MERCEDES-BENZ SL65AMG 2008 R230 Repair Manual

61 Getting started
Driving
In case of accident
If the vehicle is leaking gasoline:
Do not start the engine under any
circumstances.
Notify local fire and/or police
authorities.
If the extent of the damage cannot be
determined:
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center or call Roadside Assistance.
If no damage can be determined on the

major assemblies

fuel system

engine mount:
Start the engine in the usual manner.

62 Getting started
Parking and locking
You have now completed your first drive.
You have properly stopped and parked
your vehicle. End your drive as follows.
Warning!G
With the engine not running, there is no
power assistance for the brake and steering
systems. In this case, it is important to keep
in mind that a considerably higher degree of
effort is necessary to brake and steer the
vehicle.
Warning!G
Do not park this vehicle in areas where com-
bustible materials such as grass, hay or
leaves can come into contact with the hot
exhaust system, as these materials could be
ignited and cause a vehicle fire.
To reduce the risk of personal injury or
damage to the vehicle drivetrain as a result
of vehicle movement, before turning off the
engine and leaving the vehicle always:

Keep right foot on brake pedal.

Firmly depress parking brake pedal.

Move the gear selector lever to
positionP.

Slowly release brake pedal.

When parked on an incline, turn front
wheels towards the road curb.

Turn the SmartKey or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* to starter switch
position0 and remove, or press the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button.

Take the SmartKey or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* with you and lock vehicle
when leaving.

63 Getting started
Parking and locking
Parking brake
1Parking brake pedalStep firmly on parking brake pedal1.
When the engine is running, the indica-
tor lamp;(USA only) or3
(Canada only) in the instrument cluster
will be illuminated.
Switching off headlamps
Turn the exterior lamp switch to
position M (
page 131).
Warning!G
Engaging the parking brake while the vehicle
is in motion can cause the rear wheels to
lock up. You could lose control of the vehicle
and cause an accident. In addition, the
vehicle’s brake lights do not light up when
the parking brake is engaged.
Warning!G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Children could release the
parking brake and/or move the gear selec-
tor lever from positionP, either of which
could result in an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
Warning!G
Getting out of your vehicle with the gear se-
lector lever not fully engaged in positionP is
dangerous. Also, when parked on an incline,
positionP alone may not prevent your vehi-
cle from moving, possibly hitting people or
objects.
Always set the parking brake in addition to
shifting to positionP (
page 174).
When parked on an incline, also turn front
wheels towards the road curb.

64 Getting started
Parking and locking
Turning off the engine
Place the gear selector lever in
positionP.
Apply the parking brake (page 63).
Turning off with the SmartKey
Turn the SmartKey in the starter switch
to position0 (
page 40).
Remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch.
The immobilizer is activated.Turning off with KEYLESS-GO*
Place the gear selector lever in
positionP.
Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop but-
ton (
page 41) to turn off the engine.
With the driver’s door closed, the
starter switch is now in position1. With
the driver’s door opened, the starter
switch is set to position0, same as
SmartKey removed from starter switch
(
page 40).
Releasing seat belts
Press the seat belt release button
(
page 51).
Allow the retractor to completely
rewind the seat belt by guiding the
latch plate.
iAlways set the parking brake in addition to
shifting to positionP.
When parked on an incline, also turn front
wheels towards the road curb.
iThe SmartKey can only be removed from the
starter switch with the gear selector lever in
positionP.
iWith the SmartKey removed and the driver’s
door open, a warning sounds if the vehicle’s
exterior lamps are not switched off.
iIf you hear a warning signal you have tried to
turn off the engine while the gear selector lever
was not inP.
In addition, the message
Gear Selector
Lever To P
appears in the multifunction
display.
Place the gear selector lever in positionP.
!M a k e s u r e t h e s e a t b e l t r e t r a c t s f u l l y s o t h a t
the seat belt and/or latch plate cannot get
caught or pinched in the door or in the seat
mechanism. This can damage the seat belt and
impair the effectiveness of the seat belt, and/or
cause damage to the door and/or door trim
panel. Such damage is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Damaged seat belts must be replaced. Contact
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.

65 Getting started
Parking and locking
LockingExit the vehicle and close the doors and
the trunk.
Opening a door causes its window to open
slightly. It will fully close when the door is
shut.
Warning!G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the door
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Before closing doors, make sure that there
is no possibility of someone getting caught
in a door during closing.
Warning!G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children
unattended in the vehicle, or with access to
an unlocked vehicle. A child’s unsupervised
access to a vehicle could result in an
accident and/or serious personal injury.
!A side window will not work if it is blocked
with ice or if the battery needs charging. If you
cannot shut a door, do not force it or you could
damage the door or the side window.
Fix whatever is affecting the window before
trying to shut the door.
iIf you hear a warning signal, you have forgot-
ten to switch off the low beam headlamps or the
parking lamps before opening the driver’s door.
In addition, the message
Lights Are Still
On
appears in the multifunction display.
Switch off the low beam headlamps or the
parking lamps.
If the message
Switch off lights or
remove key.
appears in the multifunction
display, remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch or switch off the automatic headlamp
mode.
!Failure to switch off the exterior lamps when
leaving the vehicle may result in a discharged
battery.
iVehicles with KEYLESS-GO*: A warning
signal and the message
Remember your key.
remind you not to leave the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* in the vehicle.

66 Getting started
Parking and locking
Locking with the SmartKey
Press the lock button‹on the
SmartKey (
page 38).
With the trunk and both doors closed:

All turn signal lamps flash three
times.

An acoustic warning sounds three
times.

The locking knobs in the doors
move down.

The anti-theft alarm system is
armed.
For more information, see “Locking and
unlocking” (
page 104).Locking with KEYLESS-GO*
1Lock button
Press lock button1 on an outside
door handle.
With the trunk and both doors closed:

All turn signal lamps flash three
times.

An acoustic warning sounds three
times.

The locking knobs in the doors
move down.

The anti-theft alarm system is
armed.
For more information, see “SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO*” (
page 108).

67 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Panic alarm
Driving safety systems
Anti-theft systems

68 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
In this section you will learn the most im-
portant facts about the restraint systems
of the vehicle.
The restraint systems are

Seat belts (page 79)

Child restraints (page 85)
Additional protection potential provided by

Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
with

Air bags (page 70)

Air bag control unit (with crash
sensors)

Emergency Tensioning Device
(ETD) for seat belts (
page 82)

Roll bar (page 83)Air bag system components with

Passenger front air bag off indicator
lamp (
page 78)

Passenger seat with Occupant
C
lassification System (OCS)
(
page 74)
Although independent systems, their
protective functions work in conjunction
with each other.The SRS system conducts a self-test when
the ignition is switched on and in regular
intervals while the engine is running. This
facilitates detection of malfunctions.
The
1indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster comes on when the ignition is
switched on and goes out no later than a
few seconds after the engine has been
started.
The SRS components are in operational
readiness if the
1indicator lamp is not
lit when the engine is running.
A malfunction in the system has been
detected if the
1indicator lamp:

fails to go out after approximately
4 seconds after the engine was started

does not come on at all

comes on after the engine was started
or while driving
iFor information on infants and children
traveling with you in the vehicle and restraint
systems for infants and children, see “Children
in the vehicle” (
page 84).

69 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!G
Modifications to or work improperly con-
ducted on restraint systems (such as seat
belts and anchors, emergency tensioning
devices, seat belt force limiters or air bags)
or their wiring, as well as tampering with in-
terconnected electronic systems, can lead
to the restraint systems no longer function-
ing as intended.
Air bags or emergency tensioning devices,
for example, could deploy inadvertently or
fail to deploy in accidents although the de-
celeration threshold for air bag deployment
is exceeded. Therefore, never modify the re-
straint systems. Do not tamper with elec-
tronic components or their software.
Warning!G
In the event that the 1 indicator lamp
comes on during driving or does not come
on at all, the SRS self-check has detected a
malfunction. For your safety, we strongly
recommend that you contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center immediately to have
the system checked; otherwise the SRS may
not deploy when needed in an accident,
which could result in serious or fatal injury,
or it might deploy unexpectedly and unnec-
essarily which could also result in injury.
In addition, improper repair work on the SRS
creates a risk of rendering the SRS inopera-
tive or causing unintended air bag deploy-
ment. Work on the SRS must therefore only
be performed by qualified technicians.
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
If it is necessary to modify an air bag system
to accommodate a person with disabilities,
contact your local authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center or call our Customer
Assistance Center at 1-800-FOR-MERCedes
(1-800-367-6372) for details.

70 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Air bags
Warning!G
Air bags are designed to reduce the poten-
tial of injury and fatality in certain frontal im-
pacts (front air bags, driver-side knee bag)
or side impacts (head-thorax air bags).
However, no system available today can
completely eliminate injuries and fatalities.
The deployment of the air bags temporarily
releases a small amount of dust from the air
bags. This dust, however, is neither injurious
to your health, nor does it indicate a fire in
the vehicle. The dust might cause some tem-
porary breathing difficulty for people with
asthma or other breathing trouble. To avoid
this, you may wish to get out of the vehicle
as soon as it is safe to do so. If you have any
breathing difficulty but cannot get out of the
vehicle after the air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
Warning!G
To reduce the risk of injury when the front
air bags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and passenger to always be in a prop-
erly seated position and to wear their seat
belts.
For maximum protection in the event of a
collision always be in normal seated position
with your back against the backrest. Fasten
your seat belt and make sure that it is prop-
erly positioned on your body (
page 50).
Since the air bag inflates with considerable
speed and force, a proper seating and hands
on steering wheel position will help to keep
you at a safe distance from the air bag.
Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the air bag can be seriously
injured or killed by an air bag as it inflates
with great force in the blink of an eye:

Sit properly belted in a position that is
as upright as possible with your back
against the seat backrest.

Adjust the driver’s seat as far as possi-
ble rearward, still permitting proper
operation of vehicle controls. The dis-
tance from the center of the driver’s
breastbone to the center of the air bag
cover on the steering wheel must be at
least 10 inches (25 cm) or more. You
should be able to accomplish this by a
combination of adjustments to the seat
and steering wheel. If you have any
problems, please contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.

Do not lean your head or chest close to
the steering wheel or dashboard.

Keep hands on the outside of the steer-
ing wheel rim. Placing hands and arms
inside the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when driver’s front air bag inflates.

Adjust the passenger seat as far as pos-
sible rearward from the dashboard when
the seat is occupied.