2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER warning

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
230_AKB; 5; 4, en-GB
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Driving safet
ysystems 54 BAS (Brake Assist)
BAS operates in emergency braking situa-
tions. If yo udepress the brake peda lquickly,
BAS automaticall yboost sthe braking force,
thu sshortening the stopping distance.
X Kee pthe brake peda lfirml yd epresse duntil
the emergency braking situatio niso ver.
ABS prevents the wheels fro mlocking.
Th eb rakes will functio nasusual once you
release the brake pedal. BAS is deactivated. G
Ris
kofa ccident
If BAS ha smalfu nctioned ,the braking sys-
tem remains availabl ewithf ullb rake boost-
ing effect. However, braking force is not
automaticall yincrease dinemergency
braking situations and the stopping dis-
tanc emayincrease. Adaptive brak
elamps
i Adaptive brake lamps ar eonlya vailable in
certai ncountries.
If yo ubrake sharpl yfromas peed of more
tha n50k m/h or if braking is assiste dbyBAS,
the brake lamps flas hrapidly .Inthisw ay,
traffi ctravelling behind yo uiswarne dinan
eve nm oren oticeabl emanner.
After bringing the vehicl etoahalta fter per-
forming such abraking manoeuvre, when the
brake peda lispresse dagain the brake lamps
will once agai nlight up continuously. ESP
®
(Electroni cStability Program)
ESP ®
monitors driving stability and traction,
i.e .p ower transmission between tyres and
the roa dsurface.
If ESP ®
detects tha tthe vehicl eisdeviating
fro mt he directio ndesir ed by the driver ,one
or mor ewheel sarebraked to stabilise the
vehicle. Th eengine outpu tisa lsom odified, if
necessary ,tokeept he vehicl eonthe desired
course withi nphysical limits. ESP ®
assists
the driver when pulling away on we torslip-
pery roads .ESP ®
ca na lsos tabilise the vehi-
cle during braking. When ESP
®
intervenes ,the v warning
lamp flashe sinthe instrumen tcluster. G
Ris
kofa ccident
If the v warning lamp in the instrument
cluste rflashes ,procee dasfollows:
R Do not deactivate ESP ®
under any cir-
cumstances.
R Onl ydepress the accelerator peda lasfar
as necessary when pulling away.
R Adapt your driving style to suit the pre-
vailing roa dand weather conditions.
Th ev ehicl ecould otherwis egointoaskid.
ESP ®
cannot reduc ethe risk of an accident
if yo udrive too fast. ESP ®
cannot override
the laws of physics.
! If:
R the vehicl eisbeing towed with the front
or rea raxler aised
R the parking brake is being tested using a
dynamometer
the ignition must be switched off (ke yin
position 0or 1in the ignition lock). Appli-
catio noft he brakes by ESP ®
could other-
wise destro ythe brake syste monthe front
or rea raxle. Safety
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Driving safet
ysystems 55
i
Onlyusewheels with the recommended
tyr es izes .O nlyt henw illE SP ®
function
properly.
Tractio ncontrol Tractio
ncontrol is part of ESP ®
.
Tractio ncontrol brakes the drive wheels indi-
vidually if the yspin. This enables yo utopull
away and accelerate on slippery surfaces ,for
exampl eifthe roa dsurface is slippery on one
side.
Tractio ncontrol remains activ ewheny ou
deactivate ESP ®
. G
Ris
kofa ccident
Tractio ncontrol cannot reduc ethe risk of
an accident if yo udrive too fast. Traction
control cannot override the laws of physics.
Activating/deactivating ESP ®
,( exce pt
SL 63 AMG) ESP
®
is activate dautomaticall ywhent he
engine is running. It ma
ybeb esttod eactivate ESP ®
in the fol-
lowing situations:
R when using sno wchains
R in deep snow
R on sand or gravel G
Ris
kofa ccident
Activate ESP ®
as soon as the situations
describe dabove no longe rapply .ESP ®
will
otherwis enot be able to stabilise the vehi-
cle if the vehicl estarts to ski dorawheel
starts to spin.
If yo udeact ivate ESP ®
:
R ESP ®
no longe rimp roves driving stability.
R engine torque is not limited and the drive
wheels ar eabletos pin. Th espinning
wheels produce acutting effect for better
traction.
R tractio ncontrol is still activated.
R ESP ®
still provide ssuppo rt when you
brake.
i If ESP ®
is deactivate dand one or more
wheels start to spin, the vwarning lamp
in the instrumen tcluste rflashes .Insuch situations ESP
®
will not stabilise the vehi-
cle. 1
To deactivate/activate ESP ®
X To deactivate: press button1.
The v warning lamp in the instrument
cluste rlight sup. G
Ris
kofa ccident
If the v warning lamp in the instrument
cluste riscontinuously li twhent he engine
is running ,ESP ®
is deactivate dornot avail-
able du etoam alfunction. There is an
increase driskofy ourv ehicl eskidding in
certai nsituations.
Yo us houl dalway sadapt your driving style
to suit the prevailing roa dand weather con-
ditions. Safety
230_AKB; 5; 4, en-GB
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Driving safet
ysystems 56
X
To activate: press button 1.
The v warning lamp in the instrument
cluste rgoeso ut.
SL 63 AMG Activating/deactivating ESP
®
Sport
ESP ®
is activate dautomaticall ywhent he
engine is running.
It ma ybeb esttoa ctivate ESP ®
Sport in the
following situations:
R when using sno wchains
R in deep snow
R on sand or gravel
Otherwise, yo ushoul donlyu seESP ®
Sport
on designated race circuits. G
Ris
kofa ccident
Deactivate ESP ®
Sport and activate ESP ®
as soon as the situations describe dabove
no longe rapply .ESP ®
Sport will otherwise
onl ybea bletos tabilise the vehicl etoa
limited degre eifthe vehicl estarts to skid
or aw heel starts to spin. If yo
uactivate ESP ®
Sport:
R ESP ®
onl yimp roves driving stability to a
limited degree.
R engine torque is onl yrestricted to alimit ed
degre eand the drive wheels ar eableto
spin. Th espinning wheels produce acut-
ting effect for better traction.
R tractio ncontrol is still activated.
R ESP ®
still provide ssuppo rt when yo ubrake
firmly.
i If ESP ®
Sport is activate dand one or more
wheels start to spin, the vwarning lamp
in the instrumen tcluste rflashes .ESP ®
only
stabilise sthe vehicl etoalimited degree. 1
Activating/deactivating ESP ®
Sport X
To activate: brieflypress button 1.
The v warning lamp in the instrument
cluste rlight sup.Them essage ESP Sport
appear sinthe multi-functio ndisplay.
X To deactivate: brieflypress button 1.
The v warning lamp in the instrument
cluste rgoeso ut.T he message ESP On
appear sinthe multi-functio ndisplay.
To deactivate/activate ESP ®
ESP ®
is activate dautomaticall ywhent he
engine is running.
It ma ybeb esttod eactivate ESP ®
in the fol-
lowing situations:
R when using sno wchains
R in deep snow
R on sand or gravel G
Ris
kofa ccident
Activate ESP ®
as soon as the situations
describe dabove no longe rapply .ESP ®
will
otherwis enot be able to stabilise the vehi-
cle if the vehicl estarts to ski dorawheel
starts to spin. Safety
230_AKB; 5; 4, en-GB
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Driving safet
ysystems 57
If yo
udeact ivate ESP ®
:
R ESP ®
no longe rimp roves driving stability.
R engine torque is no longe rlimit ed and the
drive wheels ar eabletos pin. Th espinning
wheels produce acutting effect for better
traction.
R tractio ncontrol is still activated.
R ESP ®
still provide ssuppo rt when yo ubrake
firmly.
i If ESP ®
is deactivate dand one or more
wheels start to spin, the vwarning lamp
in the instrumen tcluste rdoesn ot flash. In
such situations ESP ®
will not stabilise the
vehicle. 1
To deactivate/activat eESP® X
To deactivate: pressbutton 1untilt he
v and¯ warning lamp sinthe instr u-
ment cl usterlight up.
Th em essage ESPO ffappear sinthe multi-
function displa y. G
Risk of ac
cident
ESP ®
is deactivated if the vand¯
warning lamp sinthe instr umentclus tera re
li tc ontin uously when the engin eisrunning.
Ther eisani ncreased risk of yourvehicle
skiddin gincertain situations.
Yo us hould alwaysadap tyou rd riving style
to suit prevailing road an dweather condi-
tions.
X To activate: brieflypress button 1.
The v and¯ warning lamp sinthe
instr ument clus tergoo ut.T he message
ES POn appear sinthe multi-function dis-
play. SBC
™brake system
Th eS BCTM
brak esystemc ombines a
hydrauli cbrake syste mwithane lectronicall y-
controlled brak eboost inge ffec t. This pro-
vide sincreased brakin gsafet yand comfort.
In additio ntothe brakin gfun ction, SBC TM
also
provides the SBC Hold convenienc efunction
(Y page 137). G
Risk of ac
cident
The 3 indicator lamp in the instr ument
cl us terlight supift here isamalfun ction in
the SBC TM
brak esystemort he brakes.
Alwa ysobserve the note sinthe multi-func-
tio nd isplay. Lookup"SBC TM
brak esystem"
in the inde xand un dertha th eading the
"Malfunction" entry an dfollow the proce-
dure described there in the event of amal-
function.
If the SBC TM
brak esystemm alfun ctions,
Mercedes-Benz recommends tha tyou have
the vehicl etransported on atransporter or
trailer .Ifthisisn ot possible ,atowba rmust
be used. Alwayscompl ywitht he maxim um
permissible spee dand distance fo rtowing
in your country. Safety
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Seat belts
851
Belt sash guide
2 Belt tongue
3 Buckle
4 Release button Routing the belt X
Adjust the seat and move the backrest to
an almost vertical position (Y page 74).
X Pull the belt smoothly through belt sash
guide 1.
X Route the belt over the centreoft he shoul-
der without twisting it.
X Engage belt tongue 2into buckle 3.
X If necessary, pull upwards on the shoulder
section of the belt to tighten the belt across
yourb ody.
Routing the belt X
Press release button 4and guideb elt
tongue 2back towards belt sash guide
1. Belt warning for driver and front
passenger
The < seat belt warning lamp in the instru-
ment cluster reminds you that all occupants
should fasten their seat belts. The belt warning lamp may light up continuously
or it may flash. Additionally,t here may be a
warning tone.
The < seat belt warning lamp goes out and
the warning tone ceases when the driver and
the front passenger have fastened their seat
belt.
For certain countries only: regardless of
whether the driver or the front passenger is
already secured, the lamp lights up for six seconds after the engine
has been started. The lamp then goes out if both the driver and the
front passenger have fastened their seat belt.
i Further information aboutt he< seat
belt warning lamp (Y page 233). Controls
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Lights
90 Hazard warning lamps
Centre console
1
Hazard warnin glamp button
The hazar dwarnin glamps still operat eifthe
ignition is switched off .They switc honauto-
matically if an airbag is deployed or if you
brak esharply and brin gthe vehicle to ahalt
fro mas peed of more than 70 km/h.
X To switch on: press button1.
All tur nsignals flash. If you switc honthe
tur ns ignals using the combination switch
(Y page 89), the tur nsignals flash on the
correspondin gside of the vehicle.
X To deactivate: press button1. Headlam
pcleaning system 1
Button for headlamp cleaning system
X Make sure that the key is in position 2of
the ignition lock or that the engin eisrun-
ning.
X To switch on: briefly press button 1.
The headlamps are cleaned with ahigh-
pressure water jet.
The headlamps are cleaned automatically if
the "Wipe with windscreen washer fluid" func-
tion is operated 15 times while the light sare
on and the engin eisrunning. When you
switc hoff the ignition, the automatic head-
lamp cleaning system is reset and countin gis
resume dfrom0. Intelligent Light System*
The Intelligent Light System adapts the light-
ing of the front headlamps to the prevailing
driving conditions so that the road is better
illuminated.
The Intelligent Light System is only active
when it is dark.
The Intelligent Light System comprises:
R active light function
R cornering light
R motorway mode
R extended rang efoglamps
Active light function For the active light function
,the dipped-beam
headlamps swivel horizontally. The swivel
angle changes accordin gtothe respective
driving situation .The active light function is
not active when the vehicle is stationary.
Cornering light Specially designed headlamps light up the
area int
owhich you are driving when turning
corners.
If you are driving at speeds below 40 km/h,
the cornering light function is activated either Controls
*optional
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Instrument cluster
105
X
Pull th eleft-han dsteerin gwhee lgearshift
paddl e(Ypage 102).
The automati ctransmissio nshift sdown to
th en extg ear.
i Form aximum acceleration ,pull th eleft-
han dsteerin gwhee lgearshift paddl euntil
th et ransmissio nselect sthe optimum gear
fo rt he curren tspeed.
Kickdown
i It is no tpossibl etouse kickdown in man-
ual gearshift program Mon vehicles with
AM Ge ngines. Instrument cluster
Points to remember
You will fin danillustration of th einstrument
cluster in th e"At ag lance "section
(Y page 26). G
Risk of accident
If th einstrument cluster or multi-function
display fails, no display message scan be
displayed.
This mean stha tyou will no tsee information
about th edrivin gsituation ,suc hast he
speed, outside temperature, warning/indi-
cator lamps, display message sorsystem
failures .Handlin gcharacteristics may be
affected. Adapt your drivin gstyle and
speed accordingly.
Immediately consult aqualified specialist
workshop whic hhas th eneces saryspecial-
ist knowledge and tools to carry out the
wor krequired. Mercedes-Ben zrecom-
mends that you use aMercedes-Benz
Service Centr efor this purpose .Inparticu-
lar, wor krelevan ttosafetyoro nsafety-
relate dsystems mus tbecarriedout at a
qualified specialist workshop. Activating th
emulti-function display
X Switc hont heignition.
The multi-function display is also activated
when you:
R switch on th elights
R press th ereset butto nontheleft-han dside
of th einstrument cluster
R open adoor Adjusting th
einstrument cluster
lighting
X Brighte rordimmer: turnthe reset button
in th einstrument cluster clockwise or anti-
clockwise. Cont
rols
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