MERCEDES-BENZ SL55AMG 2007 R230 Owner's Manual

370 Practical hintsWhat to do if …Left display
Right display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
USA only:;Canada only:3
Service brake
Visit
workshop
There are malfunctions, but the
electro-hydraulic brake system is
operating normally.

Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center
as soon as possible.
Brakes overheated
Drive on, but with
even greater care
The brake system is overheated due
to an excessive load on the brakes.

Relieve the load on the brake system:
Drive more smoothly and think ahead to
avoid unnecessary braking.

When driving down steep grades, shift into
a lower gear to use the engine’s braking
power (
page 174).

Cautiously continue driving so that the air
stream will cool down the brakes.
USA only:;Canada only:!
Release
parking brake
You are driving with the parking
brake set.

Release the parking brake (
page 61).

371 Practical hints
What to do if …
Left display
Right display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
•
Coolant
Stop car –

Turn engine off
The coolant is too hot.
Among other possible causes, the
poly-V-belt could be broken.

Stop the vehicle in a safe location or as soon
as it is safe to do so.

Turn off the engine.

Check the poly-V-belt.
If it is broken:

Do not continue to drive. Otherwise, the en-
gine will overheat due to an inoperative water
pump which may result in damage to the en-
gine. Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
If it is intact:

Wait for the message to disappear before re-
starting the engine.
Doing otherwise could result in serious engine
damage that is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
(Continued on next page)

372 Practical hintsWhat to do if …
During severe operating conditions, e.g.
stop-and-go traffic, the coolant tempera-
ture may rise close to 248°F (120°C).
Left display
Right display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Observe the coolant temperature gauge in the
instrument cluster (
page 27).
If the temperature rises again:

Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center immediately.
Warning!
G
Driving when your engine is overheated can
cause some fluids which may have leaked
into the engine compartment to catch fire.
You could be seriously burned.
Steam from an overheated engine can cause
serious burns and can occur just by opening
the engine hood. Stay away from the engine
if you see or hear steam coming from it.
Turn off the engine, get out of the vehicle
and do not stand near the vehicle until the
engine has cooled down.
!
The engine should not be operated with the
coolant temperature above 248°F (120°C). Do-
ing so may cause serious engine damage which
is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited
Warranty.

373 Practical hints
What to do if …
Left display
Right display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
B
Top up
coolant
See Oper. Manual
The coolant level is too low.

Add coolant (
page 280).
Comply with all warnings while doing so.

If you have to add coolant frequently, have the
cooling system checked by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
•
The cooling fan for the coolant is
malfunctioning.

Observe the coolant temperature gauge in the
instrument cluster (
page 27).
If the coolant temperature is under 120°C,
you may continue driving to the nearest spe-
cialist workshop.

Avoid placing heavy loads on the engine
(e.g. by driving uphill) as well as stop-and-go
traffic.

Have the fan replaced as soon as possible.
Warning!
G
Do not spill antifreeze on hot engine parts.
Antifreeze contains ethylene glycol which
may burn if it comes into contact with hot
engine parts. You can be seriously burned.
!
Do not ignore the low engine coolant level
warning. Extended driving with this message and
symbol displayed may cause serious engine
damage not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty. Do not drive
without sufficient amount of coolant in the cool-
ing system. The engine will overheat, causing
major engine damage.

374 Practical hintsWhat to do if …Left display
Right display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
Check doors
2
You are attempting to drive with
one or more doors open.

Close the doors.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:
You are pressing the lock button on
the door handle and at least one
door is open.
±
Visit
workshop
Certain electronic systems are un-
able to relay information to the con-
trol system. The following systems
may have failed:

Coolant temperature gauge


Tachometer

Have the electronic systems checked by an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center
(page 336).
Engine
Service
There may be a malfunction in the

fuel injection system


ignition system


exhaust system


fuel system

Have the engine checked as soon as possible
by an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center
(page 336).

375 Practical hints
What to do if …
Left display
Right display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
_
Entry position
Do not drive
The steering wheel has not yet
moved into its stored driving posi-
tion.

Wait until the steering wheel has moved to its
driving position.
The message disappears.
N
USA only:Add 1 qt. engine oil
at next refuelingCanada only:Add 1 liter
engine oil
at next refueling
Vehicles with engine oil measuring
system only:
The engine oil level is too low.

Add engine oil (
page 278) and check the
engine oil level (page 276).
Engine oil level
Stop car –

turn engine off
Vehicles with engine oil measuring
system only:
There is no oil in the engine. There
is a danger of engine damage.

Stop the vehicle in a safe location or as soon
as it is safe to do so.

Turn off the engine.

Add engine oil (
page 278) and check the
engine oil level (page 276).
Engine oil level
Reduce
oil level
Vehicles with engine oil measuring
system only:
You have added too much engine
oil. There is a risk of damaging the
engine or the catalytic converter.

Have excess oil siphoned or drained off. Ob-
serve all legal requirements with respect to its
disposal.

376 Practical hintsWhat to do if …When the message
Add 1 qt engine oil
at next refueling (Canada:
1l
) appears
while the engine is running and at
operating temperature, the engine oil level
has dropped to approximately the
minimum level.When this occurs, the warning will first
come on intermittently and then stay on if
the oil level drops further.
If no oil leaks are noted, continue to drive
to the nearest service station where the
engine oil should be topped to the required
level with an approved oil specified in the
Factory Approved Service Products pam-
phlet.
Left display
Right display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
N
Engine oil level
Cannot
measure
engine oil level
Vehicles with engine oil measuring
system only:
The measuring system is malfunc-
tioning.

Have the measuring system checked by an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Engine oil level
Check level
Vehicles with oil dipstick only:
The engine oil has dropped to a crit-
ical level.

Check the engine oil level (
page 276) and
add oil as required (
page 278).

If you must add engine oil frequently, have the
engine checked for possible leaks.
!
The engine oil level warnings should not be
ignored. Extended driving with the symbol dis-
played could result in serious engine damage
that is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limit-
ed Warranty.

377 Practical hints
What to do if …
Left display
Right display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
A
Fuel cap
open
A loss of pressure has been detect-
ed in the fuel system. The fuel cap
may not be closed properly or the
fuel system may be leaky.

Check the fuel cap (
page 271).
If it is not closed properly:

Close the fuel cap.
If it is closed properly:

Have the fuel system checked by an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.
K
being lowered
The retractable hardtop is not com-
pletely opened or closed. The roof
hydraulics will start to lose pres-
sure.

Make sure the retractable hardtop is com-
pletely opened or closed (
page 199).
locked
in driving mode
You have attempted to open the re-
tractable hardtop while driving.

Stop the vehicle in a safe location and try to
open the hardtop again.
O
You are driving with the hood open.
Risk of accident!
Stop the vehicle in a safe location or as soon
as it is safe to do so.

Close the hood (
page 275).

378 Practical hintsWhat to do if …Left display
Right display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
I
Remove
key
You have forgotten to remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch.

Remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch.
Replace
key
The SmartKey is no longer function-
al.

Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
F
Change
key batteries
The batteries in the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* are discharged.

Replace the batteries (
page 395).

379 Practical hints
What to do if …
Left display
Right display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
F
Key
not detected
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is
not recognized while the engine is
running because:

The SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* is not in the vehi-
cle.


There is strong radio-frequency
interference.

Stop the vehicle in a safe location or as soon
as it is safe to do so.

Search for the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*.
Otherwise the vehicle cannot be centrally
locked nor can the engine be started again af-
ter the engine is stopped.

Operate the vehicle with the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* in the starter switch
Key
not detected
The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* is
not recognized when attempting to
start the engine with the
KEYLESS-GO start/stop button* on
the gear selector lever because:

The SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* is not in the vehi-
cle.


The battery in the SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO* is not insert-
ed properly or completely dis-
charged.

Change the position of the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* in the vehicle.

Make sure the batteries in the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* are properly inserted
(page 395) and are not discharged
(page 110).

Start the engine with the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* in the starter switch if
necessary.