2005 MERCEDES-BENZ CLK500 CABRIOLET trunk release

244 Controls in detailSoft topOpening and closing the soft top
For safety reasons, the soft top can only be
opened and closed when the vehicle is
standing still.Warning!
G
Before operating the switch for the soft top,
make sure no persons can be injured by the
moving parts (roll bars, soft top frame, and
soft top compartment cover).
Hands must never be placed near the roll
bar, soft top frame, upper windshield area,
shelf behind roll bar, or soft top storage
compartment while the soft top is being
raised or lowered. Serious personal injury
may occur.
If potential danger exists, release the soft
top switch. This immediately interrupts the
raising or lowering procedure. You then can
operate the soft top switch to raise or lower
the soft top away from the danger zone.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO
*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment can cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
!Never sit or place heavy objects on the
rear shelf. Doing so could cause dam-
age to the soft top and the rear shelf.
!When opening and closing the soft top,
make sure:

there is sufficient clearance for the
soft top to move up


the ski sack roller blind is closed


the luggage cover is engaged in
place


the trunk is only loaded to the
height of the luggage cover


the luggage/cargo does not push
the closed luggage cover up


the trunk lid is closed


nothing is placed on the soft top
compartment cover


the outside temperature is above
+5°F (-15°C)
Otherwise the soft top and other parts
of the vehicle could be damaged.

247 Controls in detail
Soft top
Opening the soft top
1Soft top opening
Before pulling on the soft top switch, you
must make sure:

the parking brake is engaged
(page 49)


the luggage cover is latched, see
“Latch luggage cover” (
page 245)


the ski sack roller blind is closed, see
“Closing ski sack roller blind”
(page 246)


the trunk lid is closed


the ignition is switched on (
page 36)

Pull up on the soft top switch as indi-
cated by the arrow1 until the soft top
is completely lowered into its trunk
storage compartment.
During the opening procedure the mul-
tifunction display shows the message Top in operation
.
If the opening procedure is finished,
the multifunction display will briefly
show the message Top open
.
If you continuously pull on the soft top
switch, the windows will close.
However, the windows can also be
closed/opened later on, for more informa-
tion see “Opening and closing the windows
with the soft top switch” (
page 241), or
see “Opening and closing the windows”
(
page 239).
iThe soft top cannot be opened using
the soft top switch when the roll bars
have been released. The roll bars need
to be lowered before the soft top can
be operated again using the soft top
switch. If the roll bars have released
and the soft top is closed, contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center to
have the roll bars lowered. Do not at-
tempt to lower the roll bars manually
with the soft top closed. Lowering the
roll bars manually with the soft top
closed may impair the function of the
roll bars (
page 401).
If the roll bars have released and the
soft top is open, you can lower the roll
bars manually (
page 402) or contact
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center
to have the roll bars lowered.

269 Controls in detail
Useful features
Useful features
Storage compartments
Glove box
1Glove box
2Glove box lid releaseOpening the glove box

Pull lid release2.
The glove box lid opens downward.
Closing the glove box

Push lid up to close.
Warning!
G
To help avoid personal injury during a colli-
sion or sudden maneuver, exercise care
when stowing objects in the vehicle. Put lug-
gage or cargo in the trunk if possible. Do not
pile luggage or cargo higher than the seat
backs.
Luggage nets cannot secure hard or heavy
objects.
Keep compartment lids closed. This will help
to prevent stored objects from being thrown
about and injuring vehicle occupants during
an accident.
!Make sure no objects fall into the open-
ings of the subwoofer between the rear
seats.
If necessary, contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center to remove any
objects which may have fallen into the
openings.
iThe glove box lid contains a compart-
ment for eyeglasses.
Close the compartment for glasses first
before closing the glove box.
Audio system/COMAND* with CD
changer*: The CD changer* is located
in the glove box.

399 Practical hints
Unlocking/locking in an emergency
1Locking
Insert the mechanical key into the
driver’s door lock until it stops.

Turn the mechanical key clockwise to
position1.
The driver’s door is locked.
Fuel filler flap
In case the central locking system does
not release the fuel filler flap, you can open
it manually.
The release button is on the right-hand
side of the luggage compartment behind
the side trim.

Open trunk lid.

Remove the side trim from the
right-hand side of the luggage compart-
ment.

Reach inside through opening2 in di-
rection of arrow.

Turn release knob 1 clockwise (arrow)
as far as will go.
The fuel filler flap is released and can
be opened from outside.

Open the fuel filler flap from outside.
Warning!
G
If you operate the emergency release but-
ton, be careful of the sharp edges so that
you do not injure yourself.

401 Practical hints
Opening/closing in an emergency
Opening/closing in an emergency
Operating roll bars manually
Releasing roll bars manually
If the roll bar system is malfunctioning, you
can release the roll bars manually.

Close the soft top (
page 248).

Open the trunk (
page 106).

Fold back the luggage cover
(page 245).

Open ski sack roller blind
(page 246).

Take hex wrench out of its storage
location in the storage well casing.1Perforation

Push hex wrench through
perforation1 in trim of rear wall in
trunk.
Warning!
G
If the yellow roll bar warning lamp in
the clock does not go out after starting the
engine, or if it comes on while driving, then
the roll bar system is not operating properly
and may not activate in an accident. In this
case, raise the roll bars manually before
continuing to drive.
For safety reasons drive only with the roll
bars raised until the malfunction is repaired.
Have your vehicle checked at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
iWith the roll bars released, the soft top
cannot be operated using the soft top
switch and the rear head restraints
cannot be lowered using the rear head
restraint lowering switch.
Warning!
G
Make sure no one is located in the roll bar’s
path of motion while the next steps are be-
ing carried out.
When the roll bar is manually released, the
rear head restraints and the roll bar under-
neath shoot up almost instantaneously.


403 Practical hints
Opening/closing in an emergency

Press hex wrench down firmly in direc-
tion of arrow3 and hold.

Press head restraint down in direction
of arrow4.

Pull hex wrench 2 out and take weight
off head restraint.

Repeat this procedure on roll bar for
second head restraint.
Soft top emergency operation
If the soft top cannot be automatically
closed, check the following:

Is the luggage cover engaged in place
(page 245)?


Is the ski sack roller blind closed
(page 246)?


Have the roll bars been released? If so,
lower the roll bars manually
(page 402).


Is the trunk lid closed (
page 107)?


Is there sufficient on-board voltage?
Start the engine if necessary.
These messages will also appear in the
multifunction display (
page 390).
If automatic operation still does not func-
tion properly, you can close the soft top
manually.
This procedure should be performed with
great care by two persons.
!Manually closing the soft top is a com-
plicated and technically demanding
procedure. Close the soft top manually
in emergency cases only. Otherwise,
visit an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center. Please read the instructions
fully before beginning operation and
only undertake it with another person
and if you feel fully capable of perform-
ing the tasks involved. Warning!
G


It is important that a second person
helps you. Otherwise, you could become
trapped or injured.


Remove any wristwatches or jewelry
such as rings or bracelets. Otherwise,
they could get caught in the vehicle
mechanism, causing personal injury to
yourself or damage to the vehicle.


Always use the grips provided and indi-
cated. Otherwise you could injure your-
self.

404 Practical hintsOpening/closing in an emergency
Engage parking brake.

Lower the side windows.

Lower rear head restraints
(page 115).

For safety reasons, remove SmartKey
from starter switch.

Open the trunk.

Remove the trunk floor cover.

Take the two straps for soft top emer-
gency operation out of vehicle tool kit
(page 391).

Take hex wrench out of its storage
location in the storage well casing.

Open the left side trim panel in the
trunk.1Locking mechanism

Pull locking mechanism1 out until it
stops and rotate it approx. one-quarter
of a turn.

Make sure the locking mechanism
does not retract again. If this happens,
pull the locking mechanism out again
and rotate it approx. one-quarter of a
turn.
iIf the rear head restraints cannot be
lowered using the rear head restraint
lowering switch, the roll bars may have
been released. For more information,
see “Operating roll bars manually”
(page 401).

411 Practical hints
Opening/closing in an emergency
hLocking 
Insert hex wrench into soft top locking
mechanism screw.

Turn the soft top locking mechanism
screw with hex wrench counterclock-
wise in direction of arrowh as far as it
will go.
The soft top is locked onto the wind-
shield frame.

Have the soft top operation checked at
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center
as soon as possible.
Warning!
G
Position hands as indicated by arrows so
that when you press soft top compartment
coverf forward and lower material ten-
sioning framee, your hands cannot be-
come trapped.
!Make sure you turn the hex wrench
counterclockwise as far as it will go.
Otherwise the soft top may not lock
properly.!If, after completing the soft top emer-
gency operation, the trunk cannot be
opened using the remote trunk lid re-
lease switch in the driver’s door,
theŠ button on the SmartKey, or
the trunk lid release handle in the li-
cense plate recess, press the soft top
compartment cover down again as de-
scribed above.
Do not open the trunk with the emer-
gency key, as this could otherwise
damage the trunk lid and the soft top
compartment cover.