2019 MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER Owner's Manual

X
To can cel:pu llthe left-ha ndstee ring wheel
pa dd leshi fter (Ypage 141 ).
or
X To confi rm: pullthe right-ha ndstee ring
wh eelpa dd leshi fter (Ypage 141 ).
The RACESTA RTAvailable Depress RAC
ESTA RTAvailable Depress
gas pedal. gas
pedal. message appe ars inthe multi-
func tiondispl ay.
i If
yo udo not depre ssthe acce lerato rpe dal
wi thi nafew seco nds, RACESTAR Tis can-
cel ed.The multifunc tiondispl aysho wsthe
RAC ESTA RTCanceled RAC
ESTA RTCanceledmes sage.
X Dep ressthe acce lerato rpe dalcomp letel y,
unti lthe engi nespe edstop sincre asing .
The RACESTA RT Releasebra keto RAC
ESTA RT Releasebra keto
sta rt sta
rtmes sage appe ars inthe multifunc tion
di spl ay.
i If
yo udo not release the brakepedal
wi thi nfiv eseco nds, RACESTAR Tis can-
cel ed.The RACESTA RTCanceled RAC
ESTA RTCanceledmes sage
ap pe ars inthe multifunc tiondispl ay.
X Take your foo toff the brake, butkee pthe
acce lerato rpe dalde pre sse d.
The vehiclepu lls aw ay atma ximu macce ler-
ati on.
The RACESTA RTActive RAC
ESTA RTActive message appe ars
in the multifunc tiondispl ay.
RAC ESTAR Tis de acti vate dwh en the vehicle
rea che sa spe edofappro xima tely30 mph
(C ana da:50 km/h ).
RAC ESTAR Tis de acti vate dimm ediatel yif yo u
rel ease the acce lerato rpe daldu ring RACE
STAR Tor ifany ofthe activationcond itions are
no longer fulfilled. The RACESTA RTNot Pos‐ RAC
ESTA RTNot Pos‐
sib leSee Operat or'sMan ual sib
leSee Operat or'sMan ual orRAC E RAC
E
STA RTCanceled STA
RTCanceledmes sage appe ars inthe mul-
tifu nctio ndispl ay.
i If
RAC ESTAR Tis us ed rep eated lywithi na
sho rtpe rio dof time ,it is onl yava ilab le
ag ain afte rthe vehicleha sbe en driven a
certa indista nce. Ada
ptiv edampin gsys tem
Gen eral notes A
su spe nsion with the adaptive dampi ngsys-
tem provides imp rove ddri ving comf ortand
conti nuouslycontro lsthe calibrati onofthe
da mpe rs.The dampi ngcha racteri stic sad apt
to the current opera ting anddriving situa tion. The
dampi ngistune dind ividu ally to each
wh eeland depends on:
R your driving style,e.g .spo rty
R the roadsu rfa ce cond itions
R the selecte ddri ve pro gram(Y page 132) .
Se lecti ng the Comfort orEcon omy
drive programs In
the Comfort andEcon omy drive pro grams,
the driving characteri stic sof your veh icleare
more comfortable. Sel ect one ofthes edri ve
pro grams ifyo ufav oramore comfortable dri v-
ing style.Als osel ect thes edri ve pro grams
wh en driving faston stra ight roa ds, e.g.on
stra ight stre tches ofhighw ay.
In urba ntraf ficand stop -starttraf fic, drive pro -
gra mCis reco mme nded.
X Pre ssDYNAM ICSELEC Tbu tton 0043repeat-
ed lyunti lthe Comfort orEcon omy drive
pro gramissel ecte d.
Se lecti ng Spo rtmode The
firmer settingofthe suspe nsion tuni ngin
the Spo rtdri ve pro gramensu resevenbe tter
conta ctwith the road.Sel ect thisdri ve pro -
gra mwh en emp loying aspo rtydriving style,
e.g .on windi ng cou ntry roads.
X Pre ssDYNAM ICSELEC Tbu tton 0043asma ny
time sas nece ssaryunti lthe Spo rtdri ve
pro gramissel ecte d.
Se lecti ng Spo rtPlus mode The
firmer suspe nsion setti ngsinthe Spo rt
Pl us drive pro gramensu reeve nbe tter conta ct
wi th the road.Sel ect thismod ewh en emp loy-
ing aspo rtydriving style,e.g .on windi ng cou n- Dri
ving sys tems
167Dr ivi ng andparki ng Z

try
roadsor, idea lly, wh en drivin gon closed
ra ce circui ts.
X Pre ssDYN AMIC SELEC Tbu tton 0043repeat-
ed lyunti lthe Spo rtPlus drive pro gramis
se lected .
Ac tiv atin gthe driv ingdyn amic sdis -
play Usi
ngthe drivin gdy nam icsdisp layin the mul-
tim ediasyste mdisp lay, yo ucan seethe drive
pro gramyouse lected aswellas additio nal
inf orm ation on the vehicle'sop era ting state.
X Swi tch onthe multimed iasyste m. Fur ther
inf orm ation can befou ndinthe DigitalOp er-
ato r'sManua l.
X Pre ssbutton 0043.
The drivin gdy nam icsdisp layap pe arsin the
mu ltimed iasyste mdisp lay.
The followi ng inform ation onthe vehicle's
op era ting status isdisp laye din the drivin g
dy nam icsdisp lay:
R Dri vepro gramselected (Ypage 132 )
R Accel erator pedalpo sitio nsho wnin%
R Bra kepedalpo sitio nsho wnin%
R Stee ringang le
R Dam ping setting selected
R G-F ORCE cros sdi sp laying longi tud inaland
la tera lacc elera tion(o nly availabl e in Spo rt
or Spo rtPlus drive pro grams) Ac
tiv eBody Contro lABC (exc ept
Me rce des -AMG vehic les)
Se ttin gthe vehic leleve l Ge
neral notes
The vehiclelevel can besetus ing the
DYN AMIC SELEC Tbu tton (Ypage 132 )or the
le vel button. These tting alwa yscorr espo nds
to the last selected functio n.
In ord erto red uce fuel cons umption and
im pro vethe drivin gdy nam ics,the vehicleis
lo we red asits spee dincr eases. In the Spo rt
and SportPlus drive pro grams, itis lowe red
by up to0.5 in(13 mm)comp ared tothe nor-
ma lveh iclelevel .In the Comfo rtand CURVE
dri ve pro grams, itis lowe red byup to0.2 in
(5 mm) comp ared tothe norm alveh iclelevel .
As the spee dis red uce d,the vehicleis raised
up tothe setveh iclehe ight.
Sel ect the norm allevel fornorm alroa dsu rfa -
ces and theraised level fordrivin gwi th sno w
cha insoron partic ular ly po or roa dsu rfa ces .
Impo rtant safety notes G
WA
RNING
The vehicleis lowe red slig htl yin the follow-
ing situa tions:
R the SPO RTsusp ens ion se tting isse lected
at the norm alveh iclelevel
R the engineissw itch edoff
Pe rso nsinthe vicinity of the wheelar ch or
the underbodyma ythu sbe come trapped.
Th ere isaris kof inju ry.
Ma kesure tha tnob odyis in the vicinity of
the wheelar ch orthe underbodywh en you
sw itch offthe engine. 16
8 Dr
ivi ng system sDrivi ng andparki ng

Setting
raisedlevel X
Make surethattheengine isrunning orthat
it has been switched offbythe ECO start/
stop funct ion.
X Make surethataspeed of75 mph
(120 km/h) isnot exceeded.
X Ifindicator lamp0044 0044
isnot lit:press but-
ton 0043.
If the engine hasbeen switched offbythe
ECO start/ stopfunct ion,itis now restarted.
Indicator lamp0044lights up.The vehicle is
raised by1.2 in(31 mm).
Setting thenormal level
X Make surethattheengine isrunning orthat
it has been switched offbythe ECO start/
stop funct ion.
X Ifindicator lamp0044 0044
islit: press button 0043.
Indicator lamp0044goes out.Thevehicle is
adjusted tonormal level
The "Raised level" settingis canceled ifyou:
R are driving fasterthanapproximately
75 mph (120km/h).
R drive forapproximately threeminutes ata
speed over50mph (80km/h).
R or switch tothe drive program whilethe
vehicle isin motion.
Suspension tuning General
notes
The electro- hydraulicallycontrolled suspension
features improved drivingdynamics, driving
safety andride comfort .You canalso choose
between asporty, aparticularly sporty,acom-
fortable andacomfort ablemode withcurve
tilting function(CURVE). The
suspension iscont inuously tunedtoeach
wheel individual lyand depends on:
R the road surface condition ,e.g. bumps
R the vehicle load
R the drive program selected
Each timeyoustart theengine withtheSmart-
Key orthe Start /Stopbutton, theComfort
drive program isactivated. Furtherinformation
about startin gthe engine (Ypage 127).
Selec tingComfort mode In
the Comfort driveprogram, thedriving
characterist icsofyour vehicle aremore com-
fortable. Selectthismode ifyou favor amore
comfort abledriving style.
X Press DYNAMIC SELECTbutton 0043asmany
times asnecessary untiltheComfort drive
program isselected.
Selec tingSport mode
The firmer settingof the suspension tuningin
the Sport driveprogram ensuresevenbetter
cont actwith theroad. Select thismode ifyou
favor afirmer suspension setting.
X Press DYNAMIC SELECTbutton 0043asmany
times asnecessary untiltheSport drive
program isselected.
Selec tingSport Plusmode
The firmer settingof the suspension tuningin
the Sport Plusdrive program ensureseven
better contactwith theroad. Select thismode
if you favor afirmer suspension setting.
X Press DYNAMIC SELECTbutton 0043asmany
times asnecessary untiltheSport Plus
drive program isselected. Driving
systems
169Drivingandparking Z

Selec
tingtheCURVE setting
In the CURVE driveprogram, thecurve tilting
funct ionisactivated. Thevehicle tiltsbyup to
2.65 degrees intobends. Thetiltfunct ionand
the comfort suspension tuningincrease driving
comfort incorner s.CURVE isavaila bleinthe
speed rangebetween 9mph (15km/h) and
112 mph (180km/h). Selectthismode on
winding roadsinparticular. Outsidethisspeed
range, theCURVE driveprogram isthe same
as the Comfort driveprogram.
The curve tilting functionmonitor sthe road in
front ofyour vehicle bymeans ofacamera
attached atthe top ofthe windshield. This
funct ionisautomatically activeifyou select
the CURVE driveprogram. Thesystem is
operational atspeeds ofup to112 mph
(180 km/h).
X Press DYNAMIC SELECTbutton 0043asmany
times asnecessary untiltheCURVE drive
program isselected.
The system isdeactivated ifyou select adiffer-
ent drive program.
The system maybeimpaired ormay notfunc-
tion if:
R you aredriving moreslowly than9mph
(15 km/h) orfaster than112mph
(180 km/h).
R the vehicle isfully laden.
R you drive withveryhigh lateral acceleration.
Activating thedriving dynamicsdis-
play Using
thedriving dynamics displayinthe mul-
timedia systemdisplay,you can seethedrive
program youselected aswell asadditional
information onthe vehicle's operating state. X
Switch onthe multimedia system.Further
information canbefound inthe Digital Oper-
ator's Manual.
X Press button 0043.
The driving dynamics displayappears inthe
multimedia systemdisplay.
The following information onthe vehicle's
operating statusisdisplay edinthe driving
dynamics display:
R Drive program selected (Ypage 132)
R Acc elerator pedalposition shownin%
R Brake pedalposition shownin%
R Steerin gangle
R Act ivity ofthe ABC spring struts
R Vehicle leveldisplay (Ypage 168)
R Level settingsanimation
R G-FORCE crossdisplay inglongitudinal and
lateral acceleration (onlyavaila bleinSport
or Sport Plusdrive programs) Active
BodyControl (ABC)
(Mercedes-AMG vehicles)
Setting thevehicle level General
notes
The vehicle levelcanbeset using the
DYNAMIC SELECTcont roller (Ypage 133)or
the on-board computer (Ypage 171). Theset-
ting alwa yscorresponds tothe last selected
funct ion.
In order toreduce fuelconsumpt ionand
improve thedriving dynamics, thevehicle is
lowered asits speed increases. Inthe Sport
and Sport Plusdrive programs itis lowered by
up to0.5 in(13 mm), andinthe Comfort drive
program byup to0.2 in(5 mm) compared to
the normal vehicle level.Asthe speed is
reduced, thevehicle israised uptothe set
vehicle height.
Each timeyoustart theengine withtheSmart-
Key orthe Start /Stopbutton, theComfort
drive program isactivated. Forfurther informa-
tion about startin gthe engine, see
(Y page 127).
Select thenormal levelfornormal roadsurfa-
ces and theraised levelfordriving withsnow
chains oron particularly poorroadsurfaces. 170
Driving
systemsDriving andparking

Imp
ortant safety notes
The vehicle issligh tlylower edwhen theen gin e
is swit ched off. G
WAR
NING
When theveh icle isbein glower ed,peop le
co uld become trapped ifth eir limb sare
bet ween theveh icle body andthewheel sor
und erneathth eveh icle.Ther eis aris kof
inj ury.
Mak esure nooneis und erneathth eveh icle
or intheimm ediat evic inity of thewheel
arc hes when theveh icle isbein glower ed.
Set tingra ised level X
Mak esure that theen gin eis run ningor that
it has been switched off bytheECO start /
st op fun ction .
X Mak esure that aspee dof 75 mph
(12 0km /h) isno tex cee ded.
X Ifsym bol0044 0044
isnot shown :pre ss0059
or 0065 onthest eer ing wheel tosele ctthe
Dri veAssist Dri
veAssistmen u.
X Pre ssthe0063 or0064 buttonto sele ct
Veh iclelev el Veh
iclelev el.
X Pre ssthe0076 button.
The followin gmes sage appear s:0043 Veh i‐ Veh
i‐
cle levelPress'OK'to Raise cle
levelPress'OK'to Raise.
X Pre ssthe0076 button.
If th een gin ehas been switched off bythe
ECO start /stopfun ction ,it is no wres tarted.
Sym bol0044appear s.The vehicle heig htis
adj ust edtorais edleve l. Set
tingth enor mallevel X
Mak esure that theen gin eis run ningor that
it has been switched off bytheECO start /
st op fun ction .
X Ifsym bol0044 0044
isshown :pre ss0059
or 0065 onthest eer ing wheel tosele ctthe
Dri veAssist Dri
veAssistmen u.
X Pre ssthe0063 or0064 buttonto sele ct
Veh iclelev el Veh
iclelev el.
X Pre ssthe0076 button.
The followin gmes sage appear s:0043 Veh i‐ Veh
i‐
cle levelPress'OK'to Lower cle
levelPress'OK'to Lower.
X Pre ssthe0076 button.
Ic on 0044 isfade dout .The vehicle isadj ust ed
to norm alleve l
The "Raised level"set tingis can celed ifyou:
R are drivingfast erthan appr oximat ely
75 mph (120km /h).
R driv efor appr oximat elythree minutesat a
spee dove r50 mph (80km/h).
R or swit chtothedriv epro gram while the
veh icle isin mot ion.
Sus pen sion tuning Gener
alnot es
The electro- hydr aulic allycontroll edsusp ension
feat ures improveddriv ingdyna mics,driv ing
safe tyand ride comf ort .You canalso choos e
bet ween apart icula rlyspor tyor aco mf ort able
tun ing.
The susp ension isco ntinuo usly tunedtoeac h
wheel individ ually anddepe ndson :
R theroad surface cond ition ,e. g. bump s
R theveh icle load
R thedriv epro gram selected
Your selection rem ains savedeve nif you
rem ove theke yfrom theign ition lock. Driv
ingsyst ems
171Drivingand parki ng Z

Each
timeyousta rtthe enginewith the Sma rt-
Key orthe Star t/Stop button, thecomf ortable
setti ngisacti vated .For furthe rinfo rma tion
ab ou tsta rtin gthe engine,see (Ypage 127) .
Se lecti ng spo rtstuni ng The
firmer settingofthe susp ens ion tuni ngin
sp orts modeens ures eve nbe tter conta ctwith
the road.Sel ect thismod eif yo ufa vor afir mer
su sp ens ion setti ng.
X Ma kesure tha tthe engineisrunning ortha t
it ha sbe en switch edoff bythe ECO start/
stop functio n.
X Ifindic ato rlamp 0044 0044
isno tlit: pre ssbut-
ton 0043.
Indi cato rla mp 0044lights up.Spo rtssusp en-
si on tuni ngissel ecte d.
The AMG SuspensionSys tem SPORT AMG
SuspensionSys tem SPORTmes -
sa ge appe arsin the multifu nctio ndisp lay.
Se lecti ng comfo rttuni ng In
comf ortmod e,the drivin gcha racteri stics of
yo ur veh iclear emor ecomf ortable. Sel ect this
mod eif yo ufa vor amor ecomf ortable dri vin g
sty le. X
Ma kesure tha tthe engineisrunning ortha t
it ha sbe en switch edoff bythe ECO start/
stop functio n.
X Ifindic ato rlamp 0044 0044
islit: pre ssbutton 0043.
Indi cato rla mp 0044goes out.Co mfo rtable
su sp ens ion tuni ngissel ecte d.
The AMG SuspensionSys tem COMFORT AMG
SuspensionSys tem COMFORT
mes sage appe arsin the multifu nctio ndis-
pl ay .
Ac tiv atin gthe driv ingdyn amic sdis -
play inthe COMA ND display Usi
ngthe drivin gdy nam icsdisp layin the mul-
time diasy stem disp lay, yo ucan seethedrive
pro gramyousel ecte das wellas additio nal
info rma tionon the vehicle's opera ting status .
X Swi tch onCOMAND. Furtherinfo rma tion
can befou ndinthe DigitalOp era tor' sMa n-
ua l.
The followi ng info rma tionon the vehicle's
op era ting status isdisp laye din the drivin g
dy nam icsdisp lay:
R Driv epro gramsel ecte d(Y page 133 )
R Accel erator pedalpo sitio nsho wnin%
R Bra kepedalpo sitio nsho wnin%
R Stee ringang le
R Veh iclelevel disp lay(Y page 170)
R Activ ityofthe ABC sprin gstru ts
R Lev elsetti ngsanima tion
R G-FO RCEcros sto disp laylo ngi tud inaland
la tera lacc elera tion(o nly availa bl e in Spo rt,
Spo rtPlus and RAC Edri ve pro grams)
R Ove rrunmod eani ma tion Parki
ngAssist PA RKTR ONIC
Impo rtant safety notes Pa
rkin gAssi stPAR KTRONICis an electro nic
pa rkin gaid wi th ultra sou nd. Itmoni torsthe
ar ea arou nd your veh icleus ing six sen sorsin
the frontbumpe rand six sen sorsin the rear
bu mpe r.Pa rkin gAssi stPAR KTRONICvis ually
and audiblyind icates the dista nce betwe en
yo ur veh icleand anobject.
Pa rkin gAssi stPAR KTRONICis onl yan aid. Itis
not arep laceme ntfor your atte ntionto your
imm ediate surro und ings.Yo uar ealwa ys
res ponsi ble for safe ma neu vering,pa rkin gand 17
2 Dr
ivi ng system sDrivi ng andparki ng

exitin
gaparking space.Makesurethatthere
are nopersons ,animals orobjec tsinthe
maneuverin garea when youaremaneuverin g
or parking .
! When
parking ,pay particular attentionto
objec tsabove orbelow thesensor s,such as
flower potsortrailer drawbars.
PARKTRONIC doesnotdetect suchobjec ts
when theyareinthe immediate vicinityof
the vehicle. Youcould damage thevehicle
or the objec ts.
The sensor smay notdetect snowandother
objec tsthat absorb ultrasonic waves.
Ultrason icsources suchasan automatic car
wash, thecompr essed-air brakesonatruc k
or apneumatic drillcould cause
PARKTRONIC tomalfunct ion.
PARKTRONIC maynotfunc tion correctlyon
uneven terrain.
Parkin gAssist PARKTRONIC isactivat edauto-
matically whenyou:
R switch onthe ignition
R shift thetran smission toposition 005B,005Eor
005C
R release theelectr icparking brake
Parkin gAssist PARKTRONIC isdeactivat edat
speeds above11mph (18km/ h).It is rea cti-
vate dat lowe rspe eds.
Rang eof the senso rs Gen
eral notes
Pa rking AssistPAR KTRONIC doesnot take into
acco untobstacl eslocate d:
R bel ow the dete ction range,such asper sons ,
ani mal sor obje cts
R ab ove thedete ction range,e.g. overhanging
lo ad s,tai lsecti onsorload ing ram psof
trucks 0043
Senso rsinthe front bumpe r,left-ha ndside
(e xamp le)
The sens orsmus tbe free from dirt, ice or
slu sh. The ycan othe rwisenot functi oncor-
rectl y.Clea nthe sens orsregularl y,taki ngcare
not toscra tchordamag ethem (Ypage 275 ).
Rang e Front
sensors Ce
nter Appr
ox.40in(app rox.
100 cm) Co
rners Appr
ox.24in(app rox.
60 cm) Dri
ving sys tems
173Dri ving and parkin g Z

Rear
sensors Cen
ter Ap
pro x.48 in(appr ox.
12 0cm) Corn
ers Ap
pro x.32 in(appr ox.
80 cm) Min
imum distance Cen
ter Ap
pro x.8in (appr ox.
20 cm) Corn
ers Ap
pro x.6in (appr ox.
15 cm) If
th ere isan obs taclewit hin this ran ge, the
rel evan twarn ingdisp lays lightup and awarn -
ing tone soun ds.Ifth edist ancefalls belowthe
min imum ,th edist ancemay nolonger be
sho wn.
Wa rning displa ys Warn
ingdisp layforthefron tarea
0043 Segme ntson thelef t-han dside oftheveh i-
cle
0044 Segme ntson therig ht-hand side ofthe
veh icle
0087 Oper ationalread inessseg men ts
The warn ingdisp lays showthedist ance
bet ween thesen sorsand theobs tacle.The
warn ingdisp layforthefron tarea isloc ate don
th edash boardabov eth ece nter air ven ts.The
warn ingdisp layfortherear area isloc ate don
th eco ver behi ndtheseat sin therear
pass enger compar tment.
The warn ingdisp layforeac hside oftheveh i-
cle isdivi ded intofiv eyellow andtworedseg-
men ts.If yellow operationalread inessseg -
men ts0087 ligh tup, Park ingAssist PARKTRO NIC
is oper ational. The
selected trans mis sion position and the
dire ction inwhic hth eveh icleis rol lingdet er-
min ewhic hwarn ingdisp layisact ive when the
en gin eis run ning. Tr
ans mission posi-
ti on Wa
rning displa y 005B
Fr
on tarea active 005E,
005Cortheveh i-
cle isrol lingbac k-
wards Rear
andfron tareas
act ive 005D
No
areas active On
eor mor eseg men tsligh tup astheveh icle
appr oaches anobs tacle,depe nding onthe
veh icle's dist ancefrom theobs tacle.Inaddi-
ti on ,warn ingtone sare issued.
When thedist anceto theobs tacleissuf ficien t,
you willhear aninterm itte nt warn ingtone .The
sho rter thedist anceto theobs tacle,the
sho rter thefrequen cyoftheint erm itte nt warn -
ing tone sbec ome s.When themin imum dis-
tan ceisreac hed, youhear aco ntinu ous warn -
ing tone .
Deact ivating/a ctivating Parking Assis t
PAR KTRONIC 0043
Deact ivat es/ activat esPark ingAssist
PA RKTRO NIC
0044 Indic ato rlamp
If ind icat orlamp 0044ligh tsup, Park ingAssist
PA RKTRO NICis deac tivat ed. Active Park ing
As sis tis then also deac tivat ed.
i Park
ingAssist PARKTRO NICis auto mati-
call yact ivat edwhen youturnth eSm artKey
to pos ition 0048intheign ition lock. 174
Driv
ingsyst emsDriv ingand parki ng