2020 MERCEDES-BENZ SL CLASS steering

R
optimal fuelconsumpt ionresulting fromthe
automatic transmissionshifting upsooner.
The vehicle isdriven inthe low engine speed
range andthewheels areless likely tospin.
R gliding modeisavaila ble.
R the ECO start/stop functionisavaila ble.
R ESP ®
provides theoptimum compromise
between tractionand stability. Furtherinfor-
mation aboutESP®
(Y page 66).
Drive programI(Individual)
In drive program Ithe following properties of
the drive program canbeselected:
R the drive (engine management )
R the transm issionmanagement
R ESP ®
R the suspension
Infor mation aboutconfiguring driveprogram I
with themultimedia systemcanbefound in
the Digital Operator's Manual.
i To
permanent lyselect thegears indrive
program Iusing thesteering wheelpaddle
shifters, selecttheM(manual) settingfor
the transm ission. Manua
lgearshift ing
General notes You
canchange gearyourself usingthesteer-
ing wheel paddle shifters. Thetransm ission
must beinposition 005Btodo this.
Depending onwhich steering wheelpaddle
shifter ispulled, theautomatic transmission
immediately shiftsintothenext gear down or
up, ifpermitt ed.
To use manual shifting, youhave twooptions:
R temporary setting
R permanent setting
If you activate manualgearshifting, themulti-
funct iondisplay willshow thecurrent gear
instead oftransm issionposition 005B.
If manual gearshifting isdeactivated, thegears
will beselected automatically. Temp
orarysetting X
To activat e:shift theselector leverto005B.
X Pull steering wheelpaddle shifter0043or0044.
The temporary settingisactive foracert ain
amount oftime. Under certaincondit ions,the
minimum amountoftime isexten ded,e.g.in
the case oflateral acceleration, duringoverrun
mode orwhen driving onsteep terrain.
X To deactivat e:pull steering wheelpaddle
shifter 0044and hold itin place.
or
X Use thelever toswitch thetransm ission
position.
or X All
vehicles (exceptMercedes-AMG vehi-
cles): usetheDYNAMI CSEL ECT button to
change thedrive program.
X Mercedes-AMG vehicles:usethe
DYNAMI CSEL ECT controller tochange the
drive program.
Perma nentsetting All
vehicles (exceptMercedes-AMG vehi-
cles) 142
Automa
tictransmissionDriving andparking

Shift
recommendat ion All
vehicles (exceptMercedes-AMG vehi-
cles) The
gearshift recommen dationsassistyouin
adopting aneconomical drivingstyle.Therec-
ommended gearisshown inthe multifunct ion
display .
X Shift torecommen dedgear 0044according to
gearshift recommen dation0043when shown
in the multifunct iondisplay ofthe instru-
ment cluster.
Mercedes-AMG vehicles The
gearshift recommen dationsassistyouin
adopting aneconomical drivingstyle.Therec-
ommended gearisshown inthe multifunct ion
display .
X Shift torecommen dedgear 0044according to
gearshift recommen dation0043when shown
in the multifunct iondisplay ofthe instru-
ment cluster.
Upshifting (Mercedes-AMG vehicles) !
If
manual gearshifting ispermanent lyacti-
vated, theautomatic transmissiondoesnot shift
upautomatically evenwhen theengine
limiting speedforthe current gearis
reached. Whentheengine limiting speedis
reached, thefuel supply iscut toprevent
the engine fromoverrevving. Alwaysmake
sure thattheengine speeddoesnotreach
the red area ofthe tachomet er.There isoth-
erwise arisk ofengine damage. 0043
Gear indicator
0044 Upshift indicator
Before theengine speedreaches thered area,
an upshift indicator willbeshown inthe multi-
funct iondisplay .
X When theUP UP
message appearsinthe multi-
funct iondisplay ,pull onthe right-han d
steering wheelpaddle shifter.
Kickdow n X
For maximum acceleration, depressthe
accelerator pedalbeyond thepressure
point.
The automatic transmissionshiftstoalower
gear depending onthe engine speed.
X Shift back uponce thedesired speedis
reached.
During kickdown, youcannot shiftgears using
the steering wheelpaddle shifters.
If you apply fullthrot tle,the automatic trans-
mission shiftsuptothe next gear when the
maximum enginespeedisreached. Thispre-
vent sthe engine fromoverrevving.
Mercedes-AMG vehicles:kickdown isonly
possible inthe temporary setting. 144
Automat
ictransmissionDriving andparking

If
the brake system hasonly been subject to
modera teload s,you shoul dtest thefunction-
ali ty of you rbrakes atregul arintervals.
Information onBAS (Brake Assist) (Ypage 61)
and onBrake Assist withCross-Tra fficAssist
(Y page 61).
Mercedes-Benz recommendsthatyouonly
have brake pads/linings installedon you rvehi-
cle which havebeen appro vedforMercedes-
Benz vehicle sor which correspond toan
equi valent qualitystandard. Brakepads/
linings whichhavenotbeen appro vedfor
Mercedes-Benz vehiclesor which arenot ofan
equi valent qualitycould affect yourvehicle 's
opera tingsafety.
Mercedes-Benz recommendsthatyouonly use
brake fluidthat hasbeen specia llyappro ved
for you rvehicle byMercedes-Benz, orwhich
corresponds toan equi valent qualitystandard.
Brake fluidwhich hasnotbeen appro vedfor
Mercedes-Benz vehiclesor which isnot ofan
equi valent qualitycould affect yourvehicle 's
opera tingsafety.
High-performance andceramic brake
system (Mercedes-AMG vehicles) The
AMG brake systems aredesig nedfor
heavy loads.This may leadto noise when
braking. Thiswilldepend on:
R Speed
R Braking force
R Ambient conditions, e.g.temperature and
humid ity
The wearof individ ualcomponents ofthe
brake system, suchasthe brake pads/linings
or brake discs, depends onthe individ ualdriv-
ing style andopera tingconditions.
For this reason, itis impossi bletostate amile-
age that willbe vali dunder allcircumstances.
An aggres sivedriving stylewilllea dto high
wea r.You canobtain moreinformation onthis
from aqua lifiedspecia listworkshop.
New andrepla cedbrake padsanddiscs only
reach theiroptimum brakingeffectaftersev-
eral hundred kilometers ofdriving. Compen-
sate forthis byappl ying greater forcetothe
brake pedal.Keep thisinmind, andadaptyou r
driving andbraking accordingly duringthis
break-in period.
Excessive heavybraking resultsincorrespond-
ingly highbrake wear.Observe thebrake sys-
tem warning lampinthe instrument cluster and
note anybrake status messag esinthe
multifu nctiondisplay.Especial lyfor high per-
formance driving,itis important tomaintain
and have thebrake system checked regularly. Drivin
gon wetroads
Hydroplaning If
water hasaccumul atedtoacertain depthon
the road surface, thereisadanger ofhydro -
pla ning occurring.
For this reason, inthe event ofheavy rainorin
conditions inwhich hydroplaning mayoccur,
you must driveinthe follow ingmanner:
R lowe ryou rspeed
R avoid ruts
R avoid suddensteering movements
R brake careful ly
Drivin gon floo ded roads !
Do
not drive through floodedarea s.Check
the depth ofany water before driving
through it.Drive slowlythrough standing
water. Otherwise ,water couldenterthe
vehicle interior orengine compartment. It
can then dama gethe engine's orautoma tic
transmission's electroniccomponents. It
can also besucked inby the engine's air
intake connection andcause engine dam-
age. Winter
driving G
WARNING
If you shift down onaslip pery road surface
in an attempt toincrease theengine's brak-
ing effect, thedrive wheel scould losetheir
grip. There isan increased dangerofskid-
ding andaccidents.
Do not shift down foraddi tional engine brak-
ing onaslip pery road surface. G
DA
NGER
If the exhau stpipe isblocked oradeq uate
ventilation isnot possib le,poiso nous gases
such ascarbon monoxide (CO)mayenter
the vehicle .This isthe case, e.g.ifthe vehi- 154
Drivi
ngtipsDrivi ngand parking

Other
vehicles changing lanes Act
ive Dist ance Assist DISTRONIC hasnot
detect edthe vehicle cuttinginyet. Thedis-
tanc eto this vehicle willbetoo short .
Nar row vehicles Act
ive Dist ance Assist DISTRONIC hasnotyet
detect edthe vehicle infron ton the edge of
the road because ofits narrow width.Thedis-
tanc eto the vehicle infron twill betoo short .
Obstr uctions andstationary vehicles Act
ive Dist ance Assist DISTRONIC doesnot
brake forobstacles orstat ionary vehicles. If,
for example, thedetect edvehicle turnsa cor-
ner and anobstacle orstat ionary vehicle is revealed,
Active Dist ance Assist DISTRONIC
will notbrake forthem.
Crossing vehicles Act
ive Dist ance Assist DISTRONIC maymis-
taken lydetect vehicles thatarecross ingyour
lane.
If you activat eAct ive Dist ance Assist
DIS TRONIC underthefollowing conditions, the
vehicle couldpullaway unintentionally:
R at traff iclights withcross ingtraff ic,for
example
R ifthere isavehicle infron t,after across ing,
with theHOLD function activat ed
Active Distance AssistDISTRON ICwith
Active Steering Assist General
notes Act
ive Dist ance Assist DISTRONIC withActive
St eering Assistassists youinkeeping thevehi-
cle inthe cent erofthe driving lanebymeans
of moderate steeringinter ventions inaspeed
range from0-125 mph (0-200 km/h).
It monitors lanemarkings andvehicle sin front
of you rvehicle bymeans ofcamera system0043
at the top ofthe windshi eld. 164
Drivi
ngsystemsDrivi ngand parking

In
aspeed rangefrom0-37 mph
(0 -60 km/h ),Active Steering Assistfocuses
on the vehicle infront, taking intoaccount
lane markings, e.g.when followingvehicle sin
a traffic jam.
At speed sof more than37mph (60km/h),
Active Steering Assistfocuses onclear lane
markings (leftandright), onlyfocusing onthe
vehicle infront ifdetected lanemarkings are
not present atspeed sof up to80 mph
(130 km/h).
If these conditions arenot present, Active
Steering Assistcannot provide assistance.
Active Distance AssistDISTRONIC mustbe
active inorder forthe function tobe avai lable.
Important safetynotes
Active Distance AssistDISTRONIC withActive
Steering Assistcanneither reducetherisk of
an accident ifyou failtoada ptyou rdriving
style, noroverride thelawsof phys ics.Itcan-
not take intoaccount road,weather ortraffic
conditions. ActiveDistance AssistDISTRONIC
with Active Steering Assistisonly anaid.You
are responsib lefor the distance tothe vehicle
in front, forvehicle speed,for braking ingood
time andforstayi nginyou rlane.
Active Distance AssistDISTRONIC withActive
Steering Assistdoesnotdetect roadandtraf-
fic conditions anddoes notdetect allroad
users. Ifyou arefollow ingavehicle whichis
driving towards theedge ofthe road, your
vehicle couldcome intocontact withthecurb
or other roadbounda ries.Beparticul arly
awa reofother roadusers, e.g.cyclists, that
are directly nexttoyou rvehicle .
Obstacles suchasreflector postsinthe lane
or projecting outinto thelane arenot detec-
ted.
An inapp ropria testeering intervention, e.g.
after youhave intentionally drivenoveralane
marking, canbecorrected atany time ifyou
steer slightlyinthe opposi tedirection.
Active Distance AssistDISTRONIC withActive
Steering Assistcannot continuously keepyour
vehicle inlane. Insome cases, thesteering
intervention isnot sufficie ntto bring thevehi-
cle back tothe lane. Insuch cases, youmust
steer thevehicle yourself toensure thatit
does notleavethe lane. The
supp ortprovide dby the system canbe
impa iredif:
R there ispoor visibility, e.g. due toinsuffi-
cient illuminatio nof the road, ordue to
snow, rain,fogorheavy spray
R there isglare ,e.g. from oncoming traffic,
the sun orreflection fromother vehicle s
(e.g. ifthe road surface iswet)
R the windshi eldisdirty, fogged up,dama ged
or covered, forinstance byasticker, inthe
vicinity ofthe camera
R there arenolane markings, orseveral
unclea rlane markings arepresent, e.g.
arou ndconstruction sites
R the lane markings areworn away,dark or
covered up,e.g. bydirt orsnow
R the distance tothe vehicle infront istoo
short andthus thelane markings cannotbe
detected
R the lane markings changequickly, e.g.lanes
branch off,cross oneanother ormerge
R the road isnarrow andwindi ng
R there arehighl yvaria bleshade conditions
on the roadw ay
The system isswitched topassi veand nolon-
ger assi stsyou byperforming steeringinter-
ventions if:
R you actively changelane
R you switch onthe turn signal
R you take yourhands offthe steering wheel
or do not steer foraprolonge dperiod of
time
i Once
youhave finished changing lanes,
Active Steering Assistautoma ticallyreacti-
vates.
Active Steering Assistcannot provide assis-
tance:
R on very sharp corners
R when aloss oftire pressu reor adefective
tire has been detected anddispl ayed
Observe theimportant safetynotesonActive
Distance AssistDISTRONIC (Ypage 158).
The steering interventions arecarried outwith
a limi ted steering moment. Thesystem
requi resthe driver tokeep hishands onthe
steering wheelandtosteer himsel f.
If you donot steer yourself orifyou take your
hands offthe steering wheelforaprolonge d
period oftime, thesystem willfirst alertyou
with avisua lwarning. Asteering wheelsymbo l Drivi
ngsystems
165Drivingand parking Z

appear
sin themult ifunction display. Ifyou
have still no tst art ed tosteer and have not
tak enhold ofthest eeri ngwheel afterfivesec -
on ds atthelate st,a warn ingtone also soun ds
to rem indyou totak econ trol of theveh icle.
Ac tiveSt eeri ngAssist isthen swit ched topas-
sive .Ac tiveDis tan ceAssist DISTRO NIC
rem ains active.
Activ ating Activ eSt eeri ngAssist
X Sel ect theAc tiveDis tan ceAssist
DI STRO NICwith ActiveSt eeri ngAssist func-
tio nusin gth eon -bo ard com pute r
(Y page 200).
The Active SteeringAssist On Act
ive SteeringAssist Onmes -
sage appear sin themult ifunction display.
Ac tiveSt eeri ngAssist isact ivat ed.
Infor mation inthemu ltifu ncti ondispla y If
Ac tiveSt eeri ngAssist isact ivat edbut not
ready forast eeri nginterv ent ion,st eeri ng
wheel symbo l0043 appear sin gray. Ifth esys-
te m prov ides youwith suppo rtby mean sof
st eeri nginterv ent ions,symbo l0043 isshow nin
gre en.
Deact ivatingActiv eSt eeri ngAssist
X De act ivat eth eAc tiveDis tan ceAssist
DI STRO NICwith ActiveSt eeri ngAssist func-
tio nusin gth eon -bo ard com pute r
(Y page 200).
The Active SteeringAssist Off Act
ive SteeringAssist Offmes-
sage appear sin themult ifunction display.
Ac tiveSt eeri ngAssist isdeac tivate d.
When ActiveDis tan ceAssist DISTRO NICis
deac tivate dor notavailabl e,Ac tiveSt eeri ng
As sist isdeac tivate dauto matically. HOLD
functi on
Gener alnot es The
HOL Dfun ction can assis tth edriv erinthe
foll owin gsit uatio ns:
R When pullingaway, especially onsteep
slope s
R When maneuver ingonsteep slope s
R When waitingintraff ic
The vehicle iske pt statio narywith outthe
driv erhavin gto depr essthebrak epedal.
The brak ingeffect iscan celed and theHOL D
fun ction deac tivate dwhen youdepr essthe
acc eler atorpedal topull away.
Imp ortant safety notes G
WAR
NING
If th eveh icle ison lybrak edusin gth eHOL D
fun ction ,th eveh icle may rollaway inthefol-
lowin gsit uatio nswhen youleave theveh i-
cle :
R ifth ere isamalf unctionin thesyst emor
in thevolt age supply
R ifth eHOL Dfun ction isdeac tivate dby
depr essingtheacc eler atorpedal orbrak e
pedal, e.g.by aveh icle occupant
Ther eis arisk ofan acc iden t.
Always deactivate theHOL Dfun ction and
sec ure theveh icle again stroll ing away
befo reyou leave it.
! When
ActiveDis tan ceAssist DISTRO NIC
or theHOL Dfun ction isact ivat ed, theveh i-
cle brak esauto matically incer tain situa-
tio ns.
To avoid damage totheveh icle,deac tivate
Ac tiveDis tan ceAssist DISTRO NICandthe
HOL Dfun ction inthefoll owin gor simi larsit-
uatio ns:
R when towing theveh icle
R in thecar wash
De act ivat ing theHOL Dfun ction (Ypage 167). 166
Driv
ingsyst emsDriv ingand parking

Setting
thenormal level X
Make surethattheengine isrunning orthat
it has been switched offbythe ECO start/
stop funct ion.
X Ifsymbol 0044 0044
isshown: press0059
or 0065 onthe steering wheeltoselect the
DriveAssist DriveAssist
menu.
X Press the0063 or0064 button toselect
Vehicle level Vehicle
level.
X Press the0076 button.
The following messageappears:0043Vehi‐ Vehi‐
cle level Press'OK'toLower cle
level Press'OK'toLower.
X Press the0076 button.
Icon 0044isfaded out.Thevehicle isadjusted
to normal level
The "Raised level" settingis canceled ifyou:
R are driving fasterthanapproximately
75 mph (120 km/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 aparticularly sportyoracomfort able
tuning.
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
Your selection remainssavedevenifyou
remove thekey from theignition lock. Each
timeyoustart theengine withtheSmart-
Key orthe Start /Stopbutton, thecomfort able
settin gis activated. Forfurther information
about startin gthe engine, see(Ypage 127).
Selec tingsports tuning The
firmer settingof the suspension tuningin
sports modeensures evenbetter contactwith
the road. Select thismode ifyou favor afirmer
suspension setting.
X Make surethattheengine isrunning orthat
it has been switched offbythe ECO start/
stop funct ion.
X Ifindicator lamp0044 0044
isnot lit:press but-
ton 0043.
Indicator lamp0044lights up.Sports suspen-
sion tuning isselected.
The AMG Suspension SystemSPORT AMG
Suspension SystemSPORTmes-
sage appears inthe multifunct iondisplay .
Selec tingcomfort tuning In
comfort mode,thedriving characterist icsof
your vehicle aremore comfort able.Select this
mode ifyou favor amore comfort abledriving
style. Driving
systems
173Drivingandparking Z

Problems
withParking AssistPARKTRONIC Problem
Possible
causes/co nsequences and0050 0050
Solutions Only
thered segments
in the Parking Assist
PARKTRONIC warning
display sare lit.You also
hear awarning tonefor
approximately twosec-
onds.
Parking Assist
PARKTRONIC isdeacti-
vated afterapprox-
imately fiveseconds
and theindicator lamp
in the Parking Assist
PARKTRONIC button
lights up. Parking
AssistPARKTRONIC hasmalfunction edand hasbeen deac-
tivated.
X Ifproblems persist,haveParking AssistPARKTRONIC checkedat
a quali fiedspecialist workshop. Only
thered segments
in the Parking Assist
PARKTRONIC warning
display sare lit.Parking
Assist PARKTRONIC is
deactivated after
approximately fivesec-
onds. The
Parking AssistPARKTRONIC sensorsaredirty orthere isinter-
ferenc e.
X Clean theParking AssistPARKTRONIC sensors(Ypage 278).
X Switch theignition backon. The
problem maybecaused byan extern alsource ofradio orultra-
sound waves.
X Check tosee ifParking AssistPARKTRONIC worksatadifferent
location. Active
Parking Assist
General notes Act
ive Parking Assistisan electron icparking
aid with ultrasound. Itmeasures theroad on
both sides ofthe vehicle. Aparking symbol
indicates asuitable parkingspace.Active
steering intervention canassist youduring
parking andwhen exiting aparking space.You
can also stilluse Parking AssistPARKTRONIC
(Y page 174).
Import antsafety notes Act
ive Parking Assistismerely anaid. Itis not
a replacement foryour atten tiontoyour imme-
diate surroundings. Youarealwa ysresponsi-
ble forsafe maneuvering, parkingandexiting a
parking space.Makesurethatnopersons, ani-
mals orobject sare inthe path ofyour vehicle.
When Parking AssistPARKTRONIC isdeactiva-
ted, Active Parking Assistisalso unavaila ble. G
WARNING
While parking orpulli ngout ofaparking
space, thevehicle swingsoutand candrive
onto areas ofthe oncomin glane. Thiscould
cause youtocollide withother roadusers or
object s.There isarisk ofan accident.
Pay atten tiontoother roadusers orobject s.
Stop thevehicle ifnecessary orcancel the
Act ive Parking Assistparking procedure. G
WARNING
While parking orpulli ngout ofaparking
space, thevehicle swingsoutand candrive
onto areas ofthe oncomin glane. Thiscould
cause youtocollide withother roadusers or
object s.There isarisk ofan accident.
Pay atten tiontoother roadusers orobject s.
Stop thevehicle ifnecessary orcancel the Driving
systems
177Drivingandparking
Z