2005 MERCEDES-BENZ SL500 display settings

42 Getting startedAdjustingSteering 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 the ignition (
page 36).
or

Open the driver’s door.Adjusting steering column in or out

Move stalk forward or back in direction
of arrow1 until a comfortable steer-
ing wheel position is reached with your
arms slightly bent at the elbow.
Adjusting steering column up or down

Move stalk up or down in 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 234).
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 or the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* from the starter switch, take
it with you, and lock the vehicle.
Even with the SmartKey or the SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO* 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 120) lets
you store the setting for the steering
wheel together with the settings for the
seat position and the exterior rear view
mirrors.

134 Controls in detailControl systemThe control system is activated as soon as
the SmartKey in the starter switch is
turned to position1 or as soon as the
KEYLESS-GO start/stop button is in posi-
tion 1. The control system enables you to

call up information about your vehicle


change vehicle settings
For example, you can use the control sys-
tem to find out when your vehicle is next
due for service, to set the language for
messages in the instrument cluster dis-
play, and much more.
The control system relays information to
the multifunction display.
Multifunction display
The multifunction display consists of the
display fields in the speedometer and the
tachometer. In its default state, the left
multifunction display shows the trip and
main odometer, while the present outside
temperature appears in the right multi-
function display. This default setting is re-
ferred to as the standard display.
1Main odometer
2Trip odometer
3Current gear selector lever position
4Outside temperature
5Automatic transmission program mode
Warning!
G
A driver’s attention to the road and traffic
conditions must always be his /her primary
focus when driving.
For your safety and the safety of others, se-
lecting features through the multifunction
steering wheel should only be done by the
driver when traffic and road conditions per-
mit it to be done safely.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph
(approximately 50 km / h), your vehicle is
covering a distance of 44 feet (approximate-
ly 14 m) every second.

135 Controls in detail
Control system
Multifunction steering wheel
The displays in the multifunction display
and the settings in the control system are
controlled by the buttons on the multifunc-
tion steering wheel.
Pressing any of the buttons on the multi-
function steering wheel will alter what is
shown in the multifunction display.
The information available in the multifunc-
tion display is arranged in menus, each
containing a number of functions or sub-
menus.
1
Left multifunction display in the
speedometer
2
Right multifunction display in the
tachometerOperating the control system
3
Selecting the submenu or setting
the volume:
Press buttonçdown / to decreaseæup / to increase
4
Telephone*:
Press buttoníto take a callìto end a call
5
Menu systems:
Press buttonÿfor previous menuèfor next menu
6
Moving within a menu:
Press buttonjfor next displaykfor previous display

136 Controls in detailControl systemThe individual functions are then found
within the relevant menu (radio or CD op-
erations under
AUDIO
, for example). These
functions serve to call up relevant informa-
tion or to customize the settings for your
vehicle.
It is helpful to think of the menus, and the
functions within each menu, as being ar-
ranged in a circular pattern.


If you press button è or ÿ re-
peatedly, you will pass through each
menu one after the other.


If you press button k or j re-
peatedly, you will pass through each
function display, one after the other, in
the current menu. In the
Settings
menu, instead of functions
you will find a number of submenus for
calling up and changing settings. For in-
structions on using these submenus, see
“Settings menu” (page 144).
The number of menus available in the sys-
tem depends on which optional equipment
is installed in your vehicle.
The menus are described on the following
pages.

141 Controls in detail
Control system
Operate the CD player
Selecting CD track
Turn on COMAND and select CD. Refer
to the separate COMAND operating in-
structions.

Press button è or ÿ repeatedly
until the settings for the CD currently
being played appear in the right multi-
function display.
1Current CD (for CD changer)
2Current track

Press button k or j repeatedly
until the desired track is selected.Selecting MP3-CD track

Turn on COMAND and select MP3-CD.
Refer to the separate COMAND operat-
ing instructions.

Press button è or ÿ repeatedly
until the settings for the MP3-CD cur-
rently being played appear in the right
multifunction display.

Press button k or j repeatedly
until the desired track is selected.
iAdditional optional satellite radio
equipment and a subscription to satel-
lite radio service provider are required
for satellite radio operation. Contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center for
details and availability for your vehicle.
For more information, refer to separate
COMAND operating instructions.

142 Controls in detailControl systemNAV menu
The
NAV
menu contains the functions need-
ed to operate your navigation system.

Press button è or ÿ repeatedly
until you see the message
NAV
in the
left multifunction display.
The message shown in the multifunction
display depends on the status of the navi-
gation system:


When the navigation system is off, the
message
NAV off
appears in the multi-
function display.


When the navigation system is on, the
message
HEADING
appears in the left
multifunction display and the destina-
tion in the right multifunction display.
Please refer to the COMAND manual for in-
structions on how to activate the route
guidance system.
Distronic* menu
Use the Distronic menu to display the cur-
rent settings for your Distronic system.
What information is shown in the left mul-
tifunction display depends on whether the
Distronic system is active or inactive.
Please refer to the “Driving systems” sec-
tion of this manual (
page 208) for in-
structions on how to activate Distronic.

Press button è or ÿ repeatedly
until you see one of the following two
pictures in the display.Distronic deactivated
When Distronic is deactivated you will see
the standard display in the left multifunc-
tion display.
1Vehicle ahead, if detected
2Actual distance to vehicle ahead
3Preset distance threshold to vehicle
ahead
4Your vehicle
5Symbol for activated distance warning
function

144 Controls in detailControl system
Press button k or j.
The stored messages will now be dis-
played in the order in which they have
occurred. For malfunction and warning
messages, see “Vehicle status messag-
es in the multifunction display”
(page 335).
Should the vehicle’s system record any
conditions while driving, the number of
messages will reappear in the multifunc-
tion display


when the SmartKey in the starter
switch is turned to position0 or re-
moved from the starter switch
or


when you turn off the engine by press-
ing the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop but-
ton on the gear selector lever once and open the driver’s door (this puts the
starter switch in position 0, same as
with the SmartKey removed from the
starter switch)
Settings menu
In the
Settings
menu there are two func-
tions:


The function
Reset
, with which you can
reset all the settings to those set at the
factory.


A collection of submenus with which
you can make individual settings for
your vehicle.

Press button è or ÿ repeatedly
until the
Settings...
menu appears in
the left display.
iAfter you have scrolled through all re-
corded status messages, the first re-
corded message appears again.
iThe vehicle status message memory
will be cleared when you then turn the
SmartKey in the starter switch to posi-
tion 1 or 2, or when you press the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button once
or twice without depressing the brake
pedal. You will then only see high prior-
ity messages in the multifunction dis-
play (
page 335).

145 Controls in detail
Control system
The following settings and submenus are
available:Resetting all settings
You can reset all the functions of all sub-
menus to the factory settings.

Press the reset button in the instru-
ment cluster for approximately three
seconds.
In the right display you will see the re-
quest to press the reset button again to
confirm.

Press the reset button again.
The functions of all the submenus will
reset to factory settings.Submenus in the Settings menu

Press button k or j.
In the right display you see the collec-
tion of submenus.

Press button ç.
The selection marker moves to the next
submenu.
The submenus are arranged by hierarchy.
Scroll down with the ç button, scroll up
with the æ button.
Move within the submenus with the k
or j button to the individual functions.
The settings themselves are made with
button æ or ç.
Function
Page
Resetting all settings
145
Submenus in the Settings menu
145
Resetting the functions of a sub-
menu
146
Instrument cluster submenu
148
Time submenuLighting submenu
152
Vehicle submenu
156
Convenience submenu
157
iThe settings you have changed will not
be reset unless you confirm the action
by pressing the reset button a second
time.