2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER Owners Manual

Driving sys
tems 134
Distroni
chasnot ye tdetecte dthe vehicle
cutting in. Th edistance to thi svehicl ewillbe
too short.
Narro wvehicles Distroni
chasnot yetd etected the vehicl ein
front on the edge of the carriageway ,because
of its relativel ynarro ww idth .T he distance to
the vehicl einfront will be too short. Speedtronic
Speedtroni cbrake sautomatically so tha tyou
do not excee dthe se tspeed .Onl onga nd
steep downhill gradients, especially if the
vehicl eisladen ,you must select shif tran ge
1, 2or 3in good time. By doin gsoyou will
make useoft he brakin geffec toft he engine,
whic hrelieve sthe load on the brak esystem
an dp reve ntst he brakes fro moverheating
an dw earing too quickly .Ifyou nee daddi-
tiona lbraking ,depress the brak epedal
repeatedly rathe rtha nc ontin uously. G
Risk of ac
cident
Neve rdepress the brak epedal contin u-
ousl ywhile the vehicl eisinmotion, e.g.
never ca uset he brakes to ru bbyapplying
constant slight peda lpressure. This causes
the brak esystemtoo verheat, increases
the brakin gdistance an dcan lead to the
brakes failin gcompletely. G
Risk of ac
cident
Do not change down fo raddit iona lengine
brakin gonas lipperyroads urface .This
could ca uset he driv ewheel stol oset heir
grip an dthe vehicl ecould skid. Yo
uc an setav ariabl eorp ermanen tlimit
speed:
R Variable fors peed limits, e.g .inbuilt-up
areas
R Permanent forl on g-ter mspeed restric-
tions, e.g .for drivin gwithw inte rt yres
( Y page 136) G
Risk of ac
cident
Speedtroni ciso nlyana iddesigne dto
assist driving. Yo uareresponsible fo rthe
vehicle' sspeed andf or brakin gingood
time.
i Thes peed indicated in the speedometer
ma ydiffe rs ligh tlyf romt he limi tspeed
stored.
Variable Speedtronic With the cruis
econtro llever ,you ca noperate
cruis econtrol, Distronic* an dvariable
Speedtronic.
Th eL IM indicator lamp on the cruis econtrol
leve rindicat es whic hsystemy ou have selec-
ted:
R LIM indicator lamp off: Con
trols
*optional
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Driving sys
tems 135
cruis
econtrol or Distronic* is selected
R LIM indicator lamp lit:
Variable Speedtroni ciss elect ed
Yo uc an uset he cruis econtrol lever to limit
the spee dtoany spee dabove 30 km/h while
the engine is running. 1
To store the current spee dorahigher
speed
2 LIM indicator lamp
3 To store the current spee dorcallupt he
last store dspeed or to make fine adjust-
ments in 1km/ hincrements
4 To stor ethe curren tspeed or alower
speed
5 To switch between cruise control, Dis-
tronic* and variable Speedtronic
6 To deactivate variable Speedtronic Selecting variable Speedtronic X
Check whether LIM indicator lamp 2is on.
If it is on, variable Speedtronic is already
selected.
If it is not ,press the cruise contro llever in
the direction of arrow 5.
LIM indicator lamp 2in the cruise control
lever lights up. Variable Speedtronic is
selected. G
Risk of accident
If ther eisac hange of drivers ,advise the
new driver of the limit speed stored.
Only use Speedtronic when you do not have
to accelerat esuddenly to aspeed higher
than the stored limit speed allows. You
could otherwise cause an accident.
You can only exceed the limit speed stored
if you deactivate variable Speedtronic:
R using the cruise contro llever.
R by depressin gthe accelerator pedal
beyond the pressure point (kickdown).
It is not possible to deactivate variable
Speedtronic by braking. Storing the current speed You can use the cruise contro
llever to limit
the speed to any speed above 30 km/hw hile
the engine is running.
X Briefly press the cruise control lever up
1 or down 4.
The current speed is stored. You wills ee
the stored speed in the multi-function dis-
play.
Storing the current speed or calling up
the last stored speed G
Risk of accident
Only select astored speed if you know what
that speed is and whether it is suitable for
the current driving and traffic situation.
Otherwise ,sudden braking could endanger
you or others.
X Briefly pullt he cruise control lever towards
you 3. Controls
*o ptional
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Driving sys
tems 136
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.
or
X Kee pthe cruis econtrol lever presse duntil
the desired spee disset.P ress the cruise
control lever ,up1forahighe rspeed or
down 4for alower speed.
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
set.
Deactivating variabl eSpeedtronic There ar
eseveral ways to deactivate variable
Speedtronic:
X Briefl ypress the cruis econtrol lever for-
wards 6.
or X
Briefl ypress the cruis econtrol lever in the
directio nofarrow 5.
LIM indicator lamp 2in the cruis econtrol
lever goes out. Variable Speedtroni cis
deactivated.
Cruise control or Distronic* is selected.
Variable Speedtroni cisd eact ivate dautomat-
icall ywheny ou depress the accelerator pedal
beyond the pressure point (kickdown) ,but
onl yify ourc urrent spee ddoesn ot diffe rby
mor ethan20k m/h fro mthe stored speed.
Yo uw illh ea raw arning tone if thi sisthe case. G
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kofa ccident
It is not possibl etodeactivate variable
Speedtroni cbybraking.
i Thelas ts peed stored is cleared when you
switch off the engine.
Permanent Speedtronic i
Permanent Speedtroni ciso nlya vailable
in certai ncountries.
Yo uc an uset he on-board computer to limit
the spee dpermanentl ytoavaluebetween
160 km/h (e.g. for driving with winter tyres)
and the maximum speed. Shortl
ybefor et he stored spee disreache dit
appear sinthe multi-functio ndisplay.
Yo uc annot exceed the stored limi tspeed,
eve nify oudepress the accelerator pedal
beyond the pressure point (kickdown).
Settin gpermanent Speedtronic
X Press the èor· button to select the
Settings menu(Ypage 116).
X Press the jbutton to call up the selec-
tio nofs ubmenus.
X Press the æorç button to select the
Vehicle submenu.
X Press the jbutton to select Speed
limit (winte rtyres) . X
Press the æorç button to select the
desired setting.
Th ef ollowing setting scan be selected:
R Off Controls
*optional
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Driving sys
tems 137
Permanent Speedtroni
cisd eact ivated.
R Al imit spee dbetween 240 km/h and
160 km/h in increments of 10 km/h
X To select adifferen tdisplay ,press the
j, èorÿ button. SBC Hold
SBC ®
Hol dassis ts the driver in the following
situations:
R when pulling away ,especially on steep
slopes
R when manoeuvring on steep slopes
R when waiting in traffic
Th ev ehicl eisk epts tationar ywithout the
driver having to depress the brake pedal.
Th eb raking effect is cancelle dand SBC Hold
deactivate dwheny ou depress the accelera-
tor peda ltopulla way.
Activation conditions Yo
uc an activate SBC Hol dif:
R the vehicl eisstationary
R the engine is running
R the driver's door is closed R
the parking brake is not applied
R the bonnet is closed
R the selector lever is in position D,Ror N
Activating SBC Hold X
Make sure tha tthe activation conditions
ar em et.
X Depres sthe brake.
X Depres sthe brake agai nquickl yu ntil
SBC H appear sinthe multi-functio ndis-
play.
SBC Hol disactivated. Yo ucan release the
brake pedal. 1
SBC Hol disactivated. G
Ris
kofa ccident
Th ev ehicle' sbrakes ar eapplied when SBC
Hol disa ctivated. For thi sreason, deacti-
vate SBC Hol difthe vehicl eistobes etin
motion by other means (e.g. in acarwash
or by towing).
Deactivating SBC Hold SBC Hol
disdeactivate dif:
R yo ua ccelerate when the selector lever is in
position Dor R
R yo um ovet he selector lever to position P
R yo ua pply the brakes agai nwithac ertain
amount of pressure unti lthe SBC H mes-
sage in the multi-functio ndisplay goes out G
Ris
kofa ccident
Never ge toutof the vehicl ewhenS BC Hold
is activated.
SBC Hol dmustn eve rbeo perated or deac-
tivate dbyapassenge rorfromo utside the
vehicle.
SBC Hol ddoesn ot replace the parking
brake and must not be used for parking.
Th eS BC Hol dbraking effect is cancelled
and the vehicl ecould rol lawa yif: Controls
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Driving sys
tems 138 R
SBC Hol disdeactivate dbyano ccupant
in the vehicl ebydepressing the acceler-
ato rpedal or the brake pedal
R there is amalfu nctio ninthe syste moran
interruption in the powe rsupply, e.g.bat-
tery failure
R the electrica lsystemint he engine com-
partment or the fuse shaveb eent am-
pered with
R the battery is disconnected G
Ris
kofa ccident
If yo uwishtol eave the vehicl eorparki t,
deactivate SBC Hol dand secure the vehicle
against rolling away.
Yo uw ills ee aw arning message in the multi-
functio ndisplay if SBC Hol disactivate dand:
R the driver's door is opene dand yo urelease
the seat belt
R the ignition is switched off
R the bonnet is opened
Selector lever to P X
Immediatel ydepress the brake or shift the
selector lever to Pto preven tthe vehicle
fro mr olling away.
SBC Hol disdeactivated. Th ewarning mes-
sage in the multi-functio ndisplay disap-
pears.
Yo uw illh ea rac ontinuous tone if SBC Hol dis
activate dand you:
R sto pthe engine and open the driver's door
R open the bonnet
Th es ounding of the horn alerts yo utothe fact
tha tthe vehicl ehasbeen parked while
SBC Hol disstill activated. Th esound
becomes louder if yo uattempt to lock the
vehicle. Th evehicl eisn ot locked unti lSBC
HOL Disd eact ivated.
i If the ignition ha sbeens witched off ,the
engine cannot be started agai nuntil
SBC Hol dhasbeen deactivated.
If SBC Hol disactivate dand ha sasystemf ault
or there is adisruption in the powe rsupply,
the multi-functio ndisplay shows the message
Brake immediately.D epressthe brake
firmly, unti lthe warning message in the multi-
functio ndisplay goes out, or mov ethe selec-
tor lever to position P.Thisd eact ivates
SBC Hold. RACE START (S
L63AMG)
RAC ESTAR Tenables optimal acceleration
fro mas tanding start with suitabl ehigh- grip
roa dsurface conditions. G
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RAC ESTAR Tiso nlya vailable when ESP ®
Sports mod eisactivated. ESP ®
Sport sta-
bilise sthe vehicl einalimited manner if the
vehicl estarts to ski dorwhenaw heelis
spinning.
RAC ESTAR Tshoul donlybeu sedonc losed
off circuits .Alway sadapt your driving style
to suit the prevailing roa dand weather con-
ditions.
Conditions fo ractivation RAC
ESTAR Tcan be activate dwhen
R the doors ar eclosed
R the engine is running and it ha sreache dan
operating temperatur eofapproximately
80 †. This is the case when the engine oil
temperatur elam pint he multi-functio ndis-
play stops flashing
R ESP ®
Sport is activate d(Ypage 56)
R the steering whee lisinthe straight-ahead
position Controls
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Driving sys
tems 139
R
the vehicl eisatresta nd the brake peda lis
depresse d(left foot)
R the gear selector lever is in position D.
Activating RACE START X
Depres sthe brake peda lwithy ourlef tf oot,
kee pitd epressed.
X Turn the progra mselect or switch clock-
wise (Y page 101) ,unti lthe RS lamp lights
up.
Th eleft-hand multi-functio ndisplay shows
the RACESTART Cancel Paddle DOWN
message and the right-hand displa yshows
the RACESTART Confir mPaddle UP
message.
X To cancel :pullt he left paddle
(Y page 102).
or
X To confirm: pull the righ tpaddle
( Y page 102).
Th eleft-hand multi-functio ndisplay shows
the RACESTART message and the right-
hand displa yshows the Depressaccel
pedal message. X
Depres sthe accelerator peda lfully.
Th ee ngine spee drises to approximately
4,000 rpm.
Th eleft-hand multi-functio ndisplay shows
the RACESTART message and the right-
hand multi-functio ndisplay shows the
Releas ebrake to start message.
X Take your foo toff the brake, bu tkeept he
accelerator peda ldep ressed.
Th ev ehicl epulls away at maximum accel-
eration.
Th eleft-hand multi-functio ndisplay shows
the RACESTART message and the right-
hand multi-functio ndisplay shows the
active message.
RAC ESTAR Tisd eactivate dwhent he vehicle
reache saspeed of approximately 50 km/h.
Drive program S+is activated. ESP ®
Sport
remains activated.
i If RAC ESTAR Tisu sedr epeatedly in a
short period of time, it is onl yavailable
agai nafter having driven the vehicl eacer-
tai nd istance. Activ
eBodyC ontrol* (ABC)
Vehicle level Your vehicl
eautomaticall yadjusts its ride
height to reduc epetrol consumption and
improve driving safety.
Depending on the vehicl eheight thathas
been set, the vehicl eautomaticall yadjusts its
height according to the current speed. The
vehicl eislower ed as the spee dincreases. As
the spee disreduced ,the vehicl eisraisedup
to the se tvehicl eheight. G
Ris
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SL 63 AMG ,SL65AMG:
Th ev ehicl eislower ed fro mthe normal level
when the engine is switched off .Makes ure,
therefore ,tha tn obod yisint he vicinity of
the whee lhousin goru nder the vehicle
when yo uswitch off the engine .Otherwise,
limbs could becom etrapped.
! SL 63 AMG ,SL65AMG:
Th ev ehicl eislower ed fro mthe normal level
when the engine is switched off .Makes ure
when parking tha tyou positio nyourvehicle
so tha titdoesn ot make contact with the
kerb as it descends .Otherwise, the vehicle
could be damaged. Controls
*o ptional
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Driving sys
tems 140
SL 63 AMG
,SL65AMG:the vehicl eisauto-
maticall ylower ed fro mthe normal level when
the engine is switched off .The vehicl eislow-
ere dapproximately 15 mm at the front and
approximately 10 mm at the rear. Settin
gthe vehicl elevel G
Ris
kofi njury
Make sure tha tnobod yisint he vicinity of
the whee lhousin goru nder the vehicle whil
elowerin gthe vehicl ewhenitiss ta-
tionary. Otherwise, limbs could become
trapped.
Th ef ollowing vehicl eheight scan be set: Vehicle height Suitabl
efor Height above normal at
as
tandstill Automatic lowering Indicato
rlamps Normal Norma
lope ration None 15 mm at most Both off
Heigh
t1 Use of sno
wchains Approx. 25 mm 25 mm at most One on
Heigh
t2 Very uneven roads Approx. 50 mm 50 mm at most Both on
i
Thec hange is so slight tha tyou maynot
notice any difference.
Onl yuseheight 1and height 2whenn eces-
sary .Otherwis efuelconsumption increases
and the handling is affected.
Your selectio nremains saved eve nwheny ou
switch off the engine. 1
Indicator lamp 1
2 Indicator lamp 2
3 To se tthe vehicl elevel X
Make sure tha tthe engine is running.
X Press button 3repeatedly unti lthe
desired vehicl elevel is set:
R the normal level is selected when both
indicator lamps ar eoff.
R when one indicator lamp is lit, height 1is
selected.
R when both indicator lamps ar elit,
height 2isselected. Controls
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Driving sys
tems 141
Suspension tuning Th
es uspe nsiontuning depends on:
R your driving style
R the roa dsurface conditions
R the payload
R your individua lselect ion
Th es uspe nsiontuning ca nbesetfor a"com-
fortable "or"sporty"d riving style.
Your selectio nremains saved eve nwheny ou
switch off the engine.
Selecting the suspension tuning (except
SL 63 AMG) 1
To select the suspensio ntuning
2 Indicator lamp
X Make sure tha tthe engine is running. If indicator lamp
2is not lit:
X Press button 1.
Indicator lamp 2lights up .You have selec-
ted the suspensio nfor as porty driving
style.
If indicator lamp 2is lit:
X Press button 1.
Indicator lamp 2goes out. Yo uhaves elec-
ted the suspensio nfor ac omfortable driv-
ing style.
Selecting the suspension tuning
(S L63A MG) 1
To select the suspensio ntuning
2 To store AMG settings
X Make sure tha tthe engine is running. If indicator lamp
1is not lit:
X Press button 1.
Button 1lights up red .You have selected
the suspensio nfor as porty driving style.
If button 1is lit:
X Press button 1.
Button 1is no longe rlit.Y ou have selected
the suspensio nfor ac omfortable driving
style.
Storin gand callin gupsettings
Once the suspensio ntuning and gearshift
progra mhaveb eens elect ed,you cans tore
and call up your setting susing AMG button
2.
X To store: press AMG button 2unti lyou
hear atone.
X To call up: press AMG button 2.
Th es tored suspensio ntuning and gearshift
progra mareselected.
X To display: brieflypress AMG button 2.
Your selectio nappears in the multi-func-
tio nd isplay. Controls
230_AKB; 5; 4, en-GB
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