Media MERCEDES-BENZ C300 2008 W204 Owner's Manual

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Operator’s Manual
C-Class
Order No. 6515 0614 13 Part No. 204 584 11 81 USA Edition A 2008C-Class
2045841181

16 Introduction
Problems with your vehicle
If you should experience a problem with your vehicle, particularly one that you believe may affect its safe operation, we urge you to
immediately contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center to have the problem diagnosed and corrected if required. If the matter is
not handled to your satisfaction, please discuss the problem with the Mercedes-Benz Center management, or if necessary contact us
at one of the following addresses:
In the USA:
Customer Assistance Center
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
One Mercedes Drive
Montvale, NJ 07645-0350
In Canada:
Customer Relations Department
Mercedes-Benz Canada, Inc.
98 Vanderhoof Avenue
Toronto, Ontario, M4G 4C9

17 Introduction
Reporting safety defects
Reporting safety defects
For the USA only:
The following text is published as required of manufacturers under Title 49, Code of U.S. Federal Regulations, Part 575 pursuant to the
“National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966.”
Reporting safety defects
If you believe that your vehicle has a defect which could cause a crash or could cause injury or death, you should immediately inform
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in addition to notifying Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may open an investigation, and if it finds that a safety defect exists in a group of vehicles, it
may order a recall and remedy campaign. However, NHTSA cannot become involved in individual problems between you, your dealer,
or Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
To contact NHTSA, you may call the Vehicle Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153);
go to http://www.safercar.gov; or write to: Administrator, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. You can also
obtain other information about motor vehicle safety from http://www.safercar.gov.

35 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!G
Modifications to or work improperly con-
ducted on restraint systems (such as seat
belts and anchors, Emergency Tensioning
Devices (ETDs), seat belt force limiters or air
bags) or their wiring, as well as tampering
with interconnected electronic systems, can
lead to the restraint systems no longer func-
tioning as intended.
Air bags or Emergency Tensioning Devices
(ETDs), for example, could deploy inadvert-
ently or fail to deploy in accidents although
the deceleration threshold for air bag de-
ployment is exceeded. Therefore, never
modify the restraint systems. Do not tamper
with electronic components or their soft-
ware.
Warning!G
In the event that the =indicator lamp
comes on during driving or does not come
on at all, the SRS self-check has detected a
malfunction. For your safety, we strongly
recommend that you contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center immediately to have
the system checked; otherwise the SRS may
not deploy when needed in an accident,
which could result in serious or fatal injury,
or it might deploy unexpectedly and unnec-
essarily which could also result in injury.
In addition, improper work on the SRS
creates a risk of rendering the SRS inopera-
tive or causing unintended air bag deploy-
ment. Work on the SRS must therefore only
be performed by qualified technicians. Con-
tact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
If it is necessary to modify an air bag system
to accommodate a person with disabilities,
contact your local authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center or call our Customer
Assistance Center at 1-800-FOR-MERCedes
(1-800-367-6372) for details.

64 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
When you switch off the ESP®

the ESP® does not stabilize the vehicle

the engine output is not limited, which
allows the drive wheels to spin and
thus cut into surfaces for better grip

the electronic traction system will still
apply the brakes to a spinning wheel

the ESP® continues to operate when
you are braking

you cannot activate the cruise control

the cruise control switches off if
currently activated1ESP
® off/on
With the engine running, press ESP®
switch1 until the ESP® warning
lampv in the instrument cluster
comes on.
The ESP
® is switched off.Switching on the ESP
®
Press ESP® switch1.
The ESP
® warning lampv in the in-
strument cluster goes out.
You are now again in normal driving
mode with the ESP
® switched on.
Warning!G
Switch on the ESP® immediately if the afore-
mentioned circumstances do not apply any-
more. Otherwise the ESP
® will not stabilize
the vehicle when it is starting to skid or a
wheel is spinning.
iWhen the ESP® is switched off and one or
more drive wheels are spinning, the ESP® warn-
ing lampv in the instrument cluster flashes.
However, the ESP
® will then not stabilize the ve-
hicle.
Warning!G
When the ESP® warning lampv is illumi-
nated continuously, the ESP® is switched off
or is not operational due to a malfunction.
Vehicle stability in standard driving maneu-
vers reduces.
Adapt your speed and driving to the prevail-
ing road conditions and to the non-operating
status of the ESP
®.
!Avoid spinning of a drive wheel for an ex-
tended period with the ESP® switched off. This
may cause serious damage to the drivetrain
which is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz Lim-
ited Warranty.

76 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking

with the engine running, the mes-
sage
Key not recognized appears
in the multifunction display while
driving off
Find the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO or
change its present location immediate-
ly (e.g. place it on the front passenger
seat or insert it in shirt pocket).

If you have started the engine with the
KEYLESS-GO start/stop button, you
can turn it off again with:

the KEYLESS-GO start/stop button

the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO in-
serted in the starter switch, when
the gear selector lever is in
positionP

Remember that the engine can be
started by anyone with a SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO that is left inside the
vehicle.
Possibility 1: (One SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO in the vehicle, one
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO outside
the vehicle):
If you leave the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO behind when exiting and
locking the vehicle, no message
appears in the multifunction display.
Possibility 2: (One SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO in the vehicle, no
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO outside
the vehicle):
When exiting and trying to lock the ve-
hicle, the message
Key still in ve-
hicle
appears in the multifunction
display. The vehicle will not be locked.Factory setting
1Outside door handle
iYour vehicle is equipped with an acoustic
lock and unlock confirmation signal feature. An
acoustic signal will sound when the vehicle is
locked or unlocked using the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO.
If you wish to activate or deactivate the feature,
or adjust its signal volume, contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.

79 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Loss of the SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* (Canada only)
If you lose your SmartKey, SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO or mechanical key, you
should do the following:
Have the SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO deactivated at an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Report the loss of the SmartKey,
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO or the
mechanical key immediately to your
car insurance company.
Have the mechanical lock replaced if
necessary.
Your authorized Mercedes-Benz Center
will be glad to supply you with a
replacement.
Opening doors from the inside
You can open a locked door from the in-
side. Open door only when conditions are
safe to do so.
1Locking knob
2Inside door handle
iIf the vehicle has previously been locked
with the SmartKey or KEYLESS-GO*, opening a
door from the inside will trigger the anti-theft
alarm system.
To cancel the alarm, do one of the following:

Insert the SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* in the starter switch.

Press button Œ or ‹ on the SmartKey
or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*.
In vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:

Grasp an outside door handle.
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* must be
within 3 ft (1 m) of the vehicle.

Press the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button
(
page 84).
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* must be
inside the vehicle.
iIf you hear a warning signal you have
forgotten to switch off the low beam headlamps
or the parking lamps before opening the driver’s
door.
In addition the message
Switch Off Lights
appears in the multifunction display.
Switch off the low beam headlamps or the park-
ing lamps.
If the message
Switch Off Lights or Re-
move Key
appears in the multifunction display
remove the SmartKey from the starter switch or
switch off the automatic headlamp mode.

101 Controls in detail
Mirrors
Activating exterior rear view mirror
parking position* (Canada only)
Follow these steps to activate the mirror
parking position so that the passen-
ger-side exterior rear view mirror will be
turned downward to the stored position.
1 Driver’s side exterior rear view
mirror button
2Passenger-side exterior rear view
mirror button
3Adjustment button
Make sure you have stored a parking
position for the passenger-side exterior
rear view mirror (
page 104).
Switch on the ignition.
Shift the transmission in reverse gear.
The previously selected exterior rear
view mirror is activated, and the indica-
tor lamp in the respective button1
or2 comes on.
Press button2, to select the front
passenger side exterior rear view mir-
ror.
The indicator lamp in button2 comes
on and the passenger-side exterior rear
view mirror will be turned downward to
the stored position.The exterior rear view mirror returns to its
previously stored driving position:

10 seconds after you have put the
transmission out of reverse

immediately once your vehicle exceeds
a speed of approximately 6 mph
(10 km/h)

immediately when you press button1
for driver’s side exterior rear view
mirror.

103 Controls in detail
Memory function* (Canada only)
MMemory button
1 2 3Memory position buttons
Storing positions into memory*
Adjust the seat (page 85) to the de-
sired position.
On the driver’s side: Adjust the steering
wheel (
page 93) and the exterior rear
view mirrors (
page 97) to the desired
position.
Press memory buttonM.
Release memory buttonM and press
one of the memory position buttons
within 3 seconds.
An acoustic signal sounds to confirm.
The settings are stored with the select-
ed position.
Recalling positions from memory*
Press and hold memory position
button until the seat, steering wheel
and exterior rear view mirrors have
completely moved to the stored
positions.
iThe memory function* is operational at any
time. Seat and steering wheel adjustment is al-
ways possible.
!Do not operate the power seats using the
memory position button if the seat backrest is in
an excessively reclined position. Doing so could
cause damage to front or rear seats.
First move seat backrest to an upright position.
iReleasing the memory position button
immediately stops movement to the stored
positions.

117 Controls in detail
Windshield wipers
Windshield wipers
Combination switch
1Switching on windshield wipers
2Single wipe
Wiping with windshield washer fluid
Switch on the ignition.
!If the windshield wipers leave smears on the
windshield after the car has been driven through
an automatic car wash, then wax or other resi-
due is on the windshield. Shortly after washing
the car in an automatic car wash, clean the wind-
shield with windshield washer fluid.
!Do not operate the windshield wipers when
the windshield is dry. Dust that accumulates on
a windshield might scratch the glass and/or
damage the wiper blades when wiping occurs on
a dry windshield. If it is necessary to operate the
windshield wipers in dry weather conditions, al-
ways operate the windshield wipers with wind-
shield washer fluid.
!If anything blocks the windshield wipers
(leaves, snow, etc.), switch them off immediate-
ly.

For safety reasons, stop the vehicle in a safe
location and,

remove the SmartKey from starter
switch
or

turn off the engine by pressing the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button and
open the driver’s door (with the driver’s
door open, starter switch is in
position0, same as with SmartKey re-
moved from starter switch)

engage the parking brake
before attempting to remove any blockage.

Remove blockage.

Turn the windshield wipers on again.
If the windshield wipers fail to function at all in
combination switch position U or V,

set the combination switch to the next
higher wiper speed

have the windshield wipers checked at the
nearest authorized Mercedes-Benz Center