2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SL550 page 204

23 At a glance
Exterior view
ItemPage
1Trunk
Opening the trunk114
Closing the trunk116
Spare wheel400
Vehicle tool kit400
2Rear lamps410
3Rear window defroster187
4Fuel filler flap279
Refueling279
Gasoline461
5Doors
Locking and unlocking104
Opening and closing113
Locking/unlocking in an
emergency403
ItemPage
6Exterior rear view mirrors
Adjusting49
Auto-dimming rear view
mirrors185
7Towing434
Installing towing eye bolt436
8Tires and wheels291
Checking tire inflation
pressure302
General information291
Flat tire417
Vehicle tool kit400
9Hood
Opening282
Engine oil283
Coolant288,
463
ItemPage
aHeadlamp cleaning
system185,
289
bFront lamps410
cWindshield wipers58
Wiper blades, replacing415
Wiper blades, cleaning337
dWindshield
Wiping with windshield
washer fluid60
Cleaning337
eRetractable hardtop
Opening/closing204
Wind screen209
Luggage cover210
Sunshade for panorama
roof*213

32 At a glance
Center console
Lower partItemPage
1Gear selector lever for
automatic transmission172
2Parktronic system*
deactivation switch233
3Exterior rear view mirror
adjustment49
4ABC suspension tuning
button232
5Tow-away alarm switch100
6Retractable hardtop switch204
Roll bar buttons83
ItemPage
7ABC vehicle level control
button230
8ESP® switch93
9Thumbwheel for setting
following distance for
Distronic*226
aDistance warning function*
on/off switch229
bProgram mode selector
switch for automatic
transmission182

116 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Opening the trunk from the inside
Vehicles without trunk opening/closing
system*
1Remote trunk opening switch
2Indicator lamp
Pull switch1 until the trunk begins to
open.
The trunk lid unlocks. Indicator
lamp2 comes on and remains lit until
the trunk is closed again.
Lift the trunk lid.Vehicles with trunk opening/closing
system*
1Remote trunk opening/closing* switch
2Indicator lamp
Pull and hold switch1 until the trunk
unlocks and begins to open.
Indicator lamp2 comes on and re-
mains lit until the is trunk closed again.
Release switch1.
To interrupt the opening procedure:
Press or pull switch1.
Closing the trunk
!The trunk lid swings open upwards automat-
ically. Always make sure that there is sufficient
overhead clearance.
Warning!G
Make sure the trunk is closed when the
engine is running and while driving.
Among other dangers, deadly carbon
monoxide (CO) gases may enter vehicle
interior resulting in unconsciousness and
death.
iWhen the hardtop is retracted, it must be
completely lowered in the trunk before the trunk
can be closed (
page 204).
iDo not place the SmartKey in the open
trunk. You may lock yourself out.
iIf the vehicle was previously centrally
locked, the trunk will lock automatically after
closing it. All turn signal lamps flash three times
and an acoustic signal sounds three times to
confirm locking.

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.

389 Practical hints
What to do if …
Left displayRight displayPossible cause/consequencePossible solution
AFuel Cap
OpenA loss of pressure has been detect-
ed in the fuel system. The fuel cap
may not be closed properly or the
fuel system may be leaky.Check the fuel cap (page 279).
If it is not closed properly:
Close the fuel cap.
If it is closed properly:
Have the fuel system checked by an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.
KRetract. Roof Oper.
Please Wait
See Oper. Manual
The on-board voltage is too low.Start the engine.
The hardtop drive system was shut
down for safety reasons after multi-
ple, consecutive attempts to raise
or lower the hardtop.After about 10 minutes you can open or close the
retractable hardtop.
Switch on the ignition (page 40).
Repeat the opening or closing procedure.
Retractable Roof
LoweringThe retractable hardtop is not com-
pletely opened or closed. The roof
hydraulics will start to lose pres-
sure.Make sure the retractable hardtop is com-
pletely opened or closed (
page 204).
Retractable Roof
Operation
Only At StandstillYou have attempted to open the re-
tractable hardtop while driving.Stop the vehicle in a safe location and try to
open the hardtop again.

390 Practical hints
What to do if …
Left displayRight displayPossible cause/consequencePossible solution
KRetractable Roof
Not Opened/Closed
CompletelyThe retractable hardtop is not
locked properly.Stop the vehicle in a safe location. Observe
the traffic situation around you.
Push or pull on the retractable hardtop switch
until the indicator lamp in the switch goes out
and the retractable hardtop is completely
open or closed (
page 204).
OYou are driving with the hood open.Risk of accident!
Stop the vehicle in a safe location or as soon
as it is safe to do so.
Close the hood (page 283).
IRemove
KeyYou have forgotten to remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch.Remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch.
Replace
KeyThe SmartKey is no longer
functional.Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
FChange
Key BatteriesThe batteries in the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* are discharged.Replace the batteries (page 407).

429 Practical hints
Batteries
Disconnecting the batteries
Apply the parking brake (page 63).
Make sure the gear selector lever is set
to position P (
page 172).
Close the retractable hardtop
(
page 204).
Turn off all electrical consumers.
Turn off the engine (page 64).
Remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*: Open
the driver’s door.
Open the trunk.
Read and observe safety instructions
and precautions (
page 290).
Open the luggage cover in the trunk
(
page 211).
Remove the trunk floor.
The battery for electrical consumers is
located in the right hand area of the
trunk (
page 400).
Use the 10 mm open-end wrench from
the vehicle tool kit to disconnect the
negative lead from negative
terminal5 of the consumer battery
(
page 427).
Warning!G
With a disconnected battery

you will no longer be able to turn the
SmartKey in the starter switch and
pressing the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button on the gear selector lever will
have no effect

the gear selector lever will remain
locked in positionP
!Always disconnect the batteries in the order
described below, even if you only want to charge
the starter battery, for example. Otherwise the
vehicle’s electronics can be damaged.