messages MERCEDES-BENZ C300 4MATIC 2008 W204 Owner's Manual

Contents
At the gas station .............................. 322
Refueling ...................................... 322
Check regularly and
before a long trip.......................... 324
Engine compartment ......................... 325
Hood ............................................ 325
Engine oil ..................................... 327
Transmission fluid level ................ 328
Coolant level ................................ 329
Windshield washer system and
headlamp cleaning system* ......... 330
Tires and wheels ................................ 331
Important guidelines .................... 331
Tire care and maintenance........... 332
Direction of rotation ..................... 334
Loading the vehicle ...................... 334
Recommended tire
inflation pressure ......................... 339
Checking tire inflation pressure ... 341
Tire labeling.................................. 348
Load identification ....................... 352
DOT,
Tire Identification Number (TIN) ... 352
Maximum tire load ....................... 353
Maximum tire inflation pressure .. 354Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Standards (U.S. vehicles) .............. 354
Tire ply material ............................ 356
Tire and loading terminology......... 356
Rotating tires ................................ 359
Winter driving ..................................... 360
Winter tires ................................... 360
Snow chains.................................. 361
Maintenance....................................... 362
Maintenance
service indicator message ............ 362
Calling up the maintenance
service indicator display ............... 363
Resetting the maintenance
service indicator ........................... 363
Vehicle care........................................ 364
Cleaning and care of vehicle ......... 364
Practical hints.................................. 373
What to do if …? ................................. 374
Lamps in instrument cluster ......... 374
Air bag off indicator lamp ............. 385
Vehicle status messages in
the multifunction display .............. 387
Where will I find ...? ............................ 420
First aid kit.................................... 420
Vehicle jack, vehicle tool kit,
luggage bowl, Minispare wheel ..... 420
Unlocking/locking in an emergency .. 424
Unlocking the vehicle ................... 424
Locking the vehicle ....................... 425
Fuel filler flap ................................ 426
Manually unlocking the
transmission gear selector lever ... 426
Resetting activated head restraints.... 427
Replacing SmartKey batteries ............ 428
Replacing bulbs .................................. 430
Bulbs............................................. 431
Replacing bulbs for front lamps .... 432
Replacing bulbs for rear lamps ..... 436
Replacing wiper blades ...................... 438
Removing wiper blades ................. 439
Installing wiper blades .................. 439

43 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
More information about air bag display
messages (
page 393).
When the OCS senses that the front passen-
ger seat occupant is classified as an adult or
someone larger than a small individual, the
5/indicator lamp will illuminate for
approximately 6 seconds when the engine is
started and then go out, indicating that the
front passenger front air bag is activated.
If the 5/indicator lamp is
illuminated, the front passenger front air
bag is deactivated and will not be deployed.
If the 5/indicator lamp is not
illuminated, the front passenger front air
bag is activated and will be deployed:

in the event of certain frontal impacts

if impact exceeds a preset deployment
threshold

independently of the front side impact
air bags and/or rear side impact air
bags*.
If the front passenger front air bag is
deployed, the rate of inflation will be
influenced by:

the rate of relevant vehicle deceleration
as assessed by the air bag control unit

front passenger’s weight category as
identified by the Occupant Classification
System (OCS).
Warning!G
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing position. Thus, we strongly recommend
that children be placed in the rear seats
whenever possible. Regardless of seating
position, children 12 years old and under
must be seated and properly secured in an
appropriate infant or child restraint recom-
mended for the size and weight of the child.
The infant or child restraint must be properly
secured with the vehicle’s seat belt, the seat
belt and top tether strap, or lower anchors
and top tether strap, fully in accordance
with the child seat manufacturer’s
instructions.
Children can be killed or seriously injured by
an inflating air bag. Note the following im-
portant information when circumstances re-
quire you to place a child in the front
passenger seat:

Your vehicle is equipped with air bag
technology designed to turn off the front
passenger front air bag in your vehicle
when the system senses the weight of a
typical 12-month-old child or less along
with the weight of a standard appropri-
ate child restraint on the front passen-
ger seat.

A child in a rear-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured or even killed if the
front passenger front air bag inflates in
a collision which could occur under
some circumstances, even with the air
bag technology installed in your vehicle.
The only means to completely eliminate
this risk is to never place a child in a
rear-facing child restraint in the front
seat. We therefore strongly recommend
that you always place a child in a rear-
facing child restraint in the back seat.


147 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
Instrument cluster
A full view illustration of the instrument
cluster can be found in the “At a glance”
section of this manual (
page 26).
You can change the instrument cluster
settings in the instrument cluster submenu
of the control system (
page 168).
Multifunction display
The multifunction display is activated when
you:

open a door

switch on the ignition

switch on the exterior lamps
The language setting for the multifunction
display can be changed via control system
(
page 168).
Warning!G
No messages will be displayed if either the
instrument cluster or the multifunction dis-
play is inoperative.
As a result, you will not be able to see infor-
mation about your driving conditions, such
as speed or outside temperature, warning/
indicator lamps, malfunction/warning mes-
sages or the failure of any systems. Driving
characteristics may be impaired.
If you must continue to drive, please do so
with added caution. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as possible.

152 Controls in detail
Control system
Multifunction steering wheel
The displays in the multifunction display
and the settings in the control system are
controlled using the buttons on the multi-
function steering wheel.Item
1Multifunction display
Operating control system
2Volume control:
Press button
æto increase volume
çto decrease volume
Telephone*:
Press button
sto take a call
to dial a call
tto end a call
to reject an incoming call
Fto mute
3!to activate Voice Control*
Item
4Lto cancel Voice Control*,
back, confirm messages
5To call up line for menus and select
menus:
Press button
&to scroll to the right
(to scroll to the left
To select submenu or scroll through
lists:
Press button
$to scroll up
%to scroll down
Press button
#to confirm selection or
messages
iVoice Control* is only available with
COMAND*. Refer to separate operating instruc-
tions.

153 Controls in detail
Control system
Depending on the selected menu
(
page 155), pressing the buttons on the
multifunction steering wheel will alter what
is shown in the multifunction display.
The information available in the multifunc-
tion display is arranged in menus, each
containing a number of functions or sub-
menus.
The individual functions are then found
within the relevant menu (radio or CD op-
erations under
Audio, for example). These
functions serve to call up relevant informa-
tion or to customize the settings for your
vehicle.
In the
Settings menu, instead of functions
you will find a number of submenus for
calling up and changing settings. For
instructions on using these submenus, see
“Submenus in the Settings menu”
(
page 166).
It is helpful to think of the menus, and the
functions within each menu, as being
arranged in a circular pattern.The number of menus available in the sys-
tem depends on which optional equipment
is installed in your vehicle.
Using the control system
To select a menu:
Press button(or&.
To select a submenu:
Press button%or$.
To go to the next higher menu level:
Press buttonL.
To select the standard display: Press
buttonL repeatedly until the stan-
dard display featuring the odometer
and speedometer appears.
or
Press and hold buttonL until the
standard display featuring the odome-
ter and speedometer appears.
To confirm selection:
Press button#.
To confirm display message:
Press button# or L.
The control system saves certain dis-
play messages. Calling up display mes-
sages (
page 164).
For information about warning and mal-
function messages appearing in the multi-
function display (
page 387).
iThe headings used in the menus table are
designed to facilitate navigation within the sys-
tem and are not necessarily identical to those
shown in the control system displays.
The first function displayed in each menu will au-
tomatically show you which part of the system
you are in.

161 Controls in detail
Control system
Switch on the telephone and audio sys-
tem.
Activate and register the telephone
(
page 225).
Press ( or & to select the Tel
menu.
Which messages will appear in the
multifunction display depends on whether
your telephone is switched on or off:

If the Bluetooth® function on the audio
system is disabled, the message
Blue-
tooth not activated in system set-
tings
appears. To enable Bluetooth®
(
page 193).

If the telephone is switched on, the
telephone will then search for a net-
work. During this time, the message
No
Service
appears in the multifunction
display. If no network available, the
multifunction display message
No Ser-
vice
is shown continuously.

If the telephone is on, as soon as the
telephone has found a network,
Phone
Ready
appears in the multifunction dis-
play.This standby message indicates that your
telephone is ready for use and you can
operate it using the control system.
You may carry out the following functions:
Otherwise, you may not be able to observe
traffic conditions and could endanger your-
self and others.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km/h), your vehicle is
covering a distance of 44 feet
(approximately 14 m) every second.
Warning!G
Never operate radio transmitters equipped
with a built-in or attached antenna (i.e. with-
out being connected to an external antenna)
from inside the vehicle while the engine is
running. Doing so could lead to a malfunc-
tion of the vehicle’s electronic system,
possibly resulting in an accident and
personal injury.FunctionPage
Dialing a number from the phone
book162
Redialing163
Answering a call163
Ending a call or rejecting an in-
coming call163

164 Controls in detail
Control system
Service menu
The
Service menu is used for

calling up messages

checking tire inflation pressure elec-
tronically with the TPMS (standard on
U.S. vehicles)

activating Run Flat Indicator (standard
on Canada vehicles)

calling up the maintenance service in-
dicator displayCalling up vehicle malfunction, warning
and system status messages stored in
memory
Use the vehicle status message memory
menu to scan malfunction and warning
messages that may be stored in the
system. Such messages appear in the
multifunction display and are based on
conditions or system status the vehicle’s
system has recorded.
The vehicle status message memory menu
only appears if there are any messages
stored.
Warning!G
Malfunction and warning messages are only
indicated for certain systems and are inten-
tionally not very detailed. The malfunction
and warning messages are simply a remind-
er with respect to the operation of certain
systems and do not replace the owner’s
and/or driver’s responsibility to maintain
the vehicle’s operating safety by having all
required maintenance and safety checks
performed on the vehicle and by bringing
the vehicle to an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center to address the malfunction and
warning messages (
page 387).

165 Controls in detail
Control system
Press ( or & to select the
Service menu.
If conditions have occurred causing status
messages to be recorded, the number of
messages appears in the multifunction
display:
1Number of messages
Press % or $ to select the mes-
sage.
Press # to confirm.
The stored messages will now be
displayed in the order in which they
have occurred.
Use % or $ to scroll through the
messages.Checking tire inflation pressure
For information about checking tire infla-
tion pressure (
page 339).
Activating Run Flat Indicator
(Canada only)
For information about activating Run Flat
Indicator (
page 342).
Calling up the maintenance service
indicator display
For information about calling up the main-
tenance service indicator display
(
page 362).
Settings menu
In the
Settings menu there are two
functions:

The function Reset to factory
settings
, with which you can reset all
the settings to the original factory
settings.

A collection of submenus with which
you can make individual settings for
your vehicle.
iSee the “Practical hints” section for mal-
function and warning messages (
page 387).
iIf you turn the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position0 and then back to position2,
all messages will be deleted from the message
memory.

168 Controls in detail
Control system
Instrument cluster submenu
Access the
Instr. Cluster submenu via
the
Settings menu. Use the Instr. Clus-
ter
submenu to change the instrument
cluster display settings.
The following functions are available:
Select speedometer display mode
Press % or $ to select the
Instr. Cluster submenu.
Press #.
Press % or $ to select Display
Unit Speed-/odometer
function.The selection marker is on the current
setting.
Press % or $ to set speedome-
ter unit to
km ormiles.
Press # to confirm the setting.
The selected display unit is valid for:

Odometer and trip odometer

Trip computer

Digital speedometer in the trip menu

Cruise controlSelect language
Selecting the language for the multifunc-
tion display is only possible with the Audio
system (
page 193) or with COMAND*.
Vehicles with COMAND*: Refer to sepa-
rate operating instructions.
The language select in the Audio system or
COMAND* is also used for the displays
and messages in the multifunction display.
Available languages:

German

English

Spanish

French

Italian
FunctionPage
Select speedometer display
mode168
Switch the additional speedome-
ter on or off (vehicles with manu-
al transmission)169
Permanent display (vehicles with
automatic transmission*)169

194 Controls in detail
Audio system
Radio operation
The radio mode is interrupted by an
incoming call on the telephone*
(
page 222).
iThe language select in the Audio system is
also used for the displays and messages in the
multifunction display.
Available languages:

German

English

Spanish

French

Italian
Warning!G
Please devote your attention first and fore-
most to the traffic situation you are in.
Before your journey, please familiarize your-
self with the radio functions.
Only use the audio system when road and
traffic conditions permit you to do so. Other-
wise you could be involved in an accident in
which you or others could be injured.
!Do not attach metallic film to the inside or
outside of windows which are fitted with an aeri-
al. Obstructing the metallic aerial structure on
the window will interfere with radio reception.
Cutting the film on the window can permanently
damage the aerial wires.