2003 MERCEDES-BENZ CL500 brake

309 Practical hints
Flat tire
More information can be found in the
“Technical data” section (
page 333).
Preparing the vehicle

Take vehicle tool kit tray and vehicle
jack out of trunk.

Take the spare wheel out of wheel well
(page 296).
Lifting the vehicle

Prevent the vehicle from rolling away
by blocking wheels with wheel chocks
(not included) or other sizable, heavy
objects.
When changing wheel on a level surface:

Place one chock in front of and one be-
hind the wheel that is diagonally oppo-
site to the wheel being changed.
When changing wheel on a hill:

Place chocks behind the downhill sides
of both wheels of the axle not being
worked on.

Take the two-piece wheel wrench out
of the vehicle tool kit tray. Assemble
wheel wrench.

On wheel to be changed, loosen but do
not yet remove the wheel bolts (ap-
proximately one full turn with wrench).
The tube openings are located directly be-
hind the front wheel housings and in front
of the rear wheel housings.
Warning!
G
The jack is designed exclusively for jacking
up the vehicle at the jack take-up brackets
built into both sides of the vehicle. To help
avoid personal injury, use the jack only to lift
the vehicle during a wheel change. Never
get beneath the vehicle while it is supported
by the jack. Keep hands and feet away from
the area under the lifted vehicle. Always
firmly set parking brake and block wheels
before raising vehicle with jack.
Do not disengage parking brake while the
vehicle is raised. Be certain that the jack is
always vertical (plumb line) when in use, es-
pecially on hills. Always try to use the jack
on level surface. Make sure that the jack
arm is fully seated in the jack take-up brack-
et. Always lower the vehicle onto sufficient
capacity jackstands before working under
the vehicle.


314 Practical hintsBatteryThe battery is located in the trunk under
the right hand wheel well cover panel.
1Battery cover
2Locking knob
3Negative terminal
4Cover over positive terminal
Disconnecting the battery
Turn off all electrical consumers.

Depress the parking brake firmly or
move the gear selector lever to posi-
tion P.

Open the trunk lid (
page 88) or
(
page 89).

Turn locking knob 2 and remove bat-
tery cover 1.

Detach negative terminal 3 of the bat-
tery with the 10 mm open-end wrench
from the vehicle tool kit.

Remove cover 4 from the positive ter-
minal.

Disconnect the battery positive lead.
Removing the battery
Remove the screw securing the bat-
tery.

Remove the battery support and brack-
et. Take out the battery.
Charging and reinstalling the battery
Charge battery in accordance with the
instructions of the battery charger
manufacturer.

Reinstall the charged battery. Follow
the previously described steps in re-
verse order.Warning!
G
Never charge a battery while still installed in
the vehicle. Gases may escape during charg-
ing and cause explosions that may result in
paint damage, corrosion or personal injury.

317 Practical hints
Jump starting
The battery is located on the right side of
the trunk under the battery cover
(page 313).

Make sure that the two vehicles do not
touch.

Turn off all electrical consumers.

Apply parking brake.

Shift gear selector lever to positionP.

Open the trunk lid.

Remove battery cover.

Connect positive terminals 1 and3 of
the batteries with the jumper cable.
Clamp cable to charged battery3 first.1Positive terminal of discharged battery
2Negative terminal of discharged bat-
tery
3Positive terminal of charged battery
4Negative terminal of charged battery

Start engine of the vehicle with the
charged battery and run at idle speed.

Connect negative terminals 2 and4 of
the batteries with the jumper cable.
Clamp cable to charged battery4 first.

Start the engine of the disabled vehi-
cle.
You can now turn on the electrical con-
sumers. Do not turn on the lights under
any circumstances.

Remove the jumper cables first from
negative terminals2 and4 and then
from positive terminals1 and3.
You can now turn on the lights.

Have the battery checked at the near-
est authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
Keep flames or sparks away from battery.
Do not smoke.
Observe all safety instructions and precau-
tions when handling automotive batteries
(page 243).
!Never invert the terminal connections.
!Do not tow-start the vehicle.

318 Practical hintsTowing the vehicle
Towing the vehicleMercedes-Benz recommends that the vehi-
cle be transported with all wheels off the
ground using flatbed or appropriate wheel
lift/dolly equipment.When circumstances do not permit the
recommended towing methods, the vehi-
cle may be towed with all wheels on the
ground or front wheels raised only so far as
necessary to have the vehicle moved to a
safe location where the recommended
towing methods can be employed.
!Use flatbed or wheel lift/dolly equip-
ment with key in starter switch turned
to position0.
Do not tow with sling-type equipment.
Towing with sling-type equipment over
bumpy roads will damage radiator and
supports.
Do not tow-start the vehicle.
To prevent damage during transport,
do not tie down vehicle by its chassis or
suspension parts.
Switch off the tow-away alarm
(page 78) and the automatic central
locking (
page 139).
!If the vehicle is towed with the front
axle raised, the engine must be shut off
(key in starter switch position0 or1).
Otherwise, the ESP will immediately be
engaged and will apply the rear wheel
brakes.
When towing the vehicle with all wheels
on the ground, the selector lever must
be in positionN and the key must be in
starter switch position2.
When towing the vehicle with all wheels
on the ground or the front axle raised,
the vehicle may be towed only for dis-
tances up to 30 miles (50 km) and at a
speed not to exceed 30 mph (50
km/h).

319 Practical hints
Towing the vehicle
!To be certain to avoid a possibility of
damage to the transmission, however,
we recommend the drive shaft be dis-
connected at the rear axle drive flange
for any towing beyond a short tow to a
nearby garage.
Warning!
G
Prior to towing the vehicle with all wheels on
the ground, make certain that the key is in
starter switch position2.
If the key is left in starter switch position 0
for an extended period of time, it can no
longer be turned in the switch. In this case,
the steering is locked. To unlock, remove
key from starter switch and reinsert.
If circumstances require towing the vehicle
with all wheels on the ground, always tow
with a tow bar if:

the engine will not run


there is a malfunction in the power sup-
ply or in the vehicle’s electrical system
as that will be necessary to adequately con-
trol the towed vehicle.
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 ve-
hicle. Adapt your driving accordingly.

337 Technical data
Fuels, coolants, lubricants etc.
Fuels, coolants, lubricants etc.
CapacitiesVehicle components and their respective
lubricants must match. Therefore use only
brands tested and recommended by us.Please refer to the Factory Approved Ser-
vice Products pamphlet, or inquire at your
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Model
Capacity
Fuels, coolants, lubricants etc.
Engine with oil filter
CL 500
CL 55 AMG
CL 600
8.5 US qt (8.0 l)
7.9 US qt (7.5 l)
9.5 US qt (9.0 l)
Recommended engine oils
Automatic transmission
CL 500
CL 55 AMG
CL 600
9.1 US qt (8.6 l)
9.1 US qt (8.6 l)
8.1 US qt (7.7 l)
MB Automatic Transmission Oil
1
1MB part no. 001 989 21 03 10Rear axle
1.7 US qt (1.6 l)
Hypoid gear oil SAE 85 W 90
Hydraulic system for ABC
approx. 4.2 US qt (4.0 l)
MB Hydraulic fluid
Power steering
approx. 1.1 US qt (1.0 l)
MB Power Steering Fluid
(Pentosin CHF 11S)
Front wheel hubs
approx. 2.1 oz (60 g) each
High temperature roller bearing grease
Brake system
0.7 US qt (0.7 l)
MB Brake Fluid (DOT 4+)
Cooling system
CL 500
CL 55 AMG
CL 600
approx. 12.1 US qt (11.5 l)
approx. 15.3 US qt (14.5 l)
approx. 15.85 US qt (15 l)
MB 325.0 Anticorrosion / Antifreeze

340 Technical dataFuels, coolants, lubricants etc.Brake fluid
During vehicle operation, the boiling point
of the brake fluid is continuously reduced
through the absorption of moisture from
the atmosphere. Under extremely strenu-
ous operating conditions, this moisture
content can lead to the formation of bub-
bles in the system, thus reducing the sys-
tem’s efficiency.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be re-
placed every two years, preferably in the
spring.
Only brake fluid approved by
Mercedes-Benz is recommended. Your au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center will pro-
vide you with additional information.
Premium unleaded gasoline
Fuel requirements
Use only premium unleaded gasoline
meeting ASTM standard D 439:

The octane number (posted at the
pump) must be min. 91 for CL 500 and
CL 55 AMG and min. 93 for CL 600. It
is an average of both the Research (R)
octane number and the Motor (M) oc-
tane number: (R+M) / 2). This is also
known as the ANTI-KNOCK INDEX.
Unleaded gasoline containing oxygenates
such as ethanol, IPA, IBA and TBA can be
used provided the ratio of any one of these
oxygenates to gasoline does not exceed
10%; MTBE not to exceed 15%.
!To maintain the engine’s durability and
performance, premium unleaded gaso-
line must be used. If premium unleaded
is not available and low octane fuel is
used, follow these precautions:

Have the fuel tank only partially
filled with unleaded regular and fill
up with premium unleaded as soon
as possible.


Avoid full throttle driving and abrupt
acceleration.


Do not exceed an engine speed of
3000 rpm if the vehicle is loaded
with a light load such as two per-
sons and no luggage.


Do not exceed 2 / 3 of maximum ac-
celerator pedal position if the vehi-
cle is fully loaded or operating in
mountainous terrain.

347 Technical terms
ABC
(A
ctive B
ody C
ontrol)
Active, computer-controlled system
that hydraulically adjusts the suspen-
sion at all four wheels in response to
various driving situations.
ABS
(A
ntilock B
rake S
ystem)
Prevents the wheels from locking up
during braking so that the vehicle can
continue to be steered.
Alignment bolt
Metal pin with thread. The centering
pin is an aid used when changing a tire
to align the wheel with the wheel hub.BabySmart
TM
airbag deactivation
system
This system detects if a special system
compatible child restraint seat is in-
stalled on the front passenger seat. The
system will automatically deactivate
the passenger front airbag when such a
seat is properly installed (PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp in the cen-
ter console lights up). See your autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center for
availability.
BabySmart
TM
compatible child seats
Special restraint system for children.
The sensor system for the passenger
seat prevents deployment of the pas-
senger side airbag if a BabySmart
TM
compatible child seat is installed.
BAS
(B
rake A
ssist S
ystem)
System for potentially reducing braking
distances in emergency braking situa-
tions. The system is activated when it
senses an emergency based on how
fast the brake is applied.Bi-Xenon headlamps
Headlamps which use an electric arc as
the light source and produce a more in-
tense light than filament headlamps.
Bi-Xenon headlamps produce low
beam and high beam.
CAC
(C
ustomer A
ssistance C
enter)
Mercedes-Benz customer service cen-
ter, which can help you with any ques-
tions about your vehicle and provide
assistance in the event of a break-
down.
CAN system
(C
ontroller A
rea N
etwork)
Data bus network serving to control ve-
hicle functions such as door locking or
windshield wiping.
Cockpit
All instruments, switches, buttons and
indicator/warning lamps in the passen-
ger compartment needed for vehicle
operation and monitoring.