Mercedes-Benz 300 SD 1978, Owner'S Manual

Page: 41 / 79

Starting and Shifting Gears
Safe Driving
M aneuvering
To m aneuver in restricted area, e. g.
when pulling into a parking space,
control the car speed by gradually
releasing the service brake.
A ccelerate gently and do not pum p
the accelerator. To rock a car out of
s o ftg ro u n d (m ud or snow), alternately
shift one fo rw a rd gear range and the
reverse gear at partial throttle.
T ra ile r o peration
Do not allow the engine speed to dro p
too low at u p h ill g ra d ie n ts to prevent
th e e n g in e fro m laboring at low RPMs.
D epending on th e degree of the
incline, sh ift selector lever to positions
“ S” or “ L” early enough to m aintain
engine RPMs w ithin best torq u e
range.
S topping
For brief halts, e. g. at tra ffic lights,
leave the selector lever in a driving
position and co n tro l vehicle w ith the
service brake.
For lo n g er stops with the engine
idling, sh ift selector lever to posi­
tion “ N” .
W hen sto p p in g the car on a slope, do
not hold it by means of the accelerator
but use the brake. This avoids
unnecessary heat-up of the
transm ission.
Always drive a ccording to the rule
“ Safety firs t” . The co m fo rta b le ride of
the vehicle may easily te m p t you to
underestim ate the speed you are
actually driving at. For this reason
you should get used to keeping an
eye on the sp eedom eter needle be­
cause high speeds dem and long
stopping distances.
Do not a tte m p t to m ove o r roll the
vehicle with the engine not in
op eration, as engine-driven
accessories such as the power
steering system or pow er brakes are
not “ p o w e re d ” , therefore, requiring
substantially m ore e ffo rt fo r th e ir
o peration even though they always
rem ain m echanically operative.
Brake sensibly and prevent the
w heels fro m locking.
Do not allow y o u r tires to w ear down
too far. W ith less than 1/s in. (3 mm)
of tread, the antiskid p ro p e rties on a
wet road are sharply reduced.
D epending upon the w eather a n d /o r
road pavem ent, the g rip of the tires
varies widely.