Driving and operating145
ABS starts to regulate brake pressureas soon as a wheel shows a tendency to lock. The vehicle remains
steerable, even during hard braking.
ABS control is made apparent
through a pulse in the brake pedal
and the noise of the regulation
process.
For optimum braking, keep the brake
pedal fully depressed throughout the
braking process, despite the fact that
the pedal is pulsating. Do not reduce
the pressure on the pedal.
After starting off the system performs
a self-test which may be audible.Control indicator u 3 92.
Adaptive brake light
During full braking, all three brake
lights flash for the duration of ABS
control.
Fault9 Warning
If there is a fault in the ABS, the
wheels may be liable to lock due
to braking that is heavier than
normal. The advantages of ABS are no longer available. During
hard braking, the vehicle can no longer be steered and may
swerve.
Have the cause of the fault remedied
by a workshop.
Parking brake
Manual parking brake9 Warning
Always apply parking brake firmly
without operating the release
button, and apply as firmly as
possible on a downhill or uphill
slope.
To release the parking brake, pull
the lever up slightly, press the
release button and fully lower the
lever.
Driving and operating149
ESC is operational after each engine
start as soon as the control indicator
b extinguishes.
When ESC operates b flashes.9 Warning
Do not let this special safety
feature tempt you into taking risks
when driving.
Adapt speed to the road
conditions.
Control indicator b 3 93.
Deactivation
For a more sporty behaviour ESC and
TC can be deactivated separately:
■ press button b briefly: only Traction
control system is inactive, ESC
remains active, k illuminates
■ hold button b pressed for min.
5 seconds: TC and ESC are
deactivated, k and n illuminate.
Additionally the selected mode is
displayed as status message in the
Driver Information Centre.
If the vehicle comes into threshold
with deactivated ESP, the system will reactivate ESP for the time duration
of the threshold, when the brake pedal is depressed once.
ESC is reactivated by pressing the
b button again. If the TC system was
previously disabled, both TC and
ESC are reactivated.
ESC is also reactivated the next time
the ignition is switched on.Interactive driving system
Flex Ride
Flex Ride driving system allows the
driver to select between three driving
modes:
■ SPORT mode: press button SPORT , LED illuminates.
■ TOUR mode: press button TOUR,
LED illuminates.
■ NORMAL mode: both buttons SPORT and TOUR are not
pressed, no LED illuminates.
Deactivate SPORT mode and TOUR
mode by pressing corresponding
button once more.
In each driving mode Flex Ride networks the following electronic
systems:
■ Continuous Damping Control.
■ Accelerator Pedal Control.
■ Steering Control.
■ Electronic Stability Control (ESC).
■ Antilock brake system (ABS) with cornering brake control (CBC).
■ Automatic transmission.
150Driving and operating
SPORT mode
The 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 mode
The 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 manually selected drivingmode SPORT, TOUR or NORMAL,
the Drive Mode Control (DMC)
detects and analyses continuously
the real driving characteristic,
responses by the driver, and the
active dynamic state of the vehicle. If
necessary, the control unit of DMC
automatically 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 another example, TOUR mode
is selected and whilst driving on a
winding road a sudden hard brake is
necessary, DMC will detect the
Driving and operating151
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 the
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
button is pressed. These settings can
be changed in the Settings menu in
the Info-Display. Vehicle
personalisation 3 104.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. 30 to
200 km/h. Deviations from the stored
speeds may occur when driving uphill or downhill.
It is the responsibility of the driver to
comply with local posted speed limits.
For safety reasons the cruise control
cannot be activated until the foot
brake has been operated once.
Activating 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 95.
Switching on
Press button m, control indicator m in
instrument cluster illuminates white.
154Driving and operating
The limited speed will flash in the
Driver Information Centre and,
depending on the vehicle, additionally
a chime sounds during this period.
Release the accelerator pedal andthe speed limiter function is
reactivated once a speed lower than
the limit speed is obtained.
Deactivation
Press button 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 speedTurn thumb wheel to RES/+. The
stored speed limit will be obtained.
Switching off
Press button L, the speed limit
indication in the Driver Information Centre extinguishes. The stored
speed is deleted.By pressing button m to activate
cruise control or by switching off the
ignition, speed limiter is also
deactivated and the stored speed is
deleted.
Forward collision alert The forward collision alert can help to
avoid or reduce the harm caused by
front-end crashes.
Forward collision alert uses the front
camera system in the windscreen to
detect a vehicle directly ahead, in
your path, within a distance of approx.
60 metres.A vehicle ahead is indicated by a
control indicator A.
If a vehicle directly ahead is
approached too quickly, a warning
chime and alert in the Driver
Information Centre is provided.
A precondition is, that forward
collision alert is not deactivated by the button V.
Activation Forward collision alert operates
automatically above 40 km/h, if it is
not deactivated by button V, see
below.
156Driving and operating
General information
9Warning
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 valid
following distance based on traffic, weather and visibility conditions.
The complete attention of the
driver is always required while
driving. He shall 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 on
other objects.
In the following cases, forward
collision alert may not detect a vehicle
ahead or sensor performance is
limited:
■ on winding roads,
■ when weather limits visibility, such as 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 front camera in
the windscreen is used to detect the
distance of a vehicle directly ahead in
the vehicle's path. It is active at
speeds above 40 km/h.
When a preceding vehicle is detected
ahead, the distance is indicated in
seconds, displayed on a page in the
Driver Information Centre 3 96 . Press
the MENU button on the turn signal
lever to select Vehicle Information
Menu X and turn the adjuster
wheel to choose following distance
indication page.
The minimum indicated distance is
0.5 seconds.
Driving and operating157
If there is no vehicle ahead or the
vehicle ahead is out of range, two
dashes will be displayed: -.- s.
Parking assist
Rear parking assist9 Warning
The driver bears full responsibility
for the parking manoeuvre.
Always check the surrounding
area while reversing and using the rear parking assist system.
The rear parking assist makes
parking easier by measuring the
distance between the vehicle and
rear obstacles. It informs and warns
the driver by giving acoustic signals.
The system has four ultrasonic
parking sensors in the rear bumper.
Activation
When reverse gear is engaged, the
system is ready to operate
automatically.
An illuminated LED in the parking
assist button r indicates that the
system is ready to operate.
Indication
The system warns the driver with
acoustic signals against potentially
hazardous obstacles behind 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 can be shown in the Driver
Information Centre.
Deactivation
The system automatically switches
off when reverse gear is disengaged.
To switch on the system again,
engage reverse gear.
158Driving and operating
Manual deactivation is also possible
by pressing the parking assist button
r .
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.
Fault
In the event of a fault in the system or if the system does not work due to
temporary conditions like ice covered
sensors, a message is displayed in
the Driver Information Centre.
Vehicle messages 3 102.
Front-rear 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.
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.
Parking assist button and operation
logic
Front-rear parking assist is equipped
with button r. If the vehicle is
additionally equipped with advanced parking assist (see the following
separate description) the system is
equipped with button D. In this
case, both systems will be operated
by button D.
Short press of button r or D
deactivates or activates the front parking assist.