2003 MERCEDES-BENZ SL55AMG airbag off

Contents
Introduction.......................................... 7
Product information ................................ 7
Operator’s Manual .................................. 8
Service and warranty information ..... 8
Important notice for California
retail buyers and lessees of
Mercedes-Benz automobiles ............. 9
Maintenance .................................. 10
Roadside Assistance ...................... 10
Change of address or ownership.... 10
Operating your vehicle outside the USA
or Canada ...................................... 11
Where to find it .................................... 12
Symbols ............................................... 13
Operating safety .................................. 14
Proper use of the vehicle ............... 14
Problems with your vehicle .................. 15
Reporting safety defects...................... 16
Reporting safety defects ................ 16At a glance......................................... 17
Cockpit ................................................ 18
Instrument cluster ............................... 20
Multifunction steering wheel ............... 22Center console ..................................... 23
Upper part ...................................... 23
Lower part ...................................... 24
Overhead control panel ........................ 25
Door control panel................................ 26
Getting started................................... 27
Unlocking ............................................. 28
Unlocking with the SmartKey.......... 28
Unlocking with KEYLESS-GO* ......... 30
Adjusting .............................................. 32
Seats............................................... 32
Steering wheel ................................ 34
Mirrors ............................................ 35
Driving .................................................. 37
Fastening the seat belts.................. 37
Starting the engine ......................... 39
Switching on headlamps ................. 43
Turn signals and high beam ............ 43
Windshield wipers ........................... 44
Problems while driving .................... 45
Parking and locking .............................. 47
Parking brake.................................. 47
Switching off headlamps................. 48
Turning off engine with the key ....... 48Turning off engine with
KEYLESS-GO* ................................ 49
Emergency engine shut-down ......... 50
Safety and Security........................... 51
Occupant safety ................................... 52
Airbags ........................................... 53
Seat belts ....................................... 58
Roll bar ........................................... 61
Children in the vehicle .................... 62
Panic alarm .......................................... 67
Activating........................................ 67
Deactivating.................................... 67
Driving safety systems ......................... 68
ABS ................................................. 68
BAS ................................................. 69
ESP ................................................. 70
SBC brake system .......................... 72
Anti-theft systems ................................ 75
Immobilizer ..................................... 75
Anti-theft alarm system .................. 75
Tow-away alarm .............................. 77

37 Getting started
Driving
Driving
Fastening the seat belts
Warning!
G
Do not lay any objects in the driver’s foot-
well. Be careful that floor mats or carpets in
the driver’s footwell have sufficient clear-
ance for the pedals.
During sudden driving or braking maneu-
vers, the objects could get caught between
the pedals. You could then no longer brake
or accelerate.
Warning!
G
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure your passengers are
properly restrained, even pregnant women.
Failure to wear and properly fasten and po-
sition your seat belt greatly increases your
risk of injuries and their likely severity in an
accident. You and your passenger should al-
ways wear seat belts.
If you are ever in an accident, your injuries
can be considerably more severe without
your seat belt properly buckled. Without
your seat belt buckled, you are much more
likely to hit the interior of the vehicle or be
ejected from it. You can be seriously injured
or killed.
In the same crash, the possibility of injury or
death is lessened if you are wearing your
seat belt. The airbags can only protect as ex-
pected if the occupants are using their seat
belts (
page 52).
Warning!
G
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 ve-
hicle to deactivate the passenger side front
airbag when it is properly installed. Other-
wise they will be struck by the airbag when
it inflates in a crash. If this happens, serious
or fatal injury will result.
Infants and small children must be seated in
an appropriate BabySmart
TM compatible in-
fant or child restraint system, which is prop-
erly secured with the vehicle’s seat belt,
fully in accordance with the child seat man-
ufacturer’s instructions.
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle and
the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint.

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.

58 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyHead-thorax airbags
The head-thorax airbags are deployed:

on the impacted side of the vehicle


in impacts exceeding a preset deploy-
ment threshold


independently of the front airbags
The head-thorax airbags are not deployed
in impacts which do not exceed the sys-
tem’s deployment threshold.
The passenger head-thorax airbag will only
deploy if the system senses that the pas-
senger seat is occupied.
1Head-thorax airbag
Seat belts
The use of seat belts and infant and child
restraint systems is required by law in all
50 states, the District of Columbia, the
U.S. territories, and all Canadian provinc-
es. Even where this is not the case, all ve-
hicle occupants should have their seat
belts fastened whenever the vehicle is in
motion.
Information on fastening seat belts is
found in the “Getting started” section
(page 37).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
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure your passengers are
properly restrained, even pregnant women.
Failure to wear and properly fasten and po-
sition your seat belt greatly increases your
risk of injuries and their likely severity in an
accident. You and your passenger should al-
ways wear seat belts.
If you are ever in an accident, your injuries
can be considerably more severe without
your seat belt properly buckled. Without
your seat belt buckled, you are much more
likely to hit the interior of the vehicle or be
ejected from it. You can be seriously injured
or killed.
In the same crash, the possibility of injury or
death is lessened if you are properly wearing
your seat belt. Airbags can only protect as
they are designed if the occupants are prop-
erly wearing their seat belts (
page 53).

59 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!
G
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
backrest reclined. Sitting in an excessively
reclined position can be dangerous. You
could slide under the seat belt in a collision.
If you slide under it, the belt would apply
force at the abdomen or neck. This could
cause serious or even fatal injuries. The seat
backrest and seat belt provide the best re-
straint when the wearer is in an upright po-
sition and the belt is properly positioned on
the body.
Keep door storage compartments closed
while vehicle is in motion. Failure to do so
may cause the seat belt to catch at the rear
and prevent proper positioning of the seat
belt.
Warning!
G
Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are seat belts available. Be sure
everyone riding in the vehicle is correctly re-
strained with a separate seat belt.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 seat belts which have been ap-
proved by Mercedes-Benz.
Do not make any modifications to the seat
belts. This can lead to unintended activation
or to failure.
Have all work carried out only by an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
USE SEAT BELTS PROPERLY

Seat belts can only work when used
properly. Never wear seat belts in any
other way than as described in this sec-
tion, as that could result in serious inju-
ries in case of an accident.


Each occupant should wear their seat
belt at all times, because seat belts help
reduce the likelihood of and potential
severity of injuries in accidents, includ-
ing rollovers. The integrated restraint
system includes SRS (driver airbag, driv-
er-side kneebag, passenger airbag,
head-thorax airbags) and ETD (seat belt
emergency tensioning device). The sys-
tem is designed to enhance the protec-
tion offered to properly belted
occupants in certain frontal (front air-
bags, driver-side kneebag) and side
(head-thorax airbags) impacts which ex-
ceed preset deployment thresholds.

105 Controls in detail
Lighting
High beam flasher 
Pull the combination switch briefly in
direction2.
Hazard warning flasher
The hazard warning flasher can be activat-
ed with the ignition switched on or off. It is
activated automatically when an airbag is
deployed.
The switch is located above and between
the center air vents.
1Hazard warning flasher switchSwitching on the hazard warning
flasher

Press the hazard warning flasher
switch.
All the turn signals will blink.
Switching off the hazard warning
flasher

Press hazard warning flasher switch
again.iWith the hazard warning flasher acti-
vated and the combination switch set
for either left or right turn, only the re-
spective left or right turn signals will
operate.

357 Index
A
ABC 183, 351
Messages in display 258
Oil level 230
Setting vehicle level 184
ABC switch 24
ABS 68, 351
Malfunction indicator lamp 21, 251
Messages in display 259
Warning lamp 70, 251
ABS/ESP
Warning lamp 250
ABS/ESP warning lamp 21
Activating
Air circulation mode 152
Air conditioning (cooling) 155
Anti-theft alarm system 76
Central locking (control system) 128
Distance warning function* 180
Distronic* 175
Easy-entry/exit feature 129
Electric air pump 316
ESP 72
Exterior lamps 102
Hazard warning flasher 105
High beams 104Ignition 29
Immobilizer 48, 75
Parktronic* 189
Rear window defroster 153
Residual heat 154
Seat heater 97, 98
Seat ventilation* 96
Steering wheel gearshift control
(SL 55 AMG Kompressor) 143
Tow-away alarm 77
Windshield wipers 44
Active Body Control (ABC) switch 24
Adjusting
Air distribution 151
Air volume 150
Backrest tilt 33
Exterior rear view mirrors 35
Head restraint height 33
Head restraint tilt 34
Inside rear view mirror 35
Lumbar support 93
Mirrors 35
Multicontour backrest* 93
Seat cushion depth 33
Seat cushion tilt 33
Seat height 33Seat in the lumbar region 94
Seat in the shoulder region 94
Seats 32
Steering wheel 34
Air conditioner (cooling)
Turning off 155
Turning on 155
Air conditioner refrigerant 343
Air pressure see Tire inflation pressure
Air pump, electric 289
Turning on 316
Air recirculation mode 152
Air volume adjustment 150
Airbags 53
Children 54
Front 57
Head-thorax 57, 58
Kneebag 57
Passenger 57
Alarm
Audible 67, 75
Canceling 76
Visual 75
Alignment bolt 351
Alignment bolt (vehicle tool kit) 288, 314
Anticorrosion/antifreeze 342, 346

359 Index
Brakes 216
Warning lamp 253
Break-in period 214
Bulbs, replacing
Backup lamps 299
Brake lamps 296
Front lamps 295, 298
License plate lamps 300
Parking lamps 299
Rear fog lamp 299
Standing lamps 299
Tail lamp assemblies 299
Turn signal lamps, front 298
Turn signal lamps, rear 299
C
CAC (Customer Assistance Center) 351
CAN System 351
Capacities
Fuels, coolants, lubricants etc. 342
Catalytic converter 223
CD player
Operating 116
Center air vents 23
Center console
Lower part 24
Upper part 23Centigrade
Setting temperature units 122
Central locking
Automatic 91
Central locking switch 92
Switching on/off (control
system) 128
Unlocking from inside 92
Central locking switch 23
Central unlocking switch 23
Changing
Batteries (key) 293
Batteries (KEYLESS-GO* card) 294
Key setting 81
KEYLESS-GO* card setting 86
Vehicle level 185
Charging
Vehicle batteries 321
CHECK ENGINE malfunction indicator
lamp 21, 256
Checking
Batteries (KEYLESS-GO* card) 87
Coolant level 230
Oil level 226, 228
Tire inflate pressure 226
Vehicle lighting 226Vehicle lock status (KEYLESS-GO*
card) 87
Child safety
Airbags 54
Automatic child seat recognition 64
Infant and child restraint systems 52
Cigarette lighter 23, 197
Cleaning
Headlamps 146
Windshield 44
Clock 19
Closing
Glove box 190
Hood 228
Retractable hardtop (electronic
key) 164
Retractable hardtop (switch) 161
Side windows 158
Side windows (KEYLESS-GO*) 88
Sunshade* 167
Trunk lid 83, 91
Cockpit 352
Collapsible tire 352
COMAND 23
COMAND* 352
COMAND*, radio and telephone 222