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Driving and operating175
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 characteristics, responses by
the driver, and the active dynamic
state of the vehicle. If necessary, the
control unit of DMC automatically
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176Driving and operating
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 is
pressed. These settings can be
changed in the Settings menu in the
Info-Display. Vehicle personalisation
3 129.Driver assistance
systems9 Warning
Driver assistance systems are
developed to support the driver
and not to replace the driver's
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. 20 to
120 mph. Deviations from the stored
speeds may occur when driving uphill or downhill.
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Driving and operating177
For safety reasons, the cruise controlcannot be activated until the foot
brake has been operated once.
Activation in first gear is not possible.
Do not use the cruise control if it is not advisable to maintain a constant
speed.
With automatic transmission, only
activate cruise control in automatic
mode.
Control indicator m 3 116.
Switching on Press 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 y, control indicator m in
instrument cluster illuminates white.
Cruise control is deactivated. Last
stored speed remains in memory for
later speed resume.
Automatic deactivation: ■ Vehicle speed is below approx. 20 mph.
■ Vehicle speed is above approx. 125 mph.
■ The brake pedal is depressed.
■ The clutch pedal is depressed for a
few seconds.
■ Selector lever is in N.
■ Engine speed is in a very low range.
■ The Traction Control system or Electronic Stability Control is
operating.
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178Driving and operating
Resume stored speedTurn thumb wheel to RES/+ at a
speed above 20 mph. The stored speed will be obtained.
Switching off
Press m, control indicator m in
instrument cluster extinguishes. The
stored speed is deleted.
Pressing L for activating speed
limiter or switching off the ignition also switches off cruise control and
deletes the stored speed.
Speed limiter The speed limiter prevents the
vehicle exceeding a preset maximum speed.
The maximum speed can be set at a
speed above 15 mph.
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 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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Driving and operating179
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 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 L, the speed limit indication in
the Driver Information Centre extinguishes. The stored speed is
deleted.By pressing 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 will
not exceed the set speed. It may
apply limited braking with activated
brake lights.
The adaptive cruise control can store and maintain speeds over approx.
30 mph and brakes automatically tofollow a slower vehicle driving ahead
down to a minimum speed of
18 mph.
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.
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180Driving and operating9Warning
The complete driver attention is
always required while driving with adaptive cruise control. The driver stays fully in control of the vehicle
because the brake pedal, the
accelerator pedal and the cancel
switch have priority over any
adaptive cruise control operation.
Switching on
Press C to switch on adaptive cruise
control. The control indicator m
illuminates white.
Activation by setting the speed
Adaptive cruise control can be
activated between 30 mph and
112 mph.
Accelerate to the desired speed and
turn thumb wheel to SET/-; the
current speed is stored and
maintained. Control indicator m
illuminates green.
The adaptive cruise control symbol,
the following distance setting and set speed are indicated in the top line ofthe Driver Information Centre.
The accelerator pedal can be
released. Adaptive cruise control
remains activated while gearshifting.
Overriding set speed
It is always possible to drive faster than the selected set speed by
depressing the accelerator pedal.
When the accelerator pedal is
released, the vehicle returns to the
desired distance if a slower vehicle is ahead. Otherwise it returns to the
stored speed.
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Driving and operating181
Once the system is activated,
adaptive cruise control decelerates or
brakes if it detects a vehicle ahead
which is slower or closer than the
desired following distance.9 Warning
Accelerating by the driver
deactivates automatic braking by
the system. This is indicated as a
pop-up warning in the Driver
Information Centre.
Increase speed
With adaptive cruise control active,
hold thumb wheel turned to RES/+:
speed increases continuously in large increments, or activate RES/+
repeatedly: speed increases in small increments.
With adaptive cruise control active, if
the vehicle is driven much faster than the desired speed, e.g. after
depressing the accelerator pedal,
then the current speed can be stored
and maintained by turning the thumb
wheel to SET/-.
Reduce speed
With adaptive cruise control active,
hold thumb wheel turned to SET/-:
speed decreases continuously in
large increments, or activate SET/-
repeatedly: speed decreases in small
increments.
With adaptive cruise control active, if
the vehicle is driven much slower than
the desired speed, e.g. because of a
slower vehicle ahead, then the
current speed can be stored and
maintained by turning the thumb
wheel to SET/-.
Resume stored speed
If the system is switched on but
inactive, then turn thumb wheel to
RES/+ at a speed above 30 mph to
resume the stored speed.
Setting the following distance When adaptive cruise control detects
a slower moving vehicle in the driving path, it will adjust the vehicle speed to
maintain the following distance
selected by the driver.The following distance can be set to
near, medium or far.
Press E, the current setting is shown
on the Driver Information Centre.
Press E again to change the
following distance. The setting is also displayed in the top line of the Driver
Information Centre.
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182Driving and operating
The selected following distance is
indicated by filled distance bars on
the adaptive cruise control page.
Note that the following distance
setting is shared with the sensitivity
setting of forward collision alert.
Example: If setting 3 (far) is selected,
then the driver is warned sooner
before a possible collision, also if
adaptive cruise control is inactive or
switched off.
9 Warning
The driver accepts full
responsibility for the appropriate
following distance based on traffic, weather and visibility conditions.
Following distance must be
adjusted or the system switched
off when required by the prevailing
conditions.
Detecting the vehicle ahead
The green illuminated "vehicle
ahead" control indicator A is
displayed in the speedometer when the system detects a vehicle in the
driving path.
If this symbol does not appear, or
appears briefly, adaptive cruise
control will not respond to vehicles
ahead.
Deactivation
Adaptive cruise control is deactivated by the driver when:
■ y is pressed.
■ Brake pedal is applied.
■ Clutch pedal is depressed for more
than four seconds.
■ Gear selector lever of automatic transmission is moved to N.
The system is also automatically
deactivated when:
■ Vehicle speed slows down below 28 mph or accelerates above
120 mph.
■ Traction Control system is operating for more than
20 seconds.