Brakes, Fluid, Operation – Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class 2009 Owners Manual User Manual
Page 256
Driving instructions
254
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 surfa-
ces. This may cause serious damage to the
drivetrain which is not covered by the Mer-
cedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Continuous or hard braking
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 effec-
tiveness. It may not be possible to stop the
vehicle in sufficient time to avoid an acci-
dent.
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
After driving in heavy rain for some time
without applying the brakes or through
water deep enough to wet brake compo-
nents, the first braking action may be some-
what reduced and increased pedal pres-
sure may be necessary to obtain expected
brake effect. Maintain a safe distance from
vehicles in front.
The first time the brakes are applied after a
long period of driving in heavy rain without
braking, it is possible that there will be a
delayed braking response and that you will
need to depress the brake pedal more firmly.
You should therefore maintain a greater dis-
tance from the vehicle in front.
To help prevent brake disk corrosion after
driving on wet or salt-covered roads, it is
advisable to brake the vehicle with consider-
able force prior to parking. The heat gener-
ated serves to dry the brakes.
Salt-covered roads
A layer of salt on the brake discs and the
brake linings may cause a delay in the brak-
ing effect, resulting in a significantly
increased braking distance, which could
lead to an accident.
To avoid this danger, you should:
R
occasionally brake carefully when you
are driving on salt-covered roads, so that
any layer of salt that may have built up
on the brake discs and the brake linings
is removed without putting other road
users at risk
R
maintain a greater distance to the vehicle
ahead and drive with particular care
R
carefully apply the brakes at the end of a
trip and immediately after commencing a
new trip, so that salt residues are
removed from the brake disc
Brake service
!
The brake fluid level in the reservoir may
be too low if the brake warning lamp in the
instrument cluster comes on and an acous-
tic warning sounds although the parking
Operation