2007 MERCEDES-BENZ SLK280 tow

153 Controls in detail
Manual transmission
Manual transmission
Manual transmission is standard equip-
ment on select models and not available
on all models.
For information on driving with a manual
transmission, see “Manual transmission”
(
page 51).
Warning!G
For vehicles equipped with a manual trans-
mission, getting out of your vehicle with the
gearshift lever not engaged in first or
reverse gear and the parking brake not
engaged is dangerous.
Also, when parked on an incline, an engaged
first or reverse gear alone may not prevent
your vehicle from moving, possibly hitting
people or objects.
Always set the parking brake in addition to
engaging first or reverse gear (
page 59).
W h e n p a r k e d o n a n i n c line, turn front wheels
towards the road curb.
Do not park this vehicle in areas where com-
bustible materials such as grass, hay or
leaves can come into contact with the hot
exhaust system, as these materials could be
ignited and cause a vehicle fire.
Warning!G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey 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. Children
could move the gearshift lever, which could
result in an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
Warning!G
On slippery road surfaces, never downshift
in order to obtain braking action.
This could result in drive wheel slip and
reduced vehicle control. Your vehicle’s ABS
will not prevent this type of loss of control.

158 Controls in detail
Automatic transmission*
Effect
ëNeutral
No power is transmitted from the
engine to the drive axle. When
the brakes are released, the
vehicle can be moved freely
(pushed or towed).
To avoid damage to the trans-
mission, never engage neutral
positionN while driving.
If the ESP
® is deactivated or
malfunctioning:
Move gear selector lever to neu-
tral positionN only if the vehicle
is in danger of skidding, e.g. on
icy roads.
êDrive
The transmission shifts
automatically. All forward gears
are available.
!Coasting the vehicle, or driving for any other
reason with gear selector lever in neutral
positionN can result in transmission damage
that is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.
Warning!G
Getting out of your vehicle with the gear
selector lever not fully engaged in park
positionP is dangerous. Also, park
positionP alone is not intended to or capa-
ble of preventing your vehicle from moving,
possibly hitting people or objects.
Always set the parking brake in addition to
shifting to park positionP (
page 59).
When parked on an incline, turn the front
wheels towards the road curb.
Do not park this vehicle in areas where com-
bustible materials such as grass, hay or
leaves can come into contact with the hot
exhaust system, as these materials could be
ignited and cause a vehicle fire.
Warning!G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey 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. Children
could move the gear selector lever from
park positionP, which could result in an
accident and/or serious personal injury.

168 Controls in detail
Good visibility
For information on the windshield wipers,
see “Windshield wipers” (
page 56).
Headlamp cleaning system*
The button is located on the left side of the
dashboard.
1Headlamp cleaning button
Switch on the ignition (page 37).
Press button1.
The headlamps are cleaned with a
high-pressure water jet.For information on filling up the washer
reservoir, see “Windshield washer system
and headlamp cleaning system*”
(
page 302).
Rear view mirrors
For more information on setting the rear
view mirrors, see “Mirrors” (
page 46).
Interior rear view mirror, antiglare
position
Tilt the mirror to the antiglare night
position by moving the lever towards
the windshield.
The interior rear view mirror is dimmed.
iThe headlamps will automatically be
cleaned when you have

switched on the headlamps
and

operated the windshield wipers with wind-
shield washer fluid fifteen times
When you switch off the ignition, the counter
resets.

266 Controls in detail
Useful features
Press and hold button 1 (for longer
than 2 seconds).
A call to a Mercedes-Benz Roadside
Assistance dispatcher will be initiated.
The button will flash while the call is in
progress. The message
Connecting
call
will appear in the multifunction
display and the audio system is muted.
When the connection is established, the
message
Call connected appears in the
multifunction display. The Tele Aid system
will transmit data generating the vehicle
identification number, model, color and lo-
cation (subject to availability of cellular
and GPS signals).
A voice connection between the Roadside
Assistance dispatcher and the occupants
of the vehicle will be established.
Describe the nature of the need for
assistance.The Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance
dispatcher will either dispatch a qualified
Mercedes-Benz technician or arrange to
tow your vehicle to the nearest
Mercedes-Benz Center. For services such
as labor and/or towing, charges may ap-
ply. Refer to the Roadside Assistance man-
ual for more information.
The following is only available in the USA:

Sign and Drive services: Services such
as jump start, a few gallons of fuel or
the replacement of a flat tire with the
vehicle spare tire are obtainable.
iThe indicator lamp in the Roadside
Assistance button• remains illuminated in
red for approximately 10 seconds during the
system self-check after switching on ignition
(together with the SOS button and the
Information button¡).
See “System self-check” (
page 263) when the
indicator lamp does not come on in red or stays
on longer than approximately 10 seconds.
If the indicator lamp in the Roadside Assistance
button• is flashing continuously and there
was no voice connection to the Response Center
established, then the Tele Aid system could not
initiate a Roadside Assistance call (e.g. the rele-
vant cellular phone network was not available).
The message
Call failed appears in the mul-
tifunction display.
Roadside Assistance calls can be terminated us-
ing the buttont on the multifunction steer-
ing wheel or the respective button for ending a
telephone call on the audio system or COMAND*
head unit.


269 Controls in detail
Useful features
Remote door unlock
In case you have locked your vehicle unin-
tentionally (e.g. SmartKey inside vehicle),
and the reserve SmartKey is not handy:
Contact the Mercedes-Benz Response
Center at 1-800-756-9018 (in the USA)
or 1-888-923-8367 (in Canada).
You will be asked to provide your pass-
word which you provided when you
completed the subscriber agreement.
Then return to your vehicle and pull the
trunk recessed handle for a minimum
of 20 seconds until the SOS button is
flashing.
The message
Connecting call ap-
pears in the multifunction display.
As an alternative, you may unlock the vehi-
cle via Internet using the ID and password
sent to you shortly after the completion of
your acquaintance call.The Response Center will then unlock your
vehicle with the remote door unlocking
feature.Stolen Vehicle Recovery services
In the event your vehicle was stolen:
Report the incident to the police.
The police will issue a numbered inci-
dent report.
Pass this number on to the
Mercedes-Benz Response Center along
with your password issued to you when
you subscribed to the service.
The Response Center will then attempt
to covertly contact the vehicle’s
Tele Aid system. Once the vehicle is lo-
cated, the Response Center will con-
tact the local law enforcement and you.
The vehicle’s location will only be pro-
vided to law enforcement.
iThe remote door unlock feature is available
if the relevant cellular phone network is avail-
able.
The SOS button will flash and the message
Connecting call will appear in the multifunc-
tion display to indicate receipt of the door unlock
command.
Once the vehicle is unlocked, a Response Center
specialist may attempt to establish voice contact
with the vehicle occupants.
If the trunk recessed handle was pulled for more
than 20 seconds before door unlock authoriza-
tion was received by the Response Center, you
must wait 15 minutes before pulling the trunk
handle again.
iWhen the anti-theft alarm or the tow-away
alarm stays on for more than 30 seconds, a call
is initiated automatically to the Response
Center. See “Anti-theft alarm system”
(
page 90) and “Tow-away alarm” (page 91).

280 Operation
Driving instructions
Power assistanceBrakes
To help prevent brake disc corrosion after
driving on wet road surfaces (particularly
salted roads), it is advisable to brake the
vehicle with considerable force prior to
parking. The heat generated serves to dry
the brakes.
If your brake system is normally only sub-
jected to moderate loads, you should occa-
sionally test the effectiveness of the
brakes by applying above-normal braking
pressure at higher speeds. This will also
enhance the grip of the brake pads.
Warning!G
With the engine not running, there is no
power assistance for the brake and steering
systems. In this case, it is important to keep
in mind that a considerably higher degree of
effort is necessary to brake and steer the
vehicle.
Warning!G
After driving in heavy rain for some time
without applying the brakes or through wa-
ter deep enough to wet brake components
or salty road conditions, the first braking ac-
tion may be somewhat reduced and in-
creased pedal pressure may be necessary to
obtain expected braking effect. Maintain a
safe distance from vehicles in front.
Resting your foot on the brake pedal will
cause excessive and premature wear of the
brake pads.
It can also result in the brakes overheating,
thereby significantly reducing their effec-
tiveness. It may not be possible to stop the
vehicle in sufficient time to avoid an acci-
dent.
!Because the ESP® operates automatically,
the engine must be turned off (SmartKey in
starter switch position0 or1) when

the parking brake is being tested on a brake
test dynamometer

the vehicle is being towed with the front axle
raised
Active braking action through the ESP
® may
otherwise seriously damage the brake system.

283 Operation
Driving instructions
Tires
Treadwear indicators (TWI) are required by
law. These indicators are located in six
places on the tread circumference and
become visible at a tread depth of approx-
imately
1/16in (1.6 mm), at which point the
tire is considered worn and should be re-
placed.The treadwear indicator appears as a solid
band across the tread.
Specified tire inflation pressures must be
maintained. This applies particularly if the
tires are subject to high loads (e.g. high
speeds, heavy loads, high ambient temper-
atures).

Slowly release brake pedal.

When parked on an incline, turn front
wheels towards the road curb.

Turn the SmartKey in the starter switch
to position0 and remove.

Take the SmartKey with you and lock
vehicle when leaving.
Warning!G
If you feel a sudden significant vibration or
ride disturbance, or you suspect that possi-
ble damage to your vehicle has occurred,
you should turn on the hazard warning flash-
ers, carefully slow down, and drive with cau-
tion to an area which is a safe distance from
the road.
Inspect the tires and the vehicle undercar-
riage for possible damage. If the vehicle or
tires appear unsafe, have the vehicle towed
to the nearest Mercedes-Benz Center or tire
dealer for repairs.
Warning!G
Although the applicable federal motor vehi-
cle safety laws consider a tire to be worn
when the treadwear indicators (TWI) be-
come visible at approximately
1/16in
(1.6 mm), we recommend that you do not al-
low your tires to wear down to that level. As
tread depth approaches
1/8in (3.0 mm), the
adhesion properties on a wet road are
sharply reduced.
Depending upon the weather and/or road
surface (conditions), the tire traction varies
widely.

291 Operation
At the gas station
At the gas station
Refueling
The fuel filler flap is located on the
right-hand side of the vehicle towards the
rear.
Locking and unlocking the vehicle with the
SmartKey automatically locks and unlocks
the fuel filler flap.1To open fuel filler flap
2To insert fuel filler cap
Remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch.
Open fuel filler flap by pushing at point
indicated by arrow1.
The fuel filler flap springs open.
Turn fuel filler cap counterclockwise
and hold on to it until possible pressure
is released.
Take off fuel filler cap and set it in
direction of arrow2 in the recess on
the inside of fuel filler flap.
To prevent fuel vapors from escaping
into open air, fully insert filler nozzle
unit.
Only fill your tank until the filler nozzle
unit cuts out – do not top off or
overfill.
Replace the fuel filler cap by turning it
clockwise until it audibly engages.
Warning!G
Gasoline is highly flammable and poisonous.
It burns violently and can cause serious
personal injury.
Never allow sparks, flame or smoking mate-
rials near gasoline!
Turn off the engine before refueling.
Whenever you are around gasoline, avoid
inhaling fumes and skin contact, extinguish
all smoking materials.
Direct skin contact with fuels and the
inhalation of fuel vapors are damaging to
your health.
iIn case that the central locking system does
not release the fuel filler flap, or the opening
mechanism is clamping, contact Roadside
Assistance or an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
Warning!G
Overfilling of the fuel tank may create pres-
sure in the system which could cause a gas
discharge. This could cause the gas to spray
back out when removing the fuel pump noz-
zle, which could cause personal injury.