2004 MERCEDES-BENZ SL55AMG airbag off

Contents
Practical hints................................. 281
What to do if … .................................. 282
Lamps in instrument cluster ........ 282
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp ......... 290
Messages in the display ............... 291
Where will I find ...? ........................... 323
First aid kit ................................... 323
Vehicle tool kit, jack, and spare
wheel ........................................... 323
Locking/unlocking in an emergency . 325
Unlocking the vehicle ................... 325
Locking the vehicle ...................... 327
Lowering the load assist manually 327
Replacing batteries in the
SmartKey/SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* .............................. 328
Replacing bulbs ................................. 331
Bulbs ............................................ 331
Replacing bulbs for front lamps ... 334
Replacing bulbs for rear lamps..... 335Replacing wiper blades....................... 337
Removing wiper blades ................. 337
Installing wiper blades .................. 338
Flat tire ............................................... 339
Preparing the vehicle .................... 339
Sealing tires with TIREFIT kit 1...... 340
Sealing tires with TIREFIT kit 2...... 345
Mounting the spare wheel ............ 350
Batteries ............................................. 358
Disconnecting the batteries .......... 360
Removing the batteries ................. 361
Charging and reinstalling
batteries ....................................... 361
Reconnecting the batteries ........... 361
Jump starting ...................................... 363
Towing the vehicle .............................. 365
Installing towing eye bolt .............. 368
Fuses .................................................. 369
Main fuse box ............................... 369
Technical data.................................. 371
Spare parts service ............................ 372
Warranty coverage ............................. 373
Loss of Service and Warranty
Information Booklet ...................... 373
Identification labels ............................ 374
Layout of poly-V-belt drive.................. 375
SL 500 .......................................... 375
SL 55 AMG ................................... 375
SL 600 .......................................... 375
Engine ................................................ 376
Rims and tires .................................... 378
Same size tires ............................. 379
Mixed size tires ............................. 380
Spare wheel .................................. 382
Electrical system ................................ 383
Main dimensions ................................ 384
Weights .............................................. 385

40 Getting startedDriving
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 provide the
protection they were designed to afford if
the occupants are using their seat belts
(page 58).
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.
1BabySmart
TM
is a trademark of Siemens
Automotive Corp.

61 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
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 front airbag (
page 70).
BabySmart
TM will not, however, 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 nearly upright, properly use
the seat belts and use an appropriately
sized infant or child restraint system for
all children 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 an au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center at an addi-
tional cost. Please contact your local
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center or call
our Customer Assistance Center at
1-800-FOR-MERCedes (1-800-367-6372)
for details.

66 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyWarning!
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 59).
Warning!
G
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
backrest in an excessively reclined position
as this 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 ab-
domen or neck. This could cause serious or
even fatal injuries. The seat backrest and
seat belt provide the best restraint when the
wearer is in a nearly upright position 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. Never use
a seat belt for more than one person at a
time.

67 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
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.
Do not bleach or dye seat belts as this may
severely weaken them. In a crash, they may
not be able to provide adequate protection.
Have all work carried out only by qualified
technicians. Contact an authorized
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 ETD) and
side (head-thorax airbags and ETD) im-
pacts which exceed preset deployment
thresholds.


Never wear the shoulder belt under your
arm, against your neck or off your shoul-
der. In a crash, your body would move
too far forward. That would increase the
chance of head and neck injuries. The
belt would also apply too much force to
the ribs or abdomen, which could se-
verely injure internal organs such as
your liver or spleen.


Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eyeglasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
might cause injuries.


Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips and not across the abdo-
men. If the belt is positioned across your
abdomen, it could cause serious injuries
in a crash.


121 Controls in detail
Lighting
Switching on high beams
Turn the exterior lamp switch toB
or toU (
page 117).

Push the combination switch in
direction1.
The high beam indicator A in the ta-
chometer comes on.
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 hazard warning flasher
switch1.
All turn signals flash.
Switching off the hazard warning
flasher

Press hazard warning flasher switch1
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 when the starter switch is in
position 1 or 2.

290 Practical hintsWhat to do if …AIRBAG OFF indicator lampProblem
Possible cause
Suggested solution
7
The AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp
comes on.
A BabySmart
TM1
child seat is installed on the
front passenger seat. Therefore the passen-
ger front airbag is switched off.
The system is malfunctioning if the
7indicator lamp comes on with no
BabySmart
TM child seat installed on the front
passenger seat.

Have the system checked at an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center as soon
as possible.
7
The AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp
does not come on with a
BabySmart
TM child seat properly
installed on the front passenger
seat.
The system is malfunctioning.

Make sure there is nothing between
seat cushion and child seat.

Check installation of the child seat.
If the indicator lamp remains out:

Have the system checked at an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center as soon
as possible.
Do not use the BabySmart
TM restraint to
transport children on the front passenger
seat until the system has been repaired.
1BabySmart
TM is a trademark of Siemens Automotive Corp.

404 IndexAir conditioning (cooling)
Turning off 179
Turning on 179
Air pressure see Tire inflation pressure
Air pump, electric 324
Turning on 355
Air recirculation mode 175
Air volume adjustment 173
AIRBAG OFF
Warning lamp 290
Airbags 59
Children 60
Front 64
Head-thorax 64, 65
Kneebag 64
Passenger 64
Alarm
Audible 74, 85
Canceling 86
Visual 85
Alignment bolt 397
Alignment bolt (vehicle tool kit) 353Anticorrosion/antifreeze 387, 392
Anti-theft alarm system 85
Arming 85
Canceling the alarm 86
Disarming 86
Anti-theft systems
Anti-theft alarm system 84
Tow-away alarm 86
Aquaplaning see Hydroplaning
Armrest
Storage compartment 215
Ashtray 25, 219
At the gas station 250
ATF (automatic transmission fluid) 258
Automatic climate control 25, 170
Center air vents 25
Deactivating 179
Residual heat utilization 178
Side air vents 25
Temperature sensor 27Automatic transmission 155
Accelerator position 162
Comfort program mode 161
Emergency operation (Limp Home
Mode) 165
Gear range 157
Gear selector lever 26
Gear selector lever position 155, 158
Gear shifting malfunctions 165
Kickdown 162
Manual shift program mode
(SL 55 AMG Kompressor) 163
Manual shifting 156
One-touch gearshifting 156
Program mode selector switch 26,
161
Transmission fluid 258
B
BabySmart
TM airbag deactivation
system 72, 397
BabySmartTM compatible child
seats 397