04 SL500 "Trunk Open"

So, is your trunk lid closing properly? Did you have to force it shut? Did you just lift the seperator before this happened?
It could be that it is the seperator is not closed properly.

Well, it seems to be closing properly, and the separator is positioned properly. To add to my previous comment: This is the first time this year the top has been put down. It went down properly, but now won't go up. Also: I live on the Oregon Coast, and some rain has made its way into the trunk...it is not sopping wet, just a bit damp. Could this have cause a problem?

oldcrowe said:

some rain has made its way into the trunk...it is not sopping wet, just a bit damp.

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Are you still under warranty? There is a weak spot in the trunk sealing rubbers, especially the top one.
Mine was the same and just had it done. It is now perfect.

oldcrowe said:

HELP!
My 500SL top won't go up because it thinks the trunk is open... Is there something (Battery...?) that I need to reset? I am getting a 'trunk open' message in the information center.
Thanks!

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Can someone help yet? I am having this issue with my 2006 SL500. Can't put the top down because car thinks the trunk is open and it isnt.

My SL600 did that a few times I would have to pull over get out and shut the trunk lid again. Do NOT slam it with a lot of force!! This will almost surely crack your third brake light, which will cost about $150 for a new one and is not a fun job to replace. But you can try closing it with a little weight, that helped mine to realize that it was closed. Once I replaced my third brake light which was slightly cracked when i got the car, I decided not to haul cargo in the trunk and didn't mind since that wasn't what I got the car for anyway. I have other cars for hauling things. But, you can try closing the trunk manually using your weight a bit. just don't slam it.... good luck. If that doesn't work, then maybe replace that switch that tells the car the trunk is shut, don't know the part number or cost...

Slam it shut! Mine was doing that.. So I just closed it hard a few times and the top worked fine hahaha. Make sure the red light on the door is off. It should work then. My soft close feature is also broken

Here's a link to a new third brake light... LoL
If you're replacing it though you could opt for an AMG version.. it's clear instead of red, but lights up red when you brake. Amazon.com: Genuine Third 3rd White Brake Stop Light Mercedes SL Class R230 AMG 2001-2012: Automotive
Not fun to replace.

EtherNet said:

Slam it shut! Mine was doing that.. So I just closed it hard a few times and the top worked fine hahaha. Make sure the red light on the door is off. It should work then. My soft close feature is also broken

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We tried that..lol..still a no go. So I can't put the top down and when I drives it tells me to close the trunk lid, its closed and latched though!

rudeney said:

You have a bad latch. It's likely leaking from cracks in the plastic housing where the pneumatic system operates. Sometimes what happens is the leak causes the PSE pump to run continuously so it shuts down the trunk circuit. If this happens, the mechanical part of the latch will work, but the pneumatic pull-down won't function. You may be able to get it working by pulling the fuse for the PSE pump to reset it. It's fuse 71 on the rear panel. If that does get it working, you need to replace of fix the latch. If you want to DIY, you can seal it with epoxy. Also, if the diaphragm is leaking, it can be sealed with epoxy or you may be able to fashion zip ties to hold it together as I did (ignore the bailing wire and solder - that fixes another issue):

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Thank you! We tried some fuses..Ill make sure we try fuse 71 to make sure. This is sooo frustrating!

It’s almost 100% what rudeney mentioned. Very common on all r230s.

yep...moisture (yes moisture) messes up the PSE pump and the 71 fuse can blow. I think it's part of soft-close, so would like to hear how this works out. probably simple. The added question to the community is there a hack for this issue? A friends SL500 has a humid trunk and gone through this issue a couple of times...does anyone make a solution for water dropping down in the well with the hydro pump and PSE? It reminds me of the immobilizer sitting under the drivers seat of my porsches, if it gets wet, car is dead and you are looking at a significant expensive repair, but solved by an aftermarket tray.

There is a drain hole in the R230 trunk under the gray air box. Make sure it's clear so water doesn't accumulate. Mine had a rubber flapper in it, while another car had a plug. Be sure water can flow. If the PSE has gotten wet, be sure to open the box it's in so it will dry. One of ours had a half inch of water in it even though the trunk had drained.

My 07 SL550 the soft close works, when you click the trunk lid shut a motor pulls it down the last inch or so. But to open it, you click the latch at the back of the car to open the trunk and the lid is very heavy and takes a lot of effort to lift it open. Obviously something is wrong. What could it be? It's like you're lifting against a hydraulic mechanism that doesn't want you to open it. I don't care to fix it if it's going to cost a lot because I don't use my R230's to haul anything; I have a GL450 SUV for carrying groceries or whatever else might fit in there, and also have an S550 with a massively huge trunk, and that car's trunk lid operates perfectly. Closes at the push of a button. My SL600, that car's trunk lid does not fight you when opening but doesn't pull itself shut at the end when closing, has to be closed manually for the entire operation. So, neither of my R230's trunk lids are working the way they were intended! LOL
Both vario roofs work well though.

@tonylinc: If you don't have the powered trunk open/close option, then the Lift-O-Mat struts on the trunk are likely work out and need to be replaced.

The gas lift struts Rudeney mentions are available on Amazon for around $45. They are easy to replace, only requiring a screwdriver and possibly pliers to snap the ends off/on the car ball ends. No need to take apart anything. I found it easiest to install the bottom first, then lift the trunk up until I could line up the top. One of the easier R230 fixes.

The ones I bought are "OEM Stabilus 2307500036 SL500 SL55 SL600 SL65 2003 2004 2005 2006 Rear Trunk Lift Shocks Gas Strut Dampers for Decklid Deck Lid Panel Spring Lifters Hatch Support Props Rods Arms R230"