2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER Owners Manual

Driving sys
tems 1261
To store the current spee dorahigher
speed
2 LIM indicator lamp
3 To select the current or last store dspeed
4 To store the current spee doralower
speed
5 To switc hbetween cruisecontro land var-
iabl eSpeedtronic
6 To deactivat ecruis econtrol
Sele ctingc ruise control X
Check whether LIM indicator lamp 2is off.
If it is off, cruis econtro lisalready selected.
If it is not, pres sthe cruis econtro llever in
the direction of arrow 5.
LIM indicator lamp 2in the cruis econtrol
leve rgoeso ut.C ruis econtro lisselected. Storin
gand maintainin gthe current
speed Yo
uc an store the current spee difyou are
drivin gfastert ha n30k m/h.
X Accelerate the vehicle to the desired
speed.
X Briefly pres sthe cruis econtrol leve rup
1or down 4.
X Remove your footfromt he accelerator
pedal.
Cruise control is activated. Th evehicle
automaticall ymaintains the store dspeed.
i Cruise control ma ybeunable to maintain
the store dspeed on uphill gradients .The
store dspeed is resume dwhent he gradient
evens out. Cruise control maintains the
store dspeed on downhill gradients by
automaticall yapplyin gthe brakes.
To select the current or last stored
speed G
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Onl yselec tastore dspeed if youknow what
tha tspeed is andwhether it is suitabl efor
the current situation. Otherwise ,sudden acceleration or braking could endange
ryou
or others.
X Briefly pull the cruis econtrol leve rtowards
you 3.
X Remove your footfromt he accelerator
pedal.
Th ef irst tim ecruis econtrol is activate dit
store sthe current spee dorregulate sthe
spee doft he vehicle to the previously
store dspeed.
Settin gaspeed X
Pres sthe cruis econtrol leve rup1for a
higher spee dordown4for alower speed.
X Keep the cruis econtrol leve rpressed until
the desire dspeed is reached.
X Release the cruis econtrol lever.
Th en ew spee disstored.
i Cruise control is not deactivate difyou
depres sthe accelerato rpedal .For exam-
ple, if yo uaccelerate briefl ytoovertake,
cruis econtrol adjusts the vehicle's speed
to the last spee dstore dafter you have fin-
ishe dovertaking. Cont
rols
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Driving sys
tems 127
i
Deceleratio nofthe vehicl ebymeans of
the cruis econtrol lever is assiste dbyauto-
matic applicatio nofthe brakes.
On long downhil lgradients ,the automatic
transmission shifts down as afurthe rmeas-
ure.
Making fine adjustments in 1km/h
increments X
Briefl ypress the cruis econtrol lever up
1 for ahighe rspeed or down 4for a
lowe rspeed.
Th elasts peed stored is increase dor
reduced.
Deactivating cruis econtrol There ar
eseveral ways to deactivate cruise
control:
X Briefl ypress the cruis econtrol lever for-
wards 6.
or
X Brake.
or X
Briefl ypress the cruis econtrol lever in the
directio nofarrow 5.
Variable Speedtroni ciss elect ed.LIM indi-
cator lamp 2in the cruis econtrol lever
lights up.
Cruise control is automaticall ydeact ivate dif,
for example:
R yo ud epress the parking brake
R yo ua redriving at less tha n30km/h
R ESP ®
is intervening or yo udeact ivate
ESP ®
R yo um ovet he selector lever to Nwhil edriv-
ing
If cruis econtrol is deactivated, yo uwillh ear
aw arning tone .You will se ethe Cruise con-
tro loffmessage in the multi-functio ndis-
play of the speedomete rfor approximately
five seconds.
i Thelas ts peed stored is cleared when you
switch off the engine. Distronic*
Distroni cregulate sthe spee dand automati-
call ym aintains the distance to the vehicl ein
front. It brakes automaticall yinorder to avoid
exceeding the se tspeed .Onl onga nd steep
downhil lgradients ,especially if the vehicl eis
laden, yo umusts elect shift range 1,2or 3.
By doing so yo uwillm akeu seof the braking
effect of the engine ,which relieves the load
on the brake syste mand prevents the brakes
fro mo verheating and wearing too quickly. G
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Do not change down for additional engine
braking on aslipper yroads urface. This
could caus ethe drive wheels to lose their
gri pa nd the vehicl ecould skid. G
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Distroni ciso nlyana iddesigne dtoassist
driving. Th edriver remains full yresponsible
for the vehicle' sdistance fro mother vehi-
cles, the vehicle' sspeed and braking in
good time. Controls
*o ptional
230_AKB; 5; 4, en-GB
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Driving sys
tems 128 Distroni
cdoesn ot react to:
R pedestrians
R stationar yobstacle sont he road, e.g .sta-
tionar yorparked vehicles
R oncoming and crossing traffic
Distroni cmaynot detect narrow vehicles
driving in front, e.g .motorcycles, or vehi-
cle sd riving on adifferen tline. Therefore,
always pa yattentio ntotrafficconditions
eve nw henD istroni cisa ctivated. Other-
wise ,you mayfailtor ecognis edangers in
time, could caus eanaccident and injure
yourself and others.
If as lowe r-moving vehicl eisdetecte dinf ront,
Distroni ccauses your vehicl etobrake and
maintain aprese tdistance to the vehicl ein
front. G
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Distroni ccannot take account of roa dand
traffi cconditions .Deactivate ,ordonot
activate ,Distroni cifitd oesn ot detect the
vehicl einfront, or if it no longe rdetects it.
This is especiall ythe case:
R befor ecorners
R on filte rlan es R
when changing to alan ew ithf asterm ov-
ing traffic
R in complex driving situations or where
the lanes ar ediverted ,e.g.atr oadworks
on am otorway.
Otherwise, Distroni cmaintains the current
spee dora ccelerates up to the se tspeed.
Distroni ccannot take account of weather
conditions .Deactivate ,ordonot activate,
Distronic:
R if the roads ar eslippery, snow-covered or
icy .The wheels could lose their grip
under braking or acceleration. Th evehi-
cle could start to skid.
R if the sensors ar edirty or there is poor
visibility, e.g .due to snow, rain or fog.
Distanc econtrol ma ybeimpaired.
Alway spayattentio ntotrafficconditions
eve nw henD istroni cisa ctivated. Other-
wise ,you mayfailtor ecognis edangers in
time, could caus eanaccident and injure
yourself and others.
If there is no vehicl einfront, Distroni coper-
ate sint he same wa yascruisecontrol .Dis-
troni cfun ctions in the 30 km/h to
180 km/h range. G
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Distroni cbrakes your vehicl eatamaximum
of 2m /s2
,d epen ding on its speed. This
corresponds to approximately 20% of your
vehicle' smaximum braking power. You
must also appl ythe brakes yourself if this
braking powe risnot sufficient.
If Distroni cdetects ariskofc ollision with a
vehicl einfront, an intermittent warning
tone sounds. Additionally, the EDTR
warning lamp in the speedomete rlight sup
red .Brake to avoi dacollision.
Cruis econtro llever With the cruis
econtrol lever yo ucan operate
Distroni cand variable Speedtronic.
Th eL IM indicator lamp on the cruis econtrol
lever indicates which syste myouhave selec-
ted:
R LIM indicator lamp off:
Distroni ciss elect ed
R LIM indicator lamp lit:
variable Speedtroni ciss elect ed Controls
230_AKB; 5; 4, en-GB
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Driving sys
tems 1291
To store the current spee dorahigher
speed
2 LIM indicator lamp
3 To select the current or last store dspeed
4 To store the current spee doralower
speed
5 To switc hbetween Distronicand variable
Speedtronic
6 Deactivatin gDistronic
Sele ctingD istronic X
Check whether LIM indicator lamp 2is off.
If it is off, Distroni cisa lready selected.
If it is not, pres sthe cruis econtro llever in
the direction of arrow 5.
LIM indicator lamp 2in the cruis econtrol
leve rgoeso ut.D istroni ciss elec ted. Switching on
Distronic,storingand
maintainin gthe current speed If Distroni
cisn ot activated after the cruise
contro llever is pressed, youw ills ee the mes-
sage DTR- --km/h in the multi-function
displa y.
Yo uc anno tactivat eDistroni cinthe following
circumstances:
R ifyo ua redrivin gslowe rtha n3 0km/ hor
faster than 180 km/h
R when braking
R when yo uhavea pplied the parking brake
R if ESP ®
is deactivated
R when the selector lever is in position P,R
or N
R for two minutes afte rthe engine is started
X Accelerate the vehicle to the desired
speed.
X Briefly press the cruise control lever up
1 or down 4.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
Distronic is activated .The vehicle main-
tains the store dspeed until the distance to
the vehicle in front becomes too small. i
If yo udon ot fully release the accelerator
pedal ,the DTR passive messageappears
in the multi-function display. The distance
to as lower-moving vehicle in front will then
not be preset. You will be driving at the
speed yo udetermine with the accelerator
pedal.
Setting aspeed X
Pres sthe cruise control lever up 1for a
higher speed or down 4for alower speed.
X Kee pthe cruise control lever presse duntil
the desire dspeed is reached.
X Release the cruise control lever.
The new speed is stored.
i Deceleration of the vehicle by means of
the cruise control lever is assiste dbyauto-
mati capplicatio nofthe brakes.
On long downhil lgradients, the automatic
transmission also shifts down. Controls
230_AKB; 5; 4, en-GB
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Driving sys
tems 130
Making adjustments in 10 km/
hincre-
ments X
Briefl ypress the cruis econtrol lever up
1 for ahighe rspeed or down 4for a
lowe rspeed.
Th elasts peed stored is increase dor
reduced.
Making fine adjustments in 1km/h
increments X
Fo rah ighe rs peed: brieflypullt he cruise
control lever towards you 3.
or
X Kee pthe cruis econtrol lever pulled
towards you 3unti lthe desired spee dis
reached.
Storin gthe curren tspeed or callin gup
the las tstored speed G
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kofa ccident
Onl yselect astored spee difyouknow what
tha tspeed is and whether it is suitabl efor
the current situation. Otherwise, sudden
acceleratio norbraking could endanger you
or others. X
Briefl ypullt he cruis econtrol lever towards
you 3.
X Remov eyourfoo tfromt he accelerator
pedal.
Distroni cisa ctivate dand accepts the cur-
ren tspeed if it is activate dfor the first time,
or adjusts the vehicle' sspeed to the last
spee dstored.
Settin gthe specified minimu mdistance
fo rD istronic Yo
uc an setthe specified minimum distance
for Distroni cbyvaryi ng the tim espan
between one and two seconds. This tim espan
determine sthe distance tha tDistroni cshould
maintain fro mthe vehicl einfront, depending
on the roa dspeed .You canr eadt hisd istance
in the multi-functio ndisplay ( Ypage 132). Exampl
e(excep tSL63A MG)
1 To activate/deactivate the distance warn-
ing function
2 To adjus tthe se tdistance
In the SL 63 AMG the button and thumbwheel
ca nb efound on the right-hand side of the
centr econsole. Controls
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Driving sys
tems 131
Adjusting the se
tdistance
X To increase: turnthumbwheel 2towards
the ¯ symbol.
Distroni cthe nm aintains agreate rdistance
between your vehicl eand the vehicl ein
front.
X To decrease: turnthumbwheel 2towards
the ® symbol.
Distroni cthe nm aintains ashorter distance
between your vehicl eand the vehicl ein
front.
i Make sure tha tyou maintain the mini-
mu md istance to the vehicl einfront
required by law. Adjust the distance to the
vehicl einfront if necessary.
Distance warning function Even if Distroni
cisd eact ivated, thi sfun ction
warns yo uatspeedsabove 30 km/h if:
R the distance to the vehicl einfront is too
short for the spee dyou ared riving at for
several seconds. The EDTR warning
lamp in the speedomete rlight supinr ed.
R yo ua reapproaching avehicl einfront at too
great aspeed .You the nhearani ntermit-
tent warning tone ,and the EDTR warn- ing lamp in the speedomete
rlight supin
red.
Yo um usta pply the brakes yourself in order
to maintain the correc tdistance to the vehicle
and to avoi dacollision. G
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kofa ccident
Be especiall yobser vant of traffi ccondi-
tions when the EDTR warning lamp in
the speedomete rlight suporani ntermit-
tent warning tone sounds.
Brake or take evasive actio nasnecessary.
i Distroni cdoesn ot always clearly recog-
nis ec omplex roa dand traffi cconditions.
Yo um aythe nreceive afalse distance warn-
ing tone or none at all.
X To activate/deactivate: press button1.
When the functio nisa ctivated, the indica-
tor lamp in button 1lights up and aloud-
speaker symbo lappears in the display.
When the functio nisd eact ivated, the indi-
cator lamp in button 1goes ou tand the
loudspeaker symbo ldisappear sfromt he
multi-functio ndisplay. Distroni
cdisplays in the speedometer 1
White/red EDTR warning lamp
2 Stored speed
i For design reasons, the spee ddisplayed
in the speedomete rmaydiffe rsligh tlyf rom
the spee dsetfor Distronic.
When Distroni cdetects avehicl eahead ,the
E DTR warning lamp in the speedometer
lights up in white. Controls
230_AKB; 5; 4, en-GB
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Driving sys
tems 132
Distroni
cmenui nt he on-board com-
puter Yo
uc an rea dthe current Distronicsettings
in the Distroni cmenu. Th ereading in the
multi-functio ndisplay depends on if Distronic
and the distance warning functio nareactiva-
ted or deactivated.
X Press the èorÿ button repeatedly
unti lone of the following two displays
appear sinthe multi-functio ndisplay.
Distroni cdeactivated
When Distroni cisd eact ivate dyou will se ethe
standard Distroni cdisplay in the multi-func-
tio nd isplay. 1
Vehicle in front, if detected
2 Distanc eindicator, displaying current dis-
tanc etot he vehicl einfront
3 Specifie dminimum distance to the vehi-
cle in front, adjustable
4 Ownvehicle 5
Symbo lfor activate ddistance warning
function
Distroni cactivated
When yo uactivate Distronic, yo uwills ee the
DTR symbo land the stored spee dinthe left-
hand multi-functio ndisplay. 1
Display for activate dDistronic
2 Stored speed Deactivating Distronic 1
Deactivating Distronic
2 LIM indicator lamp
3 To switch between Distroni cand variable
Speedtronic
There ar eseveral ways to deactivate Dis-
tronic:
X Briefl ypress the cruis econtrol lever for-
wards 1.
or
X Brake.
or Controls
230_AKB; 5; 4, en-GB
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Driving sys
tems 133
X
Briefl ypress the cruis econtrol lever in the
directio nofarrow 3.
Variable Speedtroni ciss elect ed.LIM indi-
cator lamp 2in the cruis econtrol lever
lights up.
i Youw ills ee the DTR off message in the
multi-functio ndisplay for approximately
five seconds.
Th elasts peed stored is cleared when you
switch off the engine.
i Distroni cisn ot deactivate difyoudepress
the accelerator pedal. If yo uaccelerate
briefl ytoo vertake, Distroni cadjusts the
vehicle' sspeed to the last spee dstored
after yo uhavef inishe dovertaking.
Distroni cisa utomaticall ydeact ivate dif:
R yo ud epress the parking brake
R yo ua redriving at less tha n30km/h
R ESP ®
is intervening or yo udeact ivate
ESP ®
R yo um ovet he selector lever to Nwhil edriv-
ing
If Distroni cisd eact ivated, yo uwillh eara
warning tone .You will se ethe DTR off mes-sage in the multi-functio
ndisplay for approx-
imately five seconds.
Tips fo rdrivin gwithD istronic Th
efollowing contains descriptions of certain
roa dand traffi cconditions in which yo umust
be particularl yattentive. In such situations,
brake if necessary .Distroni cist hend eact i-
vated.
Cornering, goin gintoa nd comin goutof a
bend Th
ea bility of Distroni ctodetect vehicles
when cornering is limited .Yourv ehicl emay
brake unexpectedly or belatedly. Vehicle
stravellin gonad ifferentline Distroni
cmaynot detect vehicles travelling
on adifferen tline. Th edistance to the vehicle
in front will be too short.
Othe rvehicles changin glane Controls
230_AKB; 5; 4, en-GB
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