2003 MERCEDES-BENZ SL500 remote control

26 At a glanceDoor control panel
Door control panel
Item
Page
1
Door handle
89
2
Switches for open-
ing/closing front and rear
side windows
157
3
Memory function (for stor-
ing seat, mirror and steer-
ing wheel settings)
99
4
Seat heater
97
Seat ventilation*
96
5
Seat adjustment
32, 93
6
Remote trunk lid release
switch
90
7
Door pocket
192

28 Getting startedUnlockingThe “Getting started” section provides an
overview of the vehicle’s most basic func-
tions. First-time Mercedes-Benz owners
should pay special attention to the infor-
mation given here.
If you are already familiar with the basic
functions described here, the “Controls in
detail” section will help you with further in-
formation. The corresponding page refer-
ences are at the end of each segment.
UnlockingUnlocking with the SmartKeyElectronic key with remote control1‹
Lock button
2
Š
Unlock button for trunk lid
3
Œ
Unlock button
4
Â
Panic button

Press unlock button3
Œ
on the key.
The indicator lamps light up for a short
time. The locking knobs in the doors
move up.

Get in the vehicle and insert the key in
the starter switch.iThe SBC brake system is activated.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.

49 Getting started
Parking and locking

After exiting the vehicle, press the lock
button
‹
on the remote control
(
page 28).
The locking knobs on the doors move
down.
More information can be found in the
“Controls in detail” section (
page 80).
Turning off engine with KEYLESS-GO* 
Place the gear selector lever inP.

Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop but-
ton until the engine shuts off.
With the driver's door closed, the start-
er switch is now in the position1. With
the driver's door opened, the starter
switch is set to position0, same as key
removed from starter switch
(page 29).

Press the seat belt release button
(page 37).
!If you hear a warning signal you have ei-
ther

forgotten to turn off the lights, or


not put the gear selector lever inP
before opening the driver’s door.
Turn off the lights or place the gear se-
lector lever inP.
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the door
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Before closing doors, make sure that there
is no possibility of someone getting caught
in a door during closing.
!If you hear a warning signal you have ei-
ther

forgotten to turn off the lights, or


not put the gear selector lever inP
before opening the driver’s door.
Turn off the lights or place the gear se-
lector lever inP.
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the door
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Before closing doors, make sure that there
is no possibility of someone getting caught
in a door during closing.

76 Safety and SecurityAnti-theft systemsArming the alarm system
The alarm system is armed after locking
the vehicle with the remote control. The
turn signal lamps blink three times to indi-
cate that the alarm system is activated.
The
‹
indicator lamp in the central
locking switch (
page 23) will blink after
approximately 10 seconds when the alarm
system is completely armed.Disarming the alarm system
The alarm system is disarmed when you
unlock your vehicle with the remote con-
trol. The turn signal lamps blink once to in-
dicate that the alarm system is
deactivated.
Canceling the alarm
To cancel the alarm:
With the key

Insert the key in the starter switch.
or

Press the
Œ
or
‹
button.
The alarm is canceled.With KEYLESS-GO*

Grasp the outside door handle.
or

Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop but-
ton.
The alarm is canceled.
iIf the turn signal lamps do not blink
three times, a door or the hood may not
be closed properly.
Close the respective element and lock
the vehicle again.
iThe alarm system will rearm automati-
cally again after aprroximately 40 sec-
onds if no door was opened.

80 Controls in detailLocking and unlockingIn the “Controls in detail” section you will
find detailed information on how to oper-
ate the equipment installed on your vehi-
cle. if you are already familiar with the
basic functions of your vehicle, this section
will be of particular interest to you.
To quickly familiarize yourself with the ba-
sic functions of the vehicle, refer to the
“Getting started” section of this manual.
The corresponding page numbers are giv-
en at the beginning of each segment.
Locking and unlockingKeys
Your vehicle comes supplied with two
SmartKeys with remote controls and a re-
movable mechanical key. The locking tabs
for the mechanical key portion of the two
keys are a different color to help distin-
guish each key unit.
The remote control key provides an ex-
tended operating range. To prevent theft,
however, it is advisable to only unlock the
vehicle when you are in close proximity to
it.
The key centrally locks and unlocks:

the doors


the trunk lid


the glove box


the storage space under the armrest


the storage compartment in the rear


the fuel filler flap
SmartKey with remote controls1‹
Lock button
2
Š
Unlock button for the trunk lid
3Mechanical key locking tab
4
Œ
Unlock button
5Battery check lamp
6
Â
Panic button (
page 67)
iYou can also open and close the re-
tractable hardtop using the key
(page 163).

89 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Loss of KEYLESS-GO-card
If you lose your KEYLESS-GO card, you
should do the following:
Have the KEYLESS-GO card deactivat-
ed by an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.

Report the loss immediately to your car
insurance company.

Have the mechanical lock replaced if
necessary.
Your authorized Mercedes-Benz Center
will be glad to supply you with a replace-
ment.
Opening the doors from the inside
You can open a locked door from the in-
side. Open door only when conditions are
safe to do so.
1Locking knob
2Inside door handle
Pull on the door handle2.
If door was locked, the locking knob1
will move up.
Opening the trunk from the inside
You can open the trunk from the inside if
the vehicle is stationary and the retract-
able hardtop is fully opened or closed. The
switch is located on the driver’s door.
1Remote trunk lid release switch
2Indicator lamp
iIf you open a door, the side windows on
that side of the vehicle will lower slight-
ly. The windows close again when you
close the door.

90 Controls in detailLocking and unlocking
Pull remote trunk lid release switch1.
The trunk unlocks. The indicator
lamp2 comes on. It remains lit until
you close the trunk again.
Trunk lid emergency release
The emergency release button is located
on the left side of the trunk.
Illumination of the emergency release but-
ton:

The button will blink for 30 minutes af-
ter opening the trunk.


The button will blink for 60 minutes af-
ter closing the trunk.

Briefly press the emergency release
button.
The trunk unlocks and the trunk lid
opens.
iTo facilitate trunk loading and unload-
ing when the hardtop is retracted, you
can raise the hardtop from its storage
position in the trunk using the loading
aid feature (
page 198). You may also
unhook the luggage cover.
Remember to resecure the luggage
cover after loading/unloading the
trunk. Otherwise you will not be able to
lower the retractable hardtop.
!The emergency release button does
not open the trunk lid if the vehicle bat-
tery is discharged or disconnected.iIf the emergency release button is
pressed and the vehicle was centrally
locked, the exterior lamps will flash and
the alarm will sound as the trunk lid
opens.
To cancel the alarm, insert the key in
the starter switch or press button
Œ

or
‹
on the key.

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
.