I've a question for all E400 owners, tho' the same issue probably applies to E300 models as well. Mine's a wagon, but that shouldn't make any difference to a climate control issue.

When I first worked through the Vehicle Settings, I found the options to have Focus, Medium, and Diffuse climate modes on the Multi Media/Vehicle/Climate Control screen. That's what it says in the Manual - tho' it's never clear in there if any item is a standard fitment or not. Anyway, now it's disappeared from the screen and I can't get it back by resetting or any other trick I know of. Does anyone have this feature as standard with a two-zone climate control system?

 

Access those options only when climate control is in automatic mode as described in detail on page 129 of the operators manual that is describing the dual zone system that I believe is standard on US models.

 

 

The Focus / Medium / Diffuse modes indicate that there's a 3-zone AC in the car. You can force the AC system to reset by holding down the Menu button on the climate panel for ~5-10 seconds. When it resets, it'll go to: Temperature 72 in all zones, Sync all zones, AUTO fan, AUTO air flow, Ionizer Off, Air Freshener Off.

I really wanted this feature in my car, BUT the mechanic of my dealership gently reminded me how many stepper motors this system has vs. the 2-zone system, and given my history with MB stepper motors, I chose the 2-zone.

 

 

FWIW, with the 3-zone system, every single vent gains a stepper motor instead of the manually-operated dampers they have in the 2-zone. PLUS the defrost / footwell vents each gain their own damper left & right. For the mid-level vents alone, that's 7 additional stepper motors. I'm not sure how many temperature air mixing boxes are added with the 3-zone. Far more complex than need be, nonetheless.