MERCEDES-BENZ CL500 2003 C215 Owner's Manual

101 Controls in detailSeats
Warning!
G
The seat belts provide protection only with
the backrest locked in place and, therefore,
must be locked in place with the vehicle in
motion. Do not drive the vehicle when the
backrest is not locked in place. If the warn-
ing message
SEAT BACKREST, RIGHT -
LOCK
or
SEAT BACKREST, LEFT - LOCK
is
displayed in the multifunction display, then
the respective backrest is not engaged in its
lock. Carefully slow down, and drive with
caution to an area which is in a safe distance
from the roadway. Always provide sufficient
room behind the backrest and fold the back-
rest all the way back until it locks in place.
Keep the area around head restraints clear
of articles (e.g. clothing) to not obstruct the
folding operation of the head restraints.
The warning message is no longer displayed
as soon as the backrest is locked in place. If
both backrests are locked in place and the
warning message is still displayed, have the
system checked at your authorized Mer-
cedes-Benz Center immediately.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
electronic key from the starter switch, take
the KEYLESS-GO* card with you, and lock
your vehicle.
The power seats can also be operated with
the driver’s or passenger door open. Do not
leave children unattended in the vehicle or
with access to an unlocked vehicle. Unsu-
pervised use of vehicle equipment may
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.
Never place hands under seat or near any
moving parts during a seat adjustment pro-
cedure.
!The automatic seat slide is provided
with a safety feature.
The automatic process is interrupted, if
the backrest of the sliding seat is
pushed against an occupant or object.
The seat will slide forward and stop.
Investigate and correct the cause of in-
terruption.
Now use memory button (
page 105)
or seat adjustment switch (page 35)
to bring seat into desired position.
When folding the backrest forward
from a reclined position, and then fold-
ing it back, the backrest stops in a
more upright position for the safety of
any rear-seat passenger. Adjust the
backrest until your arms are slightly an-
gled when holding the steering
wheel (
page 35).

102 Controls in detailSeatsSeat ventilation*
The switch is located on the door. Seat
ventilation can be activated manually with
the electronic key in starter switch posi-
tion 1 or 2, or by the summer opening fea-
ture (
page 171). The blue indicator
lamps on the switch show the ventilation
level selected:
1Seat ventilation switch

Make sure the ignition is switched on.
All lamps in the instrument cluster light
up.
Switching on seat ventilation

Press switch1.
Three blue indicator lamps above the
switch light up.

Continue pressing switch1 until the
desired seat ventilation level is
reached.Switching off seat ventilation

Press switch1 repeatedly until all indi-
cator lamps go out.
Level3
Three indicator lamps on
2
Two indicator lamps on
1
One indicator lamp on
off
No indicator lamp on
iThe seat ventilation is automatically set
to the highest level if activated via sum-
mer opening feature (
page 171).
!If one or all of the lamps blink on the
seat ventilation switch, there is insuffi-
cient voltage due to too many electrical
consumers being switched on. The seat
ventilation switches off automatically.
The seat ventilation will switch back on
again automatically as soon as suffi-
cient voltage is available.

103 Controls in detailSeats
Seat heating
Vehicles without seat ventilation*
The switch is located on the door.
1Normal heating
2Rapid heating
Make sure the ignition is switched on.
All the lamps in the instrument cluster
light up.Switching on seat heating

Press switch1.
A red indicator lamp above the switch
lights up.
Switching off seat heating

Press switch1 again.
Rapid seat heating mode

Press switch2.
Both red indicator lamps above the
switch light up. Switching off rapid seat heating mode

Press switch2 again.
iThe seat heating will be automatically
switched off after approximately
30 minutes. iThe system switches over to normal
heating mode after approximately five
minutes. Only the right-hand indicator
lamp remains lit.
!If one or both of the lamps on the seat
heating switch are blinking, there is in-
sufficient voltage due to too many elec-
trical consumers being turned on. The
seat heating switches off automatical-
ly.
The seat heating will switch back on
again automatically as soon as suffi-
cient voltage is available.

104 Controls in detailSeatsVehicles with seat ventilation*
The switch is located on the door. The red
indicator lamps on the switch show the
heating level selected:
1Seat heating switch
Make sure the ignition is switched on.
All the lamps in the instrument cluster
light up.Switching on seat heating

Press switch1 twice.
A red indicator lamp above the switch
lights up.
Switching off seat heating

Press switch1 again.
Rapid seat heating

Press switch1 once.
Both indicator lamps above the switch
light up. Switching off rapid seat heating mode

Press switch position1 twice.
Level2
Two indicator lamps on
1
One indicator lamp on
off
No indicator lamp on
iThe seat heating will be automatically
switched off after approximately
30 minutes. iThe system switches over to normal
heating mode after approximately five
minutes. Only the right-hand indicator
lamp remains lit.
!If one or both of the lamps on the seat
heating switch are blinking, there is in-
sufficient voltage due to too many elec-
trical consumers are turned on. The
seat heating switches off automatical-
ly.
The seat heating will switch back on
again automatically as soon as suffi-
cient voltage is available.

105 Controls in detail
Memory function
Memory function
The memory button and stored position
switch are located on the door.
You can store up to three different settings
per SmartKey or KEYLESS-GO* card.
The following settings are saved for each
stored position:

Driver’s seat and seat backrest posi-
tion


Settings for multicontour seat*


Steering wheel position


Inside rear view mirror position


Exterior rear view mirror position


Automatic climate control
These key dependent memory settings can
be deactivated if desired (
page 140).
1, 2, 3 Stored position button
MMemory button

Make sure that the ignition is switched
on or the relevant door is open and the
SmartKey is inserted in the starter
switch.
!Prior to operating the vehicle, the driv-
er should check and adjust the seat
height, seat position fore and aft, and
seat backrest angle if necessary, to en-
sure adequate control, reach and com-
fort. The head restraint should also be
adjusted for proper height. Also see
“Airbag” section (
page 55) for proper
seat positioning.
In addition, adjust the steering wheel to
ensure adequate control, reach, opera-
tion and comfort. Both the inside and
outside rear view mirrors should be ad-
justed for adequate rear vision.
Fasten seat belts. Infants and small
children should be seated in a properly
secured restraint system that complies
with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards 213 and 225 and Canadian
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 213
and 210.2.
Warning!
G
Do not activate the memory function while
driving. Activating the memory function
while driving could cause the driver to lose
control of the vehicle.

106 Controls in detailMemory functionStoring positions into memory
Adjust the seats, steering wheel and
mirrors to the desired position
(page 34).

Press memory buttonM.

Release memory buttonM and push
position button1, 2 or3 within three
seconds.
All the settings are stored at the select-
ed position.
Recalling positions from memory
Press and hold position button1, 2
or3 until the seat, steering wheel and
mirrors have fully moved to the stored
positions.iReleasing the button immediately
stops movement to the stored posi-
tions.
Warning!
G
Do not operate the power seats using the
memory button if the seat backrest is in an
extremely reclined position. Doing so could
cause damage to front or rear seats.
First move seat backrest to an upright posi-
tion.

107 Controls in detail
Memory function
Storing exterior rear view mirror park-ing position
For easier parking you can adjust the pas-
senger exterior rear view mirror so that you
can see the right rear wheel as soon as you
engage reverse gearR.
For information on activating the parking
position, see “Setting parking position for
exterior rear view mirror” (
page 142).The buttons are located on the driver’s
door.
1Exterior rear view mirror
2Adjustment button
MMemory button

Stop the vehicle.

Switch ignition on (if not already on).

Press button1.
The passenger-side exterior rear view
mirror is selected.

Adjust the exterior rear view mirror
with button2 so that you see the rear
wheel and the road curb.

Press memory button M.

Within three seconds, press bottom of
adjustment button2.
The parking position is stored if the
mirror does not move.
iYou can store a parking position for the
passenger-side exterior rear view mir-
ror for each key or KEYLESS-GO* card.
iIf the mirror does move, repeat the
above steps. After the setting is stored
you can move the mirror again.

108 Controls in detailLighting
LightingFor notes on how to switch on the head-
lamps and use the turn signals, see the
“Getting started” section (
page 46).
Exterior lamp switch
The exterior lamp switch is located on the
dashboard to the left of the steering wheel.
M
Off
U
Automatic headlamp mode
C
Parking lamps (also side marker
lamps, tail lamps, license plate
lamps, instrument panel lamps)
Canada only: When engine is run-
ning, the low beams are also
switched on.
B
Low beam plus parking lamps or
high beam headlamps (combination
switch pushed forward).
ˆ
Standing lamps, right (turn left one
stop)
‚
Standing lamps, left (turn left two
stops)
iIf you remove the key and open the
driver’s door while the parking lamps or
low beam headlamps are switched on,
then

a warning sounds


$
appears in the multifunction
display


the message
TURN OFF LIGHTS!
ap-
pears in the multifunction display
iWith the daytime running lamp mode
activated and the engine running, the
low beam headlamps cannot be
switched off manually.

109 Controls in detail
Lighting
Manual headlamp mode
The low beam headlamps and parking
lamps can be switched on and off with the
exterior lamp switch. For exterior lamp
switch, see (
page 108).
Automatic headlamp mode
The parking lamps, low beam headlamps
and license plate lamps switch on and off
automatically depending on the brightness
of the ambient light.

Turn the exterior lamp switch to
U
.
iWith the daytime running lamp mode
activated, the low beam headlamps will
not switch off automatically.
iFront fog lamps and rear fog lamp can
not be switched on manually with exte-
rior lamp switch in position
U
. To
activate the fog lamps, turn exterior
lamp switch to position
B
and pull
the exterior lamp switch to first or sec-
ond stop (
page 110).
Warning!
G
In automatic headlamp mode, the head-
lamps will not be automatically switched on
under foggy conditions. To minimize risk to
you and to others, activate headlamps by
turning exterior lamp switch to
B
.
The driver is responsible for the operation of
the vehicle’s lights at all times. The automat-
ic headlamp feature is only an aid to the driv-
er. Switch on the vehicle lights manually
when driving or when traffic conditions re-
quire you to do so.
iIf you drive in countries where vehicles
drive on the other side of the road than
the country where the vehicle is regis-
tered, you must have the headlamps
modified for symmetrical low beams.
Relevant information can be obtained
at your authorized Mercedes-Benz Cen-
ter.

110 Controls in detailLightingDaytime running lamp mode
Turn exterior lamp switch to
position
M
or
U
.
When the engine is running, the low beam
headlamps are automatically switched on.
In low ambient light conditions the parking
lamps will also switch on.
Canada only
When you shift from a driving gear to
positionN orP, the low beam switches off
(with a three-minute delay).
For nighttime driving you should turn the
exterior lamp switch to position
B
to
permit activation of the high beam head-
lamps.
USA only
The high beam headlamps can also be ac-
tivated when driving with the daytime run-
ning lamp mode activated and exterior
lamp switch in position
M
.To activate the daytime running lamp
mode, see “Setting daytime running lamp
mode” (
page 136).
Locator lighting and night security illu-
mination
Locator lighting and night security illumi-
nation are described in the control system
section under “Setting locator lighting”
(
page 136) and “Setting night security il-
lumination” (
page 137).
Switching on front fog lamps

Make sure that the low beam head-
lamps are switched on.

Pull out exterior lamp switch to first
stop.
The green indicator lamp
‡
in the
lamp switch lights up.Switching on rear fog lamp

Make sure that the low beam head-
lamps are switched on.

Pull out exterior lamp switch to second
stop.
The yellow indicator lamp
†
in the
lamp switch lights up.
iSee notes on the exterior lamp switch
(page 108).
iFog lamps will operate with the parking
lamps and / or the low beam head-
lamps on. Fog lamps should only be
used in conjunction with low beam
headlamps. Consult your State or Prov-
ince Motor Vehicle Regulations regard-
ing permissible lamp operation.