2003 MERCEDES-BENZ SL500 steering wheel

102 Controls in detailLighting
LightingFor notes on how to switch on the head-
lamps and use the turn signals, see the
“Getting started” section (
page 43).
Exterior lamp switch
The exterior lamp switch is located on the
dashboard to the left of the steering wheel.M
Off
U
Automatic headlamp mode
C
Parking lamps, license plate lamps
and instrument panel lamps
B
Low beam or high beam headlamps
ˆ
Standing lamps, right
‚
Standing lamps, left
iIf you remove the key and open the
driver’s door while the parking lamps or
low beam headlamps are switched on,
then

a warning sounds


$
appears in the speedometer
display field


the message
Turn lamps off
ap-
pears in the tachometer display
field
iWith the daytime running lamp mode
activated and the engine running, the
low beam headlamps cannot be
switched off manually.
To activate the daytime running lamp
mode, see “Setting daytime running
lamp mode (USA only)” (
page 124).

109 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
Trip odometer
Make sure that you are viewing the trip
odometer display (
page 110).
Press the
j
or
k
button on the mul-
tifunction steering wheel repeatedly until
the trip odometer appears if it is not dis-
played.

Press and hold reset knob4
(page 20) until the trip odometer is
reset.
Tachometer
The red marking on the tachometer de-
notes excessive engine speed.
To help protect the engine, the fuel supply
is interrupted if the engine is operated
within the red marking.
SL 55 AMG
O n t h e S L 5 5 A M G , t h e r e i s n o r e d m a r k i n g
denoting excessive engine speed.
To help protect the engine, the fuel supply
is interrupted if the engine is operated at
an excessive speed.
Outside temperature indicator
When moving the vehicle into colder ambi-
ent temperatures (e.g. when leaving your
garage), you will notice a delay before the
lower temperature is displayed.
A delay also occurs when ambient temper-
atures rise. This prevents inaccurate tem-
perature indications caused by heat
radiated from the engine during idling or
slow driving.
!Avoid driving at excessive engine
speeds, as it may result in serious en-
gine damage that is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Warning!
G
The outside temperature indicator is not de-
signed to serve as an Ice-Warning Device
and is therefore unsuitable for that purpose.
Indicated temperatures just above the freez-
ing point do not guarantee that the road sur-
face is free of ice. The road may still be icy,
especially in wooded areas or on bridges.

110 Controls in detailControl system
Control systemThe control system is activated as soon as
the key in the starter switch is turned to
position1. The control system enables you
to

call up information about your vehicle


change vehicle settings
For example, you can use the control sys-
tem to find out when your vehicle is next
due for service, to set the language for
messages in the instrument cluster dis-
play, and much more.
The control system relays information to
the multifunction display.
Multifunction display
The multifunction display consists of the
display fields in the speedometer and the
tachometer. In its default state, the left
display field shows the trip and main
odometer, while the present outside tem-
perature appears in the right display field.
This default setting is referred to as the
standard display.
1Main odometer
2Trip odometer
3Current gear selector lever position
4Outside temperature
5Automatic transmission program mode
Warning!
G
A driver’s attention to the road and traffic
conditions must always be his /her primary
focus when driving.
For your safety and the safety of others, se-
lecting features through the multifunction
steering wheel should only be done by the
driver when traffic and road conditions per-
mit it to be done safely.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km / h), your vehicle is
covering a distance of 44 feet (approximate-
ly 13.5 m) every second.

111 Controls in detail
Control system
Multifunction steering wheel
The displays in the multifunction display
and the settings in the control system are
controlled by the buttons on the multifunc-
tion steering wheel (
page 20).Pressing any of the buttons on the multi-
function steering wheel will alter what is
shown in the multifunction display.
The information available in the multifunc-
tion display is arranged in menus, each
containing a number of functions or sub-
menus.
The individual functions are then found
within the relevant menu (radio or CD op-
erations under
AUDIO
, for example). These
functions serve to call up relevant informa-
tion or to customize the settings for your
vehicle.
It is helpful to think of the menus, and the
functions within each menu, as being ar-
ranged in a circular pattern.


If you press button
è
or
ÿ
re-
peatedly, you will pass through each
menu one after the other.


If you press button
k
or
j
re-
peatedly, you will pass through each
function display, one after the other, in
the current menu.
1
Left multifunction display in the
speedometer
2
Right multifunction display in the
tachometerOperating the control system
3
Selecting the submenu or setting
the volumeç
down / to decrease
æ
up / to increase
4
Telephone*í
to take a call
ì
to end a call
5
Menu systemsè
for next menu
ÿ
for previous menu
6
Moving within a menuj
for next display
k
for previous display

129 Controls in detail
Control system
Tire pressure display*
Use this function to set the unit for the tire
pressure display.
Move the selection marker with the æ
or
ç
button to the
Vehicle

submenu.

Press button
j
or
k
repeatedly
until you see this message in the left
display:
Tire press. display
.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.

Press
æ
or
ç
to select the de-
sired tire pressure unit.Convenience submenu
Access the
Convenience
submenu via the
Settings
menu. Use the
Convenience
sub-
menu to change the settings for a number
of convenience features. The following
functions are available:
Activating easy-entry/exit feature
Use this function to activate and deacti-
vate the easy-entry/exit feature. When the
feature is activated, the steering wheel and
driver’s seat will move back to facilitate ex-
iting the vehicle when you


remove the key from the starter switch


open the driver’s door
Function
Page
Activate easy-entry/exit fea-
ture
129
Set key dependency
130
Set parking position for exterior
rear view mirror
131
Warning!
G
You must make sure that no one can be-
come trapped or injured by the moving
steering wheel and the driver’s seat when
the easy-entry / exit feature is in operation
and the driver’s door is being opened or the
key is removed from the starter switch. Do
not leave children unattended in the vehicle,
or with access to an unlocked vehicle. Unsu-
pervised use of vehicle equipment may
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Children could open the driver’s door and
unintentionally activate the easy-entry/exit
feature, which could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.

130 Controls in detailControl systemAfter entering the vehicle, the steering
wheel and seat will move into the position
stored in memory when

the driver’s door is closed


you put the key in the starter switch
and


press the appropriate stored position
button on the memory switch
(page 99)

Move the selection marker with button æ
or
ç
to the
Convenience
sub-
menu.

Press button
j
or
k
repeatedly
until you see this message in the left
display:
Easy-entry feature Acti-
vate
.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.

Press
æ
or
ç
to change the
easy-entry/exit setting.
The following settings are available for
the easy-entry/exit feature:
Off
The easy-entry/exit feature is
deactivated
Steer. column
Only the steering column is
moved
Steer.col.+seat
Both the steering column and
the seat are movedSetting key dependency
Use this function to set whether the mem-
ory settings for the seats, the steering
wheel and the mirrors should be stored
separately for each key (
page 99).

Move the selection marker with button æ
or
ç
to the
Convenience
sub-
menu.

Press button
j
or
k
repeatedly
until you see this message in the left
display:
Key-dependent
.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.

Press
æ
or
ç
to set key depen-
dency to
On or
Off
.
iTo cancel seat/steering wheel move-
ment, press one of the following:

the seat adjustment switch
(page 32)


the steering column switch
(page 34)


the memory switch (
page 99)

134 Controls in detailControl systemYou can use the functions in the
TEL
menu
to operate your telephone, provided it is
connected to a hands-free system and
switched on.

Switch on the telephone and COMAND.

Press button
ÿ
or
è
on the
steering wheel repeatedly until you see
the
TEL
menu in the left display.
Which messages will appear in the right
display field depends on whether your tele-
phone is switched on or off:


If the telephone is off, the message in
the multifunction display is:
TEL Off
.


If the telephone is on:
The telephone will then search for a
network. During this time the right dis-
play is empty.
As soon as the telephone has found a
network,
READY
is indicated in the right
display.
1Signal strength


This standby message indicates that
your telephone is ready for use and you
can operate it using the control sys-
tem.Rejecting a call
If you do not wish to receive the call, you
can choose to reject it.

Press button
ì
.
You have rejected the call. The caller
receives a busy signal.
Answering a call
When your telephone is ready to receive
calls, you can answer a call at any time. In
the right display you will then see the mes-
sage:

Press button
ì
.
You have answered the call. In the right
display you see the length of the call.
Never operate radio transmitters equipped
with a built-in or attached antenna (i.e. with-
out being connected to an external antenna)
from inside the vehicle while the engine is
running. Doing so could lead to a malfunc-
tion of the vehicle’s electronic system, pos-
sibly resulting in an accident and/or
personal injury.

142 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionAccelerator position
Your driving style influences the transmis-
sion’s shifting behavior:
Less throttle Earlier upshifting
More throttle Later upshifting
Kickdown
Use kickdown when you want maximum
acceleration.
Press the accelerator past the point of
resistance.
The transmission shifts into a lower
gear.

Ease on the accelerator when you have
reached the desired speed.
The transmission shifts up again.Steering wheel gearshift control
(Speedshift) and manual shift program
SL 55 AMG
The SL 55 AMG can be driven in both the
automatic and manual shift program
modes. In the manual shift program mode
you can change the gears yourself on the
steering wheel or by using the selector le-
ver.
1Left button: downshift
2Right button: upshift
To do so, you must first select the manual
shift program
M on the program mode se-
lector switch.3Program mode selector switch
S Regular For regular driving
W Winter For winter driving
MANUALFor manual gear shifting
The selected shift program (
S/W/M
) is indi-
cated in the tachometer display field
(
page 109).