2003 MERCEDES-BENZ SL500 how to turn on ac

52 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
Occupant safetyIn this section you will learn the most im-
portant facts about the restraint systems
of the vehicle.
The restraint systems are

Seat belts


Emergency tensioning device


Airbags


Child seats


Child seat recognition
As independent systems their protective
effects work in conjunction with each oth-
er.The
1
warning lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up for about 4 seconds when
you turn the key in the starter switch to po-
sition 1 or 2, or press the KEYLESS-GO* (if
so equipped) start/stop button once or
twice. It goes out when you start the en-
gine. This shows that the restraint systems
are operational.
If the lamp does not come on at all or if it
fails to extinguish after approximately 4
seconds or if it comes on thereafter, a mal-
function in the system has been detected.
More information can be found in the
"Practical hints" section (
page 252).
iFor information on infants and children
traveling with you in the vehicle and re-
straint systems for infants and chil-
dren, see “Children in the vehicle”
(page 62).
Warning!
G
In the event that the SRS malfunction indica-
tor lamp lights up during driving or does not
come on at all, the SRS may not be opera-
tional. For your safety, we strongly recom-
mend that you visit an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center immediately to have
the system checked; otherwise the SRS may
not be activated when needed in an acci-
dent, which could result in serious or fatal
injury, or it might deploy unexpectedly and
unnecessarily which could also result in inju-
ry.
Improper work on the restraint systems can
lead to unintentional deployment or opera-
tional failure.
In addition, through improper work there is
a risk of rendering the SRS inoperative or
causing unintended airbag deployment.
Work on the SRS must therefore only be per-
formed by an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.

54 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety

Occupants, especially children, should
never lean their heads in the area of the
door where the head-thorax airbag in-
flates. This could result in serious inju-
ries or death should the airbag be
triggered. Always sit upright, properly
use the seat belts and appropriate size
infant or child restraint system.


Children 12 years old and under must
never ride in this vehicle, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized
BabySmart
TM compatible child seat,
which operates with the BabySmart
TM
system installed in the vehicle to deacti-
vate the passenger side front airbag
when it is properly installed. Otherwise
they will be struck by the airbag when it
inflates in a crash. If this happens, seri-
ous or fatal injury will result.
Failure to follow these instructions can re-
sult in severe injuries to you or other occu-
pants.
If you sell your vehicle you are responsible
to make the buyer aware of these points. Be
sure to give the buyer this Operator’s Manu-
al.
Warning!
G
Should you choose to place a child 12 years
old or under in the passenger seat of your
vehicle, you must properly use a
BabySmart
TM child restraint which will turn
off the passenger side front airbag
(
page 62). BabySmart
TM will not, howev-
er, turn off any side impact airbag.
It should be noted, however, that there is a
possibility for a head-thorax airbag related
injury if occupants, especially children, are
not properly seated or restrained when next
to a head-thorax airbag which needs to de-
ploy rapidly in a side impact in order to do its
job.
To help avoid the possibility of injury, please
follow these guidelines:
(1) Occupants, especially children, should
never place their bodies or lean their
heads in the area of the door where the
head-thorax airbag inflates. This could
result in serious injuries or death should
the head-thorax airbag be activated.
(2) Always sit upright, properly use the seat
belts and use an appropriately sized in-
fant or child restraint system for all chil-
dren 12 years old or under.
(3) Always wear seat belts properly.
If you believe that, even with the use of
these guidelines, it would be safer for your
passenger seat occupants to have the pas-
senger side head-thorax airbag deactivated,
then deactivation can be accomplished
upon your written election to do so at your
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center at an ad-
ditional cost. Please contact your local au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center or call our
Customer Assistance Center at
1-800-FOR-MERCedes (1-800-367-6372)
for details.

98 Controls in detailSeatsVehicles with seat ventilation*
The switch is located on the door. The red
indicator lamps on the switch show the
heater level selected:
1Seat heater switch
Make sure the ignition is switched on.
All the lamps in the instrument cluster
light up.Switching on the seat heater

Press upper switch position1 twice.
A red indicator lamp on the switch
lights up.
Switching off the seat heater

Press upper switch position1 again.
Rapid seat heating

Press upper switch position1 once.
Both indicator lamps on the switch light
up. Switching off rapid seat heating mode

Press upper switch position1 twice.
Seat heater off
No indicator lamp on
Level 1
One indicator lamp on
Level 2
Two indicator lamps on
iThe seat heater will be automatically
switched off after approximately
30 minutes. iThe system switches over to normal
heating mode after approximately five
minutes. Only the right-hand indicator
lamp remains lit.
!If one or both of the lamps on the seat
heater switch are blinking, there is in-
sufficient voltage available since too
many electrical consumers are turned
on. The seat heater switches off auto-
matically.
The seat heater will switch back on
again automatically as soon as suffi-
cient voltage is available.

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).

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.

115 Controls in detail
Control system
Standard display menu
You can select the functions in the stan-
dard display menu with button
k
or
j
.
The following functions are available:
Display digital speedometer

Press button
j
once.
The current vehicle speed is shown in
the right display field.
AUDIO menu
The functions in the
AUDIO
menu operate
the audio equipment which you currently
have turned on.
If no audio equipment is currently turned
on the message
AUDIO off
is shown in the
right display.
The following functions are available:
iThe headings used in the menus table
are designed to facilitate navigation
within the system and are not neces-
sarily identical to those shown in the
control system displays.
The first function displayed in each
menu will automatically show you
which part of the system you are in.
Function
Page
Call up digital speedometer
115
Call up FSS
242
Check tire pressure*
236
Check engine oil level
228
Function
Page
Select radio station
116
Operate CD player
116

116 Controls in detailControl systemSelect radio station
Turn on the radio. Refer to the separate
operating instructions.

Press button
è
or
ÿ
repeatedly
until you see the currently tuned sta-
tion in the right display.
1Station frequency
2Waveband setting
3Setting for station selection using
memory

Press button
k
or
j
repeatedly
until the desired station is found.
The type of search depends on the set-
ting for the station tuning
(
page 128):


Memory: the next stored station is
selected (SP)


Station searchOperate the CD player

Turn on the radio and select the CD
player. Refer to the separate operating
instructions.

Press button
è
or
ÿ
repeatedly
until the settings for the CD currently
being played are shown in the right dis-
play field.
1Current track
2Current CD (for CD changer)

Press button
k
or
j
repeatedly
until the desired track is selected.
iYou can only store new stations using
the designated feature on the radio.
Refer to the separate operating instruc-
tions.
You can also operate the radio in the
usual manner.

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
.