Mercedes-Benz M-Class 2009 Owners Manual - Manual (Page 135)

Automatic transmission
133
Effect
The automatic transmission shifts
automatically. All forward gears
are available.
Driving tips
Kickdown
Use the kickdown when you want maximum
acceleration.
X Fully depress the accelerator pedal.
Depending on the engine speed the
automatic transmission shifts into a lower
gear.
Canada vehicles and AMG vehicles only:
X Depress the accelerator pedal past the
point of resistance to use the kickdown.
Rocking the vehicle
Rocking the vehicle by shifting the automatic
transmission directly between drive position
D and reverse gear R can help free a vehicle
stuck in mud or snow. The engine control
system of this vehicle electronically limits
directly shifting the automatic transmission
between drive position
D and reverse gear R
to very low speeds, i.e. approximately 5 mph
(9 km/h). To shift the automatic transmission
directly between drive position
D and reverse
gear R, move the gear selector lever past the
resistance point up or down.
Working on the vehicle
G Warning!
When working on the vehicle, engage the
parking brake and shift the automatic
transmission into park position
P.
Otherwise the vehicle could roll away which
could result in an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
Towing a trailer
X When you tow a trailer, shift into a lower
gear range manually if the automatic
transmission hunts between gears on
inclines.
A lower gear range and reduction of speed
reduces the potential to overload or to
overheat the engine.
For more information on trailer towing, see
the “Operation” section (
Y page 282).
Gear ranges
With the automatic transmission in drive
position
D, you can limit or extend the gear
range, see “One-touch
gearshifting” (
Y page 135).
ML 63 AMG: You only can limit or extend the
gear range when driving in automatic
program mode
C or S.
The current gear range appears in the
multifunction display.
1 Gear range indicator
Controls in detail
Z