2016 MERCEDES-BENZ SL-Class sport

Warning and indicator lamps
FunctionPage
:LLow-beam head-
lamps
123
;T Parking lamps124
=÷ESP®274
?KHigh-beam head-
lamps
125
AElectric parking brake (red)277
F (USA only)
!(Canada only)
B!Electric parking brake
(yellow)
277
C· Distance warning280
D#! Turn signals125
EhTire pressure monitor281
FunctionPage
F6 Restraint system50
GüSeat belt271
HMSPORT handling
mode (Mercedes-AMG
vehicles)
275
I? Coolant278
J;Check Engine278
K8 Reserve fuel278
LåESP®OFF274
M!ABS272
NBrakes272
$(USA only)
J(Canada only)
42Instrument cluster
At a glance

Deactivating/activating ESP®
(Mercedes‑AM Gvehicles )
Important safet ynotes
iObserv eth e"Important safet ynotes" sec -
tion (
Ypage 71) .
You can selec tbetween th efollowing states
of ES P
®:
RESP®is activated.
RSPORT handlin gmode is activated.
RES P®is deactivated.
GWARNING
Whe nSPORT handlin gmode is activated,
there is agreater ris kof skidding and acci-
dents .
Only activat eSPORT handlin gmode in th esit -
uation sdescribed in th efollowing.
GWARNING
If you deactivat eES P
®,ES P®no longer sta-
bilizes th evehicle. There is an increase dris k
of skidding and an accident.
Only deactivat eES P
®in th esituation sdescri-
bed in th efollowing.
In th efollowing situations, it may be bette rto
activat eSPORT handlin gmode or deactivat e
ES P
®:
Rwhen usin gsnow chain s
Rin deep snow
Ron sandor grave l
Ron specially designated roads when th e
vehicle' sown oversteering and understeer-
in g characteristics are desire d
Driving in SPORT handlin gmode or without
ES P
®require san extremely qualified and
experience ddriver .
iActivat eES P®as soo nas th esituation s
described abov eno longer apply. ES P®will
otherwise no tbe able to stabilize th evehi-
cl e if th evehicle start sto skid or awhee l
start sto spin.
!Avoid spinnin gth edriven wheels fo ran
extended period wit hES P®deactivated.
You could otherwise damage th edrivetrain .
Deactivating/activating ESP
®
XTo activate SPORT handling mode:
briefly press butto n:.
The M SPORT handlin gmode warnin g
lamp in th einstrumen tcluster lights up.
The SPORT handling mod e
message
appears in th emultifunction display.
XTo deactivate SPORT handling mode:
briefly press butto n:.
The M SPORT handlin gmode warnin g
lamp in th einstrumen tcluster goe sout .
XTo deactivate ESP®:press butto n: until
th eå ESP®OF Fwarnin glamp lights up
in th einstrumen tcluster.
The ÷ OFF
message appears in th emul-
tifunction display.
XTo activate ESP®: briefly press butto n:.
The å ESP®OF Fwarnin glamp in th e
instrumen tcluster goe sout .The ÷
ES P
®ONmessage appears in th emultifunc-
tion display.
Characteristics of activate dSPORT han-
dling mode
If SPORT handlin gmode is activated and on e
or more wheels start to spin, th e÷ ESP
®
warnin glamp in th einstrumen tcluster
flashes .ES P®only stabilize sth evehicle to a
limited degree .
76Driving safety systems
Safety

When SPORT handling mode is activated:
RESP®only improves driving stability to a
limited degree.
Rtraction control is still activated.
Rengine torque is no longer limited and the
drive wheels are able to spin.
The spinning of the wheels results in a cut-
ting action for better traction on loose sur-
faces.
Rthe engine's torque is restricted only to a
limited degree and the drive wheels can
spin. The spinning of the wheels results in a cutting action, which provides better grip.
RESP®still provides support when you brake
firmly.
Characteristics when ESP
®is deactivated
If ESP
®is deactivated and one or more wheels
start to spin, the ÷ESP®warning lamp in
the instrument cluster flashes. In such situa-
tions, ESP
®will not stabilize the vehicle.
If you deactivate ESP
®:
RESP®no longer improves driving stability.
Rengine torque is no longer limited and the
drive wheels are able to spin.
The spinning of the wheels results in a cut-
ting action for better traction on loose sur-
faces.
Rtraction control is still activated.
RPRE-SAFE®is no longer available, nor is it
activated if you brake firmly and ESP®
intervenes.
RPRE-SAFE®Brake is no longer available, it
is also not activated if you brake firmly and
ESP
®intervenes.
RESP®still provides support when you brake
firmly.
EBD (electronic brake force distribu-
tion)
General information
EBD monitors and controls the brake pres-
sure on the rear wheels to improve driving
stability while braking.
Important safety notes
iObserve the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion for driving safety systems (
Ypage 71).
GWARNING
If EBD is malfunctioning, the rear wheels can
lock, e.g. under full braking. This increases the
risk of skidding and an accident.
You should therefore adapt your driving style
to the different handling characteristics. Have
the brake system checked at a qualified spe-
cialist workshop.
Observe information regarding indicator and
warning lamps (
Ypage 272) as well as dis-
play messages (
Ypage 242).
ADAPTIVE BRAKE
i
Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Ypage 71).
ADAPTIVE BRAKE enhances braking safety
and offers increased braking comfort. In addi-
tion to the braking function, ADAPTIVE BRAKE
also has the HOLD function (
Ypage 191) and
hill start assist (
Ypage 154).
PRE-SAFE®Brake
General information
iObserve the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Ypage 71).
PRE-SAFE
®Brake is only available in vehicles
with DISTRONIC PLUS.
Driving safety systems77
Safety
Z

The seat belt should:
Rfit snugly across your body
Rbe routed across the middle of your shoul-
der
Rbe routed in your pelvic area across the hip
joints
XBefore starting off, adjust the rear-view mir-
ror and the exterior mirrors (
Ypage 116) in
such a way that you have a good view of
road and traffic conditions.
XStore the seat, steering wheel and exterior
mirror settings using the memory function
(
Ypage 119).
Seats
Important safety notes
GWARNING
Children could become trapped if they adjust
the seats, particularly when unattended.
There is a risk of injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children unsupervised in the vehicle.
The seats can still be adjusted when there is
no SmartKey in the ignition lock.
GWARNING
When you adjust a seat, you or other vehicle
occupants could become trapped, e.g. on the seat guide rail. There is a risk of injury.
Make sure when adjusting a seat that no one
has any body parts in the sweep of the seat.
Observe the safety notes on "Air bags"
(
Ypage 56) and "Children in the vehicle"
(
Ypage 68).
GWARNING
If you adjust the seat height carelessly, you or
other vehicle occupants could be trapped and
thereby injured. Children in particular could
accidentally press the electrical seat adjust-
ment buttons and become trapped. There is a risk of injury.
While moving the seats, make sure that your
hands or other body parts do not get under the
lever assembly of the seat adjustment sys-
tem.
GWARNING
If the head restraints are not installed or not
adjusted correctly, they cannot provide pro-
tection as intended. There is an increased risk
of injury in the head and neck area, e.g. in the event of an accident or when braking.
Always drive with the head restraints instal-
led. Before driving off, make sure for every
vehicle occupant that the center of the head
restraint supports the back of the head at
about eye level.
GWARNING
You could lose control of your vehicle if you do the following while driving:
Radjust the driver's seat, head restraint,
steering wheel or mirrors
Rfasten the seat belt
There is a risk of an accident.
Adjust the driver's seat, head restraint, steer-
ing wheel and mirror and fasten your seat belt before starting the engine.
!To avoid damage to the seats and the seat
heating, observe the following information:
Rkeep liquids from spilling on the seats. If
liquid is spilled on the seats, dry them as
soon as possible.
Rif the seat covers are damp or wet, do not
switch on the seat heating. The seat
heating should also not be used to dry
the seats.
Rclean the seat covers as recommended;
see the "Interior care" section.
Rdo not transport heavy loads on the
seats. Do not place sharp objects on the
seat cushions, e.g. knives, nails or tools.
Seats109
Seats, steering wheel and mirrors
Z

The seats should only be occupied by
passengers, if possible.
Rwhen the seat heating is in operation, do
not cover the seats with insulating mate-
rials, e.g. blankets, coats, bags, seat cov-
ers, child seats or booster seats.
!To avoid damage to the seats and the seat
heating, observe the following information:
Rkeep liquids from spilling on the seats. If
liquid is spilled on the seats, dry them as
soon as possible.
Rif the seat covers are damp or wet, do not
switch on the seat heating. The seat
heating should also not be used to dry
the seats.
Rclean the seat covers as recommended;
see "Interior care".
Rdo not transport heavy loads on the
seats. Do not place sharp objects on the
seat cushions, e.g. knives, nails or tools. The seats should only be occupied by
passengers, if possible.
Rwhen the seat heating is in operation, do
not cover the seats with insulating mate-
rials, e.g. blankets, coats, bags, seat cov-
ers, child seats or booster seats.
!Make sure that there are no objects in the
footwell under or behind the seats when
moving the seats back. There is a risk that
the seats and/or the objects could be dam- aged.
iThe head restraints cannot be removed.
For more information, contact a qualified
specialist workshop.
Adjusting the seats electrically
:Head restraint height
;Seat height
=Seat cushion angle
?Seat cushion length
ASeat fore-and-aft adjustment
BBackrest angle
iFurther related subjects:
RYou can store the seat settings using the
memory function (
Ypage 119).
RIf PRE-SAFE®is triggered, the front-
passenger seat will be moved to a better
position if it was previously in an unfav-
orable position (
Ypage 67).
Adjusting the front-passenger seat
from the driver’s seat
GWARNING
The front-air bags for could also injure the
vehicle occupants in the front If the front
seats are positioned too close to the dash-
board or steering wheel. This poses an
increased risk of injury or even fatal injury.
Always adjust the front seats so that they are
as far from the front air bags as possible. Also
observe the notes on the correct adjustment
of the seats.
!Do not move the front-passenger seat
fully forwards if there are objects in the
parcel net in the front-passenger footwell.
The objects could otherwise be damaged.
110Seats
Seats, steering wheel and mirrors

Double-clutch function
Whenshiftin gdown ,th edouble-clutch func-
tion is active regardles sof th ecurrentl yselec -
te ddrive program. The double-clutch function
reduce sload chang ereaction sand is condu-
cive to asport ydrivin gstyle. The soun dgen -
erate dby th edouble-clutch function depend s
on th edrive program selected.
Kickdown
Use kickdown fo rmaximum acceleration .
XDepress theaccelerator peda lbeyond th e
pressure point.
The automatic transmissio nshift sto a
lowe rgear dependin gon th eengin espeed.
XEase of fth eaccelerator peda lonce th e
desire dspeed is reached.
The automatic transmissio nshift sbac kup.
Program selector butto n
Selecting drive program
Program selecto rbutto n: allow syou to
choos ebetween differen tdrivin gcharacter-
istics.
XPress program selecto rbutto n: repeat -
edly until th elette rfo rth edesire ddrive
program appears in th emultifunction dis -
play of th espeedometer.
RE Economy: comfortable, economical
drivin g
RSSport: sport ydrivin gstyle
RM Manual: manual gearshiftin g
iThe automatic transmissionshift sto
automatic drive program Eeac htime th e
engin eis started.
iFurther information about permanen t
drive program M(
Ypage 166).
As well as this permanen tdrive program M,
you can also activat etemporar ydrive pro -
gram M(
Ypage 165).
iFurther information on th e"Automatic
drive program" (
Ypage 164).
Drive program s(Mercedes-AMG vehi-
cles)
Wit hth edrive program selecto rswitch ,you
can choos efrom arange of differen ttrans -
missio nconfiguration sor selec tth eRAC E
START drive mode.
XTur ndrive program selecto r: until th e
desire ddrive program appears in th emul-
tifunction display.
The drive program indicator on th edrive
program selecto rlights up red .
RCControlle dEfficiency: comfortable
engin eand transmissio ndesign that pro -
vides fo roptimum fue lconsumption
RS Sport: sport yengin eand transmissio n
setting s
RS+SportPlus: especially sport yengin eand
transmissio nsetting s
RMManual: manual gearshiftin g
RRS drivingmode RACESTART :optimum
acceleration dynamic sfrom astandstill
(Mercedes-AMG SL 63 only)
Automatic transmission163
Driving and parking
Z

Rthe vehicle having improved driving stabil-
ity, for example on slippery road surfaces.
Rthe automatic transmission shifting up
sooner. This results in the vehicle being
driven at lower engine speeds and the
wheels being less likely to spin.
Drive program Sis characterized by the fol-
lowing:
Rsporty engine and transmission settings.
Rthe vehicle pulling away in first gear.
Rthe automatic transmission shifting up
later. the fuel consumption possibly being
higher as a result of the later automatic
transmission shift points.
Manual drive program M
General notes
In this drive program, you can briefly change
gear yourself by using the steering wheel pad- dle shifters. The transmission must be in posi-
tion D.
You can activate manual drive program Min
the Eand Sautomatic drive programs.
iAs well as temporary drive program M,
you can also activate permanent drive pro-
gram M(
Ypage 163).
Further information about permanent drive
program M(
Ypage 166).
Activating
XShift the transmission to position D.
XPull the left or right steering wheel paddle
shifter (
Ypage 164).
Manual drive program Mis temporarily acti-
vated. The selected gear and Mappear in
the multifunction display.
Shifting gears
If you pull on the left or right steering wheel
paddle shifter, the automatic transmission
switches to manual drive program Mfor a
limited amount of time. Depending on which
paddle shifter is pulled, the automatic trans- mission immediately shifts into the next gear
down or up, if permitted.
XTo shift up:
pull the right-hand steering
wheel paddle shifter (
Ypage 164).
The automatic transmission shifts up to the
next gear.
iIf the maximum engine speed on the cur-
rently engaged gear is reached and you
continue to accelerate, the automatic
transmission automatically shifts up in
order to prevent engine damage.
XTo shift down: pull on the left-hand steer-
ing wheel paddle shifter (
Ypage 164).
The automatic transmission shifts down to
the next gear.
iIf the engine exceeds the maximum
engine speed when shifting down, the auto-
matic transmission protects against engine
damage by not shifting down.
iAutomatic down shifting occurs when
coasting.
Shift recommendation
The gearshift recommendations assist you in
adopting an economical driving style. The rec-
ommended gear is shown in the multifunction
display.
XShift to recommended gear ;according
to gearshift recommendation :when
shown in the multifunction display of the
instrument cluster.
Disarming
If you have activated manual drive program
M , it will remain active for a certain amount of
time. Under certain conditions the minimum
amount of time is extended, e.g. in the case of
lateral acceleration, during an overrun phase
or when driving on steep terrain.
Automatic transmission165
Driving an d parking
Z

RAccel.(evaluation of all acceleration pro-
cesses):
-The bar fills up: moderate acceleration,
especially at higher speeds
-The bar empties: sporty acceleration
RConstant(assessment of driving behavior
at all times):
-The bar fills up: constant speed and
avoidance of unnecessary acceleration
and deceleration
-The bar empties: fluctuations in speed
RCoasting(assessment of all deceleration
processes):
-The bar fills up: anticipatory driving,
keeping your distance and early release
of the accelerator. The vehicle can coast
without use of the brakes.
-The bar empties: frequent braking
iAn economical driving style specially
requires driving at moderate engine
speeds.
To achieve a higher value in the categories
Acceleration
and Constant:
Robserve the gearshift recommendations.
Rdrive in drive program E.
iOn long journeys at a constant speed, e.g.
on the highway, only the bar for Constant
will change.
iThe ECO display summarizes the driving
characteristics from the start of the journey
to its completion. For this reason, the bars
change dynamically at the beginning of the
journey. On longer journeys, there are
fewer changes. For more dynamic changes,
carry out a manual reset.
For more information on the ECO display, see
(
Ypage 226).
Brakes
Important safety notes
GWARNING
If you shift down on a slippery road surface in an attempt to increase the engine's braking
effect, the drive wheels could lose their grip.
There is an increased danger of skidding and
accidents.
Do not shift down for additional engine brak-
ing on a slippery road surface.
Downhill gradients
!On long, steep gradients, you must
reduce the load on the brakes. To use
engine braking, shift to a lower gear in good
time. This helps you to avoid overheating
the brakes and wearing them out exces-
sively.
When making use of the engine braking
effect, it is possible that a drive wheel may
not turn for some time, e.g. in the case of
suddenly changing or slippery road surface
conditions. This could cause damage to the
drive train. This type of damage is not cov-
ered by the Mercedes-Benz warranty.
Change into a lower gear in good time on long
and steep downhill gradients. This is espe-
cially important if the vehicle is laden.
This also applies if you have activated cruise
control, SPEEDTRONIC or DISTRONIC PLUS.
Heavy and light loads
GWARNING
If you rest your foot on the brake pedal while
driving, the braking system can overheat. This increases the stopping distance and can even
cause the braking system to fail. There is a
risk of an accident.
Never use the brake pedal as a footrest. Never
depress the brake pedal and the accelerator
pedal at the same time.
176Driving tips
Driving and parking