2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SL65AMG Owner's Manual

224 Controls in detail
Driving systems
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 223).
Distronic is activated and the current
speed is set.
The currently set speed appears in the
status indicator of the multifunction
display:

USA only:
DTR XXX MPH

Canada only:
DTR XXX Km/h
Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.Setting a higher speed
Briefly tip the cruise control lever in
direction of arrow1 (
page 223) to
increase the vehicle speed in incre-
ments of 5 mph (Canada: 10 km/h).
The new speed is set.Setting a lower speed
Briefly tip the cruise control lever in
direction of arrow2 (
page 223) to
decrease the vehicle speed in incre-
ments of 5 mph (Canada: 10 km/h).
The new speed is set.
Fine adjustment in 1 mph
(Canada: 1 km/h) increments
Faster
Briefly pull the cruise control lever in
direction of arrow4 (
page 223).
iIf you do not take your foot off of the accel-
erator but continue to accelerate past the set
speed, the following message will appear in the
multifunction display:
DTR Passive.
The distance to slower moving vehicles in front
of you will not be set. Your vehicle speed will
then be determined only by the accelerator
pedal position.
iDepressing the accelerator pedal does not
deactivate Distronic. After brief acceleration
(e.g. for passing), the cruise control will resume
the last speed set.
iWhen you use the cruise control lever to
decelerate, the brakes will be applied to support
deceleration.
In addition, the transmission will automatically
downshift on long downhill grades.

225 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Setting to last stored speed
(“Resume” function)
Briefly pull the cruise control lever in
direction of arrow4 (
page 223).
Distronic resumes the last stored
speed or, if no speed is stored, it will
set and store the current speed.
Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.Deactivating Distronic
There are several ways to deactivate the
Distronic system:
Step on the brake pedal.
or
Briefly push the cruise control lever in
direction of arrow3 (
page 223).
Distronic will be deactivated. The last set
speed will be stored into memory.
The following message appears in the mul-
tifunction display for approximately
5 seconds:
DTR Off
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 caused an accident
and/or serious injury to you and others.
iThe last stored set speed is deleted when
the engine is turned off.
iDistronic deactivates automatically when

you depress the parking brake pedal

the vehicle speed is below
20 mph (30 km/h) (
page 223)

the ESP® is in operation or switched off with
the ESP® switch (page 93)

you move the gear selector lever into
positionN
An acoustic warning sounds and the
message
DTR Off appears in the multifunc-
tion display for approximately 5 seconds.
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 a
stop.

226 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Setting the following distance in
Distronic
You can set the specified following dis-
tance for Distronic by varying the time set-
ting between 1.0 and 2.0 seconds. Using
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
appear in the right multifunction display
(
page 222).
The distance setting thumbwheel for the
time setting is located on the lower section
of the center console.1Thumbwheel for setting following
distanceIncreasing distance
Increasing the distance setting tells
Distronic to maintain a greater following
distance to the preceding vehicle.
Turn thumbwheel1 towards ¯.
Decreasing distance
Decreasing the distance setting tells
Distronic to maintain a shorter following
distance to the preceding vehicle.
Turn thumbwheel1 towards ®.
!Moving the gear selector lever to positionN
while driving cancels the Distronic. However, the
gear selector lever should not be moved to
positionN 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 brief acceleration
(e.g. for passing), the Distronic will resume the
last speed set.
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.

227 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Driving with Distronic
This section describes a number of driving
situations where special precaution is
required on the part of the driver.
Be prepared to brake in such situations.
This will deactivate the Distronic system.The most likely cause for a malfunctioning
system is a dirty sensor (located behind
the hood grille), especially at times of snow
and ice or heavy rain. In such a case,
Distronic will switch off, and the message
DISTRONIC Currently Unavailable See
Oper. Manual
appears in the multifunction
display.
For cleaning and care of the Distronic sen-
sor, see “Cleaning the Distronic* system
sensor cover” (
page 336).
Warning!G
Distronic works to maintain the speed se-
lected by the driver unless a moving obsta-
cle proceeding directly ahead of it in the
same travel direction is detected (e.g. fol-
lowing another vehicle ahead of you at your
set distance. This means that:

Your vehicle can pass another vehicle
after you have changed lanes.

While in a sharp turn or if the preceding
vehicle is in a sharp turn, Distronic could
lose sight of the preceding vehicle. Your
vehicle could then accelerate to the pre-
viously set speed.
Distronic regulates only the distance be-
tween your vehicle and those directly ahead
of it, but does not register stationary objects
in the road, e.g.:

a stopped vehicle in a traffic jam

a disabled vehicle

an oncoming vehicle
The driver must always be alert, observe all
traffic and intercede as required by means
of steering or braking the vehicle.
Warning!G
Distronic should not be used in snowy or icy
road conditions.
iIf the message DISTRONIC Currently
Unavailable See Oper. Manual
disappears
from the multifunction display during driving, the
dirt (e.g. slush) has dissolved. Distronic is avail-
able again if you reactivate it (
page 223).

228 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Turns and bends
In turns or bends, Distronic 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. There will be insuffi-
cient distance to the vehicle ahead.Lane changing
Distronic has not yet detected the vehicle
changing lanes. There will be insufficient
distance to the lane-changing vehicle.

229 Controls in detail
Driving systems
Narrow vehicles
Because of their narrow profile, the vehi-
cles traveling near the outer edges of the
lane have not yet been detected by
Distronic. There will be insufficient dis-
tance to the vehicles ahead.Distance warning function*
When Distronic* is deactivated, this func-
tion will continue to warn you when recog-
nizing a stationary obstacle or a slower
vehicle moving in your vehicle’s path and
the danger of a collision exists:

The distance warning lamp E in the
speedometer comes on red.

An intermittent warning will sound if
necessary.
If these warnings are issued, you must
brake manually to maintain a safe distance
and avoid a collision with the preceding
vehicle.
When depressing the brake pedal, the
warning sound ceases. The warning sound
will also cease when the distance to the
preceding vehicle is sufficient again with-
out applying the brakes. In this case, the
distance warning lamp will also go out.
Warning!G
If the distance warning lamp (red) E in
the speedometer comes on while driving
and/or an intermittent warning sounds,
immediate attention on part of the driver is
required.
As required by the traffic situation, apply the
brakes and navigate around a possible ob-
stacle. However, do not drive by relying on
the distance warning function, as this will
result in an emergency braking application.
This will not always enable you to avoid a
collision, especially when traveling on vary-
ing road surface conditions and with varying
driver reaction.
iComplex driving situations are not always
fully recognized by the distance warning
function. This could result in wrong or missing
distance warnings.

230 Controls in detail
Driving systems
1Distance warning function switchActivating
Press switch1.
The indicator lamp on the switch
comes on. A loudspeaker symbol
appears in the right multifunction
display (
page 222).
Deactivating
Press switch1 once more.
The indicator lamp on the switch goes
out. No loudspeaker symbol appears in
the right multifunction display.
Active Body Control (ABC)
The ABC system is an active,
computer-controlled system that hydrauli-
cally adjusts the suspension at all four
wheels in response to various driving
situations. It automatically selects the
optimum suspension tuning and ride
height for your vehicle.
Vehicle level control
Your vehicle automatically adjusts its ride
height to:

increase vehicle safety

reduce fuel consumption
Warning!G
To help avoid personal injury, keep hands
and feet away from wheel housing area, and
stay away from under the vehicle when low-
ering the vehicle chassis.

231 Controls in detail
Driving systems
The vehicle chassis ride height is raised or
lowered according to the selected level
setting and to the vehicle speed:

With increasing speed, ride height is
reduced by up to approximately
0.5 inch (12 mm).

With decreasing speed, the ride height
is again raised to the selected vehicle
level.The following vehicle level settings can be
selected when the vehicle is stationary:
Select the level 1 and level 2 settings only
when required by current driving condi-
tions. Otherwise:

Fuel consumption may increase.

Handling may be impaired.The ABC vehicle level control button with
the indicator lamps is located in the lower
section of the center console.
1Indicator lamp
2Indicator lamp
3ABC vehicle level control button
iThese height adjustments are so small that
you may not notice any change.
Vehicle
levelUse forIndicator
lamps
NormalFor driving on nor-
mal roads.Both
lamps off
Level 1For driving on
rough roads or with
snow chains
(
page 329).
One
lamp on
Level 2For driving on very
rough road surface
conditions.Both
lamps on
iThe selected vehicle level setting remains
stored in memory, even if the engine is turned off
and restarted.