ContentsSafety and Security........................... 57
Occupant safety................................... 58
Airbags ........................................... 59
Seat belts ....................................... 65
Roll bar ........................................... 69
Children in the vehicle.................... 70
Panic alarm .......................................... 74
Activating ....................................... 74
Deactivating ................................... 74
Driving safety systems ......................... 75
ABS ................................................ 76
BAS ................................................ 77
ESP................................................. 78
SBC brake system .......................... 81
Anti-theft systems................................ 84
Immobilizer..................................... 84
Anti-theft alarm system .................. 85
Tow-away alarm ............................. 86
Controls in detail............................... 89
Locking and unlocking ......................... 90
SmartKey ....................................... 90
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ........ 93
Opening the doors from the
inside ............................................. 99
Opening the trunk .......................... 99
Closing the trunk lid ..................... 102
Trunk lid emergency release ........ 102
Separately locking the trunk ........ 103
Automatic central locking ............ 105
Locking and unlocking from
the inside ..................................... 105
Seats ................................................. 107
Easy-entry / exit feature ............... 107
Moving the seats forward and
backward ..................................... 108
Lumbar support............................ 108
Multicontour backrest*
(standard on SL 600 and
SL 55 AMG) .................................. 109Seat heating................................. 110
Seat ventilation*
(standard on SL 600) ................... 112
Memory function ............................... 114
Storing positions into memory ..... 115
Recalling positions from memory. 115
Storing exterior rear view mirror
parking position ........................... 115
Lighting ............................................. 117
Exterior lamp switch .................... 117
Combination switch ..................... 120
Hazard warning flasher ................ 121
Interior lighting ............................ 122
Courtesy lighting .......................... 123
Instrument cluster ............................. 124
Instrument cluster illumination .... 124
Coolant temperature gauge ......... 124
Trip odometer .............................. 125
Tachometer.................................. 125
Outside temperature indicator ..... 126
28 At a glanceDoor control panel
Door control panel
Item
Page
1
Door handle
99
2
Switches for open-
ing/closing front and rear
side windows
181
3
Memory function (for stor-
ing seat, mirror and steer-
ing wheel settings)
114
4
Seat heating switch
110
Seat ventilation* switch
112
5
Seat adjustment switch
34,
107
6
Remote trunk lid release
switch
102
7
Door pocket
215
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.
37 Getting started
Adjusting
Steering wheel Steering wheel adjustment
The stalk for steering wheel adjustment is
located on the lower left of the steering
column.
1Adjusting steering column, in or out
2Adjusting steering column, up or down
Switch on ignition
or
Open the driver’s door.Adjusting steering column in or out
Move stalk forward or back in the direc-
tion of arrow1 until a comfortable
steering wheel position is reached with
your arms slightly bent at the elbow.
Adjusting steering column up or down
Move stalk up or down in the direction
of arrow2.
Make sure your legs can move freely
and that you have a good view on all
the displays (including malfunction and
indicator lamps) on the instrument
cluster.
For more information, see “Heated steer-
ing wheel* (SL 500, SL 600)”
(
page 220).
Warning!
G
Do not adjust the steering wheel while driv-
ing. Adjusting the steering wheel while driv-
ing could cause the driver to lose control of
the vehicle.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO
* with you and
lock your vehicle.
Even with the SmartKey removed from the
starter switch or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* removed from the vehicle,
the steering wheel adjustment feature can
be operated when the driver’s door is open.
Therefore, do not leave children unattended
in the vehicle, or with access to an unlocked
vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehicle equip-
ment may cause an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
iThe memory function (
page 114) lets
you store the setting for the steering
wheel together with the settings for the
seat position and the rear view mirrors.
39 Getting started
Adjusting
Make sure the ignition is switched on.
All the lamps in the instrument cluster
come on.
Press button1 for the left mirror or
button2 for the right mirror.
Push adjustment button3 up, down,
left, or right according to the desired
setting.
For more information, see “Good visibility”
(
page 166).!If an exterior rear view mirror was forc-
ibly pushed forward (hit from the rear)
or forcibly pushed rearward (hit from
the front), reposition it by applying firm
pressure until it snaps into place. The
mirror housing is then properly posi-
tioned and you can adjust the mirror in
the usual manner.iThe memory function (
page 114) lets
you store the setting for the exterior
rear view mirrors together with the set-
tings for the steering wheel and the
seat position.
89 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Seats
Memory function
Lighting
Instrument cluster
Control system
Automatic transmission
Good visibility
Automatic climate control
Power windows
Retractable hardtop
Driving systems
Useful features
107 Controls in detailSeats
Seats
For information on seat adjustment, see
“Seat adjustment” (
page 35).
Easy-entry / exit feature
With the easy-entry/exit feature activated,
the steering wheel tilts upwards and the
driver’s seat moves to the rear.
This allows easier entry into and exit from
the vehicle when the driver’s door is
opened. However, the engine must be
turned off.
When the SmartKey is inserted in the start-
er switch or you have pressed the
KEYLESS-GO* start / stop button once and
the driver’s door is closed, the steering
wheel and the driver’s seat return to their
last set positions.You can activate the following functions:
Steering column:
Only the steering column is adjusted.
Steering column and seat:
The steering column and the seat are
adjusted.
The easy-entry / exit feature can be
switched on or off in the convenience sub-
menu of the control system (
page 148).
Warning!
G
You must make sure that no one can be-
come trapped or injured by the moving
steering wheel and driver’s seat when the
easy-entry/exit feature is activated, the
driver’s door is being opened and the engine
is turned off or the SmartKey is removed
from the starter switch. Do not leave chil-
dren unattended in the vehicle, or with ac-
cess to an unlocked vehicle. Children could
open the driver’s door an unintentionally ac-
tivate the easy-entry/exit feature*, which
could result in an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
iTo cancel seat/steering wheel move-
ment, do one of the following:
Press the seat adjustment switch
(page 35)
Move the steering column stalk
(page 37)
Press the memory button
(page 114)
114 Controls in detailMemory function
Memory function
With the memory switch you can store up
to three different settings per SmartKey or
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*.
The following settings are saved for each
stored position:
Driver’s seat and backrest position
Steering wheel position
Interior rear view mirror position
Driver’s side exterior rear view mirror
position
Passenger side exterior rear view mir-
ror position
These key-dependent memory settings
can be deactivated if desired
(
page 149).The memory switch is located on the door.
M Memory button
1, 2, 3 Stored positions
Switch on ignition.
or
Open the respective door.
All the lamps in the instrument cluster
come on when the ignition is switched
on.
!Prior to operating the vehicle, the driv-
er should check and adjust the seat
height, seat position fore and aft, and
seat backrest angle if necessary, to en-
sure adequate control, reach and com-
fort. The head restraint should also be
adjusted for proper height. See also the
section on airbags (
page 59) for
proper seat positioning.
In addition, adjust the steering wheel to
ensure adequate control, reach, opera-
tion and comfort. Both the inside and
outside rear view mirrors should be ad-
justed for adequate rear vision.
Fasten seat belts. Infants and small
children should be seated in a properly
secured restraint system that complies
with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 213 and Canadian Motor Ve-
hicle Safety Standard 213.
Warning!
G
Do not activate the memory function while
driving. Activating the memory function
while driving could cause the driver to lose
control of the vehicle.