A couple of times this year, after my 2009 SL550 has been sitting for a few weeks, the power steering column adjuster doesn't automatically move into position wfter I start the car. When this happens, the adjuster doesn't work manually either. Neither does the power top--nothing happens when I move the switch.

However, after driving the car for 10-15 minutes and turning it off. Everything works again when I restart--both the steering column and the top.

Has anyone else had this problem?

 

Sort of. I had the same issues that you described but it made no difference if I turned the car off and back on. For me, it was intermittent. Eventually it just stopped working. My suspicion is that the little plastic linkage (I believe it's officially called a coupling (part no: 203-462-06-78)') broke. Hope you find the culprit. I love this feature. It's on my list to fix this fall.

 

This usually means low battery, if sitting after a couple weeks. My 2012 does the same. Try the heated seats when this happens, if the heated seats button is flashing, then the issue is low battery and will become available after a short period of driving.

 

That's an interesting observation and explains what I observed. I'm surprised that the battery (presumably the one in the trunk) goes down that quickly, but I'll let the car sit for a couple of weeks and try it again.

How did you learn about the flashing seat heater lights indicating a low accessory battery?

 

I got my 2012 last year during the cooler months and the first time I left it un-driven for a period of 10 days started it up and noticed the steering wheel remained in the high/entry position, it wouldn’t go down, didn’t think too much of it, but because it was also cool outside I also tried the heated seats and noticed the buttons flashing…. I did some quick googling and stumbled upon this information, that the accessories come back online once the battery has a level of charge, I guess it’s a self protection thing. Reading around the forums seems like 10-14 days is common sitting period for these cars to start having a weakened acc battery