2020 MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER Owner's Manual

Acti
vation cond itions You
canactivat eth eHO LD function ifall ofthe
fol lowin gco nd ition sare fulfilled :
R theveh icleis stati onary.
R theen gin eis run ningor ifit has been auto-
mat icallyswit ched off bytheECO start /
st op fun ction .
R thedri ver 'sdoor isclo sed oryour seatbelt
is fas tene d.
R theelec tric park ingbrak eis rel ease d.
R thetrans mis sion isin pos ition 005B, 005Eor005C.
R Ac tive Distanc eAs sis tDI ST RONI Cis deac ti-
vat ed
Acti vating theHOLD funct ion X
Mak esur eth at theact ivat ion cond ition sare
met .
X De pre ssthebrak epedal .
X Quic klydepr essthebrak epedal further
unt il0043 appear sin themult ifunction dis-
play.
The HOLD function isact ivat ed. You can
rel ease thebrak epedal .
i If
depr essing thebrak epedal thefir st time
does notact ivat eth eHO LD function ,wait
bri eflyand then try again .
Deact ivating theHOLD funct ion The
HOLD function isdeac tivat ed auto mati-
call yif:
R you depr esstheacc eler atorand thetrans -
mis sion isin pos ition 005Bor005E.
R thetrans mis sion isin pos ition 005D.
R you depr essthebrak epedal againwitha
ce rtain amou ntofpre ssur eunt ilHOL D HOL
Ddisap -
pear sfrom themult ifunction disp lay.
R you secure theveh icleusin gth eelec tric
park ingbrak e.
R you activat eAc tive Distanc eAs sis t
DI ST RONI C. i
Af
tera time, theelec tric park ingbrak e
sec ures theveh icleand reliev es theser vice
brak e.
When theHO LD function isact ivat ed, the
tr ans mis sion isshif tedauto maticallyto pos i-
ti on 005D if:
R thedri ver 'sseat beltisno tfas tene dand the
dri ver 'sdoor isopen .
R theen gin eis swit ched off,unl ess itis auto -
mat icallyswit ched off bytheECO start /
st op fun ction .
The electric park ingbrak esec ures theveh icle
auto maticallyifth eHO LD function isact ivat ed
when theveh icleis stati onary and:
R asyst emmalf unction occur s
R thepowe rsupp lyisno tsuf ficien t
If amalf unction intheelec tric park ingbrak e
oc cur s,thetrans mis sion may alsobeshif ted
int opos ition 005Dauto matically. RACE
START
Imp ortant safety notes i
RACE
START mustno tbe used onnorm al
road s.RACE START muston lybe act ivat ed
and used ondedi catedroad circuit s,out side
of public roaduse.
i RACE
START ison lyavail able for
Mer cedes‑ AMGveh icles.
RACE START enables optimal acceler ation
fr om ast and ingstart .Fo rth is, asuit ably high-
gri proad surfaceis req uire dand theveh icle
and tires mus tbe ingoo dwor king ord er. G
WAR
NING
If you useRACE START ,ind ivid ual tires may
st art tospin andtheveh icleco uld skid.
De pen dingon thesele cted ESP®
mod e,
th ere isan increas edriskof skiddin gand
hav ing anacc iden t.Mak esur eth at no per -
son s,ani mals orobs tacles are within range
of theveh icle.
i Obs
erveth esaf etyno teson drivin gsaf ety
syst ems (Ypage 60).
Be sureto read thesaf etyno tesand infor-
mat iononESP®
(Y page 65). Driv
ingsystem s
167Driv ingand parki ng Z

Acti
vation cond itions You
canactivat eRACE START if:
R thedoor sare closed.
R theen gin eis run ningand ithas reac hedan
oper ating tempe rature ofappr oximat ely
16 0‡ (71 †). This isthecas ewhen theoil
te mpe rature gage inthemult ifunction dis-
play issho wninwhit e.
R theen gin eis run ningand theen gin eand
tr ans mis sion areatoper ating tempe rature.
This isthecas ewhen theoil tempe rature
gage inthemult ifunction disp layissho wnin
whit e(Y page 205).
R ES P®
is fun ction ing correc tly (Y page 66)
R thedri ve pro gram S,S+ orRa ce issele cted
(Y page 132)
R thest eer ing whee lis in thest raig ht-ah ead
pos ition
R theveh icleis stati onary and thebrak epedal
is depr essed(lef tfoo t)
R thetrans mis sion isin pos ition 005B
Acti vating RACE START i
When
manualmod e(Y page 142)isact ive,
th etrans mis sion automaticallyshif tsup in
th eRACE START drive pro gram .This func-
ti on supp ortsmax imum acceler ation with
RACE START .Af tergoin gth roug han acc el-
erat ingprocess once from ast ati onary posi-
ti on ,th is fun ction isauto maticallydeac tiva-
te d.
X De pre ssthebrak epedal withyour leftfoo t
and keep itdepr essed.
X Pull and hold bothsteer ing whee lpaddl e
shif ters.
X The RACESTA RTConfirm:Paddle UP RAC
ESTA RTConfirm:Paddle UP
Can cel:Pad dle DOWN Can
cel:Pad dle DOWNmes sage appear sin
th emult ifunction disp lay.
X Releas ebot hsteer ing whee lpaddl eshif ters.
i If
th eact ivat ion cond ition sare nolonger
fulf illed ,RACE START iscan celed. The
RAC ESTA RTCanceled RAC
ESTA RTCanceledmes sage appear sin
th emult ifunction disp lay. X
To canc el:pull thelef t-han dsteer ing whee l
paddl eshif ter(Y page 142).
or X To conf irm: pull therig ht-hand steer ing
whee lpaddl eshif ter(Y page 142).
The RACESTA RTavailable Depress RAC
ESTA RTavailable Depress
acc ele rator acc
ele ratormes sage appear sin themult i-
fun ction disp lay.
i If
you donotdepr esstheacc eler atorpedal
wit hin afew seconds, RACE START iscan -
ce led. Themult ifunction disp laysho wsthe
RAC ESTA RTCanceled RAC
ESTA RTCanceledmes sage .
X De pre sstheacc eler atorpedal comple tely,
unt ilth een gin espee dstops increas ing.
The RACESTA RTReleasebra keto RAC
ESTA RTReleasebra keto
sta rt sta
rtmes sage appear son themult ifunc-
ti on disp lay.
i If
you donotrel ease thebrak epedal
wit hin fivesec onds, RACE START iscan -
ce led. TheRACESTA RTCanceled RAC
ESTA RTCanceledmes sage
appear sin themult ifunction disp lay.
X Tak eyour footoff thebrak e,but keep the
acc eler atorpedal depressed.
The vehiclepulls away atmax imum acceler -
ati on.
The RACESTA RTactive RAC
ESTA RTactive message appear s
in themult ifunction disp lay.
RACE START isdeac tivat ed when theveh icle
reac hesaspee dof appr oximat ely30mph
(Can ada: 50km/h).
RACE START isdeac tivat ed imm ediat elyifyou
rel ease theacc eler atorpedal duringRACE
ST ART orifany oftheact ivat ion cond ition sare
no longer fulfilled .The RACESTA RTNot Pos‐ RAC
ESTA RTNot Pos‐
sib leSee Operator'sMan ual sib
leSee Operator'sMan ual orRAC E RAC
E
STA RTCanceled STA
RTCanceledmes sage appear sin themul-
ti fun ction disp lay.
i If
RACE START isused repeatedly within a
sho rtper iod oftime, itis on lyavail able
again aftertheveh iclehas been driven a
ce rtain dist ance. Ada
ptive damp ing system
Gene ralnot es A
susp ension withth eadapt ivedamp ingsys-
te m pro vides impr oveddri vin gco mf ort and
co ntinu ously control sth ecali brat ionofthe
damp ers.The damp ingcharac teris tics adapt
to thecur ren toper ating and drivin gsit uati on. 168
Driv
ingsystem sDriv ingand parki ng

The
damping istuned individually toeach
wheel anddepends on:
R your driving style,e.g.sporty
R the road surface conditions
R the selected driveprogram (Ypage 133).
Selecting theComfort orEcono my
dr ive program s In
the Comfort andEcono mydrive programs,
the driving charact eristics ofyour vehicle are
more comfor table.Select oneofthese drive
programs ifyou favor amore comfor tabledriv-
ing style. Alsoselect thesedriveprograms
when driving fastonstraight roads,e.g.on
straight stretches ofhighway.
In urban trafficand stop- start traffic,drive pro-
gram Cis recomm ended.
X Press DYNAMICSELECT button 0043repeat-
edly until theComfort orEcono mydrive
program isselected.
Selecting Sportmode The
firmer settingofthe suspension tuningin
the Sport driveprogram ensuresevenbetter
cont actwith theroad. Select thisdrive pro-
gram when employing asporty driving style,
e.g. onwinding countryroads.
X Press DYNAMICSELECT button 0043asmany
times asnecessary untiltheSport drive
program isselected.
Selecting SportPlusmode The
firmer suspension settings inthe Sport
Plus drive program ensureevenbetter contact
with theroad. Select thismode whenemploy-
ing asporty driving style,e.g.onwinding coun- try
roads or,ideally ,when driving onclosed
race circuits.
X Press DYNAMICSELECT button 0043repeat-
edly until theSport Plusdrive program is
selected.
Activating thedriving dynam icsdis-
play Using
thedriving dynamics displayinthe mul-
timedia systemdisplay,you can seethedrive
program youselected aswell asadditional
inform ationonthe vehicle's operating state.
X Switch onthe multimedia system.Further
inform ationcanbefound inthe Digital Oper-
ator's Manual.
X Press button 0043.
The driving dynamics displayappears inthe
multimedia systemdisplay.
The following informationonthe vehicle's
operating statusisdisplay edinthe driving
dynamics display:
R Drive program selected (Ypage 133)
R Acc elerator pedalposition shownin%
R Brake pedalposition shownin%
R Steer ingangle
R Damping settingselected
R G-FORCE crossdisplay inglongitudinal and
lateral acceleration (onlyavailabl ein Sport
or Sport Plusdrive programs) Driving
systems
169Drivingandparking Z

Acti
veBod yCont rolABC (excep t
Mer cedes -AMGveh icles)
Set ting theveh icle level Gene
ralnot es
The vehiclelev elcan beset usin gth e
DY NA MIC SELECT but ton(Y page 133)or the
lev elbut ton. The setting always correspo nds
to thelast selected fun ction .
In ord erto red uce fuel consumpt ionand
impr ovethedri vin gdyn amic s,theveh icleis
lower edasits spee dinc reas es.IntheSp ort
and Sport Plusdri ve pro gram s,itis lower ed
by up to0.5in (13 mm)co mp ared totheno r-
mal vehicle level.In theComf ortand CURV E
driv eprog rams,itis lower edbyup to0.2in
(5 mm) compared totheno rm alveh icle level.
As thespee dis reduc ed,theveh icle israise d
up totheset vehicle heigh t.
Sel ect theno rm alleve lfor norm alroad surfa-
ces and theraise dleve lfor driv ingwith snow
ch ains oron part icular lypoor roadsurfaces .
Imp ortant safety notes G
WAR
NING
The vehicle islower edsligh tlyinthefoll ow-
ing situatio ns:
R theSPO RTsuspe nsion settingis selec ted
at theno rm alveh icle level
R theeng ineisswit ched off
Pers onsin thevic init yof thewheel archor
th eunde rbodymay thus bec ome trapped.
Ther eis arisk ofinjury.
Mak esure that nobody isin thevic init yof
th ewheel archor theunde rbodywhen you
swit choff theeng ine. Set
tingra ised level X
Mak esure that theeng ineisrun 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 texc eeded .
X Ifind icat orlam p0044 0044
isnot lit:pres sbut-
to n0043.
If th eeng inehas been switched off bythe
ECO start /stopfun ction ,it is no wres tarted.
In dicat orlamp 0044light sup. The vehicle is
raise dby 1.2in (31 mm).
Set tingth enor mallevel
X Mak esure that theeng ineisrun ningor that
it has been switched off bytheECO start /
st op fun ction .
X Ifind icat orlam p0044 0044
islit:pres sbutt on0043.
In dicat orlamp 0044goes out.The vehicle is
adjus tedto norm alleve l
The "Raised level"set tingis can celed ifyou:
R are drivingfast erthan appro ximately
75 mph (120km/ h).
R drive forapproximat elythree minut esata
speed over50mph (80km/ h).
R or switch tothe drive program whilethe
vehicle isin motion .
Suspension tuning General
notes
The elect ro-hydraulically controlled suspension
features improved drivingdynamics, driving
safety andride comf ort.You canalso choose
between asport y,apartic ularly sporty,acom-
fort able andacomf ortable modewithcurve
tilt ing func tion (CURVE). 170
Driving
systemsDriving andparking

The
suspension iscont inuously tunedtoeach
wheel individually anddepends 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 ,the Comfort
drive program isactivated. Furtherinformation
about startingthe engine (Ypage 127).
Selecting Comfortmode In
the Comfort driveprogram, thedriving
charact eristics ofyour vehicle aremore com-
fort able. Select thismode ifyou favor amore
comfor tabledriving style.
X Press DYNAMICSELECT button 0043asmany
times asnecessary untiltheComfort drive
program isselected.
Selecting Sportmode
The firmer settingofthe suspension tuningin
the Sport driveprogram ensuresevenbetter
cont actwith theroad. Select thismode ifyou
favor afirmer suspension setting.
X Press DYNAMICSELECT button 0043asmany
times asnecessary untiltheSport drive
program isselected.
Selecting SportPlusmode
The firmer settingofthe suspension tuningin
the Sport Plusdrive program ensureseven
better contactwith theroad. Select thismode
if you favor afirmer suspension setting.
X Press DYNAMICSELECT button 0043asmany
times asnecessary untiltheSport Plus
drive program isselected. Selecting
theCURVE setting
In the CURVE driveprogram, thecurve tilting
funct ionisactivated. Thevehicle tiltsbyup to
2.65 degrees intobends. Thetiltfunct ionand
the comfor tsuspension tuningincrease driving
comfor tin corn ers.CURVE isavailab lein the
speed rangebetween 9mph (15km/ h)and
112 mph (180 km/h).Sel ect this mod eon
wi ndi ng roa dsinpa rticu lar. Ou tsid ethis speed
rang e,the CURVE drive pro gramisthe same
as the Comfort drive pro gram.
The curv etil ting functi onmoni torstheroadin
front ofyour veh icleby mea nsofacame ra
atta ched atthe top ofthe windsh ield .Thi s
functi onisau toma tically acti veifyo usel ect
the CURVE drive pro gram.The system is
ope rationa lat spe eds ofup to112 mph
(180 km/h ).
X Pre ssDYNAM ICSELECT button 0043asmany
time sas neces sary unti lthe CURVE drive
pro gramissel ected .
The system isdea ctiva tedifyo usel ect adi ffer -
ent drive pro gram.
The system maybeimp aired ormay notfunc-
tion if:
R youare driving more slowlythan 9mph
(15 km/h )or fas ter than 112mph
(180 km/h ).
R the vehicleis ful lyladen.
R youdri ve with very highlatera lacce lerati on.
Ac tivati ngthe drivi ngdynami csdis -
play Usi
ngthe driving dynami csdispl ayinthe mul-
time diasy stem displ ay,yo ucan seethedrive
pro gramyousel ected aswellas additiona l
info rma tion onthe vehicle's ope ratingstate . Dri
ving sys tems
171Dri ving and parkin g Z

X
Swi tch onthe multime diasy stem. Further
info rma tion canbefou ndinthe Digi talOpe r-
ato r'sManua l.
X Pre ssbutton 0043.
The driving dynami csdispl ayappea rsinthe
mul time diasy stem displ ay.
The followi ng info rma tion onthe vehicle's
ope ratingstatu sis displ ayed inthe driving
dy nami csdispl ay:
R Drive programsel ected (Ypage 133 )
R Accel erator ped alpos ition sho wnin%
R Brake pedalpos ition sho wnin%
R Steer ingang le
R Activi tyof the ABC spring stru ts
R Veh iclelevel displ ay(Y page 170)
R Leve lsetti ngsanimati on
R G-FO RCEcross displ aying longitu dinal and
la tera lacce lerati on(onl yava ilab lein Spo rt
or Spo rtPlu sdri ve pro grams) Ac
tive Body Control (ABC)
(Me rcedes -AM Gve hic les)
Se tting thevehic leleve l Gen
eral notes
The vehiclelevel can beset using the
DYNAM ICSELECT controller(Y page 132) or
the on-bo ardcomp uter(Y page 172 ).The set-
ting alwa yscorre sponds tothe last sel ected
functi on.
In ord erto red uce fuelconsu mptionand
imp rove thedriving dynami cs,the vehicleis
lo we red asits spe edincre ases. Inthe Spo rt
and SportPlu sdri ve pro grams itis lowe red by
up to0.5 in(13 mm),and inthe Comfort drive
pro gramby up to0.2 in(5 mm )comp aredto
the norma lveh iclelevel .As the speedis
red uce d,the vehicleis rai sed uptothe set
veh iclehei ght.
Each timeyoustar tthe engi newith the Smar t-
Key orthe Start/Sto pbu tton, theComfort
dri ve pro gramisacti vate d.For further informa -
tion abou tstar ting theengi ne,see
(Y page 127).
Sel ect the norma lle vel fornorma lroa dsu rfa -
ces and theraised level fordriving with snow
cha insoron particu larly poo rroa dsu rfa ces. Impo
rtant safetynotes
The vehicleis slightl ylo we red when the engi ne
is swi tched off. G
WARNI
NG
Whe nthe vehicleis bei ng lowe red ,peo ple
cou ldbeco metrap ped ifthei rlimbs are
betw eenthevehiclebod yand thewheel sor
und erne aththe vehicle. The reisaris kof
inju ry.
Ma kesure no one isund erne aththe vehicle
or inthe imm ediate vicinity ofthe wheel
arch eswhen the vehicleis bei ng lowe red .
Se tting raisedleve l X
Ma kesure that theengi neisrunni ngorthat
it ha sbee nswi tched offbythe ECO start/
stop functi on.
X Ma kesure that aspe edof75 mph
(120 km/h )is not excee ded.
X Ifsymb ol0044 0044
isno tsho wn:pre ss0059
or 0065 onthe stee ring wheel tosel ect the
Driv eAssist Driv
eAssistmenu .
X Pre ssthe 0063 or0064 button tosel ect
Vehi clelevel Vehi
clelevel.
X Pre ssthe 0076 button.
The followi ng mes sage appea rs:0043 Vehi ‐ Vehi
‐
cle levelPres s'OK' toRais e cle
levelPres s'OK' toRais e.
X Pre ssthe 0076 button.
If the engi nehasbee nswi tched offbythe
ECO start/stop function,itis now resta rted.
Symb ol0044 appea rs.The vehiclehei ght is
ad juste dto raised level . 17
2 Dri
vin gsys temsDriving and 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

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.Comfortable
suspension tuningisselected.
The AMG Suspension SystemCOMFORT AMG
Suspension SystemCOMFORT
message appearsinthe multifunction dis-
play .
Activating thedriving dynamicsdis-
play inthe COMAND display Using
thedriving dynamics displayinthe mul-
timedia systemdisplay,you can seethedrive
program youselected aswell asadditional
information onthe vehicle's operating status.
X Switch onCOMAND. Furtherinformation
can befound inthe Digital Operator's Man-
ual.
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 Vehicle leveldisplay (Ypage 172)
R Act ivity ofthe ABC spring struts
R Level settingsanimation
R G-FORCE crosstodisplay longitudinal and
lateral acceleration (onlyavaila bleinSport,
Sport PlusandRACE driveprograms)
R Overrun modeanimation Parking
AssistPARKTRONIC
Import antsafety notes Parking
AssistPARKTRONIC isan electronic
parking aidwith ultrasound. Itmonitors the
area around yourvehicle usingsixsensors in
the front bumper andsixsensors inthe rear
bumper. ParkingAssistPARKTRONIC visually
and audiblyindicates thedistance between
your vehicle andanobject .
Parking AssistPARKTRONIC isonly anaid. Itis
not areplacement foryour attent iontoyour
immediate surroundings. Youarealwa ys
responsible forsafe maneuvering, parkingandexiting
aparking space.Makesurethatthere
are nopersons, animalsorobject sin the
maneuvering areawhen youaremaneuvering
or parking.
! When
parking, payparticular attentionto
object sabove orbelow thesensors, suchas
flower potsortrailer drawbars.
PARKTRONIC doesnotdetect suchobject s
when theyareinthe immediate vicinityof
the vehicle. Youcould damage thevehicle
or the object s.
The sensors maynotdetect snowandother
object sthat absorb ultrasonic waves.
Ultrasonic sourcessuchasan automatic car
wash, thecompressed-air brakesonatruck
or apneumatic drillcould cause
PARKTRONIC tomalfunction.
PARKTRONIC maynotfunct ioncorrect lyon
uneven terrain.
Parking AssistPARKTRONIC isactivated auto-
matically whenyou:
R switch onthe ignition
R shift thetransmission toposition 005B,005Eor
005C
R release theelectric parking brake
Parking AssistPARKTRONIC isdeactivated at
speeds above11mph (18km/h) .It is reacti-
vated atlower speeds.
Range ofthe sensors General
notes
Parking AssistPARKTRONIC doesnottake into
account obstacles located:
R below thedetection range,suchaspersons,
animals orobject s
R above thedetection range,e.g.overhanging
loads, tailsections orloading rampsof
truck s 174
Driving
systemsDriving andparking