Page 411 of 555
390 Operation
Driving tips
Yo
u wil lfi nd ba sicd riving tipsin the "Driv-
ing and parki ng" se ction (
=pag e256). On
long and steep downh illgradients ,es-
pecially if theve hicl eis lade n,youmu st se-
lect shift ran ge1,2 or 3in good time.
i Thisalso applies if you have activ ated cruise
co ntrol, Distroni c*orDistronic Plus* .
Th iswill us eth e brak ing effect ofthe
engine, so lessbrakingwill be required to
main tain the speed. Thisrelie vesth eload
on th ebrake systemandprevents the
brake sfrom ove rhea ting and we aring too
quickly. If yo une ed addit iona lb raking, de-
press the brake pedalrep eatedl yrather
tha ncontinu ously.
Do not park the vehicl e im mediat ely after
the brakes ha vebeen subjected to ahe avy
lo ad . Driv eon fora sh ortwh ileinste ad.Th e
airflo w willco olthe brakes more qui ckly. Th
ef ollo wing mayoccur if yo uhave driven
fo ra long time in heavy rain witho utbra k-
ing:
! Thebrakes respond with adel ay.
! You have to depress the brake ped al
mor efirm ly.
Yo um ust there fore ma inta in ag reater dis-
tance from the vehi cle in front. Driving ti
ps Coa
stingwi th the engine switched
of f G
Risk of acc ident Th
erei s no power assistance for th est ee r-
in gan d the serviceb rake when the engine is
not running.
St ee ring and br akingr equire s signi fica ntly
mo reeffo rt an dyou could lose contro lof the
ve hicle and cau sean acc iden t as are su lt.
Do not switch off the engine while the veh i-
cl ei sin mo tion. Braking
G
Risk of accident Do not chang
edown forad ditiona leng ine
br akin gon a slip pery road su rface. This
co uld ca use the drive wheel stol osetheir
gri pan dth e ve hiclec ouldskid. G
Risk of accident Nev
erdepress the br akepe dalcont inuous ly
while thev ehicle is in motion,e. g. by apply-
in g const antslight pedal pressu re.
Th isca uses the bra kesyst emtooverheat,
in cr ea sesth ebra king dist ance and can lead
to th ebr ak es failin g com pletely. G
Risk of accident Make su
rethat yo udo not endanger other
ro ad users when you ap ply the brak es. 216_R
E_2006-12a.book Seit e390 Montag, 2. Oktob er2006 12:06 12
Page 441 of 555
420 Practical advice
Displ
aymessa ges Th
e al ternator is faulty or there is ama l-
fu nction in the vehicl eelectric alcirc uit.
Th ebattery is not being cha rged. 6
Stop the vehi cle pa ying attenti onto road
and tr affic condi tions, but do not switch off
th e en gine.
6 Open thebo nne t.
6 Carr yout avis ual check to seewh ether the
V-b elthas torn.
If the V-belt ha storn:
6 Switchof fthe en gine.
! Donotdrive any fur ther .The engine could ot her-
wise overheat.
6 Consult aqualified specialist worksho p.
If the V-belt is so und:
6 Do not sw itch of fthe engi ne.
6 Visi ta qu alified special istwor ksho p. G
Risk of acc ident
Yo uar e driving with the bonnet ope n. 6
Stop imme diat ely in accordan cewith the
traf fic conditi ons.
6 Clos e the bonne t ( = page 376). Th
eboot lid is op en. 6
Clos ethe boot lid. Di
sp laysymb ol Di
sp lay messages Po
ssi blecaus e/cons equence Po
ssib leso lution 216_R
E_2006-12a.book Seit e420 Montag, 2. Oktob er2006 12:06 12
Page 447 of 555
426 Practical advice
Displ
aymessa ges Pa
rking brake
Se eOwne r's Manual When
you apply or release theelec tric
park ing brake, the redindi ca tor lamp
fo r the electri cparki ngbra keflas he s
fo r approx imately10 se conds. It th en
go es outor rema ins lit. Theyellow
wa rning lamp for the electri cparking
bra keis li t.
Th e el ectri cparkin gbrake hasma lfun c-
ti one d du eto an ove rvoltage orunder-
vol tage orhas overheated ,fo rexamp le. 6
Pullaw ay care fully ( =page 258).
6 Visi ta qu alified special istwor ksho p.
In the ev entof ov ervol tage orunderv oltage:
6 Rect ifythe causeo fthe overvolta ge or
un der voltag e, e.g. cha rge the battery or
resta rt theengine.
6 Swi tchth e ig nition off and on again and ap-
ply orrelease th eelect ric parkin gbrake.
If you cannot releasethe electri cparking
brake by following theabove instru ctions:
6 Release theelec tric park ingbrak eman ual-
ly ( =page 472).
6 Visi ta qu alified special istwor ksho p.
In the ev entof ov erheating:
6 Allow the veh icleto cool down but do not
ap ply th eele ctric parki ngbra kedur ing this
ti me.
or
6 Switchth e ig nition off and on again and
th en ap plyor releas e th eele ctric parki ng
brake. Di
sp laysymb ol Di
sp lay messages Po
ssi blecaus e/cons equence Po
ssib leso lution 216_R
E_2006-12a.book Seit e426 Montag, 2. Oktob er2006 12:06 12
