2020 MERCEDES-BENZ SL CLASS ESP

Key
isin the vehicle .This occurs, forexampl e,
when starting theengine.
To start thevehicle withoutactively usingthe
SmartKey:
R the Start/St opbutton mustbeinserted in
the ignition lock.
R the SmartKey mustbeinthe vehicle .
R the vehicle mustnotbelocked withthe
SmartKey orKEYLESS- GO(Ypage 74).
Do not keep theSmartKey:
R with electronic devices,e.g.amobil ephone
or another SmartKey.
R with metall icobjects, e.g.coins ormetal
foil.
R inside metallicobjects, e.g.ametal case.
This canimpa irthe functionali tyof the KEY-
LESS- GOkey.
If you lock thevehicle withtheSmartKey's
remote controlorwith KEYLESS- GO,after a
short time:
R you willnot beableto switch onthe ignition
with theStart/St opbutton.
R you willnot beableto start theengine with
the Start/St opbutton untilthevehicle is
unlocked again.
The engine canbeswitched offwhil ethe vehi-
cle isin motion bypressi ngand holdi ngthe
Start/St opbutton forthree seconds. This
function operatesindepe ndently ofthe ECO
start/stop automaticengine switch-off func-
tion.
Key positio nswith KEYLESS-GO 0043
Start/St opbutton
0044 Ignition lock
As soon asthe ignition isswitched on,allthe
indicator lampsin the instrument clusterlight
up. Further information onsitua tions where an
indicator lampeither failsto go out after start- ing
the engine orligh tsup whil edriving
(Y page 238).
If Start/St opbutton 0043has notyetbeen
pressed ,this corresponds tothe key being
removed fromtheignition.
X To swi tch onthe powe rsupply: press
Start/St opbutton 0043once.
The powe rsupp lyisswitched on.You can
now activate thewindsh ieldwipers, for
exampl e.
The powe rsupp lyisswitched offaga inif:
R the driver's doorisopened and
R you press Start/St opbutton 0043twice
when inthis positio n
X To swi tch onthe ignition: press Start/
Stop button 0043twice.
The ignition isswitched on.
If you press Start/St opbutton 0043once
when inthis positio n,the ignition is
switched offaga in.
Removing theStart/Stop button
You canremove theStart/St opbutton from
the ignition lockandstart thevehicle asnor-
mal using theSmartKey.
X Remove Start/Stopbutton 0043from ignition
lock 0044.
You donot have toremove theStart/St opbut-
ton from theignition lockwhen youleavethe
vehicle .You shoul d,howeve r,alw aystake the
SmartKey withyouwhen leaving thevehicle .
As long asthe SmartKey isin the vehicle :
R the vehicle canbestarted usingtheStart/
Stop button
R the electrical lypowe redequi pment canbe
opera ted Starting
theengi ne
Important safetynotes G
WARNING
If childre nare left unsup ervised inthe vehi-
cle, they could :
R opera tethe vehicle 'sequi pment Drivi
ng
127Drivi ngand parking
Z

Add
itiona lly, chi ldren couldset the vehiclein
moti onif,for exa mpl e,they :
R rel ease the parking brake
R shi ftthe automa tictrans mission outof
pa rk positio n005D
R sta rtthe engine
The reisaris kof an acci dent and injury.
Nev erleav echi ldren orani ma lsuna ttend ed
in the vehicle.
Whe nleav ing the vehicle, alwa ystake the
Sma rtKeywi th youand lock the vehicle. Thi s
al so appliesfor the DigitalVeh icleKey ifthe
"Di gital Veh icleKey "fu nctio nis acti vated via
Mer cedesme conne ct. G
DA
NGER
Co mbu stion eng inesemi tpo isonou s
exha ustga ses such ascar bonmono xide.
Inha ling thes eexha ustga ses isha zard ousto
hea lthand canresultin po isoni ng. Thereisa
ris kof fata linju ry.The refore ,neve rle av ethe
eng inerunning anencl osedspa cewithou t
ad eq uate venti latio n. G
WA
RNING
Fla mma ble ma teri alsintro duced through
envi ronme ntalinfluence orby ani ma lscan
ig nite ifin conta ctwith the exha ustsy stem
or parts ofthe enginethathea tup .The reis
a ris kof fire.
Ca rry outreg ular che cks toma kesure tha t
ther ear eno flamma ble fore ign ma teri alsin
the enginecomp artment orinthe exha ust
sy stem .
The cata lytic conve rterispre hea ted forupto
30 sec ond saf ter acol dsta rt.The soundofthe
eng inemaycha nge durin gthi stim e.
Au tomati ctrans mission X
Dep ressthe brakepedaland keepit
de pre sse d.
X Shi ftthe transmi ssion topositio n005D.
Tra nsmi ssion positio ndisp lay005D issho wn
in the multifu nctio ndisp lay. i
Yo
ucan startthe engineintra nsmi ssion
po sitio n005D and 005C.
Starti ngproc edurewith the SmartK ey To
sta rtthe engineusing the Sma rtKeyins tea d
of KEY LESS-G O,pullthe Star t/Stop button out
of the igniti onlock.
X Tu rn the Sma rtKeyto positio n0049
(Y page 126 )in the igniti onlock and release
it as soo nas the engineisrunning .
Us ingKE YLES S-GO tostart theengine The
Start/Stop button canbeused tosta rtthe
veh iclema nua lly wi thou tins erti ngthe Sma rt-
Key into theigniti onlock. The Start/Stop but-
ton mustbe inserte din the igniti onlock and
the Sma rtKeymu stbe inthe vehicle. Thi s
mod efor startin gthe engineopera tes inde-
pe nde ntly ofthe ECO start/sto pau toma tic
eng inestartfunctio n.
X Dep ressthe brakepedaland keepit
de pre sse d.
X Pre ssthe Star t/Stop button once
(Y page 126 ).
Th eeng inestarts. Pul
ling away
Ge neral notes G
WA
RNING
If the enginespee dis ab ove theidling spee d
and youeng agetra nsmi ssion positio n003A
or 0046 ,the vehiclecou ldpu llaw ay sud-
de nly .The reisaris kof an acc ident.
Wh eneng aging transmi ssion positio n003A
or 0046, alwa ysfirml yde pre ssthe brake
pe daland donot simu ltaneo uslyacc elera te.
Dep ressthe accelera tor carefully wh en pulling
aw ay.
The vehiclelocks centr ally once youha ve
pu lled away.The locking knobsin the doors
dro pdo wn.
Yo ucan open the doors fromthe inside at any
tim e.
Yo ucan also deacti vate the automa ticlocking
fea ture(Y page 203 ). 12
8 Dr
ivi ngDr ivi ng andparki ng

It
is only possib leto shift thetransmission
from positio n005D tothe desire dpositio nif you
depres sthe brake pedal.Only thenisthe shift
lock relea sed.
i Upshifts
takeplaceathigher engine
speed safter acold start. Thishelps thecat-
aly tic converter toreach itsopera tingtem-
peratu remore quickly.
Information onthe automa ticrelea seofthe
electric parking brake(Ypage 149).
Hill start assist Hill
start assisthelps youwhen pulling away
forward orinreverse onanuphi llgradi ent.It
holds thevehicle forashort timeafter you
have removed yourfoot from thebrake pedal.
This gives youenough timetomove yourfoot
from thebrake pedalto the accelera torpeda l
and todepres sit before thevehicle beginsto
roll. G
WARNING
After ashort time,hillstart assistwil lno lon-
ger brake yourvehicle anditcould rollawa y.
There isarisk ofan accident andinjury.
Therefore, quickly move yourfoot from the
brake pedalto the accelera torpeda l.Never
lea vethe vehicle whenitis held byhill start
assis t.
Hill start assistisnot active if:
R you arepulling awayon alevel roadoron a
downhi llgradi ent
R the transmission isin positio n005C
R the electric parking brakeisappl ied
R ESP ®
is malfu nctioning ECO
start/stop function
Introductio n The
ECO start/stop functionswitches the
engine offautoma ticallyifthe vehicle isstop-
ped under certain conditions.
The engine startsautoma ticallywhenthe
driver wants topul lawa yaga in.The ECO
start/stop functiontherebyhelpsyouto
reduce thefuel consumption andemissi onsof
you rvehicle . Important
safetynotes G
WARNING
If the engine isswitched offautoma tically
and youexit thevehicle ,the engine is
restarted automatically.The vehicle may
begi nmoving. Thereisarisk ofaccident and
injury.
If you wish toexit thevehicle ,alw ays turn
off the ignition andsecure thevehicle
aga inst rollingawa y.
Gene ralnotes 0043
ECO start/stop display
The ECO start/stop functionisactivated
whenever youswitch onthe engine usingthe
SmartKey orthe Start/St opbutton.
If the engine hasbeen switched offautoma ti-
cally bythe ECO start/stop function,the00D6
ECO symbo lis shown inthe multifu nctiondis-
pla y.
Mercede s-AMGvehicles:theECO start/stop
function isonly availablein drive program C.
Automatic engineswi tch-off If
the vehicle isbraked toastandstill withthe
transmission in005B or005C, theECO start/stop
function switches offthe engine automa tically.
The ECO start/stop functionisopera tional
when:
R the indicator lampinthe ECO button islit
green
R the outsid etemperature iswithin therange
that issuita bleforthe system
R the engine isat normal operatingtempera-
ture
R the settemperature forthe vehicle interior
has been reached
R the battery issufficie ntlycharged Drivi
ng
129Drivi ngand parking Z

If
drive program S,S+ orMisactive, the
automa tictransmission switchestodrive
program C.
If indicator lamp0044isoff, theECO start/stop
function hasbeen deactiva tedmanua llyoras the
resul tof amalfu nction. Theengine will
then notbeswitched offautoma ticallywhen
the vehicle stops. Proble
mswith theengi ne Proble
m Possi
blecauses /consequen cesand 0050 0050
Solutio ns The
engine doesnot
start. The
HOLD function orActive Distance AssistDISTRONIC isactiva-
ted.
X Deactivate theHOLD function (Ypage 166)orActive Distance
Assist DISTRONIC (Ypage 163).
X Try tostart theengine again. The
engine doesnot
start. Thestarter motor
can beheard . R
There isamalfu nction inthe engine electronics.
R There isamalfu nction inthe fuel supp ly.
Before attempting tostart theengine again:
X Turn theSmartKey backtopositio n0092 inthe ignition lock.
or X Press theStart/St opbutton repeatedlyuntilallindicator lampsin
the instrument clustergoout.
X Try tostart theengine again(Y page 127). Avoid excessivel ylong
and freque ntattempts tostart theengine asthese willdrai nthe
battery.
If the engine doesnotstart after several attempts:
X Consul ta qua lifiedspecia listworkshop. The
engine doesnot
start. Youcannot hear
the starter motor. The
on-board voltageistoo low becau sethe battery istoo wea kor
discha rged.
X Jump -start thevehicle (Ypage 288).
If the engine doesnotstart despi teattempts tojump-start it:
X Consul ta qua lifiedspecia listworkshop. The
starter motorwasexposed toathermal loadthatwastoohigh.
X Allow thestarter motortocool down forappro ximately two
minutes.
X Try tostart theengine again.
If the engine stilldoes notstart:
X Consul ta qua lifiedspecia listworkshop. Drivi
ng
131Drivi ngand parking Z

Problem
Possible
causes/co nsequences and0050 0050
Solutions The
engine isnot run-
ning smoothly andis
misfiring. There
isamalfunction inthe engine electron icsorinamechanical
componen tof the engine management system.
X Only depress theaccelerator pedalslightly.
Otherwise, non-combusted fuelmay getinto thecatalytic con-
verter anddamage it.
X Have thecause rectified immediately ataqual ified specialist
workshop. The
coolant tempera-
ture display showsa
value above 248‡
(120 †).The coolant
warning lampmayalso
be on and awarning
tone maysound. The
coolant levelistoo low. Thecoolant istoo hotand theengine is
no longer beingcooled sufficiently.
X Stop assoon aspossible andallow theengine andthecoolant to
cool down.
X Check thecoolant level(Ypage 270). Observe thewarning notes
as you dosoand add coolant ifnecessary. If
the coolant leveliscorrect ,the engine radiator fanmay befaulty.
The coolant istoo hotand theengine isno longer beingcooled suf-
ficiently.
X At coolant temperatures below248‡(120 †),drive tothe near-
est quali fiedspecialist workshop.
X Avoid heavy loadsonthe engine asyou doso, e.g. driving in
mountainous terrainandstop-and- gotraffic. Notes
ontowing vehicles
The vehicle isnot suitable forattaching tow
bar systems, suchasthose usedforflat tow-
ing ordinghy towing.
Att aching orusing towbarsystems mayresult
in damage tothe vehicle.
When towing avehicle withtowbarsystems,
safe driving characterist icscannot beguaran-
teed forthe towing vehicle orthe towed vehi-
cle.
The vehicle/vehicle combinationmayswerve.
Observe thepermissible towingmethods
(Y page 292)andthenotes ontowing with
both axles onthe ground (Ypage 292). DYNAMIC
SELECTcontroller General
informat ion
Select thedrive program usingtheDYNAMIC
SELE CTcont roller. Available
driveprogra ms: I
Individual Individual
settings C
Comfort Comfort-
oriented, opti-
mum-econ omyengine and
transmission settings S
Sport Sporty
engine andtrans-
mission settings S+
Sport Plus Particularly
sportytrans-
mission settings Race
Maximum
sportiness and
engine andtransmission
settin gssuitable forthe
racetrack Depending
onthe drive program selected the
following vehiclecharacterist icswill change:
R the drive (engine management)
R the transmission management
R ESP ®
R the suspension
R the steering 132
DY
NAMIC SELECTcontrolle rDrivingandparking

R
the availabi lity of the ECO start/sto pfu nc-
tio n
R the driver assista nce syste ms
R the availabi lity of glid ing mod e
Fur therinf orm ation for automa ticdrive pro -
gra mcha racteri stics (Y page 139 ).
Add itiona lly, in dri ve pro gramIyo ucan confi g-
ur ethe respectiv eveh iclecha racteri stics
us ing the multimed iasyste m. Youcan find
inf orm ation abou tthi sin the DigitalOp era tor' s
Ma nua l.
Each timeyo usta rtthe enginewith the Sma rt-
Key orthe Star t/Stop button, drive pro gramC
is acti vated .For furthe rinf orm ation abou t
sta rtin gthe engine,se e(Y page 127 ). Se
lecti ng the driv eprog ram X
Tu rn DYN AMIC SELEC Tcontro ller 0043 as
ma nytim esasnece ssaryunti lthe desired
dri ve pro gramisse lected .
The symbo lof the selected drive pro gramis
sho wninthe multifu nctio ndisp lay.
In additio n,the current drive pro gramset-
ting sar edisp laye dbri eflyin the multimed ia
sy ste mdisp lay.
The drive pro gramind icator onDYN AMIC
SELEC Tcontro ller 0043 lights upinred .
Add itiona linf orm ation for drive pro grams
(Y page 139 ). Add
ition alsettin gs 0043
ECO start/sto pfu nctio n(Y page 129 )
0044 ESP ®
(Y page 65)
0087 Suspensi on (Ypage 173)
0085 Perma nent activatio nof ma nua lge arshi ft-
ing (Ypage 142)
Wh enyoupre ssbuttons 0043-0085 the corr e-
sp ond ingsetting isse lected .Th eDYN AMIC
SELEC Tcontro ller setting isove rwritte n.
Th esese tting swi llal so be mainta inedifyo u
sw itch todrive pro gramRAC E,S+ ,S or Cwi th
the DYN AMIC SELEC Tcontr oller.
If yo usw itch todrive pro gramI,allstor ed
cha racter istics willbe acc epted .Th isisalso
the caseif yo uha ve pre viouslypre sse dbu t-
tons 0043-0085. DY
NAM ICSELECT butto n(al lve hi-
cl es except Me rce des -AMG vehic les)
Use theDYN AMIC SELEC Tbu tton tocha nge
the drive pro gram.Dep endingonthe drive pro -
gra mselected thefollowi ng veh iclecha racter -
is tics willcha nge :
R the drive (engi ne and transmi ssion manag e-
ment)
R the susp ens ion
R the steering
R the curvetilting functio n(ve hicle swi th
Activ eBod yCo ntrol )
R the contro lthre sholdsof ESP ®
Each timeyo usta rtthe enginewith the Sma rt-
Key orthe Star t/Stop button, drive pro gramC
is acti vated .Fur therinf orm ation abou tsta rtin g
the engine(Ypage 127 ).
Each timeyo usta rtthe enginewith the Sma rt-
Key ,dri ve pro gramCis acti vated .Fur ther DYN
AMIC SELEC Tbutto n(a llve hicles excep tMe rce des-A MG vehicles)
133Driving andpa rki ng Z

inf
ormat ionabout startingthe engin e
(Y page 127). X
Press DYNAMICSE LECT butt on0043 asmany
tim esasnec essary untilthe desire ddrive
progr amisselec ted.
The selec teddrive programappears inthe
multif unction display. After ashor tperiod of
tim e,the display goesoutand thesymbol
for the selec teddrive programappears.
In addition ,the curr entdrive programset-
tin gs are displayed brieflyin the multim edia
syst emdisplay.
i In
afew coun tries, theECO start/sto p
func tion isdeact ivatedat the factorydue to
the available fuelgrade. Inthis case, the
ECO start/sto pfunc tion isnot available in
any drive program,regar dless ofthe display
in the multim ediasystemdisplay.
Availa bledrive progra ms: C
Comfo rt Comfo
rtable andecon omi-
cal drivin gchar acterist ics S
Spor t Spor
tydrivin gchar acteris-
tic s S+
Spor tPlus Part
icularly sportydrivin g
char acterist ics I
Ind ividual Ind
ividual settings E
Ec ono my
(vehic leswith
adjust able
dampin g) Part
icularly economical
drivin gchar acterist ics CV
CURVE
(vehic leswith
Ac tiveBody
Cont rol) Part
icularly economical
drivin gchar acterist icswith
cor ner ing func tion Addit
ional informat ionfordrive programs
(Y page 139). DYNAMIC
SELECTcontroller
(Mer cedes-AM Gvehicles) Gener
alinfor mation
Selec tthe drive programusing theDYN AMIC
SE LECT con troller.
Availa bledrive progra ms: I
Ind ividual Ind
ividual settings C
Comfo rt Comfo
rt-or ient ed,opti-
mum- economyengin eand
tr ansm ission settings S
Spor t Spor
tyengin eand trans-
missio nset tings S+
Spor tPlus Part
icularly sportytrans-
missio nset tings Ra
ce Maxim
umsport inessand
engin eand transm ission
set tings suitable forthe
racet rack Depe
ndingon the drive programselec tedthe
followin gvehic lechar acterist icswill chan ge:
R the drive (enginemanag ement)
R the transm ission manag ement
R ES P®
R the suspen sion
R the steerin g
R the availability ofthe ECO start/sto pfunc -
tion
R the drive rassist ancesyst ems
R the availability ofgliding mode
Furt herinformat ionforautom aticdrive pro-
gram characterist ics(Ypage 139).
Addit ionally, indrive programIyou can config-
ure therespe ctive vehic lechar acterist ics
using themultim ediasystem. You canfind
inf ormat ionabout thisinthe Digit alOperat or's
Manual.
Eac htim eyou startthe engin ewith theSmar t-
Key orthe Start/ Stop butt on,drive programC
is act ivate d.For further informat ionabout
star tingthe engin e,see (Ypage 127). 134
DYNAMIC
SELECTcontroller(Merced es-AMGvehicles)Driving andparking

Selec
tingthedrive progra m X
Turn DYNAMI CSEL ECT controller 0043as
many times asnecessary untilthedesired
drive program isselected.
The symbol ofthe selected driveprogram is
shown inthe multifunct iondisplay .
In addition, thecurrent driveprogram set-
tings aredisplay edbriefly inthe multimedia
system display.
The drive program indicator onDYNAMIC
SEL ECT controller 0043lights upinred.
Additional information fordrive programs
(Y page 139). Additional
settings 0043
ECO start/ stopfunct ion(Ypage 129)
0044 ESP ®
(Y page 65)
0087 Suspension (Ypage 173)
0085 Permanent activationofmanual gearshift-
ing (Ypage 142)
When youpress buttons 0043-0085 the corre-
sponding settingis selected. TheDYNAMIC
SEL ECT controller settingis overwritten .These
settingswill also bemaintained ifyou
switch todrive program RACE,S+,Sor Cwith
the DYNAMI CSEL ECT controller.
If you switch todrive program I,all stored
characterist icswill beaccepted. Thisisalso
the case ifyou have previously pressedbut-
tons 0043-0085. Automat
ictransmission Import
antsafety notes G
WARNING
If the engine speedisabove theidling speed
and youengage transmissionposition 003A
or 0046, thevehicle couldpullaway sud-
denly. Thereisarisk ofan accident.
When engaging transmissionposition 003A
or 0046, alwaysfirmly depress thebrake
pedal anddonot simultaneously accelerate. G
WARNING
The automatic transmissionswitches toneu-
tral position Nwhen youswitch offthe
engine. Thevehicle mayrollaway .There isa
risk ofan accident.
Aft erswitching offthe engine, alwaysswitch
to parking position P.Prevent theparked
vehicle fromrolling awaybyapply ingthe
parking brake. Selec
torlever
Overview oftransmission positions All
vehicles (exceptMercedes-AMG vehi-
cles)
! If
the engine speedistoo high orthe vehi-
cle isin motion, donot shift theautomatic
transm issiondirectly from005Bto005E, from
005E to005B ordirectly to005D.
Do not open thedriver's doorwhile thevehi-
cle isin motion. Atlow speeds intransm is-
sion position 005Bor005E, otherwise parkposi-
tion 005Disengaged automatically.
The transm issioncouldbedamaged. Automat
ictransmission
135Drivingandparking Z