2012 MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS ESTATE steering wheel

Problem Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
The fuel filler flap can-
not be opened. The fuel filler flap is not unlocked.
or
The key battery is discharged.
X
Unlock the vehicle using the emergency key element
(Y page 84).
X Open the boot lid or the tailgate.
X Manually unlock the fuel filler flap using the emergency release
(Y page 181). The fuel filler flap is unlocked, but the opening mechanism is jam-
med.
X
Consult a qualified specialist workshop. Parking
Important safety notes
G
WARNING
If flammable materials such as leaves, grass
or twigs are exposed to prolonged contact to
parts of the exhaust system that heat up, they
could ignite. There is a risk of fire.
Park the vehicle so that no flammable mate-
rials come into contact with parts of the vehi-
cle which are hot. Take particular care not to
park on dry grassland or harvested grain
fields. G
WARNING
If you switch off the ignition while driving,
safety-relevant functions are only available
with limitations, or not at all. This could affect,
for example, the power steering and the brake
boosting effect.Y ou will require considerably
more effort to steer and brake. There is a risk
of an accident.
Do not switch off the ignition while driving. G
WARNING
If you leave children unattended in the vehi-
cle, they could set the vehicle in motion by,
for example:
R releasing the parking brake
R shifting an automatic transmission out of
parking position P
R shifting a manual transmission into neutral
R starting the engine
They could also operate vehicle equipment.
There is a risk of an accident and injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the key
with you and lock the vehicle. Never leave
children unattended in the vehicle.
! Am oving vehicle can lead to damage to
the vehicle or damage to the drive train.
To ensure that the vehicle is secured against
rolling away unintentionally:
R the parking brake must be applied.
R on vehicles with manual transmission,
engage first gear or reverse gear.
R on vehicles with automatic transmission,
the transmission must be in position Pand
the key must be removed from the ignition
lock.
R on uphill or downhill gradients, the front
wheels must be turned towards the kerb. Parking
183Driving and parking Z

a window on the side of the vehicle that is not
facing into the wind.
Have your vehicle winterproofed at a qualified
specialist workshop at the onset of winter.
Driving with summer tyres Observe the notes in the "Winte
roperation"
section (Y page 382).
Slippery road surfaces G
WARNING
If you shift down on a slippery road surface in
an attempt to increase the engine's braking
effect, the drive wheels could lose their grip.
This increases the risk of skidding and having
an accident.
Do not shift down for additional engine brak-
ing on a slippery road surface.
If the vehicle threatens to skid or cannot be
stopped when moving at low speed:
X Vehicles with manual transmission:
shift to neutral.
X Vehicles with automatic transmission:
shift the transmission to position N.
X Try to bring the vehicle under control by
using corrective steering.
You should drive particularly carefully on slip-
pery road surfaces .Avoid sudden accelera-
tion, steering and braking manoeuvres.
i For more information on driving with
snow chains, see (Y page 383). Driving systems
Cruise control
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Do not change downf or additional engine
braking on a slippery road surface. This could cause the drive wheels to lose their grip and
the vehicle could skid.
G
WARNING
Cruise control cannot take account of road
and traffic conditions.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions
even when cruise control is activated.
Cruise control is only an aid designed to assist
driving. You are responsible for the vehicle's
speed and for braking in good time. G
WARNING
Do not use cruise control
R in traffic conditions that do not allow you to
drive at a constant speed (e.g. heavy traffic
or winding roads). You may otherwise
cause an accident.
R on slippery roads. The drive wheels may
lose their grip when braking or accelerating
and the vehicle may skid.
R when there is low visibility, e.g. due to fog,
heavy rain or snow.
General notes Cruise control maintains a constant road
speed for you. It brakes automatically in order
to avoid exceeding the set speed. You must
select a low gear in good time on long and
steep downhill gradients, especially if the
vehicle is laden or towing a trailer. On vehicles
with automatic transmission, select shift
range
1,2or 3.B y doing so, you will make
use of the braking effec tofthe engine. This
relieves the load on the brake system and
prevents the brakes from overheating and
wearing too quickly.
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. Driving systems
189Driving and parking Z

On vehicles with automatic transmission, you
can also shift into position
P.This deactivates
the HOLD function. RACE START
Important safety notes G
WARNING
RACE START is only available when SPORT
handling mode is activated. SPORT handling
mode will only be able to stabilise the vehicle
to a limited degree if the vehicle starts to skid
or a wheel starts to spin. The vehicle is there-
fore harder to control at the threshold range.
You could lose control of the vehicle and
cause an accident.
RACE START should only be used on closed
off circuits. Always adapt your driving style to
suit the prevailing road and weather condi-
tions.
i RACE START is only available in AMG vehi-
cles.
RACE START enables optimum acceleration
from a standing start. The precondition for
this is a suitable high-grip road surface.
Activation conditions You can activate RACE START if:
R
the doors are closed.
R the engine is running and it has reached an
operating temperature of approximately
80 †. This is the case when the engine oil
temperature in the multifunction display
stops flashing.
R SPORT handling mode is activated
(Y page 74).
R the steering wheel is in the straight-ahead
position.
R the vehicle is stationary and the brake
pedal is depressed (left foot).
R the transmission is in position D.Activating RACE START X
Depress the brake pedal with your left foot
and keep it depressed.
X Turn the drive program selector clockwise
(Y page 174) until the RSlamp lights up.
The RACE START Confirm: Paddle UP Cancel: Paddle DOWN message appears
in the multifunction display.
i If the activation conditions are no longer
fulfilled, RACE START is cancelled. The
RACE START cancelled message appears
in the multifunction display.
X To cancel: pull the left steering wheel shift
paddle (Y page 175).
or
X To confirm:p ull the right steering wheel
shif tpaddle (Y page 175).
The RACE START available Depress accelerator message appears in the mul-
tifunctio ndisplay.
i If you do not depress the accelerator
pedal fully within two seconds, RACE
START is cancelled. The RACE START not
possible See Owner's Manual message
appears in the multifunction display.
X Fully depress the accelerator pedal.
The engine speed rises to approximately
3500 rpm.
The RACE START Release brake to start message appears in the multifunc-
tion display.
i If you do not release the brake pedal
within five seconds, RACE START is cancel-
led. The RACE START cancelled message
appears in the multifunction display.
X Take your foot off the brake, but keep the
accelerator pedal depressed.
The vehicle pulls away at maximum accel-
eration.
The RACE START active message appears
in the multifunction display.
RACE START is deactivated when the vehicle
reaches a speed of approximately 50 km/h. Driving systems
207Driving and parking Z

G
WARNING
Make sure that no persons or animals are in
the manoeuvring range. Otherwise, they
could be injured.
! If unavoidable, you should drive over
obstacles such as kerbs slowly and not at
a sharp angle .Otherwise, you may damage
the wheels or tyres.
Parking Guidance is an electroni cparking aid
with ultrasound. Ultrasound is used to meas-
ure the road on both sides of the vehicle .A
suitable parking space is indicated by the
parking symbol. You receive steering instruc-
tions when parking. You may also use PARK-
TRONIC (Y page 211).
When PARKTRONIC is deactivated, Parking
Guidance is also unavailable.
Use Parking Guidance for parking spaces:
R that are parallel to the direction of travel
R that are on straight roads, not bends
R that are on the same level as the road, i.e.
not on the pavement, for example. Parking
Guidance may not detect flat kerbs
Parking tips:
R on narrow roads, drive as closely as possi-
ble past the parking space.
R parking spaces that are littered, overgrown
or partially occupied by trailer drawbars
might be identified incorrectly or not at all.
R snowfall or heavy rain may lead to a parking
space being measured inaccurately.
R pay attention to the PARKTRONIC
(Y page 213) warning messages during the
parking procedure.
R when transporting a load which protrudes
from your vehicle, you must not use Parking
Guidance.
R never use Parking Guidance with snow
chains or an emergency spare wheel fitted. R
make sure that the tyre pressures are
always correct.T his hasadirec teffect on
the steering instructions.
R the way you rvehicle is positioned in the
parking space after parkin gis dependent
on various factors. These include the posi-
tion and shape of the vehicles parked in
front and behind it and the conditions of the
location. In some cases, Parking Guidance
may guide you too far or not far enough into
a parking space. In some cases, it may also
lead you across or onto the kerb. If neces-
sary, cancel the parking procedure with
Parking Guidance.
Detecting parking spaces Example: vehicles featuring automatic transmis-
sion with a DIRECT SELECT lever
:
Detected parking space on the left
; Parking symbol
= Detected parking space on the right
Parking Guidance is automatically activated
when you drive forwards. The system is
operational at speeds of up to approximately
35 km/h. While in operation, the system inde-
pendently locates and measures parking
spaces on both sides of the vehicle. When
driving at speeds below 30 km/h, you will see
parking symbol ;as a status indicator in the
instrument cluster.
When a parking space has been detected, an
arrow towards the right =or the left :also
appears. Parking Guidance only displays
parking spaces on the front-passenger side
as standard. Parking spaces on the driver's
side are displayed as soon as the turn signal
on the driver's side is activated. To park on
the driver's side, you must leave the driver's 216
Driving systemsDriving and parking

side turn signal switched on until you have
engaged reverse gear.
Parking Guidance will only detect parking
spaces:
R that are parallel to the direction of travel
R that are at least 1.5 m wide
R that are at least 1.3 m longer than your
vehicle
Ap arking space is displayed while you are
driving past it and until you are approximately
15 m away from it.
Parking Important safety notes
G
WARNING
PARKTRONIC and Parking Guidance are
merely parking aids and may no tdetec tall
obstacles. They do not relieve you of the
responsibility of paying attention.
You are always responsible for safety and
must continue to pay attention to your imme-
diate surroundings when parking and
manoeuvring. You could otherwise endanger
yourself and others.
Moving the vehicle to th eparking position Example: vehicles featuring automatic transmis-
sion with a DIRECT SELECT lever
X Stop the vehicle whe nthe parking space
symbol shows the desired parking space in
the instrument cluster.
X Vehicles with manual transmission: shift to
reverse gear. Vehicles with automatic transmission: shift
into position
R.
The multifunction display shows the
Check vehicle surroundings Con‐ firm with OK message.
X Press the abutton on the multifunction
steering wheel to confirm.
The multifunction display switches to Park-
ing Guidance.
Depending on your distance from the park-
ing space, the Please drive backwards message will appearint
he multifunction
display.
X If necessary, reverse towards the parking
space. This is indicated by an arrow point-
ing backwards.
Continue reversing until you hear a tone.
Stop –the parking position has been
reached. The arrow is white.
The Please steer to the right or
Please steer to the left message
appears in the multifunction display.
Reversing the vehicle into aparking space Example: vehicles featuring automatic transmis-
sion with a DIRECT SELECT lever
X
While the vehicle is stationary, turn the
steering wheel in the specified direction
until the arrow is white and a warning tone
sounds.
X To reverse into the parking space: main-
tain the steering wheel angl eand reverse
carefully.
X Stop as soo nas you hear a warning tone,
The vehicle has reached the position in
which you need to countersteer.
The Please steer to the left or
Please steer to the right message
appears in the multifunction display. Driving systems
217Driving and parking Z

X
Countersteering: while the vehicle is sta-
tionary, tur nthe steering wheel in the
specified direction until the arrow is white
and a warning tone sounds.
X To reverse into the parking space: main-
tain the steering wheel angle and reverse
carefully.
X Stop as soon as you hear a warning tone,
at the latest when PARKTRONIC sounds the
continuous warning tone.
The Parking Guidance finished mes-
sage appears in the multifunction display
and a tone sounds. You may be asked to
steer in a different direction and then
change gear. In this case, further displays
in the multifunction display will direct you
to the final position.
X Manoeuvre if necessary.
X Always observe the warning messages dis-
played by PARKTRONIC (Y page 213).
Cancelling Parking Guidance X
Press the PARKTRONIC button on the
centre console (Y page 213).
Parking Guidance is cancelled immediately
and PARKTRONIC is deactivated.
Parking Guidance is cancelled automatically
if it is no longer possible to guide you into the
parking space or if a malfunction occurs.
The parking space symbol goes out and a
warning tone sounds. The Parking Guid‐ance cancelled message appears in the
multifunction display.
Towing atrailer For vehicles with a trailer tow hitch, the min-
imum length for parking spaces is slightly
increased.
If you have attached a trailer to your vehicle,
you should not use Parking Guidance. When
the electrical connectio
nis established
between your vehicle and the trailer, Parking
Guidance ceases to be available. PARK-
TRONIC is deactivated for the rear area. Reversing camera
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Make sure that no persons or animals are in
the manoeuvring range. Otherwise, they
could be injured.
General notes Example: Saloon
Reversing camera
:is an optical parking aid.
It shows the area behind your vehicle in the
COMAND display.
Reversing camera :is located in the handle
strip of the tailgate.
View through the camera G
WARNING
The reversing camera is only an aid and may
display obstacles in a distorted or incorrect
manner, or may not even display them at all.
The reversing camera does not relieve you of
the responsibility to pay attention. The cam-
era cannot show objects:
R very near to the rear bumper
R below the rear bumper
R that are located above the tailgate handle
recess
You are always responsible for safety and
must continue to pay attention to your imme-
diate surroundings when parking and
manoeuvring. This applies to the areas
behind, in front of and next to the vehicle. You 218
Driving systemsDriving and parking

steering correctly. Always adapty
our 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.
General notes Lane Keeping Assist monitors the area in
front of your vehicle by means of a cam-
era
:at the top of the windscreen. Lane
Keeping Assist detects lane markings on the
road and warns you before you leave your
lane unintentionally.
If you have selected km as the display unit in
the Display unit Speed-/odome‐ ter (Y
page 258) function in the on-board
computer, Lane Keeping Assist assists you at
speeds above 60 km/h. If miles is selected
as the display unit, the assistance range
starts at 40 mph.
A warning may be given if a front wheel
passes over a lane marking. It will warn you
by means of intermittent vibration in the
steering wheel for up to 1.5 seconds. Activating Lane Keeping Assist Example: vehicles featuring automatic transmis-
sion with a DIRECT SELECT lever
X
Switch on Active Lane Keeping Assist using
the on-board computer; to do so, select
Standard or
Adaptive (Y
page 257).
Symbol :appears in the multifunction
display.
If you are driving faster than 60 km/h and
lane markings are detected, symbol :is
highlighted. Lane Keeping Assist is ready
for use.
Standard
If Standard is selected, no warning vibration
occurs if:
R you have switched on the turn signals. In
this case, the warnings are suppressed for
a certain period of time.
R a driving safety system intervenes, such as
ABS, BAS or ESP ®
.
Adaptive
If Adaptive is selected, no warning vibration
occurs if:
R you have switched on the turn signals. In
this case, the warnings are suppressed for
a certain period of time.
R a driving safety system intervenes, such as
ABS, BAS or ESP ®
.
R you accelerate hard, e.g. kickdown.
R you brake hard.
R you steer actively, e.g. swerve to avoid an
obstacle or change lane quickly.
R you cut the corner on a sharp bend.
In order that you are warned only when nec-
essary and in good time if you cross the lane 228
Driving systemsDriving and parking

If you have chosen the function
Displayunit Speed-/odometer: (Y
page 258) in
the on-board computer and selected km 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.
Warning vibration in the steering wheel
A warning may be given if a front wheel
passes over a lane marking. It will warn you
by means of intermittent vibration 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
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.
Lane-correcting brake application G
WARNING
Active Lane Keeping Assist does not keep
yourv ehicle 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 sufficien tto 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,
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. Example: vehicles featuring automatic transmis-
sion with a DIRECT SELECT lever
If a lane-correcting brake application occurs,
the display shown in the illustration appears
in the multifunction display.
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.
i
A further lane-correcting brake applica-
tion can only occur after your vehicle has
returned to the original lane. Driving systems
233Driving and parking Z