ignition MERCEDES-BENZ E320 2003 W211 Owner's Manual

31 Getting started
Unlocking
Starter switch positionsStarter switch0For removing key
1Power supply to some electrical con-
sumers, such as seat adjustment
2Ignition (power supply for all electrical
consumers) and driving position
3Starting position
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle always remove the
key from the starter switch, take the Smart-
Key with KEYLESS-GO* (if so equipped) with
you and lock the vehicle. Do not leave chil-
dren unattended in the vehicle, or with ac-
cess to an unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised
use of vehicle equipment may cause serious
personal injury.iThe SmartKey can only be removed
from the starter switch with the gear
selector lever in position P.
!If the key is left in starter switch
position0 for an extended period of
time, it can no longer be turned in the
starter switch.

Remove the key from the starter
switch and reinsert.
If the key can still not be turned, the
battery may not be sufficiently
charged.

Check the battery and charge it
if necessary (
page 266).

Get a jump start (
page 346).
To prevent accelerated battery dis-
charge or a completely discharged bat-
tery, always remove the key from the
starter switch.

33 Getting started
Unlocking
1KEYLESS-GO start/stop button
Before you press the KEYLESS-GO
start/stop button, the vehicle’s on-board
electronics have status 0 (as with key re-
moved).Make sure the gear selector lever is set
toP.
Do not depress the brake pedal.
Position 1

Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop but-
ton once.
This supplies power to some electrical
consumers, such as seat adjustment.Ignition (or position 2)

Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop but-
ton twice.
This supplies power to all electrical
consumers. All the lights in the instru-
ment cluster light up.
More information can be found in the
"Controls in detail" section (
page 89).
For information on starting the engine us-
ing the KEYLESS-GO start/stop button,
see "Starting with KEYLESS-GO"
(
page 44).
iIf you now press the KEYLESS-GO
start/stop button twice, the power
supply is again switched off.
iIf you now press the KEYLESS-GO
start/stop button once, the power sup-
ply is again switched off.

39 Getting started
Adjusting
Exterior rear view mirrorThe buttons are on the driver’s door.
1Passenger side mirror
2Adjustment button
3Driver’s side mirror

Make sure that the ignition is switched
on.
All the lights in the instrument cluster
light up.

Press button3 for the left mirror or
button1 for the right mirror.

Push adjustment button2 up, down,
left or right according to the setting de-
sired.More information can be found in the
"Controls in detail" section (
page 157).
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 only be
completely removed while in their liq-
uid state and by applying plenty of wa-
ter.
!If an exterior rear view mirror housing
is forcibly pushed forward or backward,
reposition it by applying firm pressure
until it snaps into place. The mirror
housing is now properly positioned and
you can adjust the mirror normally.iAt low ambient temperatures, the mir-
rors will be heated automatically.

47 Getting started
Driving
High beam
Push the combination switch forward.
The high beam headlights are switched
on.
The high beam symbolA in the
tachometer lights up.
More information can be found in the
"Controls in detail" section (
page 115).
Windshield wipers
The combination switch is on the left of the
steering column.Combination switch1Single wipe
2Switching on windshield wipers
Make sure that the ignition is switched
on.
Switching on windshield wipers

Turn the combination switch to the de-
sired position depending on the inten-
sity of the rain.0Windshield wipers off
IIntermittent wiping (interval depen-
dent on wetness of windshield)
IINormal wiper speed
IIIFast wiper speed
iThe intermittent wiping interval is de-
pendent on wetness of windshield.
Wiping will not occur with a door open.
Do not leave windshield wipers in inter-
mittent setting when vehicle is taken to
an automatic car wash or during wind-
shield cleaning. Wipers will operate in
the presence of water sprayed on the
windshield, and wipers may be dam-
aged as a result.
The switch should not be left in inter-
mittent setting as the wipers will wipe
the windshield once every time the en-
gine is started. Dust that accumulates
on the windshield might scratch the
glass when wiping occurs on a dry
windshield.

48 Getting startedDrivingSingle wipe
Press switch briefly in the direction of
arrow1.
The windshield wipers wipe one time
without washer fluid.
Wiping with windshield washer fluid

Push switch in the direction of arrow1
past the resistance point.
The windshield wiper operates with
washer fluid.
Information on filling up the washer reser-
voir can be found in the "Operation" sec-
tion (page 267).
Problems while driving
The engine runs erratically and misfires

An ignition cable may be damaged.


The engine electronics may not be op-
erating properly.


Unburned gasoline may have entered
the catalytic converter and damaged it.

Give very little gas.

Have the problem repaired by an au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.
!If leaves, snow, etc. block the wind-
shield wipers, switch off the wipers.

For safety reasons, withdraw key
from starter switch. Remove block-
age.


Turn the windshield wipers on
again.
If windshield wipers fail to function at
all in switch positionI,


Set the combination switch to the
next highest wiper speed.


Have the windshield wipers
checked at the nearest authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.

64 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
Emergency tensioning device (ETD),
seat belt force limiter
The seat belts for the front and rear outer
seats are equipped with emergency ten-
sioning devices and belt force limiters.
The ETD is designed to activate in the fol-
lowing cases when the seat belts are fas-
tened:

In frontal or rear-end impacts exceed-
ing a preset severity level


If the ignition is switched onIn an impact, emergency tensioning devic-
es remove slack from the belts in such a
way that the seat belts fit more snugly
against the body. Belt force limiters reduce
the force exerted by the seat belts on oc-
cupants during a crash.


Each seat belt should never be used for
more than one person at a time. Do not
fasten a seat belt around a person and
another person or other objects.


Belts should not be worn twisted. In a
crash, you wouldn’t have the full width
of the belt to manage impact forces. The
twisted belt against your body could
cause injuries.


Pregnant women should also use a
lap-shoulder belt. The lap belt portion
should be positioned as low as possible
on the hips to avoid any possible pres-
sure on the abdomen.


Never place your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the floor in front of the seat.
Warning!
G
An emergency tensioning device (ETD) that
was activated must be replaced.
When scrapping the emergency tensioning
device, our safety instructions must be fol-
lowed. These are available at your autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.

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.

99 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Separately unlocking the trunk
Pull the mechanical key out of the
SmartKey (
page 329).

Insert the mechanical key in the trunk
lid lock.

Turn the key completely to the left to
position1, see above.
You can now open the trunk (
page 96).
Automatic central locking
The doors and the trunk automatically lock
when the ignition is switched on and the
wheels are turning at vehicle speeds of ap-
proximately 9 mph (15 km/h) or more.
You can open a locked door from the in-
side. Open door only when conditions are
safe to do so.
You can deactivate the automatic locking
mode over the control system
(
page 142).
iUnlocking the trunk with the mechani-
cal key will trigger the anti-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.
iThe doors unlock automatically after an
accident if the force of the impact ex-
ceeds a preset threshold.
The vehicle automatically locks when
the ignition is switched on and the
wheels are turning at vehicle speeds of
approximately 9 mph (15 km/h) or
more. You could therefore lock yourself
out when the vehicle

is pushed


is on a test stand

105 Controls in detailSeats
1Seat cushion depth
2Backrest bottom
3Backrest center
4Side bolster adjustment
Adjusting the multicontour seat in the or-
der listed above is recommended.
Make sure that the ignition is switched
on.
All lamps in the instrument cluster light
up.
Adjusting backrest contour

Adjust the seat cushion depth to the
length of your upper leg using switch 1.

Adjust the backrest contour to the con-
tour of your back using æor ç.

Move the backrest support to the bot-
tom by using button2 or to the center
by using button3.

Adjust the side bolsters so that they
provide good lateral support using
button4.
Dynamic driving seat*
The dynamic driving seat automatically ad-
justs the lateral support provided by the
backrest to your driving style.
1Backrest center
2Massage function
3Backrest side bolsters
4Activate dynamic driving function
5Seat cushion depth
6Backrest bottom
The dynamic driving seat electronically
controls the air pressure in the air cham-
bers of the backrest side bolsters. This
function improves driving comfort and
pleasure.

107 Controls in detailSeats
Heated seats*
Both switches for the front seats are locat-
ed in the center console. The red indicator
lamps in the switch light up to show which
heating level you have selected.
1Seat heating

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

Press button1 repeatedly until the de-
sired heating level is set.
Switching seat heating off

Press button1 repeatedly until all indi-
cator lamps go out.
Level3
3 indicator lamps litThe seat heater automatically
switches to level 2 after approx-
imately 5 minutes
2
2 indicator lamps litThe seat heater automatically
switches to level 1 after approx-
imately 10 minutes
1
1 indicator lamp litThe seat heater automatically
switches off after approximately
20 minutes
off
No indicator lamps lit
!The seat heater may switch off if the
battery voltage is too low. One or more
indicator lamps will blink.