ESP MERCEDES-BENZ CLK320 COUPE 2003 C209 Owner's Guide

113 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
Tachometer
The red marking on the tachometer de-
notes excessive engine speed.
To help protect the engine, the fuel supply
is interrupted if the engine is operated
within the red marking.
Outside temperature indicator
The temperature sensor is located in the
front bumper area. Due to its location, the
sensor can be affected by road or engine
heat during idling or slow driving. This
means that the accuracy of the displayed
temperature can only be verified by com-
parison to a thermometer placed next to
the sensor, not by comparison to external
displays (e.g. bank signs etc.).When moving the vehicle into colder ambi-
ent temperatures (e.g. when leaving your
garage), you will notice a delay before the
lower temperature is displayed.
A delay also occurs when ambient temper-
atures rise. This prevents inaccurate tem-
perature indications caused by heat
radiated from the engine during idling or
slow driving.
!Avoid driving at excessive engine
speeds, as it may result in serious en-
gine damage that is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Warning!
G
The outside temperature indicator is not de-
s i g n e d t o s e r v e a s a n i c e - w a r n i n g d e v i c e a n d
is therefore unsuitable for that purpose.
Indicated temperatures just above the freez-
ing point do not guarantee that the road sur-
face is free of ice. The road may still be icy,
especially in wooded areas or on bridges.

122 Controls in detailControl systemDistronic deactivated
When Distronic is deactivated you will see
the standard display in the display.
1Vehicle ahead, if detected
2Actual distance to vehicle ahead
3Should-be distance to vehicle ahead
4Your vehicle
5Symbol for activated distance warning
functionDistronic activated
When Distronic is activated,
Distronic

and the set speed are seen in the display.
1Distronic activated
Malfunction memory menu
Use the malfunction memory menu to scan
malfunction and warning messages that
may be stored in the system. What infor-
mation is shown in the display depends on
whether malfunctions have actually oc-
curred.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 283).

130 Controls in detailControl system
With daytime running lamp mode se-
lected and the exterior lamp switch at
position0, the following lamps will
come on automatically when the en-
gine is turned on:

Parking lamps and low beam head-
lamps


License plate lamps (in low ambient
light conditions) Setting locator lighting
During darkness, the following lamps will
come on when the exterior lamp switch is
in position
U
, the locator lighting fea-
ture is activated, and the vehicle is un-
locked by remote control:


Parking lamps


Tail lamps


License plate lamps


Front fog lamps
To activate locator lighting:

Make sure the function surround light-
ing is set to
on (see below).

Turn the exterior lamp switch to posi-
tion
U
.The locator lighting switches off when the
driver’s door is opened. It switches off au-
tomatically after a period of approximately
40 seconds.

Move the selection marker with
the
æ
or
ç
button to the
Light-
ning
submenu.

Press button
j
or
k
repeatedly
until you see this message in the dis-
play:
Function Surround lighting
.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.

Press
æ
or
ç
to select the de-
sired setting.
The locator lighting will be switched on
or off.
iIf you turn the exterior lamp switch to
another position, the corresponding
lamp(s) will switch on.
For safety reasons, resetting the Lighting
submenu to factory settings
(
page 124) will not reset the daytime
running lamp mode.
In the display you will then see the mes-
sage:
Lighting – Cannot be com-
pletely reset to factory settings
while driving
.

144 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionGear selector lever position
Effect
P
Park position
Selector position when the vehicle
is parked. Only place selector lever
in positionP when vehicle is
stopped. The park position is not in-
tended to serve as a brake when
the vehicle is parked. Rather, the
driver should always set the park-
ing brake in addition to placing the
selector lever in positionP to se-
cure the vehicle.
The key can only be removed from
the starter switch with the selector
lever in positionP. With the key re-
moved the selector lever is locked
in positionP.
Effect
R
Reverse gear
Place selector lever in positionR only
when vehicle is stopped.
N
Neutral
No power is transmitted from the en-
gine to the drive axle. When the
brakes are released, the vehicle can
be moved freely (pushed or towed).
To avoid damage to the transmission,
never engageN while driving.
If the ESP is deactivated or malfunc-
tioning:
Only move selector lever toN if the
vehicle is in danger of skidding (e.g.
on icy roads).
D
Drive
The transmission shifts automatical-
ly. All five forward gears are avail-
able.
!Coasting the vehicle, or driving for any
other reason with selector lever inN
can result in transmission damage that
is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.Warning!
G
Getting out of your vehicle with the selector
lever not fully engaged in positionP is dan-
gerous. Also, positionP alone is not intend-
ed to or capable of preventing your vehicle
from moving, possibly hitting people or ob-
jects.
Always set the parking brake in addition to
shifting to positionP (
page 45).
When parked on an incline, turn the front
wheels towards the road curb.

149 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Good visibility
Information on the windshield wipers
(page 47) and for setting the rear view
mirrors (
page 38) is found in the “Get-
ting started” section.
Rear view mirror
Automatic antiglare rear view mirror
The reflection brightness of the exterior
rear view mirror on the driver’s side and
the inside rear view mirror will respond au-
tomatically to glare when

the ignition is switched on, and


incoming light from headlamps falls on
the sensor in the inside rear view mir-
ror.
The rear view mirror will not react if


reverse gear is engaged


the interior lighting is turned on
Warning!
G
The automatic antiglare function does not
react if incoming light is not aimed directly
at sensors in the inside rear view mirror.
The inside rear view mirror and the exterior
rear view mirror on the driver’s side do not
react, for example, if the rear window sun
shade* is in raised position.
Glare can endanger you and others.Warning!
G
In the case of an accident liquid electrolyte
may escape from the mirror housing if the
mirror glass breaks.
Electrolyte has an irritating effect. Do not al-
low the liquid to come into contact with
eyes, skin, clothing, or respiratory system.
In case it does, immediately flush affected
area with water, and seek medical help if
necessary.
Warning!
G
Exercise care when using the passenger
side exterior rear view mirror. The mirror
surface is convex (outwardly curved surface
for a wider field of view). Objects in mirror
are closer than they appear. Check your in-
side rear view mirror or glance over your
shoulder before changing lanes.!Electrolyte drops coming into contact
with the vehicle paint finish can be
completely removed only while in the
liquid state by applying plenty of water.

157 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Setting the temperature
Use temperature controls (
page 155)1
and2 for the left side or7 and8 for the
right side to separately adjust the air tem-
perature on each side of the passenger
compartment. You should raise or lower
the temperature setting in small incre-
ments, preferably starting at 72°F (22°C).Increasing

Push temperature control2 and/or7.
The automatic climate control system
will correspondingly adjust the interior
air temperature.
Decreasing

Push temperature control1 and/or8.
The automatic climate control system
will correspondingly adjust the interior
air temperature.Adding outside air

Turn thumbwheel8 in dashboard
(page 154) to increase flow of out-
side air through air vents for center, left
and right sides, as well as dashboard
top center and rear passenger com-
partment.
iWhen operating the climate control
system in automatic mode, you will
only rarely need to adjust the tempera-
ture, air volume and air distribution.

162 Controls in detailAutomatic climate controlRear window defroster
The rear window defroster uses a large
amount of power. To keep battery drain to
a minimum, switch off the defroster as
soon as the rear window is clear. The de-
froster is automatically deactivated after
approximately 6 to 17 minutes of opera-
tion depending on the outside tempera-
ture.Activating

Press button
F
(page 155).
The indicator lamp on the button lights
up.
Deactivating

Press button
F
(page 155) again.
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
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.

172 Controls in detailAudio systemDirect frequency input (AM and FM only)
Select the desired frequency band.
Press the
“
button.

Enter the desired frequency with the
buttons 1 to 0.Manual tuning

Select the desired band.

Press and hold either the
d
or
c

button until the desired frequency is
reached.
Step-by-step station tuning takes place
in ascending or descending order of
frequency. The first three tuning steps
will take place without muting. After-
ward, the radio will be muted and
high-speed tuning will take place until
the button is released.Automatic seek tuning

Select the desired frequency band.

Press either the
f
or
e
button.
The radio will tune to the next receiv-
able station at a higher or lower fre-
quency.
iYou can only enter frequencies within
the respective waveband.
If a button is not pressed within four
seconds, the radio will return to the last
tuned station.

174 Controls in detailAudio systemWeather band
Press the
WB key.
The last weather band station is tuned
in.

Select the desired weather band sta-
tion with buttons 1 to 7.
If a station cannot be tuned in, a scan
is automatically started.

Press the
f
or
e
button. The
next receivable weather band station is
tuned in.
Cassette mode
Playing cassettes
Press the
3
button.
The display folds down and the cas-
sette slot becomes visible.

Press the cassette into the slot until it
engages and tap it gently.
The cassette will be pulled in automati-
cally. The system switches to cassette
mode (
TAPE
). Track 1 will be played and
SIDE 1
appears in the display. Track 1
is the side of the cassette which is fac-
ing upward. The cassette deck will au-
tomatically detect the type of tape.

Fold the display back up and press gen-
tly on the display frame to lock in place.
or

If a cassette is already in the mecha-
nism, press the
j
button.
Track selection

Press the
TRK
key.
Upon selection of the track, the display
shows
SIDE 1
or
SIDE 2
corresponding-
ly.

You can switch track sides at any time.
The track side will be changed auto-
matically at the end of the tape.
iDo not press directly on the display
face.
iA warning signal will sound after
20 seconds if the display is left in the
down position. If the display is not
closed, a warning signal will sound and
the radio will be muted.

179 Controls in detail
Audio system
1CD
2CD changer
3CD tray
4CD magazine
Remove the magazine and pull the CD
tray fully out.

Place the CD in the recess of the tray,
label side up.

Push the tray into the magazine in the
direction shown by the arrow.

Push the magazine into the CD changer
in the direction shown by the arrow and
close the sliding door.
Playing CDs

Press the
i
button.
CD will appear on the display.
The CD most recently listened to will then
start playing at the point where it was last
switched off.
After the last track on a CD has finished,
the next CD is automatically played.Selecting CDs

You can select from among the CDs in
the CD magazine using buttons 1 to 6.CD a n d t h e m a g a z i n e s l o t n u m b e r o f t h e
s e l e c t e d C D a p p e a r o n t h e d i s p l a y . T h e
number of the current track is dis-
played after
TRACK
.
If there is no CD in the selected maga-
zine slot,
NO CD
appears on the display
with the corresponding slot number.
iCDs which have been inserted improp-
erly or are unreadable will not be
played.