helps
youtoavoid overheating thebrakes and
wearing themoutexcessively.
When youtake advantage ofengine braking, it
is possible thatadrive wheel willnotrotate for
some time,e.g.onaslippery roadsurface.
This could cause damage tothe drive train.
This type ofdamage isnot covered bythe
Mercedes-Ben zwarranty.
Briefly depressing theaccelerator pedalon
downhill gradients whilethemanual drivepro-
gram Mistemporarily activated:theautomatic
transmission mayswitch tothe last active auto-
matic driveprogram Eor S.The automatic trans-
mission mayshift toahigher gear.Thiscan
reduce theengine's brakingeffect.
Heavy andlight loads G
WARNING
If you rest your footonthe brake pedalwhile
driving, thebraking systemcanoverheat. This
increases thestopping distanceandcaneven
cause thebraking systemtofail. There isa
risk ofan accident.
Never usethebrake pedalasafootrest .Never
depress thebrake pedalandtheaccelerator
pedal atthe same time.
! Depressing
thebrake pedalconstantly
results inexcessive andpremature wearto
the brake pads.
If the brakes havebeen subjected toaheavy
load, donot stop thevehicle immediately. Drive
on for ashort while. Thisallow sthe airflow to
cool thebrakes morequickly.
Wet roads If
you have driven foralong time inheavy rain
without braking, theremaybeadelay edreac-
tion from thebrakes whenbraking forthe first
time. Thismay alsooccur afterthevehicle has
been washed ordriven through deepwater.
You have todepress thebrake pedalmore
firmly. Maintain agreater distance fromthe
vehicle infront .
Aft erdriving onawet road orhaving thevehicle
washed, brakefirmlywhilepayingattent ionto
the traffic conditions .This willwarm upthe
brake discs, thereby dryingthemmore quickly
and protect ingthem against corrosion. Limited
braking performanceonsalt-
treat edroads If
you drive onsalted roads, alaye rof salt resi-
due may form onthe brake discsandbrake
pads. Thiscanresult inasignificantly longer
braking distance.
R Inorder toprevent anysalt build -up,apply the
brakes occasionally whilepayingattent ionto
the traffic conditions .
R Carefull ydepress thebrake pedalandthe
beginning andend ofajourney.
R Maintain agreater distance tothe vehicle
ahead.
Servicing thebrakes !
The
brake fluidlevel maybetoo low, if:
R ifthe red brake warning lamplights upin
the instrumen tcluster and
R you hear awarning tonewhile theengine is
running
Observe additional warningmessages inthe
multifunction display.
The brake fluidlevel maybetoo low due to
brake padwear orleaking brakelines.
Have thebrake system checkedimmediately.
Consult aqual ified specialist workshop to
arrange this.
! A
funct ionorperformance testshould only
be carried outona2-axle dynamometer. If
you wish tooperate thevehicle onsuch a
dynamometer, pleaseconsult aqual ified spe-
cialist workshop inadvance. Youcould oth-
erwise damage thedrive trainorthe brake
system.
! As
the ESP ®
system operates automatically ,
the engine andtheignition mustbeswitched
off (the SmartKey mustbeinposition 0092or
0047 inthe ignition lock),ifthe electric parking
brake istested onabraking dynamometer
(maximum 10seconds).
Braking triggered automatically byESP ®
may
cause severe damage tothe brake system.
All check sand maintenanc ework onthe brake
system mustbecarried outataqual ified spe-
cialist workshop.
Have brake padsinstalled andbrake fluid
replaced ataqual ified specialist workshop. 148
Driving
tipsDriving andparking
