Mercedes-Benz E-Class 2009 Owners Manual - Manual (Page 133)

Automatic transmission
131
The current transmission position P, R, N,
or D appears in the multifunction display
( Y page 131).
There are additional indicators on the cover
of the shifting gate showing the current gear
selector lever position.
The indicators come on when you insert the
SmartKey into the starter switch, and go out
when you remove the SmartKey from the
starter switch.
Shifting procedure
The automatic transmission selects individual
gears automatically, depending on:
R the selected gear range ( Y page 133)
R the selected program mode:
C/S (
Y page 133)
or
M (E 63 AMG only) (
Y page 135)
R the position of the accelerator pedal
R the vehicle speed
With drive position D selected, you can
influence transmission shifting by:
R limiting the gear range
R extending the gear range
R changing the gears manually (E 63 AMG
only)
Transmission positions
The current transmission position appears in
the multifunction display.
1 Transmission position indicator
Effect
ì Park position
Shift the automatic transmission
into park position
P only when the
vehicle is stopped. The park
position is not intended to serve
as a brake when the vehicle is
parked. Rather, the driver should
always engage the parking brake
in addition to shifting the
automatic transmission into park
position
P to secure the vehicle.
The SmartKey can only be
removed from the starter switch
with the gear selector lever in park
position
P. With the SmartKey
removed from the starter switch,
the gear selector lever is locked in
park position
P.
If the vehicle’s electrical system is
malfunctioning, the gear selector
lever could remain locked in park
position
P. To unlock the gear
selector lever manually, see
“Manually unlocking the gear
selector lever” (
Y page 345).
í Reverse gear
Controls in detail
Z