Fellow R230 owners, I'm not sure who's right here but... my MB service guy says that on the 03 SL500 FOB key you can press and HOLD the unlock / lock key button on the remote and the roof will open/close accordingly. I've replaced the batteries in the key and it STILL does not work... he says it might be the RF receiver not working and needs to be replaced. I think this feature is not available on the 03 SL500 and I need to order the SmartTop electronic upgrade. He also thought it could be a software upgrade to the car ... so who and what is right here? Thanks in advance for your help on this matter...

on my 04., i got it to work ONCE i think the feature is there but i suspect you gotta be right on top of the IR receiver. i ordered the smart top anyway.

GFEAR, did you install the SmartTop your self or did the dealer do it?

i have 03, dealer tried to opern my roof, disnt wrk wither with remote..although when i bought it seller did it..but takes a while to stand there holding button entire time...just get roof moduel or sit i car and hold switch.
I wiuldnt get dealer to do moduel as will void warranty stuff..it comes with deatiled instructions..you could do trself if yr confident w/ yr car/wires etc..i went to a local stereo shop i trust and has done them b4, and wrks o high end cars..charged my 60$ i think..MB will charge u ay more IF they will even do it..it has stealth mode so ONCE ITS IN its not dtected by MB DEALEr for warranty work..so dont get it installed there..BUT DO GRT IT..its great, does so many options..set the speeed of yr csr, so mif yr parking you can close/open before standing still..i have it set low not to damage anything, about 10km/hr max setting. I lve opening my window and door when geting to car also for fresh air etc
g/l

i havent got it yet,its due this week, but i will install it myself

GFEAR, where did you order it and how much was it?

Hi

You can order one here for 299 USD. It will take about 2 hrs to do. Take the instruction or the laptop to your car to follow.

This will be one of the best mods you can do for the price. It is a great addition to enjoy your hardtop conv.

I have one and love it

http://mods4cars.com/

https://www.wit-usa.com/sms/shop/?p=...VyZXIiO047fQ==

got it today, and unless i am missing somethign, this shouldnt take more than about 6 minutes, not 2 hours, but we'll see

GFEAR, let me know after you've completed the installation how long it took... thanks so much!

on my 03 i can open/close the top with my key since the day i bought with no problem

ok, here is the report.

it took aprov 50 minutes, 45 of them were spent hooking the P.O.S. t tap on the ground wire. i eventually removed the factory bolr that held it one and did it that way. the t taps it came with it are JUNK. Other than that, it tool almost no time, it was pretty easy.

they also failed to include using instructions, it just had install instructions. turns out you have to hit the button 3 times in a second to make it work, not as easy as it sounds.

GFEAR are you happy with the purchase?

C32Andy, what's the trick in using the standard key... what EXACTLY are you pointing the FOB key at? or did your car already have the SmartTop module?

yup

gotta point the key right at the ir reciever on the door

I am assuming that my 03 SL500 won't do it unless I add the SmartTop... I 'm really not into donating more money to the stealership... or should the 03 SL500 work without it? According to C32Andy above, it should already be standard...

Holding a button dwn the entire time right bedside yr car is not like having smart top. Goto website/ search forum see what it does. Nobody has been displeased. The opposite. Best thing they did. It's an hour install at a stereo shop worse case scenario or do it yrself.

Okay.... I just ordered one... thanks so much!
GFEAR... how long did it take for you to receive the shipment?

It works in my '03SL55. You have to be fairly close to the door handle for it to work.

FAST, 3-4 DAYS TOPS

Big Dog:
I looked at the thread you started this AM.......I have a new to me 03 SL500.....I never tried to open or close the top with the key fob. I had used the key fob on my Lexus's (4 of them) and my BMW's to open the Sun Roofs and windows, and close same.....

So, this afternoon I was going out 30 miles from home and decided it would be a good day for putting the top down.......Used the "Unlock Setting" on the fob.......I held it within the 12 inches specified in the manual.....worked beautifully.....then using the fob to close the roof I held it the same distance, but slowly moved back ......and after a move back of just about another foot the thing stopped working......

I then put the fob within 12 inches of the door handle, and it finished closing......

I think the distance from the sensor in the door is pretty critical.....

Give it another try and let us know.....

Regards

Mort Fligelman

Nope, didn't work for me... okay here's the deal... my key unlocks and locks the car remotely, so why not open and close roof within 12 inches? So am I going to have a problem using the smarttop module anyway? My logic is if the car locks and unlocks, then the roof SHOULD work too.... but it doesn't...

GFEAR, I thought I ordered one... i did everything online... no email confirmations no charge on the cc... I've emailed them twice... no response... I'm not sure on whether to order again or not...

im not sure which company i ordered it from, but i got no response, it just showed up. no phone number?