86 On the road
in the hy dra ulic valve adjusters. This is
norma l and not a cause for concern.
- If you leave the vehicle with the ignit ion
switched on, the ignition will switch
off
after a certain period of time . Please
note that e lectrica l equipment such as
exter ior lights w ill switch
off as well
when that happens.
Switching engine off
Applies to vehicles: with conven ience key
" Bring your vehicle to a complete stop.
"Automatic transmiss ion: Move the selector
lever to the P or N pos it ion.
" Press the
!START ENGINE STOPI b utton
r::!;pageBS, fig.100.
St eering lock
The stee ring locks when you turn the engine
off us ing the I STAR T ENGINE STOP I button
and open the dr iver's door. The locked stee r
i ng helps preven t vehi cle theft.
Emergency off
If necessary, the eng ine ca n be sw itched off
with the selector leve r in the R or D/S pos i
tions. To do so, step on the b rake pedal and
p ress a nd hold the
I START ENGINE STOP I but
ton vehicle speed must be less th an 6 mph
(10 km/h).
_& WARNING
- Never t urn off the eng ine before the ve
hicle has come to a complete stop . The
full function o f the brake booster and the
power steering is not guaranteed. You
must use more force to turn or brake if
necessary . Because you cannot steer and
brake as you usua lly would, this could
lead to crashes and se rious injur ies.
- For safety reasons, you s hould always
par k your vehicle with the se lector lever
in P. Ot he rwi se, the ve hicle co uld i nad
vertent ly roll away.
- T he r adiator fan ca n continue to ru n for
up to 10 mi nutes even after yo u have
tu rne d
off the eng ine and remove d the ignit
ion key. T he radiator fan can a lso
tur n on again if the engine coo lant heats
up because of intense sunlight or heat
bu ild-up in the engine compartment.
- Always take the key w ith you whenever
you leave your ve hicle. Otherw ise, the
eng ine could be sta rted or elect rical
equ ipme nt such as the power windows
could be ope rated. This can lead to seri
o us injury.
(D Note
If the engine has bee n under heavy load
fo r an extended pe riod, heat bu ilds up in
the engine compartment after the engine
i s sw itched
off -there i s a r is k of damag ing
the e ngine. A llow the eng ine to run at i dle
for about two minutes before switching it
off.
Driver messages
Ignition i s on
This message appears and a warning tone
sounds if you open the d river's door when the
ignition is sw itched on.
No key id entified
This message appears when t he
I S TART ENGI NE STOPI button is pressed if
there is no master key ins ide the veh icle or if
the system does not recognize it . Fo r exam
ple, the master k ey cannot be recognized if it
is covered by an object (e.g. al uminum b rief
case) which
screens the radio s ignal. Elec tron
ic dev ices such as cell phones can also inter
fere with the radio s ignal.
Press brak e pedal to start engine
This message appears if you do not press the
brake pedal to start the eng ine in a veh icle
with an automat ic transm iss ion.
Press clutch pedal to sta rt engine
T his message ap pears if you do not press the
clutch pedal to start the engine in a vehicle
with a manual transmission. .,.
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Shift to N or P to start engine
This message appears when attempting to
start the engine if the selector lever for the
automatic transmission is not in the P or N
position. The engine can only be started with
the selector in these positions .
!!I Is the key in the vehicle?
This message appears if the master key is re
moved from the vehicle with the engine run
ning.
If the master key is no longer in the ve
hicle, you cannot switch on the ignition after
stopping the engine and you also cannot start
the engine again. Moreover, you cannot lock
the vehicle from the outside with the key.
Shift to P otherwise vehicle can roll away.
Doors do not lock if lever is not in P.
This message appears for safety reasons
along with a warning signal.
It appears if the
selector lever for the automatic transmission
is not in the P position when switching off the
ignition. Move the selector lever to the P posi
tion, otherwise the vehicle is not secured
against rolling away. You also cannot lock the
vehicle using the locking button* on the door
handle or using the remote key.
Convenience key defective! Use ignition lock
This message appears if the engine must be
started or stopped using the ignition key and
not the
I START ENGINE STOP! button.
On the road 87
Electromechanical
parking brake
Operation
The electromechanical parking broke replaces
the hand broke.
Fig. 101 Center co nsole: Parking b rake
.,. Pull on the switch@¢ fig. 101 to apply the
parking brake. The indicator lights in the
switch and • (USA models) . (Cana-
da models) in the instrument cluster illumi
nate .
"'With the ignition switched on, step on the
brake pedal or the accelerator pedal and
press the switch @at the same time to re
lease the parking brake. The indicator lights
in the switch and. (USA models)/ . (Can
ada models) in the instrument cluster go
out.
Your vehicle is equipped with an electrome
chanical parking brake. The parking brake is
designed to prevent the vehicle from rolling unintentionally and replaces the hand brake.
In addition to the normal functions of a tradi
tional hand brake, the electromechanical
parking brake provides various convenience
and safety functions .
When starting from rest
- The integral starting assist helps you when
driving by automatically releasing the park
ing brake ¢
page 88, Starting from rest.
-When starting on inclines , the starting as-
sist prevents the vehicle from unintentional-
ly rolling back. The braking force of the
parking brake is not released until sufficient
111>
88 On the road
driving force has been built up at the
wheels.
E mergency brake function
An emergency brake ensures t hat the vehicle
can be slowed down even if the
normal brakes
fail c::>
page 89, Emergency braking .
8_ WARNING
If a gear or a drive range (automatic trans
mission) is engaged with the vehicle sta
tionary and the engine running, you must in no instance accelerate or release the
clutch* carelessly. Otherwise the vehicle
will start to move immediately -risk of an
accident .
(D Tips
-If the parking brake is applied with the
ignition switched off, the indicator lights
i n the sw itch and -(USA models)/ .
(Canada models) in the instrument clus
ter will go out after a certain per iod of
time .
- Occas iona l noises when the park ing
brake is applied and re leased a re no rma l
and are not a ca use for concern.
- Wh en the vehicle is parked, the parking
brake goes through a se lf-test cycle a t
regular intervals. Any assoc iated noises
are no rma l.
Parking
.. Press the brake peda l to stop the v ehicle .
.. Pull the switch @c::>
pag e 87, fig. 101 to set
the parking brake .
.. Automatic transmiss ion: Move the selector
lever to P .
.. Turn the eng ine off c::>
&_ .
.. Manua l transm ission: Shift into 1st gear .
.. When on incl ines or decli nes, tu rn the steer
i ng wheel so th at the vehicle will roll into
the curb if it begins to move .
8_ WARNING
-When you leave your vehicle -even if on
ly briefly -always remove the ignition
key . Th is applies particularly whe n chil
dren remain in the vehicle . Otherwise the
children could star t the eng ine , release
the par king brake or operate electrical
equipme nt (e.g. power windows). There
is the risk of an accident.
- W hen the veh icle is locked, no one -pa r
ticularly not children should remain in
the vehicle . Locked doors make it more
difficult for emergency worke rs to get in
to the vehicle -putting lives at risk .
· Starting from rest
The starting assist function ensures that the
parking broke is rel eased automatically upon
starting.
Stopping and appl ying parking brake
.. Pull the sw itch @c::> page 87 , fig. 101 to ap-
p ly the parking bra ke.
Starting and automatically releasing the
parking brake
.. When you start to dr ive as usual, the p ark
ing bra ke is automatica lly released and your
vehicle begins to move .
When stopping at a t raffic signal or stopping
in city t raffic on vehicles with an a utomatic
t ransmission, the parking brake can be ap
plied. The vehicle does not have to be held
with the footbrake . The parking brake elimi
nates the tendency to creep w ith a dr ive range
engaged. As soon as you drive off as usual,
the parking brake is re leased automat ically
and the vehicle starts to move .
Starting on slop es
When starting on inclines, the starting assist
prevents the vehicle from un in tent ionally roll
ing back. The braking force of the parking
brake is not released until suffic ient driving
force has been built up at the wheels .
11>-
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Cruise control
Switching on
The cruise control system makes it possible to
drive at a constant speed starting at 20 mph (30 km/h).
0
f
~
0
Fig . 103 Contro l lever wi th push-but ton
Fig . 104 Display: Se lected speed
.,. Pull the lever to position(!)~ fig. 103 to
swit ch the system on.
.,. Drive at the speed to be controlled.
.,. Press button @ to set that speed .
.,
;1; 9 a: .,
"'
The stored speed a nd the green symbol
[ij;(i )~14 (US model)/ .. (Canadian model) are
shown in the display~
fig. 104 . The display
may vary, depending on the type of display in
your vehicle.
The speed is kept constant by modifying en gine power or through an active brake inter
vention.
A WARNING
- Always pay attention to the traffic around you when the cruise control is in
operation . You are always responsib le for
your speed and the distance between
your vehicle and other vehicles.
On th e road 91
-For reasons of safety, cruise control
should not be used in the city, in stop
and-go traffic, on twisting roads and
when road conditions are poor (such as ice, fog, gravel, heavy ra in and hydro
plan ing) -risk of accident .
- Turn off the cruise control temporarily when enter ing turn lanes, highway exit
lanes or in construction zones.
- Please note that inadvertently ''resting" your foot on the accelerator pedal causes
the cruise control not to brake. This is
because the cruise control is overridden
by the driver's accelera tion.
- I f a brake system malfunction such as
overhea ting occurs when the cruise con
trol system is switched on, the braking
function in the system may be switched
off . The other cruise contro l functions re
main active as long as the indicator light
lij;(i )~14 (US models) ;a (Canad ian mod
els) is on.
(D Tips
- Vehicles with manual transmission: You
can attain the set speed only if the gear
that is currently engaged will allow it, or
if it does not tax the engine and allows it
to run smoothly . Therefore shift into a
higher or lower gear in a timely manner .
- The brake lights illuminate as soon as
the brakes apply automatically.
Chang ing speed
.,. To increase/decrease the speed in incre
ments, tap the lever in the
0 10 direction
~ page 91, fig.103 .
.,. To increase/decrease the speed quick ly, hold
the lever in the
0 10 direction until the de
sired speed is displayed.
You can also press the accelerator pedal down
to increase your speed, e.g . if you want to
pass someone . The speed you saved earlier
will resume as soon as you let off of the acce l-
erator pedal. .,..
94 Transmi ssion
vehicle to accelerate without a noticeable in
terruption in traction.
tiptronic tran smission
In the tiptronic transmission, power is trans
ferred by a torq ue converter.
Selector lever positions
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/5 tronic/tiptronic
Fig. 106 D isplay in the instrume nt duste r: selector
lever in position P
The se lector lever position engaged appears
next to the selector lever as well as in the in
strument cluster display.
P - Park
In th is selector lever pos it ion the transmis
sion is mechanically locked. Engage P only
when the vehicle is
completely stopped ¢ &
in Driving the automatic transmission on
page 96.
To shift in or o ut of pos ition P, you must first
press and hold the brake pedal and then press
the release button in the selector lever handle
while moving the se lector lever to or from P.
You can shift out of this position only with the ignition on .
R-Re verse
Select R only when the vehicle is at a full stop
and the engine is running at idle speed ¢ & in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 96.
Before you move the selector lever to R, press
both the release button in the handle of the
selector lever
and the brake pedal at the same
time. When the
ignition is on, the backup lights i llu
minate when the selector lever is moved into
R .
N -Neutral
The transm iss io n is in neut ral i n this pos ition.
S hi ft to this position fo r standing with the
brakes applied ¢
& in Driving the automatic
transmission on page 96.
When the vehicle is stat ionary or a t speeds
below 1 mph (2 km/h), yo u must always app ly
the footbrake before and whi le moving the
lever o ut of N .
D/S - Normal position for driving forward
In the D/S pos ition, the transmission can be
opera ted ei ther in the norma l mode D or in
the sport mode S . To select the sport mode S,
pull the selector lever back briefly. P ulling the
lever back again will se lect the normal mode
D. The instrument cluster disp lay shows the
selected driving mode.
In the
normal mode D, the transmission auto
matically selects the suitable gear ratio.
It de
pends on engine load, vehicle speed and driv
ing style.
Se lect the
s port mode S for sporty dr iving.
T he vehicle makes full use of the engine's
power. Shift ing may become noticeable when
acce lerating.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds below 1 mph (2 km/h), you must always app ly
the foot brake before and while moving the lever to D/S out of N.
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS ¢ .& in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 96 .
(D Note
Coasting downhill with the transm ission in
N and the engine not running will result in
damage to the automatic transmission
and possibly the cata lytic conve rter. .,..
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@ Tips
-On vehicles with drive select*, you can
adjust the sporty shift characteristics in
the
Dynamic driving mode.Swill appear
i n the instrument cluster display instead
ofD.
- If you accidentally select N while driv ing,
take your foot off the acce lerator pedal
i mmediately and wait for the engine to
s low down to idle before selecting D/S.
- If there is a power failure , the selector
l ever will not move out of t he P position .
The eme rgency release can be used if
th is happens ~
page 100.
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL)
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/5 tronic/tiptron ic
The Automatic Shift Lock safeguards you
against accidentally shifting into a forward or
the reverse gear and causing the vehicle to
move unintentionally.
F ig. 10 7 Sh ift gate: selecto r lever lock posit io ns and
release butto n highlighted
The selector lever lock is released as fo llows:
... Turn the ign ition on .
... Step on t he brake pedal.
At the same time
press and hold the release button on the
side of the gea r se lector knob ¢
fig. 107
with yo ur t hu mb until you have moved the
sele ctor lever to the des ired position .
Automatic selector lever lock
The selector lever is locked in the P and N po·
sitions when the ignition is turned on . You
must press the brake pedal and the release
button to select another posi tion. As a re·
m inder to the driver, the fo llow ing warning
Transm ission 95
appears in the ins trument cluster display
whe n the selector is in P and N:
When stationary appl y brake pedal while se
lec ting gear
The Automatic Shift Lock only funct ions when
the ve hicl e is stationary or at speeds be low
1 m ph (2 km/h) .
At speeds above about 1 mph (2 km/h) the
Automat ic Shift Lock is automatically deact i
vated in the N position .
A time delay element prevents the selector lever from lock ing when it is moved through
the N pos ition (going from R to D/S) . The lock
ing element w ill lock t he selec to r l ever if the
lever is left in N (Neutr al) for more than ap
proximate ly 2 seconds, wi tho ut the brake ped
al being pressed.
Release button
The release button on the se lector lever pre
vents the lever from be ing acciden tally shifted
in to certa in positions. Depending on the d irec
t ion of the shift, the sele ctor leve r locks at dif
ferent positions. The positions are highlig hted
in the illust ration¢
fig . 107.
Ignition key safety interlock
T he key cannot be removed from the ign ition
u nless the selector lever is in the P par k posi
tion . When the ignit ion key is removed, the
selector lever will be loc ked in the P position .
Driving the automatic transmission
Applies to vehicles; with mult itronic/S tronic/tiptronic
Fig. 108 Sh ift gate on the ce nter console: selector lev-
er w it h re lease butto n ..,_
96 Transmission Starting the engine
.. The selecto r lever must be in P or N.
Starting off
.. Press and hold the brake pedal.
.. Press and hold the release button in these
lector lever handle, se lect t he des ired selec
tor lever position such as D/S and release
the button .
.. Wait briefly unti l the transmission has shift
ed (you will feel a slight movement) .
.. Remove your foot from the brake pedal and
acce lerate.
Stopping temporarily
.. Keep the vehicle stationary usin g the brak
ing peda l, for examp le at traffic lights .
.. Do not press the accelerator pedal when do
ing this .
.. To prevent the veh icle from rolling when you
start driving, set the parking brake when
stopping on steep inclines
c> _& .
.. The parking brake will release automatically
and the vehicle w ill start moving once you
press the accelerator pedal.
Stopping/parking
If the selector lever is not in the P position
when you open the dr iver's door, the vehicle
could roll. The message
Transmission: Car
may roll! Shift to park!
appears.
.. Press and hold the brake pedal until the ve-
hicle has come to a complete stop .
.. Apply the parking brake
c> page 88, Parking .
.. Select the P selector lever position c> _&.
Stopping on an incline
.. Always press the brake pedal to hold the ve
hicle in place and prevent it from "rolling
back"
c> _& . Do not try to prevent the vehi
cle from "roll ing back" when a gear is en
gaged by increasing the eng ine speed
c> (D.
Starting on an incline
.. Activate the parking brake.
.. With the driving gear se lected, press the ac
celerator pedal carefully. The park ing brake will release automatically if your seat
belt is
fastened .
Under certain circumstances, such as driving
in the mo untains, it may be usefu l to switch
temporarily to the manual shift program in or
der to adjust the gears to the driving cond i
tions by hand
c> page 98.
On slopes, activate the parking brake first and
then move the selector lever to the P position .
This prevents too much stress from being
placed on the locking mechanism .
Vehicles with multitronic transmission: Your
vehicle is equipped with
hill hold assist allow
ing you to start while on an incline. The sys
tem is activated when the brake pedal is
pressed down and he ld
for a few seconds . The
brake pressure will hold for
a moment after
the brake pedal loosens to prevent the vehicle
from roll ing backwards wh ile starting up .
A WARNING
-The vehicle can also roll when the engine
is stopped.
- Unintended vehicle movement can cause
serious injury.
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
r un ning while in gear. If you must leave
your veh icle when the engine is running,
activate the parking brake and move the
selecto r lever to P.
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is running at idle. To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake when
the engine is running and the selector
lever is in D/S or R or "tiptronic" mode is
selected .
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when changing the selector lever position
while the veh icle is stationary and the
engine is running.
- Never shift into R or P while driving.
- Before driving down a steep s lope, re-
duce your speed and shift into a lower
gear with "tiptronic".
"' N
0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
A WARNING 1=
Please note that the drive wheels can spin
if kick-down is used on a smooth slippery
road - there is a risk of skidding.
Launch Control Program
App lies to vehicles: with S tronic
The Launch Control Program provides the
best acceleration possible when starting from
a stop .
Requirement : The engine must be at operat
ing temperature and the steering wheel must
not be turned .
~ Sedan: Press the l.e OFFI button ¢ page 187
while the engine is running . The II indica
tor light illuminates in the instrument clus
ter and
Stabilization cont ro l ( ES C): S port .
Warning! R estrict ed s tabilit y
appears in the
driver information system display.
~ all road: Press the l.e O FF I but to n
¢
page 187 while the engine is running.
T he
II indicator light illuminates in the in
strument cluster and
Stabilization control
( ES C): Off ro ad. W arning! Restri cted stabil
it y
appears in the driver information system
display.
~ Move the selector lever to the D/S pos ition
to select sport mode (S) or select the
dy
namic
driving mode in drive select*
¢ page 116.
~ Press the bra ke peda l st rongly wit h your left
foot and hold it dow n for at least 1 second.
~ At the same time, press the accelerator ped
al down complete ly with your right foot un
ti l the engine reaches and maintains a high
RPM .
~ Remove your foot from the brake pedal
within S seconds¢.& .
A WARNING
-Always adapt your driving to the traffic
flow .
- Only use the Launch Control Program when road and traffic condit ions allow it
and other dr ivers will not be endangered
-
Tran sm iss ion 99
or annoyed by your driving and the vehi
cle's acceleration.
- Please note that the driving wheels can
spin and the vehicle can break away
when sport mode/offroad mode is
sw itched on, especially when the road is
slippery.
- Once you have accelerated, you shou ld
sw itch sport mode/offroad mode off by
press ing the
I~ O FFI button .
(l) Tips
- The transmission temperature may in
crease s ignificantly after using the
Launch Control Program. If that hap-
pens, the program may not be availab le
for a few m inutes .
It will be ava ilable
again after a cool-down per iod.
- When accelerating using the Launch
Cont ro l program, a ll vehicle parts are
subjec t to heavy loads. This can result in
increase d wear.
Transmission malfunction
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/S tronic/tiptronic
[il Transmission : Pre ss brake pedal and se
lect gear again.
Press the br ake peda l and select the desired
selector lever posi tion again. You ca n then
continue driving .
[il Transmi ssion overh eating : Pl ea se drive
con servatively .
The transm iss ion temperature has increased
s ignificantly due to the sporty d riving manner.
D rive in a less sporty ma nner until the tem
perature re turns to the normal range and the
i ndica tor ligh t switches o f.
[O] Transmission malfunction : You can con
tinu e driving
There is a system malfunction i n the transmis
s io n. You may cont inue d rivi ng . Drive to your
authorized Aud i dea le r or qualified repa ir fa
c ili ty soon to have the ma lfunction corrected. ..,.