2001 Mercedes C-Class Owner's Manual - Page 247

Instruments and controls Operation Driving Instrument cluster display Practical hints Car care Technical data Index Automatic transmission Neutral No power is transmitted from the engine to the drive axle. When the brakes are released, the vehicle can be moved freely (pushed or towed). Do not engage "N" while driving except to coast when the vehicle is in danger of skidding (e.g. on icy roads, see page 250 for winter driving instructions). Important! Coasting the vehicle, or driving for any other reason with selector lever in "N" can result in transmission damage that is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty. The transmission automatically upshifts through 5th gear. Position "D" provides optimum driving characteristics under all normal operating conditions. 238 Gear selection for special circumstances The transmission gear ranges for special circumstances can be selected by pressing the selector lever to the right or the left with the selector lever in position "D". The gear range currently selected is highlighted in the instrument cluster display. Briefly press selector lever in the ç direction: The transmission downshifts, one gear at a time, in the order "4", "3", "2", "1". Press and hold selector lever in the ç direction: The selector lever position display will switch to the gear range currently selected by the automatic transmission. The transmission will only shift down one gear if the gear range currently selected has already shifted to its highest possible gear. Briefly press selector lever in the æ direction: The transmission will shift from the current gear range to the next higher gear range. If the transmission is already in gear range "D", an additional upshift of one gear is possible.