2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SLK ROADSTER Owners Manual

Transmission
86 ë Neutral
Releasing the brakes will allow yo
u
to move the vehicle freely, e.g. to
push it or tow it.
Do not move the selector lever to
N while you are driving. The auto-
matic transmission could other-
wise be damaged .
If ESP ®
is deactivated or faulty:
only move the selector lever to Nif
the vehicle is in danger of skidding,
e.g. on icy roads. ê Drive
The automatic transmissio
n
changes gear automatically. All
forward gears are available .One-touch gearshifting
When the selector lever is in position
D, you
can perform gearshifts yourself, even on vehi-
cles with automatic transmission.
X To shift up: briefly press the selector lever
to the right towards D+.
The automatic transmission shifts up to the
next gear, depending on the gearshift pro- gram selected. This also extends the shift
range.
X To shift down: briefly press the selecto r
lever to the left towards D–.
The automatic transmission shifts down to
the next gear, depending on the gear cur-
rently selected. This also restricts the shift
range.
i To prevent the engine from overrevving,
the automatic transmission does not shift
down if you push the selector lever towards
D– while driving at too high a speed.
X To derestrict the shift range: press and
hold the selector lever towards D+until D
is shown once more in the display.
The automatic transmission shifts from the
current shift range directly to D.
X To select the most effective shift
range: press and hold the selector lever to
the left towards D–.
The automatic transmission will shift to a
range which allows ideal acceleration and
deceleration. To do this, the automatic
transmission will shift down one or more
gears. Shift ranges When the selector lever is in position
D, it is
possible to restrict or derestrict the shift
range for the automatic transmission .
X Briefly press the selector lever to the right
towards D+or to the left towards D–.
The shift range selected is shown in the
display. The automatic transmission shifts
only as far as the selected gear.
i If the maximum engine speed for the shift
range is reached and you continue to accel-
erate, the automatic transmission shifts up
in order to prevent the engine from over-
revving even if the shift range is restricted. Driving situation
è The braking effect of the engine can
be used in this position.Controls
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Transmission
87ç To use the braking effect of the
engine on downhill gradients and
for driving:
R
on steep mountain roads
R in mountainous terrain
R in arduous conditions æ To use the braking effect of the
engine on extremely steep downhill
gradients and long downhill
stretches.
Program selector button
1
Program selector button S
Spor t For all normal driving con-
ditions
C
Comfort For comfort mod
e !
Only press program selector button 1
when the selector lever is in position P,N
or D.
X Press program selector button 1repeat-
edly until the letter (C/S)for the desired
gearshift program appears in the speed-
ometer display.
Comfort mode Cis characterised by the fol-
lowing :
R an increase in traction. This improves th e
driving stability of the vehicle on slippery
road surfaces, for example.
R the automatic transmission shifting up
sooner. The vehicle is driven at lowe r
engine speeds and the wheels are less
likely to spin. Driving tips Accelerator pedal position
Your style of driving influences how the auto-
matic transmission shifts gear:
R
little throttle: early upshift s
R more throttle: late upshifts
Kickdown
Use kickdown for maximum acceleration.
X Depress the accelerator pedal beyond the
pressure point.
The transmission shifts to a lower gear
depending on the engine speed.
X Ease off the accelerator pedal once the
desired speed is reached.
The automatic transmission shifts back up . Cont
rols
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Transmission
88 Steering wheel gearshift paddles
*
and manual gearshift program*
i The full range of functions of the steerin g
wheel shift paddles and the manual gear-
shift program are only available once oper -
ating temperature is reached.
Steering wheel gearshift paddles It is possible to shift gear using either th
e
steering wheel gearshift paddles or the selec-
tor lever. 1
Left-hand paddle: to shift down
2 Right-hand paddle: to shift up Upshifting
X
Pull right-hand paddle 2.
The automatic transmission shifts up to the
next gear. If you are not driving in manual
gearshift program M, then the shift range
will be derestricted.
Downshifting G
Risk of accident
Do not change down for additional engine
braking on a slippery road surface. Thi s
could cause the drive wheels to lose thei r
grip and the vehicle could skid.
X Pull left-hand paddle 1.
The automatic transmission shifts down to
the next gear. If you are not driving in man-
ual gearshift program M, the shift range will
be restricted.
i When the selector lever is in position P,
N or R, you cannot change gear using the
steering wheel gearshift paddles.
If the manual gearshift program Mhas been
selected and you restart the engine, the
automatic transmission will switch to an
automatic gearshift program. If the auto-
matic gearshift program Sor Chas been selected, the automatic transmission will
resume the relevant gearshift program
when you restart the engine.
Manual gearshift program In the manual gearshift program
M, you can
change gear using the steering wheel gear-
shift paddles or the selector lever. The man-
ual gearshift program Mcan be selected
using the program selector button. 1
Program selector button Controls
* optional
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Transmission
89S
Spor t For all normal driving con-
ditions
C
Comfort For comfort mod
e M
Manual For manual gearshifting
X
To activate :press program selector but-
ton 1repeatedly until Mappears in th e
display.
If the selector lever is in position D, you can
shift up or down through the gears. The gear
currently selected and engaged is shown in
the display.
X To deactivate :press program selector
button 1repeatedly until Sor Cappear s
in the display.
Upshifting
X Briefly press the selector lever to the right
towards D+
or
X Pull the right-hand paddle on the steerin g
wheel (Y page 88).
The automatic transmission shifts up to the
next gear. Vehicles with AMG engines
!
In manual gearshift program M, the auto-
matic transmission does not shift up auto-
matically even when the limiting speed for
the current gear is reached. When the lim-
iting speed is reached, the fuel supply is cut
to prevent the engine from overrevving.
You must make sure that the engine speed
does not reach the red area of the rev coun -
ter. There is otherwise a risk of engine
damage .
X Shift up a gear when the ^upshift symbol
appears in the display instead of M.
Downshifting G
Risk of accident
Do not change down for additional engine
braking on a slippery road surface. Thi s
could cause the drive wheels to lose thei r
grip and the vehicle could skid.
X Briefly press the selector lever to the left
towards D-
or X
Pull the left-hand paddle on the steerin g
wheel (Y page 88).
The automatic transmission shifts down to
the next gear.
i For maximum acceleration, pull the left-
hand gearshift paddle until the transmis-
sion selects the optimum gear depending
on the speed.
Kickdown
i It is not possible to use kickdown in the
manual gearshift program Mon vehicles
with AMG engines.
You can also use kickdown for maximum
acceleration in manual gearshift program M.
X Depress the accelerator pedal beyond the
pressure point.
The transmission shifts to a lower gear
depending on the engine speed.
i It is not possible to shift gears using the
steering wheel gearshift paddles during
kickdown. Controls
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Instrument cluste
r90 Instrument cluster
Points to remember
You will find an illustration of the instrumen t
cluster in the "At a glance" section
( Y page 24). G
Risk of accident
No further messages can be displayed if
there is a malfunction in the instrument
cluster and/or the multi-function display .
This means that you will not see information
about the driving situation, such as the
speed, outside temperature, warning/indi-
cator lamps, display messages or system
failures. The vehicle's handling character-
istics may be affected. Adjust your driving
style and speed accordingly.
Immediately consult a qualified specialist
workshop which has the necessary special-
ist knowledge and tools to carry out the
work required. Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends that you use a Mercedes-Benz
Service Centre for this purpose. In particu-
lar, work relevant to safety or on safety-
related systems must be carried out at a
qualified specialist workshop. Activating the multi-function displa
y
X Switch on the ignition.
The multi-function display is also activate d
when you:
R switch on the lights
R press the Jreset button on the left-hand
side of the instrument cluster
R open the driver's door
The multi-function display lights up for about
30 seconds when you open a door and then
do nothing else. Adjusting the instrument cluster
lighting
You can only brighten or dim the instrument
cluster lighting when it is dark.
X Brighter or dimmer: briefly press the,
or . adjusting knob on the left-hand side
of the instrument cluster (Y page 24).
The brightness of the instrument cluster
lighting changes by one level. There are
several possible levels. Resetting the trip meter
X Select the standard display menu
( Y page 95).
X Press and hold reset button 4on the left-
hand side of the instrument cluster until the
trip meter is reset. Rev counter
The red band in the rev counter indicates the
engine's overrevving range. The fuel supply is
interrupted to protect the engine when the
red band is reached.
! Do not drive in the overrevving range.
Doing so will damage the engine. H
Environmental not
e
Avoid driving at high engine speeds, as thi s
increases your vehicle's consumption
unnecessarily and pollutes the environ -
ment through increased emissions. Controls
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On-board computer
91Outside temperature displa
yG
Risk of accident
The road surface may be icy, especially in
wooded areas or on bridges, even if tem-
peratures are just above freezing point. The
vehicle could skid if you fail to adapt your
driving style. You should therefore always
adapt your driving style and speed to suit
the weather conditions .
There is a short delay before a change in out-
side temperature is displayed. On-board computer
Points to remember
The on-board computer is activated as soon
as you turn the key to position 1in the ignition
lock. You can use the on-board computer to
call up information relating to your vehicle
and to make and/or adjust settings.
You can call up the next service due date,
select the display language for the instrumen t
cluster and set other functions. G
Risk of accident
Only use the on-board computer when roa d
and traffic conditions permit. You would
otherwise be distracted and unable to con-
centrate properly on driving, and could
cause an accident.
The on-board computer shows information in
the multi-function display. Multi-function steering wheel
You can control the multi-function display and
the settings in the on-board computer wit h
the buttons on the multi-function steering
wheel. Controls
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On-board computer
92 1 Multi-function display
2 s
t
Accepts or rejects a call*
æ
ç R
Selects submenus in the
Settings menu
R Changes values
R Adjusts the volum e
R Operates the RACETIMER 93 è
ÿ
Selecting menus: scrolls for-
wards or back j
k
Briefly press:
in a menu to
scroll forwards or back.
Select a stored station, an
audio track or a video scene in
the Audio*/DVD *menu*.
Change to the telephone book
and select a name or number
in the Telephone* menu. j
k
Press and hold:
in the
Audio*/DVD* menu to select
the next or previous station
and select an audio track
using the fast scrolling fea-
ture.
To start the fast scrolling fea-
ture in the telephone book in
the Telephone* menu. Several functions are combined thematically
in the menus.
For example, the
Audio/*/DVD*menu con-
tains functions for operating the radio* or CD
player*. The functions can be used to either
look up information or to change settings for
your vehicle. You can think of the configuration of the
menus and the functions within a menu as
a
circle:
X Press the èorÿ button repeatedly
to call up individual menus in sequence.
X Press the korj button to call up
the functions within a menu.
Unlike other menus, the Settingsmenu con-
tains a number of submenus (Y page 101).
The number of menus depends on the equip-
ment in your vehicle. Multi-function displa
y
The multi-function display shows you values
and settings as well as any display messages
that may have been generated.
9 Only on AMG vehicles. Controls
* optional
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On-board computer
931
Display area for menus or submenu s2
Status bar with outside temperature or
speed (Y page 103) Controls
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