2008 MERCEDES-BENZ CL-Class instrument cluster

459 Controls in detail
Driving systems
“DISTRONIC PLUS
Currently Unavailable
See Oper. Manual”
appears in the multifunction display.
For cleaning and care of the
DISTRONIC Plus sensor, see “Cleaning the
DISTRONIC Plus*/ PRE-SAFE
® Brake* sys-
tem sensors (USA only)”(
page 599).
Another cause might be that the radar sen-
sors have been manually switched off in
the instrument cluster control system.
Please verify that the radar sensors are
switched on (
page 302).Turns and bends
In turns or bends, DISTRONIC Plus may not
detect a moving vehicle in front, or it may
detect one too soon. This may cause your
vehicle to brake late or unexpectedly.Offset driving
A vehicle traveling in your lane but offset
from your direct line of travel may not be
detected by DISTRONIC Plus. There will be
insufficient distance to the vehicle ahead.
i
If the message:
“DISTRONIC PLUS
Currently Unavailable
See Oper. Manual”
disappears during driving and the last speed
stored flashes for approximately 5 seconds, the
dirt (e.g. slush) has dissolved; DISTRONIC Plus is
available again.

465 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Front sensors
Rear sensorsMinimum distance
If the system detects an obstacle in this
range, all the distance warning segments
illuminate and you hear a warning signal. If
the obstacle is closer than the minimum
distance, the actual distance may no long-
er be indicated by the system.Warning indicators
Visual signals indicate to the driver the rel-
ative distance between the sensors and an
obstacle.
The warning indicator for the front area is
in the instrument cluster. The warning indi-
cator for the rear area is on the roof liner in
the rear.
1Left side of the vehicle
2Right side of the vehicle
3Readiness indicators
Each warning indicator is divided into five
yellow and two red distance segments for
either side of the vehicle.
If yellow readiness indicators 3 under the
distance segments are lit, Parktronic is
ready to measure.Center
approx. 40 in (100 cm)
Corners
approx. 24 in (60 cm)
Center
approx. 48 in (120 cm)
Corners
approx. 32 in (80 cm)
!
During parking maneuvers, pay special at-
tention to objects located above or below the
height of the sensors (e.g. street curbs, painted
posts, or trailer hitches etc.). The Parktronic sys-
tem will not detect such objects at close range
and damage to your vehicle or the object may
result.
Ultrasonic signals from outside sources (e.g.
truck air brakes, car wash, or jackhammers) may
impair the operation of the Parktronic system.
Center
approx. 8 in (20 cm)
Corners
approx. 6 in (15 cm)

470 Controls in detailDriving systemsWarning indicators
Visual signals indicate to the driver the rel-
ative distance between the sensors and an
obstacle.
The warning indicator for the front area is
in the instrument cluster. The warning indi-
cator for the rear area is on the roof liner in
the rear.
1Left side of the vehicle
2Right side of the vehicle
3Readiness indicator
Each warning indicator is divided into five
yellow and two red distance segments for
either side of the vehicle.
If yellow readiness indicators 3 under the
distance segments are lit, Park Assist is
ready to measure.The position of the gear selector lever de-
termines which warning indicators will be
activated.
As your vehicle approaches an object, one
or more distance segments will illuminate,
depending on the distance. When the sev-
enth distance segment illuminates, you
have reached the minimum distance.


Front area:
As soon as the first red distance seg-
ment comes on, you will hear an inter-
mittent warning tone for approximately
2 seconds. Once the second red dis-
tance segment comes on, you will hear
a continuous warning tone. You have
reached the minimum distance.


Rear area:
As soon as the first red distance seg-
ment comes on, you will hear an inter-
mittent warning tone for approximately
2 seconds. Once the second red dis-
tance segment comes on, you will hear
a continuous warning tone. You have
reached the minimum distance.
Gear selector
lever position
Warning indicator
D
Front area activated
R
Front and rear area
activated
N
With the electronic
parking brake engaged:
neither activated.
With the electronic
parking brake released:
front and rear area acti-
vated.
P
Neither activated
i
During strong rainfall, the warning indicators
and warning tones may be triggered, for exam-
ple, by water splashing into the area of the sen-
sors.

471 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Collision warning
Park Assist can detect obstacles from a
considerable distance. If you drive in re-
verse towards an obstacle, you will hear a
warning tone. You must then brake in or-
der to avoid a collision. The warning tone
for a collision will not sound when the vehi-
cle is at a standstill very close to the obsta-
cle. In this case, you will hear a
corresponding tone for the warning indica-
tor in the rear area.
Switching Park Assist system on/off
The Park Assist system can be switched off
manually.
The Park Assist button with the indicator
lamp is located on the control panel on the
right-hand side of the instrument cluster.1Park Assist button
2Indicator lamp

Switching off Park Assist system:
Press button 1.
Indicator lamp 2 comes on.

Switching on Park Assist system:
Press button 1 again.
Indicator lamp 2 goes out.
Advanced Parking Guidance*
Advanced Parking Guidance is an electron-
ic parking aid equipped with radar sensors
that scan the area on both sides of vehicle.
When suitable parking space is found it is
shown in the display and you receive steer-
ing instructions for parking in that space.
i
During strong rainfall, the collision warning
may be triggered, for example, by water splash-
ing into the area of the sensors.
i
When the indicator lamp is illuminated, the
Park Assist system is switched off.
i
The Park Assist system is automatically
switched on when the ignition (
page 365) and
radar sensors are switched on (page 302).
Warning!
G
Advanced Parking Guidance is only an aid
and may display parking spaces that are not
suitable e.g. due to parking regulations, un-
suitable road/ground surfaces, driveways,
entrances/exits, etc.


472 Controls in detailDriving systemsAdvanced Parking Guidance only shows a
representation of the parking space in the
instrument cluster display as parking space
is first initially measured when driving past.
Subsequent changes to the parking space
are not taken into account, e.g. if the posi-
tion of the vehicle parked in front of or be-
hind the space changes or objects in the
parking space are moved. Moving objects
are not shown, e.g. pedestrians or vehicles
driving past. Advanced Parking Guidance
does not relieve you of the responsibility to
pay attention. If you only rely on Advanced
Parking Guidance, you may cause an acci-
dent and injure yourself and others.
You are always responsible for safety and
must continue to pay attention to your im-
mediate surroundings when parking and
maneuvering.
Warning!
G
Make sure no persons or animals are in the
area in which you are maneuvering. You
could otherwise injure them.!
Special attention must be paid to objects
with smooth surfaces or low silhouettes (e.g.
trailer couplings, painted posts, elevated cross-
bars or road curbs). Such objects may not be de-
tected by the system and can damage the
vehicle.
i
USA only:
This device has been approved by the FCC as a
“Vehicular Radar System”. The radar sensor is
intended for use in an automotive radar system
only. Removal, tampering, or altering of the de-
vice will void any warranties, and is not permitted
by the FCC. Do not tamper with, alter, or use in
any non-approved way.
Any unauthorized modification to this device
could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.
i
Canada only:
This device complies with RSS-210 of Industry
Canada. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference re-
ceived, including interference that may
cause undesired operation of the device.
Removal, tampering, or altering of the device will
void any warranties, and is not permitted. Do not
tamper with, alter, or use in any non-approved
way.
Any unauthorized modification to this device
could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.
!
The operation and functionality of the Ad-
vanced Parking Guidance* can be affected or im-
paired by dirty sensors, especially at times of
snow and ice.
Make sure that the area on the bumpers around
the sensors is free of dirt, ice and/or slush, oth-
erwise Advanced Parking Guidance* may not
function properly, see “Cleaning the driving sys-
tems sensors” (
page 601).


473 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Use Advanced Parking Guidance for park-
ing spaces that are

parallel to the direction of travel


located on straight streets, i.e. not in
curves


on the same level as the street, i.e. not
on sidewalks, for example. Flat curbs
may possibly not be detected by Ad-
vanced Parking Guidance.
Parking instructions:


On narrow streets, drive by the parking
space as close as possible.


Parking spaces that are dirty, over-
grown or located in front of trailers may
not be detected correctly.


Also observe the Park Assist warning
indicator (
page 470) while Advanced
Parking Guidance is active.


How well your vehicle will be parked af-
ter completion of the Advanced Park-
ing Guidance depends on the position
and shape of the vehicles parked in
front of and behind the parking space
as well as the conditions of the imme-
diate surroundings. In certain cases,
Advanced Parking Guidance may guide
you too far into the parking space or
not far enough. If this is the case, can-
cel the parking procedure with Ad-
vanced Parking Guidance and correct
the vehicle position yourself.Detecting a parking space
Advanced Parking Guidance is active when
driving forward. The system operates at a
vehicle speed of up to 25 mph (40 km/h)
and automatically scans for and measures
potential parking spaces on both sides of
the vehicle. At a vehicle speed of below
10 mph (16 km/h), you see the white
parking space symbol as a system display
in the instrument cluster. As soon as Ad-
vanced Parking Guidance has detected a
suitable parking space, the parking space
symbol changes to blue.

475 Controls in detail
Driving systems

Bring the vehicle to a standstill as long
as the desired parking space is dis-
played by the blue parking space sym-
bol in the instrument cluster.

Shift the automatic transmission to
positionR.
The message “Check Surroundings
Press 'OK' to Confirm” appears in the
multifunction display.

Press# on the multifunction steer-
ing wheel to confirm.
The display in the instrument cluster
changes to the Advanced Parking Guid-
ance.
1Green lane
2White bracket indicates the stopping
position

Where necessary, depending on the
distance to the parking space, back up
in a straight line a short distance.
This is indicated by a green lane1.

Back up until you hear an audible warn-
ing, then stop.
The stopping position has been
reached, indicated by a white
bracket2.
3Red lane indicates the current steering
wheel position
4Yellow lane indicates the required
steering wheel position

When the vehicle is stationary, turn the
steering wheel until the red lane3
matches up with the yellow lane4.
Warning!
G
Advanced Parking Guidance is only an aid
and may not detect all obstacles. At corners
or near smooth surfaces, Advanced Parking
Guidance may not detect an object correct-
ly. Advanced Parking Guidance does not re-
lieve you of the responsibility to pay
attention. You are always responsible for
safety and must continue to pay attention to
your immediate surroundings when parking
and maneuvering. Otherwise, you could en-
danger yourself and others.


480 Controls in detailDriving systemsSwitching on Rear View Camera
Switch on the ignition (
page 365).

Switch on COMAND (
page 83).

Move gear selector lever to reverse
gearR.
The COMAND display will show the
area behind the vehicle with guide
lines.1Blue guide lines for vehicle width
2Yellow 39 in (1 m) guide line
3Red 10 in (0.25 m) guide line
The red 10 in (0.25 m) guide line3, the
yellow 39 in (1 m) guide line2 corre-
spond to the relevant distance from the
rear of the vehicle. The blue guide line for
vehicle width1 show the required width
for the vehicle.Warning!
G
Use of Rear View Camera can be dangerous
if you are color-blind or have impaired color
vision.
Only use Rear View Camera if you can see
and distinguish all colored guide lines shown
by Rear View Camera on the COMAND dis-
play.i
The Rear View Camera must be activated in
the instrument cluster control system in order
for it to be switched on (
page 298).
Warning!
G
Please note that objects which do not touch
the ground, such as the bumper of a vehicle
parked behind you, a trailer hitch, or the
back of a truck, may appear to be further
away than they actually are. In this case, you
should not use the guide lines to judge dis-
tance as the use of the guide lines to judge
distance increases the risk of impacting the
objects.
Even when the object you approach is di-
rectly on the ground (and nothing on the ob-
ject extends above the ground beyond the
object’s contours directly touching the
ground) and no objects that do not touch
the ground, such as the bumper of a vehicle
parked behind you, a trailer hitch, or the
back of a truck are in the path, do not ap-
proach the object on the ground any closer
than red guide line4.