2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class Distronic

you
determ ine by thepos ition ofthe
acc eler ator pedal .
Act ivating when drivin gto war dsa
st at iona ryveh icle
If th eveh iclein fron to fyou isstation ary,you
can only activate DISTRONIC PLUSonceyour
vehicle isstation aryaswell.
X Briefly pullthecruise controllever towards
you ?,orbriefly pressup: ordown ;.
DIS TRONIC PLUSisselected. i
DIS
TRONIC PLUScanonly beactivated at
under 20mph (30km/ h)ifav ehicle infron t
has been detec ted.Therefor e,the
DIS TRONIC PLUSdistanc edisplay inthe
inst rument clustershouldbeactivat ed
(Y page 232).
X Keep thecruise control lever pressed
up : ordown ;until thedesired speed
is set. i
You
canusethecruise control lever toset
the stor edspeed andthecontrol onthe
cruise control lever toset the specified
minimum distance(Y page 176).
Activating atthe curr entspeed/last
stored speed G
WARN
ING The
setspeed storedinmemory shouldonly
be set again ifprevailing roadconditions and
legal speed limitspermit .Possible
acceleration ordeceleration differences
arising fromreturn ingtothe preset speed
could cause anaccident and/orserious injury
to you and others.
X Briefly pullthecruise controllever towards
you ?.
X Remove yourfootfrom theaccelerator
pedal.
DIS TRONIC PLUSisactivated. Thefirst
time itis activated, thecurrent speedis
stored. Otherwise, itsets thevehicle cruise
speed tothe previously storedvalue. Display
whenDISTRONIC PLUSis
activat ed DIS
TRONIC PLUSdisplay sin the speedometer
When DISTRONIC PLUSisactivated, oneor
two segment s; inthe setspeed rangelight
up. i
For
design reasons, thespeed display ed
in the speedometer maydiffer slightly from
the speed setforDIS TRONIC PLUS.
If DIS TRONIC PLUSdetect savehicle infron t,
segmen ts; between speedofthe vehicle in
fron t: and storedspeed =light up. Dist
ance display withDISTRONIC PLUSactivat ed
in the multifunc tiondisplay
: DISTRONIC PLUSactivat ed
; Own vehicle
= Specif iedminimum distanceto the
vehicle infron t;adjustable
? Vehicle infron t,ifdetec ted
You canselect thedistanc edisplay inthe
Ass istanc emen u(Y page 232)of the on-
board computer . Driving
systems
173Driving and parking Z

X
Sel ect the Dis
tanceDisplay functi
on
us ing the on-bo ardcomp uter
(Y page 232) . i
Yo
uwi llsee thestore dspe edfor abou t
fiv eseco ndswhen youacti vate DISTR ONIC
PLU S.
Dri vin gwi th DISTRONI CPL US Pul
ling awa y
X Ifthe vehic lein fron tpulls away: remove
you rfoot from thebrake pedal.
X Briefly pullthecruise controllever
(Y page 172)towards you.
or
X Acc elerate briefly.
Your vehicle pullsaway andadapts its
speed tothat ofthe vehicle infront .
Driving G
WARNIN
G If
you depress thebrake, DISTRONIC PLUSis
deactivated unlessyourvehicle isstation ary.
DIS TRONIC PLUSthennolonger brakes your
vehicle. Insuch cases, controlthe distance
from vehicles travelling infront withthebrake
alone. Youcould otherwise causeanaccident
and thereby injureyourself andothers. The
driver remains fullyresponsible forthe
vehicle's distancefromother vehicles, the
speed beingdriven andforbraking ingood
time.
If there isno vehicle infront ,DIS TRONIC
PLUS operates inthe same wayascruise
cont rol.
If DIS TRONIC PLUSdetect sthat thevehicle
in front hasslowed down,itbrakes your
vehicle. Inthis way, thedistance youhave
selected ismaintained.
If DIS TRONIC PLUSdetect sthat thevehicle
in front hasincreased speed,itincreases your
driving speed,butonly uptothe speed you
have stored. Changing
lanes
If you wish tochange tothe passing lane(in
count rieswith right- hand traffic ,the passing
lane isthe left- hand lane), DISTRONIC PLUS
supports youif:
R you aredriving fasterthan40mph
(60 km/ h).
R DIS TRONIC PLUSismaintainin gthe
distance toavehicle infront .
R you switch onthe appropriate turnsignals.
R DIS TRONIC PLUSdoesnotdetect adanger
of collision.
If these condit ionsaremet, yourvehicle is
accelerated. Acceleration willbeinter rupted
if changing lanestakes toolong orifthe
distance between yourvehicle andthe
vehicle infront becomes toosmall. G
WARNIN
G DIS
TRONIC PLUSandActiveBlind SpotAssist
are only aidsdesigned toassist driving.
They donot relieve youofthe responsibility
of paying attention.Thedriver remains fully
responsible forthe vehicle's distancefrom
other vehicles, thevehicle's speedandfor
braking ingood time. Always payatten tionto
traffic conditionsandyour surroundings.
Otherwise, youmay failtorecogn izedangers
in time, cause anaccident andinjure yourself
and others.
Vehicles withCOMAND i
The
following functionisnot operational
in all count ries.
DIS TRONIC PLUSusesadditional information
from yournavigation systemsothat itcan
react appropriately tocert aintraffic
situations. Thisisthe case if,while following
a vehicle, DISTRONIC PLUSisactive andyou:
R approach ordrive through atraffic circle
R approach aTinter section
R turn offatafreeway exit
Even ifthe vehicle infront leaves the
detect ionrange, DISTRONIC PLUS
temporarily maintainsthecurrent driving 174
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

speed
anddoes notaccelerate. Thisisbased
on the current mapdata inthe navigation
system. Example:
trafficcircle
The current speedismaintained:
R approximately 10seconds beforethe
traffic circle/T intersect ionand for
approximately 1.5seconds whendriving on
the traffic circle
R approximately 12seconds beforereaching
a freeway exitand approximately
4s econ dsafter thefreeway exit
Aft erwards, thevehicle accelerat esback to
the setspeed youspecified.
Stopp ing G
WARN
ING Never
getout ofthe vehicle whenDISTRONIC
PLUS isactivat ed.
DIS TRONIC PLUSmustalsonever be
operated, activatedordeactivat edbya
passenger orfrom outside thevehicle.
DIS TRONIC PLUSdoesnotreplace the
electr icparkin gbrake andmust notbeused
for parkin g.
The DISTRONIC PLUSbrakin geffec tis
canc eled andthevehicle canstart movin gif:
R DIS TRONIC PLUSisdeactivat edusing the
cruise control lever.
R you accelerat e.
R there isamalfunct ioninthe system oran
inte rruption inthe power supply, e.g.
batter yfailure. R
the electr icalsystem inthe engin e
compart ment,the batter yor the fuses are
tampered with.
R the batter yis discon nected.
If you wish toleave thevehicle orpark it,
deactivat eDIS TRONIC PLUSandsecure the
vehicle against rollingaway.
If DIS TRONIC PLUSdetectsthat thevehicle
in fron tisstopping, itbrakes yourvehicle until
it is stationary.
Once yourvehicle isstationary, itremains
stationary andyoudonot need todepress the
brake. i
Aft
eratime, theelectric parking brake
secures thevehicle andrelieves theservice
brake. i
Depending
onthe specified minimum
distance, yourvehicle willcome toa
standstill atasufficient distancebehindthe
vehicle infront .The specified minimum
distance isset using thecont rolonthe
cruise controllever.
The electric parking brakeautomatically
secures thevehicle ifDIS TRONIC PLUSis
activated and:
R the driver's doorisopen andthedriver's
seat beltisunfastened.
R the engine isswitched off.
R asystem malfunction occurs.
R the power supply isnot sufficient.
On steep uphillordownhill inclinesorifthere
is amalfunction, thetransmission mayalso
automatically beshifted intoposition P.
Setting aspee d G
WARNI
NG Kee
pin mind thatitm aytak eabrie fmoment
until thevehicle hasmade thenecessary
adjustmen ts.
Inc rease ordecrease thesetvehicle speedto
a value thattheprevailing roadcondit ionsand
legal speed limitspermit. Otherwise, sudden Driving
systems
175Driving and parking
Z

and
unex pectedacc eler ationordeceleration
of the vehicle couldcause anacciden tand/
or ser ious inju ryto youa nd othe rs. X
Pre ssthe cruise contro lle ver up: for a
hi ghe rspeed ordown ;for alower speed.
X Keep thecruise controllever pressed until
the desired speedisreached.
X Release thecruise controllever.
The new speed isstor ed.DISTRONIC PLUS
is activ ated andadjusts thevehicle's speed
to the new speed stored.
X Mak ingadjustm entsin1mp h
increment s(1 km/h increment s):briefly
press thecruise controllever tothe
pressure point.
The laststoredspeed increases or
decreases in1m phincr ement s(in Canada:
1 km/ hincr ement s).
X Mak ingadjustm entsin5mp h
increment s(10 km/h increment s):
briefly pressthecruise controllever
beyond thepressure point.
The laststoredspeed increases or
decreases in5mph increment s(10 km/ h
incr ement s).
Sett ingthe specified minimumdist ance G
WARN
ING It
is up tothe driver toexerc isediscret ionto
select theappropriate settinggiven road
con dition s,traf fic, driver' sprefer reddrivin g
style andapplicable lawsanddrivin g
recom mendat ionsforsafe following distance. You
cansetthe specified minimum distance
for DIS TRONIC PLUSbyvarying thetime span
between oneandtwosecon ds.With this
func tion,you can setthe minimum distance
that DISTRONIC PLUSkeeps tothe vehicle in
fron t,dependen tonv ehicle speed. Youcan
see this distanc ein the multifunc tiondisplay
(Y page 173). X
To increase: turncontrol ;indirect ion
=.
DIS TRONIC PLUSthenmaint ainsagreater
distanc ebetween yourvehicle andthe
vehicle infron t.
X To decrease: turncontrol ;in
direct ion:.
DIS TRONIC PLUSthenmaint ainsashort er
distanc ebetween yourvehicle andthe
vehicle infron t. i
Make
surethatyoumaint ainasufficien tly
safe distanc efrom thevehicle infron t.
Adj ust the distanc eto the vehicle infron tif
nece ssary.
De activ atin gDI STRO NICPLUS G
WA
RNING The
DISTR ONICPLU Ssw itch esoff and
rel eases thebrakes when the vehicle
de cel era tes below the mini mums peed of
20 mph (30km/ h)by operation ofthe system
unless theDISTRONIC PLUSdetectsavehicle
direct lyahead ofyou. Atthat time thedriver
must apply thebrakes inorder toreduce
vehicle speedfurtheror bring itto astop. 176
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

There
areseveral waystodeactivate
DIS TRONIC PLUS:
X Briefly pressthecruise controllever
forwards :.
or
X Brake, unless thevehicle isstation ary.
When youdeactivate DISTRONIC PLUS,the DISTRONIC
PLUSOff message
isshown in
the multifunct iondisplay forapproximately
five seconds. i
The
lastspeed stored remains storeduntil
you switch offthe engine. i
DIS
TRONIC PLUSisnot deactivated ifyou
depress theaccelerator pedal.Ifyou
accelerate toovert ake,DISTRONIC PLUS
adjusts thevehicle's speedtothe last
speed stored afteryouhave finished
overt aking.
DIS TRONIC PLUSisautomatically
deactivated if:
R you engage theelectric parking brakeorif
the vehicle isautomatically securedwith
the electric parking brake
R you aredriving slowerthan
15 mph (25km/ h)and there isno vehicle
in fron t,or ifthe vehicle infron tisno longer
detected
R ESP ®
interven esoryou deactivate ESP®
.
R the transmission isin the P,Ror Nposition.
R you switch offthe radar sensor system
(Y page 236).
R you pull thecruise controllever towards
you inorder topull awayand the front- pa
sse nge rdoor orone ofthe rear doors is
open.
R you activate DSR.
R the vehicle hasskidded.
If DIS TRONIC PLUSisdeactivated, youwill
hear awarning tone.The DISTRONIC
PLUS Off message
isshown inthe multifunct ion
display forapproximately fiveseconds.
You canselect thedistance displayinthe
Assist ancemenu (Ypage 232)ofthe on-
board computer. Distan
cedisplay whenDISTRONIC PLUSis
deactivated
: Vehicle infront ,if detect ed
; Distan ceindicator, currentdistance to
the vehicle infront
= Specified minimum distancetothe
vehicle infront ;adjustable
? Own vehicle
X Select the Distance
Display funct
ion
using theon-board computer
(Y page 232).
Tips fordriving withDISTRONIC PLUS Import
antsafety notes G
WARNIN
G The
DISTRONIC PLUSworks tomaintain the
speed selected bythe driver unless amoving
obstacle proceeding directlyaheadofitin the
same travel direction isdetect ed(e.g.
following anothervehicleaheadofyou atyour
set distance). Driving
systems
177Driving and parking
Z

This
means that:
R Your vehicle canpass another vehicleafter
you have changed lanes.
R While inasharp turnorifthe preceding
vehicle isin asharp turn,theDISTRONIC
PLUS could losesight ofthe preceding
vehicle. Yourvehicle couldthenaccelerate
to the previously selectedspeed.
The DISTRONIC PLUSregulates onlythe
distance between yourvehicle andthose
directly aheadofit. Itmay notregister
station aryobject sin the road, e.g.:
R astopped vehicleinatraff icjam
R adisabled vehicle
R an oncom ingvehicle
The driver mustalway sbe alert, observe all
traff icand inter cede asrequired bymeans of
steerin gor braking thevehicle. G
WARNIN
G The
DISTRONIC PLUSshould notbeused in
snowy oricy road condit ions.
The following contains description sof cert ain
road andtrafficcondit ionsinwhich youmust
be particularly attentive.Insuch situations,
brake ifnecessary. DISTRONIC PLUSisthen
deactivated.
Cornering, goingintoandcoming outofa
bend The
ability ofDIS TRONIC PLUStodetect
vehicles whencornering islimited. Your
vehicle maybrake unexpect edlyorlate. Vehicles
traveling onadiffer entline DI
STRON ICPLUS maynotdetec tvehic les
tr aveling onadiffer entline. Thedistan ceto
the vehic lein fron twillbe too shor t.
Oth ervehicles changinglanes DI
STRON ICPLUS hasnotdete cted the
vehic lecut tingin yet. Thedistanceto this
vehic lewill betoo shor t.
Na rrow vehicles DI
STRON ICPLUS hasnotyetdete cted the
vehic lein fro nton the edge ofthe road, 178
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

i
If
depres singthebrake pedalthe first
time does notactivate theHOLD function,
wait briefly andthen tryagain. G
WARNING The
vehicle's brakesareappli edwhen the
HOLD functionisactivated. Forthis reason,
deactivate theHOLD functionifthe vehicle is
to be set inmotion byother means (e.g.ina
car wash orby towing).
Deactivating theHOLD function The
HOLD functionisdeactivated
automatically if:
R you accelerate andthetransmission isin
position Dor R.
R the transmission isin position P.
R you apply thebrakes againwithacertain
amount ofpressure until HOLD disappe
ars
from themultifunction display.
R you secure thevehicle usingtheelectric
parking brake.
R you activate DISTRONIC PLUS. i
Aft
eratime, theelectric parking brake
secures thevehicle andrelieves theservice
brake. G
WARNING Never
getout ofthe vehicle whentheHOLD
funct ionisactivated.
The HOLD functionmust never beoperated
or deactivated byapassenger orfrom outside
the vehicle.
The HOLD functiondoes notreplace the
electric parking brakeandmust notbeused
for parking.
The braking effectofthe HOLD functionis
canceled andthevehicle couldrollaway if:
R the HOLD functionisdeactivated by
depressing theaccelerator pedalorthe
brake pedal.
R there isamalfunction inthe system oran
interruption inthe power supply,e.g.
battery failure. R
the electrical systeminthe engine
compartmen t,the battery orthe fuses are
tampered with.
R the battery isdisconnec ted.
The electric parking brakeautomatically
secures thevehicle ifthe HOLD functionis
activated and:
R the driver's doorisopen andthedriver's
seat beltisunfastened.
R the engine isswitched off.
R asystem malfunction occurs.
R the power supply isnot sufficient.
On steep uphillordownhill inclinesorifthere
is amalfunction, thetransmission mayalso
automatically beshifted intoposition P. AIRMATIC
package
General notes AIRMATIC
enablesasuspension tuning
settin gto be selected andregulates the
damping behaviorandlevel ofyour vehicle.
The system comprises aminimum oftwo
componen ts:ADS (Adaptive Damping
System) (Ypage 180)andlevel control
(Y page 181). Yourvehicle mayalsobe
equipp edwith theActive Curve System
(Y page 181).
Observe thenotes ondriving withatrailer
(Y page 210).
ADS (Adaptive DampingSystem) General
notes
ADS adapts thedamping characterist icsto
the current operating anddriving situation.
This depends on:
R your driving style
R the road surface condition s
R the ADS settin g
R the vehicle levelsettin g
Your selection remainsstoredevenifyou
remove theSmartK eyfrom theignition lock. 180
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

Please
notethat when towing atrailer,
PARKTRONIC (Ypage 183)andBlind Spot
Assist (Ypage 198)areonly availabl ewith
limitations ,or not atall. i
On
vehicles withoutlevelcontrol,the
height ofthe ball coupling willalter
accordin gto the load placed onthe vehicle.
If necess ary,useatrailer withaheight-
adjustable drawbar.
Driving tips i
Observe
theinform ationonESP®
trailer
stabilization (Ypage 64)and onpulling
away withatrailer. (Ypage 141).
The maximum permissible speedforvehicle/
trailer combinat ionsdepends onthe type of
trailer. Before beginnin gthe journ ey,check
the trailer's document sto see what the
maximum permittedspeed is.Observe the
legally prescribed maximumspeedinthe
relevant country.
For cert ainMercedes- Benzvehicles, the
maximum permissible rearaxle load is
incr eased whentowing atrailer. Refertothe
"Technical data"sectiontofind outwhether
this applies toyour vehicle. Ifyou utilize any
of the added maximum rearaxle load when
towing atrailer, thevehicle/t railer
combinat ionmay notexceed amaximum
speed of60 mph(100 km/h)for reasons
conc ernin gthe operating permit.Thisalso
applies incount riesinwhich thepermissible
maximum speedforvehicle/t railer
combinat ionsisabove 60mph(100 km/h).
When towing atrailer, yourvehicle's handling
charact eristics willbedifferen tinc omparison
with when driving without atrail er.
On long andsteep downhill gradients, you
must selectshift range 1,2or 3in good time. i
This
alsoapp liesif you have activated
cruise control orDISTRONIC PLUS.
This willuse thebraking effectofthe engine,
so that lessbraking willbe requ iredto
maintai nthe speed. Thisrelieves theload on
the brake system andprevents thebrakes from
overheating andwearing tooquickly. If
you need additional braking,depressthe
brake pedalrepeatedly ratherthan
cont inuously .
Driving tips R
Maintain agreater distance fromthe
vehicle infront thanwhen driving without a
trailer.
R Avoid braking abruptly. Ifpossible, brake
gently atfirst toallow thetrailer torun on.
Then, increase thebraking forcerapidly .
R The values givenforgradient-c limbing
capabil itiesfrom astandst illrefer tosea
level. When driving inmountainous areas,
note thatthepower output ofthe engine,
and consequent lythe vehicle's gradient-
climbing capability,decrease with
increasing altitude.
If the trailer swings fromsidetoside:
X Do not accelerate.
X Do not counter- steer.
X Brake ifnecessary. Assemblin
gthe ball coupling
! Mercedes-Ben zrecomm endsthatyou
have theball coupling assembled ata
qualified specialist workshop.Only a
qualified specialist workshophas the
nec essary specialist knowledge andtools
to carry outthework required. Youcould
other wiseincorrectlyassemble theball
coupling ortight enthe nut with the
incor recttorque. Thiscould leadtothe ball
coupling andtheball coupling carrier
becomin gdetached whiletowing atrailer.
As aresult, youcould cause anacciden t.
Therefor e,have theball coupling
assembled ataqualified specialist
worksho p.
If the assembled ballcoupling hasbeen
permanen tlymount edon the vehicle, have
the ball coupling regularly checkedfor 212
Tr
ailer towingDriving and parking