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Radar sensors
1Long-range sensor
2Location of the short-range sensors behind 
the bumperHeavy rain and also dirt, snow or ice can limit 
the detection of vehicles ahead. If needed, 
clean the radar sensor under the front bumper 
as well as the bumper area covering the short 
range sensors. When doing so, be particularly 
careful in removing layers of snow and ice.
Do not apply adhesive labels etc. in the area of 
the short-range sensors.
If the sensor is not aligned properly, e. g. due to 
damage, the active cruise control cannot be 
activated.
System limitations
As with conventional cruise control sys-
tems, active cruise control in no way 
diminishes or substitutes for the driver's own 
personal responsibility, alertness and aware-
ness in adjusting speed, braking or otherwise 
controlling the vehicle. The driver should 
decide when to use the system on the basis of 
road, traffic, visibility, and weather conditions. 
Active cruise control is intended for use on free-
way-type roadways where traffic is moving rel-
atively smoothly. Do not use this system in city 
driving; in complex driving situations; on curvy, 
winding roads, slippery roads or roads with 
sharp curves such as highway off-ramps; during 
inclement weather such as snow, strong rain or 
fog; or when entering interchanges, service/
parking areas or toll booths. It is also important 
to regulate your vehicle's speed and distance 
setting within applicable legal limits. Always be 
ready to take action or apply the brakes if nec-
essary, especially when the system is actively 
following a vehicle in front of you.
tions. For example, the system may not detect 
vehicles driving ahead if they suddenly brake 
heavily in stop-and-go traffic during accelera-
tion. The system will not apply the brakes or 
slow your vehicle when a very slow-moving 
vehicle, stopped vehicle or stationary object is 
in the lane ahead of you, for example when 
approaching a traffic light or parked vehicle or 
when a vehicle is stalled in your lane. Also, the 
system does not react to oncoming traffic, 
pedestrians or other types of potential traffic 
such as a rider on a horseback. It is also possible 
that the system may not detect smaller moving 
objects such as motorcycles or bicycles. Be 
especially alert when encountering any of these 
situations as the system will neither automati-
cally brake, nor provide a warning to you. Also, 
be aware that every decrease in the distance 
setting allows your vehicle to come closer to a 
vehicle in front of you and requires a heightened 
amount of alertness.< 

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Behavior in curves
If the selected desired speed for a curve is too 
high, the system reduces the speed within a 
curve. However, it cannot detect curves in 
advance. Therefore, select a suitable speed at 
the start of a curve.
Because of the limited range of the system, it is 
possible that in curves or on the peaks and val-
leys of hilly roads, a vehicle ahead may be rec-
ognized late, or not at all. Therefore, it is up to 
the driver to select a speed that is prudent in 
view of the curves and terrain of the roadway.
In approaching a curve, it is possible that active 
cruise control might react briefly to a vehicle in 
the adjacent lane. In addition, the system can 
sense if your vehicle is in a curve and may not 
accelerate. If your vehicle decelerates in either 
case, you can choose to overcome the deceler-
ation by briefly pressing the accelerator pedal.
Driver interventions and your 
responsibility
Anytime the driver presses down on the 
accelerator pedal, any automatic braking 
action by the system is interrupted and the dis-
tance indicator turns off until the pedal is fully 
released. As soon as you fully release the accel-
erator, the system will once again control your 
cruising speed and distance setting. While driv-
ing with the system activated, resting your foot 
on the accelerator pedal will cause the system 
not to brake even if necessary. Be certain that 
floormats or other objects on the vehicle floor 
do not interfere with movement of the accelera-
tor pedal.<
While active cruise control is capable of 
braking your vehicle automatically when 
you approach a slower vehicle ahead, it is 
important to be aware that the ability of the sys-
tem to apply the brakes is also limited, e. g. 
when you reduce your desired speed sharply. It 
uses only a portion of braking system capacity 
and does not utilize the full capacity of the vehi-
cle braking system. Therefore, the system can-
not decrease your speed due to large differ-
ences in speed between your vehicle and the 
vehicle ahead. Example: when you approach a 
vehicle traveling at a much lower speed than 
your own speed such as approaching a toll 
booth or when a much slower vehicle cuts in 
front of you at close range.< 

Everything under control
76
For different routes
You can display the average speed and average 
consumption for two different routes on the 
Control Display, refer to the following and to 
Trip computer.
Displays on Control Display
You can also call up the computer via iDrive, for 
operating principle refer to page16.
1.Press the   button.
This opens the start menu.
2.Move the controller to the right to open 
"Navigation".
Without navigation system
*: open "Car 
Data".
3.Select "Car Data" and press the controller.
4.Select "Onboard info" and press the con-
troller.
>Estimated time of arrival at destination and 
remaining distance:
>Entering a distance manually in the com-
puter, see below.
>Entering a destination in the navigation 
system
*, refer to page132.
>Cruising range>Average speed
>Average fuel consumption
Resetting values
You can reset the values for average speed and 
average fuel consumption:
1.Select the desired menu item and press the 
controller.
2.Press the controller again to confirm.
Entering a distance manually
1.Select "Distance to dest." and press the 
controller.
2.Turn the controller to select the distance 
to your destination. If necessary, hold it 
against a slight resistance to enter a greater 
difference.
3.Press the controller to apply the setting.
The distance is automatically predetermined 
during the destination guidance of the naviga-
tion system
*.
Trip computer
The trip computer is suitable for a vacation trip, 
for example.
1.Open the start menu.
2.Open "Navigation".
Without navigation system
*: open "Car 
Data".
3.Select "Car Data" and press the controller. 

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9.Turn the controller to make the adjustment.
10.Press the controller to apply the setting. 
The year is selected.
11.Turn the controller to make the adjustment.
12.Press the controller to apply the setting. 
The date entry is stored.
To exit from the menu:
Select the   arrow and press the controller.
Check Control
The concept
The Check Control monitors functions in the 
vehicle and issues a message if there is a mal-
function in the monitored systems. A Check 
Control message of this kind includes indicator 
or warning lamps in the instrument cluster, pos-
sibly an acoustic signal, and text messages at 
the bottom of the Control Display.
Indicator and warning lamps
The indicator and warning lamps can light up in 
different combinations and colors. This symbol means that a Check Control 
message has been generated. The symbol 
remains visible even if the Check Control mes-
sage has been hidden after a short time. The 
combinations of warning lamps and text mes-
sages are stored and can be viewed later, also 
refer to page80.
Explanatory text messages
Text messages at the bottom edge of the Con-
trol Display explain the meaning of the indicator 
and warning lamps displayed.
You can display supplementary information 
regarding most Check Control messages, e.g. 
as to the cause of a malfunction and corre-
sponding actions to be taken, see below.
In urgent cases, this information will be shown 
as soon as the corresponding lamp lights up. 

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Displaying the urgency of malfunctions
Depending on the equipment, the stored Check 
Control messages are also displayed with the 
following symbols:
No malfunctions detected in the moni-
tored systems.
Malfunctions detected in the monitored 
systems. Depending on the malfunction, 
supplementary information is shown on 
the Control Display.
The symbols also indicate the status of the ser-
vice requirements display, refer to page77.
Displays after completion of trip
Malfunction reports generated during the trip 
are shown consecutively when you switch off 
the ignition.
Before the display disappears, you can display 
the messages once again. Press the CHECK 
button for approx. 2 seconds. If several mes-
sages are present, you can press the CHECK 
button repeatedly.
The display:
>turns off automatically after a brief period
>can be turned off at any time by pressing 
the CHECK button again for approx. 2 sec-
onds
Speed limit
You can enter a speed and a Check Control 
message indicates when you have reached 
this speed. This enables you, for example, to 
receive warnings if you exceed a speed limit in 
an urban area.
You are only warned of reaching this speed a 
second time if your vehicle speed falls below it 
again by at least 3 mph/5 km/h.
Displaying, setting or changing limit
iDrive, for operating principle refer to page16.
1.Open the start menu.
2.Open "Navigation".
Without navigation system
*: open "Car 
Data".
3.Select "Car Data" and press the controller.
4.Select "Limit" and press the controller.
5.Select the speed value and press the con-
troller.
6.Turn the controller to set the limit. If neces-
sary, hold it against a slight resistance to 
enter a greater difference.
7.Press the controller to apply the setting.
The limit is automatically switched on.
Applying your current speed as limit
Select "Select current speed" and press the 
controller. The system applies your current 
speed as the limit.
Activating limit
Select "On" and press the controller.
 The limit is automatically switched on. 

Everything under control
82
Stopwatch
iDrive, for operating principle refer to page16.
1.Open the start menu.
2.Open "Navigation".
Without navigation system
*: open "Car 
Data".
3.Select "Car Data" and press the controller.
4.Select "Stopwatch" and press the control-
ler.
Starting, stopping, or resetting
>Select "Start" and press the controller. 
The stopwatch starts at the displayed time.
>Select "Reset" and press the controller. 
The stopwatch is reset and it restarts if it 
was running beforehand.
>Select "Stop" and press the controller. 
This stops the timer.
Taking an intermediate time reading
Select "Interim time" and press the controller. 
The interim time appears below the ongoing 
primary stopwatch count.
All of the other functions remain available 
even while the stopwatch is running. The 
stopwatch continues to operate in the back-
ground.<
Settings on Control Display
iDrive, for operating principle refer to page16.
1.Press the   button once or twice until 
the start menu appears.
2.Press the controller to open the   menu.
3.Turn the controller until "Settings" is 
selected and press the controller.
Setting time
1.Turn the controller until "Time / Date" is 
selected and press the controller.
2.Move the controller once to the front if nec-
essary to change to the first field from the 
top. 

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Technology for comfort, convenience and 
safety
PDC Park Distance Control*
The concept
The PDC assists you when you are parking. 
Acoustic signals and an optical display
* alert 
you to the approach of an object from behind 
your vehicle. To measure the distance, there 
are four ultrasonic sensors in each bumper. 
The range of these sensors is approx. 7 ft/2 m. 
However, an acoustic warning first sounds for 
the sensors at the front and at the two rear cor-
ners at approx. 24 in/60 cm, and for the center 
rear sensors at approx. 5 ft/1.50 m.
PDC is a parking aid that can indicate the 
presence of objects when they are being 
approached slowly, as is usually the case when 
parking. Avoid approaching an object at high 
speed; otherwise, the physical circumstances 
could cause the system warning to be activated 
too late.<
Switching on automatically
The system starts to operate approx. one sec-
ond after you shift into reverse or move the 
selector lever into position R with the engine 
running or the ignition switched on.
Wait this short time before driving off.
Switching on manually
Press the button; the LED lights up.
Switching off manually
Press the button again; the LED goes out.
Automatic deactivation
After driving approx. 165 ft/50 m or at over 
approx. 20 mph/30 km/h, the system is 
switched off and the LED goes out. You can 
reactivate the system manually as needed.
Signal tones
An intermittent signal indicates the distance of 
the vehicle from an object being approached. 
Thus, an object detected to the left rear of the 
vehicle will be indicated by a signal tone from 
the left rear speaker, etc.  As the distance 
between vehicle and object decreases, the 
intervals between the tones become shorter. If 
the distance to the nearest object falls to below 
roughly 1 ft/30 cm, then a continuous tone 
sounds.
An intermittent tone is interrupted after approx. 
3seconds:
>if you remain in front of an object that was 
only detected by one of the corner sensors
>if you drive parallel to a wall
Malfunction
The LED in the button flashes and a message 
appears on the Control Display. PDC is mal-
functioning. Have the system checked.
As a preventive measure, keep the sensors 
clean and free of ice or snow in order to ensure 
that they will continue to operate effectively. Do 
not spray the sensors with high-pressure clean-
ers for long periods and maintain a distance of 
at least 4 in/10 cm to them. 

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Electronic brake-force distribution
This system controls the brake system's appli-
cation pressure at the rear wheels to ensure 
stable deceleration.
Brake assistant
When you apply the brakes rapidly, this system 
automatically produces the maximum braking 
force boost and thus helps to achieve the short-
est possible braking distance during full brak-
ing. This system exploits all of the benefits pro-
vided by ABS.
Do not reduce the pressure on the brake pedal 
for the duration of the full braking.
Adaptive brake assistant*
In conjunction with the active cruise control 
with the stop-and-go function, the adaptive 
brake assistant ensures that the brake 
responds even more quickly during braking 
with the brake assistant.
DSC Dynamic Stability Control
DSC prevents traction loss in the driving wheels 
when starting off and accelerating. The system 
also identifies unstable driving conditions, such 
as a loss of traction at the rear of the vehicle or 
sliding of the vehicle in its front wheels. In these 
cases, DSC helps the vehicle safely stay on 
course within the physical limits by reducing the 
engine output and by applying the brakes differ-
ently in the individual wheels.
The laws of physics cannot be repealed, 
even with DSC. An appropriate driving 
style always remains the responsibility of the 
driver. Therefore, do not restrict the additional 
safety margin with a risky driving style, as other-
wise there is a risk of an accident.<
Deactivating DSC
Press the button until the DSC indicator lamp in 
the instrument cluster lights up, but not for 
longer than approx. 10 seconds. DTC Dynamic 
Traction Control and DSC are deactivated 
together. Interventions promoting stability and 
forward momentum will no longer be carried 
out. The stability-promoting intervention of the 
active steering
* is also deactivated, refer to 
page93.
A message appears on the Control Display. 
Please note any supplementary information 
that appears there.
To support enhanced operating stability, reacti-
vate DSC again as soon as possible.
Activating DSC
Press the button; the indicator lamp in the 
instrument cluster goes out.
For better control
The indicator lamp flashes: 
DSC is controlling the drive forces and 
brake forces. 
The indicator lamp lights up: 
DSC is deactivated.
DTC Dynamic Traction Control
DTC is a variant of DSC for special road condi-
tions, e.g. uncleared snow-covered roads, that 
is optimized for forward momentum. The sys-
tem ensures maximum forward momentum, but 
with limited driving stability. Therefore, drive 
with appropriate caution.