2008 MERCEDES-BENZ CLS COUPE Owners Manual

Driving systems
134
Storing and maintaining the current
speed You can store the current speed if you are
driving
faster than 30 km/h and ESP ®
is acti-
vated ( Y page 59).
X Accelerate the vehicle to the desired
speed.
X Briefly press the cruise control lever up
1 or down 4.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
Cruise control is activated. The vehicle
automatically maintains the stored speed.
i Cruise
control may be unable to maintain
the stored speed on uphill gradients. The
stored speed is resumed when the gradient
evens out. Cruise control maintains the
stored speed on downhill gradients by
automatically applying the brakes.
Selecting the current or last stored
speed G
Risk of accident
Only select a stored speed if you know what
that speed is and whether it is suitable for the current situation. Otherwise, sudden
acceleration

or braking could endanger you
or others.
X Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you 3.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
Cruise control is activated and adjusts the
vehicle's speed to the last speed stored.
Setting a speed X
Press the cruise control lever up 1 for a
higher

speed or down 4 for a lower speed.
X Keep the cruise control lever pressed until
the desired speed is reached.
X Release the cruise control lever.
The new speed is stored.
i Cruise control is not deactivated if you
depress the accelerator pedal. For exam-
ple, if you accelerate briefly to overtake,
cruise control adjusts the vehicle's speed
to

the last speed stored after you have fin-
ished overtaking. i
Deceleration of the vehicle by means of
the

cruise control lever is assisted by auto-
matic application of the brakes.
On long downhill gradients, the automatic
transmission shifts down as a further meas-
ure.
Making fine adjustments in 1 km/h
increments X
Briefly press the cruise control lever up
1 for a higher speed or down 4 for a
lower speed.
The last speed stored is increased or
reduced.
Deactivating cruise control There are several ways to deactivate cruise
control:
X
Briefly press the cruise control lever for-
wards 6.
or
X Brake.
or Controls
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Driving systems
135
X
Briefly press the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow 5.
Variable Speedtronic is selected. LIM indi-
cator lamp 2 in the cruise control lever
lights up.
Cruise control is automatically deactivated if,
for example:
R you depress the parking brake
R you are driving at less than
30 km/h
R ESP ®
(Y page 59) is intervening or you
deactivate ESP ®
R you move the selector lever to N while driv-
ing
If cruise control is deactivated, you will hear
a warning tone. You will see the Cruise con-
trol off message in the multi-function dis-
play for approximately five seconds.
i The last speed stored is cleared when you
switch off the engine. Distronic*
Distronic regulates the speed and automati-
cally maintains the distance to the vehicle in
front.

It brakes automatically in order to avoid
exceeding the set speed. On long and steep
downhill gradients, especially if the vehicle is
laden, you must select shift range 1, 2 or 3 in
good time. In this way you will make use of
the braking effect of the engine, which
relieves the load on the brake system and
prevents the brakes from overheating and
wearing too quickly. 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
Distronic is only an aid designed to assist
driving.
The driver remains fully responsible
for the vehicle's distance from other vehi-
cles, the vehicle's speed and braking in
good time. Distronic does not react to: R
pedestrians
R stationary

obstacles on the road, e.g. sta-
tionary or parked vehicles
R oncoming and crossing traffic
Distronic may not detect narrow vehicles
driving in front, e.g. motorcycles, or vehi-
cles driving on a different line. Therefore,
always pay attention to traffic conditions
even when Distronic is activated. Other-
wise, you may fail to recognise dangers in
time, could cause an accident and injure
yourself and others.
If a slower-moving vehicle is detected in front,
Distronic causes your vehicle to brake and
maintain a preset distance to the vehicle in
front. G
Risk of accident
Distronic cannot take account of road and
traffic conditions. Deactivate, or do not
activate, Distronic in situations in which
Distronic maintains the speed or acceler-
ates

to the set speed because it has lost the
vehicle in front, in particular:
R before corners
R on filter lanes Controls
* optional
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Driving systems
136 R
when changing to a lane with faster mov-
ing traffic
R in complex driving situations or where
the lanes are diverted, e.g. in motorway
roadworks
Distronic cannot take account of weather
conditions. Deactivate, or do not activate,
Distronic:
R if the roads are slippery, snow-covered or
icy. The wheels could lose their grip
under braking or acceleration. The vehi-
cle could start to skid.
R if the sensors are dirty or there is poor
visibility, e.g. due to snow, rain or fog.
Distance control may be impaired.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions
even when Distronic is activated. You may
not otherwise recognise dangers in time,
could cause an accident and injure yourself
and others.
If there is no vehicle in front, Distronic oper-
ates in the same way as cruise control. Dis-
tronic functions in the 30 km/h to 180 km/
h range. G
Risk of accident
Distronic brakes your vehicle at a maximum
of 2 m/s 2
depending on its speed. This cor-
responds to approximately 20% of your
vehicle's maximum braking power. You
must also apply the brakes yourself if this
braking power is not sufficient to avoid a
collision.
Cruise control lever With the cruise control lever you can operate
Distronic and variable Speedtronic.
The LIM indicator lamp on the cruise control
lever indicates which system you have selec-
ted:
R
LIM indicator lamp off:
Distronic is selected
R LIM indicator lamp lit:
variable Speedtronic is selected 1
To store the current speed or a higher
speed
2 LIM indicator lamp
3 Selecting the current or last stored speed
4 To store the current speed or a lower
speed
5 To switch between Distronic and variable
Speedtronic
6 Deactivating Distronic
Selecting Distronic X
Check whether LIM indicator lamp 2 is off.
If it is off, Distronic is already selected.
If it is not, press the cruise control lever in
the direction of arrow 5.
LIM indicator lamp 2 in the cruise control
lever goes out. Distronic is selected. Controls
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Driving systems
137
Switching on Distronic, storing the cur-
rent speed and maintaining it If Distronic is not activated after the cruise
control
lever is pressed, you will see the mes-
sage - - - in the multi-function display.
You cannot activate Distronic under the fol-
lowing circumstances:
R if you are driving slower than 30 km/h or
faster than 180 km/h
R when braking
R when you have applied the parking brake
R If ESP ®
is deactivated
R when the selector lever is in position P, R
or N
R for two minutes after the engine is started
X Accelerate the vehicle to the desired
speed.
X Briefly press the cruise control lever up
1 or down 4.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
Distronic is activated. The vehicle main-
tains

the stored speed until the distance to
the vehicle in front becomes too small. i
If
you do not fully release the accelerator
pedal, the DISTRONIC override message
appears in the multi-function display. The
distance to a slower-moving vehicle in front
will not then be governed. You will be driv-
ing at the speed you determine by the posi-
tion of the accelerator pedal.
Setting a speed X
Press the cruise control lever up 1 for a
higher

speed or down 4 for a lower speed.
X Keep the cruise control lever pressed until
the desired speed is reached.
X Release the cruise control lever.
The new speed is stored.
i Distronic
is not deactivated if you depress
the accelerator pedal. If you accelerate
briefly to overtake, Distronic adjusts the
vehicle's speed to the last speed stored
after you have finished overtaking.
i Deceleration of the vehicle by means of
the cruise control lever is assisted by auto-
matic application of the brakes. On long
downhill gradients, the automatic trans-
mission shifts down as a further measure. Making adjustments in 1 km/h incre-
ments X
For a higher speed: briefly pull the cruise
control lever towards you 3.
or
X Keep the cruise control lever pulled
towards you 3 until the desired speed is
reached.
Adjustment in 10 km/h increments X
Briefly press the cruise control lever up
1 for a higher speed or down 4 for a
lower speed.
The last speed stored is increased or
reduced.
Selecting the current or last stored
speed G
Risk of accident
Only select a stored speed if you know what
that speed is and whether it is suitable for
the current situation. Otherwise, sudden
acceleration

or braking could endanger you
or others. Controls
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Driving systems
138
X
Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you 3.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
Distronic is activated and adjusts the vehi-
cle's speed to the last speed stored.
Setting the specified minimum distance
for Distronic You can set the specified minimum distance
for Distronic by varying the time span
between 1.0 and 2.0 seconds. This time span
determines the distance that Distronic should
maintain from the vehicle in front, depending
on the road speed. You can read this distance
in the multi-function display.
1
To activate/deactivate the distance warn-
ing function 2
Indicator lamp
3 To adjust the set distance
To adjust the set distance
X To increase: turn thumbwheel 3 towards
¯.
Distronic then maintains a greater distance
between your vehicle and the vehicle in
front.
X To decrease: turn thumbwheel 3 towards
®.
Distronic then maintains a shorter distance
between your vehicle and the vehicle in
front.
i Make sure that you maintain the mini-
mum distance required by law to the vehi-
cle in front. Adjust the distance to the
vehicle in front if necessary.
Distance warning function This function warns you when the distance to
the vehicle in front is too small, even when
Distronic is deactivated:
R
The distance warning lamp l in the
instrument cluster lights up.
R An intermittent warning tone may sound. You must apply the brakes yourself in order
to maintain the correct distance to the vehicle
and to avoid a collision. G
Risk of accident
Pay careful attention to the traffic situation
if:
R the l distance warning lamp in the
instrument cluster lights up
R and/or an intermittent signal sounds
Brake or swerve to avoid the obstacle if
necessary.
i Distronic does not always clearly recog-
nise complex road and traffic conditions.
You may then receive a false distance warn-
ing tone or none at all.
X To activate/deactivate: press button 1.
When the function is activated, indicator
lamp 2 in the button lights up and a loud-
speaker symbol appears in the display.
When the function is deactivated, indicator
lamp 2 in the button goes out and the
loudspeaker symbol disappears from the
multi-function display. Controls
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Driving systems
139
Distronic displays in the speedometer
1
Stored speed
When Distronic is activated, one or two seg-
ments in the set speed range light up.
i For design reasons, the speed displayed
in the speedometer may differ slightly from
the speed set for Distronic. 1
Segments
If Distronic detects a vehicle in front, the seg-
ments between the speed of the vehicle in
front and the stored speed light up. The
l distance warning lamp in the instru-
ment cluster lights up if the distance to the
vehicle in front is too small. G
Risk of accident
If Distronic detects a risk of collision with
the vehicle in front:
R the l distance warning lamp in the
instrument cluster lights up
R an intermittent warning signal sounds
Brake to avoid crashing.
The intermittent warning tone ceases and the
l distance warning lamp goes out once you have re-established the required distance
to the vehicle in front.
i
Distronic brakes your vehicle at a maxi-
mum of 2 m/s 2
. This corresponds to
approximately 20% of your vehicle's maxi-
mum braking power.
Distronic menu in the on-board com-
puter You can read the current Distronic settings in
the Distronic menu. What the multi-function
display shows depends on whether Distronic
and the distance warning function are activa-
ted or deactivated.
X
Press the è orÿ button repeatedly
until one of the following two displays
appears in the multi-function display.
Distronic deactivated
When Distronic is deactivated you will see the
standard Distronic display in the multi-func-
tion display. Controls
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Driving systems
1401
Vehicle in front, if detected
2 Actual distance to the vehicle in front
3 Specified minimum distance to the vehi-
cle in front
4 Own vehicle
5 Symbol for activated distance warning
function
Distronic activated
When Distronic is activated, the stored speed
appears in the multi-function display for
approximately five seconds. With Distronic
activated, you will see the following in the
multi-function display:
1 Display for activated Distronic Deactivating Distronic
1
To deactivate Distronic
2 LIM indicator lamp
3 To switch between Distronic and variable
Speedtronic
There are several ways to deactivate Dis-
tronic:
X Briefly press the cruise control lever for-
wards 1.
or
X Brake.
or X
Briefly press the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow 3.
Variable Speedtronic is selected. LIM indi-
cator lamp 2 in the cruise control lever
lights up.
i You will see the Distronic off message
in the multi-function display for approxi-
mately five seconds.
The last speed stored is cleared when you
switch off the engine.
i Distronic is not deactivated if you depress
the accelerator pedal. If you accelerate
briefly to overtake, Distronic adjusts the
vehicle's speed to the last speed stored
after you have finished overtaking.
Distronic is automatically deactivated if:
R you depress the parking brake
R you are driving at less than 30 km/h
R ESP ®
is intervening or you deactivate
ESP ®
R you move the selector lever to N while driv-
ing
If Distronic is deactivated, you will hear a
warning tone. You will see the Distronic
Controls
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Driving systems
141
off message in the multi-function display for
approximately five seconds.
Tips for driving with Distronic
The following contains descriptions of certain
road and traffic conditions in which you must
pay particular attention. In such situations,
brake if necessary. Distronic is then deacti-
vated.
Cornering, going into and coming out of a
bend
The ability of Distronic to detect vehicles
when cornering is limited. Your vehicle may
brake unexpectedly or late. Vehicles travelling on a different line
Distronic may not detect vehicles travelling
on a different line. The distance to the vehicle
in front will be too short.
Other vehicles changing lane Distronic has not detected the vehicle cutting
in yet. The distance to this vehicle will be too
short.
Narrow vehicles
Distronic has not detected the vehicle in front
on the edge of the carriageway yet, because
of its relatively narrow width. The distance to
the vehicle in front will be too short. Controls
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