2003 MERCEDES-BENZ SL55AMG check malfunction

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.

55 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Safety guidelines for the seat belt,
emergency tensioning device and
airbag
iAirbags are designed to activate only in
certain frontal impacts (front air bags,
driver-side kneebag), side impacts
(head-thorax airbags) which exceed
preset thresholds. Only during these
types of impacts, if of sufficient severi-
ty to meet the deployment threshold,
will they provide their supplemental
protection.
The driver and passengers should al-
ways wear their seat belts. Otherwise it
is not possible for the airbags to pro-
vide their intended supplemental pro-
tection.
In cases of other frontal impacts, an-
gled impacts, roll-overs, other side im-
pacts, rear collisions, or other
accidents and impacts below air bag
deployment thresholds, the airbags will
not be activated. The driver and pas-
senger will then be protected to the ex-
tent possible by a properly fastened
seat belt.
We caution you not to rely on the pres-
ence of the airbags in order to avoid
wearing your seat belt.
Your vehicle was originally equipped
with airbags which are designed to ac-
tivate in certain impacts exceeding a
preset threshold to reduce the poten-
tial and severity of injury. It is important
to your safety and that of your passen-
ger that you replace deployed airbags
and repair any malfunctioning airbags
to ensure that the vehicle will continue
to provide supplemental crash protec-
tion for occupants.
Warning!
G


Damaged seat belts or belts that were
highly stressed in an accident must be
replaced and their anchoring points
must also be checked. Only use belts in-
stalled or supplied by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


Airbags and ETDs (Emergency Tension-
ing Devices) are designed to function on
a one-time-only basis. An airbag or ETD
that was activated must be replaced.

56 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
When you sell your vehicle, we strongly
urge you to give notice to the subsequent
owner that it is equipped with an SRS by
alerting them to the applicable section in
the Operator’s Manual.


No modifications of any kind may be
made to any components or wiring of
the SRS. This includes changing or re-
moving any component or part of the
SRS, the installation of additional trim
material, badges, etc., over the steering
wheel hub, passenger front airbag cov-
er, or door trim panels, and installation
of additional electrical /electronic
equipment on or near SRS components
and wiring. Keep area between airbags
and occupants free from objects (e.g.
packages, purses, umbrellas, etc.).


Do not pass belts over sharp edges.
They could tear.


Do not make any modification that could
change the effectiveness of the belts.


An airbag system component within the
steering wheel gets hot after the airbag
has inflated. Do not touch.


Improper work on the system, including
incorrect installation and removal, can
lead to possible injury through an unin-
tended activation of the SRS.


In addition, through improper work
there is a risk of rendering the SRS inop-
erative or causing unintended airbag de-
ployment. Work on the SRS must
therefore only be performed by an au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center.


For your protection and the protection
of others, when scrapping the airbag
unit or emergency tensioning device,
our safety instructions must be fol-
lowed. These instructions are available
from your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.


Given the considerable deployment
speed and the textile structure of the
airbags, there is the possibility of abra-
sions or other injuries resulting from air-
bag deployment.
Warning!
G
In the event that the SRS malfunction indica-
tor lamp lights up while driving, the SRS may
not be operational. For your safety, we
strongly recommend that you visit an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center immediately to
have the system checked; otherwise the
SRS may not be activated when needed in
an accident, which could result in serious or
fatal injury, or it might deploy unexpectedly
and unnecessarily which could also result in
injury.

62 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyRaising the roll bar
Lift the switch for the retractable hard-
top.

Press and hold button2 until the roll
bar is raised.Lowering the roll bar
If the rollbar was raised manually:

Lift the switch for the retractable hard-
top.

Press and hold button1 until the roll
bar is lowered.
If the rollbar was raised automatically:

Press and hold button2 until you hear
the roll bar lock into place.

Press and hold button1 until the roll
bar is lowered.
Children in the vehicle
If an infant or child is traveling with you in
the vehicle:

Secure the child using an infant or child
restraint appropriate to the age and
size of the child and recommended for
use by Mercedes-Benz.


Ensure that the infant or child is prop-
erly secured by a belt at all times while
the vehicle is in motion.
Infant and child restraint seats and infor-
mation on choosing an appropriate re-
straint system can be obtained from any
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Infant and child restraint systems
Only use a BabySmart
TM compatible child
restraint for the front passenger seat in
this vehicle.
BabySmart
TM is a trademark of Siemens
Automotive Corp.
Warning!
G
If the roll bar warning light

in the ta-
chometer remains lit after starting the en-
gine, there is a malfunction. In the display
you see the message
Raise the
roll-over bar
.
For safety reasons drive only with the roll
bar upright until the malfunction is repaired.
Have your vehicle checked at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
iIf you raised the roll bar manually using
the button, the roll bar will be automat-
ically lowered and then raised again
when you open or close the retractable
hardtop.

81 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Factory setting
Global unlocking
Press button
Œ
.
All turn signals blink once. The locking
knobs in the doors move up.
The vehicle will lock again automatically
within approximately 40 seconds of un-
locking if neither door nor trunk is opened.
Global locking

Press button
‹
.
All turn signals blink three times. The lock-
ing knobs in the doors move down.Individual setting
If you frequently travel alone, you may wish
to reprogram the key so that
pressing
Œ
only unlocks the driver’s
door, interior lockable storage compart-
ments and the fuel filler flap.

Press and hold buttons
Œ
and
‹

simultaneously for about six seconds
until the battery check lamp5 blinks
twice.
The key will then function as follows:
Unlocking driver’s door

Press button
Œ
once.
Global unlocking

Press button
Œ
twice.
Global locking

Press button
‹
.Restoring to factory setting

Press and hold buttons
Œ
and
‹

simultaneously for about six seconds
until the battery check lamp5 blinks
twice.
!To prevent possible malfunction, avoid
exposing the key to high levels of elec-
tromagnetic radiation.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
key from the starter switch, take the KEY-
LESS-GO
* card (if so equipped) with you
and lock the vehicle. Do not leave children
unattended in the vehicle, or with access to
an unlocked vehicle. It is possible for chil-
dren to open a locked door from the inside,
which could result in an accident or serious
injury.

82 Controls in detailLocking and unlocking
Checking the batteries
Press button
‹
or
Œ
.
The battery check lamp5 lights up
briefly to indicate that the key batteries
are in order.Unlocking the trunk lid
You can unlock the trunk separately.

Press and hold button
Š
until trunk
unlocks.
!If you can no longer lock or unlock the
vehicle with the key, then either the
batteries in the electronics are dis-
charged or the key is malfunctioning.

Check the batteries in the key
(page 82) and replace them if
necessary (
page 293).
or


Use the mechanical key to unlock
the doors (
page 290) and trunk
(
page 291) as required. Lock the
vehicle using the mechanical key
(page 292).
If the key is malfunctioning, contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
!If the battery check lamp5 does not
light up briefly during check then the
key batteries are discharged.

Change the batteries (
page 293).
You can obtain the required batteries
at any authorized Mercedes-Benz Cen-
ter.
iIf the vehicle was previously centrally
locked, the trunk lid will lock automati-
cally when closed. The turn signals will
flash three times to confirm locking.

84 Controls in detailLocking and unlockingSeparately unlocking the trunk
Turn the key completely to the left to
position1.
You can now open the trunk.
Loss of SmartKey or mechanical key
If you lose a SmartKey or mechanical key,
you should do the following:

Have the SmartKey deactivated by an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.

Report the loss of the SmartKey or the
mechanical key immediately to your
car insurance company.

If necessary have the mechanical lock
replaced.
Your authorized Mercedes-Benz Center
will be glad to supply you with a replace-
ment.
KEYLESS-GO card*
Specially equipped vehicles come with two
KEYLESS-GO cards. On these vehicles, the
validity of the KEYLESS-GO card is
checked every time you grasp a door
handle.
If the card is valid, your vehicle 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
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
key from the starter switch, take the KEY-
LESS-GO
* card (if so equipped) with you
and lock the vehicle. Do not leave children
unattended in the vehicle, or with access to
an unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of
vehicle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
!To prevent possible malfunction, avoid
exposing the KEYLESS-GO* card to
high levels of electromagnetic radia-
tion.

87 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Restoring to factory setting
Press and hold the programming
button1 until the “Global unlock”
symbol3 lights up.Checking the batteries

Briefly press the programming
button1.
The KEYLESS-GO card batteries are in
order if the indicator lamp for either the
“Driver’s door”2 or “Global unlock”3
comes on red or green.Checking vehicle lock status
If you cannot remember whether you have
locked the vehicle, you can check the lock
status using the KEYLESS-GO card.

Briefly press the programming
button1.
The indicator lamp for the “Driver’s
door”2 or “Global unlock”3 lights up
in red or green.
Vehicle lock status:
Red Vehicle is locked
Green Vehicle is unlocked
!If you cannot lock or unlock the vehicle
with the KEYLESS-GO card, then either
the batteries of the KEYLESS-GO card
are discharged or the KEYLESS-GO
card is malfunctioning.

Check the batteries of the
KEYLESS-GO card (
page 87) and
replace them if necessary
(
page 294).
or


Use the key to unlock the doors
(page 81) and trunk (
page 82)
as required. Lock the vehicle using
the key (
page 81).
If your KEYLESS-GO card is malfunc-
tioning, contact your authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
!If the symbols2 or3 do not light up
during the check, then the batteries of
the KEYLESS-GO card are discharged.

Change the batteries
(page 294).
You can obtain the batteries at any au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center.