MERCEDES-BENZ C CLASS COUPE 2003 Owners Manual
Page 151 of 356
151
Controls in detail
Automatic climate control* (Canada only)
Automatic climate control panel
Item
1
Automatic climate control panel
2
Left center air vent, adjustable
3
Right center air vent, adjustable
4
Air volume control for left center air
vent
5
Thumbwheel for adding outside air
6
Air volume control for right center
air vent
7
Air volume control for side air vent
8
Side air vent, adjustable
9
Side defroster vent, fixediFor draft-free ventilation, move the slid-
ers for the center air vents to the mid-
dle position.
Item
1
Temperature control, left, raising
2
Left-side air distribution control
(automatic or manual operation)
3
Activated charcoal filter
4
Display
5
Right-side air distribution control
(automatic or manual operation)
6
Temperature control, right, raising
7
Temperature control, right, lower-
ing
8
Rear window defroster
9
AC cooling on/off (
AC
OFF
)
Residual heat/ventilation
10
Air volume control
11
Automatic climate control on/off
(complete system)
12
Air recirculation
13
Defrosting
14
Temperature control, left, lowering
Page 152 of 356
152 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control* (Canada only)The automatic climate control is operation-
al whenever the engine is running. You can
operate the climate control system in ei-
ther the automatic or manual mode. The
system cools or heats the interior depend-
ing on the selected interior temperature
and the current outside temperature.
Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air en-
ters the passenger compartment through
the air distribution system.
The air conditioning will not engage (no
cooling) if the economy mode AC
OFF
mode
is selected (
page 151).
Setting the temperature
Use temperature controls 1 and 14 for the
left side or 6 and 7 for the right side to
separately adjust the air temperature on
each side of the passenger compartment.
You should raise or lower the temperature
setting in small increments, preferably
starting at 72°F (22°C). Increasing
Push temperature control
1 and/or 6.
The automatic climate control system
will correspondingly adjust the interior
air temperature.
Decreasing
Push temperature control 7
and/or 14.
The automatic climate control system
will correspondingly adjust the interior
air temperature.
Adding outside air
Turn thumbwheel 5 in dashboard
(page 150) to increase flow of out-
side air through air vents for center, left
and right sides and rear passenger
compartment.
Warning!
G
Follow the recommended settings for heat-
ing and cooling given on the following pag-
es. Otherwise the windows could fog up,
impairing visibility and endangering you and
others.
iIf the vehicle interior is hot, ventilate
the interior before driving off.
Keep the air intake grille in front of the
windshield free of snow and debris.iWhen operating the climate control
system in automatic mode, you will
only rarely need to adjust the tempera-
ture, air volume and air distribution.
Page 153 of 356
153
Controls in detail
Automatic climate control* (Canada only)
Adjusting air distribution
Use air distribution controls
2 and 5
(page 151) to separately adjust the air
distribution on each side of the passenger
compartment. The following symbols are
found on the controls: Adjusting manually
Press left or right
U
button.
The air distribution can be adjusted
manually.
Adjusting automatically
Press left or right
U
button again.
The air distribution is adjusted auto-
matically.
Windshield fogged on the outside
Switch the windshield wipers on.
Switch to manual mode.
Turn the air distribution control
to
a
or
Y
.
Adjusting air volume
Adjusting manually
Seven blower speeds are available.
Press left
M
or right
Q
side of air
volume control switch until the re-
quested blower speed is attained.
The display “Auto” disappears and the
automatic mode is switched off. The
selected blower speed is shown in the
display.
Adjusting automatically
Press left or right
U
button.
The air volume is adjusted automatical-
ly.
Symbol
Function
a
Directs air through the
center, side and rear pas-
senger compartment air
vents
Z
Directs air to the windows
X
Directs air into the entire
vehicle interior
Y
Directs air to the footwells
Page 154 of 356
154 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control* (Canada only)Maximum cooling MAXCOOL
If the left and right air distribution controls
as well as the airflow volume control are
set to
U
and there is a high need for
cooling, the display “AUTO MAXCOOL” ap-
pears.
This provides the fastest possible cooling
of the vehicle interior (when windows and
panorama sliding/pop-up roof* are
closed).
Defrosting
Activating
Press button
P
(page 151).
The indicator lamp on the button lights
up
Switch off air recirculation, if selected.
Press button
O
(page 151).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
Close center air vents.
Adjust side air vents upwards.
Deactivating
Press button
P
(page 151).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out. Defrosting is turned off.
Air recirculation mode
Switch to air recirculation mode to prevent
unpleasant odors from entering the vehicle
from the outside. This setting cuts off the
intake of outside air and recirculates the
air in the passenger compartment.
Activating
Press button
O
(page 151).
The indicator lamp on the button lights
up.
iThese settings should only be selected
for a short time.
Warning!
G
When the outside temperature is below
41°F (5°C), only switch to air recirculation
mode for short periods to prevent window
fogging.
Page 155 of 356
155
Controls in detail
Automatic climate control* (Canada only)
Deactivating
Press button
O
(page 151).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out. The air recirculation mode is deactivated
automatically:
after five minutes if the outside temper-
ature is below approximately 41°F
(5 °C)
after five minutes if the air conditioning
is turned off
after 30 minutes if the outside temper-
ature is above approximately 41°F
(5 °C)
At outside temperatures above 79°F
(26 °C) the system will not automatically
switch back to outside air. A quantity of
outside air is added after approximately
30 minutes.
iIf you keep button
O
pressed, the
side windows and the panorama slid-
ing/pop-up roof will be closed.
The air recirculation mode is activated
automatically:
at high outside temperatures
if the concentration of carbon mon-
oxide and nitrogen oxide in the out-
side air increases, for example in a
tunnel (charcoal filter activated)
The charcoal filter must be activated
(
page 156) for the air recirculation
mode to be activated automatically.
If you have turned off the air condition-
ing (page 157) or the outside
temperature is below 41°F (5°C), the
air recirculation mode will not switch
on automatically.
iIf you keep button
O
pressed the
side windows and the panorama slid-
ing/pop-up roof will be returned to
their previous position.
Page 156 of 356
156 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control* (Canada only)Charcoal filter
An activated charcoal filter markedly re-
duces bad odors and removes pollutants
from air entering the passenger compart-
ment.
Activating
Press button
e
(page 151).
The indicator lamp on the button lights
up.
The system switches automatically to the
air recirculation mode if the carbon
monoxide (CO) or nitrogen oxide (NO
X)
concentration of the outside air increases
beyond a predetermined level. Deactivating
Press button
e
(page 151).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
The automatic air recirculation mode does
not function if economy mode AC
OFF
is se-
lected or if the outside temperature has
fallen below 41°F (5°C).
The activated charcoal filter should be
switched off when windows fog up on the
inside, or if the passenger compartment
needs to be quickly heated or cooled
down.
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 af-
ter approximately 6 to 17 minutes of oper-
ation depending on the outside
temperature.
Activating
Press button
F
(page 151).
The indicator lamp on the button lights
up.
Deactivating
Press button
F
(page 151) again.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
iIf you keep button
e
pressed, the
side windows and the panorama slid-
ing/pop-up roof* will be closed.
iIf you keep button
e
pressed, the
side windows and the panorama slid-
ing/pop-up roof will be returned to
their previous position.
Page 157 of 356
157
Controls in detail
Automatic climate control* (Canada only)
Air conditioning
The air conditioning is operational while
the engine is running and cools the interior
air to the temperature set by the operator.
Deactivating
It is possible to deactivate the air condi-
tioning (cooling) function of the automatic
climate control system. The air in the vehi-
cle will then no longer be cooled or dehu-
midified.
Press button
AC
OFF
(page 151).
The indicator lamp on the
button AC
OFF
lights up. Activating
Moist air can fog up the windows. You can
dehumidify the air with the air condition-
ing.
Press
AC
OFF
again (
page 151).
The indicator lamp on the
button AC
OFF
goes out.
The air conditioning system uses the refrig-
erant R134a. This refrigerant is free of
CFCs which are harmful to the ozone layer.
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.!If the rear window defroster switches
off too soon and the indicator lamp
starts blinking, this means that too
many electrical consumers are operat-
ing 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 au-
tomatically turns itself back on.
iCondensation may drip out from under-
neath the vehicle. This is normal and
not an indication of a malfunction.
!If the air conditioning cannot be turned
on again, this indicates that the air con-
ditioning system is losing refrigerant.
The compressor has turned itself off.
Have the air conditioning system
checked at the nearest authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Page 158 of 356
158 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control* (Canada only)Residual heat and ventilation*
With the engine switched off, it is possible
to continue to heat or ventilate the interior
for up to 30 minutes. This feature makes
use of the residual heat produced by the
engine.
Activating
Turn the key in the starter switch to
position1 o r r e m ov e i t f r o m t h e s t a r t e r
switch.
Press button
T
(page 151)
The indicator lamp on button
T
comes on.
Deactivating
Press button
T
(page 151).
The indicator lamp on button
T
goes off.
The residual heat is automatically turned
off:
when the ignition is switched on
after about 30 minutes
if the battery voltage drops
Rear passenger compartment adjust-
able air vents Adjusting the air volume
Turn thumbwheel
2.
iHow long the system will provide heat-
ing depends on the coolant tempera-
ture and the temperature set by the
operator. The blower will run at speed
setting 1 regardless of the air distribu-
tion control setting.
Item
1
Left center air vent
2
Thumbwheel
3
Right center air vent
4
Air vent, closed
5
Air vent, opened
6
BloweriFour blower speeds are available.
The temperature at the air vents for
rear passenger compartment 1 and 3
is the same as at the dashboard center
air vents.
Page 159 of 356
159
Controls in detail
Audio system
Audio system
Audio and telephone, operation
These instructions are intended to help
you become acquainted with your
Mercedes-Benz car radio. They contain
useful tips and a detailed description of the
user functions.
Operating safety
Warning!
G
In order to avoid distraction which could
lead to an accident, system settings should
be entered with the vehicle at standstill and
systems should be operated by the driver
only when traffic conditions permit. Always
pay full attention to traffic conditions first
before operating system controls while driv-
ing.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km / h), your car is cover-
ing a distance of approximately 44 feet (ap-
proximately 13.5 m) every second.
1
1The right to correct errors and make technical
amendments is reserved.
Warning!
G
Any alterations made to electronic compo-
nents can cause malfunctions.
The radio, cassette deck, CD changer*, tele-
phone* and voice control system* are inter-
connected. 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 op-
erating safety of your vehicle.
We recommend that you have any service
work on electronic components carried out
by an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Page 160 of 356
160 Controls in detailAudio systemOperating and display elements