tow MERCEDES-BENZ SLK350 2006 R171 User Guide

88 Safety and SecurityAnti-theft systemsArming the alarm system
Lock your vehicle with the SmartKey.
The turn signal lamps flash three times
to indicate that the alarm system is ac-
tivated.
The indicator lamp in the central lock-
ing switch starts flashing (
page 102).Disarming the alarm system

Unlock your vehicle with the SmartKey.
The turn signal lamps flash once to in-
dicate that the alarm system is dis-
armed.
Canceling the alarm
To cancel the alarm:

Press theŒ or‹button on the
SmartKey.
or

Insert the SmartKey in the starter
switch.
Tow-away alarm
Once the tow-away alarm is armed, a visual
and audible alarm will be triggered when
someone attempts to raise the vehicle.
iIf the turn signal lamps do not flash
three times, one of the following ele-
ments may not be properly closed:

a door


the trunk lid


the fuel filler flap


the glove box


the storage compartment under the
armrest
Close the respective element and lock
the vehicle again.
iThe tow-away protection alarm is trig-
gered, for example, if the vehicle is lift-
ed on one side.
If the alarm stays on for more than
30 seconds, a call to the Response
Center is initiated automatically by the
Tele Aid system (
page 273), provided
Tele Aid service was subscribed to and
properly activated, and that necessary
cellular service and GPS coverage are
available (
page 273).

89 Safety and Security
Anti-theft systems
Arming tow-away alarm
Lock your vehicle with the SmartKey.
The tow-away alarm is automatically
armed after about 30 seconds.
Disarming tow-away alarm
To prevent triggering the tow-away alarm,
switch off the tow-away alarm feature be-
fore towing the vehicle, or when parking on
a surface subject to movement, such as a
ferry or auto train.The switch is located on the lower part of
the center console.
1Indicator lamp
2Tow-away alarm deactivation switch

Switch off the ignition (
page 36).

Remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch.

Press tow-away alarm deactivation
switch2.
Indicator lamp1 in the tow-away
alarm deactivation switch comes on
briefly.

Exit your vehicle.

Lock your vehicle with the SmartKey.
The tow-away alarm remains disarmed un-
til you lock your vehicle again.
Canceling tow-away alarm
To cancel the alarm:

Press theŒ or‹button on the
SmartKey.
or

Insert the SmartKey in the starter
switch.
iWhen you unlock your vehicle, the
tow-away protection disarms
automatically. The tow-away alarm
remains disarmed until you lock the
vehicle again.
iYou cannot disarm the tow-away alarm
while the ignition is switched on.

93 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
iOpening a door causes the windows on
that side of the car to open slightly.
They will return to the up position when
the door is closed.!The side windows will not open or close
if the battery is discharged or the win-
dows are covered with ice. As a result,
you may no longer be able to properly
close the door. Do not attempt to force
the door shut. Doing so may damage
the door or the side window. Correct
the condition that prevents the
windows from operating before
attempting to close the door.
iWithout the antenna on the left rear
side of the vehicle installed, the
SmartKey signaling range is consider-
ably reduced. Hold the SmartKey in
close proximity towards the antenna
base when locking or unlocking the
vehicle.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey 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. It is possible
for children to open a locked door from the
inside, which could result in an accident
and/or serious injury.!To prevent possible malfunction, avoid
exposing the SmartKey to high levels of
electromagnetic radiation.

101 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Automatic central locking
The doors and the trunk automatically lock
when the ignition is switched on and the
wheels are turning at vehicle speeds of
approximately 9 mph (15 km/h).
You can open a locked door from the in-
side. Open door only when conditions are
safe to do so.
You can deactivate the automatic locking
using the control system, see “Setting
automatic locking” (
page 147).
iIf the vehicle has previously been cen-
trally locked with the SmartKey, open-
ing the trunk from the inside will trigger
the anti-theft alarm system.
To cancel the alarm, do one of the fol-
lowing:

Press buttonŒor‹ on the
SmartKey.


Insert the SmartKey in the starter
switch.
iThe doors unlock automatically after an
accident if the force of the impact ex-
ceeds a preset threshold.
To prevent the vehicle door locks from
locking, deactivate the automatic cen-
tral locking when the vehicle

is pushed or towed


is on a test stand

155 Controls in detail
Manual transmission
Manual transmission
Manual transmission is standard equip-
ment on select models and not available
on all models.
For information on driving with a manual
transmission, see “Manual transmission”
(page 51).
Warning!
G
For vehicles equipped with a manual trans-
mission, getting out of your vehicle with the
gearshift lever not engaged in first or re-
verse gear and parking brake engaged is
dangerous.
Also, when parked on an incline, an engaged
first or reverse gear alone may not prevent
your vehicle from moving, possibly hitting
people or objects.
Always set the parking brake in addition to
engaging first or reverse gear (
page 59).
When parked on an incline, turn front wheels
towards the road curb.
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.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey 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. Children
could move the gearshift lever, which could
result in an accident and/or serious injury.Warning!
G
On slippery road surfaces, never downshift
in order to obtain braking action.
This could result in drive wheel slip and re-
duced vehicle control. Your vehicle’s ABS
will not prevent this type of loss of control.

159 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission*
Gear selector lever position
Effect
ì
Park position
Gear selector lever position
when the vehicle is parked. Place
gear selector lever in positionP
only when vehicle is stopped.
The park position is not intended
to serve as a brake when the
vehicle is parked. Rather, the
driver should always set the
parking brake in addition to
placing the gear selector lever in
positionP to secure the vehicle.
EffectThe SmartKey can only be
removed from the starter switch
with the gear selector lever in
positionP. With the SmartKey
removed, the gear selector lever
is locked in positionP.
If the vehicle’s electrical system
is malfunctioning, the gear
selector lever could remain
locked in positionP
(page 396).
í
Reverse gear
Place gear selector lever in
positionR only when vehicle is
stopped.
Effect
ë
Neutral
No power is transmitted from the
engine to the drive axle. When
the brakes are released, the
vehicle can be moved freely
(pushed or towed).
To avoid damage to the trans-
mission, never engageN while
driving.
If the ESP
® is deactivated or
malfunctioning:
Move gear selector lever toN
only if the vehicle is in danger of
skidding, e.g. on icy roads.
ê
Drive
The transmission shifts
automatically. All forward gears
are available.

160 Controls in detailAutomatic transmission*
Gear ranges
With the gear selector lever in positionD
and driving in the automatic shift
programC orS (
page 163), you can
select a gear range for the automatic
transmission to operate within:
Gear selector lever (page 164):
You can limit the gear range by pressing
the gear selector lever to the left (D-), and
reverse the gear range limit by pressing
the gear selector lever to the right (D+).
Steering wheel gearshift control
(
page 165):
You can limit the gear range by pressing
the respective downshift button on the
steering wheel gearshift control, and
reverse the gear range limit by pressing
the respective upshift button on the
steering wheel gearshift control.
!Coasting the vehicle, or driving for any
other reason with gear selector lever
inN can result in transmission damage
that is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.Warning!
G
Getting out of your vehicle with the gear
selector lever not fully engaged in positionP
is dangerous. Also, positionP alone is not
intended to or capable of preventing your
vehicle from moving, possibly hitting people
or objects.
Always set the parking brake in addition to
shifting to positionP (
page 52). When
parked on an incline, turn the front wheels
towards the road curb.
Do not park this vehicle in areas where
combustible 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.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey 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. Children
could move the gear selector lever from
positionP, which could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.

173 Controls in detail
Good visibility
Good visibility
For information on the windshield wipers,
see (
page 56).
Headlamp cleaning system*
The button is located on the left side of the
dashboard.
1Headlamp cleaning button
Switch on the ignition (
page 36).

Press button1.
The headlamps are cleaned with a
high-pressure water jet.For information on filling up the washer
reservoir, see “Windshield washer system
and headlamp cleaning system*”
(
page 315).
Rear view mirrors
For more information on setting the rear
view mirrors, see “Mirrors” (
page 45).
Interior rear view mirror, antiglare
position

Tilt the mirror to the antiglare night
position by moving the lever towards
the windshield.
The interior rear view mirror is dimmed.
iThe headlamps will automatically be
cleaned when you have

switched on the headlamps
and


operated the windshield wipers
with windshield washer fluid
15 times
When you switch off ignition, the
counter resets.

277 Controls in detail
Useful features
Roadside Assistance button•
Located below the center armrest cover is
the Roadside Assistance button•.
Open center armrest cover
(page 266).

Press and hold the button (for longer
than 2 seconds).
A call to a Mercedes-Benz Roadside
Assistance dispatcher will be initiated.
The button will flash while the call is in
progress. The message
Connecting
call
will appear in the multifunction
display and the audio system is muted.
When the connection is established, the
message Call connected
appears in the
multifunction display. The Tele Aid system
will transmit data generating the vehicle
identification number, model, color and lo-
cation (subject to availability of cellular
and GPS signals).A voice connection between the Roadside
Assistance dispatcher and the occupants
of the vehicle will be established.

Describe the nature of the need for as-
sistance.
The Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance
dispatcher will either dispatch a qualified
Mercedes-Benz technician or arrange to
tow your vehicle to the nearest
Mercedes-Benz Center. For services such
as labor and/or towing, charges may ap-
ply. Refer to the Roadside Assistance man-
ual for more information.
The following is only available in the USA:


Sign and Drive services: Services such
as jump start, a few gallons of fuel or
the replacement of a flat tire with the
vehicle spare tire are obtainable.
iThe indicator lamp in the Roadside
Assistance button• remains illumi-
nated in red for approx. 10 seconds
during the system self-check after
switching on ignition (together with the
SOS button and the Information
button¡).
See “System self-check” (
page 274)
when the indicator lamp does not come
on in red or stays on longer than ap-
proximately 10 seconds.
If the indicator lamp in the Roadside
Assistance button• is flashing con-
tinuously and there was no voice con-
nection to the Response Center
established, then the Tele Aid system
could not initiate a Roadside
Assistance call (e.g. the relevant cellu-
lar phone network was not available).
The message
Call failed
appears in
the multifunction display.

280 Controls in detailUseful featuresRemote door unlock
In case you have locked your vehicle unin-
tentionally (e.g. SmartKey inside vehicle),
and the reserve SmartKey is not handy:
Contact the Mercedes-Benz Response
Center at 1-800-756-9018 (in the USA)
or 1-888-923-8367 (in Canada).
You will be asked to provide your pass-
word which you provided when you
completed the subscriber agreement.

Then return to your vehicle and pull the
trunk recessed handle for a minimum
of 20 seconds until the SOS button is
flashing.
The message
Connecting call
ap-
pears in the multifunction display.
As an alternative, you may unlock the vehi-
cle via Internet using the ID and password
sent to you shortly after the completion of
your acquaintance call.The Response Center will then unlock your
vehicle with the remote door unlocking
feature.Stolen Vehicle Recovery services
In the event your vehicle was stolen:

Report the incident to the police.
The police will issue a numbered inci-
dent report.

Pass this number on to the
Mercedes-Benz Response Center along
with your password issued to you when
you subscribed to the service.
The Response Center will then attempt
to covertly contact the vehicle’s
Tele Aid system. Once the vehicle is lo-
cated, the Response Center will con-
tact the local law enforcement and you.
The vehicle’s location will only be pro-
vided to law enforcement.
iThe remote door unlock feature is avail-
able if the relevant cellular phone net-
work is available.
The SOS button will flash and the mes-
sage
Connecting call
will appear in
the multifunction display to indicate
receipt of the door unlock command.
Once the vehicle is unlocked,
a Response Center specialist may
attempt to establish voice contact with
the vehicle occupants.
If the trunk recessed handle was pulled
for more than 20 seconds before door
unlock authorization was received by
the Response Center, you must wait
15 minutes before pulling the trunk
handle again.
iWhen the anti-theft alarm or the
tow-away alarm stays on for more than
30 seconds, a call is initiated automat-
ically to the Response Center. See
anti-theft alarm system (
page 87)
and tow-away alarm (
page 88).