2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER engine overheat

Driving sys
tems 125Cruis
econtrol
Cruise control maintains aconstant road
spee dfor you. It brakes automaticall yinorder
to avoi dexceeding the se tspeed .Onlonga nd
steep downhil lgradients ,especially if the
vehicl eisladen ,you must select shift range
1, 2or 3in good time. In thi swayyouw ill
make us eofthe braking effect of the engine,
which relieves the load on the brake system
and prevents the brakes fro moverheating
and wearing too quickly. G
Ris
kofa ccident
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.
Use cruis econtrol onl yifroada nd traffi ccon-
ditions make it appropriate to maintain a
stead yspeed foraprolonge dperiod. Youc an
store any roa dspeed above 30 km/h. G
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kofa ccident
Cruise control cannot take account of road
and traffi cconditions.
Alway spayattentio ntotrafficconditions
eve nw henc ruis econtrol is activated. Cruise control is onl
yanaiddesigne dto
assist driving. Yo uareresponsibl efor the
vehicle' sspeed and for braking in good
time. G
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Do not us ecruis econtrol:
R in roa dand traffi cconditions which do
not allo wyouto maintain aconstant
spee d(e.g. heav ytraffi corw inding
roads). Yo ucould otherwis ecause an
accident.
R on slippery roads .Braking or accelerat-
ing could caus ethe drive wheels to lose
tractio nand the vehicl ecould the nskid.
R when there is poor visibility, e.g .due to
fog ,heavy rain or snow
Cruis econtro ldispla yinthe instrument
cluster When cruis
econtrol is activated, the multi-
functio ndisplay in the speedomete rshows
CC and the stored speed. 1
Display for activate dcruis econtrol
2 Stored speed
Cruis econtro llever Yo
uc an operate cruis econtrol and variable
Speedtroni cwitht he cruis econtrol lever.
Th eL IM indicator lamp on the cruis econtrol
lever indicates which syste myouhave selec-
ted:
R LIM indicator lamp off:
cruis econtrol is selected
R LIM indicator lamp lit:
variable Speedtroni ciss elect ed Controls
230_AKB; 5; 4, en-GB
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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
230_AKB; 5; 4, en-GB
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Driving
tips 191
Downhill gradients On long and steep downhil
lgradients ,espe-
ciall yift he vehicl eisladen ,you must select
shift range 1,2or 3in good time.
i This also applie sifyouhave activated
cruis econtrol ,Speedtroni corDistronic*.
This uses the braking effect of the engine and
yo uw illn ot have to brake to such an extent
to maintain the same speed. This relieves the
load on the brake syste mand prevents the
brakes fro moverheating and wearing too
quickly. If yo uneeda ddit ional braking,
depress the brake peda lrepeatedly rather
tha ncontinuously.
Heavy and light loads If the brakes have been subjected to
aheavy
load ,don ot sto pthe vehicl eimm ediately, but
drive on for ashort while. This allows the air-
flow to coo lthe brakes mor equickly. G
Ris
kofa ccident
Never depress the brake peda lcontinu-
ousl ywhile the vehicl eisinmotion, e.g.
never caus ethe brakes to ru bbyapplying
constant slight peda lpressure. This causes
the brake syste mtooverheat, increases the braking distance and ca
nleadtot he
brakes failing completely.
If the brakes have been used onl ymoderately,
yo us houl doccasionall ytesttheir effective-
ness. To do this, brake mor efirml yfroma
higher speed. This improves the gri pofthe
brakes.
We troads If driving in heav
yrainf or ap rolonge dperiod
of tim ewithout braking ,there ma ybea
delaye dreactio nfromt he brakes ,whenb rak-
ing for the first time. Yo umustb rake harder.
Yo um usttherefore maintain agreate rdis-
tanc efromt he vehicl einfront.
Brake firml yafter driving on awetroad. This
wa ythe brake discs will becom ewarm, drying
mor equickly, which will protect the magain st
corrosion.
Limite dbrakin gperformanc eonsalted
roads G
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Th elayer of salt on the brake discs and the
brake pads/lining smaycaus ead elayin
the braking effect, resulting in asignifi- cantly longe
rbraking distance, which could
lead to an accident.
To avoi dthisd anger, yo ushould:
R occasionall ybrake carefully ,without put-
ting other roa dusers at risk, when you
ar ed riving on salte droads .Thish elps to
remove any salt tha tmayhave started to
buil dupont he brake discs and the brake
pads/linings.
R maintain agreate rdistance to the vehicle
ahea dand drive with particula rcare.
R carefully appl ythe brakes at the end of a
tri pa nd immediatel yafter commencing a
new trip, so tha tsaltr esidue sare
remove dfromt he brake disc.
New brak epads/linings For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends tha
tyou onl yhaveb rake pads/linings
fitted to your vehicl etha th aveb eena pproved
for Mercedes-Benz vehicles or which corre-
spond to an equivalent quality standard.
Brake pads/lining swhich have not been
approved for Mercedes-Benz or which ar enot
of an equivalent quality could affec tyou rvehi-
cle's operating safety. Operation
*o ptional
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Displa
ymessages 207Display messages Possible cause/consequence Possible solution
DISTRONIC currentl
yunavail-
able Se eOwner's
Manual Distronic
*isd eactivate dand is tempora-
rily not operational if:
R the Distronic* cove rinthe radiator
grill eisd irty.
R its functio nisimpaire ddueto heavy
rain, sno worfog.
R the rada rsensors ystemist emporarily
not operational ,e.g.d ue to electromag-
neti cradiation emitted by nearby TV or
radi ostations or other sources of radi-
ation
R the rada rsensors ystemh asnot detec-
ted any vehicles or stationar yobjects,
e.g .traffi csigns ,for alon gt ime.
R the syste mhasoverheated. Distronic* become
savailable againand the dis-
play message disappears when:
R the dirt (e.g. slush) fall soff whil eyou ared riving
R the syste mdetects tha tthe sensors ar efully
availabl eagain
If the displa ymessage does not disappear:
X Clea nthe Distronic* cove rinthe radiato rgrille
(Y page 198).
X If necessary ,waitu ntilthe syste mhascooled
down.
X Restart the engine. Practical advice
*o ptional
230_AKB; 5; 4, en-GB
bjanott,
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