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Driving and operating175
Do not operate electric parking brake
system too often with engine not
running, as this will discharge the
vehicle battery.
Before leaving the vehicle, check the electric parking brake status. Control
indicator m 3 112.
Releasing
Switch on ignition. Keep brake pedal
depressed and then press switch m.
Drive away function
Depressing clutch pedal (manual
transmission) or engaging drive gear
(automatic transmission) and then
depressing the accelerator pedal
releases the electric parking brake
automatically. This is not possible
when the switch is pulled at the same time.
This function also helps driving away
on inclines.
Aggressive drive-away may reduce
lifetime of wear parts.Dynamic braking when vehicle is
moving
When the vehicle is moving and the
switch m is kept pulled, the electric
parking brake system will decelerate the vehicle, but will not apply
statically.
As soon as the switch m is released,
dynamic braking will be stopped.
Fault
Failure mode of electric parking brake
is indicated by control indicator j and
by a code number or a vehicle
message which is displayed in the
Driver Information Centre (DIC).
Vehicle messages 3 123.
Apply electric parking brake: pull and hold switch m for more than
5 seconds. If control indicator m
illuminates, electric parking brake is
applied.
Release electric parking brake: press and hold switch m for more than
2 seconds. If control indicator m
extinguishes, electric parking brake is
released.Control indicator m flashes: electric
parking brake is not fully applied or
released. When continuously
flashing, release electric parking
brake and retry applying.
Brake assist If the brake pedal is depressed
quickly and forcefully, maximum
brake force is automatically applied
(full braking).
Maintain steady pressure on the brake pedal for as long as full braking
is required. Maximum brake force is
automatically reduced when the
brake pedal is released.
Hill start assist The system helps prevent unintendedmovement when driving away on
inclines.
When releasing the foot brake after
stopping on an incline, the brakes
remain on for a further two seconds.
The brakes release automatically as
soon as the vehicle begins to
accelerate.
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176Driving and operating
The hill start assist is not active during
an Autostop.Ride control systems
Traction Control system
The Traction Control system (TC) is a
component of the Electronic Stability
Control.
TC improves driving stability when
necessary, regardless of the type of
road surface or tyre grip, by
preventing the drive wheels from
spinning.
As soon as the drive wheels starts to
spin, engine output is reduced and
the wheel spinning the most is braked
individually. This considerably
improves the driving stability of the
vehicle on slippery road surfaces.
TC is operational as soon as the
control indicator b extinguishes.
When TC is active b flashes.9 Warning
Do not let this special safety
feature tempt you into taking risks
when driving.
Adapt speed to the road
conditions.
Control indicator b 3 114.
Deactivation
TC can be switched off when spinning of drive wheels is required: pressbutton b briefly.
Control indicator k illuminates.
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Driving and operating177
TC is reactivated by pressing the b
button again.
TC is also reactivated the next time
the ignition is switched on.
Electronic Stability Control Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
improves driving stability when
necessary, regardless of the type of
road surface or tyre grip. It also
prevents the drive wheels from
spinning.
As soon as the vehicle starts to
swerve (understeer/oversteer),
engine output is reduced and the wheels are braked individually. This
considerably improves the driving
stability of the vehicle on slippery road
surfaces.
ESC is operational as soon as the
control indicator b extinguishes.
When ESC is active b flashes.9 Warning
Do not let this special safety
feature tempt you into taking risks
when driving.
Adapt speed to the road
conditions.
Control indicator b 3 114.
Deactivation
For very high-performance driving
ESC can be deactivated: hold button
b depressed for approx. 5 seconds.
Control indicator n illuminates.
ESC is reactivated by pressing the
b button again. If the TC system was
previously disabled, both TC and
ESC are reactivated.
ESC is also reactivated the next time
the ignition is switched on.
Interactive driving system
Flex Ride Flex Ride driving system allows the
driver to select between three driving
modes:
■ SPORT mode: press button SPORT , LED illuminates.
■ TOUR mode: press button TOUR,
LED illuminates.
■ Normal mode: both buttons SPORT and TOUR are not
pressed, no LED illuminates.
Deactivate SPORT mode and TOUR
mode by pressing corresponding
button once more.
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178Driving and operating
In each driving mode Flex Ride
networks the following electronic systems:
■ Continuous Damping Control.
■ Accelerator Pedal Control.
■ Steering Control.
■ Automatic transmission.
SPORT modeThe settings of the systems are
adapted to a sportier driving style:
■ Damping of shock absorbers reacts
more stiffly to provide better contact with the road surface.
■ The engine reacts more quickly to the accelerator pedal.
■ Steering support is reduced.
■ Shift points of automatic transmission occur later.
■ With SPORT mode activated, the illumination of main instruments
changes from white to red.
TOUR modeThe settings of the systems are
adapted to a comfort driving style:
■ Damping of shock absorbers reacts
more softly.
■ Accelerator pedal reacts with standard settings.
■ Steering support is in standard mode.
■ Shift points of automatic transmission occur in a comfort
mode.
■ Illumination of main instruments is white.
Normal mode
All settings of the systems are
adapted to standard values.
Drive mode control Within each manual selected driving
mode SPORT, TOUR or Normal, the
Drive Mode Control (DMC) detects
and analyses continuously the real
driving characteristic, responses by
the driver, and the active dynamic
state of the vehicle. If necessary, the
control unit of DMC automatically
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Driving and operating179
changes the settings within the
selected driving mode or, when
recognising greater variations, the
driving mode is changed for the
length of variation.
If, for example, Normal mode is
selected and DMC detects a sporty
driving behaviour, DMC changes
several settings of the Normal mode
into sporty settings. The DMC
changes to SPORT mode in case of
very sporty driving behaviour.
If, for example, TOUR mode is
selected and whilst driving on a
winding road a sudden hard brake is
necessary, DMC will detect the
dynamic vehicle condition and
changes the settings for suspension
to SPORT mode to increase vehicle
stability.
When the driving characteristic or the
dynamic vehicle state returns to
former state, DMC will change the
settings to the preselected driving
mode.Personalised settings in the
Sport mode The driver can select the functions of
the SPORT mode when SPORT
button is pressed. These settings can
be changed in the menu Settings in
the Info-Display. Vehicle
personalisation 3 130.Driver assistance
systems9 Warning
Driver assistance systems are
developed to support the driver
and not to replace his attention.
The driver accepts full
responsibility when driving the
vehicle.
When using driver assistance
systems, always take care
regarding the current traffic
situation.
Cruise control
The cruise control can store and
maintain speeds of approx. 30 to
200 km/h. Deviations from the stored
speeds may occur when driving uphill or downhill.
For safety reasons, the cruise control cannot be activated until the foot
brake has been operated once.
Activation in first gear is not possible.
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180Driving and operating
Do not use the cruise control if it is notadvisable to maintain a constant
speed.
With automatic transmission, only
activate cruise control in automatic
mode.
Control indicator m 3 116.
Switching on Press button m, control indicator m in
instrument cluster illuminates white.
Activation
Accelerate to the desired speed and
turn thumb wheel to SET/-, the
current speed is stored and
maintained. Control indicator m in
instrument cluster illuminates green.
Accelerator pedal can be released.
Vehicle speed can be increased by
depressing the accelerator pedal.
When the accelerator pedal is
released, the previously stored speed is resumed.
Cruise control remains activated
while gearshifting.
Increase speed
With cruise control active, hold thumb wheel turned to RES/+ or briefly turn
to RES/+ repeatedly: speed
increases continuously or in small
increments.
Alternatively accelerate to the desired speed and store by turning to SET/-.
Reduce speed With cruise control active, hold thumb
wheel turned to SET/- or briefly turn to
SET/- repeatedly: speed decreases
continuously or in small increments.Deactivation
Press button y, control indicator m in
instrument cluster illuminates white.
Cruise control is deactivated. Last
used set speed is stored in memory
for later speed resume.
Automatic deactivation: ■ vehicle speed below approx. 30 km/h,
■ vehicle speed above approx. 200 km/h,
■ the brake pedal is depressed,
■ the clutch pedal is depressed for a few seconds,
■ selector lever in N,
■ engine speed in a very low range,
■ the Traction Control system or Electronic Stability Control is
operating.
Resume stored speed Turn thumb wheel to RES/+ at a
speed above 30 km/h. The stored
speed will be obtained.
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Driving and operating181
Switching off
Press button m, control indicator m in
instrument cluster extinguishes. The
stored speed is deleted.
Pressing button L for activating
speed limiter or switching off the
ignition also switches off cruise
control and deletes the stored speed.
Speed limiterThe speed limiter prevents the
vehicle exceeding a preset maximum
speed.
The maximum speed can be set at a
speed above 25 km/h.
The driver can only accelerate up to
the preset speed. Deviations from the
limited speed may occur when driving downhill.
The preset speed limit is displayed in
the top line of the Driver Information
Centre when the system is active.Activation
Press button L. If cruise control or
adaptive cruise control has been
activated before, it is switched off
when speed limiter is activated and
the control indicator m extinguishes.
Set speed limit
With speed limiter active, hold thumb
wheel turned to RES/+ or briefly turn
to RES/+ repeatedly until the desired
maximum speed is displayed in the
Driver Information Centre.
Alternatively accelerate to the desired speed and briefly turn thumb wheel to SET/- : the current speed is stored as
maximum speed. Speed limit is
displayed in the Driver Information
Centre.
Change speed limit
With speed limiter active, turn thumb
wheel to RES/+ to increase or SET/-
to decrease the desired maximum
speed.
Exceeding the speed limit
In the event of an emergency it is possible to exceed the speed limit by
depressing the accelerator pedal
firmly beyond the point of resistance.
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182Driving and operating
The limited speed will flash in the
Driver Information Centre and a
chime sounds during this period.
Release the accelerator pedal and the speed limiter function is
reactivated once a speed lower than
the limit speed is obtained.
Deactivation
Press button y: speed limiter is
deactivated and the vehicle can be
driven without speed limit.
The limited speed is stored and a
corresponding message appears in
the Driver Information Centre.
Resume limit speed
Turn thumb wheel to RES/+. The
stored speed limit will be obtained.
Switching off
Press button L, the speed limit
indication in the Driver Information
Centre extinguishes. The stored
speed is deleted.By pressing button m to activate
cruise control or adaptive cruise
control or by switching off the ignition,
speed limiter is also deactivated and
the stored speed is deleted.
Adaptive cruise control
Adaptive cruise control is an
enhancement to traditional cruise
control with the additional feature of maintaining a certain distance behind the vehicle ahead.
Adaptive cruise control automatically
decelerates the vehicle when
approaching a slower moving vehicle. It then adjusts the vehicle speed to
follow the vehicle ahead at the
selected following distance. The
vehicle speed increases or decreases to follow the vehicle in front, but willnot exceed the set speed. It may
apply limited braking with activated
brake lights.
The adaptive cruise control can store
and maintain speeds over approx.
50 km/h and brakes automatically tofollow a slower vehicle driving ahead
down to a minimum speed of
30 km/h.
Adaptive cruise control uses a radar
sensor to detect the vehicles ahead.
If no vehicle is detected in the driving
path, the adaptive cruise control will
behave like a traditional cruise
control.
For safety reasons, the system
cannot be activated before the brake
pedal has been depressed once after
switching on ignition. Activation in first gear is not possible.
Adaptive cruise control is mainly
advised to be used on long straight
roads, e.g. highways or country roads
with steady traffic. Do not use the
system if it is not advisable to
maintain a constant speed.
Control indicator A 3 116, m 3 116.