2020 MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER wheel

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

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

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

The
ECO display consistsof three section s,
with aninner andouter area.Thesection scor-
respond tothe following threecategories: 0043
Acce
leration (evaluation ofall
acceleration processes):
R the outer areafillsupand the
inner arealights upgreen: moder-
ate acceleration ,especially at
higher speeds
R the outer areaempties andthe
inner areaisgray: sporty acceler-
ation 0044
Coasting
(evaluation ofall deceler-
ation processes):
R the outer areafillsupand the
inner arealights upgreen: antici-
patory driving, keeping yourdis-
tanc eand early release ofthe
accelerator. Thevehicle can
coast without useofthe brakes.
R the outer areaempties andthe
inner areaisgray: frequent heavy
braking 0087
Constant
(continuous evaluation
over theentir ejourney):
R the outer areafillsupand the
inner arealights upgreen: con-
stant speed andavoidance of
unnec essary acceleration and
deceleration
R the outer areaempties andthe
inner areaisgray: fluctuations in
speed The
three innerareas display thecurrent driv-
ing style andlight upgreen asaresult ofapar-
ticularly economicaldriving style.Dependin g
on the driving situation, uptotwo areas may
light upsimultaneously.
At the beginning ofthe journey, thethree
outer areas areempty andfillup asaresult of
econom icaldriving. Ahigher levelindicates a
more econom icaldriving style.Ifthe three
outer areas arecompletely filledatthe same
time, thedriver hasadopted themost eco-
nomical drivingstyleforthe selected settings
and prevailing conditions.TheECO display
border lightsup.
The ECO display doesnotindicate theactual
fuel consumpt ion.Theadditionally achieved range
display edunder Bonus fr.start Bonus
fr.start does
not indicate afixed consumpt ionreduction .
In addition todriving style,theactual con-
sumption isaffect edbyother factors,such as:
R load
R tire pressure
R cold start
R choice ofroute
R active electric alconsumer s
These factorsare not included inthe ECO dis-
play.
An econom icaldriving stylespecially requires
driving atmoderate enginespeeds.
Achievin gahigher valueinthe categories
"Accelerat ion"and"Constant ":
R observe thegearshift recommendations .
R drive thevehicle indrive program Cor E.
In urban trafficand stop- start traffic,drive pro-
gram Cis recomm ended.
On long journeys ataconst antspeed, e.g.on
the highway, onlytheouter areafor"const ant"
will change.
The ECO display summarizes thedriving style
from thestart ofthe journey toits completion .
Therefore, therearemore marked changes in
the outer areas atthe start ofajourney. On
longer journeys, therearefewer changes. For
more marked changes, performamanual rest
(Y page 196).
Further informationonthe ECO display
(Y page 195). Br
aking
Import antsafety notes G
WARNIN
G
If you shift down onaslippery roadsurface
in an attempt toincrease theengine's brak-
ing effect ,the drive wheels couldlosetheir
grip. There isan increased dangerofskid-
ding andaccident s.
Do not shift down foradditional enginebrak-
ing onaslippery roadsurface. 152
Driving
tipsDriving 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

adapt
yourdrivingstyle, norove rride thelaws
of physic s.Ac tiveDis tan ceAssist DISTRO NIC
can nottak eint oacc oun troad, weatherortraf-
fic con dition s.Ac tiveDis tan ceAssist
DI STRO NICison lyan aid. You arerespon sible
for thedist anceto theveh icle infron t,for
veh icle spee d,for brak ingingood timeand for
st aying inyour lane.
Do notuse ActiveDis tan ceAssist DISTRO NIC:
R In road andtraff iccon dition swhic hdo not
allow youtomain tainacon stant spee d,e.g .
in heav ytraff icor on wind ingroads
R on slippe ryroad surfaces .Br akin gor acc el-
erat ingcoul dcaus eth edriv ewheels tolose
tr act ion and theveh icle coul dth en skid
R In poor visibilit y,e.g .due tofog ,heav yrain
or snow
Ac tiveDis tan ceAssist DISTRO NICmay not
det ect narrow vehiclesdriv inginfron t,e.g .
mot orcycles ,or veh iclesdriv inginast agger ed
for mat ion.
In part icular ,th edet ection ofobst aclescan be
impair edif:
R Ther eis dirt onthesen sorsor anyt hingelse
cov erin gth esen sors
R Ther eis sn ow orheav yrain
R Ther eis int erf eren cebyother radar sources
R Ther eare stron gradar reflec tions,for exam -
ple inpark inggarag es
If Ac tiveDis tan ceAssist DISTRO NICnolonger
det ectsa veh icle infron t,Dis tan cePilot
DI STRO NICmay unexpectedly acceler ate to
th espee dstore d.
This spee dmay:
R Be toohigh ifyou aredrivinginatur nin g
lane oran exitlane
R Be sohigh when drivingintherigh t-han d
lane that you overtake vehiclesin theleft -
han dlane
R Be sohigh intheleft lane that you pass
veh iclesdriv ingontherigh t
If th ere isach ang eof driv ers,advis eth enew
driv erofthespee dstore d. Cru
isecontr ollever Cruise
control leve r
0043 Tostore thecur ren tspee dor ahigh er
spee d
0044 Toset aspec ified minimum distance
0087 Tostore thecur ren tspee dor call upthe
last store dspee d
0085 Tostore thecur ren tspee dor alower
spee d
0083 Todeac tivate ActiveDis tan ceAssist
DI STRO NIC
Activ ating Activ eDist ance Assist
DISTR ONICand storin g,ma intaini ng
and callin gup aspeed Imp
ortant safety notes
! 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
To act ivat eAc tiveDis tan ceAssist DISTRO NIC,
th efoll owin gcon dition smust befulf illed:
R theeng inemust bestart ed. Itmay takeup
to two minutesof driv ingbefo reActiveDis -
tan ceAssist DISTRO NICisready foruse.
R theelec tric park ingbrak emust berele ased.
R ES P®
must beact ive, butnotint erv ening.
R Ac tivePark ingAssist must notbe act ivat ed.
R thetrans miss ionmust beinposit ion005B. Driv
ingsyst ems
159Drivingand parking Z

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