Driving systems
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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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
142 Speedtronic
Speedtronic brakes automatically so that you
do not exceed 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. If you need addi-
tional braking, depress the brake pedal
repeatedly rather than continuously. 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
the braking distance and can lead to the
brakes failing completely. 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. You can set a variable or permanent limit
speed:
R
Variable for speed limits, e.g. in built-up
areas
R Permanent for long-term speed restric-
tions, e.g. for driving on winter tyres
(Y page 144) G
Risk of accident
Speedtronic is only an aid designed to
assist driving. You are responsible for the
vehicle's speed and for braking in good
time.
i The speed indicated in the speedometer
may differ slightly from the limit speed
stored.
Variable Speedtronic With the cruise control lever you can operate
cruise control, 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: Cruise control or Distronic* is selected
R LIM indicator lamp lit:
variable Speedtronic is selected
You can use the cruise control lever to limit
the speed to any speed above 30 km/h while
the engine is running. 1
To store the current speed or a higher
speed
2 LIM indicator lamp
3 To call up the current or last stored speed
or to make fine adjustments in 1 km/h
increments
4 To store the current speed or a lower
speed
5 To switch between cruise control, Dis-
tronic* and variable Speedtronic
6 To deactivate variable Speedtronic Controls
* optional
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Driving tips
206 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 gradients, espe-
cially if the vehicle is laden, you must select
shift range 1, 2 or 3 in good time.
i
This also applies if you have activated
cruise control, Speedtronic or Distronic*
.
This uses the braking effect of the engine and
you will not have to brake to such an extent
to maintain the same speed. This relieves the
load on the brake system and prevents the
brakes from overheating 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 the braking distance and can lead to the
brakes failing completely.
If
the brakes have been used only moderately,
you should occasionally test their effective-
ness. To do this, brake more firmly from a
higher speed. This improves the grip of the
brakes.
Wet roads If driving in heavy rain for a prolonged period
of time without braking, there may be a
delayed
reaction from the brakes, when brak-
ing for the first time. You must brake harder.
You must therefore maintain a greater dis-
tance from the vehicle in front.
Brake firmly after driving on a wet road. This
way the brake discs will become warm, drying
more quickly, which will protect them against
corrosion.
Limited braking performance on salted
roads G
Risk of accident
The layer of salt on the brake discs and the
brake pads/linings may cause a delay in
the braking effect, resulting in a signifi- Operation
* optional
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Display messages
222 Display messages Possible cause/consequence Possible solution
DISTRONIC currently unavail-
able See Owner's
Manual
Distronic* is deactivated and is tempora-
rily inoperative, if:
R
the Distronic*
cover in the radiator
grille is dirty
R its function is impaired due to heavy
rain, snow or fog.
R the radar sensor system is temporarily
unavailable, e.g. because of electro-
magnetic radiation.
R The radar sensor system has not detec-
ted any vehicles or stationary objects,
e.g. traffic signs, for a long time.
R The system has overheated. Distronic* is available again and the display mes-
sage disappears when the dirt (e.g. slush) falls off
while you are driving or if the system detects that
the sensors are fully available again.
If the display message does not disappear:
X
Clean the Distronic* cover in the radiator grille
(Y page 213).
X If necessary, wait until the system has cooled
down.
X Restart the engine. ESP
also lights up:
v inoperative See
Owner's Manual
G
Risk of accident
ESP ®
and therefore also Brake Assist and
PRE-SAFE ®
are unavailable due to a mal-
function.
The brake system is still available with
complete brake boosting effect. X
Drive on carefully.
X Visit a qualified specialist workshop. Practical advice
* optional
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