Observe the following rules when driving over
tree stumps, large stones and other obstacles: R
Select the Offroad drive program (vehicles
with Off-Road Engineering package)
( Y
page 237).R
Select the Offroad drive program (vehicles
without Off-Road Engineering package)
( Y
page 237).R
Select LOW RANGE offroad gear (vehicles
with Off-Road Engineering package)
( Y
page 239)R
Raise the vehicle level. R
Avoid high engine speeds. R
Shift to a lower gear using the left-hand steer-
ing wheel paddle shifter. R
Drive very slowly. R
Drive straight over the center of obstacles.
Traveling uphill
Approach/departure angle
G WARNING
If you drive on a steep incline at an angle or
turn when driving on an incline, the vehicle
could slip sideways, tip and rollover. There is a
risk of an accident.
Always drive on a steep incline in the line of
fall (straight up or down) and do not turn the
vehicle. R
Observe the rules on off-road driving. R
Do not drive at an angle on slopes, inclines or
gradients, but instead follow the direct line of
fall. R
When driving down an incline, make use of the
engine's braking effect. Observe the engine
speed; do not overrev the engine. R
Select the Offroad drive program (vehicles
with Off-Road Engineering package)
( Y
page 237).R
Select the Offroad drive program (vehicles
without Off-Road Engineering package)
( Y
page 237).R
Before driving on extreme uphill and downhill
gradients, select the LOW RANGE off-road
gear (vehicles with Off-Road Engineering
package) ( Y
page 239).R
Drive slowly. R
Avoid high engine speeds. Drive at appropri-
ate engine speeds (maximum 3,000 rpm). R
Use the left-hand steering wheel paddle
shifter to shift into a lower gear in good time
on long and steep downhill gradients. R
Check the brakes after prolonged off-road
driving.
Hill start assist will aid you when pulling away on
a hill. For further information about hill start
assist, see ( Y
page 149).
Do not switch to transmission position N when
driving off-road. If you try to brake the vehicle
using the service brake, you could lose control
of the vehicle. If the gradient is too steep for your
vehicle, drive back down in reverse gear.
Always observe the approach/departure angle
values ( Y
page 443).
Maximum gradient-climbing capability Always observe the maximum gradient climbing
ability values ( Y
page 444).
Hilltops When driving up an uphill gradient, slightly
reduce pressure on the accelerator immediately
before reaching the brow of the hill. Make use of
the vehicle's own impetus to travel over the
brow.
This style of driving prevents: R
the vehicle from lifting off the ground on the
brow of a hill R
the vehicle from traveling too quickly down
the other side
Driving downhill R
Drive slowly. R
Do not drive at an angle down steep inclines.
Steer into the line of fall and drive with the
front wheels aligned straight. Otherwise, the
vehicle could slip sideways, tip and rollover. R
Shift to a lower gear using the left-hand pad-
dle shifter before tackling steep downhill gra-
dients. R
Activate DSR. If this is not sufficient, brake
gently. When doing so, make sure that the
vehicle is facing in the direction of the line of
fall. R
Check that the brakes are working normally
after a long downhill stretch.190
Driving tips
Driving and parking
i When you change lanes, DISTRONIC PLUS
monitors the left lane on left-hand-drive vehi-
cles or the right lane on right-hand-drive vehi-
cles.
Stopping
G WARNING
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.
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 sta-
tionary and you do not need to depress the
brake.
After a time, the electric parking brake secures
the vehicle and relieves the service brake.
Depending on the specified minimum distance,
your vehicle will come to a standstill at a suffi-
cient distance behind the vehicle in front. The
specified minimum distance is set using the
control on the cruise control lever.
When the vehicle is stationary and DISTRONIC
PLUS is activated, position P is automatically
selected if: 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. The electric parking brake secures the vehicle
automatically if DISTRONIC PLUS is activated
when the vehicle is stationary and: R
a system malfunction occurs. R
the power supply is not sufficient.
On steep uphill or downhill inclines or if there is
a malfunction, the transmission may also be
automatically shifted into position P .
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
Press the cruise control lever up C for a
higher speed or down
On long journeys, take regular breaks in good
time to allow yourself to rest. If you do not take
a break, you will be warned again after
15 minutes at the earliest. This will only happen
if ATTENTION ASSIST still detects typical indi-
cators of fatigue or increasing lapses in concen-
tration.
Vehicles with COMAND: if a warning is issued
in the multifunction display, a service station
search is performed in COMAND. You can select
a service station and navigation to this service
station will then begin. This function can be acti-
vated and deactivated in COMAND.
Traffic Sign Assist
General notes Traffic Sign Assist displays the maximum speed
permitted to the driver in the instrument cluster.
The data stored in the navigation system and
general traffic regulations are used to determine
the current speed limit.
As Traffic Sign Assist is a map-based system,
traffic signs put up temporarily (e.g. near road-
works) are not detected.
If a traffic sign that is relevant to your vehicle is
passed, the display of the speed limits is upda-
ted.
Traffic signs with a restriction indicated by an
additional sign (e.g. in wet conditions) are also
shown.
The traffic signs are only displayed with the
restrictions if: R
the regulation must be observed with the
restriction, or R
Traffic Sign Assist is unable to determine
whether the restriction applies
If Traffic Sign Assist is unable to determine a
maximum permitted speed from any of the avail-
able sources, no speed limit is displayed in the
instrument cluster either. Traffic Sign Assist is not available in all coun-
tries. In this case, symbol C is shown in the
assistance graphic display ( Y
page 271).
Important safety notes Traffic Sign Assist is only an aid and is not always
able to correctly display speed limits. Traffic
signs always have priority over the Traffic Sign
Assist display.
The system may be either functionally impaired
or temporarily unavailable if the information in
the digital street map of the navigation system is
incorrect or out of date.
Instrument cluster display Displaying the assistance graphic X
Call up the assistance graphics display func-
tion using the on-board computer
( Y
page 271). X
Select the Traffic Sign Assist display.
Detected traffic signs are displayed in the
instrument cluster.
Speed limit with unknown restriction
C
Maximum permitted speed D
Maximum permitted speed for vehicles for
which the restriction in the additional sign is
relevant
Activating when driving with the electric motor: X
Pull the left or right steering wheel paddle
shifter ( Y
page 159).
The combustion engine is switched on. Man-
ual gearshifting is activated temporarily. The
selected gear and M appear in the multifunc-
tion display.
Activating when driving with the combustion
engine: X
Pull the left or right steering wheel paddle
shifter ( Y
page 159).
Manual gearshifting is activated temporarily.
The selected gear and M appear in the multi-
function display.
The ECO start/stop function is not available
when manually changing gear.
For further information on the manual drive pro-
gram ( Y
page 159).
Driving tips
General driving tips Drive carefully and maintain a safe distance
from the vehicle in front. Avoid frequent and
sudden acceleration as well as abrupt braking.
During partial electric driving, pulling away and
acceleration, the electric motor supports the
internal combustion engine.
During overrun in transmission position D and
braking, the electric motor will operate as a gen-
erator.
Further information on the ECO start/stop func-
tion ( Y
page 253).
Additional driving tips ( Y
page 181).
Stationary vehicle
If the vehicle is stopped, the combustion engine
is, for the most part, switched off. Automatic
climate control continues to function. The elec-
tromechanically assisted steering gear allows
you to use the power steering without reduced
comfort.
Acceleration
Depending on the operating mode, pulling away
and driving under low load conditions are per-
formed: R
entirely by electric propulsion R
in combination with the internal combustion
engine When accelerating rapidly under increased or
full load, increased boost mode is utilized. The
electric motor supports the combustion engine
by providing additional drive torque.
Overrun mode or braking There are three possible operating modes when
the hybrid vehicle is decelerating: R
energy recovery takes place even when the
vehicle is decelerating purely in overrun mode
( Y
page 242). The electric motor operates as
a generator and stores the recovered energy
in the high-voltage battery. R
when the brakes are applied lightly, the vehi-
cle is slowed down further by the electric
motor. This increases the energy recovery
taking place ( Y
page 242). The electric motor
operates as a generator and stores the recov-
ered energy in the high-voltage battery. R
when the brakes are applied with greater
force, the service brakes are also used to slow
the vehicle down. The two systems work
together.
Urban driving In city traffic, energy is recuperated during fre-
quent deceleration phases.
The vehicle can be driven by the electric motor
alone up to a speed of approximately 80 mph
(130 km/h).
The vehicle is driven by the electric motor alone
only when all conditions for the automatic
engine switch-off are fulfilled.
Further information on the automatic engine
switch-off ( Y
page 253).
Driving on inter-urban roads
The following phases are possible when driving
on inter-urban roads: R
rapid acceleration (boost mode) R
energy recuperation R
electric operation mode
The vehicle can be driven by the electric motor
alone up to a speed of approximately 74 mph
(120 km/h).
A great deal of recovered energy may be avail-
able, depending on the route profile. This
reduces consumption and emissions.252
PLUG-IN HYBRID operation
Driving an d parking
Outside temperature display You should pay special attention to road condi-
tions when temperatures are around freezing
point.
Bear in mind that the outside temperature dis-
play indicates the temperature measured and
does not record the road temperature.
The outside temperature display is in the multi-
function display ( Y
page 265).
There is a short delay before a change in outside
temperature appears in the multifunction dis-
play.
Coolant temperature display
G WARNING
Opening the hood when the engine is over-
heated or when there is a fire in the engine
compartment could expose you to hot gases
or other service products. There is a risk of
injury.
Let an overheated engine cool down before
opening the hood. If there is a fire in the
engine compartment, keep the hood closed
and contact the fire department.
! A display message is shown if the coolant
temperature is too high.
If the coolant temperature is over 248 ‡
(120 †), do not continue driving. The engine
will otherwise be damaged.
All vehicles except PLUG-IN HYBRID vehicles:
the coolant temperature gauge is in the instru-
ment cluster on the right-hand side ( Y
page 34).
PLUG-IN HYBRID vehicles: the multifunction dis-
play shows the coolant temperature in the
Coolant ( Y
page 273) submenu.
Under normal operating conditions and with the
specified coolant level, the coolant temperature
may rise to 248 ‡ (120 †). Operating the on-board computer
Overview
C
Multifunction display D
Right control panel