2007 MERCEDES-BENZ SL550 roll

172 Controls in detailAutomatic transmissionStopping
When you stop briefly, e.g. at traffic lights:
Leave the transmission in gear.

Hold the vehicle with the brake.
When you stop longer with the engine
idling and/or on a hill:

Set the parking brake.

Move the gear selector lever to
positionP.Maneuvering
When you maneuver in tight areas,
e.g. when pulling into a parking space:

Control the vehicle speed by gradually
releasing the brakes.

Accelerate gently.

Never abruptly step on the accelerator.
Working on the vehicle
Gear ranges
With the gear selector lever in positionD
and driving in the automatic shift
programC orS (
page 173), you can
select a gear range for the automatic
transmission to operate within:
Gear selector lever (page 174):
You can limit the gear range by pressing
the gear selector lever to the left (D-), and
reverse the gear range limit by pressing
the gear selector lever to the right (D+).
Steering wheel gearshift control*
(
page 175):
You can limit the gear range by pulling the
left gearshift paddle on the steering wheel
gearshift control, and reverse the gear
range limit by pulling the right gearshift
paddle on the steering wheel gearshift
control.
Warning!
G
When working on the vehicle, set the
parking brake and move gear selector lever
to positionP. Otherwise the vehicle could
roll away.

177 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission
Manual shift program (SL 55 AMG and SL 65 AMG only)
In addition to the automatic shift
programC orS, your vehicle is equipped
with the manual shift program MANUAL.
In the MANUAL program mode,
system-controlled automatic gearshifting
is switched off and you need to change the
gears by manually upshifting or downshift-
ing using the steering wheel gearshift pad-
dles (
page 175) or the gear selector
lever.The program mode selector switch is
located on the lower part of the center
console.
Example illustration SL 65 AMG1Program mode selector switch
MANUAL For manual gear shifting
C Comfort For comfort driving
S Sport For standard drivingThe current gear selector lever position
and the selected program mode (
M/C/S)
are indicated in the right multifunction
display (
page 169).
!
Allow engine to warm up under low load use.
Do not place full load on the engine until the op-
erating temperature has been reached.
Shift into reverse gearR or parking positionP
only when the vehicle is stopped.
Avoid spinning of a drive wheel for an extended
period when driving off on slippery road
surfaces. This may cause serious damage to
the drivetrain which is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
i
For information on automatic program
modesC orS, see “Automatic shift program”
(
page 173), “Gear selector lever one-touch
gearshifting” (
page 174), and “Steering wheel
gearshift control one-touch gearshifting”
(
page 175).

199 Controls in detail
Retractable hardtop
Retractable hardtop
Opening and closing the retractable hardtop
For safety reasons, the retractable hardtop
can only be opened and closed when the
vehicle is standing still.Warning!
G
To prevent possible accidents, only drive the
vehicle with the retractable hardtop either
completely closed and locked, or fully low-
ered into its storage compartment.
If the retractable hardtop does not com-
pletely open or close, the roof hydraulics will
lose pressure and the retractable hardtop is
lowered

after approximately 7 minutes when the
ignition is switched on


after approximately 15 seconds when
the ignition is switched off
Shortly before the retractable hardtop is
lowered, a warning will sound and in the left
multifunction display you will see K, in
the right multifunction display you will see
the message
being lowered
.
Lock the retractable hardtop again before
driving any further (
page 202). Otherwise,
the unlocked hardtop could open while the
vehicle is in motion and cause you to lose
control of the vehicle. You or others could
be injured as a result.
Warning!
G
Before operating the retractable hardtop
switch, make sure there is no danger of any-
one being injured by the moving parts (re-
tractable roof, roof frame, and trunk lid) due
to inattention.
Hands must never be placed near the roof
frame, upper windshield area, hardtop, shelf
behind roll bars, or trunk lid while the re-
tractable hardtop is being raised or lowered.
Serious personal injury may occur.
If potential danger exists, release the re-
tractable hardtop switch. This immediately
interrupts the raising or lowering procedure.
You then can operate the retractable hard-
top switch to raise or lower the retractable
hardtop away from the danger zone.

200 Controls in detailRetractable hardtop
Opening/closing with retractable
hardtop switch
The retractable hardtop switch is located
on the lower part of the center console.
Warning!
G
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. Do not
leave children unattended in the vehicle, or
with access to an unlocked vehicle. Unsu-
pervised use of vehicle equipment can
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.!
Never sit or place heavy objects on the rear
shelf. Doing so could cause damage to the re-
tractable hardtop and the rear shelf.
!
When opening and closing the retractable
roof, make sure


there is sufficient clearance for the retract-
able hardtop to move up and for the trunk lid
to move back


the luggage cover is installed, extended and
closed


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


luggage/cargo does not push up the closed
luggage cover


the trunk lid is closed


the outside temperature is above +5°F
(–15°C)


the roof is dry and clean when opening
Otherwise the retractable hardtop and trunk as
well as other parts of the vehicle could be dam-
aged.
Warning!
G
Before operating the retractable hardtop,
make sure there is no danger of anyone
being injured by the moving parts (retract-
able roof, roof frame, and trunk lid) due to in-
attention.
Hands must never be placed near the roof
frame, upper windshield area, hardtop, shelf
behind roll bars, or trunk lid while the re-
tractable hardtop is being raised or lowered.
Serious personal injury may occur.
If potential danger exists, release retract-
able hardtop switch immediately. This im-
mediately interrupts the raising or lowering
procedure.

201 Controls in detail
Retractable hardtop
Retractable hardtop switch1Opening
2Closing
Engage the parking brake (
page 54).

Close the luggage cover, see “Luggage
cover” (
page 205).

Close the trunk lid.

Switch on the ignition (
page 39).Opening

Pull up on the retractable hardtop
switch as indicated by arrow 1 until
the retractable hardtop is completely
lowered into its trunk storage compart-
ment.
The multifunction display will briefly
show the message K
in operation
.
Closing

Press down on the retractable hardtop
switch as indicated by arrow 2 until
the retractable hardtop is completely
closed and locked.
The multifunction display will briefly
show the message K
in operation
.Opening/closing with the SmartKey
i
Make sure the retractable hardtop is dry be-
fore you open it. Otherwise water may enter the
trunk interior.
Warning!
G
Before operating the retractable hardtop,
make sure there is no danger of anyone
being injured by the moving parts (retract-
able roof, roof frame, and trunk lid) due to in-
attention.
Hands must never be placed near the roof
frame, upper windshield area, hardtop, shelf
behind roll bars, or trunk lid while the re-
tractable hardtop is being raised or lowered.
Serious personal injury may occur.
If potential danger exists, release the re-
spective button on the SmartKey. This im-
mediately interrupts the raising or lowering
procedure. You then can press button Œ
or ‹to raise or lower the hardtop away
from the danger zone.

204 Controls in detailRetractable hardtop

The hardtop drive system has shut it-
self down. For safety reasons, no more
than five consecutive attempts may be
made to raise or lower the hardtop.
After about 10 minutes you may
again attempt to open or close the
retractable hardtop.

If the retractable hardtop still does
open, close, or lock properly, have
the retractable hardtop system
checked at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


There is a malfunction in the retract-
able hardtop system.
Notify an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.Wind screen
The wind screen deflects drafts away from
the driver and passenger when the retract-
able hardtop is lowered. It is stored in the
trunk.
Installing

Leave the wind screen folded and place
it on the roll bar.1Guide tabs

Slide the wind screen into the roll bar
until guide taps 1 on each side latch
underneath the roll bar.
Make sure the fastening straps do not
get caught.

Adjust the roll bar to a height
(page 81) that allows you to reach
easily underneath it.
Warning!
G
The wind screen can restrict the driver’s vi-
sion to the rear of the vehicle. To prevent a
possible accident when visibility is limited
(e.g. in darkness), the upper part of the wind
screen should be folded back.

205 Controls in detail
Retractable hardtop
2Buckle
Guide the fastening straps around the
top of the roll bar and close buckles 2.

Tighten the fastening straps if neces-
sary.

Lower the roll bar (
page 81).

Fold the upper section of the wind
screen up towards the head restraints
until it stops.Removing

Fold the upper section of the wind
screen back.

Adjust the roll bar to a height
(page 81) that allows you to reach
easily underneath it.
1Release button

Undo the buckles on the upper section
of the roll bar by pressing release
button1.

Lower the roll bar (
page 81).
Make sure the fastening straps do not
get caught.

Pull the wind screen out towards the
front of the vehicle.
Be careful not to damage interior trim
with the guide tabs.

Store the wind screen in a safe place.
Luggage cover
The luggage cover covers luggage/cargo
in the trunk.
!
To prevent damage to the retractable hard-
top or luggage/cargo when lowering:


Load trunk only to the height of the luggage
cover.


Do not permit luggage/cargo to push up the
closed luggage cover.


Do not load anything on top of or in front of
the luggage cover.


Do not place anything on the shelf behind
the roll bar.

207 Controls in detail
Retractable hardtop

Open tensioning clasps 5 by pulling
them downward.

Unhook retainer springs 6 from hold-
ers and flip retainer springs all the way
up.7Luggage cover
8Cloth end
9Cloth holder

Carefully tilt luggage cover 7 in direc-
tion of arrow towards rear of trunk.

Roll up front end of cloth 8 in the
trunk towards the front and fasten it in
place in front of cloth holder 9.

Completely remove luggage cover 7
from the trunk.Installing luggage cover

Carefully place luggage cover in trunk.
1Luggage cover
2Hook
3Guide rail

Insert luggage cover 1 into guide
rails3 on both sides using hooks 2.

Tilt luggage cover forward in direction
of arrow.
Warning!
G
Only open the tensioning clasps when the
luggage cover opened, see “Opening lug-
gage cover” (
page 206).
You could otherwise be injured.
!
Before installing the luggage cover, make
sure that the cloth end is in front of the cloth
holder. Otherwise, it could be damaged.