184Driving and operating
Press button E, the current setting is
shown in the Driver Information
Centre. Press button E again to
change the alert sensitivity. The
setting is also displayed in the Driver
Information Centre.Note that the alert timing sensitivity
setting is shared with the following
distance setting of the adaptive cruise
control 3 175. So changing the alert
timing sensitivity changes the
adaptive cruise control following
distance setting.
Alerting the driver
A green illuminated vehicle ahead
control indicator A lights up in the
instrument cluster when the system has detected a vehicle in the driving
path. The control indicator A
changes to yellow when the distance
to a preceding moving vehicle gets
too small or when approaching
another vehicle too rapidly.
Simultaneously the collision alert
symbol pops up in the Driver
Information Centre.
If a collision is imminent a warning
chime sounds. Depress the brake
pedal, if it is required by the situation.
Settings
Settings can be changed in the
vehicle personalisation menu in the
Colour-Info-Display.
Select the relevant setting in Settings,
I Vehicle in the Colour-Info-Display.
Colour-Info-Display 3 117.
Vehicle personalisation 3 121.
Driving and operating185
Forward collision alert based onfront camera system
Forward collision alert uses the front
camera system in the windscreen to
detect a vehicle directly ahead, in
your path, within a distance of approx. 60 metres.
Activation
Forward collision alert operates
automatically above 25 mph, if it is not
deactivated by button V, see below.
Selecting the alert sensitivity
The alert sensitivity can be set to
near, medium or far.Press button V, the current setting is
shown in the Driver Information
Centre. Press button V again to
change the alert sensitivity.
Alerting the driver
A green illuminated vehicle ahead
control indicator A lights up in the
instrument cluster when the system has detected a vehicle in the driving
path.
When the distance to a preceding
moving vehicle gets too small or when
approaching another vehicle too
rapidly and a collision is imminent, the
collision alert symbol pops up in the
Driver Information Centre.
Simultaneously a warning chime
sounds. Depress the brake pedal, if it is required by the situation.
Deactivation
The system can be deactivated.
Press button V repeatedly until
Forward Collision Alert Off appears in
the Driver Information Centre.
186Driving and operating
General information for bothvariants of forward collision alert9 Warning
Forward collision alert is just a
warning system and does not
apply the brakes. When
approaching a vehicle ahead too
rapidly, it may not provide you
enough time to avoid a collision.
The driver accepts full
responsibility for the appropriate
following distance based on traffic, weather and visibility conditions.
The complete attention of the
driver is always required while
driving. The driver must always be
ready to take action and apply the
brakes.
System limitations
The system is designed to warn only for vehicles, but may react also to
other metallic objects.
In the following cases, forward
collision alert may not detect a vehicle ahead or sensor performance may be limited:
■ on winding roads,
■ when weather limits visibility, e.g. fog, rain, or snow,
■ when the sensor is blocked by snow, ice, slush, mud, dirt, or
windscreen damage.
Following distance
indication
The following distance indication
displays the distance to a preceding
moving vehicle. The system uses,
depending on the vehicle equipment,
either the radar behind the radiator
grille or the front camera in the
windscreen to detect the distance of
a vehicle directly ahead in your lane.
It is active at speeds above 25 mph.
When a preceding vehicle is detected
ahead, the distance is indicated in
seconds, displayed on a page in the
Driver Information Centre 3 110.On Baselevel display set Settings
X with the Menu button and select
Following distance indication via the
adjuster wheel on the turn signal lever 3 110.
On Midlevel or Uplevel display, select
Info menu and press o to select
Following distance indication 3 110.
The minimum indicated distance is
0.5 seconds.
If there is no vehicle ahead or the vehicle ahead is out of range, two
dashes will be displayed: -.- s.
Driving and operating187
If Adaptive cruise control is active,
this page shows the following
distance setting instead 3 175.
Active Emergency Braking Active emergency braking can help to reduce the damage from crashes with vehicles and obstacles directly
ahead, when a collision can no longer
be avoided either by manual braking
or by steering. Before the active
emergency braking applies, the driver is warned by the forward collision
alert 3 183.
The feature uses various inputs (e.g.
radar sensor, brake pressure, vehicle speed) to calculate the probability of
a frontal collision.
Active emergency braking operates automatically above walking speed, provided that Auto Collision
Preparation setting is not deactivated
in the vehicle personalisation menu
3 121.The system includes:
■ Brake preparation system
■ Emergency automatic braking
■ Forward looking brake assist9 Warning
This system is not intended to
replace the driver responsibility for driving the vehicle and looking
ahead. Its function is limited to
supplemental use only. The driver must continue to apply the brake
pedal as the driving situation
dictates.
Brake preparation system
When approaching a vehicle ahead
so quickly that a collision is likely, the brake preparation system slightly
pressurises the brakes. This reduces
the response time, when a manual or automatic braking is requested.
The brake system is prepared so that braking can occur more rapidly.
Emergency automatic braking
After the brake preparation and just
before the imminent collision, this
function automatically applies limited
braking to reduce the impact speed of
the collision.
Below a speed of 11 mph the system
can apply full braking.
Forward looking brake assist
In addition to the brake preparation
system and emergency automatic
braking, the forward looking brake
assist function makes the brake assist more sensitive. Therefore,
depressing the brake pedal less
strongly results in immediate hard
braking. This function helps the driver brake quicker and harder before the
imminent collision.9 Warning
Active emergency braking is not
designed to apply hard
autonomous braking or to
automatically avoid a collision. It is designed to reduce the vehicle
Driving and operating189Parking assist9Warning
The driver bears full responsibility
for the parking manoeuvre.
Always check the surrounding
area when driving backwards or
forwards while using parking
assist system.
Front-rear parking assist
The front-rear parking assist
measures the distance between the vehicle and obstacles in front and
behind the vehicle. The system gives acoustic signals and display
messages.
The system has four ultrasonic
parking sensors each in the rear and front bumper.
It uses two different acoustic warning
signals for the front and rear
monitoring areas, each with a
different tone frequency.
Activation
When reverse gear is engaged, the
front and rear parking assist is ready
to operate.
An illuminated LED in the parking
assist button r indicates that the
system is ready to operate.
When driving forward at low speeds,
the front parking assist can also be
activated by pressing the parking
assist button r.
Once the button r is pressed within
an ignition cycle, the front parking
assist is always reactivated when the vehicle underruns a certain value.
Indication
The system warns the driver with
acoustic signals against potentially
hazardous obstacles in front of or
behind the vehicle. An obstacle
detection is indicated by beeps
sounding respective from the front or
rear of the vehicle. The intervall
between the beeps becomes shorter
as the vehicle gets closer to the
obstacle. when the distance is less
than 30 cm, a continuous tone
sounds.
Driving and operating193
deactivated. Press button ( to
activate the system and search for a
new parking slot.
Important hints for using the
parking assist systems9 Warning
Under certain circumstances,
various reflective surfaces on
objects or clothing as well as
external noise sources may cause the system to fail to detect
obstacles.
Special attention must be paid to
low obstacles which can damage
the lower part of the bumper.
Caution
Performance of the system can be reduced when sensors are
covered, e.g. by ice or snow.
Performance of the parking assist
system can be reduced due to
heavy loading.
Special conditions apply if there
are taller vehicles in the vicinity
(e.g. off-road vehicles, mini vans,
vans). Object identification and correct distance indication in the
upper part of these vehicles
cannot be guaranteed.
Objects with a very small reflection
cross-section, e.g. objects of
narrow size or soft materials, may
not be detected by the system.
Parking assist systems do not
detect objects outside the
detection range.
Notice
The parking assist system
automatically detects factory-fitted
towing equipment. It is deactivated
when the connector is plugged in.
It is possible that the sensor detects a non-existing object (echo
disturbance) caused by external acoustical or mechanic
disturbances.
Advanced parking assist system
may not respond to changes in the
parking space after initiating a
parallel parking manoeuvre.
Notice
After use the advanced parking
assist requires a calibration. For
optimal parking guidance, a driving
distance of at least 6 miles, including a number of bends, is required.
Side blind spot alert The side blind spot alert system
detects and reports objects on either
side of the vehicle, within a specified
"blind spot" zone. The system alerts
visually in each exterior mirror, when
detecting objects that may not be
visible in the interior and exterior
mirrors.
The system's sensors are located in
the bumper on the left and right side
of the vehicle.
194Driving and operating9Warning
Side blind spot alert does not
replace driver vision.
The system does not detect: ■ Vehicles outside the side blind zones which may be rapidly
approaching.
■ Pedestrians, cyclists or animals.
Before changing a lane, always
check all mirrors, look over the
shoulder and use the turn signal.
When the system detects a vehicle in the side blind zone while driving
forward, either while passing a
vehicle or being passed, the amber
warning symbol B will illuminate in
the relevant exterior mirror. If the
driver then activates the turn signal,
the warning symbol B starts flashing
amber as a warning not to change
lanes.
When the vehicle is started, both
exterior mirror displays will briefly
come on to indicate that the system is
operating.
If the vehicle is equipped with lane change alert 3 195, the symbol F
is displayed in the mirrors.The system can be activated or
deactivated in the vehicle
personalisation.
Select the relevant setting in Settings,
I Vehicle in the Colour-Info-Display.
Colour-Info-Display 3 117.
Vehicle personalisation 3 121.
Deactivation is indicated by a
message in the Driver Information
Centre (DIC).
Detection zones
The system sensor covers a zone of
approx. 3.5 metres on both sides of
the vehicle. This zone starts at each
Driving and operating195
exterior mirror and extends rearwardsby approx. 3 metres. The height of the
zone is approx. between 0.5 metres
and 2 metres off the ground.
The system is deactivated if the
vehicle is towing a trailer.
Side blind spot alert is designed to ignore stationary objects such as
guardrails, posts, curbs, walls and
beams. Parked vehicles or oncoming vehicles are not detected.
Fault Occasional missed alerts can occurunder normal circumstances.
Side blind spot alert does not operate when the left or right corners of the
rear bumper are covered with mud,
dirt, snow, ice, slush, or in heavy
rainstorms. Cleaning instructions
3 260.
In the event of a fault in the system or if the system does not work due to
temporary conditions, a message is
displayed in the Driver Information
Centre (DIC). Seek the assistance of
a workshop.Lane change alert
Additional to the side blind spot alert
3 193, lane change alert recognizes
rapidly approaching vehicles from
behind on parallel lanes next to your
vehicle.
If the vehicle is equipped with lane
change alert, side blind spot alert is
always included.
The system alerts visually in each
exterior mirror when detecting rapidly approaching vehicles from behind.
The radar distance sensors are
located in the rear bumper.9 Warning
Lane change alert does not
replace driver vision.
Before changing a lane, always
check all mirrors, look over the
shoulder and use the turn signal.
When the system detects an
approaching vehicle from behind
which drives considerably faster, the
amber warning symbol F will
illuminate in the relevant exterior
mirror. If the driver then activates the
turn signal, the warning symbol F
starts flashing amber as a warning not to change lanes.
When the vehicle is started, both
exterior mirror displays will briefly come on to indicate that the system is operating.