supplies you with information to 
help you select your route more easily and 
guide you conveniently and safely to your 
destination. For safety reasons, we encoura-
ge the driver to stop the vehicle in a safe 
place before answering or placing a call, or 
consulting the COMAND screen to read na-
vigational maps, instructions, or downloa-
ded information.
While the navigation system provides direc-
tional assistance, the driver must remain fo-
cused on safe driving behavior, including 
attention to traffic and street signs, and 
should utilize the system’s audio cues while 
driving. 
The navigation system does not supply any 
information on stop signs, yield signs, traffic 
regulations or traffic safety rules. This al-
ways remains your personal responsibility 
when you drive. CD maps do not cover all 
areas nor all routes within an area.  
Page 15 of 243
8 At a glanceCOMAND control unit
Function
Page
g
General:
Altering or deleting 
entries
CD operation:
Deleting a CD name
Telephone:
Altering or deleting the 
unlock code or a tele-
phone number
19
57
101
h
Turn to highlight a func-
tion or a menu field
Press to start a function 
or activate a submenu
j
Turn to adjust the volu-
me of 
Audio source
Hands-free operation 
of the telephone
Voice output during 
route guidance
Press to repeat the cur-
rent voice output
14
       
k
Radio operation:
Automatic seek tuning
Manual tuning
CD operation:
Track select
Fast forward/reverse
30
31
51
53
l
Switching satellite radio 
operation on 
Quick reference
74
70
Function
Page
m
Requesting and dis-
playing Info Services
Adjusting system set-
tings
202
205
n
Switching radio operati-
on on 
Quick reference
Changing the radio band
28
24
29
o
Switching CD operation 
on
Quick reference
50
42
p
Switching telephone 
operation on 
Quick reference
96
92
q
Color screen, e.g. with 
main radio menu
14
Function
Page 
Page 16 of 243
9 At a glance
COMAND control unit
Screen displays include:
Main system menus, e.g. the main ra-
dio menu
Lists for the selection of entries, 
e.g. the city list (
page 20)
Input menus, e.g. during destination 
input (
page 19)
Selection menus, e.g. during route 
calculation (
page 21)
Symbol display (
page 21) or map 
(
page 150) in navigation
Pop-up windows (
page 189)Main menu structure
Main radio menu1Status line, displays active system 
2Station frequency and function that 
has been switched on
3Menu fields to call further menus or 
functions
4Symbol barStatus line and symbol bar 
Screen displays
P82.85-9059-31
1
23
4
Symbols
Status line
FM1
AM, WB
SAT, CD, 
TEL, NAV, 
SVC, SYS, 
AUX
Symbol bar
>
M 
Meaning
The radio is switched on in 
FM Band; the current sta-
tion has been saved in me-
mory location 1 in the FM 
preset menu
AM or Weather Band WB
The corresponding system 
is active
Reception strength of the 
mobile phone
Incoming SMS message
1
1 if available from carrier 
Page 17 of 243
10 At a glanceCOMAND control unitPop-up screen messages
Battery voltage gets low
You can still operate COMAND without the 
engine running.You will see the message “Caution. Please 
start engine. Otherwise COMAND will shut 
down in 3 minutes”.
Start the engine.
You will see the message “Caution. Please 
start engine. Otherwise COMAND will shut 
down in 10 seconds”.
Start the engine.
You will see the message “Caution. 
COMAND will shut down now”.
Start the engine.Transmitting an emergency call 
via Tele Aid*
Refer to the vehicle operating instructions 
for information regarding the operation of 
the Tele Aid emergency call system and on 
how to transmit an emergency call.
You will see the message “Tele Aid active”.
Press the right-hand rotary/push-
button v to remove the window.
COMAND will mute an audio source or one 
of the two service sources Voice output in 
navigation or Voice control system.
iThe symbol bar appears in all system 
main menus.
For symbol and map displays in naviga-
tion:
The symbol bar appears on the left hand 
side of the display and shows different 
symbols.!To prevent the car battery from running 
down, you will be receiving two mes-
sages asking you to start the engine 
when battery power gets low.
iIf you do not start the engine, you can 
continue using COMAND until the next 
message appears. 
Page 25 of 243
18 At a glanceQuick reference COMANDBegin dialing
When the “Send” button is highlighted, 
press the right-hand rotary/push-
button v to confirm your input.
Dialing will begin. If the phone number 
together with a name is stored in the 
phone book, the name appears on the 
screen.
Conducting a call
When the call is answered, the call time ap-
pears in the screen.
Ending a call
Press the right-hand rotary/push-but-
ton v to confirm the “End” button.
Switching another system on
Press any system key, e.g. b.
COMAND switches to the navigation 
system.
You will find more information in chapter 
“Telephone” (
page 96).Switching the navigation system on
Main destination input menu
Press b.
If the navigation system has not been 
booted up, the message “Navigation 
being activated. Please obey all traffic 
rules” will appear.
The navigation menu displayed will vary 
according to the last navigation func-
tion used (
page 13).
If route guidance was switched off, the 
main destination input menu will be 
displayed.
Entering a destination and calcula-
ting a route
P82.85-9065-31 
Page 29 of 243
22 At a glanceQuick reference COMANDThe route will be calculated. COMAND 
identifies the road you are travelling on.
You will see the arrow indicating the direc-
tion of travel if COMAND recognizes the 
road you are travelling on. You will e.g. 
hear the message “Please turn right”. Rou-
te guidance will begin.
You will find more information in chapter 
“Navigation” (
page 161).Day and night display, switching off 
screen
Press Ä repeatedly until the desired 
display appears.
The display changes in this order: 
Day display
Night display
Screen off
Day displayYou can switch different beeps on and off.
Acknowledgement beep
Beeps when you accept an entry or en-
ter a destination on the map
Info beep
Beeps when you see the messages an-
nouncing a drop of battery voltage 
(page 10)
Alarm beep
Beeps if the device has a serious mal-
function or if you are listening to an 
emergency broadcast on the radio. You 
can only switch off the beep if you also 
switch off COMAND.
You will find more information in chapter 
“System settings” (
page 215).
P82.85-9073-31
iIt is also possible to carry out the 
change between day and night display 
automatically via the headlight switch 
(page 216).
Selecting beeps 
Page 32 of 243
25 Audio
Radio operation
Function
Page
1
Switching COMAND on 
and off
12
2
Muting the radio audio 
(muting on/off)
28
3
Selecting a station via 
number keypad (presets)
Selecting a station via di-
rect frequency entry
Saving a station
Selecting a station from 
the preset menu FM/AM
Selecting a station from 
the WB preset menu
32
32
34
38
38
4
Activating the input 
mode for station fre-
quency
in the main radio menu
in the presets
32
39
5
Return to previous menu
6
Turn to highlight a func-
tion or a menu field
Press to perform a func-
tion or access a subme-
nu
7
Adjusting the volume
14
8
Automatic seek tuning 
ascending/descending
Manual tuning ascen-
ding/descending
30
31
9
Requesting and dis-
playing Info Services
Adjusting system set-
tings
202
205
a
Switching to radio opera-
tion
28
b
Color screen with main 
radio menu
 
Function
Page 
Page 50 of 243
43 Audio
CD operation
Function
Page
1
CD drive in the 
control unit and 
CD changer operation
Switching COMAND on 
and off
12
2
CD drive for audio CD or 
navigation CD
45
3
Muting CD playback (mu-
ting on/off)
60
4
Ejecting an audio CD or a 
navigation CD
45
5
Selecting a CD
Selecting a track
53
        5 1
6
Track selection with the 
number keypad
51
7
Return to previous menu
8
Press briefly:
Deletes the character 
that has been entered 
last
Press longer than 
2 seconds:
Deletes a complete 
name
55
 55
9
Turn to highlight a func-
tion or a menu field
Press to perform a func-
tion or activate a subme-
nuFunction
Page
a
Turn to the right:
Raises the volume
Turn to the left:
Lowers the volume
b
Press briefly: 
Previous track or start of 
the track (depending on 
playback time)/next 
track
Press longer than 
2 seconds: 
Fast forward/fast re-
verse
51
54
c
Requesting and dis-
playing Info ServicesAdjusting system settings
202
205
d
Switching on CD operati-
on (CD drive, CD chan-
ger*) 
      50
e
Color screen with main 
CD menuFunction
Page 
Page 76 of 243
69 Satellite radio*
Important notes
Service information display1Phone number of the provider, 
(SIRIUS) or “Call Service Provider”
2The number of your SAT tuner
Press W to switch to satellite radio 
operation.
The Service information display will ap-
pear if the satellite radio function has 
not yet been subscribed to.
Contact satellite radio service provider 
at the telephone number displayed in 
the screen.
After the connection is made:
Follow the instructions given by the 
operator.
The activation process may take up to 
10 minutes. If it is successful, you will 
see the display with the message 
“Acquiring Signal. Please wait...” 
(page 74) followed by the main satel-
lite radio menu (
page 74).
Subscribing to satellite radio
iCredit card information may be re-
quired for your application. 
The activation process takes up to ap-
proximately 10 minutes.