Page 177 of 307

Driving and operating175brake automatically. This is not
possible when the switch m is pulled
at the same time.
Vehicles with automatic transmission:
Engaging D and then depressing the
accelerator pedal releases the
electric parking brake automatically.
This is not possible when the switch
m is pulled at the same time.
Dynamic braking when vehicle is
moving
When the vehicle is moving and the
switch m is kept pulled, the electric
parking brake system will decelerate the vehicle, but will not apply
statically.
As soon as the switch m is released,
dynamic braking will be stopped.
Fault
Failure mode of electric parking brake
is indicated by control indicator j and
by a code number or a vehicle
message which is displayed in the
Driver Information Centre. Vehicle
messages 3 122.Apply electric parking brake: pull and
hold switch m for more than five
seconds. If control indicator m
illuminates, electric parking brake is
applied.
Release electric parking brake: press
and hold switch m for more than two
seconds. If control indicator m
extinguishes, electric parking brake is released.
Control indicator m flashes: electric
parking brake is not fully applied or
released. When continuously
flashing, release electric parking
brake and retry applying.
Brake assist If the brake pedal is depressed
quickly and forcefully, maximum
brake force is automatically applied
(full braking).
Maintain steady pressure on the brake pedal for as long as full braking
is required. Maximum brake force is
automatically reduced when the
brake pedal is released.Hill start assist
The system helps prevent unintended
movement when driving away on
inclines.
When releasing the foot brake after
stopping on an incline, the brakes
remain on for a further two seconds.
The brakes release automatically as
soon as the vehicle begins to
accelerate.
The hill start assist is not active during
an Autostop.
Page 178 of 307

176Driving and operatingRide control systems
Traction Control system
The Traction Control system (TC) is a component of the Electronic Stability
Control.
TC improves driving stability when
necessary, regardless of the type of
road surface or tyre grip, by
preventing the drive wheels from
spinning.
As soon as the drive wheels starts to
spin, engine output is reduced and
the wheel spinning the most is braked
individually. This considerably
improves the driving stability of the
vehicle on slippery road surfaces.
TC is operational as soon as the
control indicator b extinguishes.
When TC is active 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 3 113.
Deactivation
TC can be switched off when spinning of drive wheels is required: press b
briefly.
Control indicator k illuminates.
TC is reactivated by pressing b
again.
TC is also reactivated the next time
the ignition is switched on.
Electronic Stability Control
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
improves driving stability when
necessary, regardless of the type of
road surface or tyre grip. It also
prevents the drive wheels from
spinning.
As soon as the vehicle starts to
swerve (understeer/oversteer),
engine output is reduced and the wheels are braked individually. This
considerably improves the driving stability of the vehicle on slippery road
surfaces.
ESC is operational as soon as the
control indicator b extinguishes.
When ESC is active b flashes.
Page 179 of 307

Driving and operating1779Warning
Do not let this special safety
feature tempt you into taking risks
when driving.
Adapt speed to the road
conditions.
Control indicator b 3 113.
Deactivation
For very high-performance driving,
ESC can be deactivated: press and
hold b for approx. five seconds.
Control indicator n illuminates.
ESC is reactivated by pressing b
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 RideFlex Ride driving system allows the
driver to select between three driving
modes:
● SPORT mode: press SPORT,
LED illuminates.
● TOUR mode: press TOUR, LED
illuminates.
● Normal mode: neither SPORT or
TOUR are pressed, no LED
illuminates.
Deactivate SPORT mode and TOUR
mode by pressing the corresponding
button once more.In each driving mode Flex Ride
networks the following electronic systems:
● Continuous Damping Control
● Accelerator Pedal Control
● Steering Control
● Automatic transmission
SPORT mode
Page 180 of 307

178Driving and operatingThe settings of the systems are
adapted to a sportier driving style:
● Damping of shock absorbers reacts more stiffly to providebetter 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
changes the settings within theselected 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.
Page 181 of 307

Driving and operating179Personalised settings in the Sportmode
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.
For safety reasons, the cruise control cannot 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
Page 182 of 307

180Driving and operatingmaintained. 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.
Resume stored speed
Turn 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.
Page 183 of 307

Driving and operating181Activation
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.
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.
Page 184 of 307

182Driving and operatingBy 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 willnot 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 to
follow 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.
9 Warning
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.