Mercedes-Benz SLK 230 KOMPRESSOR 1999, Owner'S Manual

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D The transm ission autom atically
upshifts through 5th gear.
Position “D” provides optim um
driving characteristics under all
normal operating conditions.
4 Upshift through 4th gear only.
Suitable for perform ance
driving. To shift from position
“ D” to “4”, push selector lever to
the left.
3 Upshift through 3rd gear only.
Suitable for m oderately steep
hills. Since the transm ission
does not shift higher than
3rd gear, this gear selection will
allow use of the engine’s brak­
ing pow er downhill.
2 Upshift through 2nd gear only.
For driving in m ountainous
regions or under extrem e
operating conditions. This gear
selection will allow use of the
engine’s braking pow er when
descending steep grades.
1 In this position, the eng in e ’s
braking effect is utilized by
shifting into 1st gear. Use this
position while descending very
steep or lengthy dow ngrades
and only at speeds below
40 mph (60 km/h).
With selector lever in position “D ”,
“4 ” or “3”, upshifting from 1st to 2nd
to 3rd gear is delayed depending
on vehicle speed and engine te m ­
perature. This allows the catalytic
converter to heat up more quickly
to operating tem peratures.
During the brief w arm -up period
this delayed upshift and increased
engine noise m ight be perceived
as a m alfunction. However, neither
the engine nor transm ission are
negatively affected by this mode of
operation.
The delayed upshift is effective
with vehicle speeds below 31 mph
(50 km/h) at partial throttle and
engine tem peratures below 95°F
(35°C).
To avoid overrevving the engine
when the selector lever is moved to
a lower driving range, the trans­
mission will not shift to a lower
gear, if the engine’s speed limit
would be exceeded. In this case
there will be no downshift, even
when the vehicle speed reaches
the eng in e ’s speed limit of that
gear, e.g. by applying the service
brakes. C ontinue driving in the
Important!
usual m anner. The transm ission
will then shift down autom atically.
To prevent the engine from
laboring at low RPM w hen driving
uphill gradients or with your vehicle
heavily loaded, the autom atic
transm ission will dow nshift when
necessary to m aintain engine RPM
within the best torque range.
W arning!
On slippery road surfaces,
never d o w nshift in order to
obtain braking action. This
could result in drive w heel slip
and reduced vehicle control.
Your veh icle’s ABS will not
prevent this type of loss of
control. ____________
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