Special Operating Conditions; Winter Driving; Hints For Driving - Mercedes-Benz 280 SE Owner's Manual

Special Operating Conditions

Winter Driving

Have your car w interized in a
MERCEDES-BENZ service station be­
fore the onset of winter.
• Engine oil change: If no " all-year
round " engine oil is used, fill with
recom m ended w inter oil. For vis­
cosity and capacity, refer to " Fuels,
Coolants, Lubricants, etc. and last
page" .
• A ntifreeze in the coolant:
Check antifreeze protection p e rio d ­
ically. For capacity refer to
" Fuels, Coolants, Lubricants, etc.".
• A dditive in the w indshield washer
system: Add w indshield washer
solvent to the w ater in the w in d ­
shield w asher system.
• Test battery: Battery capacity
d rops with decreasing am bient
tem perature. A well charged bat­
tery ensures that the engine can
always be started, even at low am ­
bient tem peratures.
• Tires: For the cold season we re­
com m end m ounting M + S radial-
ply tires on all wheels. Perm issible
to p speed for M+S ra d ial-p ly tires
is 160 k m /h /100 m iles/h.

Hints for Driving

The m ost im p ortant rule fo r slippery
or icy roads is to drive sensibly and
to avoid a b ru p t acceleration, braking
and steering action. Do not use the
cruise control system under such con­
ditions.
When the vehicle is in danger of s k id ­
ding, move selector lever to position
" N" . Try to keep the vehicle under
control by means of co rrective stee r­
ing action.
Provided the traffic conditions will
allow, only brake in a way that the
wheels are locked fo r no m ore than
fractio ns of a second as otherwise the
steerability of the vehicle is lost.
Thawing salts and w ater can adver­
sely affect the braking efficiency.
Increased pressure on the pedal may
be required to achieve the usual b ra k­
ing effect. We the refo re recom m end
you to actuate the brakes repeatedly
in o rd er to test th e ir efficiency after
driving on salt treated roads fo r some
tim e. In doing this it must, of course,
be m ade sure that no danger is cre ­
ated fo r other road users.
If the vehicle is parked after being
driven on salt treated roads, the b ra k­
ing efficiency should be tested as
soon as possible after driving is re­
sum ed w hile adhering to the safety
requirem ents. Should the braking
efficiency have deteriorated consid­
erably it can be im proved again by
braking several tim es.