engine MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER 2008 Repair Manual

Driving
tips 192 G
Ris
kofa ccident
Ne wb rake pads/lining sonlyr each their
optimum braking effect after several hun-
dre dkilometres of driving. Before thi sopti-
mu mb raking effect is reached, yo ushould
compensate for the reduced braking effect
by applying greate rpressure when braking.
This also applie safter the brake discs or the
brake pads/lining shaveb eenr eplaced.
High-performanc ebrak esystemf or
AM Gvehicles Th
eh igh- performance brake syste mis
designe dfor heav yloads .Braking ca nthere-
for ec ause noises. This will depend on:
R speed
R braking force
R environmental conditions ,suc hast emper-
ature and humidity
Th ew earofi ndividua lcomponents of the
brake system, such as the brake pads/linings
or brake discs ,depen ds on the individua ldriv-
ing style and operating conditions.
Becaus eofthis, it is impossibl etostate a
mileag ethatw illbev alidunder al lcircum-
stances .Anaggressive driving style will lead
to high wear. Tyre grip
G
Ris
kofa ccident
Whereas the vehicl ecan be full ycontrolled
at ac ertai nspeed on dry roads ,you must
reduc eyours peed on we toricy roads to
achieve the same roa dsafety .Otherwise
yo uc ould caus eanaccident.
Pa yp articula rattentio ntothe roa dcondi-
tions at temperatures around freezing
point.
If ice ha sformed on the roa dsurface (e.g.
fro mf og), alight film of water rapidl yforms
on the ice when yo ubrake, considerably
reducing tyr egrip. Drive with particular
care in such weather conditions. Driving on we
troads
If water ha saccumulate dtoacertaindepth
on the roa dsurface, there is adangerofa qua-
planing occurring, eve nif:
R yo ud rive at lo wspeeds
R the tyres have adequate trea ddepth
For thi sreason, do not drive in tyr eruts, and
brake carefully. Driving on flooded roads
If yo uhavetod rive on stretche sofroadon
which water ha scollected ,pleas ebearin
mind that:
R the maximum permitted still water depth is
12 cm
R yo us houl ddrive no faste rtha natw alking
pace
! Bea rinm indt hatv ehicles travelling in
front or in the opposite directio ncreate
waves .Thism aycaus ethe maximum per-
missibl ewater depth to be exceeded.
Yo um usto bser ve these notes, otherwise
damage ma yoccu rtot he engine ,electrics
and transmission. Operation
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Where will
Ifind...? 200 Where will
Ifind...? Warning triangle
The warning triangl eislocated in the boot
behind the left trim. 1
Locking button
Removin gthe warning triangle X
Turn locking button 190° anti-clockwise.
X Fold the cover to the left.
X Remove the warning triangle. Setting up the warning triangle 1
Retainer
2 Side reflectors
3 Feet
X Fold feet 3dow nand ou ttothe side.
X Pull sid ereflectors 2upwards to form a
triangle and lock them at the top using
retainer 1. Vehicl
etoolkit, jack, TIREFI Tkit and
spare wheel*
The vehicle tool kit, TIREFIT kit, jack and
emergency spare wheel are in astowage
space under the luggage compartment floor. G
Risk of injury
The jack is designe donly to raise and hold
the vehicle for ashort time whileaw heel
is being changed.
If yo uare carrying ou tworkont he vehicle,
yo um ustu se stands.
Make sure that the jack is place donafirm,
non-sli pand level surface .Donot use
woode nblocks or similar objects as ajack
underlay .Otherwise, the jack will not be
able to achiev eits load-bearing capacity
du etot he restricted height.
Do not start the engine at any time whilea
wheel is being changed.
i Whe nusing the jack, yo ushoul dalso
observe the safety notes in the "Flat tyre"
section (Y page 266). Practical advice
*optional
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Displa
ymessages 207Display messages Possible cause/consequence Possible solution
DISTRONIC currentl
yunavail-
able Se eOwner's
Manual Distronic
*isd eactivate dand is tempora-
rily not operational if:
R the Distronic* cove rinthe radiator
grill eisd irty.
R its functio nisimpaire ddueto heavy
rain, sno worfog.
R the rada rsensors ystemist emporarily
not operational ,e.g.d ue to electromag-
neti cradiation emitted by nearby TV or
radi ostations or other sources of radi-
ation
R the rada rsensors ystemh asnot detec-
ted any vehicles or stationar yobjects,
e.g .traffi csigns ,for alon gt ime.
R the syste mhasoverheated. Distronic* become
savailable againand the dis-
play message disappears when:
R the dirt (e.g. slush) fall soff whil eyou ared riving
R the syste mdetects tha tthe sensors ar efully
availabl eagain
If the displa ymessage does not disappear:
X Clea nthe Distronic* cove rinthe radiato rgrille
(Y page 198).
X If necessary ,waitu ntilthe syste mhascooled
down.
X Restart the engine. Practical advice
*o ptional
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Displa
ymessages 209Display messages Possible cause/consequence Possible solution
P Selector leve
rtoP Yo
uh aves witche doff the engine with the
KEYLESS GO button* an dopenedthe driv-
er's door.
or
With SBC Hol dactivated, yo uhavee ither:
R opene dthe driver’s door an dreleased
the seat belt or
R switche doff the engine or
R opene dthe bonnet
Th eh ornm ayalso soun datregular inter-
vals .The horn becomes louder if you
attempt to lock the vehicle.
Th ee ngine cannot be started. X
Move the selector leve rtoP.
Th ee ngine ca nbestarte dagain. No Service Your vehicl
eisoutside of the GS Mnet-
work provide rtransmitter/receive rran ge. X
Wait until the operationa lreadiness symbol
appear sinthe multi-function display
(Y page 123). Tyre pressure displaye
dafter
drivin gfor afew
minutes Th
et yrep ressur emonitor* is measuring
the tyre pressure. X
Drive on.
Th et yrep ressures will appear in the multi-
function displa yafter yo uhaveb eend rivin gfor
af ew minutes. Practical advi
ce
*o ptional
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Displa
ymessages 212 Display messages Possible cause/consequence Possible solution
SB
CH SB
CH oldO ff SBC Hol
dhasbeen deactivated. Th evehi-
cl eiss kidding or acondition for activating
SBC HOL Disnol ongerm etwhen the
brak epedal is firml ydepressed. X
Reactivate SBC Hol dlater. SB
CH SB
CS topC anno tbe
activate dSee Own.
Man. Ac
ondition for activating SBC Hol dhas
not been met. Check the conditions for activating SBC Hold
(Y
page 137):
X Clos ethe bonnet.
X Clos ethe driver's door.
X Start the engine.
X Releas ethe parking brake.
X Switc hoff al lconsumer snot required.
SBC HOL Dcanbe reactivate dassoonast he
on-board electrical syste mvoltag eissufficient. SB
CH SB
CH oldi nopera-
tive Se eOwner's
Manual Am
alfunc tion ha soccurred. X
Visi taq ualified specialis tworkshop. SRS Restrain
tsystem
malfunctio nCon-
sult workshop G
Ris
kofi njury
Th er estraint systems ar efaulty. X
Visi taq ualified specialis tworksho pimmedi-
ately. Cruise control
an
dS PEEDTRONIC inoperative Speedtronic an
dcruis econtrol are
unavailable. X
Visi taq ualified specialis tworkshop. Practical advi
ce
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Displa
ymessages 214 Display messages Possible cause/consequence Possible solution
? G
Ris
kofa ccident
Yo ua redriving with the bonnet an dthe
boot li dopen. X
Stop the vehicle. Pa yattention to the traffic
conditions as yo udoso.
X Clos ethe bonnet an dthe boot lid. 2 At leas
tone door is open. X
Clos ethe doors. 2 Chec
kdoors Vehicles with KEYLESS GO*: at leas
tone
door is open whil edepressin gthe locking
button on the door handle. X
Clos ethe doors. D Th
ec ooling fa nfor the coolant is faulty. X
If the coolant temperature is less than
120 °C ,you canc ontinu edrivin gtot he nearest
qualifie dspecialis tworkshop.
X In doing so ,avoid heavyloads on the engine
(e.g. driving in mountainous terrain) an dstop-
and-g odriving. Practical advi
ce
*optional
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Displa
ymessages 215Display messages Possible cause/consequence Possible solution
# Th
eb atter yisn ot being charged. Possible
causes ar eatornp oly-V -beltora faulty
alternator.
Bea rinm indt hatthe SBC TM
brak esystem
requires electrical power. X
Stop immediately an dsafel ywhent raffi ccon-
ditions allo wandcheck the poly-V-belt.
X If it has torn: do not driveon. Contact the
nearest qualifie dspecialis tworkshop.
X If it is no tdamaged: have the vehicl echecked
immediately at aqualified specialis tworkshop.
X Observe the additiona lSBC TM
brak esystem
messages in the multi-function display
(Y page 217). # Th
eb atter yw ascharge dwithac harge ror
the engine wa sjump-s tarted. X
Visi taq ualified specialis tworkshop. # Th
eb atter yisf aulty. X
Visi taq ualified specialis tworkshop. Ther
eisaf aultin the electronics. X
Visi taq ualified specialis tworkshop. Practical advi
ce
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Displa
ymessages 217Display messages Possible cause/consequence Possible solution
T Reduce
dbraking
powe rDepress
brak epedal fully G
Ris
kofa ccident
Th eS BCTM
brak esystemisr unning in
emergency mode.
Yo uw illn eedtou seconsiderably more
force to brake. Th ebraki ng distance is
increased .Ifnecessary, depres sthe brake
peda lwithm aximum force. Th emaximum
spee dislimited to 90 km/h. X
Pull ove rass oonasitiss afetodos o.
X Do not continu edrivin gunder anyc ircumstan-
ces.
X Secur ethe vehicl eagain st rolling away with the
parking brake.
X Consult the nearest qualifie dspecialis twork-
shop. 3 Servic
ebrake Con-
sult workshop Ther
eisam alfunction. Th eSBCTM
brake
syste mcontinues to operate normally. X
Visi taq ualified specialis tworkshop. 3 Reduce
dbraking
powe rStart engine Th
eb atter yh asinsufficient voltag eand
cannot supply sufficient powe rtothe
SBC TM
brak esystem.
G Ris
kofp oisoning
Neve rleave the engine running in
enclosed spaces .The exhaust gase scon-
tai nc arbo nmonoxide .Breathing in
exhaust fume sisahealth hazard. It can
lead to loss of consciousness an ddeath. X
Start the engine.
Th ed isplay messag edisappear s. Practical advi
ce
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Displa
ymessages 219Display messages Possible cause/consequence Possible solution
D Coolan
tStopc ar,
turn engine off. Th
ec oolant is too hot. X
Stop the vehicle. Pa yattention to the traffic
conditions as yo udoso.
X Switc hoff the engine.
X Make sure ,tha tthe ai rsuppl ytot he radiator
is not blocked, e.g .bys lush.
X Wait until the messag edisappear sbefore
restarting the engine .There is otherwise arisk
of engine damage.
X Observe the coolant temperature gauge.
X If the temperature increases again, visi taquali-
fied specialis tworksho pimmediately. D Coolan
tStopc ar,
turn engine off. Th
ep oly-V -beltmayhave torn. X
Stop the vehicle. Pa yattention to the traffic
conditions as yo udoso.
X Switc hoff the engine.
X Check the poly-V-belt.
X If it has torn: do not driveon. Contact the
nearest qualifie dspecialis tworkshop.
X If it is no tdamaged: do not start the engine
agai nuntil the messag edisappear s. Thereis
otherwise ariskofe ngine damage. Practical advi
ce
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Displa
ymessages 224 Display messages Possible cause/consequence Possible solution
. Reversin
glamp
left
or
Reversin glamp
right Th
eleft-han dorright-hand reversing lamp
is faulty. X
Replac ethe bulb (Y page 259). . Tail lamp left
Back-u
pbulbon
or
Tail lamp right
Back-u pbulbon Th
eleft-han dorr ight-hand tai llam pis
faulty. X
Visi taq ualified specialis tworkshop. N Clos
ecentr ecom-
partment Th
es towage compartment unde rthe arm-
rest is open. Th einterior motio nsensor*
is inoperative. X
Clos ethe stowage compartment unde rthe
armrest (Y page 162). N Engine oi
llevel
Chec klevel Vehicles with an oi
ldipst ick: the engine oil
leve lhas droppe dtoac ritical level. X
Check the engine oi llevel ( Ypage 178) an dtop
up the engine oi lifnecessary.
X Have the engine checked for leak sifthe engine
oi ln eeds topping up more often tha nusual. N Ad
d1l itre engine
oi lw henn extr efu-
elling Vehicles without an oi
ldipst ick: the
engine oi llevel is too low. X
Check the engine oi llevel ( Ypage 178) an dtop
up the engine oi lifnecessary.
X Have the engine checked for leak sifthe engine
oi ln eeds topping up more often tha nusual. Practical advi
ce
*optional
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