2003 MERCEDES-BENZ SL500 start

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).

106 Controls in detailLightingInterior lighting
1Left reading lamp
2Right reading lamp
3Interior lighting on/off
4Slide switch for interior lighting controlAutomatic control
Activating

Slide switch4 to the left.
Interior lamps are switched on in dark-
ness when you

unlock the vehicle


open a door


remove the key from the starter
switch


open the trunk
In addition, the entry/exit lamps in the
door trays will come on when you open
a door.
The interior lamps are switched off fol-
lowing an adjustable time delay
(
page 127).Deactivating

Slide switch4 to the right.
The interior lighting and the entry/exit
lamps remain switched off in darkness,
even when you

unlock the vehicle


open a door


remove the key from the starter
switch


open the trunk
iIf the door remains open, the interior
lamps switch off automatically after ap-
proximately five minutes.

107 Controls in detail
Lighting
Manual control
Switching lamps on
Press switch3.
The interior lighting switches on.
Switching lamps off

Press switch3 again.
The interior lighting switches off.
Courtesy lighting
For better orientation in the dark, courtesy
lamps will illuminate the interior of your ve-
hicle as follows:
With parking lamps switched on:

the door handles


the driver and passenger footwells
With key in starter switch position1:


the door handles


the center console
iThe setting selected for the interior
lighting is used for the trunk lighting as
well.
If you leave the trunk lid open for an ex-
tended period of time, the trunk light-
ing will switch off automatically after
approximately ten minutes.
iIf you turn the key in the starter switch
to position0 and switch off the exterior
headlamps, the door handle lamps will
remain lit for approximately five min-
utes.

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.

114 Controls in detailControl systemMenus, submenus and functions
Menu 1
Menu 2
Menu 3
Menu 4
Menu 5
Menu 6
Menu 7
Menu 8
Standard dis-
play
AUDIO
NAVI
Distronic*
Malfunction
memory
Settings
Trip computer
Telephone
Commands/submenusDigital speed-
ometer
Select radio
station
Activate
route guid-
ance
Call up set-
tings
Call up malfunc-
tion messages
Reset to factory
settings
Fuel consump-
tion statistics af-
ter start
Load phone
book
Call up FSS
Operate CD
player
Instrument clus-
ter submenu
Fuel consump-
tion statistics
since the last re-
set
Search for
name in
phone book
Check tire
pressure*
Lighting sub-
menu
Call up range
Check engine
oil level
Vehicle sub-
menuConvenience
submenu

119 Controls in detail
Control system
The stored messages will now be displayed
in order. See the “Practical hints” section
for malfunction and warning messages
(page 257).
Should any malfunctions occur while driv-
ing, the number of malfunctions will reap-
pear in the right display field when the key
in the starter switch is turned to position0
or removed from the starter switch.
Settings menu
In the
Settings
menu there are two func-
tions:


The function
Reset to factory set-
tings using reset button
, with which
you can reset all the settings to those
set at the factory.


A collection of submenus with which
you can make individual settings for
your vehicle.

Press button
è
or
ÿ
repeatedly
until the
Settings...
menu is seen in
the left display.The following settings and submenus are
available:
iThe message memory will be cleared
when you turn the key in the starter
switch to position1 or2. You will then
only see Priority 1 malfunctions
(page 257).
Function
Page
Resetting all settings
120
Submenus in the Settings menu
120
Resetting the functions of a sub-
menu
120
Instrument cluster submenu
122
Lighting submenu
124
Vehicle submenu
127
Convenience submenu
129

125 Controls in detail
Control system
Setting locator lighting
During darkness, the following lamps will
come on when the exterior lamp switch is
in position
U
, the locator lighting fea-
ture is activated, and the vehicle is un-
locked by remote control:


the parking lamps


the tail lamps


the license plate lamps


the front fog lamps
To activate locator lighting:

Make sure that the locator lighting fea-
ture is set to
ON (see below).

Turn the exterior lamp switch to posi-
tion
U
.
The locator lighting switches off when the
driver’s door is opened. It switches off au-
tomatically after a period of approximately
40 seconds.

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

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

Press
æ
or
ç
to select the de-
sired setting.
The locator lighting will be switched on
or off.Setting night security illumination
(Exterior lamps delayed switch-off)
Use the
Headlamps delayed switch-off

function to set whether and for how long
you would like the exterior lamps to illumi-
nate during darkness after all doors are
closed. When the delayed switch-off fea-
ture is activated and the exterior lamp
switch is in position
U
, the following
lamps will remain lit after you remove the
key from the starter switch:


the parking lamps


the tail lamps


the license plate lamps


the front fog lamps
To activate night security illumination:

Select delayed switch-off period (see
below).

Turn the exterior lamp switch to posi-
tion
U
.

126 Controls in detailControl systemTo select delayed switch-off period:
Move the selection marker with button æ
or
ç
to the
Lighting
sub-
menu.

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

Press
æ
or
ç
to select the de-
sired lamp-on period.
You can select:


0 s
, the delayed switch-off feature
is deactivated


15 s
, 30 s
, 45 s
or
60 s
, the delayed
switch-off feature is activatedYou can temporarily deactivate the de-
layed switch-off feature:

Before leaving the vehicle turn the key
in the starter switch to position0.

Then turn it to position2 and back
to0.
The delayed switch-off feature is deac-
tivated. It will reactiv a t e a s s o o n a s y o u
reinsert the key in the starter switch.
For vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:

Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop but-
ton on the gear selector (
page 30).
iYou can reactivate this function within
ten minutes by opening a door.
If you do not open a door after remov-
ing the key, the lamps will automatical-
ly switch off after 60 seconds.