Mercedes-Benz 2009 CLS 550, Operator'S Manual

Page: 236 / 356

Driving instructions
234
or accelerate. This could lead to accidents
and injury.
Power assistance
G
Warning!
There is no power assistance for the steer-
ing and the service brake when the engine
is not running.
Steering and braking requires significantly
more effort and you could lose control of
the vehicle and cause an accident as a
result.
Do not turn off the engine while the vehicle
is in motion.
Brakes
Downhill grades
!
When driving down long and steep
grades, relieve the load on the brakes by
shifting into a lower gear to use the
engine’s braking power. This helps prevent
overheating of the brakes and reduces
wear.
When using the engine’s braking power, a
drive wheel may not spin for an extended
period of time, e.g. on slippery road surfa-
ces. This may cause serious damage to the
drivetrain which is not covered by the Mer-
cedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Continuous or hard braking
G
Warning!
Resting your foot on the brake pedal will
cause excessive and premature wear of the
brake pads.
It can also result in the brakes overheating,
thereby significantly reducing their effec-
tiveness. It may not be possible to stop the
vehicle in sufficient time to avoid an acci-
dent.
After hard braking, it is advisable to drive on
for some time, rather than immediately park,
so that the air stream will cool down the
brakes faster.
Wet roads
G
Warning!
After driving in heavy rain for some time
without applying the brakes or through
water deep enough to wet brake compo-
nents, the first braking action may be some-
what reduced and increased pedal pres-
sure may be necessary to obtain expected
brake effect. Maintain a safe distance from
vehicles in front.
The first time the brakes are applied after a
long period of driving in heavy rain without
braking, it is possible that there will be a
delayed braking response and that you will
need to depress the brake pedal more firmly.
You should therefore maintain a greater dis-
tance from the vehicle in front.
To help prevent brake disk corrosion after
driving on wet or salt-covered roads, it is
advisable to brake the vehicle with consider-
able force prior to parking. The heat gener-
ated serves to dry the brakes.
Operation