2009 Mercedes R-Class Owner's Manual - Page 144

Controls in detail Automatic transmission One-touch gearshifting With the automatic transmission in drive position D, you can limit or extend the gear range using the steering wheel gearshift contol. Limiting gear range G Warning! 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. X i If you press on the accelerator pedal when the engine has reached the revolution limit of the current gear range, the automatic transmission will upshift beyond any gear range limit selected. Canceling gear range limit X Briefly pull left gearshift control 1. The automatic transmission will shift into the next lower gear as permitted by the shift program. This action simultaneously limits the gear range of the automatic transmission. Pull and hold right gearshift control 2 until the gear range indicator disappears from the multifunction display. The automatic transmission will shift from the current gear range directly into gear range D. Steering wheel gearshift control 1 Limiting gear range 2 Extending gear range i To avoid overrevving the engine when downshifting, the automatic transmission will not shift into a lower gear if the engine's maximum speed would be exceeded. Extending gear range X Shifting into optimal gear range X i You cannot shift with the steering wheel gearshift control when the automatic transmission is in park position P, neutral position N, or reverse gear R. Pull and hold left gearshift control 1. The automatic transmission will select the gear range suited for optimal acceleration and deceleration automatically. This will involve shifting down one or more gears. Briefly pull right gearshift control 2. The automatic transmission will shift into the next higher gear as permitted by the shift program. This action simultaneously extends the gear range of the automatic transmission. 142