2006 MERCEDES-BENZ E350 pag 91

253 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Setting the current speed
Accelerate or decelerate to the desired
speed.

Briefly lift or depress the cruise control
lever.
The current speed is set.

Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.Setting a higher speed

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in di-
rection of arrow1 (
page 252) to in-
crease vehicle speed in increments of
5 mph (Canada: 10 km/h).
The new speed is set.
The stored speed is displayed in the
multifunction display for approximately
5 seconds (
page 252), and one or
two segments around the stored speed
come on in the speedometer
(
page 249).Setting a lower speed

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in di-
rection of arrow2 (
page 252) to de-
crease vehicle speed in increments of
5 mph (Canada: 10 km/h).
The new speed is set.
The stored speed is displayed in the
multifunction display for approximately
5 seconds (
page 252), and one or
two segments around the stored speed
come on in the speedometer
(
page 249).
iIf you do not take your foot off the
accelerator completely, the following
message will appear in the multifunc-
tion display: Distronic
overrideThe distance to a slower moving vehi-
cles in front of you will not be set. Your
vehicle speed will then be determined
only by the accelerator pedal position.
iDepressing the accelerator pedal does
not deactivate Distronic. After brief ac-
celeration (e.g. for passing), the cruise
control will resume the last speed set.
iWhen you use the cruise control lever
to decelerate, the brakes will be ap-
plied to support deceleration.
In addition, the transmission will auto-
matically downshift on long downhill
grades.

254 Controls in detailDriving systemsFine adjustment in 1 mph
(Canada: 1 km/h) increments
Faster
Briefly tip the cruise control lever in di-
rection of arrow4 (
page 252).Setting to last stored speed
(“Resume” function)

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in di-
rection of arrow4 (
page 252).
Distronic is activated and set to the last
stored speed.

Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.Deactivating Distronic
There are several ways to deactivate the
Distronic system:

Briefly tip the cruise control lever in di-
rection of arrow3 (
page 252).
or

Step on the brake pedal.
Distronic will be deactivated. The last
speed set will be stored into memory.
Warning!
G
The speed stored in memory should only be
set again if prevailing road conditions per-
mit. Possible acceleration or deceleration
differences arising from returning to the pre-
set speed could cause an accident and/or
serious injury to you and others.
iThe following message will appear in
the multifunction display for approxi-
mately 5 seconds:Distronic offThe last stored speed is deleted when
you turn off the engine.

255 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Distronic deactivates automatically when:

you set the parking brake


you drive slower than 20 mph
(30 km/h)


the ESP
® is active (
page 94) or you
deactivate the ESP
®


you move the gear selector lever into
positionN
A signal will sound. The
Distronic off

message appears in the multifunction
display for approximately 5 seconds.Setting the following distance in
Distronic
You can set the specified following dis-
tance for Distronic by varying the time set-
ting between 1.0 and 2.0 seconds. Using
this time setting and the current speed of
your vehicle, Distronic calculates and sets
the required following distance to the vehi-
cle ahead. The set distance will be shown
in the multifunction display.
The thumbwheel for making the time set-
ting is located on the lower section of the
center console.1Distance warning function on/off
switch
2Indicator lamp
3Thumbwheel for setting distance
Increasing distance
Increasing the distance setting tells
Distronic to maintain a greater following
distance to the vehicle ahead.

Turn thumbwheel3 towards¯.
Warning!
G
Distronic switches off and releases the
brakes when the vehicle decelerates below
the minimum speed of 20 mph (30 km/h)
by operation of the system. At that time the
driver must apply the brakes in order to re-
duce vehicle speed further or bring it to a
stop.
Warning!
G
It is up to the driver to exercise discretion to
select the appropriate setting given road
conditions, traffic, driver’s preferred driving
style and applicable laws and driving recom-
mendations for safe following distance.

256 Controls in detailDriving systemsDecreasing distance
Decreasing the distance setting tells
Distronic to maintain a smaller following
distance to the vehicle ahead.
Turn thumbwheel3 towards®.
Distance warning function
When Distronic is deactivated, this func-
tion will continue to warn you when recog-
nizing a stationary obstacle or a slower
vehicle moving in the vehicle’s path and
the danger of a collision exists:


The distance warning lampl in the
instrument cluster comes on.


An intermittent warning will sound if
necessary.
If these warnings are issued, you must
brake manually to maintain a safe distance
and avoid a collision with the vehicle
ahead.
When pressing the brake pedal, the warn-
ing sound ceases. The warning sound will
also cease when the distance to the vehi-cle ahead is sufficient again without apply-
ing the brakes. In this case, the distance
warning lamp will also go out.Activating

Press switch1.
Indicator lamp 2 on the switch comes
on. A loudspeaker symbol appears in
the multifunction display (
page 252).
Deactivating

Press switch1.
Indicator lamp 2 on the switch goes
out. No loudspeaker symbol appears in
the multifunction display.
Warning!
G
If the distance warning lampl in the in-
strument cluster comes on while driving
and/or an intermittent warning sounds, im-
mediate attention on the part of the driver is
required. As required by the traffic situation,
apply the brakes and navigate around a pos-
sible obstacle. However, do not drive by re-
lying on the distance warning function, as
this will result in an emergency braking ap-
plication. Especially depending on road sur-
face conditions and driver reaction, this will
not always enable you to avoid a collision.iComplex driving situations are not al-
ways fully recognized by Distronic. This
could result in wrong or missing dis-
tance warnings.

257 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Driving with Distronic
This section describes a number of driving
situations where special precaution is re-
quired on the part of the driver. Be pre-
pared to brake in such situations. This will
deactivate the Distronic system.The most likely cause for a malfunctioning
system is a dirty sensor (located behind
the hood grille), especially at times of snow
and ice or heavy rain. In such a case,
Distronic will switch off, and the message
Distronic
Currently unavailable
See Operator’s Manualappears in the multifunction display.
For cleaning and care of the Distronic sen-
sor, see “Cleaning the Distronic* system
sensor cover” (
page 368).
Warning!
G
Distronic works to maintain the speed se-
lected by the driver unless a moving obsta-
cle proceeding directly ahead of it in the
same travel direction is detected (e.g. fol-
lowing another vehicle ahead of you at a dis-
tance set by Distronic). This means that:

Your vehicle can pass another vehicle
after you change lanes.


While in a sharp turn or if the vehicle in
front is in a sharp turn, Distronic could
lose sight of a vehicle traveling in front
of it, then your vehicle could accelerate
to the previously selected speed.
Distronic regulates only the distance be-
tween your vehicle and those directly ahead
of it, but does not register stationary objects
in the road, e.g.:

a stopped vehicle in a traffic jam


a disabled vehicle


an oncoming vehicle
The driver must always be on the alert, ob-
serve all traffic and intercede as required by
steering or braking the vehicle.
Warning!
G
Distronic should not be used in snowy or icy
road conditions.
iIf the message Distronic
Currently unavailable
See Operator’s Manualdisappears during driving and the last
speed stored flashes for approximately
5 seconds, the dirt (e.g. slush) has dis-
solved; Distronic works again.

259 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Narrow vehicles
Because of their narrow profile, the vehi-
cles traveling near the outer edges of the
lane have not yet been detected by Dis-
tronic. There will be insufficient distance to
the vehicles ahead.
Airmatic DC (Dual Control)*
Airmatic automatically selects the opti-
mum suspension tuning and ride height for
your vehicle. The Airmatic consists of two
components:

Adaptive Damping System (ADS)


Vehicle level control
The ADS automatically selects the opti-
mum damping for the respective driving
conditions. At the same time the suspen-
sion is set to either Sport 1, Sport 2 or
Comfort.Suspension tuning
The suspension tuning is set according to:


Your driving style


Road surface conditions


Your choice of suspension style,
Sport 1, Sport 2 or Comfort, which you
select using the damping button1
(page 260).
The following suspension styles are
available:


Comfort
Both indicator lamps2
(page 260) are off.


Sport 1
One indicator lamp2
(page 260) is on.


Sport 2
Both indicator lamps2
(page 260) are on.

260 Controls in detailDriving systems1Damping button
2Indicator lamps
Start the engine.

Press the damping button1 until the
desired suspension style is set.Vehicle level control
Your vehicle automatically adjusts its ride
height to


increase vehicle safety


reduce fuel consumption
The following vehicle chassis ride heights
can be selected:


Normal


Raised
The vehicle chassis ride height is raised or
lowered according to the selected level
setting and to the vehicle speed:


At a speed exceeding approximately
68 mph (110 km/h) with normal level
set or exceeding 75 mph (120 km/h)
with raised level set, the ride height is
reduced automatically. The table on
the next page provides an overview of
the vehicle levels.


With decreasing speed, the ride height
is again raised to the normal level.
!If you have selected the Comfort sus-
pension tuning, the vehicle lowers
slightly when you lock it within approx-
imately 60 seconds after switching off
the engine. When parking, make sure
that your vehicle cannot come into con-
tact with other objects, such as a curb,
while lowering. Your vehicle could oth-
erwise be damaged.iThe selected suspension style is stored
in memory, even after the SmartKey is
removed from the starter switch.

263 Controls in detail
Driving systems
The button is located in the lower section
of the center console.
1Vehicle level control button
2Indicator lamp 
Start the engine (
page 36).

Briefly press button1 to change from
normal level to raised level. When vehi-
cle is at raised level, pressing the but-
ton will return the vehicle to normal
level.
When raised level is set, indicator
lamp2 in the button comes on.
When normal level is set, indicator
lamp2 in the button goes out.
Parktronic system (Parking assist)*
iAt a speed of approximately above
75 mph (120 km / h) or if the speed
amounts to between 50 mph
(80 km / h) and 75 mph (120 km / h)
for approximately five minutes, the set-
ting raised is canceled. The indicator
lamp 2 in the button goes out.
If you do not drive in this speed range,
the raised level remains stored even if
the SmartKey is removed from the
starter switch.
Warning!
G
Parktronic is a supplemental system. It is
not intended to, nor does it replace, the
need for extreme care. The responsibility
during parking and other critical maneuvers
always rests with the driver.
Special attention must be paid to objects
with smooth surfaces or low silhouettes
(e.g. trailer couplings, painted posts, or road
curbs). Such objects may not be detected by
the system and can damage the vehicle.
The operational function of the Parktronic
system can be affected by dirty sensors, es-
pecially at times of snow and ice, see
“Cleaning the Parktronic system* sensors”
(page 368).
Interference caused by other ultrasonic sig-
nals (e.g. working jackhammers, car wash or
the air brakes of trucks) can cause the sys-
tem to send erratic indications, and should
be taken into consideration.