Braking
Important safety notes
GWARNING
If you shift down on a slippery road surface in an attempt to increase the engine's braking
effect, the drive wheels could lose their grip.
There is an increased danger of skidding and
accidents.
Do not shift down for additional engine brak-
ing on a slippery road surface.
Downhill gradients
!On long and steep gradients, you must
reduce the load on the brakes by shifting to
a lower gear in good time. This allows you to
take advantage of the engine's braking
effect. For this, you need to have selected
manual drive program M. This helps you to
avoid overheating the brakes and wearing
them out excessively.
When you take advantage of the engine's
braking effect, a drive wheel may not turn
for some time, e.g. on a slippery road sur-
face. This could cause damage to the drive
train. This type of damage is not covered by
the Mercedes-Benz warranty.
Briefly depressing the accelerator pedal on
downhill gradients while the manual drive
program Mis temporarily activated: the auto-
matic transmission may switch to the last
active automatic drive program Eor S. The
automatic transmission may shift to a higher
gear. This can reduce the engine's braking
effect.
Heavy and light loads
GWARNING
If you rest your foot on the brake pedal while
driving, the braking system can overheat. This increases the stopping distance and can even
cause the braking system to fail. There is a
risk of an accident.
Never use the brake pedal as a footrest. Never
depress the brake pedal and the accelerator
pedal at the same time.
!Depressing the brake pedal constantly
results in excessive and premature wear to
the brake pads.
If the brakes have been subjected to a heavy
load, do not stop the vehicle immediately.
Drive on for a short while. This allows the air-
flow to cool the brakes more quickly.
Wet roads
If you have driven for a long time in heavy rain
without braking, there may be a delayed reac-
tion from the brakes when braking for the first
time. This may also occur after the vehicle has been washed or driven through deep water.
You have to depress the brake pedal more
firmly. Maintain a greater distance from the
vehicle in front.
After driving on a wet road or having the vehi-
cle washed, brake firmly while paying atten-
tion to the traffic conditions. This will warm up
the brake discs, thereby drying them more
quickly and protecting them against corro-
sion.
Limited braking performance on salt-
treated roads
If you drive on salted roads, a layer of salt
residue may form on the brake discs and
brake pads. This can result in a significantly
longer braking distance.
RIn order to prevent any salt build-up, apply
the brakes occasionally while paying atten-
tion to the traffic conditions.
RCarefully depress the brake pedal and the
beginning and end of a journey.
RMaintain a greater distance to the vehicle
ahead.
Driving tips177
Driving an d parking
Z
RActivate 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.
RCheck that the brakes are working normally
after a long downhill stretch.
Off-road ABS is activated when the off-road
program is selected.
At speeds below 18 mph (30 km/h), the front
wheels lock cyclically during braking. The dig-
ging-in effect achieved in the process reduces the stopping distance on off-road terrain. The
steerability of the vehicle is considerably
reduced if the wheels lock.
Driving systems
Cruise Control
General notes
Cruise control maintains a constant road
speed for you. It brakes automatically in order to avoid exceeding the set speed. On long and
steep downhill gradients, especially if the
vehicle is laden, you must select a low gear in
good time. You need to have previously selec-
ted manual gearshifting M(
Ypage 166). By
doing so, you will make use of the braking
effect of the engine. This relieves the load on
the brake system and prevents the brakes
from overheating and wearing too quickly.
Use cruise control only if road and traffic con-
ditions make it appropriate to maintain a
steady speed for a prolonged period. You can
store any road speed above 20 mph
(30 km/h).
The speed indicated in the speedometer may
differ slightly from the speed stored.
Important safety notes
If you fail to adapt your driving style, cruise
control can neither reduce the risk of an acci-
dent nor override the laws of physics. Cruise
control cannot take into account the road,
traffic and weather conditions. Cruise control is only an aid. You are responsible for the dis-
tance to the vehicle in front, for vehicle speed,
for braking in good time and for staying in
your lane.
Do not use cruise control:
Rin road and traffic conditions which do not
allow you to maintain a constant speed e.g.
in heavy traffic or on winding roads
Ron slippery road surfaces. Braking or accel-
erating could cause the drive wheels to lose
traction and the vehicle could then skid
Rwhen there is poor visibility, e.g. due to fog,
heavy rain or snow
If there is a change of drivers, advise the new
driver of the speed stored.
Cruise control lever
:To activate or increase speed
;To activate or reduce speed
=To deactivate cruise control
?To activate at the current speed/last
stored speed
When you activate cruise control, the stored
speed is shown in the multifunction display
for five seconds.
Activation conditions
To activate cruise control, all of the following
activation conditions must be fulfilled:
Rthe electric parking brake must be
released.
RESP®must be active, but not intervening.
184Driving systems
Driving an d parking
trol Offmessage in the multifunction dis-
play for approximately five seconds.
iWhen you switch off the engine, the last
speed stored is cleared.
DISTRONIC PLUS
General notes
DISTRONIC PLUS regulates the speed and
automatically helps you maintain the dis-
tance to the vehicle detected in front. Vehi-
cles are detected with the aid of the radar
sensor system. DISTRONIC PLUS brakes
automatically to avoid exceeding the set
speed or to maintain the designated distance
from the vehicle in front.
Change into a lower gear in good time on long
and steep downhill gradients. This is espe-
cially important if the vehicle is laden. By
doing so, you will make use of the braking
effect of the engine. This relieves the load on
the brake system and prevents the brakes
from overheating and wearing too quickly.
If DISTRONIC PLUS detects that there is a risk
of 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 to the vehicle
in front or take evasive action provided it is
safe to do so.
DISTRONIC PLUS operates in range between
0 mph (0 km/h) and 120 mph (200 km/h).
Do not use DISTRONIC PLUS while driving on
roads with steep gradients.
Important safety notes
GWARNING
DISTRONIC PLUS does not react to:
Rpeople or animals
Rstationary obstacles on the road, e.g. stop- ped or parked vehicles
Roncoming and crossing traffic
As a result, DISTRONIC PLUS may neither give
warnings nor intervene in such situations.
There is a risk of an accident.
Always pay careful attention to the traffic sit- uation and be ready to brake.
GWARNING
DISTRONIC PLUS cannot always clearly iden-
tify other road users and complex traffic sit-
uations.
In such cases, DISTRONIC PLUS may:
Rgive an unnecessary warning and then
brake the vehicle
Rneither give a warning nor intervene
Raccelerate or brake unexpectedly
There is a risk of an accident.
Continue to drive carefully and be ready to
brake, in particular when warned to do so by
DISTRONIC PLUS.
GWARNING
DISTRONIC PLUS brakes your vehicle with up to 50% of the maximum possible deceleration.
If this braking force is insufficient, DISTRONIC
PLUS warns you visually and audibly. There isa risk of an accident.
In such cases, apply the brakes yourself and
try to take evasive action.
!If DISTRONIC PLUS or the HOLD function
is activated, the vehicle brakes automati-
cally in certain situations.
186Driving systems
Driving and parking
Only use brake fluid approved by Mercedes-
Benz in accordance with MB-Freigabe or MB-
Approval 331.0.
Information about approved brake fluid can
be obtained at any qualified specialist work-
shop or on the Internet at
http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com.
iHave the brake fluid regularly replaced at
a qualified specialist workshop and the
replacement confirmed in the Maintenance
Booklet.
Coolant
Important safety notes
GWARNING
If antifreeze comes into contact with hot com- ponents in the engine compartment, it may
ignite. There is a risk of fire and injury.
Let the engine cool down before you add anti-
freeze. Make sure that antifreeze is not spilled
next to the filler neck. Thoroughly clean the
antifreeze from components before starting
the engine.
!Only add coolant that has been premixed
with the desired antifreeze protection. You
could otherwise damage the engine.
Further information on coolants can be
found in the Mercedes-Benz Specifications
for Service Products, MB BeVo 310.1, e.g.
on the Internet at
http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com. Or con-
tact a qualified specialist workshop.
!Always use a suitable coolant mixture,
even in countries where high temperatures
prevail.
Otherwise, the engine cooling system is not
sufficiently protected from corrosion and
overheating.
iHave the coolant regularly replaced at a
qualified specialist workshop and the
replacement confirmed in the Maintenance
Booklet. Comply with the important safety precautions
for service products when handling coolant
(
Ypage 377).
The coolant is a mixture of water and anti-
freeze/corrosion inhibitor. It performs the
following tasks:
Rcorrosion protection
Rantifreeze protection
Rraising the boiling point
If the coolant has antifreeze protection down
to -35 ‡(-37 †), the boiling point of the cool-
ant during operation is approximately 266 ‡
(130 †).
The antifreeze/corrosion inhibitor concentra-
tion in the engine cooling system should:
Rbe at least 50%. This will protect the engine
cooling system against freezing down to
approximately -35‡(-37 †) .
Rnotexceed 55 %(antifreeze protection
do wn to -49 ‡ [-45 †]). Otherwise, heat
will not be dissipated as effectively.
Mercedes-Benz recommends coolant or anti-
freeze/corrosion inhibitor concentrate in
accordance with MB S
pecifications for Ser-
vice Products 310.1.
iWhen the vehicle is first delivered, it is fil-
led with a coolant mixture that ensures
adequate antifreeze and corrosion protec-
tion.
iThe coolant is checked with every main-
tenance interval at a qualified specialist
workshop.
Filling capacities
ModelCapacity
Mercedes ‑AMG
vehiclesApprox. 12.6 US qt (11.9 l)
All other modelsApprox. 8.2 US qt(7.8l)
Service products and filling capacities381
Technical data
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