2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER Owners Manual

Running-i
nnotes for SL 65 AM Gand AM Gvehicle swithad ifferential lock 174 The firs
t1,50 0km
If yo utrea tthe engine with sufficient care
from the very start, yo uwillber ewarded with
excellent performanc efor the remainder of
the engine's life.
R Yo us houl dtherefore drive at varying road
and engine speed sfor the first 1,50 0km.
R Avoi dheavy loads, e.g. driving at ful lthrot-
tle ,during this time .Donot exceed 2
/ 3 of
the maximu mpermissibl eengine speed for
each gear.
R Chang egearing oodt ime.
R Do not shift dow nagearm anually in order
to brake.
R Try to avoid depressing the accelerator
peda lbeyond the pressure point (kick-
down).
R Only us eranges 3,2or 1for slow driving,
e.g. in mountainou sterrain.
Additiona ldriving tip sfor AMG vehicles:
R Do not drive faster tha n140 km/h for the
first 1,50 0km.
R Only bring the engine up to amaximum
speed of 4,50 0rpm for abrief period. i
Yous houl dalsoo bserve thes enotes if the
engine or rea raxlet ransmission on your
vehicl ehasbeen replaced. Running-i
nnotes for SL 65 AM Gand
AM Gvehicle swithad ifferential lock
Your vehicl eisequippe dwithas elf-locking
differential on the rea raxle.
To better protect the differential gea ronthe
rea raxle, yo ushoul dperfor mano ilchange
afte rar unning-in phase of 3,00 0km. Thi soil
change will increas ethe service life of your
differential .Havet he oi lchange performed at
aq uali fied specialist workshop. Mercedes-
Benz recommend sthaty ou useaM ercedes-
Benz Service Centre for this purpose. Operation
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Refuelling
175Refuelling
Refuelling
G
Ris
kofe xplosion
Fue lish ighl yf lammable. Fire ,nake dflames
and smoking are therefore prohibited when
handling fuels.
Switch off the engine before refuelling. G
Ris
kofi njury
Avoi dany contact with fuels.
Yo uc an damag eyourh ealth if your skin
come sinto direct contact with fue lorifyou
inhal ethe vapours.
! Do not us ediese ltor efuel vehicles with a
petrol engine. Even small amounts of diesel
will damag ethe injectio nsystem .Damage
caused by using diese ltorefuel vehicles
with apetrol engine or mixing petrol with
diese lisnot covered by the warranty.
! Do not start the engine if yo uaccidentally
refuel with the wrong fuel. Otherwise, the
fue lcould enter the fue llin es. The fue ltank
and fue llin es woul dthen have to be
drained. In this case, notif yaqualified spe-
cialist worksho pand have the fue ltank and
fue llin es draine dcompletely. Whe
nyou ope norc lose the vehicl ewitht he
key or KEYLESS GO*, the fue lfille rflapis
automaticall yunlocked or locked.
The fue lfille rflapistot he rearonthe right. 1
To open the fuel fille rflap
2 To insert the fuel cap
3 Tyre pressure table
4 Fuel type
X To open: press the fuel fille rflapint he
directio nofarrow 1.
Th ef uelfille rflapo pens slightly.
X Open the fuel fille rflap.
X Turn the fuel fille rcap to the left and
remove it. X
Insert the fuel fille rcap into the holder
bracket on the insid eoffillerflap 2.
X Onl yfillt he tank until the pump nozzle
switches off.
! Overfilling the tank could damage the fuel
system.
X To close: replace the fuel fille rcap and turn
it clockwise. Th efuelfille rcap audibly
engages.
X Clos ethe fuel fille rflap. Petrol (E
N228)
! Refuel using onl yunleade dpremium
grade petrol with aminimum octane num-
be rof95R ON/85M ONconforming to
Europea nstandard EN 228.
Yo uc ould otherwis eimpair engine output
or damage the engine.
Yo uw illf indf urthe rinformation abou tpet-
rol unde r"Fuel" in the index.
i Asatemporary measure, bu tonlyw hen
the recommende dfuelisn ot available, you
ma yalsou seregular unleaded petrol,
91 RON/82.5 MO N. Thismay reduce per- Operation
*o ptional
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Engine compartment
176formance and increas
epetrol consump-
tion .Avoid driving at full throttle.
In som ecountries ,the available petrol qual-
it ym ay no tbes ufficien tand could cause
cokin garoun dthe inlet valve. In such
cases, and in consultation wit ha
Mercedes-Ben zServic eCentre, th epetrol
may be mixed wit hthe additive recommen-
ded by Mercedes-Ben z(par tno.
A000989254510). You must observ ethe
note sand mixing ratios given on th econ-
tainer.
AMG vehicles and twelve-cylinder
engines !
Refue lusin go nlys uper unleaded petrol
wit ham inimum octan enumber of
98 RON/88 MON conforming to European
standard EN 228.
You could otherwise impai rengineo utput
or damag ethe engine.
You will fin dfurther information about pet-
rol under "Technical data" in th eindex.
i If th erecommended fuel is no tavailable
and only as atem porar ymeasure, you may
also use premium unleaded petrol,
95 RON/85 MON .This may reduce per- formance and increas
epetrol consump-
tion .You must avoi ddriving at full throttle.
! In emergencies, and only when th erec-
ommended fuel is no tavailable, you may
also use standard unleaded petrol,
91 RON/82.5 MON .How ever, usin gthis
fuel result sinconsid erably higher petrol
consumption and significantly reduced per-
formance. Avoid driving at full throttle, and
only driv eindrivep rogram C.
If no fuel other than regular petrol fuel
91 RON/82.5 MON or alower grad eisper-
manentl yavailable, you should have the
vehicle adapted to run on this fuel by the
local after-sales service. Engine compartment
Bonnet
G
Ris
kofa ccident
Do no tpull th erelease leve rwhile th evehi-
cle is in motion .Ifyou do so, th ebonnet
may open up and bloc kyour view.
Opening G
Ris
kofi njury
Ther eisar iskofi njury if th ebonne tisopen,
eve nift heengin eisnotrunning.
Some engin ecom ponent scan become
ver yhot.
To avoi dthe riskofb urns, only touch those
component sdescribe dintheOwner’s Man-
ual and observ ethe relevan tsafet ynotes. G
Ris
kofi njury
The radiator fan between th eradiator and
th ee nginec an start automatically, eve nif
th ek eyhas been remove dfromt heignition
lock. Fo rthisr eason you must no treach
int ot he turnin garea of th efan.Y ou can
otherwise be injured. Operation
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Engine compartment
177The electronic ignition system uses high
voltage. Fo rthisr eason ,you must never
touch component softheignition system
(ignition coil, ignition cable, spar kplug con-
nector or test socket) when:
R thee ngineisr unning
R thee ngineisb eingstarted
R thei gnition is switched on and th eengine
is bein gcranked by hand
X Mak esure that th ewindscree nwiper sare
switched off. G
Ris
kofi njury
The windscree nwiper sand wiper linkage
could be set in motion.
When th ebonne tisopen,you or others
could be injured by th ewiper rods.
Mak esure that th ewindscree nwiper sare
switched off and that th ekeyhas been
pulled out of th eignition loc kbefore open-
ing th ebonnet. The bonne
trelease leve rislocate dinthe
driver' sfootwell. 1
Bonnet releas elever
X Pull bonnet releas elever 1.
The bonnet is released.
! Make sure that th ewindscreen wipers
are not folde dout away fro mthewind-
screen. You can otherwise damage the
windscreen wipers or th ebonnet. The handl
efor opening th ebonnet is located
above th eradiator grille. 2
Bonnet catch handle
X Reach int othe gap, pull bonnet catch han-
dle 2up and lift th ebonnet.
Closing G
Risk of injury
Make sure that nobody can become trap-
ped as you clos ethe bonnet.
X Lower th ebonnet and let it fall fro ma
height of approximately 20 cm.
X Check that th ebonnet has engaged prop-
erly. Operation
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Engine compartment
178
i
If th ebonne tcan be raised slightly, it is
no tp roperly engaged .Open it again and
close it wit halittlem oref orce. Engine oil
Dependin gondriving style, th evehicl econ-
sume samaximum of 0. 8loil per 1,000 km.
The oil consumption may be higher than this
when th evehicl eisn ewor if you frequently
driv eath igh engin espeeds. You can only
estimat ethe oil consumption after you have
driven aconsid erable distance.
You will fin dfurther information about engine
oil in th e"Technical data" section
(Y page 303).
Checking th eengine oil level To do so:
R
thev ehicl eshould be parked on level
ground.
R thee ngines hould be switched off for at
least fiv eminute siftheengin ewas at nor-
mal operating temperature.
R thee ngines hould be switched off for at
least 30 minute siftheengin ewas no tat
operating temperature (i.e. if you only star-
te dt he engin ebriefly). Via th
eon-boar dcomputer*
i Only possible on th eSL600 and
SL 65 AMG. On all other models, adipstick
is used to check th eengineo il level
(Y page 179).
X Mak esure that th ekeyis in position 2in
th ei gnition loc k(Ypage 73).
X Press the jork buttontoselect the
Measurement correc tonlyifv ehi-
cle is level. message. Afte
rabout three seconds, the Engine oil
level Measuring now message appears.
The measuremen ttakes afew seconds. You
will see on eofthefollowin gmessage sinthe
display: R
Engine oil level OK
R Add 1.0 litre to reach maximu moil
level
R Add 1.5 litres to reach maximu moil
level
R Add 2.0 litres to reach maximu moil
level
X Top up th eoil if necessary ( Ypage 179).
Other messages in th emulti-function dis-
play
If th eengineisatn ormaloperating tempera-
tur ea nd there is to omucho il, you will see the
followin gmessage:
Eng .o il level
Reduce oil level
X Hav eexces so il siphoned off.
! Ther eisar iskofd amagetotheengin eor
th ec atalyti cconverter if there is exces soil
in th eengine.
If the Switch ignition on to check
engine oil level message appears:
X Turn th ekeyto position 2in th eignition
loc k(Ypage 73). Operation
*optional
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Engine compartment
179
You will see th
efollowin gmessage if you did
no to bserv ethe required waiting time:
Observ ewaitin gperiod
X Repeat th emeasuremen tafter about five
minute siftheengin eisatn ormaloperating
temperature.
X Repeat th emeasuremen tafter about
30 minute siftheengin eisnotat normal
operating temperature (if th eenginew as
only started briefly).
The followin gmessage appear siftheengine
is running:
Engine oil level Not whe nengine on
X Switch off th eenginea nd wait for five
minute siftheengin eisatn ormaloperating
temperature, or for about 30 minute sifthe
engin eisnotat normal operating temper-
atur e(if th eenginew as only started
briefly), before measuring.
i If you wish to cancel th emeasurement,
press the korj buttonont hemulti-
function steering wheel. Using th
eoil dipstick Example of
avehicle with apetrol engine (SL 350)
1 Oil dipstick
2 Maximum mark
3 Minimum mark
X Pull oil dipstick 1out of th eoil dipstick
tube.
X Wipe off oil dipstick 1.
X Insert oil dipstick 1intot he oil dipstick
tube to th estop, and tak eitout again.
The oil level is correc tifthelevel is between
minimum mark 3and maximum mark
2.
X Top up th eoil if necessary. i
On vehicles with 8-cylinder and 12-cylin-
der engines ,the difference between MIN
mark 3and MAX mark 2is approxi-
mately 1. 5litres. On vehicles with a6-
cylinder engine, th edifference is 2. 0litres.
Topping up th eengine oil Example (SL 500)
1
Cap Operation
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Engine compartment
180Example (SL 600)
1
Cap
X Unscrew cap 1and remove it.
X Top up with th eamount of oil required.
! Do not add too much oil. If too much oil
is added and th eoil level is above th emax-
imum mark on th edipstick ,the engine or
catalytic converter could be damaged.
Have excess oil siphoned off.
X Screw cap 1ontothe filler neck. H
Environmental note
When topping up th eoil, tak ecare not to
spill any. Oil must not be allowed to escape
int ot he soil or waterways. You would oth-
erwise be damagin gthe environment. Coolant
G
Risk of injury
The cooling system is pressurised. There-
fore, only unscrew th ecap onc ethe engine
has cooled down. The coolant temperature
gauge must display less than 70 °C. You
could otherwise be scalde dbyescaping hot
coolant.
Coolant consist sofwater and antifreeze/cor-
rosion inhibitor. Only chec kthe coolant level
when th evehicle is on alevel surface and the
engine has cooled down. Checking th
ecoolant level The expansion tan
kislocated in th eengine
compartmen tontheright-han dside of the
vehicle when viewed in th edirectio noftravel. 1
Expansion tank
X Slowly tur nthe cap by half aturna nti-
clockwise to allow excess pressure to
escape.
X Turn th ecap further anti-clockwise and
remove it.
Ther eiss ufficien tcoolant in expansion
tank 1if th ecoolant is level with th emark
in th efiller nec kwhen cold or approxi-
mately 1. 5cmhigher when hot.
X Top up th ecoolant if necessary.
X Position th ecap and screw tight. Operation
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Engine compartment
181
!
SL 600: open only th ecover of expansion
tank 1.N ever open th ecover between the
two charge-air coolers. This can damage
th ee ngine.
You will fin dfurther information about coolant
in th e"Technical data" section
(Y page 304). Windscree
nwasher system/head-
lam pcleaning system*
The washe rfluid reservoir is locate dinthe
engin ecom partmen tontheright when
viewed in th edirection of travel. The head-
lamp cleanin gsystem is also supplied from
th ew ashe rfluid reservoir. 1
Cover X
Add windscreen washer concentrate to the
washer fluid all year round. G
Risk of fire
Windscreen washer concentrate is highly
flammable. Fire, naked flames and smoking
are prohibited when windscreen washer
concentrate is being handled.
Use
R aw indscreen washer fluid additive
such as MB Summerwash to prevent
smearing (for temperatures above freez-
ing).
R aw indscreen washer fluid additive with
antifreez eproperties such as MB Winter-
wash (if there is arisk of frost).
X Mix th ewindscreen washer fluid in acon-
tainer beforehand .Adapt th emixing ratio
to th eoutside temperatures.
! Only use windscreen washer fluid which
is suitable for plastic lamp lenses. Unsuit-
able windscreen washer fluid could dam-
age th eplastic lamp lenses of th ehead-
lamps. X
To open: pull cap1upwards by th etab.
X To close: presscap 1 ontothe filler neck
until it clicks int oplace. Operation
*o ptional
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