2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SL550 Hydraulic release

Contents
Safety and Security........................... 67
Occupant safety................................... 68
Air bags .......................................... 70
Occupant Classification System ..... 74
Seat belts ....................................... 79
Roll bar ........................................... 83
Children in the vehicle .................... 84
Panic alarm .......................................... 88
Activating ....................................... 88
Deactivating ................................... 88
Driving safety systems ......................... 89
ABS ................................................ 89
BAS ................................................ 91
ESP
®............................................... 91
Electro-hydraulic brake system ...... 94
Anti-theft systems................................ 98
Immobilizer..................................... 98
Anti-theft alarm system .................. 98
Tow-away alarm ........................... 100
Controls in detail............................. 103
Locking and unlocking ....................... 104
SmartKey ..................................... 104
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ...... 108
Checking the batteries in the
SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* .............................. 113
Loss of the SmartKey or
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ...... 113
Opening the doors from
the inside ..................................... 113
Opening the trunk ........................ 114
Closing the trunk.......................... 116
Valet locking ................................ 120
Trunk lid emergency release ........ 121
Power closing assist for trunk lid . 121
Automatic central locking ............ 122
Locking and unlocking from
the inside ..................................... 122Seats ................................................. 124
Moving the seats forward and
backward ..................................... 124
Lumbar support ........................... 124
Multicontour backrest*................ 125
Seat heating................................. 126
Seat ventilation* .......................... 128
Memory function ............................... 129
Storing positions into memory ..... 130
Recalling positions from memory. 130
Lighting ............................................. 131
Exterior lamp switch .................... 131
Combination switch ..................... 135
Corner-illuminating front
fog lamps* ................................... 136
Hazard warning flasher ................ 137
Interior lighting ............................ 138
Courtesy lighting .......................... 139
Trunk lamp ................................... 139

95 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
The electro-hydraulic brake system is auto-
matically activated when you

unlock the vehicle with the SmartKey
or with KEYLESS-GO*

open the driver’s or passenger door

turn the SmartKey in the starter switch
to position1

in vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*, press
the start/stop button on the gear se-
lector lever once

depress the brake pedal

release the parking brake
Warning!G
The electro-hydraulic brake system requires
electrical power to operate.
A malfunction in the vehicle’s power supply
or electrical system may impair brake sys-
tem operation and switch it into its emer-
gency operation mode. In such a case, the
red brake warning lamp (
page 345)
comes on and warning messages
(
page 377) appear in the multifunction
display while driving. To brake, the driver
must then apply significantly greater brake
pedal pressure and depress the pedal much
further to obtain the expected braking ef-
fect. If necessary, apply full pressure to the
brake pedal. Brakes are only applied to the
front wheels. Stopping distance is in-
creased!
If there is a malfunction in the
electro-hydraulic brake system, we recom-
mend that the vehicle be transported with
all wheels off the ground using flatbed or ap-
propriate wheel lift/dolly equipment.
A tow bar must be used if circumstances do
not permit the use of the recommended
towing methods and the vehicle requires
towing with all four wheels on the ground.
Towing the vehicle with all four wheels on
the ground is only permissible for distances
up to 30 miles (50 km) and at a speed not to
exceed 30 mph (50 km/h). For more infor-
mation, see “Towing the vehicle”
(
page 434).

96 Safety and Security
Driving safety systems
The electro-hydraulic brake system
switches off automatically

approximately 2 minutes after you
turned the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position0 or removed the
SmartKey

approximately 2 minutes after you
pressed the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button to turn off the engine or power
supply and opened the driver’s door
(with driver’s door open, the starter
switch is set to position 0, same as
SmartKey removed from starter
switch)

approximately 20 seconds after you
locked the vehicle from outside
iIf the electro-hydraulic brake system is acti-
vated as the brake pedal is first depressed, you
may feel a reduced pedal resistance and longer
pedal travel than normal. When releasing the
pedal, you may also feel the brake pedal pulsate
and you may hear a sound which is caused by the
activation of the electro-hydraulic brake system
pump. This is normal and not an indication of a
malfunction. Pedal travel returns to normal when
you release the brake pedal and the sound soon
ceases.
If you experience the above while driving and the
red brake warning lamp (
page 345) illumi-
nates and/or warning messages appear in the
multifunction display (
page 377), the brake
system is malfunctioning. Follow the instructions
of the warning message(s) and have the brake
system checked immediately.
Warning!G
Have brake pad replacement and other work
on the electro-hydraulic brake system
carried out by qualified technicians only.
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center for further information.
The electro-hydraulic brake system must be
deactivated prior to working on the system.
High pressure is intermittently built up in the
system as part of its automatic self-test.
In addition, the system is automatically acti-
vated when the vehicle is unlocked by re-
mote control, when the driver or passenger
door is opened, when the SmartKey in the
starter switch is turned to position1 or the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button is pressed
once, when the brake pedal is depressed or
when the parking brake is released. Failure
to deactivate the system prior to mainte-
nance will cause brake pistons to extend
and brake fluid to leak, which may result in
injuries (contusions and acid burns). Extend-
ed brake pistons may also cause injury.

204 Controls in detail
Retractable hardtop
Opening and closing the retractable
hardtop
For safety reasons, the retractable hardtop
can only be opened and closed when the
vehicle is standing still.
Warning!G
To prevent possible accidents, only drive the
vehicle with the retractable hardtop either
completely closed and locked, or fully low-
ered into its storage compartment.
If the retractable hardtop does not com-
pletely open or close, the roof hydraulics will
lose pressure and the retractable hardtop is
lowered

after approximately 7 minutes when the
ignition is switched on

after approximately 15 seconds when
the ignition is switched off
Shortly before the retractable hardtop is
lowered, a warning will sound and in the left
multifunction display you will see K, in
the right multifunction display you will see
the message
Retractable Roof
Lowering
.
Lock the retractable hardtop again before
driving any further (
page 207). Otherwise,
the unlocked hardtop could open while the
vehicle is in motion and cause you to lose
control of the vehicle. You or others could
be injured as a result.
Warning!G
Before operating the retractable hardtop,
make sure there is no danger of anyone
being injured by the moving parts (retract-
able roof, roof frame, and trunk lid) due to in-
attention.
Hands must never be placed near the roof
frame, upper windshield area, hardtop, shelf
behind roll bars, or trunk lid while the re-
tractable hardtop is being raised or lowered.
Serious personal injury may occur.
If potential danger exists, release the re-
tractable hardtop switch. This immediately
interrupts the raising or lowering procedure.
You then can operate the retractable
hardtop switch or press
buttonŒor‹on the SmartKey or
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* to raise or
lower the retractable hardtop away from the
danger zone.

269 Operation
Driving instructions
To help prevent brake disk corrosion after
driving on wet road surfaces (particularly
salted roads), it is advisable to brake the
vehicle with considerable force prior to
parking. The heat generated serves to dry
the brakes.
If your brake system is normally only
subjected to moderate loads, you should
occasionally test the effectiveness of the
brakes by applying above-normal braking
pressure at higher speeds. This will also
enhance the grip of the brake pads.Refer to the description of the Brake Assist
System (BAS) (page 91).
Brake pad wear or a leak in the system may
be the reason for low brake fluid in the
reservoir.
The brake fluid level in the reservoir may
be too low or the electro-hydraulic brake
system may be malfunctioning if the brake
warning lamp in the instrument cluster
comes on and an acoustic warning sounds
although the parking brake is released
(
page 345).
Observe additional messages in the
multifunction display that may appear, see
(
page 377) through (page 382).
Have the brake system inspected immedi-
ately. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.All checks and service work on the brake
system should be carried out by qualified
technicians only. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Only install brake pads and brake fluid
recommended by Mercedes-Benz.
!Because the ESP® operates automatically,
the engine must be shut off (SmartKey in starter
switch position 0 or 1or KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button in position 0 or 1) when the
parking brake is being tested on a brake test
dynamometer.
Active braking action through the ESP
® may
otherwise seriously damage the brake system.
Warning!G
Make sure not to endanger any other road
users when carrying out these braking
maneuvers.
Warning!G
If other than recommended brake pads are
installed, or other than recommended brake
fluid is used, the braking properties of the
vehicle can be degraded to an extent that
safe braking is substantially impaired. This
could result in an accident.
Be certain to read and observe the warning
notices on brake pad replacement
(
page 96).
!When driving down long and steep grades,
relieve the load on the brakes by shifting into a
lower gear to use the engine’s braking power.
This helps prevent overheating of the brakes and
reduces brake pad wear.

345 Practical hints
What to do if …
ProblemPossible cause/consequenceSuggested solution
;(USA only)
3(Canada only)
The red brake warning lamp
comes on while driving and
you hear a warning sound.
You are driving with the parking brake set.Release the parking brake
(
page 55).
;(USA only)
3(Canada only)
The red brake warning lamp
comes on when the engine is
running and you hear a warn-
ing sound.

There is a malfunction in the
electro-hydraulic brake system.

There is insufficient brake fluid in the
reservoir.
Read and observe messages in the
display (
page 359).
Risk of accident! Carefully stop the
vehicle in a safe location or as soon as
it is safe to do so and contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center. Do
not add brake fluid! This will not solve
the problem.
Warning!G
Driving with the brake warning lamp illumi-
nated can result in an accident. Have your
brake system checked immediately if the
brake warning lamp stays on. Do not add
brake fluid before checking the brake
system. Overfilling the brake fluid reservoir
can result in spilling brake fluid on hot
engine parts and the brake fluid catching
fire. You could be seriously burned.!If you find that the brake fluid in the brake
fluid reservoir has fallen to the minimum mark or
below, have the brake system checked for brake
pad thickness and leaks.

364 Practical hints
What to do if …
Left displayRight displayPossible cause/consequencePossible solution
ABSABS, ESP
Inoperative
See
Oper. ManualThe ABS and ESP® have switched off
due to a malfunction.
The BAS is also deactivated.
The electro-hydraulic brake system is
still functioning normally but without
the ABS, the ESP
®, and the BAS avail-
able.
Continue driving with added caution.
Wheels may lock during hard braking,
reducing steering capability.
Have the system checked at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as
possible.
Failure to follow these instructions increases
the risk of an accident.
Cruise Control––– MPHYou have attempted to set a speed
below 20 mph (30 km/h).Accelerate to a speed exceeding
20 mph (30 km/h) and set the speed
(
page 215).
The ESP® is switched off.Switch on the ESP® (page 94).
The gear selector lever is set to
position P, R, or N.Move the gear selector lever to position D.
The vehicle is secured with the parking
brake.Release the parking brake (page 55).
Cruise Control
AND SPEEDTRONICInoperativeThe cruise control is malfunctioning.Have the system checked at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center as soon as
possible.

380 Practical hints
What to do if …
Left displayRight displayPossible cause/consequencePossible solution
2 Brake WearThe brake pads have reached their
wear limit.Have the brake pads replaced as soon as pos-
sible.
Warning!G
Have brake pad replacement and other work
on the electro-hydraulic brake system
carried out by qualified technicians only.
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center for further information.
The electro-hydraulic brake system must be
deactivated prior to working on the system.
High pressure is intermittently built up in the
system as part of its automatic self-test.
In addition, the system is automatically
activated when the vehicle is unlocked by
remote control, when the driver or passen-
ger door is opened, when the SmartKey in
the starter switch is turned to position1 or
the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button is
pressed once, when the brake pedal
is depressed or when the parking brake is
released. Failure to deactivate the system
prior to maintenance will cause brake pis-
tons to extend and brake fluid to leak, which
may result in injuries (contusions and acid
burns). Extended brake pistons may also
cause injury.!Brake pad thickness must be visually
checked by a qualified technician at the intervals
specified in the Maintenance Booklet.