Mercedes-Benz 380 SEL 126 1981, Owner'S Manual

Page: 44 / 89

Starting and Shifting Gears
The automatic transmission facili­
tates and simplifies the handling of
the vehicle. The individual gears are
shifted automatically dependent
upon selector lever position, vehicle
speed and accelerator position.
Hint
When parking the vehicle or if
working on the vehicle with the
engine running, depress parking
brake pedal and move selector lever
to position “ P” .
Do not store any objects in the
driver’s footwell area because they
could become lodged under the
operator’s pedals thus rendering
these controls partially or totally
inoperative.
Starting
Shift selector lever to the desired
driving position only when the
engine is idling and the sen/ice
brake is applied. Do not release the
brake before moving off. The vehicle
may otherwise start creeping when
the selector lever is in a driving posi­
tion.
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.
Accelerator position
Partial throttle = early upshifting
= normal acceleration.
Full throttle = retarded upshifting
= maximum acceleration.
Depressing the accelerator beyond
full throttle to kickdown position
means downshifting to the next
lower gear and thus maximum acce­
leration. If you ease up on the acce­
lerator after having attained the
desired speed, the transmission will
shift up again.
Gear shifting is controlled by the
vehicle speed.
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 additi­
onal safeguard when parking
the vehicle. Engage only when
the car is stationary.
“ R” Reverse gear.
Shift reverse gear only with the
vehicle at halt.
“N” Neutral.
No power is transmitted from
the engine to the rear axle.
When the brakes are released,
the vehicle can be moved free­
ly (pushed, towed or tow-
started). Do not engage “N”
when driving except when the