2011 Mercedes SL-Class Owner's Manual - Page 212

210 Driving instructions carpets in the footwell, make sure that the pedals still have sufficient clearance. During sudden driving or braking maneuvers, the objects could get caught between the pedals. You could then no longer brake or accelerate. This could lead to accidents and injury. Brakes Downhill grades ! When driving down long and steep grades, relieve the load on the brakes by shifting into a lower gear to use the engine's braking power. This helps prevent overheating of the brakes and reduces wear. When using the engine's braking power, a drive wheel may not spin for an extended period of time, e.g. on slippery road surfaces. This may cause serious damage to the drivetrain which is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty. Continuous or hard braking G Warning! Resting your foot on the brake pedal will cause excessive and premature wear of the brake pads. It can also result in the brakes overheating, thereby significantly reducing their effectiveness. It may not be possible to stop the vehicle in sufficient time to avoid an accident. Operation Power assistance G Warning! There is no power assistance for the steering and the brake when the engine is not running. Steering and braking requires significantly more effort and you could lose control of the vehicle and cause an accident as a result. Do not turn off the engine while the vehicle is in motion. G Warning! The brake system requires electrical energy for operation. A malfunction in the vehicle's power supply or electrical system may impair brake system operation and switch it into its emergency operation mode. In such a case, the red brake warning lamp and warning messages in the instrument cluster come on while driving. To brake, the driver must then apply significantly greater brake pedal pressure and depress the pedal much further to obtain the expected brake effect. If necessary, apply full pressure to the brake pedal. Brakes are only applied to the front wheels. Stopping distance is increased! If there is a malfunction in the electro-hydraulic brake system, we recommend that the vehicle be transported with all wheels off the ground using flatbed or appropriate wheel lift/dolly equipment. After hard braking, it is advisable to drive on for some time, rather than immediately park, so that the air stream will cool down the brakes faster. Wet roads G Warning! After driving in heavy rain for some time without applying the brakes or through water deep enough to wet brake components, the first braking action may be somewhat reduced and increased pedal pressure may be necessary to obtain expected brake effect. Maintain a safe distance from vehicles in front. To help prevent brake disk corrosion after driving on wet or salt-covered roads, it is advisable to brake the vehicle with