octane MERCEDES-BENZ SL CLASS 2002 Owners Manual

11 IntroductionOperating your vehicle outside the USA or Canada
If you plan to operate your vehicle in foreign countries, please be aware that:
• Service facilities or replacement parts may not be readily available,
• unleaded gasoline for vehicles with catalytic converters may not be available; the use of leaded fuels will damage
the catalysts,
• gasoline may have a considerably lower octane rating, and improper fuel can cause engine damage.
Certain Mercedes-Benz models are available for delivery in Europe under our European Delivery Program. For details,
consult your authorized Mercedes-Benz Center or write to:
In the USA: In Canada:
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
European Delivery Department
One Mercedes Drive
Montvale, NJ 07645-0350Mercedes-Benz Canada, Inc.
European Delivery Department
849 Eglinton Avenue East
To ro n to, On ta r io M4 G 2 L5

200 What you should know at the gas station
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What you should know at the gas station
Fuel supply
Open flap by pushing near front (arrow). Turn fuel cap
to the left and hold on to it until possible pressure in
tank has been released, then remove cap. Failure to
remove slowly could result in personal injury.Fuel
To prevent fuel vapors from escaping into open air, fully
insert filler nozzle unit.
Only fill fuel tank until the filler nozzle unit cuts out —
do not top up or overfill.
Leaving the engine running and the fuel cap open can
cause the “CHECK ENGINE” lamp to illuminate, see
page 204.
Fuel tank capacity approx. 21.1 US gal (80.0 l).
This includes approx. 2.6 US gal (10.0 l) reserve.
Use premium unleaded gasoline:
Posted Octane Index 91 (Average of 96 RON/86 MON).
Wa r n i n g !
Gasoline is highly flammable and poisonous. It
burns violently and can cause serious injury.
Whenever you are around gasoline, avoid inhaling
fumes and skin contact, extinguish all smoking
materials. Never allow sparks, flame or smoking
materials near gasoline!
Wa r n i n g !
Overfilling of fuel tank may result in creating
pressure in the system which could cause a gas
discharge such as the gas spraying back out upon
removing the filler nozzle which could cause
personal injury.

278 Fuels, coolants, lubricants etc. - capacities
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Windshield washer
and/headlamp cleaning
systemVehicles without ADS:
approx. 5.3 US qt (5.0 l)
Ve h i c l e s w i t h A D S :
approx. 3.2 US qt (3.0 l)MB Windshield washer concentrate “S”
1
Cooling system SL 500
SL 600approx. 13.2 US qt (12.5 l)
approx. 21.1 US qt (20.0 l)MB Anticorrosion/antifreeze
Fuel tank
including a reserve ofapprox. 21.1 US gal (80.0 l)
approx. 2.6 US gal (10.0 l)Premium unleaded gasoline:
Posted octane 91 (Avg. of 96 RON/86 MON)
Air conditioner system R-134a refrigerant and special PAC lubricant
(Never R-12)1 Use MB Windshield Washer Concentrate “S” and water for temperatures above freezing or MB Windshield Washer Concentrate “S” and
commercially available premixed windshield washer solvent/antifreeze for temperatures below freezing. Follow suggested mixing ratios,
see page 226.
Model Capacity Fuels, coolants, lubricants etc.

280 Fuels, coolants, lubricants etc. - capacities
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Premium unleaded gasoline
Caution!
To maintain the engine’s durability and performance,
premium unleaded gasoline must be used. If premium
unleaded is not available and low octane fuel is used,
follow these precautions:
• have the fuel tank filled only partially with unleaded
regular and fill up with premium unleaded as soon
as possible,
• avoid full throttle driving and abrupt acceleration,
• do not exceed an engine speed of 3000 rpm, if the
vehicle is loaded with a light load such as two
persons and no luggage,
• do not exceed
2/3 of maximum accelerator pedal
position, if the vehicle is fully loaded or operating in
mountainous terrain.Fuel requirements
Use only Premium unleaded meeting ASTM
standard D 439:
The octane number (posted at the pump) must be
91 min. It is an average of both the Research (R) octane
number and the Motor (M) octane number: [(R+M)/2].
This is also known as ANTI-KNOCK INDEX.
Unleaded gasoline containing oxygenates such as
Ethanol, IPA, IBA and TBA can be used provided the
ratio of any one of these oxygenates to gasoline does not
exceed 10%, MTBE not to exceed 15%.
The ratio of Methanol to gasoline must not exceed 3%
plus additional cosolvents.
Using mixtures of Ethanol and Methanol is not allowed.
Gasohol, which contains 10% Ethanol and 90% unleaded
gasoline, can be used.
These blends must also meet all other fuel requirements
such as resistance to spark knock, boiling range, vapor
pressure etc.