SL-Class (R230) 2003 -- 2012: Discussion on the SL500, SL550, SL600

SL/R230: I'm starting to fall in love...again

Old Mar 9, 2005 | 09:08 PM
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Thumbs up I'm starting to fall in love...again

It has been gorgeous here the last few days. Mid 70's and perfectly blue skies.

We have been cruising the streets were her top down. She does look awfully sexy with her top down.

I think I am LovinSL600 again.

Phew, we got very close to a break up but we have reconciled. We're in love again.

Last edited by LovinMercedes; Mar 9, 2005 at 09:11 PM.
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Old Mar 9, 2005 | 10:25 PM
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Originally Posted by LovinSL600
It has been gorgeous here the last few days. Mid 70's and perfectly blue skies.

We have been cruising the streets were her top down. She does look awfully sexy with her top down.

I think I am LovinSL600 again.

Phew, we got very close to a break up but we have reconciled. We're in love again.
Did you go see a car counselor and did he knock some sense in ya?
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Old Mar 9, 2005 | 10:47 PM
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Originally Posted by tiggerfink
Did you go see a car counselor and did he knock some sense in ya?
No counselor, she just looked so sexy with her top down the last few days I could not resist her.

That knocked some sense in me. I was going to miss that.

Last edited by LovinMercedes; Mar 9, 2005 at 10:50 PM.
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Old Mar 10, 2005 | 12:04 AM
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Glad to see you changed your mind...
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Old Mar 10, 2005 | 02:34 AM
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Phew! that was close.

They should make a reality show about MB owners .. or a soap.

Originally Posted by LovinSL600
No counselor, she just looked so sexy with her top down the last few days I could not resist her.

That knocked some sense in me. I was going to miss that.
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Old Mar 10, 2005 | 02:42 AM
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Yes, good, especially since there were no obvious alternatives.
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Old Mar 10, 2005 | 11:28 AM
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Cabin fever

Sounds like the rains in February/March broke and you came out of your cabin fever.

You know, I was thinking about your problem the other day and I was reading the posts about how the E Class is rated the least reliable car by Consumer Reports (I own one, soon to be two) and I thought to myself, "I won't give up my Mercedes until they pry it from my cold dead hands." I walked up to my three week old SL600 and lifted the door handle to activate keyless go and nothing happened. So I tried it again and still nothing. So I took the key out of my pocket (such an inconvenience, I cannot believe we used to put up with such things) and tried again and still nothing. Now I manually pushed the button on my key to unlock the door and still nothing. Finally, I took the mechanical key out of the fob (that's why it is there!) and used it to open the door. Alarm went off, of course. I put the key in the ignition and started the car. No convenience features, warnings on the display.

I am sitting there thinking, "Lovin was right, I may have to dump my SL600 too." Turns out I left my lights on all day. The second battery in the car allowed it to start but the convenience features (like keyless go) could not operate. Sometimes the problems with these cars is the owners.
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Old Mar 10, 2005 | 06:22 PM
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Very emotive story yours shoes, but finally loving like your story comes to a happy ending, welcome back fellow member lovigsl600 ex hatingsl600, we really need your sence of equanimus in your comments.
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Old Mar 10, 2005 | 08:14 PM
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Originally Posted by shoes
Sounds like the rains in February/March broke and you came out of your cabin fever.

You know, I was thinking about your problem the other day and I was reading the posts about how the E Class is rated the least reliable car by Consumer Reports (I own one, soon to be two) and I thought to myself, "I won't give up my Mercedes until they pry it from my cold dead hands." I walked up to my three week old SL600 and lifted the door handle to activate keyless go and nothing happened. So I tried it again and still nothing. So I took the key out of my pocket (such an inconvenience, I cannot believe we used to put up with such things) and tried again and still nothing. Now I manually pushed the button on my key to unlock the door and still nothing. Finally, I took the mechanical key out of the fob (that's why it is there!) and used it to open the door. Alarm went off, of course. I put the key in the ignition and started the car. No convenience features, warnings on the display.

I am sitting there thinking, "Lovin was right, I may have to dump my SL600 too." Turns out I left my lights on all day. The second battery in the car allowed it to start but the convenience features (like keyless go) could not operate. Sometimes the problems with these cars is the owners.
You know, you make a very good point. In addition to the fuel pump which has been replaced and the car is running great, all the problems started with the fixing of the front windows which were uneven. That was the beginning of the end.

I never should have had them tackle that. I should have left them alone and just lived with the fact that they were uneven.

Anyway, all is well and it is incredible driving with the top down and in the high 70's. You know the power of this car is amazing. It is so much fun to drive. Between the power and the handling, don't know how you beat that combination.
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Old Mar 11, 2005 | 01:11 PM
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I can't believe that there's not a 15 minute auto off feature for the lights on this car! Even my Ford and BMW have that...lights go out if no activity for 15 minutes as a battery saver. Duh. That sucks...but at least it has 2 batteries and let you start!
Steve

Originally Posted by shoes
Sounds like the rains in February/March broke and you came out of your cabin fever.

You know, I was thinking about your problem the other day and I was reading the posts about how the E Class is rated the least reliable car by Consumer Reports (I own one, soon to be two) and I thought to myself, "I won't give up my Mercedes until they pry it from my cold dead hands." I walked up to my three week old SL600 and lifted the door handle to activate keyless go and nothing happened. So I tried it again and still nothing. So I took the key out of my pocket (such an inconvenience, I cannot believe we used to put up with such things) and tried again and still nothing. Now I manually pushed the button on my key to unlock the door and still nothing. Finally, I took the mechanical key out of the fob (that's why it is there!) and used it to open the door. Alarm went off, of course. I put the key in the ignition and started the car. No convenience features, warnings on the display.

I am sitting there thinking, "Lovin was right, I may have to dump my SL600 too." Turns out I left my lights on all day. The second battery in the car allowed it to start but the convenience features (like keyless go) could not operate. Sometimes the problems with these cars is the owners.
Reply
Old Mar 11, 2005 | 01:55 PM
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Originally Posted by RadSteve
I can't believe that there's not a 15 minute auto off feature for the lights on this car! Even my Ford and BMW have that...lights go out if no activity for 15 minutes as a battery saver. Duh. That sucks...but at least it has 2 batteries and let you start!
Steve


I think you can set the lights to turn off. You have to go into the user settings.
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Old Mar 11, 2005 | 04:31 PM
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Originally Posted by PA500SL
I think you can set the lights to turn off. You have to go into the user settings.
Really??
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Old Mar 11, 2005 | 10:46 PM
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Leave your lights on auto and enable the lights to be on all the time. By doing this your lights will be on at all times with the engine running and will turn off automaticly when the engine is off.
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Old Mar 12, 2005 | 07:15 AM
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I think there is also a timed courtesy feature that keeps the lights on for a short time after car is turned off. I'll have to dive into the dictionary sized owners manual to confirm. I always turn my lights on manually, so I never bothered to enable this feature. It definately would have been associated with the auto light setting. It always made me nervous to walk away from a car with the lights still on! I think I was also able to adjust the time the interior lights stayed on after closing the door. I set mine for the shortest time.
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Old Mar 12, 2005 | 10:50 AM
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Originally Posted by PA500SL
I think there is also a timed courtesy feature that keeps the lights on for a short time after car is turned off. I'll have to dive into the dictionary sized owners manual to confirm. I always turn my lights on manually, so I never bothered to enable this feature. It definately would have been associated with the auto light setting. It always made me nervous to walk away from a car with the lights still on! I think I was also able to adjust the time the interior lights stayed on after closing the door. I set mine for the shortest time.
I can't remember the last time I turned my lights on or off. This feature has a wide range of options and you can set it to stay on for a while or a very short period so you can see the lights turn off as you walk away.

I have never seen or heard of this feature breaking so I wouldn't worry too much about leaving it to the car to turn them off.
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Old Mar 12, 2005 | 11:30 AM
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Yes, but how good can that be for your car to have its lights on constantly every time you drive it. Those bulbs can be expensive
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Old Mar 12, 2005 | 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by Overclocked412
Yes, but how good can that be for your car to have its lights on constantly every time you drive it. Those bulbs can be expensive
They won't come on if it is light outside. Only when it gets dark. I agree, if they stayed on all the time who could afford all those bulbs.
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Old Mar 12, 2005 | 02:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Overclocked412
Yes, but how good can that be for your car to have its lights on constantly every time you drive it. Those bulbs can be expensive
It is call daytime running lighs. A lot of cars have daytime running lights. If you leave your light on auto, there may be a chance thay they will turn off when you get a light source on them.
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Old Mar 12, 2005 | 03:15 PM
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Originally Posted by tiggerfink
It is call daytime running lighs. A lot of cars have daytime running lights. If you leave your light on auto, there may be a chance thay they will turn off when you get a light source on them.
I don't believe Mercedes have daytime running lights although I do understand many cars do.
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Old Mar 12, 2005 | 03:16 PM
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Lighting Options

Actually, you are all right. There are daytime running lamps as well as the lighting delay. All controlled via the settings in the instrument cluster/steering wheel. My dealer set them for me yesterday and the car remembers the settings for the Keyless Go separate from when the key is in the ignition. Don't ask me why but it does.

Anyway, you can set daytime running lights on or off. I set them to off. And you can set a delay after which the lights turn off (aka 15 sec after you turn off the car etc). Not sure when it starts counting aka after the ignition is off or after you close the door. Anyway, it's all programmable.

Also, I would agree, leave it in auto mode. the only thing that doesn't seem to work in auto mode is foglamps. Don't ask me why. Seems weird.

Jeff
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Old Mar 12, 2005 | 04:19 PM
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Originally Posted by LovinSL600
I don't believe Mercedes have daytime running lights although I do understand many cars do.
On page 119, of my 2004 SL-Class Operator's Manual, it mentions them there.
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Old Mar 12, 2005 | 07:10 PM
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Originally Posted by tiggerfink
On page 119, of my 2004 SL-Class Operator's Manual, it mentions them there.
I stand corrected. Never realized this. Thanks.
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Old Mar 12, 2005 | 11:29 PM
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Lightbulb

I don't know if the Sl's are different from my CLK 500 but my daytime running lights are not quite a true daytime lighting feature as the headlights and all accompanying interior dash and center stack lighting etc also turn on. True DRL's do not have the instrument and center stack lighting turn on as well...
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Old Mar 13, 2005 | 07:26 AM
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I know MB has reduced the number of features for '05, but I think it's great that these are all user adjustable. Most other brands require a trip to the dealer to change various settings, and you have to pay for their time. I wish someone knew exactly what MB deleted from the '04 to '05 cars. One thing that we have already discussed here, was the inability to change presets from the wheel. That is something I use quite a bit and would surely miss. The little buttons on the dash for extra hot/cold air would not be missed. Anybody know of other things deleted??
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Old Mar 13, 2005 | 07:31 AM
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Originally Posted by PA500SL
I know MB has reduced the number of features for '05, but I think it's great that these are all user adjustable. Most other brands require a trip to the dealer to change various settings, and you have to pay for their time. I wish someone knew exactly what MB deleted from the '04 to '05 cars. One thing that we have already discussed here, was the inability to change presets from the wheel. That is something I use quite a bit and would surely miss. The little buttons on the dash for extra hot/cold air would not be missed. Anybody know of other things deleted??
The memory feature on the interior rear view mirror was deleted. Also, I don't remember but didn't the 2003 have power folding outside mirrors? I think so.

I used the buttons for the hot/cold air on the dash all the time.
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