2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER steering

Occupant safety
451
Driver's front airbag
2 Front-passenger front airbag
Driver's front airbag 1deploysinf ront of the
steering wheel; front-passenger front airbag
2 deploysinf ront of and above the glove
compartment.
Front-passenger front airbag 2is only
deployed if the front-passenger seat is occu-
pied or if the 5PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
warning lamp in the centre console is not lit.
(Y page 49) This means that achild restraint
system with automatic child seat recogni-
tion* has not been fitted to the front-
passenger seat or has been fitted incorrectly.
! Do not place heavy objectsont he front-
passenger seat. The system might errone-
ously interpret this as aperson occupying the seat and the restraint systems on the
front-passenger seat may then be triggered
in the event of an accident and would have
to be replaced.
Head/thoraxa irbags
Head/thorax airbags are intended to offer
additional protection for the head and thorax
when deployed. However, they do not protect
the arms. 1
Head/thorax airbag
Head/thorax airbags 1inflate in the door
area. Head/thorax airbags
1are deployed:
R on the side on which an impact occurs
R at the start of an accident with ahigh rate
of lateral vehicle deceleration or accelera-
tion, e.g. in aside impact
R if the system determines that airbag
deployment can offer additional protection
to that provided by the seat belt
R if the seat belt is fastened
R independently of the front airbags
R independently of the belt tensioners
R on the front-passenger side only if the
front-passenger seat occupancy recogni-
tion system detectst hat the front-
passenger seat is occupied Safety
*o ptional
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Driving safet
ysystems 53Driving safety systems
Overvie
wofdrivingsafety systems
In thi ssection, yo uwillf in di nformation about
the following driving safety systems:
R ABS ( Anti-lock Braking System)
R BAS ( Brake Assist System)
R Adaptive brake lamps
R ESP ®
( Electronic Stability Program)
R SBC TM
brake syste m( Sensotronic Brake
Control)
i In wintry roa dconditions ,alway susewin-
ter tyres (M+ Styres )and ,w here necessary,
sno wchains .Onlyint hisw aywill the driv-
ing safety systems describe dinthiss ection
work as effectivel yaspossible. G
Ris
kofa ccident
Th er iskofana ccident is significantly
increase dbydriving too fast. This is partic-
ularly the case when cornering on we tand
slippery roads and when driving too close
to the vehicl einfront.
Th ed riving safety systems describe dinthis
sectio ncannot reduc ethisr iskn or override
the laws of physics. For thi
sreason, always adap tyou rd riving
style to suit prevailing roa dand weather
conditions .Maintain sufficient distance
fro mo ther roa dusers and objects on the
road. ABS (Anti-lock Braking System)
ABS regulate sbrake pressure in such away
tha tthe wheels do not lock when yo ubrake.
This allows yo utocontinue steering the vehi-
cle when braking.
ABS works fro maspeed of abou t8km/h
upwards ,regardles sofroads urface condi-
tions. ABS works on slippery surfaces ,even
when yo uonlyb rake gently. G
Ris
kofa ccident
Do not depress the brake peda lsev eral
times in quick succession (pumping).
Depres sthe brake firml yand evenly .Pum p-
ing the brake peda lreduces the braking
effect.
Braking If ABS intervenes whil
eyou areb raking ,the
v warning lamp flashe sinthe instrument cluster. Yo
uwilln ot fee lthe brake peda lpul-
sating as thi shappe ns.
X If ABS intervenes: continue to depress the
brake peda lwithf orce unti lthe braking sit-
uatio niso ver.
X To make afullb rak eapplication:
depress the brake peda lwithf ullf orce. G
Ris
kofa ccident
If ABS is faulty, the wheels could lock when
braking .Thisl imit sthe steerability of the
vehicl ewhenb raking and the braking dis-
tanc emayincrease.
If ABS is deactivate dduetoam alfunction,
the nB AS and ESP ar ealsod eact ivated.
There is an increase driskofy ourv ehicle
skidding in certai nsituations.
Yo us houl dalway sadapt your driving style
to suit the prevailing roa dand weather con-
ditions. Safety
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63
Opening and closing
...........................64
Key positions ....................................... 73
Seats .................................................... 74
Steering wheel .................................... 78
Mirrors ................................................. 80
Memor yfunctions ............................... 82
Seat belts ............................................. 83
Lights ................................................... 87
Windscreen wipers .............................92
Side windows ...................................... 93Driving and parking
............................95
Automatic transmission .....................98
Instrument cluster ............................105
On-boar dcomputer .......................... 106
Driving systems ................................ 124
Air conditioning ................................. 144
Opening/closing the roof .................154
Loading and stowing ........................159
Features ............................................. 165 Controls
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Steering wheel
78The system automatically switches off
approximately 30 minutes after it is set to
level 1.
X Make sure that the key is in position 2in
the ignition lock.
X To switch on rapid heating: press button
2.
X To switch off rapid heating: press button
2 twice.
X To switch on the seat heating: press but-
ton 1.
X To switch off seat heating: press button
1.
Vehicles with seat ventilation* 1
Seat heating i
The system automatically switches down
from level 2to level 1after approximately
eight minutes.
The system automatically switches off
approximately 30 minutes after it is set to
level 1.
X Make sure that the key is in position 2in
the ignition lock.
X To switch on: press button1repeatedly
until the desired heating level is set.
X To switch off: press button1repeatedly
until all the indicator lamps go out. Steering wheel
Points to remember
G
Risk of injury
The electrically adjustable steering wheel
can be adjusted when the key is removed
from the ignition lock. Therefore, do not
leave children unsupervised in the vehicle
as they could become trapped as the steer-
ing wheel is adjusted. G
Risk of accident
Only adjust the steering wheel when the
vehicle is stationary and do not pull away
until the steering wheel adjustment mech-
anism is locked in position. You might oth-
erwise drive without the steering wheel
adjustment mechanism being locked in
position. As aresult you could be distracted
from road and traffic conditions by an unex-
pected movement of the steering wheel
and thereby cause an accident.
The steerability of the vehicle is however
not affected.
When you adjust the steering wheel, make
sure that: Controls
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Steering wheel
79
R
the steering wheel can be reached with
your arms slightly bent
R you can move your legs freely
R you can see all the displaysint he instru-
ment cluster clearly Adjusting the steering wheel
1
Steering column fore-and-aft adjustment
2 Steering column height
X Press the lever in the direction of arrow
1 or2 until the steering wheel has
moved into the desired position.
You can find more information under:
R EASY-ENTRY/EXIT feature (Y page 79)
R Storing settings (Y page 82) Easy-entry/exit feature
The easy-entry/exit feature makes getting in
and out of yourv ehicle easier.
The steering wheel swings upwards when
you:
R remove the key from the ignition lock
R open the driver's door when the key is in
the ignition lock or in position 1.
The steering wheel is moved automatically to
the position previously set when the key is
inserted into the ignition lock with the driver's
door closed. G
Risk of injury
Make sure that nobody can become trap-
ped when you activate the easy-entry/exit
feature.
If there is arisk of becoming trapped, stop
the adjustment procedure .Tohalt the pro-
cedure:
R press the steering-column adjustment
switch
R press one of the memory function posi-
tion buttons
The steering column stops moving immedi-
ately. Never leave children unsupervised in the
vehicle. They could open the driver's door
and thereby unintentionally activate the
easy-entryf
eature and become trapped.
The most recent position of the steering
wheel is stored when you switch off the igni-
tion or when you store amemory position
(Y page 82).
You can activate and deactivate the easy-
entry/exit feature via the on-board computer
(Y page 121). Controls
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Memory functions
82
X
Make sure that the vehicle is stationary and
that the key is in position 2in the ignition
lock.
X Press button 2for the exterior mirror on
the front-passenger side.
X Use adjustment button 3to adjust the
exterior mirror to aposition which allows
you to see the rear wheel and the kerb.
X Press memory button M(Y pag e82)on
the door control panel.
X Press one of the arrow sonadjustment but-
ton 3withi nthree seconds.
The parking position is stored if the exterior
mirror does not move.
i If the mirror moves out of position, repeat
the steps. You can adjust the exterior mir-
ror again after storing the setting.
Calling up astored parking position set-
ting X
With the key in position 2in the ignition
lock and with exterior mirror on the front-
passenger side 2activated, engage
reverse gear.
Exterior mirror on the front-passenger 2
moves to the stored parking position. The exterior mirror on the front-passenger
side moves back to its original position:
R as soon as you exceed aspee dof
10 km/h
R about ten seconds after you have disen-
gaged reverse gear
R if you press button 1for the exterior mir-
ror on the driver's side Memory functions
Storing settings
You can store up to three different settings
using the memory button.
The following settings are stored as asingle
memory preset:
R position of the seat, backres tand head
restraint
R multi-contour seat*: the backres tside
cushions of the sea tcushion and the back-
rest, contour of the backres tinthe lumbar
and shoulde rregions
R driver's side :steering-whee lposition
R driver's side :position of the exterior mir-
rors on the driver's and front-passenger
sides G
Risk of injury
The memory function can be use dwhent he
key has been removed .For this reason,
children should never be left unsupervised
in the vehicle. They coul dotherwise
become trappe dwhenm oving the sea tor
the steering wheel. Controls
*optional
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Seat belts
83G
Risk of accident
Only use the memory function on the driv-
er's side when the vehicle is stationary. You
could otherwise be distracted from the traf-
fic conditions by the steering wheel and
seat moving of their own accord, and cause
an accident. 1
Storage position switches 1,2,3
2 Memory button M
X Adjust the seat (Y page 74).
X On the driver's side, also adjust the steer-
ing wheel (Y page 78) and the mirrors
(Y page 80). X
Press memory button M2.
X Press one of storage position switches 1,
2 or 31 within three seconds.
The settings are stored in the selected pre-
set position. Atone sounds when the set-
tings have been completed. Calling up
astored setting G
Risk of accident
Only use the memory function on the driv-
er's side when the vehicle is stationary. You
could otherwise be distracted from the traf-
fic conditions by the steering wheel and
seat moving of their own accord, and cause
an accident.
X Press and hold the relevant storage posi-
tion switch 1,2or 3until the seat, steering
wheel and mirrors are in the stored posi-
tion.
i The setting procedure is interrupted as
soon as you release the storage position
switch. Seat belts
Wearing seat belts
Seat belts are the most effective means of
restraining the movement of vehicle occu-
pants in the event of an accident. This
reduces the risk of vehicle occupants coming
into contact with the vehicle interior. G
Risk of injury
As eat belt which is not worn correctly, or
which has not been engaged in the seat belt
buckle correctly, cannot perform its inten-
ded protective function. Under certain cir-
cumstances this could cause severe or
even fatal injuries.
Make sure that all occupants –inparticular,
pregnant women –weartheir seat belt cor-
rectly at all times.
R The seat belt must pass closely over your
body and must not be twisted. You
shouldt herefore avoid wearing bulky
clothing (e.g. awinter coat). The shoulder
belt section must be routed across the
middleofy ours houlder –onnoa ccount
across yourn eck or under youra rm–and
pulled tight against youru pperbody.T he
lap belt must always pass across yourl ap
as low down as possible, i.e. over your Controls
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Seat belts
86 Correct driver's seat position
1
Steering wheel
2 Seat belt
3 Seat G
Risk of accident
Only adjust the driver's seat when the vehi-
cle is stationary. You will otherwise be dis-
tracted from the road and traffic conditions
and you could lose control of the vehicle as ar
esult of the seat moving. This could
cause an accident. G
Risk of accident
Only adjust the steering wheel when the
vehicle is stationary and do not pull away
until the steering wheel adjustment mech-
anism is locked in position. You might oth-
erwise drive without the steering wheel
adjustment mechanism being locked in
position. As aresult you could be distracted
from road and traffic conditions by an unex-
pected movement of the steering wheel
and thereby cause an accident.
The steerability of the vehicle is however
not affected.
X Check whether seat 3and the head
restraint are adjusted properly
(Y page 74).
Make sure that:
R you are as far awayf rom the driver's front
airbagasp ossible
R you are sitting in anormal upright posi-
tion
R you can fasten the seat belt properly
R you have moved the backrest to an
almost vertical position R
you have set the seat angle so that your
thighs are gently supported
R you can depress the pedals properly
R you have adjusted the head restraint so
that the back of yourh ead is supported
at eye level by the central area of the
head restraint
X Check whether steering wheel 1is adjus-
ted properly (Y page 78).
Make sure that:
R you can hold the steering wheel with your
arms slightly bent
R you can move yourl egs freely
R you can see all the displays in the instru-
ment cluster clearly
X Check whether you have fastened seat belt
2 properly (Y page 83).
It should:
R fit snugly across yourb ody
R be routed across the middle of your
shoulder
R routed in yourp elvic area across the hip
joints Controls
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