2004 MERCEDES-BENZ SL500 height

35 Getting started
Adjusting
Seat adjustment
The seat adjustment switch is located in
the door.
1Head restraint height
2Seat height
3Seat cushion tilt
4Seat cushion depth
5Seat fore and aft adjustment
6Backrest tilt
Switch on ignition.
or

Open the respective door.Seat fore and aft adjustment

Press the switch forward or backward
in the direction of arrow 5.
Adjust seat to a comfortable seating
position that still allows you to reach
the accelerator / brake pedal safely.
The position should be as far to the rear
as possible, consistent with ability to
properly operate controls.
Warning!
G
Children 12 years old and under must never
ride in this vehicle, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized BabySmart
TM1

compatible child seat, which operates with
the BabySmart
TM system installed in the ve-
hicle to deactivate the passenger front air-
bag when it is properly installed. Otherwise
they will be struck by the airbag when it in-
flates in a crash. If this happens, serious or
fatal injury will result.
Infants and small children must be seated in
an appropriate infant or child restraint sys-
tem, which is properly secured with the ve-
hicle’s seat belt, fully in accordance with the
child seat manufacturer’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.
1BabySmart
TM
is a trademark of Siemens
Automotive Corp.
!When moving the seats, make sure
there are no items in the footwell or be-
hind the seats. Otherwise you could
damage the seats.
The memory function (
page 114) lets
you store the setting for the seat posi-
tion together with the settings for the
steering wheel and the rear view mir-
rors.

36 Getting startedAdjustingSeat cushion tilt
Press the switch up or down in the
direction of arrow3 until your upper
legs are lightly supported.
Seat cushion depth

Press the switch forward or backward
in the direction of arrow4 until your
legs are supported comfortably.
Seat backrest tilt

Press the switch forward or backward
in the direction of arrow6 until your
arms are slightly angled when holding
the steering wheel.
Seat height

Press the switch up or down in the di-
rection of arrow2.Head restraint height

Press the switch up or down in the di-
rection of arrow1.Head restraint tilt
Manually adjust the angle of the head re-
straint.

Push or pull on the lower edge of the
head restraint cushion.
For more information on seats, see “Seats”
(
page 107).
Warning!
G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust head restraint so that the center of
the head restraint supports the back of the
head at eye level. This will reduce the poten-
tial for injury to the head and neck in the
event of an accident or similar situation.
Do not drive the vehicle without the seat
head restraints. Head restraints are intend-
ed to help reduce injuries during an acci-
dent.

72 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
BabySmart
TM1
airbag deactivation
system
Special BabySmart
TM compatible child
seats, designed for use with the
Mercedes-Benz system and available at
any authorized Mercedes-Benz Center, are
required for use with the BabySmart
TM air-
bag deactivation system. With the special
child seat properly installed, the passenger
front airbag will not deploy.The 7indicator lamp located on the
glove box will be illuminated, except with
the SmartKey removed or in starter switch
position0.
Self-test BabySmart
TM
without special
child seat installed
After turning the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position1 or2 or pressing the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button once or
twice, the 7 indicator lamp located on
the glove box comes on for approximately
six seconds and then goes out.
If the indicator lamp should not come on or
is continuously lit, the system is not func-
tioning. You must see an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center before seating any
child on the passenger seat.
Warning!
G
Children too big for child restraint systems
should use regular seat belts. Position the
shoulder belt across chest and shoulder, not
face or neck. A booster seat may be neces-
sary to achieve proper belt positioning for
children from 41 lbs until they reach a
height where a lap/shoulder belt fits proper-
ly without a booster.
When the child restraint is not in use, re-
move it from the vehicle or secure it with the
seat belt to prevent the child restraint from
becoming a projectile in the event of an ac-
cident.
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle; even if the children are secured in a
child restraint system. Unsupervised chil-
dren in a child restraint system may use ve-
hicle equipment and cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
1BabySmart
TM
is a trademark of Siemens
Automotive Corp.
iThe system does not deactivate the
head-thorax airbag and the emergency
tensioning device.

92 Controls in detailLocking and unlockingRestoring to factory setting
Press and hold buttons Œ and ‹
simultaneously for about six seconds
until battery check lamp5
(page 90) flashes twice.
Unlocking the trunk lid
You can unlock the trunk separately.
A minimum height clearance of
6.2 ft (1.88 m) is required to open the
trunk lid.

Press and hold button Š until trunk
unlocks.Checking the batteries

Press button ‹ or Œ.
Battery check lamp5 (
page 90)
comes on briefly to indicate that the
SmartKey batteries are in order.
!If you can no longer lock or unlock the
vehicle with the SmartKey, then the
batteries in the SmartKey are dis-
charged, the SmartKey is malfunction-
ing or the vehicle battery is drained.

Check the batteries in the
SmartKey (
page 92) and replace
them if necessary (
page 328).


Use the mechanical key to unlock
the doors (
page 325).


Have the vehicle batteries and their
connections checked
(page 358).


Use the mechanical key to lock or
unlock the doors (
page 327) .
If the SmartKey is malfunctioning, con-
tact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
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.
!If battery check lamp5 does not
come on briefly during check, then the
SmartKey batteries are discharged.

Replace the batteries (
page 328).
You can obtain the required batteries
at any authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
iIf the batteries are checked within sig-
nal range of the vehicle, pressing
the‹ orŒ button will lock or
unlock the vehicle accordingly.

99 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
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 door handle2.
If door was locked, locking knob1 will
move up.
Opening the trunk
Opening the trunk from the outside
A minimum height clearance of
6.2 ft (1.88 m) is required to open the
trunk lid.
The handle is located above the rear li-
cense plate recess.
1Handle 
Pull on handle 1 and lift the trunk lid.
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.iIf the vehicle has previously been
locked from the outside with the
SmartKey, opening a door from the in-
side will trigger the anti-theft alarm sys-
tem.
To cancel the alarm, do one of the fol-
lowing:

Press button Œ or ‹on the
SmartKey.


Insert the SmartKey in the starter
switch.


Press the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button (
page 44).


Grasp the outside door handle (ve-
hicles with KEYLESS-GO* only)

100 Controls in detailLocking and unlocking
The trunk can also be opened using

the SmartKey, see “Locking and un-
locking” (
page 90)


the remote trunk lid release switch, see
“Opening the trunk from the inside”
(page 100)


the trunk lid emergency release button,
see “Trunk lid emergency release”
(page 102)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.
A minimum height clearance of
6.2 ft (1.88 m) is required to open the
trunk lid.
The switch is located on the driver’s door.
1Remote trunk lid release switch
2Indicator lamp
!Always make sure that there is suffi-
cient overhead clearance.iIf the trunk lid does not open, the entire
vehicle is still locked globally
(page 90).
To 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 load as-
sist feature (
page 221). 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.

104 Controls in detailLocking and unlockingThe lock is located next to the handle
above the rear license plate recess.
1Neutral position
2Locked
Close the trunk lid (
page 102).

Pull the mechanical key out of the
SmartKey (
page 325).

Insert the mechanical key in the trunk
lid lock.

Turn the mechanical key clockwise to
position2.
The trunk remains locked even when the
vehicle is centrally unlocked.Separately unlocking the trunk

Pull the mechanical key out of the
SmartKey (
page 325).

Insert the mechanical key into the
trunk lid lock.

Turn the key completely to the left to
neutral position1 (
page 103).
You can now open the trunk.
A minimum height clearance of
6.2 ft (1.88 m) is required to open the
trunk lid.
iYou can only cancel the separate trunk
locking mode by means of the mechan-
ical key.
Warning!
G
Only drive with the trunk closed. Among oth-
er dangers, such as your view being blocked,
exhaust fumes may enter the vehicle interi-
or.

109 Controls in detailSeats
Multicontour backrest* (standard on SL 600 and SL 55 AMG)
The multicontour backrest has inflatable
air cushions built into the seat backrest to
provide additional lumbar and side sup-
port.
The seat backrest cushion height and cur-
vature can be continuously varied with
switches on the lower side of the seat
when the ignition is switched on.1Shoulder region support
2Side bolsters adjustment
3Massage function (PULSE)
4Lumbar region support

Make sure the ignition is switched on.
All the lamps in the instrument cluster
come on.
Shoulder region support

Press æ or ç on switch1.
The air cushion inflates or deflates.Lumbar region support

Press k or j on rocker
switch4.
This selects the air cushion you wish to
adjust.

Press æ or ç on rocker
switch4.
The air cushion inflates or deflates.
Side bolsters adjustment

Press switch2 to the right or left.
The lateral support increases or de-
creases.