MERCEDES-BENZ ML350 2003 W163 Owner's Manual

121 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Folding in
Briefly press button 1.
The mirrors fold in.Folding out

Briefly press button 2.
The mirrors fold out.
Headlamp cleaning system*
The switch is located on the right side of
the dashboard.Headlamp washer switch
Switch on ignition.

Briefly press the upper part of switch.
iWith the front doors closed, the exteri-
or mirrors can still be folded in and out
approximately 30 minutes after the ig-
nition has been turned off.!Before you drive the vehicle through an
automatic car wash, fold the exterior
mirrors in, otherwise they may get
damaged.iIf you are driving at more than 9 mph
(15 km/h), you will not able to fold the
exterior mirrors in.
!If an exterior mirror housing is forcibly
pushed forward (hit from the rear), re-
position it manually by applying firm
pressure until it snaps back into place.
If an exterior mirror is forcibly pushed
rearward (hit from the front) press
button1 to fold mirrors in, then press
button2 to fold mirrors out. Do not
force mirror by hand.
The mirror housing is now properly po-
sitioned and you can adjust the mirror
normally.

122 Controls in detailGood visibilityWindshield wipers
Information on the windshield wipers
(page 47) is found in the “Getting start-
ed” section. Intermittent wiping
Windshield wipers without rain sensor
At speeds of approximately 105 mph
(170 km/h) the wiper switches automati-
cally to continuous wiping. Always obey lo-
cal speed limits.
Windshield wipers with rain sensor*
The rain sensor controls the windshield
wipers automatically according to the
amount of water on the windshield.

Switch ignition on.

Set the wiper switch to position1
(page 47).
One initial wipe, pauses between wipes
are automatically controlled by the rain
sensor monitoring wetness of wind-
shield.
!If leaves, snow, etc. block the wind-
shield wipers, the wiper motor turns
off.

For safety reasons, withdraw key
from steering lock. Remove block-
age.


Turn the windshield wipers on
again.
If windshield wipers fail to function at
all in switch position1,


set the wiper switch to the next
highest wiper speed.


have the windshield wipers
checked at the nearest authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.
iIntermittent wiping is interrupted when
the vehicle is at standstill and a front
door is opened.
!To prevent damage of the windshield
wipers, do not leave the wiper switch in
intermittent setting, when the vehicle
is taken to an automatic car wash or
when cleaning the windshield.
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!iWhen intermittent wiping is on and the
key is turned from position1 to
position2 in the steering lock
(page 33), and kept in that position
for longer than 2 seconds, the wipe in-
terval will be set to approximately
5seconds.

123 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Rear window wiper
The rear window wiper will also automati-
cally engage if the windshield wiper is en-
gaged and the gear selector lever is placed
in reverse.
Rear window wiper with rain sensor*
Rear window wiper intervals are controlled
automatically according to the amount of
water on the windshield and the speed of
the vehicle, if:

rear window wiper is switched on


front windshield wipers are switched to
intermittent wiping
The interval for the rear window wiper re-
mains constant when the windshield wiper
interval is ten seconds or more.
Sun visor
The sun visors protect you from sun glare
while driving.
1Mirror cover
2Mounting

Swing sun visors down when you expe-
rience glare.

To use mirror, lift cover1 up.
Illuminated vanity mirrors

Turn the key in steering lock to
position1 (
page 33).

Lift cover up.
The lamp switches on.
Warning!
G
Do not use the vanity mirror while driving.
Keep the mirrors in the sun visors closed
while vehicle is in motion. Reflected glare
can endanger you and others.
iIf sunlight enters through a side win-
dow, disengage sun visor from
mounting2 and pivot to the side.

124 Controls in detailAutomatic climate control
Automatic climate control

125 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Automatic climate control panel in the front
Item
1
Thumbwheel center air outlet
2
Center air outlet, adjustable
3
Defroster air outlet windshield
4
Thumbwheels side air outlet
5
Side air outlet, adjustable
6
Footwell air outlet
7
Automatic climate control
Item
1
Air volume control
2
Defrosting
3
Air recirculation
4
Temperature control
5
Automatic control (temperature, air
distribution, air volume)
6
AC
OFF
(AC cooling on/off), econo-
my mode
Residual heat/ventilation
7
Interior temperature sensor
8
Air distribution control
9
Rear window defroster
10
Rear passenger compartment venti-
lation on/off

126 Controls in detailAutomatic climate controlThe automatic climate control is operation-
al whenever the engine is running. You can
operate the climate control system in ei-
ther the automatic or manual mode. The
system cools or heats the interior depend-
ing on the selected interior temperature
and the current outside temperature.
Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air en-
ters the passenger compartment through
the air distribution system.
Automatic mode
Switching on
Briefly press button
U

(
page 125).
The indicator lamp lights up. The tem-
perature, air volume and distribution
are controlled automatically.

Adjust the temperature with the tem-
perature control4 (
page 125).
Temperature control is switched off in
the extreme position (blue or red dot).
Warning!
G
Follow the recommended settings for heat-
ing and cooling given on the following pag-
es. Otherwise the windows could fog up,
impairing visibility and endangering you and
others.
iSevere conditions (e.g. strong air pollu-
tion) may require replacement of the fil-
ter before its scheduled interval. A
clogged filter will reduce the air volume
to the interior.
If the vehicle interior is hot, ventilate
the interior before driving off.
Keep the air intake grille in front of the
windshield free of snow and debris.
Do not touch the interior temperature
sensor to maintain a precise tempera-
ture.
The set value is indicated by a lighted
segment on the control wheels.

127 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Switching off
Briefly press button
U

(
page 125).
The indicator lamp goes out. The auto-
matic mode is switched off
Air volume control1 is set to fan
speed 2 and air distribution is set
toV
.
Activating basic setting

Press button
U
at least three sec-
onds.
All functions are switched to automatic
mode and temperature is set to 72°F
(22°C).Changing basic setting

Set temperature control4
(page 125) to desired temperature.

Press button
U
for ten seconds.
The selected temperature value is
stored and set.Adjusting air volume and air distribu-
tion manually
Adjusting air volume
Turn air volume control1 to one of five
air volume settings.
iAdjust temperature settings in small in-
crements.
iIf you turn air volume control1
(page 125) or air distribution
control8, the automatic mode switch-
es off. The indicator lamp in the
button
U
goes out. The tempera-
ture control will still be in automatic
mode.
iWhen set to 0, the system is fully deac-
tivated and no fresh air is supplied. This
setting should only be selected for
short periods of time.

128 Controls in detailAutomatic climate controlAdjusting air distribution
Turn air distribution control8
(page 125) to one the following sym-
bols:
Windshield fogged on the outside

Switch the windshield wipers on.

Turn air distribution control8 to
h

or
k
.
Defrosting
Activating
Press button
P
(page 125).
The indicator lamp on the button lights
up.
Deactivating

Press button
P
again.
or

Press button
U
(page 125).
The indicator lamp on the button lights
up.
The indicator lamp on the button lights up.
Air recirculation mode
Switch to air recirculation mode to prevent
unpleasant odors from entering the vehicle
from the outside. This setting cuts off the
intake of outside air and recirculates the
air in the passenger compartment.
Symbol
Function
h
Directs air to the center
and side air outlets
j
Directs air to the wind-
shield and side air outlets
V
Directs air into the entire
vehicle interior
k
Directs air to the foot-
wells and side air outlets
iThese settings should only be selected
for a short time.
When the defrost setting has been se-
lected, only the rear window defroster
can be switched on. No other settings
are possible.
Warning!
G
When the outside temperature is below
41°F (5°C), only switch to air recirculation
mode for short periods to prevent window
fogging.

129 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Activating
Press button
O
(page 125).
The indicator lamp on the button lights
up.
Deactivating

Press button
O
(page 125).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
Air conditioning
The air conditioning is operational while
the engine is running and cools the interior
air to the temperature set by the operator.
Deactivating
It is possible to deactivate the air condi-
tioning (cooling) function of the automatic
climate control system. The air in the vehi-
cle will then no longer be cooled or dehu-
midified.
Press button
°
(page 125).
The indicator lamp on the button
°

lights up.
iTo achieve the fastest possible cooling
of the interior, the automatic climate
control automatically switches to air
recirculation. The indicator lamp in the
button
O
is not illuminated when
the system automatically switches to
air recirculation.
iThe air recirculation mode is activated
automatically after

30 minutes if the automatic climate
control is switched on


after five minutes if the air condi-
tioning is switched off


after five minutes if the outside
temperature is above approximate-
ly 45°F (7 °C)
iCondensation may drip out from under-
neath the vehicle. This is normal and
not an indication of a malfunction.

130 Controls in detailAutomatic climate controlActivating
Moist air can fog up the windows. You can
dehumidify the air with the air condition-
ing.
Press button
°
again.
The indicator lamp on the button
°

goes out.
The air conditioning system uses the refrig-
erant R134A. This refrigerant is free of
CFCs which are harmful to the ozone layer.
Residual heat and ventilation
With the engine switched off, it is possible
to continue to heat or ventilate the interior
for up to 30 minutes. This feature makes
use of the residual heat produced by the
engine.
Activating
Turn the key in the steering lock to
position1.

Press button
°
(page 125).
The indicator lamp on button
°

comes on.Deactivating

Press button
°
.
The indicator lamp on button
°

goes out.
!If the
°
button on the automatic cli-
mate control panel starts to blink, this
indicates that the air conditioning sys-
tem is losing refrigerant. The compres-
sor has turned itself off. The air
conditioning cannot be turned on
again.
Have the air conditioning system
checked at the nearest authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.
iHow long the system will provide heat-
ing depends on the coolant tempera-
ture and the temperature set in the
climate control. The blower will run at
lower speed regardless of the air vol-
ume control setting.
iThe residual heat is automatically
turned off:

when the ignition is switched on


after about 30 minutes


if the coolant temperature is too
low


if the battery voltage drops