All, in advance, thanks for the help. THis is my first post.

I bought a 2013 SL550 2 years ago and have loved EVERY minute of it. We just rolled 50K miles and the Trunk struts got weak. I went aftermarket on replacements and now I can’t drop the top because the car doesn’t believe the trunk is shut. 1 - This ISN’T a partition open message. 2 - I saw where it is common to have air leak on the soft close system but I don’t hear any leak, this soft close actuator doesn’t have the three ports, and if I use my finger to give just a slight resistance as the trunk shuts, it will slow down and soft close. Has anyone else run into an issue where struts are too weak to support slowing the trunk lid shutting on close?

I also have a 2013 SL550. Had the struts replaced under the CPO warranty. Starting in 2013 (R231) the trunk soft close is now an electric motor so no air leaks!

You're saying you don't see a message about the trunk being unlatched before you attempt to open the top?

The wires near the trunk hinge may be broken as they bend along with the trunk hinge and may break, this is a common issue on the SL.