Driving Instructions - Mercedes-Benz 300 SE 1993 Owner's Manual

Driving Instructions

P ow er A ssistance
W arning!
W hen th e e n g in e is not
running, the brake and
steering system s are without
pow er assistance. U nder
th e s e circu m stan ces, a m uch
g reater e ffo rt is n ecessary to
stop or steer th e vehicle.
Brakes
Caution!
W hen d riving down long and steep
grades, relieve the load on the
brakes by shifting into " 3 " , " 2 " or
" B " (m odel 300 SE: " 3 " or " 2 " ).
T his helps prevent overheating of
the brakes and reduces brake pad
wear. Do not exceed engine speed
lim its (see Index).
After hard braking, it is advisable
to drive on for som e tim e, rather
than im m ediately parking, so the
air stream w ill cool dow n the
brakes faster.
16
Warning!
A fte r driving in heavy rain for
som e tim e w ithout applying
th e brakes or through w ater
d eep enough to w e t brake
com ponents, the first braking
action may be som ew h at re­
duced and increased pedal
pressure may be necessary.
Be sure to m aintain a safe
distance from veh icles in
front.
The condition of the parking
brake system is checked each
tim e the car is in the shop for the
required m aintenance.
Between m aintenance checks, it
is a good practice to a pply the
parking brake once or tw ice w hile
d riving at a pproxim ately 30 m ph
(50 k m /h ) on a dry straight road.
A pply parking brake lightly w hile
pulling the release handle out
until a sligh t drag on the w heels
is felt. Keep applying the brake
for about 10 seconds w hile p u ll­
ing the release handle out before
releasing the parking brake co m ­
pletely. This practice w ill keep the
parking brake at m axim um
efficiency.
Warning!
T he stop lam ps will not com e
on w hen applying the parking
brake only. P erform th e pro­
ced u re in the previous para­
graph only w hen the road is
clear of other traffic.
R esting your foo t on the brake
pedal will cause excessive
and prem ature w e ar of the
brake pads.
It can also result in the brakes
overheating th e re b y sig nifi­
cantly reducing th e ir e ffec tive ­
ness. It may not be possible
to stop the car in sufficien t
tim e to avoid an accident.
All checks and m aintenance work
on the brake system should be
carried out by an authorized
M ercedes-B enz dealer.