2004 MERCEDES-BENZ SL500 brake

321 Practical hints
What to do if …
Left display
Right display
Possible cause
Possible solution
H
Reactivate
tire press. monit
.
The tire inflation pressure monitor*
is deactivated.

Activate the tire inflation pressure monitor*
(page 266).
Tire press.
monitor
currently
inactive
The tire inflation pressure monitor*
is temporarily unable to monitor the
tire pressure due to:

the presence of several wheel
sensors in the vehicle


excessive wheel sensor temper-
atures


a nearby radio interference
source


unrecognized wheel sensors
mounted

Remove any additional wheel sensors from
the vehicle, e.g. when transporting a new set
of tires.
As soon as the causes of the malfunction have
been removed, the tire pressure monitor auto-
matically becomes active again.
Warning!
G
Do not drive with a flat tire. A flat tire affects
the ability to steer or brake the vehicle. You
may lose control of the vehicle.
Continued driving with a flat tire will cause
excessive heat build-up and possibly a fire.

331 Practical hints
Replacing bulbs
Replacing bulbs
Bulbs
Safe vehicle operation depends on proper
exterior lighting and signaling. It is there-
fore essential that all bulbs and lamp as-
semblies are in good working order at all
times.
Correct headlamp adjustment is extremely
important. Have headlamps checked and
readjusted at regular intervals and when a
bulb has been replaced. See an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center for headlamp ad-
justment.
iIf the headlamps are fogged up on the
inside as a result of high humidity, driv-
ing the vehicle a distance should clear
up the fogging.
iBackup bulbs will be brought into use
when the following lamps malfunction:

Turn signal lamps


Brake lamps


Parking lamps


Tail lamps

332 Practical hintsReplacing bulbsFront lamps Rear lamps
Lamp
Type
1
Additional turn
signal
LED
2
Turn signal lamp
1156 NA
3
Low beam
1
1Vehicles with Bi-Xenon* headlamps: Low beam
and high beam use the same D2S-35W lamp. Do
not replace the Xenon and Bi-Xenon* bulbs your-
self. See an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Xenon D2S-35 W
4
Xenon head-
lamps:
High beam, high
beam flasher
H7 (55 W)
Bi-Xenon* head-
lamps:
High beam
flasher
H7 (55 W)
Parking and
standing lamps
W 5 W
5
Fog lamp
HB4/9006 (55 W)
6
Side marker
lamp
W 5 W
Lamp
Type
7
Rear fog lamp,
driver’s side;
replacement
P 21 W
1156/32 cp
8
High mounted
brake lamp
LED
9
Backup lamp;
replacement
P 21 W
1156/32 cp
a
Tail, parking and
standing lamp,
side marker
LED
b
Tail, parking and
standing lamp,
brake lamp
LED
c
License plate
lamps
C 5 W
d
Turn signal
lamp;
replacement
P 21 W
1156/32 cp

333 Practical hints
Replacing bulbs
Notes on bulb replacement

Only use 12 volt bulbs of the same type
and with the specified watt rating.


Switch lights off before changing a bulb
to prevent short circuits.


Always use a clean lint-free cloth when
handling bulbs.


Your hands should be dry and free of oil
and grease.


If the newly installed bulb does not
come on, visit an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.Have the LEDs and bulbs for the following
lamps replaced by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center:


the additional turn signals in the exteri-
or rear view mirrors


the high mounted brake lamp


the brake lamps


the parking lamps and the side marker
lamps in the tail lamp assemblies


the rear fog lamps


the low beam (Xenon or Bi-Xenon*)
lamps


the front fog lamps
Warning!
G
Bulbs and bulb sockets can be very hot. Al-
low the lamp to cool down before changing
a bulb.
Keep bulbs out of reach of children.
Halogen lamps contain pressurized gas. A
bulb can explode if you:

touch or move it when hot,


drop the bulb,


scratch the bulb.
Wear eye and hand protection.
Because of high voltage in Xenon lamps, it is
dangerous to replace the bulb or repair the
lamp and its components. We recommend
that you have such work done by a qualified
technician.

339 Practical hints
Flat tire
Flat tire
Your SL 55 AMG may be equipped with a
TIREFIT kit.
You can identify which TIREFIT kit
(SL 55 AMG only) you have as follows:

The TIREFIT container of kit 1 is a
squeeze container.
For information on sealing a damaged
tire with TIREFIT kit 1, see
(page 340).


The TIREFIT container of kit 2 is a rigid
container.
For information on sealing a damaged
tire with TIREFIT kit 2, see
(page 345).
Preparing the vehicle
Park the vehicle as far as possible from
moving traffic on a hard surface.

Turn on the hazard warning flashers.

Turn the steering wheel so that the
front wheels are in a straight ahead po-
sition.

Set the parking brake.

Move the gear selector lever to P.
Vehicles with SmartKey :

Turn off the engine (
page 53).

Remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch.Vehicles with SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO*:

Turn off the engine by pressing the
KEYLESS-GO* button on the gear se-
lector lever once (
page 54).

Open the driver’s door (this puts the
starter switch in position 0, same as
with the SmartKey removed from the
starter switch). The driver's door then
can be closed again.

Have any passenger exit the vehicle at
a safe distance from the roadway. iOpen door only when conditions are
safe to do so.

343 Practical hints
Flat tire
1Flap
2Air hose with pressure gauge and vent
screw
3Union nut
4Electrical plug
Open flap 1 on air pump.

Pull out electrical plug 4 and air hose
with the pressure gauge 2.

Screw air hose 2 onto the tire valve.

Insert electrical plug 4 into vehicle ci-
gar lighter socket.

Turn the SmartKey in the ignition to po-
sition 1 (
page 31).
or

Press the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button on the gear selector lever once.
Do not depress brake pedal.

Press I on the electric air pump switch.
The electric air pump should now
switch on and inflate the tire.
After 5 minutes, the pressure gauge must
display at least 26 psi (1.8 bar). The air
hose and the union nut can become hot
during inflation. Please exercise appropri-
ate caution.

If this tire pressure is not attained, turn
off the electric air pump, detach the air
hose from the tire valve, and again
drive vehicle back and forth very slowly
approximately 30 ft (10 m).
This serves to better distribute the
TIREFIT sealant material inside the tire.

Inflate the tire again.

Press 0 on the electric air pump switch.

Turn the SmartKey in the ignition to
position0.
or

Press KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button
on the gear selector lever twice. Do not
depress brake pedal.
The electric air pump should now be
switched off.!Do not operate the electric air pump
longer than eight minutes without in-
terruption. Otherwise it may overheat.
You may operate the air pump again af-
ter it has cooled off.


347 Practical hints
Flat tire

Screw the air pump’s air hose5 onto
flange6 of the TIREFIT container.

Stick TIREFIT container1 upside
down into notch3 of the electric air
pump.
7Tire valve
8Electric air pump switch
9Air hose with pressure gauge and vent
screw
aFiller hose

Unscrew the valve cap from tire
valve7.

Screw filler hosea onto tire valve7.

Insert electrical plug4 into vehicle
cigarette lighter socket.

Turn the SmartKey in the starter switch
to position1 (
page 31).
or

Press the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button (
page 33) on the gear selec-
tor lever once. Do not depress brake
pedal.

Press I on electric air pump switch8.
The electric air pump should now
switch on and inflate the tire.After 5 minutes, the pressure gauge must
display at least 26 psi (1.8 bar). The air
hose can become hot during inflation.
Please exercise appropriate caution.

If this tire pressure is not attained, turn
off the electric air pump, detach the fill-
er hose from the tire valve, and drive
vehicle back and forth very slowly ap-
proximately 30 ft (10 m).
This serves to better distribute the
TIREFIT sealant material inside the tire.

Unscrew the air pump’s air hose5
from flange6 of the TIREFIT contain-
er.

Screw air hose5onto tire valve7.

Inflate the tire again.
Warning!
G
Observe safety instructions on air pump la-
bel.
!Do not operate the electric air pump
longer than eight minutes without in-
terruption. Otherwise it may overheat.
You may operate the air pump again af-
ter it has cooled off.


348 Practical hintsFlat tire
After attaining a tire pressure of 26 psi
(1.8 bar), press 0 on electric air pump
switch8.
The electric air pump should now be
switched off.

Turn the SmartKey in the ignition to
position0 (
page 31).
or

Press the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button (
page 33) on the gear selec-
tor lever twice. Do not depress brake
pedal.

Detach the electric air pump.
The air hose may still be hot. Please ex-
ercise appropriate caution.

Store the electrical plug and the air
hose behind the flap and place the air
pump back in the trunk.

Close the trunk lid.

Drive away immediately.
The TIREFIT sealant will distribute itself
evenly inside the tire.
Warning!
G
If a tire pressure of 26 psi (1.8 bar) is not at-
tained, tire is too severely damaged for
TIREFIT to provide a reliable tire repair.
In this case, TIREFIT cannot properly seal
the tire.
Do not drive the vehicle.
Contact the nearest Mercedes-Benz Center
or call Roadside Assistance.
Warning!
G
Do not exceed vehicle speed of
50 mph (80 km / h). A TIREFIT repair is not
designed to operate at higher speeds.
The sticker must be attached on the instru-
ment cluster where it will be easily seen by
the driver.
Vehicle handling characteristics may
change. Adapt your driving accordingly.