MERCEDES-BENZ ML350 2004 W163 Owner's Manual

111 Controls in detail
Lighting
Fog lamps
The switch is located on the upper center
console.1Front fog lamps
2Indicator lamp
3Front fog lamps and rear fog lamp
Switching front fog lamps on and off

Make sure the low beam headlamps
are switched on.

Press upper part1 of switch.
The green indicator lamp‡ in the
instrument cluster comes on.

Press upper part1 of switch again.
The green indicator lamp‡ in the
instrument cluster goes out.Switching front fog lamps and rear fog
lamps on and off

Make sure the low beam headlamps
are switched on.

Press lower part3 of switch.
The green indicator lamp‡ in the
instrument cluster comes on in addi-
tion to the yellow indicator lamp2 in
the switch.

Press lower part3 of switch again.
The green indicator lamp‡ in the
instrument cluster and the yellow indi-
cator lamp2 in the switch go out.
Switching rear fog lamp on and off

Press upper part1 of switch.
The yellow indicator lamp2 in the
switch goes out.

Press upper part1 of switch.
The green indicator lamp‡ in the
instrument cluster goes out.
Warning!
G
In low ambient lighting or foggy conditions,
only switch from positionU toB with
the vehicle at a standstill. Switching
fromU toB will briefly switch off the
headlamps. Doing so while driving in low
ambient lighting conditions may result in an
accident.iThe fog lamps can be switched on with
combination switch in positionõ
orU. Consult your state Motor Reg-
ulations regarding allowable lamp oper-
ation.

112 Controls in detailLightingHazard warning flasher
The hazard warning flasher can be activa-
ted with the ignition switched on or off. It
is activated automatically when an airbag
is deployed.
The switch is located on top of the steering
column.Hazard warning flasher switch
Switching on hazard warning flasher
Press the hazard warning flasher
switch.
All the turn signals will flash.
Switching off hazard warning flasher

Press hazard warning flasher switch
again.
Interior lighting
The controls are located in the overhead
control panel.
1Left front interior lamp lens
2Right front interior lamp lens
3Automatic function off
4Automatic function on
5Rear interior lighting
iIf the hazard warning flasher was acti-
vated automatically, press the hazard
warning flasher switch twice to deacti-
vate.

113 Controls in detail
Lighting
Automatic control
Activating automatic control
Bring the rocker switch to center
position4.
Interior lamps (except cargo compart-
ment lamp) are switched on in dark-
ness, when you

unlock the vehicle


open a door


remove the key from the steering
lock
In addition, the entry / exit lamps in the
door trays will come on when you open
a door.
When all doors are closed and no key is
inserted in the steering lock, the interi-
or lamps are switched off after a brief
delay.Deactivating automatic control

Press lower part3 of rocker switch.
The interior lighting and the entry / exit
lamps remain switched off in darkness,
even when you

unlock the vehicle


open a door


remove the key from the steering
lockManual control
Switching on front interior lamps

Press on lamp lens1 or2.
The respective lamp switches on.
Switching off front interior lamps

Press on lamp lens1 or2 again.
The respective lamp switches off.
Operating rear interior lighting with
rocker switch

Press on upper part5 of rocker
switch.
The rear interior lighting goes on.
iIf the door remains open, the interior
lamps (except cargo compartment
lamp) switch off automatically after ap-
proximately 30 minutes.
iIf a lamp is switched on manually, it will
not go out automatically. This could
cause the battery to become dis-
charged.


114 Controls in detailLighting
Press on upper part5 of rocker
switch again.
The rear interior lighting goes off.
If the switch is pressed while the rear
interior lighting is on, the function is re-
versed.
Operating rear interior lighting with
lamp lens
Rear interior lighting
Push on lamp lens (arrow) to switch
rear interior lighting on or off.Reading lamps in inside rear view
mirror
1Reading lamps
2Reading lamps on / off
Switching reading lamp on and off

Press button2.
The lamp switches on.

Press button2 again.
The lamp switches off.Cargo compartment lamp
1Switched off
2Switched on continuously
3Automatic control
Switching off cargo compartment lamp

Slide the switch to position1.
The cargo compartment lamp is
switched off, even when the liftgate is
opened.


115 Controls in detail
Lighting
Switching on continuous cargo
compartment lamp
Slide the switch to position2.
The cargo compartment lamp is
switched on continuously.Automatic control

Slide the switch to position3.
The cargo compartment lamp is
switched on and off by opening or clos-
ing the liftgate.
iTo prevent the vehicle battery from be-
ing discharged, make sure the switch is
not in position2 when leaving the ve-
hicle.

116 Controls in detailInstrument cluster
Instrument clusterA full view illustration of the instrument
cluster can be found in the “At a glance”
section of this manual (
page 24).
1Left knob
2Right knobThe instrument cluster is activated when
you:


open the driver’s door


turn the key in steering lock to
position1 or 2 (
page 33)


press the left knob1
Instrument cluster illumination
To brighten illumination
Turn knob1 clockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
brighten.
To dim illumination

Turn knob1 counterclockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
dim.iYou can set the instrument cluster illu-
mination with the following lamps on:

parking lamps


low beam headlamps


high beam headlamps

117 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
Coolant temperature gauge
Under normal driving conditions, the cool-
ant temperature may rise to 248°F
(120°C). The coolant temperature may
climb to the red marking:

at high outside temperatures


during stop-and-go city traffic


when driving on hilly terrain
The engine should not be operated with
the coolant temperature in the red zone.
Doing so may cause serious engine dam-
age which is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Display in the speedometer
Changing display
Press the left knob1 in the instru-
ment cluster (
page 116).
The display changes between main
odometer and trip odometer.

Press the left knob1 twice.
The next scheduled service is displayed
(page 232).
Warning!
G
Driving when your engine is badly overheat-
ed can cause some fluids which may have
leaked into the engine compartment to
catch fire. You could be seriously burned.
Steam from an overheated engine can cause
serious burns and can occur just by opening
the engine hood. Stay away from the engine
if you see or hear steam coming from it.
Turn off the engine, get out of the vehicle
and do not stand near the vehicle until the
engine has cooled down.

118 Controls in detailInstrument clusterResetting trip odometer
Press the left knob1 (
page 116) re-
peatedly until you see the trip odome-
ter display.

Press and hold the left knob1 until
the trip odometer is reset.
Tachometer
To help protect the engine, the fuel supply
is interrupted if the engine is operated
above its specified limit.
Outside temperature indicator
The outside temperature is displayed in
the instrument cluster (
page 24).
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.
Setting the clock
Hour
Pull out the right knob2 in the instru-
ment cluster (
page 116) and turn it
counterclockwise.
Minutes

Pull out the right knob2 in the instru-
ment cluster (
page 116) and turn it
clockwise.
Warning!
G
The outside temperature indicator is not de-
signed to serve as an ice-warning device and
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.
iTo set the clock by a single hour or a
few minutes, turn knob2 just a few
degrees in the direction indicated for
hours or minutes.

119 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
Automatic transmission
Information on driving with an automatic
transmission is found in the “Getting
started” section (
page 46).
Your vehicle’s transmission adapts its gear
shifting process to your individual driving
style by continually adjusting the shift
points up or down. These shift point adjust-
ments are performed based on current
operating and driving conditions.
If the operating conditions change, the
automatic transmission reacts by
adjusting its gear shift program.The automatic transmission selects indi-
vidual gears automatically, depending on:


the gear selector lever positionD with
gear ranges4, 3, 2, 1 (
page 121)


the position of the accelerator pedal
(page 123)


the vehicle speed
The current gear selector lever position
appears in the tachometer display
(
page 24).
When the gear selector lever is in
positionD, you can influence transmission
shifting by


limiting the gear range


changing gears manually
iDuring the brief warm-up, transmission
upshifting is delayed. This allows the
catalytic converter to heat up more
quickly to operating temperature.
Warning!
G
It is dangerous to shift the gear selector
lever out ofP orN if the engine speed is
higher than idle speed. If your foot is not
firmly on the brake pedal, the vehicle could
accelerate quickly forward or reverse. You
could lose control of the vehicle and hit
someone or something. Only shift into gear
when the engine is idling normally and when
your right foot is firmly on the brake pedal.

120 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionOne-touch gearshifting
Even with an automatic transmission you
can change the gears manually when the
gear selector lever is in positionD.
Downshifting
Briefly press the gear selector lever to
the left in the D–direction.
The transmission will shift from the current
gear to the next lower gear. This action
simultaneously limits the gear range of the
transmission (
page 121).Upshifting

Briefly press the gear selector lever to
the right in the D+direction.
The transmission will shift from the current
gear to the next higher gear as permitted
by the shift program. This action simul-
taneously extends the gear range of the
transmission.Canceling gear range limit

Press and hold the gear selector lever
in the D+direction until D reappears in
the tachometer display.
The transmission will shift from the current
gear range directly to gear rangeD.
Shifting into optimal gear range

Press and hold the gear selector lever
in the D– direction.
The transmission will automatically select
the gear range suited for optimal
acceleration and deceleration. This will
involve shifting down one or more gears.
Warning!
G
On slippery road surfaces, never downshift
in order to obtain braking action. This could
result in drive wheel slip and reduced
vehicle control. Your vehicle’s ABS will not
prevent this type of loss of control.
iTo avoid overrevving the engine when
the gear selector lever is moved to
the D– direction, the transmission will
not shift to a lower gear if the engine’s
max. speed would be exceeded.