2018 MERCEDES-BENZ AMG GT ROADSTER ESP

Drivingon wet road s
Hydroplaning
If water has accumulated to acertain dept hon
th eroad surface, there is adanger of hydro-
planin goccurring, eve nif:
Ryou drive at low speeds
Rth etires hav eadequat etread dept h
Fo rthis reason ,in th eevent of heav yrain or in
condition sin whic hhydroplaning may occur ,
you mus tdrive in th efollowin gmanner:
Rlowe ryour speed
Ravoid rut s
Ravoid sudden steerin gmovements
Rbrake carefully
Drivin gon flooded road s
!Do notdrive through floode dareas. Chec k
th edept hof any water befor edrivin gthrough
it .Drive slowly through standin gwater. Oth-
erwise ,water may ente rth evehicle interio ror
th eengin ecompartment. Thi scan damage
th eelectronic component sin th eengin eor
th eautomatic transmission. Water can also
be drawn in by th eengine's air suction nozzles
and this can cause engin edamage.
Winte rdrivin g
GWARNING
If you shift down on aslipper yroad surfac ein
an attempt to increase th eengine's braking
effect ,th edrive wheels could los etheir grip.
There is an increase ddanger of skidding and
accidents .
Do no tshift down fo radditional engin ebrak-
in g on aslipper yroad surface.
GDANGER
If th eexhaus tpipe is blocke dor adequat e
ventilation is no tpossible, poisonous gases
suc has carbon monoxide (CO) may ente rth e
vehicle. Thi sis th ecase, e.g. if th evehicle
becomes trappe din snow. There is aris kof
fatal injury.
If you leav eth eengin eor th eauxiliar yheatin g
running ,mak esur eth eexhaus tpipe and are a
around th evehicle are clear of snow. To
ensur ean adequat esupply of fresh air, ope n a
window on th esid eof th evehicle that is no t
facin ginto th ewind.
Hav eyour vehicle winter-proofed at aqualified
specialis tworkshop at th eonset of winter.
Drive particularly carefully on slipper yroad sur -
faces. Avoid sudden acceleration ,steerin gand
braking maneuvers .Do no tuse cruise control.
If th evehicle threatens to skid or canno tbe
stopped when movin gat low speed:
XShift th etransmissio nto position i.
The outsid etemperature indicator is no t
designed to serve as an ice-warnin gdevic eand
is therefore unsuitable fo rthat purpose.
Changes in th eoutsid etemperature are dis -
playe dafter ashort delay.
Indicated temperature sjust abov eth efreezin g
poin tdo no tguarantee that th eroad surfac eis
free of ice. The road may still be icy, especially in
wooded areas or on bridges. The vehicle could
skid if you fail to adapt your drivin gstyle. Always
adapt your drivin gstyle and drive at aspeed to
suit th eprevailin gweather co ndi
tions.
You should pay special attention to road condi-
tion swhen temperature sare around freezin g
point.
Further information on drivin gwit hsnow chain s
(
Ypage 263).
Further information on drivin gwit hsummer
tires (
Ypage 263).
Observ eth enote sin th e"Winte roperation "sec -
tion (
Ypage 263).
Drivin gsystems
Cruis econtro l
General notes
Cruise contro lmaintain s aconstant road speed
fo ryou. It brake sautomatically in order to avoid
exceedin gth eset speed. Change into alowe r
gear in goo dtime on lon gand steep downhill
gradients. Thi sis especially important if th e
vehicle is laden. By doin gso, you will mak euse
of th ebraking effect of th eengine. Thi srelieves
th eload on th ebrake system and prevents th e
134Driving systems
Driving and parking

Setting a speed
Keep in mind that it may take a brief moment
until the vehicle has accelerated or braked to
the speed set.
XPress the cruise control lever up:for a
higher speed or down ;for a lower speed.
XTo adjust the set speed in 1 mph incre-
ments (1 km/h increments): briefly press
the cruise control lever up :or down ;to
the pressure point.
Every time the cruise control lever is pressed
up : or down ;the last speed stored is
increased or reduced.
XTo adjust the set speed in 5 mph incre-
ments (10 km/h increments): briefly press
the cruise control lever up :or down ;
beyond the pressure point.
Every time the cruise control lever is pressed
up : or down ;the last speed stored is
increased or reduced.
iCruise control is not deactivated if you
depress the accelerator pedal. If you acceler-
ate to overtake, cruise control adjusts the
vehicle's speed to the last speed stored after
you have finished overtaking.
Deactivating cruise control
There are several ways to deactivate cruise con-
trol:
XBriefly press the cruise control lever for-
wards :.
or
XBrake.
Cruise control is automatically deactivated
under the following conditions:
Rthe electric parking brake is applied.
Ryou are driving slower than 20 mph
(30 km/h).
Rif ESP®intervenes or you deactivate ESP®.
Ryou shift the transmission to position i
while driving.
If cruise control is deactivated, a warning tone
sounds. You will see the Cruise Control Off
message in the multifunction display for approx-
imately five seconds.
iWhen you switch off the engine, the last
speed stored is cleared.
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC
General notes
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC regulates the speed
and automatically helps you maintain the dis-
tance to the vehicle detected in front. Vehicles
are detected with the aid of the radar sensor
system. Distance Pilot DISTRONIC brakes auto-
matically so that the set speed is not exceeded.
Change into a lower gear in good time on long
and steep downhill gradients. This is especially
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 wear-
ing too quickly.
If Distance Pilot DISTRONIC detects that there is a risk of a collision, you will be warned visually
and acoustically. Without your intervention, Dis-
tance Pilot DISTRONIC cannot prevent a colli-
sion. 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.
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC operates in the range
between 0 mph (0 km/h) and 120 mph
(200 km/ h).
136Driving systems
Driving and parking

Do not use Distance Pilot DISTRONIC while driv-
ing on roads with steep gradients.
As Distance Pilot DISTRONIC transmits radar
waves, it can resemble the radar detectors of
the responsible authorities. You can refer to the
relevant chapter in the Operator's Manual if
questions are asked about this.
iUSA only: This device has been approved by
the FCC as a "Vehicular Radar System". The
radar sensor is intended for use in an auto-
motive radar system only. Removal, tamper-
ing, or altering of the device will void any war-
ranties, and is not permitted by the FCC. Do
not tamper with, alter, or use in any non-
approved way.
Any unauthorized modification to this device
could void the user's authority to operate the
equipment.
iCanada only: This device complies with
RSS-210 of Industry Canada. Operation is
subject to the following two conditions:
1. This device may not cause interference,
and
2. This device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation of the device.
Removal, tampering, or altering of the device
will void any warranties, and is not permitted. Do not tamper with, alter, or u
se in any non-
approved way.
Any unauthorized modification to this device
could void the user's authority to operate the
equipment.
Important safety notes
GWARNING
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC does not react to:
Rpeople or animals
Rstationary objects on the road, e.g. stopped
or parked vehicles
Roncoming vehicles and crossing traffic
As a result, Distance Pilot DISTRONIC 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
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC cannot always
clearly identify other road users and complex
traffic situations.
In such cases, Distance Pilot DISTRONIC 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, especially if Distance Pilot DISTRONIC
warns you.
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.
!When Distance Pilot DISTRONIC or the
HOLD function is activated, the vehicle
brakes automatically in certain situations.
To avoid damage to the vehicle, deactivate
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC and the HOLD
function in the following or similar situations:
Rwhen towing the vehicle
Rin the car wash
If you fail to adapt your driving style, Distance
Pilot DISTRONIC can neither reduce the risk of
an accident nor override the laws of physics.
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC cannot take into
account road, weather or traffic conditions. Dis-
tance Pilot DISTRONIC is only an aid. You are
responsible for the distance to the vehicle in
front, for vehicle speed, for braking in good time
and for staying in your lane.
Driving system s137
Driving an d parking
Z

Do not use Distance Pilot DISTRONIC:
Rin road and traffic conditions which do not
allow you to maintain a constant speed, for
example 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
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC may not detect nar-
row vehicles driving in front, e.g. motorcycles, or
vehicles driving on a different line.
In particular, the detection of obstacles can be
impaired if:
Rthere is dirt on the sensors or anything else
covering the sensors
Rthere is snow or heavy rain
Rthere is interference by other radar sources
Rthere are strong radar reflections, for exam-
ple, in parking garages
If Distance Pilot DISTRONIC no longer detects a
vehicle in front, it may unexpectedly accelerate
to the speed stored.
This speed may:
Rbe too high if you are driving in a turning lane
or an exit lane
Rbe so high in the right lane that you pass vehi-
cles driving on the left (in countries where
they drive on the right)
Rbe so high in the left lane that you pass vehi-
cles driving on the right (right-hand drive
countries)
If there is a change of drivers, advise the new
driver of the speed stored.
Cruise control lever
:Activates or increases speed
;Activates or reduces speed
=Deactivates Distance Pilot DISTRONIC
?Activates at the current speed/last stored
speed
ASets a specified minimum distance
Activating Distance Pilot DISTRONIC
Activation conditions
To activate Distance Pilot DISTRONIC, the fol-
lowing conditions must be fulfilled:
Rthe engine must be started. It may take up to two minutes of driving before Distance Pilot
DISTRONIC is ready for use.
Rthe electric parking brake must be released.
RESP®must be active, but not intervening.
Rthe transmission must be in position h.
Rthe driver's door must be closed when you
shift from jtoh or your seat belt must be
fastened.
Rthe front-passenger door and rear doors must
be closed.
Activating
XBriefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you ;, up :or down =.
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is activated.
XTo adjust the set speed in 1 mph incre-
ments (1 km/h increments): briefly press
the cruise control lever up :to the pressure
point for a higher speed, or down =for a
lower speed.
Every time the cruise control lever is pressed
up or down, the last speed stored is increased
or reduced.
or
XTo adjust the set speed in 5 mph incre-
ments (10 km/h increments): briefly press
the cruise control lever up :beyond the
138Driving systems
Driving and parking

iIf you accelerate to overtake, Distance Pilot
DISTRONIC adjusts the vehicle's speed to the
last speed stored after you have finished over-
taking.
Setting a specified minimum distance
You can set the specified minimum distance for
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC by varying the time
span between one and two seconds. With this
function you can set the minimum distance that
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC maintains to the vehi-
cle in front, dependent on vehicle speed. You
can see this distance in the multifunction dis-
play (
Ypage 142).
iMake sure that you maintain the minimum
distance to the vehicle in front as required by
law. Adjust the distance to the vehicle in front
if necessary.
XTo increase: turn control;in direction =.
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC then maintains a
greater distance between your vehicle and
the vehicle in front.
XTo decrease: turn control;in direction :.
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC then maintains a
shorter distance between your vehicle and
the vehicle in front.
Deactivating Distance Pilot DISTRONIC
There are several ways to deactivate Distance
Pilot DISTRONIC:
XBriefly press the cruise control lever for-
wards :.
or
XBrake, unless the vehicle is stationary
When you deactivate Distance Pilot DISTRONIC,
the Distance Pilot Off
message appears in
the multifunction display for approximately five
seconds.
iThe last speed stored remains stored until
you switch off the engine.
iDistance Pilot DISTRONIC is not deactivated
if you depress the accelerator pedal.
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is automatically deac-
tivated if:
Ryou engage the electric parking brake or if the
vehicle is automatically secured with the elec-
tric parking brake
RESP®intervenes or you deactivate ESP®
Rthe transmission is in position j,kori
Ryou pull the cruise control lever towards you
in order to pull away and the front-passenger
door or one of the rear doors is open
Rthe vehicle has skidded
If Distance Pilot DISTRONIC is deactivated, you
will hear a warning tone. You will see the Dis‐
tance Pilot Offmessage on the multifunc-
tion display for approximately five seconds.
Driving systems141
Driving and parking
Z

Displaysin th einstrument cluste r
Displaysin th espeedometer
If Distanc ePilo tDISTRONIC detects avehicle in
front, segments between speed of th evehicle in
fron t: and stored speed ;ligh tup.
iFo rdesign reasons, th espeed displaye din
th espeedometer may diffe rslightly from th e
speed set fo rDistanc ePilo tDISTRONIC.
Display when Distance Pilo tDISTRONI Cis
deactivate d
On theon-boar dcomputer, you can selec tth e
assistanc egraphics display.
:Vehicle in front, if detecte d
;Distanceindicator ,curren tdistanc eto th e
vehicle in fron t
=Specified minimum distanc eto th evehicle
in front; adjustable
?Your vehicle
XSelec tth eAssistanc eGraphi cfunction
usin gth eon-boar dcompute r (Ypage 167).
Display when Distance Pilo tDISTRONI Cis
activate d
:DistancePilo tDISTRONIC active (tex tonly
appears when th ecruise contro llever is
actuated)
;Vehicle in front, if detecte d
=Specified minimum distanc eto th evehicle
in front; adjustable
?Your vehicle
XSelec tth eAssistanc eGraphi cfunction
usin gth eon-boar dcompute r (Ypage 167).
You will see th estored speed fo rapproximately
fiv eseconds when you activat eDistanc ePilo t
DISTRONIC.
Tips for drivin gwit hDistance Pilo t
DISTRONI C
General notes
Pay particular attention in th efollowin gtraffic
situations:
RCornering, going into and comin gout of a
ben d
RVehicles travelin gon adifferen tlin e
ROther vehicles changin glanes
RNarro wvehicles
RObstruction sand stationary vehicles
RCrossing vehicles
In suc hsituations, brake if necessary. Distanc e
Pilo tDISTRONIC will then be deactivated.
142Driving systems
Driving an d parking

Distance Pilot DISTRONIC may mistakenly
detect vehicles that are crossing your lane. Acti-
vating Distance Pilot DISTRONIC at, for exam-
ple, a traffic light with crossing traffic, could
cause your vehicle to pull away at the wrong
time.
HOLD
General notes
The HOLD function can assist the driver in the
following situations:
Rwhen pulling away, especially on steep slopes
Rwhen maneuvering on steep slopes
Rwhen waiting in traffic
The vehicle is kept stationary without the driver having to depress the brake pedal.
The braking effect is canceled and the HOLD
function deactivated when you depress the
accelerator pedal to pull away.
Important safety notes
GWARNING
If the vehicle is only braked using the HOLD
function, the vehicle may roll away in the fol-
lowing situations when you leave the vehicle:
Rif there is a malfunction in the system or in the voltage supply
Rif the HOLD function is deactivated by
depressing the accelerator pedal or brake
pedal, e.g. by a vehicle occupant
Rif the electrical system in the engine com-
partment, the battery or the fuses are tam-
pered with or the battery is disconnected
There is a risk of an accident.
Always deactivate the HOLD function and
secure the vehicle against rolling away before
you leave it.
!When Distance Pilot DISTRONIC or the
HOLD function is activated, the vehicle
brakes automatically in certain situations. To avoid damage to the vehicle, deactivate
Distance Pilot DISTRONIC and the HOLD
function in the following or similar situations:
Rwhen towing the vehicle
Rin the car wash
Deactivate the HOLD function (
Ypage 145).
Activation conditions
You can activate the HOLD function if all of the
following conditions are fulfilled:
Rthe vehicle is stationary.
Rthe engine is running or if it has been auto-
matically switched off by the ECO start/stop
function.
Rthe driver's door is closed or your seat belt is
fastened.
Rthe electric parking brake is released.
Rthe transmission is in position h,kori.
Activating the HOLD function
XMake sure that the activation conditions are
met.
XDepress the brake pedal.
XQuickly depress the brake pedal further until
HOLD: appears in the multifunction display.
The HOLD function is activated. You can
release the brake pedal.
iIf depressing the brake pedal the first time
does not activate the HOLD function, wait
briefly and then try again.
144Driving system s
Driving an d parking

Deactivating theHOL Dfunction
The HOLD function is deactivated if:
Ryou depress th eaccelerator and th etrans -
missio nis in position hork
Ryou shift th etransmissio nto position j
Ryou apply th ebrake sagain wit h acertain
amount of pressure until th eHOL Ddisplay dis -
appears from th emultifunction display
Ryou secure th evehicle usin gth eelectric park-
in g brake
iAfte r atime, th eelectric parking brake
secure sth evehicle and relieves th eservic e
brake .
The electric parking brake secure sth evehicle
automatically if th eHOLD function is activated
when th evehicle is stationary and :
Rthedriver's seat belt is no tfastene dand th e
driver's doo ris ope n
Rtheengin eis switched off, unless it is auto-
matically switched of fby th eEC Ostart/sto p
function
Ra syste mmalfunction occur s
Rthepowe rsupply is no tsufficien t
If th eelectric parking brake is no toperational, a
hor nwill soun dat regular intervals. The HOLD
function mus tthen be deactivated.
If amalfunction occurs, th etransmissio nmay
also be shifted to position jautomatically.
The Brake Immediately
messag emay also
appear in th emultifunction display.
XImmediately depress th ebrake firmly until th e
warnin gmessag ein th emultifunction display
goe sout .
The HOLD function is deactivated. If you turn of f
th eengine, take of fyour seat belt or ope nth e
driver's doo rwhen th eHOLD function is activa-
ted, ahor nwill soun dat regular intervals. The
soundin gof th ehor nalerts you to th efac tthat
th eHOLD function is still activated. If you
attempt to loc kth evehicle, th etone becomes
louder. The vehicle canno tbe locke duntil you
hav edeactivated th eHOLD function .
iAfterswitchin gof fth eengine, it can only be
started again once you hav edeactivated th e
HOLD function .
RACE START
Important safet ynotes
iRAC ESTART mus tno tbe used on normal
roads. RAC ESTART mus tonly be activated
and used on dedicated road circuits, outsid e
of publi croad use.
RAC ESTART enable soptimal acceleration from
a standin gstart .Fo rthis, asuitably high-grip
road surfac eis require dand th evehicle and tires
mus tbe in goo dworking order .
GWARNING
If you use RAC ESTART ,individual tires may
start to spi nand th evehicle could skid.
Dependin gon th eselecte dES P
®mode, there
is an increase dris kof skidding and havin gan
accident. Mak esur ethat no persons, animals
or obstacles are within range of th evehicle.
iObserv eth esafet ynote son drivin gsafet y
systems (Ypage 58).
Be sur eto rea dth esafet ynote sand informa-
tion on ES P
®(Ypage 62).
iObserveth especific servic erequirements
fo rracetrac kmode operation (Ypage 240).
Activation conditions
You can activateRAC ESTART under th efollow -
in g conditions:
Rth edoors are close d
Rtheengin eis running and th eengin eand
transmissio nare at operatin gtemperature .
Thi sis th ecas ewhen th eoil temperature dis -
play in th emultifunction display is shown in
whit e (
Ypage 170).
RESP®is functionin gcorrectl y (Ypage 62 )
Rthesteerin gwhee lis in th estraight-ahead
position
Rth evehicle is stationary and th ebrake peda lis
depressed sufficientl y(lef tfoot )
Rthetransmissio nis in position h
Rdrive program S,S+ orRAC Eis selecte d
(Ypage 116).
Driving systems14 5
Driving an d parking
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