2020 MERCEDES-BENZ SL CLASS Owners Manual

!
Have
thebattery regularlychecked ata
qual ified speciali stworkshop.
Comply withtheservice intervals inthe
Maintenance Booklet,orcont actaqual ified
speciali stworkshop formore information.
! Alway
shave work onbatteries carriedout
at aqual ified speciali stworkshop.
Should it,inexceptional circumstances, be
absolu telynecessary todisconnect the12-
volt battery yourself,please observe thefol-
lowing:
R Secure thevehicle toprevent itfrom roll-
ing awa y.
R Switch offthe ignition.
R Disconn ectthe negative terminalfirstand
then thepositive terminal.
After thework hasbeen done, install the
battery andreplace thecover ofthe positive
terminal clampfirmly.
Comply withsafety precautions andtake pro-
tect ivemeasures whenhandling batteries. Risk
ofexplosion. Fire,
open flames andsmoking are
prohibited whenhandling thebat-
tery. Avoid creating sparks. Battery
acidiscaustic. Avoidcon-
tact with skin, eyesorclothing.
Wear suitabl eprotective clothing,
especial lygloves, apronandface-
guard.
Rinse anyacid spills immediately
with clear water. Contact aphysi-
cian ifnecessary. Wear
eyeprotection. Keep
children away. Observe
thisOperator's Manual.
For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends thatyouonly usebatteries whichhave been
tested andapproved foryour vehicle by
Mercedes-Benz .These batteries provide
increased impactprotection toprevent vehicle
occupants fromsuffering acidburns should
the battery bedamage din the event ofan
accident.
In order forthe battery toachieve themaxi-
mum possible servicelife,itmust alwaysbe
sufficiently charged.
Like other batteries, thevehicle battery may
discharge overtime ifyou donot use thevehi-
cle. Inthis case, havethebattery disconnec-
ted ataqual ified speciali stworkshop. Youcan
also charge thebattery withacharger recom-
mended byMercedes-Benz .Contact aqual i-
fied speciali stworkshop forfurther informa-
tion.
Have thebattery condition ofcharge checked
more frequently ifyou usethevehicle mainly
for short tripsorifyou leave itstanding idle
for alengthy period.Consult aqual ified spe-
cialist workshop ifyou wish toleave yourvehi-
cle parked foralong period oftime.
Remove theSmartKey ifyou park thevehicle
and donot require anyelectrical consumers.
The vehicle willthen usevery little energy,
thus conserving batterypower.
After aninterruption tothe power supply,e.g.
due toadischarged battery,youmust reset
the clock (seetheDigital Operator's Manual). Charging
thebattery G
WARNING
During charging andjump-startin g,explosive
gases canescape fromthebattery. Thereis
a risk ofan explosion.
Particularl yavoid fire,open flames, creating
sparks andsmoking. Ensurethereissuffi-
cient ventilation whilecharging andjump-
starting. Donot lean over abattery. G
WARNING
Battery acidiscaustic. Thereisarisk of
injury.
Avoid contactwith skin, eyesorclothing. Do
not inhale anybattery gases.Donot lean
over thebattery. Keepchildren awayfrom
batteries. Washawaybattery acidimmedi- Bat
tery (vehic le)
287Breakdown assistance
Z

ate
lywith plentyof cle an wate rand seek
medi calattent ion. G
WAR
NING
A disc harg edbat tery can freez eat temper a-
tur es below freez ing poin t.When jump-start-
ing theveh icle orchargin gth ebat tery,
gases canescape from thebat tery. Ther eis
a risk ofan exp losio n.
Allo wthefroz en bat tery to thaw out befo re
ch argin git or jum p-starting.
! On
lyuse battery charge rswith amax imum
ch argin gvolt age of14 .8V.
! On
lych arge thebat tery usin gth ejum p-
st art ing con nectionpoin t.
The jump-startingcon nectionpoin tis in the
eng inecom partmen t.
If th eind icat or/warn inglamps donotlight up
at low temper atures,itis ver ylike lythat the
disc harg edbat tery has froz en. Inthis cas e,
you may neither charge thebat tery norjum p-
st art theveh icle.The servicelife ofath awed-
out battery may beshor ter. The start ing char-
act eris ticscan beimpair ed,part icular lyat low
te mper atures.Hav eth eth awed- outbattery
ch eck edataqualifi edspec ialist workshop.
Read thebat tery charge r'soper atingins truc-
tio ns befo rechargin gth ebat tery.
X Open thehood .
X Con nectth ebat tery charge rto theposit ive
te rm inal and ground pointin thesame order as
when connectingth edon orbat tery inthe
jum p-startingproc edure (Ypage 288). Rep
lacing the12 Vbat tery
Obse rveth eno teson the12 Vbat tery
(Y page 285).
Mer cedes-Ben zrec omm endsth at you have
th e12 Vbat tery repl aced ataqualifi edspe-
cialis twork shop,e.g .at an auth orized
Mer cedes-Ben zCent er.
If you want torepl ace thebat tery yours elf,
obse rveth efoll owin gno tes:
R Always replace adefe ctive battery with a
bat tery whic hmeet sth espec ificrequi re-
men tsof theveh icle.
The vehicle isequippe dwith anAGM
(Ab sorben tGlass Mat)te ch no logy battery.
Full vehicle function alit yis on lyguaran teed
with anAGM battery. For safe tyreas ons,
Mer cedes-Ben zrec omm endsth at you only
use batteries whic hhave been tested and
appro vedforyour vehicle byMer cedes-
Ben z.
R Use detach able partssuc has breat her
hose s,ang led con nectingpiec esorterm inal
cov ers from thebat tery whic his to be
repl aced .
R Mak esure that theven those isalways con-
nec tedto theorig inal open ingonthebat -
te ry side.
R Inst all existing orsupplie dcel lcaps topre-
ven tgases orbat tery acid from escapin g.
R Mak esure that thedet ach able partsare
con nectedagain inthesame way. Jum
p-st ar tin g
For thejum p-startingproc edure ,use onlythejum p-startingcon nectionpoin tin theeng inecom -
part men t,con sisting ofaposit iveterm inal and agro und point. G
WAR
NING
Bat tery acid iscaus tic.Ther eis arisk ofinjury.
Av oid contactwith skin, eyes orclo thing .Do notinh ale any battery gases .Do notlean overth e
bat tery. Keep childre naway from batteries .Wash awaybattery acid immediat elywith plentyof
cle an wate rand seek medicalattent ion. 288
Jum
p-st ar tin gBreak down assistance

G
WARNING
During chargingand jump-starting, explosivegase scan escap efrom thebattery .There isa
risk ofan explo sion.
Particu larlyavoi dfire, open flames,creating sparksand smoking. Ensurethereissuffi cient
ventila tionwhilechargi ngand jump-starting. Donot leanover abattery . G
WARNING
During thechargi ngprocess ,a battery produceshydrogen gas.Ifashort circuitoccurs or
spar ksare created ,the hydrogen gascan ignite. Thereisarisk ofan explo sion.
R Make surethattheposi tive terminal ofaconnected batterydoesnotcome intocontact with
vehicl eparts.
R Never placemetal objects ortools onabattery .
R Itis impor tantthatyouobse rvethe descri bedorder ofthe battery terminal swhen connect-
ing and disconnecting abattery .
R When jump-starting, makesurethatthebattery poleswith identical polarityareconnected.
R Itis particu larlyimpor tanttoobse rvethe descri bedorder whenconnecting anddisconnect-
ing the jumper cables.
R Never connect ordisconnect thebattery terminal swhi lethe engine isrunning. G
WARNING
A discha rgedbattery canfreeze attempera turesbelow freezing point.Whenjump-starting the
vehicl eor chargi ngthe battery ,gase scan escap efrom thebattery .There isarisk ofan explo -
sion.
Allow thefrozen battery tothaw outbefore chargingitor jump-starting.
! Avoid
repeatedand lengthy starting attempts. Otherwise,the catal yticconverter couldbe
dama gedbythe non-combusted fuel.
If the indica tor/warni nglamp sdo not light up atlow tempera tures,itis very likelythat thedis-
charge dbattery hasfrozen. Inthis case, youmay neither chargethebattery norjump-start the
vehicl e.The service lifeofathawe d-outbattery maybeshorter. Thestarting characteristics can
be impa ired,particu larlyat low tempera tures.Havethethawe d-outbattery checked ataqua li-
fied speci alist worksho p.
Do not start thevehicl eusi ng arapi dchargi ngdevi ce.Ifyou rvehicl e'sbattery isdischa rged,the
engine canbejump-started fromanother vehicleor from adonor battery using jumper cables.
Observe thefollowi ngpoints:
R The battery isnot accessi bleinall vehicl es.Ifthe other vehicle'sbattery isnot accessi ble,
jump-start thevehicl eusi ng adonor battery orajump-starting device.
R You may onlyjump-start thevehicl ewhen theengine andexhau stsystem arecold.
R Do not start theengine ifthe battery isfrozen. Letthe battery thawfirst.
R Only jump-start frombatterie swith a12 Vvoltag erating.
R Only usejumper cableswhi chhave asuffi cient cross-section andinsul ated terminal clamps.
R Ifthe battery isfull ydischa rged,leavethe battery thatisbei ng used tojump-start connected
for afew minutes beforeattempting tostart. Thischarge sthe battery slightly.
R Make surethatthetwo vehicl esdo not touch. Jump-star
ting
289Breakdown assistance Z

Make
surethat:
R The jumper cablesarenot damaged.
R Bare parts ofthe terminal clampdonot come intocontactwith other metal partswhile the
jumper cablesareconn ected tothe battery.
R The jumper cablescannot comeintocontactwith parts which canmove whentheengine is
running, suchasthe V-belt pulleyor the fan.
X Secure thevehicle byapply ingthe electric parking brake.
X Shift thetransmission toposition 005D.
X Make surethattheignition isswitched off.Allindicator lampsinthe instrumen tcluster must
be off. When usingtheSmartK ey,turn theSmartK eytoposition 0092inthe ignition lockand
remove it(Y page 126).
X Switch offallelectrical consumers, e.g.rear window defroster, lighting,etc.
X Open thehood. Position
number0084identifies thecharged batteryofthe other vehicle oran equival entjump-
startin gdevice.
X Press cover0043ofpositive terminal 0044down (inthe direction ofthe arrow) andturn itclock-
wise. Toexpose positive terminal 0044,press cover 0043down further.
X Connect positiveterminal 0044onyour vehicle topositive terminal 0087ofdonor battery 0084using
the jumper cable,alwaysbegin withpositive terminal 0044onyour ownvehicle first.
X Start theengine ofthe donor vehicle andrunitat idling speed.
X Connect negative terminal0085ofdonor battery 0084toground point0083ofyour vehicle usingthe
jumper cable,beginning withdonor battery 0084first.
X Start theengine.
X Before disconnec tingthejumper cables,letthe engine runforseveral minutes.
X First, remove thejumper cablesfromground point0083and negative terminal0085,then from
positive terminal 0044and positive terminal 0087.Begin eachtimeatthe cont acts onyour own
vehicle first.
X Aft erthe jumper cableisremoved, returncover0043ofpositive terminal 0044tothe original posi-
tion. Positive terminal 0044iscovered upand thus insulated again.
X Have thebattery checkedataqual ified specialist workshop.
Jump-starting isnot considered tobe anormal operating condition. 290
Jump
-startingBr eakdown assistance

i
Jumper
cablesand further inform ationregar dingjum p-startingcan beobt aine dat any quali-
fied spec ialist workshop. Towing
andtow- star tin g Imp
ortant safety notes G
WAR
NING
When towing ortow-s tartingano ther veh icle
and itsweight isgreat erthan theperm issi-
ble grossweight ofyour vehicle,th e:
R theto wing eyecould detach itself
R theveh icle/trailer combinatio ncould roll-
over .
Ther eis arisk ofan acc iden t.
When towing ortow-s tartingano ther veh i-
cle, itsweight shouldno tbe great erthan
th eperm issiblegro ssweight ofyour vehicle.
Det ails ontheperm issiblegro ssveh icle weight
of your vehicle can befoun don theveh icle
iden tificat ion plat e(Y page 323).
! When
ActiveBr ake Assist ,Ac tiveDis tan ce
As sist DISTRO NICortheHOL Dfun ction is
act ivat ed, theveh icle brak esauto matically
in cer tain situatio ns.
To avoid damage totheveh icle,deac tivate
th ese systems inthefollo wing orsimi larsit-
uatio ns:
R when towing theveh icle
R in thecar wash
! On
lysec ure theto w rope ortow bar atthe
to wing eyes. Other wise, theveh icle could be
damage d.
! Do
notuse theto wing eyeforrecover y,
th is could damage theveh icle.If in doubt ,
rec over theveh icle with acr ane.
! When
towing ,pull away slowly and
smo othly. Ifth etract ive power istoohigh ,
th eveh iclescould bedamage d.
! Do
notto w with sling-type equipm ent.This
could damage theveh icle.
! When
towing away vehicleswith KEYLE SS-
GO, usethekey instead oftheSt art /S top
butt on.The auto matictrans miss ionmay
ot her wise shiftto posit ion005Dwhen you open
thedriv er'sor fron t-passe nger door ,
whic hcoul ddamage thetrans miss ion.
! Mak
esure that theelec tric park ingbrak e
is rele ased. Ifth eelec tric park ingbrak eis
fault y,visi ta qualifie dspec ialist workshop.
! You
may tow theveh icle foramax imum
dist anceof 30 miles (50kilomet ers). Ato w-
ing speed of30 mph (50km/h) must notbe
exc eeded .
For towing distancesover 30miles
(50 kilomet ers), theent ireveh icle must be
raise dand trans port ed.
! When
youaretow-s tartingor towing
ano ther veh icle,its weight mustnotexc eed
th emax imum permissiblegro ssweight of
your vehicle.
It is bet terto have theveh icle trans port ed
th an tohave itto wed away.
The auto matictrans miss ionmust beinposi-
tio n005C when theveh icle isbein gto wed away.
The batterymust becon nectedand char ged.
Ot her wise, you:
R can nottur nth eSm artKey toposit ion0048in
th eign itio nloc k
R can notshif tth eauto matictrans miss ionto
posit ion005C
De act ivat eth eauto maticloc kin gfeat ure
befo retheveh icle istowed (Ypage 203). You
coul dot her wise belocked outwhen pushin g
or towing theveh icle. Inst
allin g/rem ovingthetowing eye
Inst allin gth etowing eye G
WAR
NING
The exhaust tailpipe maybeveryhot .Ther e
is arisk ofburn swhen removin gth erear
cov er.
Do notto uch theexh aust pipe. Takepart icu-
lar carewhen removin gth erear cover. Towing
andtow- star tin g
291Break down assistance Z

The
bracket sfor the screw-in towingeyeare
located inthe bumpers. Theyareatthe front
and atthe rear, behind thecovers.
X Remove thetowing eyefrom thevehicle tool
kit (Ypage 280).
X Front bumper:insert afinger intothe
recess onthe botto medge ofcover 0043.
X Pull cover 0043out ofthe bumper towards you
in the direction ofthe arrow.
Cover 0043isattached tothe opening witha
strap.
X Rear bump er:press themark oncover 0043
inwards inthe direction ofthe arrow.
X Remove cover0043from theopening.
X Scr ew inthe towing eyeclock wiseasfar as
it will goand tighten it.
Removing thetowing eye X
Unsc rewand remove thetowing eye.
X Front bumper:position cover0043onthe
opening inthe bumper.
X To close, pressthelower section of
cover 0043.
X Rear bump er:position cover0043with the
tab onthe opening inthe bumper.
X To close, pressthelower section of
cover 0043until itengages.
X Place thetowing eyeinthe vehicle toolkit. Towing
avehicle withboth axles on
the ground G
WARNIN
G
You cannolonger steerthevehicle ifthe
steerin gwheel lockhasbeen engaged.
There isarisk ofan accident .
Always switchoffthe ignition whentowing
the vehicle withatow cable oratow bar.
The automatic transmission shiftstoposition
005D automatically whenyouopen thedriver's
or front -passenger doororwhen youremove
the Smart Keyfrom theignition lock.
In order toensure thattheautomatic trans-
mission staysinposition 005Cwhen towing
away thevehicle, youmust observe thefollow-
ing points:
X Switch onthe hazard warning lamps
(Y page 111).
X Make surethatthevehicle isstation aryand
that theSmart Keyisin position 0092inthe
ignition lock.
X Turn theSmart Keytoposition 0048inthe igni-
tion lock.
On vehicles withKEYLE SS-GO, usethe
Smart Keyinstead ofthe Start /Stopbutton
(Y page 126).
X Depress andhold thebrake pedal.
X Shift thetrans mission toposition 005C.
X Release thebrake pedal.
X Release theelectric parking brake.
X Leave theSmart Keyinposition 0048inthe
ignition lock.
In order tosignal achange ofdirection when
towing thevehicle withthehazard warning
lamps switched on,use thecombinat ion
switch asusual. Inthis case, onlytheindicator
lamps forthe direction oftravel flash.When
you reset thecombinat ionswitch, thehazard
warning flashersstartflashing again.
It is important thatyouobserve thesafety
instr uctions whentowing awayyourvehicle
(Y page 291). Permit
tedtowing methods
Mercedes- Benzrecomm endstransportin gyour
vehicle inthe case ofabreakdown, ratherthan
towing itaway . 292
Towing
andtow-sta rtingBr eakdown assistance

When
towing away,useatowing ropeora
towing barwith both axles onthe ground. Do
not use anytow barsystems. Towing
thevehicle withtherear axle
raised
! The
ignition mustbeswitched offifyou
are towing thevehicle withtherear axle
raised. Interven tionbyESP®
could other-
wise damage thebrake system.
! Vehicles
withautomatic transmission must
not betowed withtherear axle raised. The
vehicle/t railercombin ationmayotherwise
swerve oreven rollover. Tr
anspor tingthevehicle
Vehicles withautomat ictransmission !
When
thevehicle isloaded fortran sport,
the fron tand rear axles mustbestation ary
and onthe same transportat ionvehicle.
Position ingover theconn ection pointofthe
tran sport vehicle isnot permitt ed.The drive
train mayotherwise bedamaged.
All vehicles !
You
may onlysecure thevehicle bythe
wheels, notbyparts ofthe vehicle suchas
axle orsteerin gcompon ents.Other wise, the
vehicle couldbedamaged.
The towing eyecan beused topull thevehicle
ont oatrailer ortran sporter fortran sportin g
purposes. X
Turn theSmart Keytoposition 0048inthe igni-
tion lock.
X Shift thetran smission toposition 005C.
As soon asthe vehicle hasbeen loaded:
X Preven tthe vehicle fromrolling awayby
applying theelectr icparking brake.
X Shift thetran smission toposition 005D.
X Turn theSmart Keytoposition 0092inthe igni-
tion lock andremove it.
X Secure thevehicle. Tow-sta
rting (emergency engine
star ting)
! Vehicles
withautomatic transmission must
not betow-s tarted. You could otherwise
damage theautomatic transmission.
You canfind inform ationon"Jump-start ing"at
(Y page 288). Fuses
Impor
tantsafety notes G
WARNIN
G
If you manipulate orbridge afaulty fuseorif
you replace itwith afuse withahigher
amperage, theelectr iccables couldbeover-
loaded. Thiscould result inafire. There isa
risk ofan accident andinjury.
Always replace faultyfuseswiththespeci-
fied new fuses having thecorr ectamperage.
Blown fusesmustbereplaced withfuses of
the same rating,which youcan recogn izeby
the color andvalue. Thefuse rating sare listed
in the fuse allocation chart.
The fuse allocation chartislocated inthe vehi-
cle tool kitinthe stowage compartmentunder
the trun kfloor (Ypage 280).
If anewly insertedfuse alsoblows, havethe
cause tracedand rectified ataqualified spe-
cialist workshop, e.g.anauthorized Mercedes-
Benz Center .
! Only
usefuses thathave been approved
for Mercedes- Benzvehicles andwhich have
the corr ectfuse rating forthe system con- Fuses
293Breakdown assistance Z

cerned
.Other wise, comp onents orsystems
cou ldbe damag ed.
! Ma
kesure that nomoi stur ecan enter the
fus ebox whenthe cover isope n.
! Whe
nclos ingthe cover ,make sure that it
is lying corre ctlyonthe fusebox. Moistur e
see ping inor dirt cou ldothe rwiseimp airthe
ope rationofthe fuses.
The fusesinyour vehi cleserv eto clos edow n
fau ltycircu its.Ifafus eblow s,allthe comp o-
nents onthe circu itand theirfuncti onsstop
ope rating. Befo
rechan ging afuse
X Swi tch offthe engi ne.
X Swi tch offallel ectri calconsu mers.
X Ma kesure that theignition isswi tched off
(Y page 126 ).
or X Whe nus ing the SmartK ey,turn theSmart-
Key topos ition 0092 inthe ignition lock and
remo veit(Y page 126 ).
X Secu rethe vehi cleagainst rolling away
(Y page 147 ).
All indi cator lamps inthe instru ment cluster
mus tbe off.
The fusesare loca tedinvari ousfus eboxe s:
R Fus ebox inthe engi necomp artme nton the
rig ht-ha ndsideof the vehi cle,whe nvie we d
in the directi onoftrave l
R Dash boardfus ebox
R Fus ebox inthe rearcomp artme nton the
rig ht-ha ndsideof the vehi cle,whe nvie we d
in the directi onoftrave l Das
hboard fuse box
i Obs
erve the"Important safety notes" sec-
tion (Ypage 293 ).
! Do
not useapoi nted objectsuch asa
screw driver toope nthe cover inthe dash-
boa rd.You couldda mag ethe dashb oard or
the cover . X
Ope nthe driver' sdoo r.
X To ope n:pullcover 0043outwa rds inthe
di recti onofthe arrow and remo veit.
X To clos e:clipin cover 0043onthe front ofthe
da shb oard.
X Fold cover 0043inw ardsunti lit enga ges. Fus
ebo xin the engine compartment
i Obs
erve the"Important safety notes" sec-
tion (Ypage 293 ). G
WARNI
NG
Whe nthe hoodis ope nand thewindsh ield
wi per sare setinmotio n,youcan beinju red
by the wiper linkage .The reisaris kof inju ry.
Alw aysswi tch offthe windsh ield wiper sand
the ignition before opening thehood. X
Ope nthe hood.
X Use adry cloth toremo veany moistur e
from thefusebox.
X To ope n:ope ncla mps 0044.
X Fold cover 0043ofthe fusebox upinthe
di recti onofthe arrow and remo veit. 294
Fus
esBreakdo wnassi stanc e