2008 MERCEDES-BENZ CLS COUPE brake light

Driving safety systems
571
Button
2 Indicator lamp
X To activate: press button 1.
Indicator lamp 2 lights up. The rear side
windows can only be operated using the
switches on the driver's door.
X To deactivate: press button 1.
Indicator lamp 2 goes out. You can oper-
ate the rear side windows using the
switches in the rear compartment.
Driving safety systems
In this section, you will find information about
the following driving safety systems:
R ABS (
Anti-lock Braking System)
R BAS (
Brake Assist System)
R Adaptive brake lamps
R ESP ®
(
Electronic Stability Program)
R EBV (electronic brake-power distribution)
R ADAPTIVE BRAKE
i In wintry road conditions, always use win-
ter tyres (M+S tyres) and, where necessary,
snow chains. Only in this way will the driv-
ing safety systems described in this section
work as effectively as possible.
G Risk of accident
The risk of an accident is significantly
increased by driving too fast. This is partic-
ularly the case when cornering on wet and
slippery roads and when driving too close
to the vehicle in front.
The driving safety systems described in this
section cannot reduce this risk or override
the laws of physics.
For this reason, always adapt your driving
style to suit the prevailing road and weather
conditions. Maintain sufficient distance
from other road users and objects on the
road.
ABS (Anti-lock Braking System)
ABS regulates brake pressure in such a way
that the wheels do not lock when you brake.
This allows you to continue steering the vehi-
cle when braking.
ABS works from a speed of about 8 km/h
upwards, regardless of road surface condi-
tions. ABS works on slippery surfaces, even
when you only brake gently.
G Risk of accident
Do not depress the brake pedal several
times in quick succession (pumping).
Depress the brake firmly and evenly. Pump-
ing the brake pedal reduces the braking
effect.
Braking
If ABS intervenes when braking, you will feel
a pulsing in the brake pedal.
Safety
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If ABS intervenes:
X
Continue to depress the brake pedal with
force until the braking situation is over.
For full braking application:
X Depress the brake pedal with maximum
force. G
Risk of accident
If ABS is faulty, the wheels could lock when
braking. This limits the steerability of the
vehicle when braking and the braking dis-
tance may increase.
If ABS is deactivated due to a malfunction,
then
BAS and ESP are also deactivated. The
risk of your vehicle skidding is then
increased in certain situations.
You should therefore always adapt your
driving style to suit the prevailing road and
weather conditions. BAS (Brake Assist)
BAS operates in emergency braking situa-
tions.

If you depress the brake pedal quickly,
BAS automatically boosts the braking force,
thus shortening the stopping distance.
X Keep the brake pedal firmly depressed until
the emergency braking situation is over.
ABS prevents the wheels from locking.
The brakes will function as usual once you
release the brake pedal. BAS is deactivated. G
Risk of accident
If BAS has malfunctioned, the braking sys-
tem
remains available with full brake boost-
ing effect. However, braking force is not
automatically increased in emergency
braking situations and the stopping dis-
tance may increase. Adaptive brake lamps
i Adaptive

brake lamps are only available in
certain countries.
If you brake sharply from a speed of more
than 50 km/h or if braking is assisted by BAS,
the brake lamps flash rapidly. In this way,
traffic travelling behind you is warned in an
even more noticeable manner.
If you brake from a speed of more than
70 km/h and bring the vehicle to a halt, the
hazard warning lamps switch on automati-
cally once the vehicle is stationary and the
brake lamps light up constantly if you depress
the brake pedal again. The hazard warning
lamps switch off automatically if you travel
faster than 10 km/h again. Safety
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601
To deactivate/activate ESP ®
X To deactivate: press button 1.
The v warning lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up.
G Risk of accident
If the v warning lamp in the instrument
cluster is permanently lit when the engine
is running, ESP ®
is deactivated or not avail-
able due to a malfunction. The risk of your
vehicle skidding is then increased in certain
situations.
You should always adapt your driving style
to suit the prevailing road and weather con-
ditions. X
To activate: press button 1.
The v warning lamp in the instrument
cluster goes out.
EBV (electronic brake-power distribu-
tion)
EBV monitors and controls the brake pres-
sure on the rear wheels to improve driving
stability under braking.
G Risk of accident
If EBV is malfunctioning, the brake system
is still available with full brake boosting
effect. However, the rear wheels can still
lock, e.g. under full braking. This could
cause you to lose control of your vehicle
and cause an accident. You should there-
fore adapt your driving style to the different
handling characteristics.
ADAPTIVE BRAKE
Due to its higher level of braking safety,
ADAPTIVE BRAKE offers exceptional braking
comfort. In addition to the braking function,
ADAPTIVE BRAKE also features the conveni-
ence function HOLD (Y page 144). For fur-
ther information, see Driving tips
(Y page 206).
Safety
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Transmission
104
Parking brake
1
Release handle
2 Parking brake
X To release: depress the brake pedal and
keep it depressed.
X Pull release handle 1.
X The 3 indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster goes out.
X To apply: depress parking brake 2 firmly.
The 3 indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up if the engine is running.
i On steep slopes, turn the front wheels
towards the kerb. Stopping the engine
G
Risk of accident
If the engine is not running, there is no
power assistance for the steering and
brakes. Steering and braking then takes
much more effort.
As a result, you might lose control of the
vehicle, cause an accident and injure your-
self and others.
Do not switch off the engine while driving.
X Move the selector lever to P.
With the key
X Turn the key to position 0 (Y page 74) in
the ignition lock and remove it.
The immobiliser is activated.
With KEYLESS GO*
X Press and hold the KEYLESS GO button
(Y page 74).
The engine stops and all the lamps in the
instrument cluster go out ( Y page 26). Transmission
G
Risk of accident
The movement of the pedals must not be
impaired in any way. Do not keep any
objects in the driver's footwell. Make sure
that there is sufficient clearance around the
pedals when floormats or carpets are used.
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. Automatic transmissionControls
* optional
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132
X
Press the s button to call up the most
recently dialled number in the redial mem-
ory.
X Press the j or k button to select the
desired name or number.
X Press the s button to start dialling. Driving systems
Your vehicle's driving systems are described
on the following pages:
R Cruise

control, Distronic* and Speedtronic,
which you can use to control the speed of
the vehicle
R HOLD, which makes pulling away easier,
particularly on steep uphill gradients
R Vehicle level setting and Airmatic DC*,
which can be used to adjust your vehicle's
chassis
R Parktronic*, which assists you in parking
and manoeuvring
The ABS, BAS, adaptive brake lights, ESP ®
,
EBV (electronic brake-power distribution) and
ADAPTIVE BRAKE driving safety systems are
described in the "Driving safety systems" sec-
tion (Y page 57). Cruise control
Cruise control maintains a constant road
speed
for you. 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.
Use

cruise control only if road and traffic con-
ditions make it appropriate to maintain a
steady speed for a prolonged period. You can
store any road speed above 30 km/h. G
Risk of accident
Cruise control
cannot take account of road
and traffic conditions.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions
even when cruise control is activated. Controls
* optional
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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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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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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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