2011 MERCEDES-BENZ C-CLASS COUPE ESP

Monitoring range of the sensors
Blind Spot Assist monitors the area up to
three metres behind yourv ehicle and directly
nextt o your vehicle, as shown in the diagram. G
WARNING
Blind Spot Assist monitors certain areas in the
immediate vicinity of your vehicle. Vehicles
that approach and drive past at high speeds
are not detected. There is no display and no
warning.
If the lanes are very wide, it may not be pos-
sible to monitor the complete width of the
neighbouring lane. For this reason, vehicles in
the next lane may not be detected, especially
if they are driving in a staggered formation in
different lanes. This may be the case if vehi-
cles are driving at the edge of their lane that
is furthest away from your vehicle.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions and
your surroundings. Otherwise, you may fail to
recognise dangers in time, cause an accident
and injure yourself and others.
If the lanes are narrow, the system may be
unable to distinguish the neighbouring lane
from the one beyond it. For this reason, vehi-
cles in the farther lane may be indicated,
especially if the vehicles are driving in a stag-
gered formation in different lanes. In particu-
lar, this may be the case if the vehicles are driving at the edge of their lane nearest your
vehicle.
Due to the nature of the system:
R
warnings may be issued in error when driv-
ing close to crash barriers or similar solid
lane borders.
R warnings may be interrupted when driving
alongside particularly long vehicles, for
example lorries, for a prolonged time.
The two sensors for Blind Spot Assist are
integrated into the sides of the rear bumper.
Make sure that the bumper is free of dirt, ice
or slush around the sensors. For example, the
radar sensors must not be covered by cycle
racks or overhanging loads. Following a
severe impact or in the event of damage to
the bumpers, have the function of the radar
sensors checked at a qualified specialist
workshop, e.g. a Mercedes-Benz Service
Centre. Blind Spot Assist may otherwise not
work properly.
Indicator and warning display :
Yellow indicator lamp/red warning lamp
If Blind Spot Assist is switched on, indicator
lamp :in the exterior mirrors lights up yel-
low up to a speed of 30 km/h. At speeds
above 30 km/h, the indicator lamp goes out
and Blind Spot Assist is operational.
If a vehicle is detected within the monitoring
range of Blind Spot Assist at speeds above
30 km/h, warning lamp :on the corre-
sponding side lights up in red. This warning is
always emitted when a vehicle enters the
blind spot monitoring range from behind or Driving systems
191Driving and parking Z

If the
miles display unit is selected, the assis-
tance range begins at 40 mph. G
WARNING
Lane Keeping Assist does not keep yourv ehi-
cle in its lane. It is only an aid and may detect
the lane markings on the road incorrectly or
not at all.
The system may be impaired or may not func-
tion if:
R there is poor visibility, e.g. due to insuffi-
cient illumination of the road, or due to
snow, rain, fog or spray.
R there is glare, e.g. from oncoming traffic,
the sun, or reflection from other vehicles.
R the windscreen is dirty, misted up or cov-
ered, for instance by a sticker, in the vicinity
of the camera
R several or no lane markings for a single lane
are present.
R the lane markings are worn away, dark or
covered up, e.g. by dirt or snow.
R the distance to the vehicle in front is too
small and the lane markings thus cannot be
detected.
R the lane markings on the road are unclear,
e.g. near roadworks.
R the lane markings change quickly, e.g.
lanes branch off, cross one another or
merge.
R the road is narrow and winding.
Lane Keeping Assist cannot detect road and
traffic conditions. It is not a substitute for
attentive driving. You are responsible for the
vehicle's speed, braking in good time, and
steering correctly. Always adapt your driving
style to suit the prevailing road and weather
conditions. Always pay attention to traffic
conditions and your surroundings. Otherwise,
you may fail to recognise dangers in time,
cause an acciden tand injure yoursel fand oth-
ers.
A warning may be given if a front wheel
passes ove ralane marking. It will warn you by means of intermittent vibration in the
steering wheel for up to 1.
5seconds.
In order that you are warned only when nec-
essary and in good time if you cross the lane
marking, the system recognises certain con-
ditions and warns you accordingly.
The warning vibration occurs earlier if:
R you approach the outer lane marking on a
bend.
R the road has very wide lanes, e.g. a motor-
way.
R the system recognises solid lane markings.
The warning vibration occurs later if:
R the road has narrow lanes.
R you cut the corner on a bend.
No warning vibration occurs if:
R you clearly and actively steer, brake, or
accelerate.
R you cut the corner on a sharp bend.
R a driving safety system intervenes, such as
ABS, BAS or ESP ®
.
R you have switched on the turn signals. In
this event, the warnings are suppressed for
a certain period of time.
Activating Lane Keeping Assist Example: vehicles with automatic transmission
X
Activate Lane Keeping Assist using the on-
board computer (Y page 222).
Symbol :appears in the multifunction
display.
If you drive at speeds above 60 km/h and
lane markings are detected, symbol :is
displayed in green. Lane Keeping Assist is
ready for use. Driving systems
193Driving and parking Z

Active Driving Assistance package
General notes The Active Driving Assistance package con-
sists of DISTRONIC PLU
S(Ypage 164), Active
Blind Spot Assist (Y page 194) and Active
Lane Keeping Assist (Y page 197).
Active Blind Spot Assist Important safety notes
Active Blind Spot Assist uses a radar sensor
system to monitor the side areas of your vehi-
cle that are behind the driver. Awarning dis-
play in the exterior mirrors draws your atten-
tio nt o detected vehicles in the monitored
area. If you then switch on the corresponding
turn signal to change lane, you will also
receive a visual and acoustic collision warn-
ing. If a risk of lateral collision is detected,
corrective braking may help you avoid a col-
lision. To support the course-correcting brake
application, Active Blind Spot Assist also uses
the forward-facing radar sensor system.
Active Blind Spot Assist provides assistance
at speeds higher than about 30 km/h. G
WARNING
Active Blind Spot Assist is only an aid and may
detect vehicles/obstacles incorrectly or not
at all.
The system may be impaired or may not func-
tion if:
R there is poor visibility, e.g. due to snow,
rain, fog or spray.
R the rear and/or front sensors are dirty.
Active Blind Spot Assist may not detect nar-
row vehicles, such as motorcycles or bicycles,
or only detect them too late. It cannot detect
vehicles which are overtaken at a small dis-
tance and then enter the blind spot area.
Active Blind Spot Assist cannot detect road
and traffic conditions. It is not a substitute for
attentive driving. You are responsible for the
vehicle's speed, braking in good time, and
steering correctly. Always adapt your driving style to suit the prevailing road and weather
conditions. Always pay attention to traffic
conditions and your surroundings. Otherwise,
you may fail to recognise dangers in time,
cause an accident and injure yourself and oth-
ers.
The radar sensor system is automatically
deactivated near radio telescope facilities
(Y page 363).
For Active Blind Spot Assist to assist you
when driving, the radar sensor system must
be activated (Y page 226) and operational.
Monitoring range
Active Blind Spot Assist monitors the area up
to three metres behind your vehicle and
directly next to your vehicle, as shown in the
diagram. For this purpose, Active Blind Spot
Assist uses radar sensors in the rear bumper. G
WARNING
Active Blind Spot Assist monitors certain
areas in the immediate vicinity of your vehicle.
Vehicles that approach and drive past at high
speeds are not detected. No visual nor audi-
ble warnings are emitted and the system does
not brake the vehicle to correct your course.
If the lanes are very wide, it may not be pos-
sible to monitor the complete width of the
neighbouring lane. For this reason, vehicles in 194
Driving systemsDriving and parking

the next lane may not be detected, especially
if they are driving in a staggered formation.
This may be the case if vehicles are driving at
the edge of their lane tha tis furthest away
from your vehicle.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions and
your surroundings. Otherwise, you may fail to
recognise dangers in time, cause an accident
and injure yourselfa nd others.
If the lanes are narrow, vehicles driving in the
lane beyond the lane next to your vehicle may
be indicated, especially if the vehicles are not
driving in the middle of thei rlane .This may
be the case if the vehicles are driving on the
inner side of their lane.
Due to the nature of the system:
R warnings may be issued in error when driv-
ing close to crash barriers or similar solid
lane borders.
R warnings may be interrupted when driving
alongside particularly long vehicles, for
example lorries, for a prolonged time.
Two Active Blind Spot Assist radar sensors
are integrated into the front and rear bumpers
respectively. An additional radar sensor is
located behind the cover in the radiator grille.
Make sure that the bumpers are free of dirt,
ice or slush around the sensors. The rear sen-
sors must not be covered, for example by
cycle racks or overhanging loads. Following a
severe impact or in the event of damage to
the bumpers, have the function of the radar
sensors checked at a qualified specialist
workshop, e.g. a Mercedes-Ben zService
Centre. Active Blind Spot Assist may other-
wise fail to work correctly. Indicator and warning display :
Yellow indicator lamp/red warning lamp
When Active Blind Spot Assist is activated,
indicator lamp :in the exterior mirrors lights
up in yellow at speeds of up to 30 km/h. At
speeds above 30 km/h, the indicator lamp
goes out and Active Blind Spot Assist is
operational.
If a vehicle is detected within the monitoring
range of Blind Spot Assist at speeds above
30 km/h, warning lamp :on the corre-
sponding side lights up red. This warning is
always emitted when a vehicle enters the
blind spot monitoring range from behind or
from the side. When you overtake a vehicle,
the warning only occurs if the difference in
speed is less than 12 km/h.
The yellow indicator lamp goes out if reverse
gear is engaged. Active Blind Spot Assist is
then no longer active.
The brightness of the indicator/warning
lamps is adjusted automatically according to
the ambient light. G
WARNING
Active Blind Spot Assist is not active at speeds
below 30 km/h. The indicator lamps in the
exterior mirrors are yellow. Vehicles in the
monitoring range are then not indicated.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions and
your surroundings. Otherwise, you may fail to
recognise dangers in time, cause an accident
and injure yourself and others. Driving systems
195Driving and parking Z

Visual and acoustic collision warning
If you switch on the appropriate turn signals
to change lanes, and a vehicle is detected in
the side monitoring range of Active Blind Spot
Assist, you will receive a visual and acoustic
collision warning .You will then hear a double
warning tone, and red warning lamp :
flashes. If the turn signal remains on, detec-
ted vehicles are indicated by the flashing of
red warning lamp :. There are no further
warning tones.
Course-correcting brake application
If Active Blind Spot Assist detects a risk of a
lateral collision in the monitoring range, a
course-correcting brake application is carried
out. This is designed to help you avoid a col-
lision.
The course-correcting brake application is
available in the range between 30 km/ha nd
200 km/h.
If a course-correcting brake application
occurs, red warning lamp :flashes in the
exterio rmirro rand the following is shown in
the multifunctio ndisplay, for example: Example: vehicles with automatic transmission
G
WARNING
Active Blind Spot Assist is only an aid
designed to assist driving. It is not a substitute
for attentive driving. Automatic braking by the
system may not always be sufficien tto avoid
a collision. In such cases, you need to steer,
brake or accelerate yourself.
In very rare cases, the system may detect a
risk of collision where there is none and brake
in error near crash barriers or similar road
boundaries. Active Blind Spot Assist cannot
detect all traffic situations and road users.
Ensure at all times that there is sufficient lat- eral distance between you and other road
users or obstacles. You can, for example,
countersteer gently or depress the accelera-
tor pedal at any time to cancel inappropriate
braking action.
You are responsible for the vehicle's speed,
correc
tsteering and for braking in good time.
Always adap tyour driving style to suit the
prevailing road and weather conditions.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions and
your surroundings. Otherwise, you may fail to
recognise dangers in time, cause an accident
and injure yourself and others.
Either a very slight course-correcting brake
application, or none at all, may occur if:
R there are vehicles or obstacles, e.g. crash
barriers, on both sides of your vehicle.
R a vehicle approaches too closely on the
side.
R you have adopted a sporty driving style with
high cornering speeds.
R you brake or accelerate decisively.
R a driving safety system intervenes, such as
ESP ®
or PRE-SAFE ®
Brake.
R ESP ®
is deactivated.
R a loss of tyre pressure or a defective tyre is
detected.
Activating Active Blind Spot Assist
X On vehicles without a navigation system,
make sure that the Becker ®
MAP PILOT is
connected; see the separate operating
instructions for Audio 20.
X Make sure that the radar sensor system
(Y page 226) and Active Blind Spot Assist
(Y page 222) are activated in the on-board
computer.
X Turn the key to position 2in the ignition
lock.
Warning lamps :light up red in the exte-
rior mirrors for approximately 1.5 seconds
and then turn yellow. 196
Driving systemsDriving and parking

Trailer towing
If you attach a trailer, make sure you have
correctly established the electrical connec-
tion. This can be accomplished by checking
the traile rlighting. Active Blind Spot Assist is
the ndeactivated. The indicator lamp in the
exterior mirrors lights up yellow, and the
Active Blind Spot Assist currently unavailable See Owner's Manual mes-
sage appears in the multifunction display.
Active Lane Keeping Assist Important safety notes
Active Lane Keeping Assist monitors the area
in fron tofyour vehicle by means of a camera
at the top of the windscreen. Active Lane
Keeping Assist detects lane markings on the
road and warns you before you leave your
lane unintentionally. If you do not react to the
warning, a lane-correcting application of the
brakes can bring the vehicle back into the
original lane. :
Active Lane Keeping Assist camera
If you have selected the Display unitSpeed-/odometer: (Y
page 223) function in
the on-board computer and select kmkm as
the unit of measurement, Active Lane Keep-
ing Assist is active from speeds of 60 km/h.
If the miles display unit is selected, the assis-
tance range begins at 40 mph. G
WARNING
Active Lane Keeping Assist does not keep
your vehicle in its lane. It is only an aid and may detect the lane markings on the road
incorrectly or not at all.
The system may be impaired or may not func-
tion if:
R
several or no lane markings for a single lane
are present.
R there is poor visibility, e.g. due to insuffi-
cient illumination of the road, or due to
snow, rain, fog or spray.
R there is glare, e.g. from oncoming traffic,
the sun, or reflection from other vehicles.
R the windscreen is dirty, misted up or cov-
ered, for instance by a sticker, in the vicinity
of the camera.
R the lane markings are worn away, dark or
covered up, e.g. by dirt or snow.
R the distance to the vehicle in front is too
small and the lane markings thus cannot be
detected.
R the lane markings on the road are unclear,
e.g. near roadworks.
R the lane markings change quickly, e.g.
lanes branch off, cross one another or
merge.
R the road is narrow and winding.
Active Lane Keeping Assist cannot detect
road and traffic conditions. It is not a substi-
tute for attentive driving. You are responsible
for the vehicle's speed, braking in good time,
and steering correctly. Always adapt your
driving style to suit the prevailing road and
weather conditions. Always pay attention to
traffic conditions and your surroundings. Oth-
erwise, you may fail to recognise dangers in
time, cause an accident and injure yourself
and others.
Warning vibration in the steering wheel
A warning may be given if a front wheel
passes over a lane marking. You will be
warned by way of intermittent vibrations in
the steering wheel for up to 1.5 seconds.
In order that you are warned only when nec-
essary and in good time if you cross the lane Driving systems
197Driving and parking Z

marking, the system recognises certain con-
ditions and warns you accordingly.
The warning vibration occurs earlier if:
R
you approach the outer lane marking on a
bend.
R the road has very wide lanes, e.g. a motor-
way.
R the system recognises solid lane markings.
The warning vibration occurs later if:
R the road has narrow lanes.
R you cut the corner on a bend.
No warning vibration occurs if:
R you clearly and actively steer, brake, or
accelerate.
R you cut the corner on a sharp bend.
R a driving safety system intervenes, such as
ABS, BAS or ESP ®
.
R you have switched on the turn signals. In
this event, the warnings are suppressed for
a certain period of time.
Lane-correcting brake application
If you leave your lane under certain circum-
stances, the vehicle will brake briefly on one
side .This is designed to help you bring the
vehicle back into the original lane.
This function is available in the range between
60 km/h and 200 km/h.
A lane-correcting brake application can only
be made after driving over a solid, recognis-
able lane marking. Before this, a warning
must be emitted by means of intermittent
vibration in the steering wheel. In addition, a
lane with lane markings on both sides must
be recognised. The brake application also
slightly reduces driving speed.
If a lane-correcting brake application occurs,
the following message appears in the multi-
function display: Example: vehicles with automatic transmission
i
A further lane-correcting brake applica-
tion can only occur after your vehicle has
returned to the original lane. G
WARNING
Active Lane Keeping Assist does not keep
your vehicle in its lane. It is only an aid
designed to assist driving. It is not a substitute
for attentive driving. Corrective braking may
not always be sufficient to return your vehicle
to its original lane. In such cases, you must
steer the vehicle yourself to ensure that it
does not leave the lane.
Active Lane Keeping Assist cannot detect the
current traffic situation or other road users.
Ensure at all times that there is sufficient lat-
eral distance between you and other road
users or obstacles. In rare cases, broken lines
or certain structures on the road surface may
be detected by the system as solid lane mark-
ings. You can, for example, countersteer gen-
tly at any time to cancel inappropriate braking
action, e.g. if you intentionally drive across a
solid lane marking.
Active Lane Keeping Assist cannot take
weather conditions into account.
You are responsible for the vehicle's speed,
correct steering and for braking in good time.
Always adapt your driving style to suit the
prevailing road and weather conditions.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions and
your surroundings. Otherwise, you may fail to
recognise dangers in time, cause an accident
and injure yourself and others. 198
Driving systemsDriving and parking

No lane-correcting brake application occurs
if:
R you clearly and actively steer, brake, or
accelerate.
R you cut the corner on a sharp bend.
R you have switched on the turn signals.
R a driving safety system intervenes, such as
ESP ®
, PRE-SAFE ®
Brake or Active Blind
Spot Assist.
R you have adopted a sporty driving style with
high cornering speeds or high rates of
acceleration.
R on vehicles with a trailer tow hitch, the
electrical connection to the trailer has been
correctly established.
R ESP ®
is deactivated.
R the transmission is not in position D.
R a loss of tyre pressure or a defective tyre
has been detected and displayed.
Active Lane Keeping Assist does not detect
road and traffic conditions. An inappropriate
brake application may be interrupted at any
time if:
R you steer slightly in the opposite direction.
R you use a turn signal.
R you clearly brake or accelerate.
Al ane-correcting brake applicatio nis inter-
rupted automatically if:
R a driving safety system intervenes, such as
ESP ®
, PRE-SAFE ®
Brake or Active Blind
Spot Assist.
R lane markings can no longer be recognised.
Activating Active Lane Keeping Assist Example: vehicles with automatic transmission X
Activate Active Lane Keeping Assist using
the on-board computer (Y page 222).
Symbol :appears in the multifunction
display.
If you drive at speeds above 60 km/h and
lane markings are detected, symbol :is
displayed in green. Active Lane Keeping
Assist is ready for use.
Trailer towing
If you attach a trailer, make sure you have
correctly established the electrical connec-
tion. This can be accomplished by checking
the trailer lighting. Trailer towing
Notes on towing
atrailer
Important safety notes G
WARNING
When reversing the vehicle towards the
trailer, make sure there is nobody between
the trailer and the vehicle.
Couple and uncouple the trailer carefully .If
you do no tcouple the trailer to the towing
vehicle correctly, the trailer could become
detached.
Make sure that the following values are not
exceeded:
R the permissible trailer drawbar noseweight
R the permissible trailer load
R the permissible rear axle load of the towing
vehicle
R the maximum permissible gross vehicle
weight of both the towing vehicle and the
trailer
You will find the applicable permissible val-
ues, which must not be exceeded, in the vehi-
cle documents.
You will find the values approved by the man-
ufacturer on the vehicle identification plates
and those for the towing vehicle in the "Tech-
nical data" section. Trailer towing
199Driving and parking Z