Driving and operating161
■The brake vacuum is not sufficient.
■ The vehicle is driven at least at walking speed.
■ The climate control system requests an engine start.
■ The air conditioning is manually switched on.
If the bonnet is not fully closed, a warning message is displayed in the
Driver Information Centre.
If an electrical accessory, e.g. a
portable CD player, is connected to
the power outlet, a brief power drop
during engine restart may be
noticeable.
Parking9 Warning
■ Do not park the vehicle on an
easily ignitable surface. The
high temperature of the exhaust
system could ignite the surface.
■ Always apply the parking brake.
Activate the manual parking
brake without pressing the
release button. Apply as firmly
as possible on a downhill slope
or uphill slope. Depress foot
brake at the same time to
reduce operating force.
For vehicles with electric
parking brake, pull switch m for
approx. one second.
The electric parking brake is
applied when control indicator
m illuminates 3 112.
■ Switch off the engine. ■ If the vehicle is on a level surface or uphill slope, engage
first gear or set the selector lever
to position P before removing
the ignition key. On an uphill
slope, turn the front wheels
away from the kerb.
If the vehicle is on a downhill
slope, engage reverse gear or
set the selector lever to position P before removing the ignition
key. Turn the front wheels
towards the kerb.■ Close the windows.
■ Remove the ignition key. Turn the steering wheel until the
steering wheel lock is felt to
engage.
For vehicles with automatic
transmission, the key can only
be removed when the selector
lever is in position P.
■ Lock the vehicle.
■ Activate the anti-theft alarm system.
Notice
In the event of an accident with airbag deployment, the engine is
turned off automatically if the vehicle
comes to a standstill within a certain
time.
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
190Driving and operating
The minimum indicated distance is
0.5 s.
If there is no vehicle ahead or the vehicle ahead is out of range, two
dashes will be displayed: -.- s.
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 3 186.
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 3 129.
The system includes: ■ brake preparation system
■ emergency automatic braking
■ forward looking brake assist9 Warning
This system is not intended to
replace the driver responsibility of driving the vehicle and looking
ahead. Its function is limited to
supplemental use only. The driver
shall 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.
Forward looking brake assist
In addition to brake preparation
system and emergency automatic
braking, the forward looking brake
assist function makes the brake assist more sensitive. In this way,
depressing the brake pedal slightly
194Driving and operating
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.
Manual deactivation is possible by
pressing D 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
D 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, control indicator
r illuminates or a message is
displayed in the Driver Information
Centre.
Vehicle messages 3 123.
Control indicator r 3 113.
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
front-rear parking assist in
combination with two additional
sensors on both sides of the front and rear bumper.
196Driving and operating
If the driver does not stop the vehicle
within 10 metres after a parking slot is
proposed, the system starts to search for another suitable parking slot.
The parking slot suggestion of the
system is accepted when the vehicle is stopped by the driver within
10 metres after the "Stop" message is given. The system calculates the
optimal route into the parking slot. Then it manoeuvres the driver into the
slot by giving detailed instructions.
The instructions in the display show:
■ A hint when driving faster than 18 mph.
■ The demand to stop the vehicle, when a parking slot is detected.
■ The direction of driving during the parking manoeuvre.
■ The steering wheel position during parking.
■ For some of the instructions a progress bar is shown.A successful parking manoeuvre is
indicated by the End position symbol.
Always pay attention to the sound ofthe front-rear parking assist.
Continuous sound means that the
distance to an obstacle is less than
approx. 30 cm.
Changing the parking side
The system is configured to detect
parking slots by default on the
passenger side. To detect parking
slots on the driver side, switch on turn
indicator to the driver side for the
duration of searching.
Driving and operating201
Trajectory lane of the vehicle is
shown in accordance with the
steering angle.
The function can be deactivated in the
Settings menu in the Info-Display.
Vehicle personalisation 3 129.
Warning symbols
Warning symbols are indicated as
triangles 9 on the picture which
shows obstacles detected by the rear sensors of the advanced parking
assist.
Display settings
Navi 650 /Navi 950 : Brightness can be
set with the up/down buttons of the
multifunction knob.
CD 600 : Brightness can be set by first
pressing and then turning the
multifunction knob.
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 changed in the
Settings menu in the Info-Display.
Vehicle personalisation 3 129.
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 area 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 had a rear-end accident.
■ There are extreme temperature changes.
Driving and operating205signs. Do not ignore traffic signs
which are not displayed by the
system.
The system does not discern any
other than the conventional traffic signs that might give or end a
speed limit.
Do not let this special feature
tempt you into taking risks when
driving.
Always adapt speed to the road
conditions.
The driver assistance systems do not relieve the driver from full
responsibility for vehicle
operation.
Lane departure warning
The lane departure warning system
observes the lane markings between
which the vehicle is driving via a front camera. The system detects lane
changes and warns the driver in the
event of an unintended lane change
via visual and acoustic signals.
Criteria for the detection of an
unintended lane change are:
■ No operation of turn signals.
■ No brake pedal operation.
■ No active accelerator operation or speeding-up.
■ No active steering.
If the driver is active, no warning will
be issued.
Activation
The lane departure warning system is activated by pressing ). The
illuminated LED in the button
indicates that the system is switched
on. When the control indicator ) in
the instrument cluster illuminates
green, the system is ready to operate.
The system is only operable at
vehicle speeds above 35 mph and if
lane markings are available.
When the system recognises an
unintended lane change, the control
indicator ) changes to yellow and
flashes. Simultaneously a chime
sound is activated.
Deactivation
The system is deactivated by
pressing ), the LED in the button
extinguishes.
216Driving and operatingDriving characteristics and
towing tips Before attaching a trailer, lubricatethe coupling ball. However, do not do
so if a stabiliser, which acts on the
coupling ball, is being used to reduce
snaking movements.
For trailers with low driving stability
and caravan trailers with a permitted
gross vehicle weight of more than
1300 kg the use of a stabiliser is
strongly recommended when driving
above 50 mph.
If the trailer starts snaking, drive more slowly, do not attempt to correct the
steering and brake sharply if
necessary.
When driving downhill, drive in the
same gear as if driving uphill and
drive at a similar speed.
Adjust tyre pressure to the value
specified for full load 3 285.Trailer towing
Trailer loads The permissible trailer loads are
vehicle and engine-dependent
maximum values which must not be
exceeded. The actual trailer load is
the difference between the actual
gross weight of the trailer and the
actual coupling socket load with the
trailer coupled.
The permissible trailer loads are
specified in the vehicle documents. In
general, they are valid for gradients
up to max. 12 %.
The permitted trailer load applies up
to the specified incline and up to an
altitude of 1000 metres above sea
level. Since engine power decreases
as altitude increases due to the air becoming thinner, therefore reducing
climbing ability, the permissible gross train weight also decreases by 10 %
for every 1000 metres of additional
altitude. The gross train weight doesnot have to be reduced when driving
on roads with slight inclines (less than
8 %, e.g. motorways).
The permissible gross train weight
must not be exceeded. This weight is
specified on the identification plate
3 270.
Vertical coupling load
The vertical coupling load is the load
exerted by the trailer on the coupling
ball. It can be varied by changing the
weight distribution when loading the
trailer.
The maximum permissible vertical
coupling load (75 kg) 2)
is specified on
the towing equipment identification
plate and in the vehicle documents.
Always aim for the maximum load,
especially in the case of heavy
trailers. The vertical coupling load
should never fall below 25 kg.2) Engines B16DTH, B16DTJ, B20DTH and B20DTJ: Depending on the equipment the maximum permissible vertical coupling load can
be 75 kg or 60 kg.