Driving and operating151Manual transmission
To engage reverse, with the vehicle
stationary, depress clutch pedal,
press the release button on the
selector lever and engage the gear.
If the gear does not engage, set the
lever to neutral, release the clutch
pedal and depress again; then repeat
gear selection.
Do not slip the clutch unnecessarily.
When operating, depress the clutch
pedal completely. Do not use the
pedal as a foot rest.
Caution
It is not advisable to drive with the hand resting on the selector lever.
Upshift indication 3 92.
Brakes
The brake system comprises two independent brake circuits.
If a brake circuit fails, the vehicle can
still be braked using the other brake
circuit. However, braking effect is
achieved only when the brake pedal
is depressed firmly. Considerably
more force is needed for this. The
braking distance is extended. Seek
the assistance of a workshop before
continuing your journey.
When the engine is not running, the
support of the brake servo unit
disappears once the brake pedal has
been depressed once or twice.
Braking effect is not reduced, but
braking requires significantly greater
force. It is especially important to bear this in mind when being towed.
Control indicator R 3 91.
Antilock brake system
Antilock brake system (ABS)
prevents the wheels from locking.
152Driving and operatingABS 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.
156Driving and operatingESC 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 92.
Deactivation
For a more sporty behaviour ESC and
TC can be deactivated separately:
● Press b briefly: only Traction
control system is inactive, ESC
remains active, k illuminates
● Press and hold b for at least
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 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: both 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
● Automatic transmission.
Driving and operating157SPORT mode
The 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 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 driving
mode SPORT, TOUR or NORMAL,
the Drive Mode Control 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 Drive Mode Control
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 Drive Mode Control
detects a sporty driving behaviour,
Drive Mode Control changes several settings of the NORMAL mode into
sporty settings. The Drive Mode
Control 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
158Driving and operatingnecessary, Drive Mode Control 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 the
former state, Drive Mode Control 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 is
pressed. These settings can be
changed in the Settings menu in the
Info-Display. Vehicle personalisation
3 103.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.
For safety reasons, the cruise control cannot be activated until the brake
pedal 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 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
Driving and operating161
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,
depending on the vehicle, additionally 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.
By pressing 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
control indicator A.
Driving and operating163
When the distance to a preceding
moving vehicle gets too small or when
approaching another vehicle too
rapidly and a collision is imminent, the
collision alert symbol pops-up in the
Driver Information Centre.
Simultaneously a warning chime
sounds. Depress the brake pedal, if it is required by the situation.
Deactivation
The system can be deactivated.
Press V repeatedly until the following
message appears in the Driver
Information Centre.General information
9 Warning
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, e.g. 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
164Driving and operatingthe 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 95 . Press
MENU 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.
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