SL/R230: Roll bar won't go up, but the convertible top otherwise functions
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Newbie
Joined: Feb 2018
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SL500
Roll bar won't go up, but the convertible top otherwise functions
Maybe I'm lucky, but my top still functions. However the roll bar stays down no matter whether I'm putting the roof up or taking the top down. It seems to think that it operates, because I get the notification on the Dash that the operation is complete. But I am not sure how I feel about the safety or lack thereof of no roll bar. The only thing I changed recently was adding new pistons for opening the trunk. The old ones were weak. Is there something I could have done or not that keeps the roll bar from functioning properly? What should I do?
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2018
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SL500
I don't understand how you can say it is operating correctly. The roll bar does not move at all. When I first got the car a few months ago, the roll bar would operate in conjunction with the top going up and down. Are you saying that the roll bar should not move? For example, when the top was completely up or completely down, the roll bar would go back up at the end.
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 389
Likes: 113
From: Seattle, WA
SL500
1st thing to try is resetting the roll bar. Hold down the Roll Bar "Up" button for about 5 seconds until you hear a click. By design, that's supposed to reset the mechanism.
I wouldn't be too concerned about the roll bar funtionality in the even of a rollover as that deployment is spring activated as opposed to hydraulically activated.
I wouldn't be too concerned about the roll bar funtionality in the even of a rollover as that deployment is spring activated as opposed to hydraulically activated.
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Member
Joined: Apr 2014
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SL550
Same here...roll bar operates independently of the roof. Raise it or lower it with the console button irrespective of the roof being open or closed. And as someone mentioned above it will pop up on its own when it senses conditions warrant.
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Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2018
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SL500
Okay, so I find it totally strange that not long ago it was operating in conjunction with the roof at the end of the cycle. Without pushing any other buttons other than the roof operation switch. I will try it when I get home.
Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 127
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SL550
I'm hardly the expert on any of this stuff but my guess is your car has different programming. Apparently there are all sorts of configurations that can be made once you're in the car's brain. For example, I believe it is 'standard' for the windows to go down when the top is put up. On one of my SL's after a trip to the shop it came back and they did not go down...I actually liked that. Then after a trip for something else they had reverted. I could have been hallucinating all of this but it seemed that something had changed.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2015
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From: amarillo texas
2003 sl 500
For my '03 model all windows go up completely on closing roof. On opening the 2 front windows stay all the way up, rear are down. I lower the front by the switches after top is down. Perhaps with STAR the sequence can be altered.
moretech
moretech
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Newbie
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SL500
Wow! I thank everybody for their prompt and helpful responses. So, I went out and found the manual operation buttons underneath the top switch. And it operated manually with those buttons just fine. Once I had it up and then started operating the top then it went back to operating with the top like it had previously. So, either when I took it to the dealer they hit the button manually, or I hit it accidentally to wear it defaulted to manual mode. It is cool that I have this option! And that nothing is broken! Yay!
Last edited by Sparrow77; Feb 18, 2018 at 02:11 PM.
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NO LONGER ACTIVE
I haven't tried this, but maybe if the roll bar is up, it needs to lower when operating the roof, so it does, and then returns to the raised position. Honestly, I never raise mine. Well, actually, I have found that when someone with bright headlights is following me, I can partially raise the bar to block the light.
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 389
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From: Seattle, WA
SL500
Interesting that there are different Top Operations settings. My top functions exactly like Sparrow77's. If the roll bar is up when you open the top, then the rollbar retracts, then the rear windows lower, and the front windows lower about half an inch at the same time the roof is opening. Then the rollbar comes back up, then the front windows re-raise that half inch and rear windows remain down. It's sad that the roll bar creates such an inopportune blindspot for the lane just to the right of you, because the rollbar in conjunction with the windblocking screen performs better than just the windblocking screen alone. But with the rollbar up, you can't take that quick safety peek to the right. You have to do a full head crank and then check the mirror again just to make sure a little Smart Car isn't sitting at your 4' O'Clock. For that reason, the rollbar rarely get's deployed.
