2018 MERCEDES-BENZ SL CLASS towing

HOLD function
General notes The HOLD function can assist the drive rint he
following situations: R
when pulling away, especially on steep slopes R
when maneuvering on steep slopes R
when waiting in traffic
The vehicl eisk ept stationary without the driver
having to depress the brake pedal.
The braking effect is cancele da nd the HOLD
function deactivated when you depress the
accelerator peda ltop ul la way.
Important safety notes
G WARNING
When leaving the vehicle, it can still roll away
despite being braked by the HOLD function if: R
there is am alfunction in the system or in
the voltag es upply.R
the HOLD function has been deactivated by
pressing the accelerator peda lort he brake
pedal, e.g. by av ehicl eo ccupant.R
the electrical system in the engine com-
partment, the battery or the fuse sh ave
been tampere dw ith.R
the battery is disconnected
There is ar isk of an accident.
If you wis htoe xit the vehicle, alway st urn off
the HOLD function and secure the vehicle
against rolling away.
! When Distance Pilot DISTRONIC or the
HOLD function is activated, the vehicle
brakes automatically in certain situations.
To avoi dd amage to the vehicle, deactivate
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC and the HOLD
function in the following or similar situations: R
when towing the vehicle R
in the car wash
Deactivating the HOLD function ( Y
pag e1 48). Activation conditions You can activate the HOLD function if all of the
following conditions are fulfilled: R
the vehicl eiss tationary. R
the engine is running or if it has been auto-
matically switched off by the ECO start/stop
function. R
the driver's door is closed or you rs eat bel ti s
fastened. R
the electric parking brake is released. R
the transmission is in position [ , ^ or \\ .R
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is deactivated
Activating the HOLD function X
Make sure that the activation conditions are
met. X
Depress the brake pedal. X
Quickly depress the brake peda lf urther
until C appears in the multifunction display.
The HOLD function is activated. You can
release the brake pedal.
i If depressing the brake peda lt he first time
does not activate the HOLD function, wait
briefly and then try again.
Deactivatin gt he HOLD functionThe HOLD function is deactivated automatically
if: R
you depress the accelerator and the trans-
mission is in position [ or ^ .R
you shift the transmission to position ] .R
you apply the brakes again with ac ertain
amount of pressure until HOLD disappears
from the multifunction display. R
you secure the vehicl eu sing the electric park-
ing brake. R
you activate Distance Pilot DISTRONIC.
i After at ime, the electric parking brake
secure st he vehicl ea nd relieves the service
brake.148
Driving systems
Driving and parking

X
To initiate an emergenc yc al lm anually:
press cover C briefl ytoo pe n.X
Press SOS button D briefly.
The indicator lamp in SOS button D flashes
unti lt he emergency cal lisc oncluded.X
Wait for av oice connectio ntot he Mercedes-
Benz Customer Assistance Center. X
After the emergency call, close cover C .
i If the mobil ep hone network is unavailable,
mbrace will not be able to make the emer-
genc yc all. If yo ul ea ve the vehicl ei mmedi-
ately afte rp ressing the SOS button, yo uw il l
not know whethe rm brace place dt he emer-
genc yc all. In thi sc ase, always summon assis-
tance by othe rm eans.
Breakdow na ssistanc eb utton
X
Press Roadside Assistance button C .
Thi si nitiates ac al ltot he Mercedes-Benz Cus-
tome rA ssistance Center.
The indicator lamp in Roadside Assistance
button C flashe sw hile the cal lisa ctive. The
multifunctio nd is play shows the Connect‐
ing Call message. The audi oo ut pu ti s
muted.
If ac onnectio nc an be made ,t he Cal lC on‐
nected message appears in the multifunction
display.
If am obil ep hone network and GP Sr eception
are available ,t he system transfers data to the
Mercedes-Benz Customer Assistance Center,
for example: R
Current location of the vehicle R
Vehicl ei de ntificatio nn umber
i The display of the multimedia system indi-
cate st ha tac al lisa ctive. During the call, you
can change to the navigatio nm enu by press- ing the NAVI button on COMAND, for exam-
ple.
i Voice outpu ti sn ot available.
Av oice connectio ni se stablished between the
Mercedes-Benz Customer Assistance Center
and the vehicl eo ccupants.
From the remote malfunctio nd iagn osis, the
Mercedes-Benz Customer Assistance Center
can ascertain the nature of the problem
( Y
page 227).
The Mercedes-Benz Customer Assistance Cen-
ter either send saq uali fied Mercedes-Benz tech-
nician or makes arrangements for your vehicle
to be transported to the neares tM ercedes-Benz
Service Center.
Yo um ay be charge df or service ss uc hasr epair
work and/or towing.
Further details are available in your mbrace
manual.
i The system ha sn ot been able to initiate a
Roadside Assistance call, if: R
the indicator lamp for Roadside Assistance
cal lb ut ton C is flashing continuously. R
no voice connectio ntot he Mercedes-Benz
C ustomer Assistance Center wa se stab-
lished.
Thi sc an occu rift he relevant mobil ep hone
network is not available ,f or example.
The Cal lF ailed message appears in the
multifunctio nd is play. X
To en dac all: press the v button on the
multifunctio ns teering wheel.
or X
Press the corresponding multimedia system
button for ending ap hone call.
MB Info cal lb utton226
Features
Sto wag ea nd featur es

Towin ga nd tow-starting
Important safety notes
G WARNING
When towing or tow-startin ga nothe rv ehicle
and its weight is greate rt ha nt he permissible
gross weight of your vehicle, the: R
the towing ey ec ould detach itselfR
the vehicle/trailer combinatio nc ould roll-
over.
There is ar is kofana ccident.
When towing or tow-startin ga nothe rv ehicle,
its weight shoul dn ot be greate rt ha nt he per-
missibl eg ross weight of your vehicle.
Detail sont he permissibl eg ross vehicl ew eigh t
of your vehicl ec an be found on the vehicl ei de n-
tification plate ( Y
page 289).
! When Activ eB rake Assist, Distance Pilot
DISTRONI Cort he HOLD functio ni sa ctivated,
the vehicl eb rakes automaticall yinc ertain
situations.
To avoi dd amag etot he vehicle, deactivate
these system sint he following or similar sit-
uations: R
when towing the vehicle R
in the car wash
! Onl ys ecur et he tow rop eort ow ba ratt he
towing eyes. Otherwise, the vehicl ec ould be
damaged.
! Do not us et he towing ey ef or recovery, this
could damage the vehicle. If in doubt, recover
the vehicl ew it hac rane.
! When towing ,p ul la wa ys lowly and
smoothly. If the tractiv ep ower is too high, the
vehicles could be damaged.
! Do not tow with sling-typ ee quipment .T h is
could damage the vehicle.
! When towing away vehicles with KEYLESS-
GO ,u se the key instea doft he Start/Stop
button. The automatic transmission ma yo th-
erwis es hift to position ] when yo uo pe nt he
driver's or front-passenge rd oo r, which could
damage the transmission. ! Make sure tha tt he electri cp ar kin gb rake is
released .Ift he electri cp ar kin gb rake is faulty,
visit aq uali fied specialis tw or kshop.
! The vehicl ec an be towed am ax imum of
30 miles (50km). The towing spee dof30m ph
(50 km/h )m us tn ot be exceeded.
If the vehicl eh as to be towed mor et han
30 miles (50km), the entire vehicl em us tb e
raised and transported.
! If yo ut ow or tow-start anothe rv ehicle, its
weight must not exceed the maximum per-
missibl eg ross vehicl ew eigh tofy ou rv ehicle.
It is better to have the vehicl et ransporte dt han
to have it towed away.
The automatic transmission must be in position
\\ when the vehicl eisb ei ng towed away.
The battery must be connected and charged.
Otherwise, you: R
canno tt ur nt he SmartKe ytop osit ion H in
the ignition lock. R
canno ts hift the automatic transmission to
position \\ .
Deactivate the automatic locking featur eb ef o re
th
e vehicl eist owed ( Y
page 173) .Y ou could
otherwis ebel oc ked ou tw he np us hing or towing
the vehicle.
Installing/removin gt he towin ge ye
Installing the towin ge ye
G WARNING
The exhaust tai lp ip em ay be ver yh ot. There is
ar is kofb ur ns when removing the rea rc over.
Do not touch the exhaust pipe .T ak ep ar ticular
car ew he nr emoving the rea rc over.256
Towin ga nd tow-starting
Breakdow na ssistance

The bracket sf or the screw-in towing eye are
located in the bumpers. They are at the front and
at the rear, behind the covers. X
Remove the towing eye from the vehicle tool
kit ( Y
page 245).X
Press the mark on cover C inwards in the
direction of the arrow. X
Take cover C off the opening.X
Screw in the towing eye clockwise as far as it
will go and tighten it.
Removing the towing eye X
Unscrew and remove the towing eye. X
Attach cover C to the bumper and press until
it engages. X
Place the towing eye in the vehicle tool kit.
Towing av ehicle with both axles on
the ground
G WARNING
You can no longer steer the vehicle if the
steerin gw heel lock has been engaged. There
is ar isk of an accident.
Always switch off the ignition when towing the
vehicle with at ow cable or at ow bar.
The automatic transmission shifts to position
] automatically when you open the driver's or
front-passenger door or when you remove the
SmartKey from the ignition lock. In order to ensure that the automatic transmis-
sion stays in position \\ when towing away the
vehicle, you must observe the following points: X
Switch on the hazard warning lamps
( Y
page 97). X
Turn the SmartKey to position H in the igni-
tion lock.
On vehicles with KEYLESS-GO, use the Smart-
Key instead of the Start/Stop button
( Y
page 116). X
Depress and hold the brake pedal. X
Shift the transmission to position \\ .X
Release the brake pedal. X
Release the electric parking brake. X
Leave the SmartKey in position H in the igni-
tion lock.
In order to signal ac hange of direction when
towing the vehicle with the hazard warning
lamps switched on, use the combination switch
as usual. In this case, only the indicator lamps
for the direction of travel flash. When you reset
the combination switch, the hazard warning
flashers start flashing again.
It is important that you observe the safety
instructions when towing away your vehicle
( Y
page 256).
Towing the vehicle with the rear axle
raised
! The ignition must be switched off if you are
towing the vehicle with the rear axle raised.
Intervention by ESP ®
could otherwise dam-
age the brake system.
! Vehicles with automatic transmission must
not be towed with the rear axle raised. The
vehicle/trailer combination may otherwise
swerve or even roll over.Towing and tow-starting 257
Breakdown assistance Z

Transporting the vehicle
Vehicle sw it ha utomatic transmission
! When the vehicl eisl oaded for transport, the
front and rea ra xles must be stationar ya nd on
the same transportatio nv ehicle. Positioning
ove rt he connectio np oi nt of the transport
vehicl eisn ot permitted .T he drive train may
otherwis ebed amaged .
Al lv eh icles
! Yo um ay onl ys ecur et he vehicl ebyt he
wheels ,n ot by parts of the vehicl es uc ha s
axl eors teerin gc omponents. Otherwise, the
vehicl ec ould be damaged.
The towing ey ec an be used to pull the vehicle
onto at railer or transporte rf or transporting pur-
poses. X
Turn the SmartKe ytop osit ion H in the igni-
tio nl oc k.X
Shift the transmission to position \\ .
As soon as the vehicle has been loaded: X
Prevent the vehicl ef ro mr olling away by
applying the electri cp ar kin gb rake.X
Shift the transmission to position ] .X
Turn the SmartKe ytop osit ion