Mercedes-Benz 300D 2.5 1990, Owner'S Manual

Page: 61 / 121

Automatic Transm ission
The automatic transmission selects
individual gears automatically, depen­
dent upon selector lever position,
vehicle speed and accelerator
position.
Important!
When parking the car and before
working on the vehicle with the
engine running, firm ly depress the
parking brake pedal and shift the
selector lever to position “P”. The
selector lever is autom atically locked
in position by the shift lock when the
selector lever is in “P".
W arning!
Keep driver’s foot area clear at all
times. Objects stored in this area
may impair pedal movement.
Driving:
The selector lever is autom atically
locked w hile in position “ P”. To move'
the selector lever out of position “P”,
the service brake pedal must be firmly
depressed before the shift lock will
release.
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 creeping when the
selector lever is in drive or reverse
position.
Test the brakes shortly after driving
off. Perform this procedure only when
the road is clear of other traffic.
Warm up the engine smoothly. Do not
place full load on the engine until the
operating tem perature has been
reached.
When starting 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 =
rapid acceleration.
Depressing the accelerator beyond
full throttle to kickdown position
means downshifting to the next lower
gear and thereby increasing accelera­
tion. If you ease up on the accelerator
after having attained the desired
speed, the transmission will shift up
again.
W arning!
It is dangerous to shift the selec­
tor lever out of “ P” or “N” if the
engine speed is higher than idle
speed. If your foot is not on the
brake pedal, the car could accele­
rate quickly forward or in reverse.
You could lose control of the car
and hit someone or something.
Only shift into gear when the
engine is idling normally.
I
59
D
riv
in
g