center console MERCEDES-BENZ S CLASS 2003 User Guide

126 Controls in detailLightingSwitching rear interior lights on
Press switch2.
The rear compartment lighting is
switched on.
Switching rear interior lights off

Press switch2.
The rear compartment lighting is
switched off.
Front reading lamps
Switching on

Press switch 1 or 3.
The corresponding reading lamp is
switched on.
Switching off

Press switch 1 or 3.
The corresponding reading lamp is
switched off.
Courtesy lighting
For better orientation in the dark, courtesy
lamps will illuminate the interior of your ve-
hicle as follows:
With parking lamps switched on:

the door entry lamps


the driver and passenger footwells
With SmartKey in starter switch position1:


the door entry lamps


the center consoleiIf you turn the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position0 and switch off the
headlamps, the door entry lamps will
remain lit for approximately five min-
utes.

173 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Rear window sunshade*
The switch is located in the center console.
Turn the SmartKey to starter switch po-
sition 1 or 2.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*: press the
start/stop button once or twice.

Press the switch briefly at 1 to raise the
sunshade.

Press the switch briefly at 1 to lower
the sunshade.
Always raise the sunshade fully for its sup-
port against the window frame.
Rear door window sunshade*
To raise sunshade pull on the tab and
engage in holder.

To lower sunshade disengage tab and
guide retraction.
Warning!
G
When operating the rear window sunshade,
b e s u r e t h a t t h e r e i s n o d a n g e r o f a n y o n e b e -
ing harmed by the raising or lowering proce-
dure.
The raising or lowering procedure can be im-
mediately reversed by pressing switch1.Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from starter switch, and lock your
vehicle. Do not leave children unattended in
the vehicle, or with access to an unlocked
vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehicle equip-
ment can cause an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
!Always guide the sunshade. Do not let
it snap back abruptly, as the retractor
could be damaged.

186 Controls in detailAutomatic climate controlRear passenger compartment adjust-able air vents
Rear center console air vents
1Left center air vent
2Right center air vent
3Thumbwheel for center air vents with
adjustable booster blower
To open center air vents and to adjust the
booster blower:
Turn thumbwheel3.Rear side air vents
4Rear side air vent, right and left
5Air volume control for rear side air vent
To open rear side air vents:

Turn thumbwheel5 towards the win-
dow.
iThe booster blower allows air volume
speed to the rear passenger compart-
ment to be increased at four different
levels.
The temperature at the air vents for
rear passenger compartment1 and2
is the same as at the dashboard center
air vents.

187 Controls in detail
Automatic climate control
Rear passenger compartment climate control*
The 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.
The automatic climate control system is
adjustable individually for the rear passen-
ger compartment.
The control panel is located in the rear cen-
ter console.
Nearly all dust particles, pollutants and
odors are filtered out before outside air en-
ters the passenger compartment through
the air distribution system.
Rear automatic climate control panel
iWhen the rear seats are not occupied
(rear seat belts unbuckled) the rear cli-
mate control system adopts the set-
tings of the front climate control
system.
Item
1
Left center air vent
2
Display
3
Right center air vent
4
Air distribution
5
Temperature control, right
6
Air volume (automatic, manual)
7
Temperature control, left
8
Rear climate control system
ON/OFF
Residual engine heat utilization
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.

206 Controls in detailDriving systemsDeactivating Distronic
There are several ways to deactivate the
Distronic system:
Briefly tip the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow3 (
page 203).
or

Step on the brake pedal.
Distronic will be deactivated. The last
speed set will be stored into memory.Distronic deactivates automatically when:


you set the parking brake


you drive slower than
25 mph (40 km/h)


the ESP is active (
page 78) or you de-
activate the ESP


you move the transmission selector le-
ver into positionN
A signal will sound. The
DISTRONIC OFF

message appears in the multifunction
display for approximately five seconds.Setting the following distance in
Distronic
You can set the specified following dis-
tance for Distronic by varying the time set-
ting between 1.0 and 2.0 seconds. Using
this time setting and the current speed of
your vehicle, Distronic calculates and sets
the required following distance to the vehi-
cle ahead. The set distance will be shown
in the multifunction display field.
The thumbwheel for making the time set-
ting is located on the lower section of the
center console.
iThe following message will appear in
the multifunction display for approxi-
mately five seconds:
DISTRONIC OFF
.
The last stored speed is deleted when
you turn off the engine.
Warning!
G
Distronic switches off and releases the
brakes when the vehicle decelerates below
the minimum speed of approximately
25 mph (40 km / h) by operation of the sys-
tem. At that time the driver must apply the
brakes in order to reduce vehicle speed fur-
ther or bring it to a stop.

221 Controls in detail
Driving systems
As your vehicle approaches an object, one
or more segments will light up, depending
on the distance between your vehicle and
the object. When the eighth segment lights
up, you have reached the minimum dis-
tance.

Front area: An intermittent acoustic
warning will sound as the first red seg-
ment lights up and a constant acoustic
warning, both lasting a maximum of
three seconds, will sound for the eighth
segment, i.e. the second red segment.


Rear area: An intermittent acoustic
warning will sound as the first red seg-
ment lights up and a constant acoustic
warning, both lasting a maximum of
three seconds, will sound for the eighth
segment, i.e. the second red segment.
The signal is canceled when the selec-
tor lever is placed in position D orP.Switching the Parktronic system
on/off
You can switch off the Parktronic system
manually.
The Parktronic switch is located in the up-
per section of the center console.
1Indicator lamp
2Parktronic on/offSwitching off the Parktronic system

Press switch2.
Indicator lamp1 comes on.
Switching on the Parktronic system

Press switch2 again.
Indicator lamp1 goes out.

225 Controls in detail
Useful features
Storage compartment in the center
console
The storage compartment is located in the
lower portion of the center console.
1Storage compartment
Opening
Slide the mark on the compartment
cover forward.
Closing

Lightly press the mark on the compart-
ment cover forward. The cover closes
automatically.Storage compartment in front of arm-
rest
1Storage compartment
Opening
The compartment contains a cup holder
(
page 229).

Lightly touch cover plate1.
The cover opens automatically.
Closing

Lightly push cover plate1 up until it en-
gages.Storage compartment below the front
armrest
The buttons are located under the cushion
of the armrest.
1Button to open storage compartment
2Button to open storage tray

226 Controls in detailUseful featuresOpening storage compartment
Press button1 and lift the armrest lid.Opening storage tray
The tray contains a coin holder.

Press button2 and lift the armrest.Compartment for glasses
The compartment for glasses is located un-
der the armrest in the center console.
1Compartment for glasses
Opening compartment for glasses

Fold the right side of the armrest up-
wards.
iThe storage compartment can be heat-
ed or cooled.
The compartment can get very warm
due to its confined space. When storing
heat-sensitive objects in the compart-
ment, close the air vent (
page 184)
while heating the passenger compart-
ment.
!Do not obstruct the air vent in the stor-
age compartment.
!Do not store any objects under the
storage tray.
Do not let bank cards, credit cards, or
other cards with a magnetic strip come
near the storage tray, as a magnet built
into the tray could erase or change the
information on the card.

227 Controls in detail
Useful features
Telephone holder*
The telephone holder is located under the
armrest in the center console.
1Telephone holder
Opening telephone holder
Fold the right side of the armrest up-
wards.Storage compartments in the rear pas-
senger compartment
Armrest with integrated storage com-
partment
1Rear armrest
2Lid handle
Opening

Pull down the armrest by its strap.

Press handle2 and lift lid.
!Before storing the armrest in the back-
rest, close the storage compartment
lid.

232 Controls in detailUseful featuresParcel net in front passenger footwell
A small convenience parcel net is located
in the front passenger footwell. It is for
small and light items, such as road maps,
mail, etc.Parcel net in trunk
You can hang a parcel net in the trunk. The
hooks and the parcel net in the trunk can
hold a load of up to 29.8 lbs (13.5 kg).

Hang the parcel net on hooks1 on the
left and right sides of the trunk.
Ashtrays
Center console ashtray
Opening ashtray
Briefly touch cover plate1.
The ashtray opens automatically.
Warning!
G
Do not place heavy or fragile objects, or ob-
jects having sharp edges, in the parcel net.
In an accident, during hard braking, or sud-
den maneuvers they could be thrown
around inside the vehicle and cause injury to
vehicle occupants.
!The parcel net cannot protect or suffi-
ciently secure goods in the event of an
accident.