Driving and operating185
■ Do not use the system on slipperyroads as it can create rapid
changes in tyre traction (wheel spinning), so that you could lose
control of the vehicle.
■ Do not use adaptive cruise control during rain, snow or heavy dirt, as
the radar sensor can be covered by
a water film, dust, ice or snow. This
reduces or suppresses completely
the visibility. In case of sensor
blockage, clean the sensor cover.
System limits ■ The system's automatic brake force
does not permit hard braking and
the braking level may not be
sufficient to avoid a collision.
■ After a sudden lane change, the system needs a certain time to
detect the next preceding vehicle.
So if a new vehicle is detected, the
system may accelerate instead of
braking.
■ Adaptive cruise control does ignore
the oncoming traffic.■ Adaptive cruise control does not brake for pedestrians, animals,
very slow speed driving or stopped
vehicles.
■ Don't use adaptive cruise control when towing a trailer.
Bends
The adaptive cruise control calculates
a predicted path based on the
centrifugal force. This predicted path
considers the current bend
characteristic, but cannot consider a
future bend change. The system may lose the current vehicle ahead or
consider a vehicle which is not in the
actual lane. This can happen when
entering or exiting a bend or if the
bend gets stronger or weaker. If it no
longer detects any vehicle ahead,
then control indicator A will
extinguish.
If the centrifugal force is too high in a bend, the system slows down the vehicle slightly. This braking level is
not designed to avoid spinning-off the
bend. The driver is responsible for
reducing the selected speed before
entering a bend and in general to
adapt the speed to the road type and
to existing speed limits.
Motorways
On motorways, adapt the set speed
to the situation and the weather.
Always consider that adaptive cruise
control has a limited visibility range, a
limited braking level and a certain
reaction time to verify if a vehicle is on
the driving path or not. Adaptive
cruise control may not be able to
brake the vehicle in time to avoid a
collision with a much slower vehicle or after a lane change. This is
190Driving and operating
Alerting the driver
A green illuminated vehicle ahead
control indicator A illuminates 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 V repeatedly until Forward
Collision Alert Off appears in the
Driver Information Centre.
General information for both
variants 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 3 111.
Driving and operating191
On Baselevel display set Settings
X with the Menu button and select
Following distance indication via the
adjuster wheel on the turn signal lever
3 111.
On Midlevel or Uplevel display, select
Info menu and press o to select
Following distance indication 3 111.
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.
If Adaptive cruise control is active,
this page shows the following
distance setting instead 3 180.
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 3 187.
The feature uses various inputs (e.g.
radar sensor, brake pressure, vehicle speed) to calculate the probability ofa frontal collision.
Active emergency braking operates automatically above walking speed,
provided that Auto Collision
Preparation setting is not deactivated
in the vehicle personalisation menu
3 122.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.
Driving and operating193
If the system does not work as it
should do, vehicle messages are
displayed in the Driver Information
Centre.
Vehicle messages 3 120.
Parking assist9 Warning
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. The signal
for front obstacles sounds via the
front speakers, for rear obstacles it
sounds from the rear of the vehicle.
Activation
When reverse gear is engaged, the
front and rear parking assist is ready
to operate.
The front parking assist is also
activated automatically at a speed up
to 7 mph.
194Driving and operating
An illuminated LED in the parking
assist button r indicates that the
system is ready to operate.
If the vehicle exceeds a speed of
7 mph, the front parking assist is
deactivated. The front parking assist
is always reactivated when vehicle
speed drops below 7 mph.
Indication
The system warns the driver with
acoustic signals against potentially
hazardous obstacles behind and in
front of the vehicle. Depending on
which side of the vehicle is closer to
an obstacle, you will hear acoustic
warning signals on the respective
side of the vehicle. The interval
between the sounds becomes shorter as the vehicle gets closer to that
obstacle. When the distance is less
than approx. 30 cm, the sound is
continuous.
Additionally, the distance to obstacles is shown in the Driver Information
Centre 3 111.
The distance to a front and rear
obstacle is indicated by changing
distance lines around the vehicle.
Rear obstacles are indicated
acoustically and visually at the same
time.
Front obstacles are indicated visually
first. At distances less than 80 cm an
acoustic signal also sounds.
The distance indication in the Driver
Information Centre can be inhibited
by vehicle messages with a higher
priority. After approving the message
by pressing the SET/CLR button on
the turn signal lever or 9 on right
steering wheel control, distance
indication appears again.
Deactivation
The rear parking assist automatically
switches off when reverse gear is
disengaged.
The front parking assist is deactivated
automatically at a speed above
7 mph.
Driving and operating195
Manual deactivation is possible by
pressing the parking assist button
r briefly.
When the system is deactivated, the
LED in the button extinguishes.
Additionally, Park Assist Off pops-up
in the Driver Information Centre when the system is deactivated manually.
After a manual deactivation, the front
parking assist is activated again if the
parking assist button r is pressed
or if reverse gear is engaged.
Fault
In the event of a fault in the system or if the system does not work due to
temporary conditions, e.g. ice
covered sensors, a message is
displayed in the Driver Information
Centre.
Vehicle messages 3 120.
Advanced parking assist9 Warning
The driver bears full responsibility
for accepting the parking slot
suggested by the system and the
parking manoeuvre.
Always check the surrounding
area in all directions when using
advanced parking assist.The advanced parking assist system manoeuvres the driver into a parkingslot by giving instructions on the
Driver Information Centre and
acoustic signals. The driver must
control acceleration, braking, steering
and gear shifting.
The system uses the sensors of the
parking assist system in combination
with two additional sensors on both
sides of the front and rear bumper.
Driving and operating199correct 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 can be
activated and deactivated by
changing the settings in the
Info-Display.
Vehicle personalisation 3 122.
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 production, the system
requires a calibration. For optimal
parking guidance, a driving distance
of at least 22 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.9 Warning
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.
204Driving and operating
Warning symbols
Warning symbols are indicated as
triangles 9 on the picture which show
obstacles detected by the rear
sensors of the advanced parking
assist.
Additionally 9 appears on the top line
of the Info-Display with the warning to check the vehicle surrounding.
Deactivation
The camera is deactivated when a
certain forward speed is exceeded or
if reverse gear is not engaged for
approx. 10 seconds.
Activation or deactivation of the rear
view camera can be set 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 3 118.
Vehicle personalisation 3 122.
Fault
Fault messages are displayed with a
9 on the top line of the Info-Display.The rear view camera may not
operate properly when:
■ The surrounding is dark.
■ The sun or the beam of headlights is shining directly into the camera
lens.
■ Ice, snow, mud, or anything else covers the camera lens. Clean the
lens, rinse it with water, and wipe it with a soft cloth.
■ The tailgate is not closed correctly.
■ The vehicle is towing a trailer.
■ The vehicle had a rear end accident.
■ There are extreme temperature changes.
Rear cross traffic alert
Additional to the rear view camera
3 202 , rear cross traffic alert warns of
cross traffic from left or right side
when driving rearwards. When cross
traffic is recognized and the rear view
camera is activated, a warning
triangle with a direction arrow K
appears on the Colour-Info-Display,showing the direction of the traffic.
Furthermore, three beeps will sound
from the speaker on the respective
side.
The radar distance sensors are
located sideways in the rear bumper.
9 Warning
The rear cross traffic alert does not
replace driver vision. Note that
objects that are outside sensors,