2008 MERCEDES-BENZ B-CLASS HATCHBACK trailer

Driving sys
tems 1201
Example: sensors in the front bumper,
left-hand side
Range of the sensors The sensors must be free of dirt, ice and
slush, otherwise they may not function cor-
rectly. Clean the sensors regularly, taking
care not to scratch or damage them
(Y page 196). Side view Top view
Front sensors
Centre Approximately 100 cm
Corners Approximately 80 cm
Rear sensors
Centre Approximately 120 cm
Corners Approximately 80 cm
!
When parking, pay particular attention to
objects above or below the sensors, such
as flower pots or trailer towbars. Parktronic
does not detect such objects when they are
in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle. You
could damage the vehicle or the objects. Ultrasonic sources such as an automatic
car wash, a lorry's compressed-air brake
system or a pneumatic drill could cause
Parktronic to malfunction.
Minimum distance Centre Approximately 20 cm
Corners Approximately 20 cm
If there is an obstacle within this range, all
warning displays light up and a tone sounds.
If the distance falls below the minimum clear-
ance, it may no longer be shown.
Warning displays
The warning displays show the distance
between the sensors and the obstacle. The
warning display for the front area is located
on the dashboard above the centre air vents.
The warning display for the rear area is loca-
ted on the roof lining in the rear compart-
ment.Controls
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Driving sys
tems 122
i
Parktronic is automatically activated
when you turn the key to position 2in the
ignition lock.
Trailer towing* Parktronic is deactivated for the rear area
when you establish an electrical connection
between your vehicle and a trailer.
! Remove the detachable trailer coupling if
it is no longer required. Parktronic meas-
ures the minimum detection range to an
obstacle from the bumper, not the ball cou-
pling. Active parking assist*
Active parking assist is an electronic parking
aid with ultrasound. Ultrasound is used to
measure the road on both sides of the vehicle.
A suitable parking space is indicated by the
parking symbol. Active steering intervention
can assist you during parking. You may also
use Parktronic (Y page 119). When Parktronic
is deactivated, active parking assist is also
unavailable. G
Risk of accident
Active parking assist is merely an aid and
may sometimes recommend parking
spaces that are not suitable for parking.
These might be, for example, spaces where
parking is prohibited, driveways, unsuitable
surfaces, etc.
Active parking assist measures the parking
space as you drive past it. Any later
changes to the parking space are not taken
into account. This may be the case, for
instance, when the vehicle parked in front
of or behind the space changes its position
or when an obstacle is moved into the park-
ing space.
Active parking assist does not relieve you
of the responsibility of paying attention. If
you rely solely on Active parking assist, you
could cause an accident and injure yourself
and others.
You are always responsible for safety and
must continue to pay attention to your
immediate surroundings when parking and
manoeuvring. G
Risk of accident
Objects located above the height range of
Active parking assist will not be detected when the parking space is measured. These
are not taken into account when the park-
ing procedure is calculated, e. g. overhang-
ing loads, tail sections or loading ramps of
goods vehicles. In some circumstances,
Active parking assist may therefore guide
you into the parking space too early. This
may lead to a collision. For this reason, you
should avoid using Active parking assist in
such situations.
G
Risk of accident
The front of the vehicle will veer out in the
direction of the oncoming traffic during the
parking operation. In some cases the vehi-
cle will also take you onto sections of the
oncoming lane during the parking proce-
dure.
You are responsible for safety at all times
and must pay attention to any road users
approaching or passing. Stop the vehicle if
necessary or cancel the Active parking
assist parking procedure. G
Risk of injury
Make sure that no persons or animals are
in the manoeuvring range. Otherwise, they
could be injured. Controls
* optional
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Driving sys
tems 123
Use Active parking assist for parking spaces
R
that are parallel to the direction of travel.
R that are on straight roads, not bends.
R that are on the same level as the road, i.e.
not on the pavement, for example;
Parking tips:
R On narrow roads, drive as close to the park-
ing space as possible.
R Parking spaces which are littered, over-
grown or partially occupied by trailer tow-
bars might not be identified properly.
R Snowfall or heavy rain may lead to a parking
space being measured inaccurately.
R Pay attention to the Parktronic warning
messages during the parking procedure
(Y page 120).
R You can intervene in the steering procedure
to correct it at any time. Active parking
assist will then be cancelled.
R When transporting a load which protrudes
from your vehicle you should not use Active
parking assist.
R Never use active parking assist when snow
chains or an emergency spare wheel* are
fitted. R
Make sure that the tyre pressures are
always correct. This has a direct influence
on the parking characteristics of the vehi-
cle.
R The way your vehicle is positioned in the
parking space after parking is dependent
on various factors. These include the posi-
tion and shape of the vehicles parked in
front and behind it as well as the condition
of the location. In some cases, Active park-
ing assist may guide you too far into a park-
ing space, or not far enough into it. In some
cases it may also lead you across or onto
the kerb. If necessary, you should abort the
parking procedure with Active parking
assist.
R You can also engage forward gear prema-
turely. The vehicle redirects and does not
drive as far into the parking space Should
a gear be changed too early to achieve a
sensible parking position, the parking pro-
cedure will be aborted.
! When unavoidable, you should drive over
obstacles such as kerbs slowly and not at
a sharp angle. Otherwise you may damage
the wheel rims or tyres. Detecting parking spaces Active parking assist is switched on automat-
ically when driving forwards. The system is
operational at speeds of up to approximately
35 km/h. While in operation, the system inde-
pendently locates and measures parking
spaces on both sides of the vehicle. When
driving at speeds below 35 km/h, you will see
the parking symbol as a status indicator in the
instrument cluster. Active parking assist only
displays parking spaces on the front-
passenger side as standard. Parking spaces
on the driver's side are displayed as soon as
the turn signal on the driver's side is activa-
ted. If you wish to park in a space on the driv-
er's side, the indicator on the driver's side
must remain on. This must remain switched
on until you acknowledge the use of Active
parking assist by pressing the jbutton on
the multi-function steering wheel.
When a parking space has been detected, an
arrow towards the right or the left also
appears. Controls
* optional
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Driving sys
tems 126
A warning tone sounds. the multi-function
display shows the message: Park Assist
cancelled .
When active parking assist is cancelled, you
must steer again yourself.
Trailer towing* For vehicles with a trailer coupling, the mini-
mum length for parking spaces is slightly
increased.
If you have attached a trailer to your vehicle,
you should not use active parking assist.
Once the electrical connection is established
between your vehicle and the trailer, active
parking assist is no longer available. Park-
tronic is deactivated for the rear area. ECO start/stop function*
The ECO start/stop function automatically
switches off the engine as soon as you stop
the vehicle and restarts the engine as soon as
you prepare to pull away again. Each time the
engine is started using the key, the ECO
start/stop function is activated.
Conditions for the automatic engine
switch-off The ECO start/stop function automatically
switches off the engine if all of the following
conditions are met:
R
you have shifted to neutral
R the clutch pedal is not depressed
R the brake pedal is depressed
R the vehicle speed is very low
R the engine has reached its operating tem-
perature
R the indicator lamp in the ECO button is lit
green
R the bonnet is closed
R the outside temperature is within the com-
fort range R
the battery is sufficiently charged
R the brake vacuum is stable
Conditions for the automatic engine
start The ECO start/stop function automatically
switches on the engine if one of the following
conditions is met:
R
the brake pedal is released
R the clutch pedal is depressed
R the vehicle speed exceeds a certain thresh-
old
R the ECO button is pressed
R the brake vacuum has decreased
R the battery charge has dropped
R the demister function of Thermotronic* is
selected Controls
* optional
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167
Running-in notes
............................... 168
Refuelling ........................................... 168
Engine compartment ........................171
Tyres and wheels .............................. 176
Winter driving ................................... 181
Driving tips ........................................ 183
Driving abroad ................................... 185
Trailer towing* .................................. 186
Service ............................................... 191
Care .................................................... 192 Operation
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Tyres and wheels
180 fully. Do not make any sudden steering
movements when doing so.
The function of the tyre pressure loss warning
system is limited or delayed if:
R snow chains are fitted to your vehicle's
tyres.
R road conditions are wintry.
R you are driving on sand or gravel.
R you adopt a very sporty driving style (cor-
nering at high speeds or driving with high
rates of acceleration).
R you are towing a very heavy or large trailer.
R you are driving with a heavy load (in the
vehicle or on the roof).
Restarting the tyre pressure loss warn-
ing system Restart the tyre pressure loss warning system
if you have:
R changed the tyre pressure
R changed the wheels or tyres
R fitted new wheels or tyres
X Before restarting, consult the table of tyre
pressures on the inside of the fuel filler flap
to ensure that the tyre pressure in all four tyres is set correctly for the operating con-
ditions concerned.
X Also observe the notes in the section on
tyre pressures (Y page 178). G
Risk of accident
The tyre pressure loss warning system can
only give reliable warnings if you have set
the correct tyre pressure.
If an incorrect tyre pressure is set, these
incorrect values will be monitored.
A tyre with insufficient pressure results in
vehicle instability when driving, thus
increasing the risk of an accident.
X Make sure that the key is in position
2(Y page 62) in the ignition lock.
You will see the following message on the
standard screen of the multi-function dis-
play (Y page 99)
X Press korj to select the tyre pres-
sure function:
Run Flat Indicator active
Menu: R-Button
X Press the reset button on the left of the
instrument cluster.
The following message appears in the
multi-function display: Restart Run Flat Indicat.? Yes Can-
cel
If you wish to confirm the restart:
X Press the æbutton.
The following message appears in the
multi-function display:
Run Flat Indicator restarted
After a teach-in period, the tyre pressure
loss warning system will monitor the set
tyre pressures of all four tyres.
If you wish to cancel the restart:
X Press the çbutton.
or
X Wait until the message
Restart Run Flat Indicator?
Yes Cancel disappears.
The tyre pressure values stored at the last
restart will continue to be monitored. Operation
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Driving
tips 183
X
Vehicles with manual transmission: engage
neutral.
X Vehicles with AUTOTRONIC*: shift the
selector lever to N.
X Try to bring the vehicle under control using
corrective steering. Driving tips
Rolling with the engine switched off
G
Risk of accident
Never switch the engine off while the vehi-
cle is in motion.
There is no power assistance for the steer-
ing and the service brake when the engine
is not running.
You will require considerably more effort to
steer and brake and you could therefore
lose control of the vehicle and cause an
accident. Braking
G
Risk of accident
Do not change down for additional engine
braking on a slippery road surface. This
could cause the drive wheels to lose their
grip and the vehicle could skid. G
Risk of accident
Make sure that other road users are not
endangered by your braking. Downhill gradients On long and steep downhill stretches, espe-
cially if the vehicle is laden or towing a trailer,
you must shift to a lower gear in good time or,
on vehicles with AUTOTRONIC*, select shift
range
1,2or 3.
i This also applies if you have activated
cruise control* or Speedtronic*.
This will use the braking effect of the engine,
so less braking will be required to maintain
the speed. This relieves the load on the brake
system and prevents the brakes from over-
heating and wearing too quickly. If you need
additional braking, depress the brake pedal
repeatedly rather than continuously.
Heavy and light loads If the brakes have been subjected to a heavy
load, do not stop the vehicle immediately, but
drive on for a short while. This allows the air-
flow to cool the brakes more quickly.
G
Risk of accident
Never depress the brake pedal continu-
ously while the vehicle is in motion, e.g.
never cause the brakes to rub by applying
constant slight pedal pressure. This causes
the brake system to overheat, increases Operation
* optional
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Trailer towing*
186 Trailer towing*
Fitting the ball coupling
X Make a note of the ball coupling key num-
ber.
i You can use this number to obtain a
replacement key from a Mercedes-Benz
Service Centre. G
Risk of injury
If the ball coupling does not engage cor-
rectly when it is mounted, the vehicle/
trailer combination is not secured and the
trailer could come loose. This could cause
an accident. Fit the ball coupling carefully
and make sure that it engages in position
correctly.
Vehicles without ECO start/stop func-
tion: the attachable ball coupling is on the
right of the stowage compartment in the lug-
gage compartment (Y page 160).
X Open the stowage compartment on the
right-hand side of the luggage compart-
ment.
X Fold the trim downwards. Vehicles without ECO start/stop function
1
Ball coupling
2 Retainer strap
X Undo retainer strap 2.
X Remove ball coupling 1from the ball cou-
pling recess.
Vehicles with ECO start/stop function*:
the attachable ball coupling is in the ball cou-
pling recess in the stowage well underneath
the luggage compartment floor
(Y page 202).
X Open the luggage compartment floor. Vehicles with ECO start/stop function
1
Ball coupling
2 Ball coupling recess
X Remove ball coupling 1from the ball cou-
pling recess.2 1
Protective cap Operation
* optional
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