
!If DISTRONIC PLUS or the HOLD function
is activated, the vehicle brakes automati-
cally in certain situations. To prevent dam-
age to the vehicle, deactivate DISTRONIC
PLUS and the HOLD function in the follow-
ing or other similar situations:
R when towing the vehicle
R in the car wash
If you fail to adapt your driving style,
DISTRONIC PLUS can neither reduce the risk
of accident nor override the laws of physics.
DISTRONIC PLUS cannot take into account
the road, traffic and weather conditions.
DISTRONIC PLUS is only an aid. You are
responsible for the distance to the vehicle in
front, for vehicle speed, for braking in good
time and for staying in your lane.
Do not use DISTRONIC PLUS:
R in road and traffic conditions which do not
allow you to maintain a constant speed e.g.
in heavy traffic or on winding roads
R on slippery road surfaces. Braking or accel-
erating could cause the drive wheels to lose traction and the vehicle could then skid
R when there is poor visibility, e.g. due to fog,
heavy rain or snow
DISTRONIC PLUS may not detect narrow
vehicles driving in front, e.g. motorcycles, or
vehicles driving on a different line.
In particular, the detection of obstacles can
be impaired if:
R there is dirt on the sensors or anything else
covering the sensors
R there is snow or heavy rain
R there is interference by other radar sources
R there are strong radar reflections, for
example, in parking garages
If DISTRONIC PLUS no longer detects a vehi- cle in front, DISTRONIC PLUS may unexpect-
edly accelerate the vehicle to the storedspeed. This speed may:
R be too high if you are driving in a filter lane
or an exit lane
R be so high when driving in the right-hand
lane that you overtake vehicles in the left-
hand lane
R be so high when driving in the left-hand lane
that you overtake vehicles in the right-hand
lane
If there is a change of drivers, advise the new
driver of the speed stored.
Cruise control lever
Cruise control lever :
To store the current speed or a higher speed
;To set the specified minimum distance
=To store the current speed or call up the
last stored speed
?To store the current speed or a lowerspeed
ATo deactivate DISTRONIC PLUS
Driving systems173
Driving and parking
Z

Activating DISTRONIC PLUS; storing,
maintaining and calling up a speed
Important safety notes
!If DISTRONIC PLUS or the HOLD function
is activated, the vehicle brakes automati-
cally in certain situations. To prevent dam- age to the vehicle, deactivate DISTRONIC
PLUS and the HOLD function in the follow-
ing or other similar situations:
R when towing the vehicle
R in the car wash
In order to activate DISTRONIC PLUS, the fol-
lowing conditions must be fulfilled:
R the engine must be started. It may take up
to two minutes after pulling away before
DISTRONIC PLUS is operational.
R your vehicle must not be secured by the
electric parking brake.
R ESP ®
must be activated.
R the transmission must be in position D.
R the hood must be closed.
R the driver's door must be closed when you
shift from Pto Dor your seat belt must be
fastened.
R the front-passenger door must be closed.
R the vehicle must not skid.
Activating
X Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you =, up :or down ?.
DISTRONIC PLUS is selected.
X To adjust the set speed in 1 mph incre-
ments (1 km/h increments): briefly
press the cruise control lever up :to the
pressure point for a higher speed, or down ?for a lower speed.
Every time the cruise control lever is
pressed up or down, the last speed stored
is increased or reduced.
or X To adjust the speed in 5 mph incre-
ments (10 km/h increments): briefly
press the cruise control lever up :past the pressure point for a higher speed, or down
?for a lower speed.
Every time the cruise control lever is
pressed up or down, the last speed stored
is increased or reduced.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
Your vehicle adapts its speed to that of the
vehicle in front, but only up to the desired
stored speed.
When driving at speeds below 20 mph
(30 km/ h), you can only activate DISTRONIC
PLUS if the vehicle in front has been detected
and is shown in the multifunction display. If
the vehicle in front is no longer detected and
displayed, for example because it has
changed lanes, DISTRONIC PLUS is deactiva-
ted. You will hear a warning tone if this is thecase.
iIf you do not fully release the accelerator
pedal, the
DISTRONICPLUSPassivemes-
sage appears in the multifunction display.
The set distance to a slower-moving vehicle in front will then not be maintained. You will
be driving at the speed you determine by
the position of the accelerator pedal.
Pulling away and driving
If you depress the brake, DISTRONIC PLUS is
deactivated unless your vehicle is stationary.
X If the vehicle in front pulls away: remove
your foot from the brake pedal.
X Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you =.
or X Accelerate briefly.
Your vehicle pulls away and adapts its
speed to that of the vehicle in front.
If there is no vehicle in front, DISTRONIC
PLUS operates in the same way as cruise
control.
If DISTRONIC PLUS detects that the vehicle in front has slowed down, it brakes your vehicle.
It maintains the preset distance to the vehicle
in front.
174Driving systems
Driving and parking

If DISTRONIC PLUS detects that there is a riskof a collision, you will be warned visually and
acoustically. DISTRONIC PLUS cannot pre-
vent a collision without your intervention. An
intermittent warning tone will then sound and the distance warning lamp will light up in the
instrument cluster. Brake immediately in
order to increase the distance from the vehi-
cle in front, or take evasive action, provided it
is safe to do so.
If DISTRONIC PLUS detects a faster-moving
vehicle in front, it increases the driving speed. However, the vehicle is only accelerated up to
the speed you have stored.
Changing lanes
If you wish to change to the passing lane (in
countries where traffic drives on the right, the passing lane is the left-hand lane),
DISTRONIC PLUS supports you if:
R you are driving faster than 40 mph
(60 km/h)
R DISTRONIC PLUS is maintaining the dis-
tance to a vehicle in front
R you have switched on the corresponding
turn signal
R DISTRONIC PLUS does not detect a danger
of collision
If these conditions are fulfilled, your vehicle is
accelerated. Acceleration will be interrupted
if changing lanes takes too long or if the dis-
tance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front becomes too small. Stopping
GWARNING
When leaving the vehicle, even if it is braked
only by DISTRONIC PLUS, it could roll away if:
R there is a malfunction in the system or in
the voltage supply.
R DISTRONIC PLUS has been deactivated
with the cruise control lever, e.g. by a vehi-
cle occupant or from outside the vehicle.
R the electrical system in the engine com-
partment, the battery or the fuses have
been tampered with.
R the battery is disconnected.
R the accelerator pedal has been depressed,
e.g. by a vehicle occupant.
There is a risk of an accident.
If you wish to exit the vehicle, always turn off
DISTRONIC PLUS and secure the vehicle
against rolling away.
Deactivating DISTRONIC PLUS ( Ypage 178).
If DISTRONIC PLUS detects that the vehicle in front is stopping, it brakes your vehicle until it
is stationary.
Once your vehicle is stationary, it remains
stationary and you do not need to depress the
brake. After a time, the electric parking brake
secures the vehicle and relieves the servicebrake.
Depending on the specified minimum dis-
tance, your vehicle will come to a standstill at a sufficient distance behind the vehicle in
front. The specified minimum distance is set
using the control on the cruise control lever.
The electric parking brake automatically
secures the vehicle if DISTRONIC PLUS is
activated and: R the driver's door is open and the driver's
seat belt is unfastened.
R the engine is switched off, unless it is auto-
matically switched off by the ECO start/
stop function.
R the hood is opened.
R a system malfunction occurs.
R the power supply is not sufficient.
If there is a malfunction in the vehicle elec-
tronics, a warning message may also appear
in the multifunction display.
Brake Immediately
X Immediately depress the brake firmly until
the warning message in the multifunction
display goes out. DISTRONIC PLUS is deac-
tivated.
Driving systems175
Driving and parking
Z

Shift to 'P'Shift to 'P'
XShift the transmission to position Pto pre-
vent the vehicle from rolling away.
DISTRONIC PLUS is deactivated. The warn-
ing message in the multifunction display
disappears.
The horn will also sound at regular intervals if DISTRONIC PLUS is activated and you:
R switch the engine off, open the driver's
door and remove your seat belt.
R open the hood.
The sounding of the horn alerts you to the fact
that the vehicle has been parked while
DISTRONIC PLUS is still activated. The sound becomes louder if you attempt to lock the
vehicle. The vehicle is not locked until
DISTRONIC PLUS is deactivated.
iIf the engine has been switched off, it
cannot be started again until DISTRONIC
PLUS has been deactivated.
Storing the current speed or calling up the
last stored speed
GWARNING
If you call up the stored speed and it differs
from the current speed, the vehicle acceler-
ates or decelerates. If you do not know the
stored speed, the vehicle could accelerate or brake unexpectedly. There is a risk of an acci-
dent.
Pay attention to the road and traffic condi-
tions before calling up the stored speed. If you do not know the stored speed, store the
desired speed again.
X Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you =.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
DISTRONIC PLUS is activated. The first
time it is activated, the current speed is
stored. Otherwise, it sets the vehicle cruise
speed to the previously stored value.
Setting a speed
Keep in mind that it may take a brief moment
until the vehicle has accelerated or braked to the speed set.
X To adjust the set speed in 1 mph incre-
ments (1 km/h increments): briefly
press the cruise control lever up :to the
pressure point for a higher speed or down ?for a lower speed.
Every time the cruise control lever is
pressed up or down, the last speed stored
is increased or reduced.
X To adjust the set speed in 5 mph incre-
ments (10 km/h increments): briefly
press the cruise control lever up :past
the pressure point for a higher speed or down ?for a lower speed.
Every time the cruise control lever is
pressed up or down, the last speed stored
is increased or reduced.
Setting the specified minimum distance
You can set the specified minimum distance
for DISTRONIC PLUS by varying the time span between one and two seconds. With this func-
tion, you can set the minimum distance that
DISTRONIC PLUS keeps to the vehicle in
front, dependent on vehicle speed. You can
see this distance in the multifunction display( Y page 177).
Make sure that you maintain a sufficiently
safe distance from the vehicle in front. Adjust
the distance to the vehicle in front if neces-sary.
Cruise control lever
176Driving systems
Driving and parking

XSelect theAssistance Graphicfunction
using the on-board computer ( Y page 203).
You will initially see the stored speed for
about five seconds when you activate
DISTRONIC PLUS.
Deactivating DISTRONIC PLUS
GWARNING
DISTRONIC PLUS is deactivated and releases the brakes if the vehicle is slowed down to a
speed below 20 mph (30km/h) by the system,
provided that DISTRONIC PLUS does not
detect a vehicle directly in front. At this point,
the driver must apply the brakes in order to
slow down further and bring the vehicle to a
standstill.
Cruise control lever
There are several ways to deactivate
DISTRONIC PLUS:
X Briefly press the cruise control lever for-
wards :.
or X Brake, unless the vehicle is stationary
When you deactivate DISTRONIC PLUS, you
will see the
DISTRONICPLUSOffmessage in
the multifunction display for approximately
five seconds.
iThe last speed stored remains stored until
you switch off the engine.
iDISTRONIC PLUS is not deactivated if you
depress the accelerator pedal. If you accel- erate to overtake, DISTRONIC PLUS
adjusts the vehicle's speed to the last
speed stored after you have finished over-taking.
DISTRONIC PLUS is automatically deactiva-
ted if:
R you engage the electric parking brake or if
the vehicle is automatically secured with
the electric parking brake
R you are driving slower than 15 mph
(25 km/h) and there is no vehicle in front,
or if the vehicle in front is no longer detec-
ted
R ESP ®
intervenes or you deactivate ESP ®
R the transmission is in the P,R or Nposition
R you pull the cruise control lever towards
you in order to pull away and the front-
passenger door is open
R the vehicle has skidded
If DISTRONIC PLUS is deactivated, you will
hear a warning tone. You will see the
DISTRONIC PLUS Offmessage in the multi-
function display for approximately five sec- onds.
Tips for driving with DISTRONIC PLUS
General notes
The following contains descriptions of certain
road and traffic conditions in which you must
be particularly attentive. In such situations,
brake if necessary. DISTRONIC PLUS is then
deactivated.
178Driving systems
Driving and parking

ATime
BOutside temperature or speed (Y page 205)
Text field =shows the selected menu or
submenu as well as display messages.
X To display menu bar ?: press the =
or ; button on the steering wheel.
Menu bar ?disappears after a few sec-
onds of inactivity.
iYou can set the time using COMAND (see
the separate operating instructions).
Vehicles with manual transmission:
instead of transmission position :and drive
program ;, the time and the outside tem-
perature or speed are shown.
The following messages may appear in the
multifunction display: Z Gearshift recommendation for man-
ual transmission ( Ypage 151) or
when shifting manually (automatic
transmission) ( Ypage 154)
X j Y
Parking Guidance ( Ypage 185)
CRUISECruise control ( Ypage 169)
_ Adaptive Highbeam Assist (Y page 113)
è ECO start/stop function(Y page 143)
ë HOLD function ( Ypage 180)
Menus and submenus
Menu overview
Press the =or; button on the steer-
ing wheel to call up the menu bar and select a
menu.
Operating the on-board computer ( Y page 195).
Depending on the equipment installed in the
vehicle, you can call up the following menus:
R
Tripmenu ( Ypage 197)
R
Navimenu (navigation instructions)
( Y page 199) R
Audiomenu (
Ypage 200)
R
Telmenu (telephone) ( Ypage 201)
R
DriveAssistmenu (assistance)
( Y page 202)
R
Servmenu ( Ypage 204)
R
Settmenu (settings) ( Ypage 204)
R
AMGmenu in AMG vehicles ( Ypage 208)
Trip menu
Standard display
X Press and hold the %button on the
steering wheel until the
Tripmenu with
trip odometer :and odometer ;is
shown.
Trip computer "From Start" or "From Reset"
Example: trip computer "From Start" :
Distance
;Driving time
=Average speed
?Average fuel consumption
X Press the =or; button on the steer-
ing wheel to select the
Tripmenu.
X Press the 9or: button to select
From StartorFrom Reset.
The values in the
From Startsubmenu are
calculated from the start of a journey whilst
Menus and submenus197
On-board computer and displays
Z

RCurrent consumption and the range
R Navigation instructions in the
Navimenu
R Cruise control
R DISTRONIC PLUS
R ASSYST PLUS service interval display
Switching the additional speedometer
on/off
Only vehicles with manual transmission have this function.
X Press the =or; button on the steer-
ing wheel to select the
Settmenu.
X Press the :or9 button to select the
Instrument Clustersubmenu.
X Press ato confirm.
X Press the :or9 button to select the
Additional Speedometer [mph]func-
tion.
You will see the selected setting:
OnorOff.
X Press the abutton to save the setting.
iSpeed is displayed in mph.
The
AdditionalSpeedometer[mph]func-
tion allows you to choose whether the status area in the multifunction display always
shows the speed in
mphinstead of the outside
temperature.
Selecting the permanent display function
You can determine whether the multifunction
display permanently shows your speed or the
outside temperature.
X Press the =or; button on the steer-
ing wheel to select the
Settmenu.
X Press the :or9 button to select the
Instrument Clustersubmenu.
X Press ato confirm.
X Press the :or9 button to select the
Permanent Displayfunction.
You will see the selected setting
Outside
TemperatureorAdditional SpeedomeZ
ter [km/h]/AdditionalSpeedometer
[mph].
X Press the abutton to save the setting.
iThe speed is highlighted in km/h or in
mph conversely to your speedometer.
Lights
Setting the daytime running lamps
iThis function is not available in Canada.
X Press the =or; button on the steer-
ing wheel to select the
Settmenu.
X Press the :or9 button to select the
Lightsubmenu.
X Press ato confirm.
X Press the :or9 button to select the
Daytime Running Lightsfunction.
If the
Daytime Running Lightsfunction
has been switched on, the cone of light and
the W symbol in the multifunction dis-
play are shown in orange.
X Press the abutton to save the setting.
Further information on daytime running
lamps ( Ypage 108).
Setting the brightness of the ambient
lighting
X Press the =or; button on the steer-
ing wheel to select the
Settmenu.
X Press the :or9 button to select the
Lightsubmenu.
X Press ato confirm.
X Press the :or9 button to select the
Amb. Light +/-function.
You will see the selected setting.
X Press ato confirm.
X Press the :or9 button to adjust the
brightness to a level from
OfftoLevel 5
(bright).
X Press the aor% button to save the
setting.
Menus and submenus205
On-board computer and displays
Z

Display messagesPossible causes/consequences andMSolutions
Cruise Control
Inoperative
Cruise control is malfunctioning.
A warning tone also sounds.
X Visit a qualified specialist workshop.
Cruise Control
- - - mph
A condition for activating cruise control has not been fulfilled.
You have tried to store a speed below 20 mph (30 km/h), for
example.
X If conditions permit, drive faster than 20 mph (30 km/ h)and
store the speed.
X Check the activation conditions for cruise control ( Ypage 169).
Display messages235
On-board computer and displays
Z