MERCEDES-BENZ R500 2006 W251 Owner's Manual

230 Controls in detail3-zone automatic climate control*

231 Controls in detail
3-zone automatic climate control*
1
Side air vent, adjustable
2
Thumbwheel for air volume control
for left side air vent
3
Left center air vent, adjustable
4
Right center air vent, adjustable
5
Thumbwheel for air volume control
for left center air vent
6
Thumbwheel for air volume control
for right center air vent
7
Thumbwheel for air volume control
for right side air vent
8
Side air vent, adjustable
9
Front passenger door air vent, fixed
a
Climate control panel
b
Driver’s door air vent, fixed
iFor draft-free ventilation, move the
sliders for the center air vents3
and4 to the middle position.

232 Controls in detail3-zone automatic climate control*
1
Temperature control, driver’s side
2
Air distribution and air volume
(automatic, manual)
3
Air distribution, driver’s side
4
Front defroster
0USA only
P Canada only
5
Increasing air volume
6
Rear window defroster
1 USA only
F Canada only
7
Air distribution, passenger side
8
Rear climate control
>USA only
™Canada only
9
Temperature control, passenger side
a
Automatic climate control on/off
b
Air distribution, passenger side
c
Air distribution, passenger side
d
AC cooling on/off
Residual heat/ventilation
e
Display
f
Decreasing air volume
g
Air recirculation
h
Air distribution, driver’s side
j
Air distribution, driver’s side
k
Interior temperature sensor
l
Adopting driver’s side settings for all
zones

233 Controls in detail
3-zone automatic climate control*
The automatic climate control is a 3-zone
intelligent climate control system. Your ve-
hicle interior is divided into 3 zones.With the help of a sun sensor, the climate
control determines the relation of the sun
to the vehicle and automatically adjusts
the inside temperature for each individual
zone.
The automatic climate control is operation-
al whenever the engine is running. It cools
the vehicle’s interior according to the an-
gle and intensity of the sun’s rays, the out-
side temperature and the selected
temperature. You can operate the auto-
matic climate control in either the auto-
matic or manual mode.
Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air en-
ters the passenger compartment through
the air distribution system.
The air conditioning will not engage (no
cooling) if the A/C mode is deactivated
(
page 242).
Warning!
G
When operating the automatic climate con-
trol, the air that enters the passenger com-
partment through the air vents can be very
hot or very cold (depending on the set tem-
perature). This may cause burns or frostbite
to unprotected skin in the immediate area of
the air vents.
Always keep sufficient distance between un-
protected parts of the body and the air
vents. If necessary, use the air distribution
controls (
page 232) to direct the air to air
vents in the vehicle interior that are not in
the immediate area of unprotected skin.

234 Controls in detail3-zone automatic climate control*
Deactivating the climate control system
Deactivating
Press button´ (
page 232) until
the display is cleared.Reactivating

Press buttonU(
page 232).
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, see
“Summer opening feature”
(page 251). The automatic climate
control will then adjust the interior
temperature to the set value much fast-
er.
Keep the air intake grille in front of the
windshield free of snow and debris.
Warning!
G
When the automatic climate control is
switched off, the outside air supply and cir-
culation are also switched off. Only choose
this setting for a short time. Otherwise the
windows could fog up, impairing visibility
and endangering you and others.
iYou can also press button´
(page 232) on the automatic climate
control panel.
If you press button0 (
page 232)
to reactivate the automatic climate
control system, the defrosting mode is
activated.

235 Controls in detail
3-zone automatic climate control*
Deactivating the rear automatic
climate control
You can switch on and off the rear auto-
matic climate control with the automatic
climate control panel in the front.
Deactivating
Press button> (
page 232).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
In displaye (
page 232), you will see
the >symbol followed by
MODE
for
approximately 3 seconds.

Press button´ (
page 232).
In displaye (
page 232), you will see
the >symbol followed by
OFF
.
The rear automatic climate control is
switched off.Reactivating

Press button> (
page 232).
The indicator lamp on button>
comes on.
In displaye (
page 232), you will see
the >symbol followed by
ON and
MODE
. The
MODE
display is cleared and
the indicator lamp on button>
goes out after approximately
3 seconds.
The rear automatic climate control
switches on.
For more information on rear air condition-
ing, see “Rear automatic climate control”
(
page 244).Operating the climate control system
in automatic mode
You can switch the automatic climate con-
trol system on and off separately for each
zone as needed.
Activating
Press buttonU (
page 232) while
the engine is running.
AUTO appears in the display of control
panele (
page 232). Air volume and
air distribution are controlled separate-
ly for each zone.
iYou can switch on and off the rear au-
tomatic climate control by pressing the
respective button on the rear climate
control panel (
page 244).
iWhen operating the climate control
system in automatic mode, you will
only rarely need to adjust the tempera-
ture, air volume and air distribution.
In automatic mode, cooling with dehu-
midify is switched on. This function can
be switched off if necessary.


236 Controls in detail3-zone automatic climate control*
Use temperature controls1 and9
(page 232) to separately adjust the
air temperature on each side of the
passenger compartment.
The temperature of the interior is ad-
justed automatically.
Deactivating

Press one button of the air distribution
(page 232) or press button

orQ (
page 232).
The
AUTO
display disappears in the
displaye (
page 232).
Depending on which button you press –
the air distribution button or the air vol-
ume button
or Q – automatic
control of either the air distribution or
air volume is switched off.
Setting the temperature
Use temperature controls1 and9
(page 232) to separately adjust the air
temperature 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).
The automatic climate control will adjust
to the set temperature as fast as possible.
Increasing

Turn temperature control1 and/or
9 slightly clockwise.
The automatic climate control system
will correspondingly adjust the interior
air temperature.
Decreasing

Turn temperature control1 and/or
9 slightly counterclockwise.
The automatic climate control system
will correspondingly adjust the interior
air temperature.
Adjusting air distribution
Use the air distribution buttons3,h,
orj for the driver’s side, or7,b, orc
(page 232) for the passenger side to
separately adjust the air distribution on
each side of the passenger compartment.
The following symbols are found on the
buttons:
Symbol
Function
Driver’s
side
Passen-
ger side
6
Z
Directs air to the
windshield and
side air vents
7
a
Directs air through
the center, side
and rear passen-
ger compartment
air vents
8
Y
Directs air to the
footwells and side
air vents


237 Controls in detail
3-zone automatic climate control*

Press the desired air distribution but-
ton (
page 232).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out.
Adjusting the air distribution for the
center and side air vents
Opening the center air vents

Turn thumbwheels 5 and 6
(page 230) upward.
The corresponding center air vents on
the left and right are open.
Closing the center air vents

Turn thumbwheels 5 and 6
(page 230) downward.
The corresponding center air vents on
the left and right are closed.Opening the side air vents

Turn thumbwheels 2 and 7
(page 230) downward.
The corresponding side air vents on the
left and right are open.
Closing the side air vents

Turn thumbwheels 2 and 7
(page 230) downward.
The corresponding side air vents on the
left and right are closed.
Adjusting air volume
Five blower speeds are available.
Press button
to decrease or
buttonQto increase air volume
(page 232) to the desired level.
The indicator lamp on buttonU
goes out.
The AUTO
display disappears in the
display e (
page 232) and the auto-
matic mode is switched off. The select-
ed blower speed appears in the
displaye (page 232).

238 Controls in detail3-zone automatic climate control*Front defroster
You can use this setting to defrost the
windshield, such as when it is iced up. You
can also use it to defog the windshield and
side windows.
Activating
Press button0 (
page 232).
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.The air conditioning switches to the follow-
ing functions automatically:


maximum blower speed and heating
power


air flows onto the windshield and the
front side windows (side air vents must
be open)


the air conditioning compressor
switches on at outside temperatures
above approximately 41°F (5°C) for
air-drying
Deactivating

Press button0 (
page 232).
The indicator lamp on the button goes
out. Defrosting is turned off.
The previous settings are once again in
effect.Windshield fogged on the outside

Switch the windshield wipers on
(page 59).

Press buttonU (
page 232).
AUTO appears in the display of control
panele (
page 232). Air volume and
air distribution are controlled separate-
ly for each zone.
If the automatic air distribution and air vol-
ume are switched off:

Press buttons8 and Y
(page 232).
iKeep this setting selected only until the
windshield or the side windows are
clear again.
When the defrost setting has been se-
lected, only the rear window defroster
can be switched on. No other settings
are possible.
iTo switch off, you can also press
button´ orU (
page 232).
iKeep this setting selected only until the
windshield is clear again.

239 Controls in detail
3-zone automatic climate control*
Maximum cooling MAX COOL
If the air distribution control as well as the
airflow volume control are set toU and
there is a high need for cooling, the
MAX COOL function is activated.
“MAX COOL” appears in the front and rear
display.
This provides the fastest possible cooling
of the vehicle interior (when windows and
tilt/sliding sunroof* or tilt/sliding panel*
are closed).
Air recirculation mode
Switch to air recirculation mode to prevent
unpleasant odors from entering the vehicle
from the outside (e.g. before driving
through a tunnel). This setting cuts off the
intake of outside air and recirculates the
air in the passenger compartment.Activating

Press button: (
page 232).
The indicator lamp on the:button
comes on.
Warning!
G
Fogged windows impair visibility, endanger-
ing you and others. If the windows begin to
fog on the inside, switching off the air
recirculation mode immediately should clear
interior window fogging. If interior window
fogging persists, make sure the air
conditioning (
page 241) is activated, or
press button0.
iThe air recirculation mode is activated
automatically at high outside tempera-
tures.
The indicator lamp on button:is
not lit when the air recirculation mode
is automatically switched on.
A quantity of outside air is added after
approximately 30 minutes.
If you have turned off the air condition-
ing (
page 241) or the outside
temperature is below 41°F (5°C), the
air recirculation mode will not switch
on automatically.