ECO mode MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER 2008 Owners Manual

Thank yo
ufor choosing Mercedes-Benz.
Before yo udrive off, familiaris eyours elfw ith
your vehicl eand rea dthe Operating Instruc-
tions. Thi swillh elpy ou to obtai nthe maxi-
mu mp leasur efrom your vehicl eand to avoid
endangering yoursel fand others.
Item sofo ptional equipment ar emarked with
an asterisk *.
The equipment in your vehicl emayvary,
depending on the model ,the ordere ditems,
the country specifications and availability.
The illustrations in thi smanualsho wal eft-
hand-driv evehicle. The arrangement of the
switches, levers, stowag ecompartments,
etc. will diffe raccordingl yinaright-hand-
drive vehicle.
Mercedes-Benz is constantly updating its
vehicles to the state of the ar tand therefore
reserves the right to introduce change sin
design, equipment and technica lfeatures at
any time .You cannot, therefore, base any
claims on the data, illustrations or descrip-
tions in thi smanual.
Please consult aMercedes-Benz Service
Centre if yo uhavea ny questions.
The Owner' sManual, Brief Instructions,
Service Bookle tand supplements specifi cto
vehicl eequipment belong with the vehicle.
Yo us houl dalway skeept hem in the vehicle and pass them on to the new owner if yo
usell
the vehicle.
The technica ldocumentatio nteamat
Daimle rAGwishe sy ou safe and pleasant
motoring.
i Youc an ge ttoknow the important fea-
tures of your vehicl einGerma nand in
Englis hinthe interactive Owner' sManual
on the Internet at:
www.mercedes-benz.de/betriebsanlei-
tung
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3A
ABC see Active Body Control
ABC (Active Bod yControl)
Display message ....................... 204, 205
ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) .....53
Display message .............. 205
Warning lamp ............. 233, 234
Acceleration
Technical data ................ 291
Accident
Notes ....................... 241
Active Body Control (ABC) ........139
Active light system see Ligh tsystem (active)
Active Light System
Display message .............. 220
Active service system
see Service interva ldisplay
Adaptive brake lamps .............54
Airbag Activation ..................... 41
Control unit ................... 41
Driver's ....................... 44
Front ........................ 44
Front passenger ................ 44
Head/thorax airbags ............45PASSENGER AIRB
AGOFF warning
lamp ....................... 231
System ....................... 43
Ai rc onditioning
Activating/deactivating .........147
Activating/deactivating air-recir-
culation mode ................ 152
Air-recirculation mode with con-
venience opening/closing feature .152
Automatic airc onditioning.......145
Controlling automatically ........148
Cooling with aird ehumidification..147
Demisting the windscreen .......151
Misted-up windows ............151
Rea rwindow heating ........... 152
Setting the aird istribution.......150
Setting the airflow .............151
Setting the airv ents............ 149
Setting the temperature .........148
Switching the residua lheatfunc-
tion on/off ................... 153
see Climate control
AIRSCARF neck-level heating .......76
Antifreez econcentration .........306
Anti-loc kbraking system
see ABS
Anti-theft alarm system
see ATA
Anti-theft systems ................ 59
Ashtray ........................ 165ASSYST
see Service interva ldisplay
ASSYST service interval display ...193
ATA (anti-theft alarm system) ......59
Switching off the alarm ..........60
Audibl ewarning signal ........... 240
AUTO lights Display message .............. 220
Automatic air conditioning
Malfunction indicator lamp ......231
Automatic car wash .............195
Automatic transmission Changing gea ryoursel f.......... 99
Display in the speedomete r.......99
Driving tip s.................. .101
Emergency running mode .......246
Malfunction .................. 246
One-touch gearshifting ...........99
Program selector button ........100
Selector leve rpositions .......... 99
Shift ranges .................. 100
Axl eload, maximum permissible ...299 B
BAS (Brake Assist) ................ 54
Basic display (on-board computer) .110
Battery Changing (key )................ 259
Changing (KEYLESS GO key) .....259 Index
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5
Children
In th evehicle .................. 47
Restrai ntsystems .............. 47
Chil dseat
Automatic recognition ...........49
Automatic recognition (malfunc-
tion) ........................ 232
Recommendations ..............51
Suitable positions .............. 50
Ciga rettel ighter ................ 166
Cockpit Overview ..................... 22
Collapsible emergency spare wheel
Stowage ..................... 274
Collapsibl ewheel
Pumping up .................. 273
Technical data ................ 297
COMAND ....................... 109
On-board computer ............109
see separate Operating Instructions
Constant headlamp mode
Setting (on-board computer) .....118
Consumptio nstatistic s(on -board
computer) ...................... 122
Coolant ........................ 180
Checking the leve l.............180
Display message ......214, 219, 220
Mixture ratio ................. 304
Temperature gauge ............106
Warning lamp ................. 236Cornerin
glight
Display message .............. 220
Cruis econtrol .................. 125
Display message ..........212, 213
Cup holder ..................... 159 D
Dashboard see Cockpit
see Instrument cluster
Daytime drivin glights
see Constant headlamp mode
Delaye dswitch-off
Exterior lighting (on-board com-
puter) ....................... 119
Interior lighting (on-board com-
puter) ....................... 120
Digital speedometer .............111
Setting the unit (on-board com-
puter) ....................... 118
Dipped beam
Display message .............. 220
Dipped-beam headlamps
Symmetrical .................. 193
Display message ................ 202
Service indicator .............. 193
Symbo lmessages ............. 213
Text messages ................ 203
Up (AMG menu) ............... 111Distanc
erecorder
see Total distance recorder
see Trip meter
Distanc ewarning function ........131
Distanc ewarning lamp .......131, 233
Distronic ....................... 127
Cleaning the sensors ...........198
Cove r....................... 198
Display message ......206, 207, 213
Distance warning function .......131
Driving tips ................... 133
Warning lamp ................. 233
Door
Automatic locking .............. 68
Display message .............. 214
Emergency locking .............256
Emergency unlocking ...........255
Opening (from the inside) ........67
Door control panel
Overview ..................... 34
Draught stop ................... 158
Drinks holder see Cuph older
Driver's airbag ................... 44
Driver's door Unlocking (K EYLESS GO) ......... 67
Driver's seat position .............86
Drivin gabroad .................. 193
Driving safety system .............53
ABS ......................... 53 Index
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Driving safet
ysystems 58 G
Ris
kofa ccident
If there is afault in the powe rsuppl yort he
vehicle' selectrica lsystem, the SBC TM
brake syste menters emergency mode
becaus eitrequires electrica lpower to
operate. Greater braking force will the nbe
required and the brake peda ltravel and
braking distance will be longer. If neces-
sary ,depress the brake peda lwithm axi-
mu mf orce.
Th eS BCTM
brake syste misautomaticall yacti-
vated if you:
R unlock the vehicl eusing the key or the KEY-
LESS GO *system
R open the driver's or front-passenge rdoor
R switch on the ignition
R press the KEYLESS GO button* on the
selector lever once on vehicles with KEY-
LESS GO
R depress the brake pedal
R release the parking brake
i If yo uactivate the SBC TM
brake system
with the brake pedal, peda lresistanc eis
less tha nnormal the first tim eyou depress
the brake. There is also mor epedal travel tha
nnormal .Pedal travel returns to normal
when yo urelease the brake pedal. Yo umay
fee lthe brake peda lpulsa te when you
release it, and hear asound .Thiss ound,
which is produced by the SBC TM
pump,
cease safter as hort time. G
Ris
kofi njury
If the SBC TM
brake syste misnot deactiva-
ted befor emaintenanc ework—e specially
brake pad/lining replacement —thisc ould
resul tininjury .Ifthe syste misactive, it
carries ou tself- tests, automaticall ybuild-
ing up high pressures in the brake system
for tes tpurposes. Th ebrake calliper pis-
tons ar eforced out, which ca nresul tin
crush injuries .Brake flui dmayescape,
which ca nresul tina cidb urns.
Th eS BCTM
brake syste mmustbed eacti-
vated befor emaintenanc eworkisc arried
out. Yo ucan obtai ninformation on ho wto
deactivate the SBC TM
brake syste matany
Mercedes-Benz Service Centre. G
Ris
kofi njury
Onl yhavet he brake pads/lining sreplaced
and other work on the SBC TM
brake system
carried ou tataqualifie dspecialis twork-
shop. Consult aqualified specialis twork- sho
pwhich ha sthe necessary specialist
knowledg eand tools to carry ou tthe work
required.
Mercedes-Benz recommend sthaty ou use
aM ercedes-Benz Service Centre for this
purpose .Inparticular, work relevant to
safety or on safety-related systems must be
carried ou tataqualifie dspecialis twork-
shop.
Th eS BCTM
brake syste mbrake boos tisa uto-
maticall ydeact ivated:
R after approximately 20 second sifyoulock
the vehicl efromt he outside
R after approximately two minute sifyouturn
the key to position 0in the ignition lock or
remove it fro mthe ignition lock
Tips fo rdrivin gwithS BCTM R
Yo us houl ddownshift ( 1st,2nd or 3rd gear)
when driving on long and steep downhill
gradients .Thisp revents the brakes from
overheating or wearing too quickly.
R Continu edriving for ashort tim eafter sub-
jecting the brakes to aheavy load.This
allows the airflow to coo lthe brakes more
quickly. Safety
*optional
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Mirrors
81
Resetting the exterior mirrors If the battery has been disconnected or has
become discharged, the exterior mirrors
must be reset. Otherwise, they wil lnot fold in
whe nyou select the "Fol dinmirrors when
locking" function in the on-board computer
(Y pag e121).
X Make sure that the key is in position 1in
the ignition lock.
X Briefl ypress button 1.
Folding the exterior mirrors in or out
automatically* If the "Fol
dinmirrors whe nlocking" function
is activated in the on-board computer
(Y pag e121):
R The exterior mirrors fold in automatically as
soon as you lock the vehicle from the out-
side.
R The exterior mirrors fold out again auto-
matically as soon as you unlock the vehicle
and then open the driver's or front-
passenger door.
i If you have activated this function and fold
in the exterior mirrors using button 1,they
wil lnot be folded out automatically .You can then only fold out the exterior mirrors
using button
1. Automatic anti-dazzle mirrors
The rear-view mirror and the exterior mirror
on the driver's side automatically go into anti-
dazzle mode if the ignition is switched on and
incident light from headlamps strikes the sen-
sor in the rear-view mirror.
The mirrors do not go into anti-dazzle mode if
reverse gea risengaged or the interior lighting
is switched on. G
Risk of accident
If incident light from the headlamps of other
vehicles is prevented from striking the sen-
sor in the rear-view mirror, for instance if
the draught stop is fitted, the mirror's auto-
matic anti-dazzle function wil lnot operate.
Incident light coul dthen dazzle you .This
may distract you from the traffic conditions,
and you may thereby cause an accident. In
this case, adjust the rear-view mirror man-
ually. Passengers
ide exterior mirror park-
ing position
To make it easier to park, you can store the
front-passenger side exterior mirror position
in such awaythat you can see the rear wheel
on that side as soon as you engag ereverse
gear.
You can store aparking position for the exte-
rior mirror on the front-passenger side using
the memory button.
Adjusting and storin gthe exterior mir-
ror parking position 1
Exterior mirror on the driver's side
2 Exterior mirror on the front-passenger
side
3 Adjustment button Controls
*o ptional
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Lights
87Lights
Light switch
For reason sofsafety, Mercedes-Ben zrecom-
mends that you driv ewith th elight sswitched
on eve ndurin gthe daytime. In som ecoun-
tries, daytime operatio nofheadlamps varies
due to legal requirements and self-imposed
obligations .Inthese countries, th edipped-
beam headlamps are automaticall yswitched
on when th eengineiss tarted.
i If you driv eincountries in whic htraffic
drives on th eopposit eside of th eroad to
th ec ountr ywher ethe vehicle is registered,
oncomin gtraffic may be dazzle dbythe
asymmetrical dipped-beam headlamps.
Hav ethe headlamps changed to symmet-
rical dipped beam when driving in these
countries. You can obtain information
about this from any Mercedes-Ben zService
Centre. $
a
Left-han dparking lamp
% g
Right-hand parking lamp
& M
Lightsoff/constan theadlamp mode
( U
Automatic headlamp mode/con-
stant headlamp mode
) C
Side lamps, licence plate and instru-
mentlighting
* B
Dipped-beam headlamps or main-
beam headlamps
, ¥
Foglamps
. †
Rear foglamp
i The exterior lighting automatically
switches off when you remove the key from
the ignition lock or open the door while the
ignition is switched off (ignition key in posi-
tion 0). !
Switch off the side lamps or parking lamp
when you leave the vehicle. This prevents
the battery fro mdischarging.
Dipped-beam headlamps X
Make sure that the key is in position 2of
the ignition lock or that the engin eisrun-
ning.
X To switch on: turnthe light switc hto
B .
The dipped-beam headlamps, parking
lamps and licence plate lamps are switched
on. The parking lamp indicator lamp nex tto
the light switc hlight sup.
Constant headlam pmode In countries in which constant headlamp
mode is not
alegal requirement, you can
make thi ssettin gusing the on-board com-
puter.
You can activat eordeactivat e"constant
headlamp mode" using the on-board com-
puter (Y page 116). Controls
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Lights
88
X
To switch on: turnthe light switch to
M orU.
The dipped-beam headlamps, side lamps
and licenc eplatelamp are switched on
when th eengineisr unning.
i When you tur nthe light switch to any
position other than MorU,t hecor-
respondin glight goes on.
Automatic headlamp mode The side lamps
,dipped-beam headlamps and
licenc eplatelamp are switched on or off
automatically, dependin gonthebrightness of
th ea mbient light. G
Ris
kofa ccident
If th elight switch is set to the Uposi-
tion, th elight will no tcom eona utomati-
cally in foggy conditions. This coul dendan-
ger you and others. Therefore, tur nthe light
switch to Bin thedark or in fog.
The automatic headlam pfeature is only an
aid. The driver is responsible for th evehi-
cle's lighting at all times. G
Ris
kofa ccident
When it is dark or foggy, tur nthe light
switch from UtoB in good time.
Otherwise, th eheadlamps could switch off
temporarily and you could caus eanacci-
dent.
X To switch on: turnthe light switch to
U.
The side lamps are switched on and off
automaticall ywhen th ekeyis in position
1 in th eignition lock.
The dipped-beam headlamps, side lamps
and licenc eplatelamp are switched on
automaticall ywhen th eengineisr unning.
When th eparking lamp or dipped-beam
headlamps are switched on ,the indicator
lamp next to th elight switch light sup.
Fron tfoglamps/Rear foglamp G
Ris
kofa ccident
If you suspect that driving conditions will be
foggy, tur nthe light switch to Bbefore
you start your journey. Otherwise, your
vehicle may no tbevisible and you could
endanger yourself and others. G
Ris
kofa ccident
When it is dark or foggy, tur nthe light
switch from UtoB in good time.
Otherwise, th eheadlamps coul dswitch off
temporarily and you coul dcaus eana cci-
dent.
When th elight switch is set to Uyou can-
no tswitch on th efront or rear foglamp.
X Mak esure that th ekeyis in position 2in
th ei gnition lock.
X To switch on th efront foglamps: turnthe
light switch to the BorC position.
X Pull th elight switch out to th efirst stop.
The ¥ green indicator lamp next to the
light switch light sup.
X To switch on th erearfoglamp: turnthe
light switch to BorC.
X Pull th elight switch out to th esecond
detent.
The † yellow indicator lamp next to the
light switch light sup.
X To switch off th efront foglamps/rear
foglamp: push in thelight switch to the
stop.
The corresponding indicator lamp goes out. Controls
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Lights
91
by th
eturns ignal or when th esteering wheel
is turned. At speeds between 40 km/h and
70 km/h, only asteering wheel movement
activates th ecornerin glight function .Ifyou
are driving at speeds abov e70km/ hthe cor-
nerin glight function is deactivated.
Activating
X Mak esure that th eengineisr unning.
X Switch on th edipped-beam headlamps.
X Switch off th efoglamp.
X Switch on th eturns ignal.
The cornerin glight on th esame side as the
indicator lamp comes on ,even if you turn
th es teering wheel in th eopposit edirection
after indicating.
or
X Turn th esteering wheel in th edesired
direction.
When in aforwards gear :the cornering
lamp on th einside of th ebendc omes on.
When in revers egear :the cornerin glight on
th eo utside of th ebendc omes on. Deactivating
X
Turn th esteering wheel back to th estraight
ahead position.
The indicator lamp goes out .The cornering
lamp may remain lit for ashort time.
or
X Switch off th eindicator lamp.
The cornerin glamp may remain lit for a
short time.
The cornerin glight will go out after amaxi-
mum of three minutes.
Motorwa ymode Motorway mod
eoptimises th eilluminatio nof
th er oad by:
R controlling th ebrightness
R adapting th eheadlam prange
Motorway mod eisactivated if you are driving
faster than 11 0km/ hand do no tmakea ny
large steering movements for 1,000 m.
Extended range foglamps The extende
drange foglamps reduc ethe
glare experienced by th edriver and improve
th ei lluminatio noftheedge of th ecarriage-
way. X
To switch on: switch on therear foglamp.
The fron tfoglamps and rear foglamp are
switched on .The extende drange foglamps
are activated if you are driving slowe rthan
70 km/h.
X To switch off: switch off therear foglamp.
i The extende drange foglamps switch off
automaticall ywhen you driv efaster than
10 0k m/ h. Interior lighting
Overhead control panel
1
X To switch th eleft-hand reading lamp
on/off
2 X To switch th eright-han dreading
lamp on/off Controls
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Automatic transmission
103S
Sport Fo
ra ll normal drivin gcon-
ditions C
Comfort Fo
rc omfort mode M
Manual Fo
rm anual gearshifting X
To activate: press program selector but-
ton 1repeatedly until Mappears in the
speedometer display.
If th eselector lever is in position D,you can
shift up or down through th egears. The gear
currentl yselected and engage disshown in
th es peedometer display.
X To deactivate: press program selector
button 1repeatedly until Sor Cappears
in th espeedometer display.
Upshifting
X Briefly press th eselector lever to th eright
towards D+
or
X Pull th eright-hand steerin gwhee lgearshift
paddl e(Ypage 102).
The automatic transmissio nshift suptot he
next gear. SL 65 AMG
!
In manual gearshift program M,theauto-
matic transmissio ndoesn otshift up auto-
matically eve nwhen th elimitin gspeed for
th ec urren tgear is reached. Whe nthe lim-
itin gspeed is reached, th efue lsupply is cut
to preven tthe engin efromo verrevving.
You mus tmakes uret hatthe engin espeed
doe snotreach th ered are aoftherev coun-
ter. There is otherwise ariskofe ngine
damage.
X Shift up agear if th ecolour in th edisplay
changes to red and UPappears in th erev
counter.
Downshifting G
Risk of accident
Do no tchang ed own fo radditional engine
braking on aslipper yroads urface. This
could caus ethe drive wheels to los etheir
grip and th evehicl ecould skid.
X Briefly press th eselector lever to th eleft
towards D-
or X
Pull th eleft-han dsteerin gwhee lgearshift
paddle (Y page 102).
The automatic transmissio nshift sdown to
th en extg ear.
i Form aximum acceleration ,pull th eleft-
han dsteerin gwhee lgearshift paddle until
th et ransmissio nselects th eoptimum gear
fo rt he curren tspeed.
Kickdown
i It is no tpossibl etouse kickdown in man-
ual gearshift program Mon vehicles with
AM Ge ngines.
You can also use kickdown fo rmaximum
acceleration in manual gearshift program M.
X Depress th eaccelerator peda lbeyond the
pressure point.
The transmissio nshift stoal owergear
dependin gontheengin espeed.
i It is no tpossibl etoshift gear susingthe
steerin gwhee lgearshift paddles during
kickdown. Cont
rols
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Automatic transmission
104
Manua
lgearshif tprogram on th eSL63
AMG In manual gearshift program
M,you can
chang egear usin gthe steerin gwhee lgear-
shift paddles or th eselector lever. Manual
gearshift program Mcan be selected using
th ep rogram selector.
SL 63 AM Gprogram selector 1
Program selector C Fo
rc omfort mode S Fo
ra ll normal drivin gcon-
dition s(Sp ortp rogram) S+ SportPlus mode (with
shorter shift times) M Fo
rm anual gearshifting RS RACE START
i
RScanno tbeselecte dduring normal driv-
ing. Fo rfurther information on RACE
START ,see (Y page 138).
X To activate: turnp rogram selector 1
clockwise until Mappears in th espeedom-
eter display.
Indicator M1 on th eprogram selector
lights up in red.
If th eselecto rlever is in position D,you can
shift up or down through th egears. The gear
currentl yselecte dand engage disshown in
th ed isplay.
X To deactivate: turnp rogram selector 1
until Sor Cappears in th edisplay.
Upshifting
X Briefly press th eselecto rlever to th eright
towards D+
or X
Pull th eright-hand steerin gwhee lgearshift
paddle (Y page 102).
The automatic transmissio nshift suptot he
next gear.
! In manual gearshift program M,theauto-
matic transmissio ndoesn otshift up auto-
matically eve nwhen th elimitin gspeed for
th ec urren tgear is reached. Whe nthe lim-
itin gspeed is reached, th efue lsupply is cut
to preven tthe engin efromo verrevving.
You mus tmakes uret hatthe engin espeed
doe snotreach th ered are aoftherev coun-
ter. There is otherwise ariskofe ngine
damage.
X Shift up agear if th ecolour in th edisplay
changes to red and UPappears in th erev
counter.
Downshifting G
Risk of accident
Do no tchang ed own fo radditional engine
braking on aslipper yroads urface. This
could caus ethe drive wheels to los etheir
grip and th evehicl ecould skid.
X Briefly press th eselecto rlever to th eleft
towards D-
or Cont
rols
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