Tow -Starting And Towing The Vehicle - Mercedes-Benz 280 SE Owner's Manual

Towing eyes have been provided on
the RH side of the car, fro n t and rear,
underneath the bum pers. U s e a s o lid
towing link such as a tow bar.
Only tow -start vehicle with the battery
connected and the key in steering
lock position " 2".
Caution: Remember, however, that
until the engine is running, the power
steering and power brakes do not o f­
fer assistance and considerable a d d i­
tional effort is required to steer and
stop the car.
Emergency Engine Start
(Tow-starting)
The engine must be cold if it is to be
started by tow ing or pushing the ve­
hicle.
Never start a hot engine by tow ing or
pushing the vehicle as the catalysts
m ight otherw ise suffer dam age.
Move selector lever to position " N" ,
switch on ignition and then tow -start
the vehicle.
A fter reaching a speed of 30 k m /h /
18 mph, m aintain this speed for
about two m inutes in o rd e r to ensure
sufficient oil pressure in the tra n s ­
m ission.
To start the engine, m ove selector
lever to " L" . Only touch the accelera­
to r when the engine is revolving. As
soon as the engine has fired, return
the selector le v e rto " N" im m ediately.
If the engine fails to fire w ithin a few
seconds, return the selector lever
from " L" to " N" as otherw ise the tra n s ­
mission may be dam aged.
For another starting attem pt, tow car
again fo r a short w hile with the selec­
T o w -starting and Tow ing the V eh icle
to r lever in position "N " and then re­
peat starting procedure.
The same p ro cedure may be used for
starting the engine while rolling dow n­
hill.
Towing a Vehicle
The vehicle may be towed with the
d riving wheels on the ground and the
selector lever in position " N" fo r dis­
tances up to 120 km /7 5 m iles and at
a speed not to exceed 50 k m /h /
30 mph.
To positively avoid a possibility of
dam age to the transm ission, how­
ever, we recom m ended to disconnect
the drive shaft at the rear axle drive
flange on any tow ing beyond a short
tow to a nearby garage.