The wife has been driving the crossfire a bunch and she calls me today wanting to know how to put the top down (first decent weather temp wise since she has been driving it). My granddaughter is visiting and she wanted her to see what it was like with the top down.

Well I tell her to open the top and push the button till it goes down all the way.

She tries the button and its beeping and lighting up red. I told her to check the divider in the trunk and sure enough it wasnt in place where she had a bunch of stuff in the trunk.
After putting the divider in place still nothing. We go on and on about it for awhile on the phone and she decides to give up till she gets back.

I go out when she gets back and sure enough everything is right and it should work from the previous time I had let the top down and from the videos I could find. NONE of them show the divider in the trunk and only one or two even mentioned it. I had to find pics on the forum here to even see what it looked like to talk the wife thru it on the phone.

Anyways beeping and no top movement. Well it turns out there is one step NOT mentioned anywhere.

1. Open the top with the **** at the top of the windshield (pretty easy since that is common and almost all convertibles including my corvette convertible).

2. Make sure the cars in park (with it running being a good idea too but no required).

3. Make sure that divider is in the proper position (VERY little info out there on step 3 btw)

Now for step 4 !!!!

4. Make sure the TRUNKS closed. Not mentioned ANYWHERE when I was looking info up.

Once I closed the trunk it worked.....

 

What is more important is how to put the top UP. I got caught in rain and mine would not go up, pulled over under an overpass.
STood there staring at the car (i'd owned it a month, knew very little about it) when I realized the trunk lid was not fully closed.

Opened trunk and slammed it down. Top went up and I went home.


OH, and by the way, in a manual you can move the top up or down at speeds up to 9mph.
Not sure if it's the same in an auto, I can't remember,my first one was an auto, next two were/are manuals.

 

Yes the top will work while moving in an automatic. I've only done it once but it will work. I dont know what the maximum speed is and I'm not about to go find out. Best to be fully stopped.

 

The max speed is 9 mph. At 10 it will just beep again and not go down.
There is a "speed top" module if I recall correctly (stick is in this forum) that allows the top to go down by just pressing the button once instead of holding it down and it also allows the top to open/close up to 35mph I want to say (don't quote me on that). Neat idea not having to hold the button down. Not sure how good it is to drive at higher than 10 mph speeds and open/close the top. I like to believe the Mercedes engineers had a reason for not enabling that in the first place.

​​​​​I might put it in one of these days.

Pizzaguy actually has a video on YouTube where he explains how to lower the top manually if the hydraulics stop working for whatever reason. Our cars are now roughly 18 years old so it might be a good idea to watch that video and try it yourself a few times so you are prepared for the worst. I have never had to used it (knock on wood) but I'd be not amused if my top would not go up before a rainstorm.
It requires a special "Mercedes tool" that might have come with your car (I know it did with both of mine). But if it didn't you can check on the forum and there are very inexpensive ways of acquiring one and dropping in your glove box. It looks like a pointy stick with a wrench at the end so check your cars glove box, trunk area (under the mat), behind the seat etc to see if it came with it.

Good luck with the car - I hope wifey and granddaughter got to experience top down function still anyways!

 

They did. After I got the top down I had them go back out for a drive. They had a blast

 

I put my top up and down manually at least twice a year, just so I remember how. You NEVER known when, as it starts to rain, that the system will freak out and refuse to move!

 

Very good to know. Florida has many small showers and found out the hard way that if the automagic console gets wet, it won't shift until it dries out (communications error).

 

And that is why I never allow drinks of any kind in the car. Take a break, get out of the car, stretch your legs, and get a drink. No food or drinks in my car!

 

Just wanna really say thank you for putting together that video years ago if how to lower the roof manually.
It has helped so many people and is easy to understand. Once you did it a couple of times it makes a lot of sense and you can easily remember the sequence with or without a helper at that point. Thank you sir!