2020 MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER Owner's Manual

X
To acti vate :shi ftthe selecto rle ver to005B.
X Pre ssbutton 0043.
X To deac tivate: pressbutton 0043.
Merc edes-AMG vehic les X
To acti vate :shi ftthe selecto rle ver to005B.
X Pre ssbutton 0043.
X To deac tivate: pressbutton 0043.
or X Ifpo sitio nD (auto matic trans mission) is
sel ecte dfor the trans mission indri ve pro -
gra mI:shi ftto drive pro gramIwi th the
DYNAM ICSELEC Tcontro ller.
Shi ftin gge ars Al
lve hic les(e xc ept Merc edes-AMG vehi-
cl es ) X
To shi ftup: pullstee ring wheelpa dd le
shi fter 0044.
The automa tictrans mission shifts uptothe
next gear.
If the maximu mengi nespe edinthe cur-
rentl yenga gedgearis rea che dand youcon-
tinu eto acce lerate ,the automa tictrans mis- si
on automa tically shi fts upinord erto pre -
vent enginedama ge.
X To shi ftdow n:pullstee ring wheelpa dd le
shi fter 0043.
The automa tictrans mission shifts down to
the next gear.
Auto matic down shifting occurswh en coa st-
ing .
If the engi newereto exce edthe maximu m
engi nespe edwhen shifting down, theauto-
ma tic trans mission pro tects against engi ne
da ma gebynot shifting down.
Merc edes-AMG vehic les
! If
ma nua lgea rshifting ispe rma nentl yacti -
vate d,the automa tictrans mission does not
shi ftup automa tically eve nwh en the engi ne
li miti ngspe edfor the current gearis
rea che d.Whe nthe engi nelimiti ngspe edis
rea che d,the fuelsu pp lyis cut topre vent
the engi nefrom overrevving. Alwaysma ke
su re tha tthe engi nespe eddoes not reach
the red areaof the tach ometer.Thereisoth-
erw ise aris kof engi nedama ge. X
To shi ftup: pullstee ring wheelpa dd le
shi fter 0044.
The automa tictrans mission shifts uptothe
next gear.
X To shi ftdow n:pullstee ring wheelpa dd le
shi fter 0043.
The automa tictrans mission shifts down to
the next gear.
Auto matic down shifting occurswh en coa st-
ing .
If the engi newereto exce edthe maximu m
engi nespe edwhen shifting down, theauto-
ma tic trans mission pro tects against engi ne
da ma gebynot shifting down. Au
tomati ctransmi ssion
143Dr ivi ng andparki ng Z

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

Problems
withthetransmission Problem
Possible
causes/co nsequences and0050 0050
Solutions The
transm issionhas
problems shiftinggear. The
transm issionislosing oil.
X Have thetransm issioncheckedataquali fiedspecialist workshop
immediately. The
acceleration ability
is deteriorating.
The transm issionno
longer changes gear. The
transm issionisin emergency mode.
All vehicles (exceptMercedes-AMG vehicles):it is only partly
possible toengage thegears, orthe transm issionisin position 005C.
Mercedes-AMG vehicles:itis only possible toshift intosecond
gear andreverse gear.
X Stop thevehicle.
X Shift thetransm issiontoposition 005D.
X Switch offthe engine.
X Wait atleast tenseconds beforerestartingthe engine.
X Shift thetransm issiontoposition 005Bor005E.
Mercedes-AMG vehicles:if005B isselected, thetransm ission
shifts tosecond gearif005E isselected, thetransm issionshifts
into reverse gear.
X Have thetransm issioncheckedataquali fiedspecialist workshop
immediately. Refueling
Import
antsafety notes G
WARNING
Fuel ishighly flammable. Riskoffire and
explosion byimproper handlingoffuel.
You must avoid fire,open flames, smoking
and creating sparks.Switchoffthe ignition
before refueling and,ifpresent, switchoff
the auxilia ryheating. G
WARNING
Fuels aretoxic andharmful tohealth. There
is arisk ofinjury.
You must avoid fuelscoming intocontact
with skin, eyesandclothes orbeing swal-
lowed.
Do not inhale thefuel vapors. Keepchildren
away fromfuels.
Keep doors andwindows closedduringthe
refueling process. If
you orothers comeintocontactwith fuel,
observe thefollowing points:
R Immediately rinsethefuel offyour skin
with soap andwater.
R Ifyou getfuel into your eyes, immediately
rinse youreyes throughly withclean
water. Seekmedical attentionimmedi-
ately.
R Seek medical attentionimmediately iffuel
has been swallow ed.Donot induce vomit-
ing.
R Immediately changeoutofclothing which
has come intocontactwith fuel. G
WARNING
Elect rostatic charging canlead tothe crea-
tion ofsparks andignite fuelvapor. Thereis
a risk offire and explosion.
Touch themetallic bodyofthe vehicle
before youopen thefuel filler caporhandle
the pump nozzle.Any possible electrostatic
charge present willinthis way bedepleted. Refueling
145Drivingandparking
Z

Do
not getinto thevehicleag ain du rin gthe
ref ueling pro ces s.Othe rwise, electro static
cha rge couldbu ild up again.
Do not getinto thevehicleag ain du rin gthe
ref ueling pro ces s.Othe rwise, electro static
cha rge couldbu ild up again.
! Do
not usediese lto ref uelveh icles with a
ga sol ine eng ine.Do not switch onthe igni-
tio nif yo uacc identa lly ref uelwi th the wrong
fu el.Othe rwise, the fuel willente rthe fuel
sy stem .Even smallam ounts ofthe wrong
fu el cou ldres ultin da ma getothe fuel sys-
tem andtheengine.Noti fyaqu alifi ed spe-
cia list wo rksh opand have the fuel tank and
fu el lines drainedcomp letel y.
! Ove
rfilling the fuel tank couldda ma gethe
fu el system .
! Ta
ke car enot tospill any fuel on painte d
su rfa ces .Yo ucou ldothe rwise da ma gethe
pa intw ork.
! Use
afilter when adding fuel fro mafu el
can. Thefuel lines and/or thefuel inje ctio n
sy stem couldothe rwise be blocke dby parti-
cle sfro mthe fuel can.
If yo uove rfillthe fuel tank, fuel cou ldspray
ou twh en the fuel pu mp nozzl eis rem oved.
For furthe rinfo rma tionon fuel and fuel qu ality
(Y page 325 ). Ref
ueling
Ge neral info rmatio n The
fuel fillerfla pis unl ocke dor locked auto-
ma tica lly wh en youunl ock orlock the vehicle
wi th the Sma rtKeyor using KEYL ESS-G O.
The positio nof the fuel fillercap isdisp laye d
00B6 inthe instrument cluster .The arrow next
to the filling pump indicates the side ofthe
veh icle. On
the inside of the fuel fillercap ,yo uwi llfind
info rma tionon the reco mme ndedfu el.
Ope ning the fuelfil lerfla p 0043
Toopen the fuel fillerfla p
0044 Toinsert the fuel fillercap
0087 Tire pre ssu retab le
0085 Instr uctionlabe lfor fuel typ eto be refu-
el ed
X Swi tch the engineoff.
X Re mov ethe Sma rtKeyfro mthe igniti on
lo ck.
X Pre ssthe fuel fillerfla pin the directi onof
ar row 0043.
The fuel fillerfla psw ing sup .
X Tu rn the fuel fillercap counter-c lockwi se
and remove it.
X Inse rtthe fuel fillercap into theholder
bra cket onthe inside of fuel fillerfla p0044.
X Co mpl etelyins ert the fillerneck ofthe fuel
pu mp nozzl einto thetank, hookin place
and refuel.
X Onl yfil lthe tank untilthe pump nozzl e
sw itch esoff.
i Do
not addany morefu el after the pump
stop sfil ling for the first time .Othe rwise, fuel
ma yle ak out. 14
6 Ref
uelingDr ivi ng andparki ng

Closing
thefu el filler flap X
Replac eth ecap onthefille rne ck and turn
clo ckwise untilit en gages audibly.
X Close thefuel fillerflap.
i Close
thefuel fillerflap before lockin gth e
veh icle. i
If
you aredrivingwithth efuel fillercap
open ,th e00B6 reservefuel warn inglamp
flas hes. The00B9 CheckEn gin ewarn ing
lamp mayalsolight up.Ames sage appear s
in themult ifunction displ ay(Y page 224).
For further inform ationon warn ingand indi-
cat orlamps intheins trumen tclus ter, see
(Y page 242). Pr
oblem swith fuel and thefu el tank Pr
oblem Possi
blecauses/con sequences and0050 0050
Solu tions Fuel
isleak ingfrom the
veh icle. The
fuel lineor thefuel tankis fault y.
G WAR
NING
Risk ofexplos ionorfire.
X Turn theSm artKey imm ediat elytoposi tion0092 intheign ition lock
(Y page 126)and remove it.
X Do notres tartth een gin eunde rany circum stanc es.
X Con sult aqualif iedspec ialist workshop. The
fuel fillerflap can-
no tbe open ed. The
fuel fillerflap isno tunlo cked.
X Un loc kth eveh icle (Ypage 74). The
SmartKey battery isdisc harg edornearly discharg ed.
X Un loc kth eveh icle usin gth emec hanical key(Y page 76). The
fuel fillerflap isunlo cked, but theopen ingmec hanism isjam -
med.
X Con sult aqualif iedspec ialist workshop. Par
king Imp
ortant safety notes G
WAR
NING
Flam mable material suchas leave s,gras sor
twi gsmay ignite ifth ey com eint ocon tact
wit hhot part sof theex haust systemor
ex haust gasflow .Ther eis aris kof fire.
Park theveh icle sothat no flam mable mate-
rials comeint ocon tactwit hpart sof the
veh icle whic hare hot.Tak epart icular care
no tto park ondry gras slandor harv ested
grain fields. G
WAR
NING
If you leave childre nuns uperv isedinthe
veh icle,th ey coul dset itin mot ionby,for
ex ample :
R rele ase thepark ingbrak e.
R shif tth eauto matictrans mis sion outof
th epark ingposi tionP.
R start theen gin e.
In addit ion,th ey may operatevehicle equip-
men tand become trapped. Thereis aris kof
an acc iden tand injury.
When leavingtheveh icle,always taketh e
Sm artKey withyou and lockth eveh icle. Par
king
147Drivingand parking
Z

Never
leavechildren unsupervisedinthe
vehicle.
! Alway
ssecure thevehicle correctly against
rolli ngawa y.Otherwise, thevehicle orits
drivetrain couldbedama ged.
To ensure thatthevehicle issecured against
rolli ngawa yunintentionally :
R the electric parking brakemustbeappl ied.
R the transmission mustbeinposition 005D.
R the SmartKey mustberemoved fromthe
ignition lock.
R the front wheel smust beturned towards the
curb onsteep uphillor downhil lgradi ents. Switc
hingoffthe engi ne G
WARNING
The automa tictransmission switchestoneu-
tral position Nwhen youswitch offthe
engine. Thevehicle mayrollawa y.There isa
risk ofan accident.
After switching offthe engine, always switch
to parking position P.Prevent theparked
vehicle fromrollingawa yby appl ying the
parking brake.
X Apply theelectric parking brake.
X Shift thetransmission toposition 005D
(Y page 137).
X With theSmart Key:turn theSmartKey to
position 0092inthe ignition lockandremove
it.
The immobil izerisactivated.
X With KEYLESS -GO:press theKEYLESS -GO
Start/S topbutton (Ypage 126).
The engine stopsandallthe indicator lamps
in the instrument clustergoout.
If the driver's doorisclosed, thisisthe
same asSmartKey position0047.Ifthe driv-
er's door isopen, thisisthe same asSmart-
Key position 0092(Ypage 126).
The engine canbeswitched offwhil ethe vehi-
cle isin motion bypressing andholdi ngthe
Start/S topbutton forabou tthree seconds.
This function operates independently ofthe
ECO start/stop automaticengine switch-off
function. Ele
ctric parking brake
General notes G
WARNING
If children areleft unsupe rvisedinthe vehi-
cle, they could:
R open doors, thereby endangering other
persons orroad users
R get out and bestruck byoncoming traffic
R operate thevehicle's equipment
Additional ly,children couldsetthe vehicle in
motion if,for example ,they:
R relea sethe parking brake
R shift theautoma tictransmission outof
park position 005Dorshift themanual
transmission toneutral
R start theengine
There isarisk ofan accident andinjury.
When leavingthe vehicle, always take the
SmartKey withyouand lock thevehicle. This
also appliesforthe digitalvehicle keyifthe
"Digital Vehicle Key"function isactivated via
Mercedes meconnect .
Alway skeep theSmartKey outofreach of
children. Thisalso appliesforthe Digital
Vehicle Keyifthe "Digital Vehicle Key"func-
tion isactivated viaMercedes meconnect .
The function ofthe electric parking brakeis
dependent onthe on-board voltage.Ifthe on-
board voltage islow orthere isamalfu nction
in the system, itmay notbepossib leto appl y
the relea sedparking brake.
X Ifthis isthe case, onlypark thevehicle on
level ground andsecure itto prevent itroll-
ing awa y.
X Shift theautoma tictransmission toposition
005D.
It may notbepossib leto relea sean appl ied
parking brakeifthe on-board voltageislow or
there isamalfu nction inthe system. Contact a
qua lifiedspecia listworkshop.
The electric parking brakeperforms afunction
test atregul arintervals whilethe engine is
switched off.The sounds thatcanbeheard
whil ethis isoccurring arenormal. 148
ParkingDrivi
ngand parking

App
lyingor releas ing manua lly X
To apply :push handle0043.
When theelec tric park ingbrak eis applie d,
th ered 0049 (USAon ly) or0024 (Canada
on ly) ind icat orlamp lightsup intheins tru-
men tclus ter.
The electric park ingbrak ecan also be
applie dwhen theSm artKey isrem oved.
X To releas e:pull handle0043.
The red0049 (USAon ly) or0024 (Canada
on ly) ind icat orlamp intheins trumen tclus -
te rgoe sout .
The electric park ingbrak ecan onlybe
rel ease d:
R when theSm artKey isin pos ition 0047inthe
ign ition lock(Y page 126)or
R ifth eign ition was switched on usin gth e
St art /S topbut ton
App lyingau tom atical ly The
electric park ingbrak eis auto matically
applie dwhen thetrans mis sion isin pos ition
005D and :
R theen gin eis swit ched off or
R thedri ver isno twear ingaseat beltandthe
dri ver 'sdoor isopen ed
To pre ven tth eelec tric park ingbrak efrom
bein gauto maticallyapplie d,pull handle0043.
The electric park ingbrak eis also applie dauto -
mat icallyif:
R Ac tive Distanc eAs sis tDI ST RONI Cbri ngs
th eveh icleto ast and still or
R theHO LD function iske epin gth eveh icle
st ati onary In
addit ion,at least oneof thefol lowin gco nd i-
ti on smus tbe fulf illed :
R theen gin eis swit ched off
R thedri ver isno twear ingaseat beltandthe
dri ver 'sdoor isopen ed
R there isasyst emmalf unction
R thepowe rsupp lyisins ufficien t
R theveh icleis stati onary foralen gthy per iod
The red0049 (USAon ly) or0024 (Canada
on ly) ind icat orlamp intheins trumen tclus ter
ligh tsup.
The electric park ingbrak eis no tauto matically
applie difth een gin eis swit ched off bythe
ECO start /stopfun ction .
Rel eas ing autom atical ly The
electric park ingbrak eis rel ease dauto -
mat icallywhen allofthefol lowin gco nd ition s
are fulfilled :
R theen gin eis run ning
R The seat belttong ue isen gage din thebelt
buc kle
R thetrans mis sion isin pos ition 005Bor005E and
you depr esstheacc eler atorpedal orshif t
fr om position 005Dto005B or005E
R ifth etrans mis sion isin pos ition 005E, the
tr unk lidmus tbe closed
If th eseat belttong ue isno ten gage din the
seat beltbuckle, thefol lowin gco nd ition smus t
be fulf illed :
R thedri ver 'sdoor isclo sed
R you mov eth etrans mis sion outofpos ition
005D oryou havepre viously driven ataspee d
abov e2 mph (3km /h)
R ifth etrans mis sion isin pos ition 005E, the
tr unk lidmus tbe closed
When theelec tric park ingbrak eis rel ease d,
th e0024 indicat orlamp goesoutintheins tru-
men tclus ter.
Eme rgency brak ing The
vehiclecan also bebrak edduri ngan
eme rgencyby usin gth eelec tric park ingbrak e.
X Whil edri vin g,push handle0043oftheelec tric
park ingbrak e.
The vehicleis brak edfor aslon gas thehan -
dle oftheelec tric park ingbrak eis pre sse d.
The longer theelec tric park ingbrak ehan dle
is depr essed, thegre aterth ebrak ingforce. Pa
rking
149Drivingand parki ng Z

Dur
ing braking :
R awa rning tone sounds
R the ReleasePar kingBra ke Rel
easePar kingBra kemes sage
ap pe ars
R the red 0049 (USA only)or 0024 (Cana da
onl y)ind icator lamp inthe instrument clus-
ter flashe s
Wh enthe vehicleha sbe en bra ked toasta nd-
sti ll, the electri cpa rkin gbra keisap plied. Parki
ngthe vehic lefora lo ng peri od
If yo uleav ethe vehiclepa rked forlonge rtha n
fou rwe eks ,the battery maybe dama gedby
exh austive disch arging.
If yo uleav ethe vehiclepa rked forlonge rtha n
si x we eks ,the vehiclema ysu ffe rda ma geasa
res ultof lack ofuse.
X Visita qu alifi ed speci alistwo rksh opand
see kad vic e.
i Yo
ucan obtaininfo rma tionab ou ttric kle
cha rgersfro maqu alifi ed speci alistwo rk-
sho p. Dri
ving tips Ge
neral notes
Impo rtant safety notes G
WA
RNING
If yo usw itch offthe igniti onwhile dri vin g,
sa fety -releva ntfunctio nsareonl yav ailabl e
wi th limita tions, ornot atall. Thi scou ld
af fect, forexa mpl e,the powe rstee ringand
the brakeboosti ngeffect. Youwi llreq uire
cons idera blymor eeff ort tostee rand brake.
The reisaris kof an acc ident.
Do not switch offthe igniti onwhile dri vin g. G
WA
RNING
Mob ile comm unicati ons equipme ntdistra cts
the driver fromtra fficcond itions. Inaddi-
tio n,the driver couldlose contro lof the
veh icle. The reisaris kof an acc ident. As
adri ver ,us emob ile comm unicati ons
eq uipme ntonl ywh en the vehicleis at a
sta nds till.
As aveh icleoccu pant, usemob ile comm uni-
cati ons equipme ntonl yin the designa ted
ar ea ,e.g .the rearpa sse nge rcomp artment.
Ob ser vethe lega lreq uirem ents forthe country
in wh ich youar edri vin g.Some jurisdi ctio ns
pro hibi tthe driver fromusing amob ile ph one
wh ile dri vin gaveh icle.
If yo uma keacal lwh ile dri vin g,alwa ysuse
ha nds -freemod e.Onl yop era tethe telephon e
wh en the trafficsitua tionpe rmi ts.Ifyo uar e
uns ure, pu llove rto asa fe locati onand stop
be for eop era ting thetelephon e.
Bea rin min dtha tat asp ee dof onl y30 mph
(a pp roxi mately50 km/h ),the vehiclecove rsa
di sta nce of44 ft(app roxi mately14 m)per
sec ond .
Dri vesens ibly –sav efue l Ob
ser vethe followi ng tipsto save fuel:
R The tiressho uld alwa ysbe inflate dto the
reco mme ndedtire pressu re.
R Re mov eunne cessary load s.
R Wa rm upthe engineatlow eng inespee ds.
R Avoi dfre quent accelera tionor bra king .
R Ob ser vethe serviceinte rvalsin the Mainte -
nance Bookletor inthe serviceinte rvaldi s-
pl ay .Hav eallthe mainte nance workcar ried
in acc ordance with Dai mle rAG regulati ons.
Fue lcons umption also incr eases when drivin g
in col dwe ath er, instop -starttra fficand inhilly
terr ain.
Dri nki ngand driving G
WA
RNING
Drin king anddrivin gand /or takingdru gs
and drivin gar ever yda nge rouscomb ina-
tio ns. Even asma llam ount ofalcoh olor
dru gscan affect your ref lexes ,pe rcep tions
and judgme nt.
The possi bility of aser ious oreve nfa tal
acc ident isgre atlyincr eased when youdri nk
or take drugsand drive. 15
0 Dr
ivi ng tipsDrivi ng andparki ng