2008 Mercedes C-Class Owner's Manual - Page 146

Controls in detail Automatic transmission* Gear selector lever one-touch gearshifting With the gear selector lever in drive position D, you can limit or extend the gear range. Briefly press the gear selector lever to the left in the D- direction. The transmission will shift to the next lower gear as permitted by the shift program. This action simultaneously limits the gear range of the transmission ( page 143). Canceling gear range limit Press and hold the gear selector lever in the D+ direction until D reappears in the multifunction display ( page 140). The transmission will shift from the current gear range directly to gear range D. Shifting into optimal gear range Press and hold the gear selector lever in the D- direction. The transmission will automatically select the gear range suited for optimal acceleration and deceleration. This will involve shifting down one or more gears. ! Allow engine to warm up under low load use. Do not place full load on the engine until the operating temperature has been reached. Shift into reverse gear R or park position P only when the vehicle is stopped. Avoid spinning of a drive wheel when driving off on slippery road surfaces. This may cause serious damage to the drivetrain which is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty. i To avoid overrevving the engine when downshifting, the transmission will not shift to a lower gear if the engine's max. speed would be exceeded. Extending gear range Briefly press the gear selector lever to the right in the D+ direction. The transmission will shift to the next higher gear as permitted by the shift program. This action simultaneously extends the gear range of the transmission. Limiting gear range Warning! G On slippery road surfaces, never downshift in order to obtain braking action. This could result in drive wheel slip and reduced vehicle control. Your vehicle's ABS will not prevent this type of loss of control. i If you press on the accelerator when the engine has reached its rpm limit, the transmission will upshift beyond any gear range limit selected. 145