lights MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS 2003 User Guide

75 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
ESP
The Electronic Stability Program (ESP)
monitors the vehicle's traction (force of
adhesive friction between the tires and the
road surface) and handling.
The ESP recognizes when a wheel is spin-
ning or if the vehicle starts to skid. By ap-
plying brakes to the appropriate wheel and
by limiting engine output, the ESP works to
stabilize the vehicle. The ESP is especially
useful during take-off and on wet or slip-
pery road surfaces.
The ESP warning lamp v in the instru-
ment cluster flashes when the ESP is en-
gaged.
The ESP warning lamp v in the instru-
ment cluster lights up when you turn the
key in the starter switch to position2 or
press the KEYLESS-GO* (if so equipped)
start/stop button twice. It goes out when
the engine is running.
Warning!
G
The BAS cannot prevent the natural laws of
physics from acting on the vehicle, nor can
it increase braking efficiency beyond that af-
forded by the condition of the vehicle brakes
and tires or the traction. The BAS cannot
prevent accidents, including those resulting
from excessive speed in turns, following an-
other vehicle too closely, or aquaplaning.
Only a safe, attentive, and skillful driver can
prevent accidents. The capabilities of a BAS
equipped vehicle must never be exploited in
a reckless or dangerous manner which
could jeopardize the user’s safety or the
safety of others.
Warning!
G
Never switch off the ESP when you see the
ESP warning lamp
v
flashing in the in-
strument cluster. In this case proceed as fol-
lows:


While driving off, apply as little throttle
as possible


While driving ease up on the accelerator


Adapt your speed and driving style to
the prevailing road conditions
Failure to observe these guidelines could
cause the vehicle to skid.
The ESP cannot prevent accidents resulting
from excessive speed.
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83 Safety and Security
Anti-theft systems
Arming the tow-away alarm
When you lock your vehicle, the tow-away
alarm is automatically armed after about
30 seconds.
When you unlock your vehicle, the
tow-away protection disarms automatical-
ly.
Disarming the tow-away alarm
To prevent triggering the tow-away alarm
feature, switch off the tow-away alarm be-
fore towing the vehicle, or when parking on
a surface subject to movement, such as a
ferry or auto train.The button is located on the overhead con-
trol panel.
1Tow-away alarm off button

Turn off the ignition and remove the
key.

Press button1.
The indicator lamp in the button lights
up briefly.

Lock your vehicle with the key or (vehi-
cles with KEYLESS-GO*) the lock but-
ton at each door handle.
The tow-away alarm remains disarmed un-
til you lock your vehicle again.
Canceling the alarm

Insert the key in the starter switch.
or

Press the Œ or ‹ button on the
key.
iYou cannot disarm the tow-away alarm
if the ignition is turned on.
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88 Controls in detailLocking and unlocking
Checking the batteries
Press button‹ orŒ.
Battery check lamp5 lights up briefly
to indicate that the key batteries are in
order.Unlocking the trunk lid
You can unlock the trunk separately.
A minimum height clearance of 5.75 ft.
(1.75 m) is required to open the trunk lid.

Press and hold button Š until trunk
opens.
The trunk can also be opened from its in-
side in an emergency, see "Trunk lid emer-
gency release" (
page 97).
!If you can no longer lock or unlock the
vehicle with the key, then either the
batteries in the SmartKey are dis-
charged or the key is malfunctioning.

Check the batteries in the key
(page 88) and replace them if
necessary (
page 328).
or


Use the mechanical key to lock and
unlock the doors (
page 327) and
the trunk lid (
page 98) as re-
quired.
If the key is malfunctioning, contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
!If battery check lamp5 does not light
up briefly during check, then the key
batteries are discharged.
Replace the batteries (
page 329).
You can obtain the required batteries
at any authorized Mercedes-Benz Cen-
ter.
!The trunk lid swings upwards automat-
ically. Always make sure that there is
sufficient overhead clearance.
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94 Controls in detailLocking and unlocking
Opening the trunk from the inside
You can open the trunk from the inside if
the vehicle is stationary.
A minimum height clearance of 5.75 ft.
(1.75 m) is required to open the trunk lid.
The switch is located on the driver’s door.
1Remote trunk lid release switch with in-
dicator lamp
Pull remote trunk lid release switch1.
The trunk opens. The indicator lamp in
the switch lights up and remains lit as
long as the trunk is open.The trunk can also be opened using the
SmartKey (
page 88) or from its inside in
an emergency, see "Trunk lid emergency
release" (
page 97).
iIf the vehicle has previously been
locked from the outside, opening a
door from the inside will trigger the an-
ti-theft alarm system. To cancel the
alarm, do one of the following:

Press button Œor ‹on the
SmartKey.


Insert the SmartKey in the starter
switch.
!The trunk lid swings open upwards au-
tomatically. Always make sure that
there is sufficient overhead clearance.iIf the vehicle was previously centrally
locked, the trunk lid will lock automati-
cally when closed (
page 96). The
turn signals will flash three times to
confirm locking.
If the vehicle was previously separately
locked (
page 98), the trunk lid will re-
main locked.
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95 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Trunk lid opening/closing system*
The switch for opening and closing the
trunk is located on the driver’s door.
1Remote control switch
Pull remote control switch1 until the
trunk begins to open.
The trunk lid opens automatically.
The indicator lamp in the switch lights
up and remains lit until the trunk is
closed again by pressing remote con-
trol switch1.If the vehicle was previously separately
locked (
page 98), the trunk lid will re-
main locked.Activating opening height restriction of
trunk lid
If the opening height restriction of trunk lid
is activated, the trunk lid opens to below
the roof line of the vehicle.
1Trunk lid closing switch

Press the trunk lid closing switch 1 for
approx. 5 seconds.
The opening height restriction is acti-
vated.

Press the trunk lid closing switch 1
again for approx. 5 seconds.
The opening height restriction is deac-
tivated.
iThe trunk lid swings open upwards au-
tomatically. Always make sure that
there is sufficient overhead clearance.
To stop the opening procedure, pull or
press the remote control switch for the
trunk lid.
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106 Controls in detailSeatsActivating
Press button4.
The indicator lamp in the button lights
up.
Deactivating

Press button4 again.
The indicator lamp in the button goes
out.Massage function (PULSE)
The massage function can help prevent
muscle tension during long drives.

Press button2.
The indicator lamp in button2 lights
up. The air cushions in the lumbar area
pulsate.
iYou can adjust the characteristics of
the dynamic driving seat using the con-
trol system (
page 145).
iWhen the engine is turned off, the last
cushion setting is retained in memory,
and the cushion is automatically ad-
justed to this setting when the engine
is restarted.
iThe massage function turns off auto-
matically after approximately 5 min-
utes.
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113 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 (
page 112).
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.
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 by hand
when driving or when traffic conditions re-
quire you to do so.
iWith the daytime running lamp mode
activated, the low beam headlamps will
not be switched off automatically.
iFront fog lamps and rear fog lamp can
not be switched on manually with exte-
rior lamp switch in positionU. To
activate the fog lamps, turn exterior
lamp switch to positionB.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.
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114 Controls in detailLightingDaytime running lamp mode
Turn exterior lamp switch to
positionM orU.
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 position to
positionN orP, the low beam switches off
(with a three-minute delay).
For nighttime driving you should turn the
exterior lamp switch to positionB 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 positionM.To activate the daytime running lamp
mode, see "Setting daytime running lamp
mode" (
page 139).
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 139) and "Setting night security il-
lumination" (
page 140).
Switching on front fog lamps

Check that the low beam headlamps
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

Check that the low beam headlamps
are switched on.

Pull out e xt eri or la m p swi tc h to s ec ond
stop.
The yellow indicator lamp† in the
lamp switch lights up.
iSee notes on the exterior lamp switch
(page 112).
iFog lamps will operate with the parking
lamps and/or the low beam headlamps
on. Fog lamps should only be used in
conjunction with low beam headlamps.
Consult your State or Province Motor
Vehicle Regulations regarding allow-
able lamp operation.
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116 Controls in detailLightingInterior lighting
The controls are located in the overhead
control panel.
1Switch for reading lamp, left
2Switch for rear compartment lighting
3Switch for automatic function
4Switch for interior lighting in front
5Switch for reading lamp, right
6Ambient lighting
7Interior lighting8Reading lamps
Activating automatic control

Press button3.
Interior lamps are switched on in dark-
ness, when

unlocking the vehicle


opening a door


removing the SmartKey from the
starter switch
The interior lamps are switched off follow-
ing an adjustable time delay (
page 141).Deactivating automatic control

Press button3.
The interior lighting remains switched
off, even when

centrally unlocking the vehicle


opening a door


removing the SmartKey from the
starter switch
Manual control
Switching rear interior lights on and off

Press button2.
The lights in the rear passenger com-
partment go on.

Press button2 again.
The lights in the rear passenger com-
partment go out.
iIf the door remains open, the interior
lamps switch off automatically after ap-
proximately five minutes when the key
is removed or in starter switch
position0.
An interior lamp switched on manually
does not go out automatically.
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180 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control*Charcoal filter
An activated charcoal filter markedly re-
duces bad odors and removes pollutants
from air entering the passenger compart-
ment.
Activating
Press buttone.
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 buttone.
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 buttonF.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
Deactivating

Press buttonF again.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
iIf you keep buttone pressed, the
side windows and the sliding/pop-up
roof* will be closed.
iIf you keep buttone pressed, the
side windows and the sliding/pop-up
roof* will be returned to their previous
position.
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