Mercedes-Benz 1985 380SE, Owner'S Manual

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Starting and Shifting Gears
The automatic transmission simpli­
fies the handling of the vehicle. The
individual gears are shifted automat­
ically dependent upon selector
lever position, vehicle speed and
accelerator position.
Hints
When parking the vehicle or if work­
ing on the vehicle with the engine
running, depress parking brake
pedal and move selector lever to
position “ P” .
Warning!
Keep driver’s foot area clear at all
times. Objects stored in this area
may cause impairment of pedal
movement.
Driving
Shift selector lever to the desired
driving position only when the
engine is idling and the service
brake is applied. Do not release the
brake until ready to drive. The
vehicle may otherwise start creep­
ing when the selector lever is in a
driving position.
Test the service brake shortly after
driving off.
Warm up the engine smoothly. Do
not place full load on the engine
until the operating temperature has
been reached.
When taking off on a slippery
surface, do not allow one driving
wheel to spin for an extended
period.
Accelerator position
Partial throttle = early upshifting =
normal acceleration.
Full throttle = later upshifting
= maximum acceleration.
Depressing the accelerator beyond
full throttle to kickdown position
means downshifting to the next
lower gear and thus maximum accel­
eration. If you ease up on the accel­
erator after having attained the
desired speed, the transmission will
shift up again.
Selector Lever Positions
The automatic gear shifting process
can be adapted to specific operating
conditions by means of the selector
lever.
“P” Parking lock.
The parking lock is an addi­
tional safeguard when parking
the vehicle. Engage only with
the car stopped.
“R” Reverse gear.
Shift reverse gear only with the
car stopped.