Function of ther adar senso rs
Some driving and driving safe ty systems use
ra dar sensor stomonitor thea reainf ront of,
behind or next tothev ehicle (depending on the
ve hicle's equipment).
Depending on thev ehicle's equipment, ther adar
sensors arei ntegrated behind theb umpers
and/or behind ther adiator grille. Keep these
parts free of dirt, ice and slush (
→pag e329).
The sensor smustn otbe co vered, fore xamp le
by bicycle rack s, ove rhanging loads or radar-
re flecting sticke rs.F ollowing an impact and in
th ee vent of associated damage ,whic hm aynot
be visible, totheb umper sorradiator grille, ha ve
th ef unction of ther adar sensors checkedata
qu alified specialis tworks hop. The driver assis‐
ta nce sy stem ma ynolonger workproperly.
Overvie wofdriving sy stems and driving
saf etys ystems
In this section, youw illfind informatio nabout
th ef ollowing driving sy stems and driving saf ety
sy stems:
R360° Camer a(→page185)
RABS ( Anti-lo ckBra king Sys tem)
(→pag e158)
RActiveD ista nce Assist DISTRONIC
(→pa ge 166)
RAIR BODY CONTROL (→pag e176)
RAc tiveB rake Assi st(→pag e160)
RActiveL aneK eeping Assis t(→page199)
RATTENTION ASSIS T(→page193)
RBAS(Brak eAssist System) (→pag e159)
REBD ( Electronic Brakeforc eDistribution)
(→pag e159)
RESP®(Electronic Stability Pro gram)
RHill StartA ssist
RHOL Dfunction (→pag e175)
RSTEER CONTROL (→page 160)
RAc tiveS teering Assis t(→page172)
RActiveP arking Assis t(→page188)
RParking Assis tPARKTRONIC (→page 179)
RRe ar vie wcamer a(→page183)
RCruise control (→pag e164)
RBlind Spo tAssis tand ActiveB lind Spo tAssist
(→pag e197)
RTraf ficS ign Assist (→page195)
Functions of ABS (Anti-loc kBrake System)
AB Sr egulates theb rake pressur eincritical driv‐
ing situations:
RDuring braking, e.g. at maximum full-s top
braking or insuf ficient traction of thet ires,
th ew heels ar epreve nted from blocking.
RVe hicle steerability while braking is ensured.
If ABS inter venes when braking, youw illfeel a
pulsing in theb rake pedal. The pulsating brake
pedal can be an indication of hazardous road
conditionsa nd can serveas areminder totake
ex trac arew hile driving.
158
Driving and pa rking
Youc an operat ecruise cont rolw itht he cruise
control le ver.
If yo uf ail toadap tyour driving style, cruise con‐
trol can neither reduce ther isk of an accident
nor override thel aws of ph ysics. It canno ttak e
int oa ccount road, weather or traf ficc onditions.
Cruise control is only an aid. Youa re re sponsible
fo rt he dis tance tothev ehicle in front, forv ehi‐
cle speed, forb raking in good time and fors tay‐
ing in lane.
Sy stem limitations
Cruise control ma ybeunable tomaintain the
st ored speed on uphill gradients. The stored
speed is resumed when theg radient evens out.
Chang eintoal owergear in good time on long
and steep downhill gradients. Take particular
no te ofthis when drivingal adenvehicle. By
doing so, youw illmak euse of theb raking ef fect
of thee ngine. This relie vest he load on theb rake
sy stem and pr events theb rake sf romo verheat‐
ing and wearing tooq uickl y. Do no
tuse cruise control in thef ollowing situa‐
tions:
RIn traf fics ituations whi chrequ iref requ ent
ch anges of speed, e.g .inheavy traf fic, on
winding roads.
ROn slippery roads. Accelerating can cause
th ed rive wheels tolose traction and the
ve hicle could then skid.
RIfyo ua redrivin gwhen vis ibilityisp oor.
Ope ratin gc ruisec ontrol
&
WARNING Risk of accident duet o
unkno wnstored speed
If yo uc all up thes tore ds peed and this is
lo we rthan your cur rent speed ,the vehicle
decelerates.
If yo udon otknow thes tore ds peed, the
ve hicle could decelerat eunexpectedly.
#Take intoa ccount thet raffic situation
befor ecallin gupt hestored speed.
#If th es tore ds peed is no tknown, store
th ed esired speed again.
Chang eintoal owergear in good time on long
and steep downhill gradients. Take particular
no te ofthis when drivingal adenvehicle. By
doing so, youw ill mak euse of theb raking ef fect
of thee ngine. This relie vest he load on theb rake
sy stem and pr events theb rake sf romo verheat‐
ing and wearing tooq uickl y.
Re quirements:
RCruise control is selected.
RESP®mus tbea ctivated, but no tinter vening.
RThe driving speed must be at least15m ph
(20 km/h).
Driving and parking 16
5
Tire labeling
Overvie woftirel abeling
1Uni form Ti reQuality Grading Standard
(→pag e366)
2DO T,Tire Identification Number
(→pag e367)
3Maximumt irel oad(→pag e368)
4Maximumt irep ressure (→page369)
5Manufacturer
6Characteristics of thet ire(→pag e369)
7Tire size designation, load-beari ng capacity,
speed rating and load ind ex(→pag e369)
8Tire name
% The da tashown in thei mag eise xamp le
data.
Ti re Quality Grading
In accordance wit hthe US Department of Trans‐
por tation's "Unifo rm TireQuality Grading Stand‐
ards", tir emanufacturer sare re quired tograde
th eir tires on theb asis of thef ollowing thre ep er‐
fo rm anc efactors:1Tread weargrade
2Traction grade
3Te mp eratur egrade
% The dat ashown in thei mag eise xamp le
data.
% The classification is no tlegall ystipulated for
Canada, but it is general lystated.
Tr ead weargrade
The tread wear grade is acomparativ erating
based on thew ear rate ofthet irew hen tested
under controlled conditions on aspecified test
trac koft he US Department of Transpor tation.
Fo re xamp le,atireg raded 150w ould wear one
366
Wheels and tires
and one-half times aswell on theg ove rnment
te st trac kasat ireg rade d1 00.
The relativ eperform anc eoft ires depends upon
th ea ctual conditions of their use, ho wever,and
ma ydepar tsignificantl yfromt he nor mdueto
va riations in drivin ghabits, servic epractice sand
dif fere nces in road characteristic sand climate
conditions.
Tr actio ngrade
&
DANG ER Risk of accidentd uetoinade‐
qu atet raction
The traction grade assigned tothis tir eis
based on stra ight-ahead brakin gtraction
te sts, and does no tinclude either accelera‐
tion, cornering, hydroplaning or peak traction
ch aracteristics.
#Alw aysa dap tyour driving stylea nd
driv eatas peedtosuit thep reva iling
traf fica nd weather conditions.
* NO
TEDama getothed rive trai nfrom
wheelspin
#Av oid wheelspin.
The traction grades –fromh ighes ttolowest –
ar eA A, A, Band C. Those grades represent the
tire's ability tostop on wetpave ment as meas‐
ured under controlledc onditions on specified
go vernment test sur faces mad eofasphalt and
concr ete.
Te mp eratur egrade
&
WARNING Risk of accident from tire
ove rheating and tir efailure
The temp eratur egrade fort his tir eisestab‐
lishedf oratiret hat is properly inflated and
no to verloaded. Excessiv espeed, underinfla‐
tion, or excessiv eloading, either separately
or in combination, can cause excessiv eheat
build-up and possible tir efailure.
#Obser vether ecommende dtirep res‐
sure sand regularly checkt he tir epres‐
sur eofa ll tires including thes pare
wheel.
#Ad jus tthe tir epressur easn ecessar y.
Thetemp eratur egrades ar eA(theh ighest), B
and C. The yrepresent thet ire's resis tance tothe
ge neration of hea tand its ability todissipate
heat when tested under controlled conditions on
as pecified indoor laborator ytestw heel. Sus‐
ta ined high temp eratur ecan cause them aterial
of thet iretod egenerat eand reduce tir elife, and
exc essiv etemperatur ecan lead tosudden tire
fa ilure. Grade Ccorresponds toaleve lofp er‐
fo rm anc ewhicha ll passenger car tires must
mee tunde rthe requ irements of theUSD epart‐
ment of Transpor tation.
DO T,Tire Identification Numbe r(TIN)
US tir eregulations stipulat ethat everytire man‐
ufactu rerorr etre ader must imprint aTIN in or
on thes ide wall of eac htirep roduced.
Wheels and tires 367