2008 MERCEDES-BENZ R320 display

259 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Setting current speed
Accelerate or decelerate to the desired
speed.
Briefly lift the cruise control lever in
direction of arrow1 or depress in
direction of arrow2 (
page 258).
The current speed is set.
Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
The cruise control is activated.
The currently set speed appears in the
status indicator of the multifunction
display:

USA only:
Cruise XXX Miles

Canada only:
Ñ
XXX Km/h
Canceling cruise control
There are several ways to cancel the cruise
control:
Step on the brake pedal.
The cruise control is canceled. The last
set speed is stored for later use.
or
Briefly push the cruise control lever in
direction of arrow3 (
page 258).
The cruise control is canceled. The last
set speed is stored for later use.
iOn uphill grades, the cruise control may not
be able to maintain the set speed. Once the
grade eases, the set speed will be resumed.
On downhill grades, the cruise control maintains
the set speed by braking with the vehicle’s
braking system. In addition, on longer downhill
grades the automatic transmission will down-
shift automatically.
iThe last stored speed is canceled when you
turn off the engine.
iThe cruise control switches off
automatically when

you step on the brake pedal

you depress the parking brake pedal
The cruise control switches off automatically and
an acoustic warning will sound when

the vehicle speed is below 20 mph
(30 km/h)

the ESP® is in operation

the ESP® is switched off with the ESP®
switch (
page 104)

the ESP® has switched off due to a
malfunction (
page 435)

you set the automatic transmission toN
while driving
Observe additional messages in the
multifunction display that may appear.

262 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Adjustment in 5 mph
(Canada: 10 km/h) increments
Briefly press the cruise control lever
down past the resistance point in
direction of arrow2.
Release the cruise control lever.
The vehicle set speed decreases in
increments of 5 mph
(Canada: 10 km/h).Setting to last stored speed
(“Resume” function)
Briefly pull the cruise control lever in
direction of arrow4 (
page 258).
The cruise control resumes to the last
set speed or, if no speed is stored, it
will set and store the current speed.
Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
The last set speed appears in the multi-
function display for approximately
5 seconds.
Distronic* (Canada only)
The Distronic is available on the
R5504MATIC only.
When activated, the Distronic adaptive
cruise control system increases the driving
convenience afforded by the cruise control
while traveling on expressways and other
major roadways.

If the Distronic distance sensor detects
a slower moving vehicle directly ahead,
your vehicle speed will be reduced so
that you follow that vehicle at your
preset following distance.

If there is no vehicle directly ahead of
you, Distronic will function in the same
way as standard cruise control
(
page 257).
iThe set speed value is decreased in 5 mph
(Canada: 10 km/h) increments each time you
press the cruise control lever down past the
resistance point.
iThe new speed is set and the vehicle will
decelerate. Keep in mind that it may take a brief
moment until the vehicle has reached the set
speed.
Warning!G
The set speed stored in memory should only
be set again if prevailing road conditions
permit. Possible acceleration or decelera-
tion differences arising from returning to the
preset speed could cause an accident
and/or serious injury to you and others.

265 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Distronic displays in the speedometer
dial
1Set speed
If Distronic is activated, one or two cruise
control speed segments come on around
the set speed.1Set speed
2Cruise control speed segments
3Speed of the vehicle ahead
If Distronic detects a vehicle directly
ahead, the cruise control speed
segments2, which represents the differ-
ence from the speed of the preceding
vehicle3 to the driver’s selected set
speed1, appear in the speedometer.iThis 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
received, 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.
iThe vehicle speed displayed on the speed-
ometer can briefly vary from the speed setting
on the Distronic system.

267 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Distronic menu in the control system
Use the
DISTRONIC menu to display the
current settings for your Distronic system.
The information shown in the multifunction
display depends on whether the Distronic
system is activated or deactivated.
Press buttonè orÿ repeatedly
until one of the following two displays
appears in the multifunction display.Distronic activated
When you turn Distronic on, you will see
the set speed in the multifunction display
for about 5 seconds. When Distronic is
activated, the following display appears in
the multifunction display.
1Distronic activated
2Set vehicle speedDistronic deactivated
When Distronic is deactivated, you will see
the standard Distronic display in the multi-
function display.
1Preceding vehicle, if detected
2Actual distance to the preceding
vehicle
3Preset distance threshold to the
preceding vehicle
4Your vehicle
Cruise control lever
The Distronic system is operated by means
of the cruise control lever.
The cruise control lever is the uppermost
lever on the left-hand side of the steering
column.
iFor activating or deactivating the Distronic
system, see “Activating Distronic” (
page 268)
or see “Deactivating Distronic” (
page 271).
For activating or deactivating the Distance warn-
ing function, see “Distance warning function*”
(
page 185).

268 Controls in detail
Driving systems
1Setting current or higher speed
Adjustment in 1 mph increments (to
the resistance point) or 5 mph
increments (past the resistance point)
(Canada: 1 km/h or 10 km/h)
2Setting current or lower speed
Adjustment in 1 mph increments (to
the resistance point) or 5 mph
increments (past the resistance point)
(Canada: 1 km/h or 10 km/h)
3Deactivating Distronic
4Activating Distronic or resuming to last
set speedActivating Distronic
You can activate Distronic when the vehi-
cle speed is between 20 mph (30 km/h)
and 110 mph (180 km/h).
When Distronic is activated the standard
display in the multifunction display will
show a message such as
DISTRONIC 55 MPH.
If Distronic has not been activated after
pressing the cruise control lever, you will
see the message
DISTRONIC Off in the
multifunction display.
In the following cases you cannot activate
Distronic:

up to 2 minutes after starting the
engine

when you brake

when you have set the parking brake

when the automatic transmission is set
to positionP, R, or N

if the ESP® is switched off

if the ESP® has switched off due to a
malfunction
Setting the current speed
Accelerate or decelerate to the desired
speed.
Briefly lift the cruise control lever in
direction of arrow1 or depress in
direction of arrow2 (
page 268).
Distronic is activated and the current
speed is set.
The currently set speed appears in the
status indicator of the multifunction
display.
Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.

269 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Setting a higher speedYou can increase the set speed in two
ways.
Adjustment in 1 mph (Canada: 1 km/h)
incrementsBriefly lift the cruise control lever up to
the resistance point in direction of
arrow1 (
page 268).
Release the cruise control lever.
The vehicle set speed increases in in-
crements of 1 mph (Canada: 1 km/h).Adjustment in 5 mph
(Canada: 10 km/h) increments
Briefly lift the cruise control lever up
past the resistance point in direction of
arrow1 (
page 268).
Release the cruise control lever.
The vehicle set speed increases in
increments of 5 mph
(Canada: 10 km/h).
iIf you do not take your foot off of the accel-
erator pedal but continue to accelerate past the
set speed, the following message will appear in
the multifunction display:
DISTRONIC Override
The distance to a slower moving vehicle in front
of you will not be set. Your vehicle speed will
then be determined only by the accelerator
pedal position.
Warning!G
If you increase the set vehicle speed, keep in
mind that it may take a brief moment until
the vehicle has reached the set speed.
Increase the set vehicle speed to a value
that the prevailing road conditions and legal
speed limits permit. Otherwise, sudden and
unexpected acceleration of the vehicle
could cause an accident and/or serious
injury to you and others.
iThe set speed value is increased in 1 mph
(Canada: 1 km/h) increments each time you lift
the cruise control lever up to the resistance
point.
iThe set speed value is increased in 5 mph
(Canada: 10 km/h) increments each time you lift
the cruise control lever up past the resistance
point.
iThe new speed is set and the vehicle will
accelerate. Keep in mind that it may take a brief
moment until the vehicle has reached the set
speed.

271 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Setting to last stored speed
(“Resume” function)
Briefly pull the cruise control lever in
direction of arrow4 (
page 268).
The Distronic resumes to the last set
speed.
Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
The last set speed or, if no speed is stored,
the current set speed appears in the
multifunction display for approximately
5seconds.Deactivating Distronic
There are several ways to deactivate the
Distronic system:
Step on the brake pedal.
or
Briefly tip the cruise control lever in
direction of arrow3 (
page 268).
Distronic will be deactivated. The last set
speed will be stored in memory.
Warning!G
The set speed stored in memory should only
be set again if prevailing road conditions
permit. Possible acceleration or decelera-
tion differences arising from returning to the
preset speed could cause an accident
and/or serious injury to you and others.
iThe following message appears in the multi-
function display for approximately 5 seconds:
DISTRONIC Off.
The last stored set speed is deleted when the
engine is turned off.
iThe Distronic switches off automatically
when

you step on the brake pedal

you depress the parking brake pedal
In this case, the Distronic speed segments in the
speedometer (
page 265) will go out.

the vehicle speed is below 20 mph
(30 km/h)

the ESP® is in operation

the ESP® is switched off with the ESP®
switch (
page 104)

the ESP® has switched off due to a
malfunction (
page 435)

you set the automatic transmission toN
while driving
The Distronic speed segments in the speedome-
ter (
page 265) will go out and an acoustic
warning will sound.

272 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Setting the following distance in
Distronic
You can set the specified following
distance for Distronic by varying the time
setting between 1.0 and 2.0 seconds. Us-
ing this time setting and the current speed
of your vehicle, Distronic calculates and
sets the required following distance to the
preceding vehicle. The set distance will be
shown in the multifunction display
(
page 267).
The distance setting switch for the time
setting is located on the cruise control
lever on the left-hand side of the steering
column.
1Distance setting switch
2To decrease distance
3To increase distance
Warning!G
Distronic switches off and releases the
brakes when the vehicle decelerates below
the minimum speed of 20 mph (30 km/h)
by operation of the system. At that time the
driver must apply the brakes in order to
reduce vehicle speed further or bring it to
astop.
!Setting the automatic transmission toN
while driving cancels the Distronic. However, the
automatic transmission should not be set toN
while driving except to coast when the vehicle is
in danger of skidding (e.g. on icy roads).
iDepressing the accelerator pedal does not
deactivate the Distronic. After a brief accelera-
tion (e.g. for passing), the Distronic will resume
the last set speed.
Warning!G
It is up to the driver to exercise discretion to
select the appropriate setting given road
conditions, traffic, driver’s preferred driving
style and applicable laws and driving recom-
mendations for safe following distance.