As a result, Active Distance Assist
DISTRONIC may neither give warnings nor
intervene in such situations. There is a risk
of an accident.
Always pay careful attention to the traffic
situation and be ready to brake.
GWARNING
Distance keeping assistant cannot always
clearly identify other road users and com-
plex traffic situations.
In such cases, distance keeping assistant
can:
Raccelerate or brake the vehicle unexpect-
edly
Rintervene unexpectedly
There is a risk of an accident.
Continue to drive carefully and be ready to
brake, especially if distance keeping assis-
tant warns you.
GWARNING
Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC brakes
your vehicle with up to 50% of the maximum
possible deceleration. If this deceleration is
not sufficient, Active Distance Assist
DISTRONIC alerts you with a visual and
acoustic warning. There is a risk of an acci-
dent.
Adjust your speed in these cases and main-
tain sufficient distance.
Apply the brakes yourself and/or take eva-
sive action.
!When Active Distance Assist DISTRONICor the HOLD function is activated, the vehi-cle brakes automatically in certain situa-tions.
To avoid damage to the vehicle, deactivateActive Distance Assist DISTRONIC and theHOLD function in the following or similar sit-uations:
Rwhen towing the vehicle
Rin the car wash
Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC can neitherreduce the risk of an accident if you fail to
adapt your driving style, nor override the lawsof physics. Active Distance Assist DISTRONICcannot take into account road, weather or traf-fic conditions. Active Distance AssistDISTRONIC is only an aid. You are responsiblefor the distance to the vehicle in front, forvehicle speed, for braking in good time and forstaying in your lane.
Do not use Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC:
RIn road and traffic conditions which do notallow 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 losetraction and the vehicle could then skid
RIn poor visibility, e.g. due to fog, heavy rainor snow
Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC may notdetect narrow vehicles driving in front, e.g.motorcycles, or vehicles driving in a staggeredformation.
In particular, the detection of obstacles can beimpaired if:
RThere is dirt on the sensors or anything elsecovering 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 Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC no longerdetects a vehicle in front, Distance PilotDISTRONIC may unexpectedly accelerate tothe speed stored.
This speed may:
RBe too high if you are driving in a turninglane or an exit lane
RBe so high when driving in the right-handlane that you overtake vehicles in the left-hand lane
RBe so high in the left lane that you passvehicles driving on the right
If there is a change of drivers, advise the newdriver of the speed stored.
Driving systems145
Driving an d parking
Z
Selecting the Comfort or Economy
drive programs
In theComfortandEconomydrive programs,the driving characteristics of your vehicle aremore comfortable. Select one of these driveprograms if you favor a more comfortable driv-ing style. Also select these drive programswhen driving fast on straight roads, e.g. onstraight stretches of highway.
In urban traffic and stop-start traffic, drive pro-gramCis recommended.
XPress DYNAMIC SELECT button Crepeat-edly until theComfortorEconomydriveprogram is selected.
Selecting Sport mode
The firmer setting of the suspension tuning intheSportdrive program ensures even bettercontact with the road. Select this drive pro-gram when employing a sporty driving style,e.g. on winding country roads.
XPress DYNAMIC SELECT button Cas manytimes as necessary until theSportdriveprogram is selected.
Selecting Sport Plus mode
The firmer suspension settings in theSportPlusdrive program ensure even better contactwith the road. Select this mode when employ-ing a sporty driving style, e.g. on winding coun-try roads or, ideally, when driving on closedrace circuits.
XPress DYNAMIC SELECT button Crepeat-edly until theSport Plusdrive program isselected.
Parking Assist PARKTRONIC
Important safety notes
Parking Assist PARKTRONIC is an electronicparking aid with ultrasound. It monitors thearea around your vehicle using six sensors inthe front bumper and four sensors in the rearbumper. Parking Assist PARKTRONIC visuallyand audibly indicates the distance betweenyour vehicle and an object.
Parking Assist PARKTRONIC is only an aid. It isnot a replacement for your attention to yourimmediate surroundings. You are alwaysresponsible for safe maneuvering, parking andexiting a parking space. Make sure that thereare no persons, animals or objects in themaneuvering area when you are maneuveringor parking.
!When parking, pay particular attention toobjects above or below the sensors, such asflower pots or trailer drawbars.PARKTRONIC does not detect such objectswhen they are in the immediate vicinity ofthe vehicle. You could damage the vehicleor the objects.
The sensors may not detect snow and otherobjects that absorb ultrasonic waves.
Ultrasonic sources such as an automatic carwash, the compressed-air brakes on a truckor a pneumatic drill could causePARKTRONIC to malfunction.
PARKTRONIC may not function correctly onuneven terrain.
Parking Assist PARKTRONIC is activated auto-matically when you:
Rswitch on the ignition
Rshift the transmission to position [, ^or \\
Rrelease the electric parking brake
Parking Assist PARKTRONIC is deactivated atspeeds above 11 mph (18 km/h). It is reacti-vated at lower speeds.
Driving systems153
Driving and parking
Z
Range of the sensors
General notes
Parking Assist PARKTRONIC does not take intoaccount obstacles located:
Rbelow the detection range, such as persons,animals or objects
Rabove the detection range, e.g. overhangingloads, tail sections or loading ramps oftrucks
CSensors in the front bumper, left-hand side(example)
The sensors must be free from dirt, ice orslush. They can otherwise not function cor-rectly. Clean the sensors regularly, taking carenot to scratch or damage them (Ypage 250).
Range
Front sensors
CenterApprox. 40 in (approx.100 cm)
CornersApprox. 24 in (approx.60 cm)
Rear sensors
CenterApprox. 48 in (approx.120 cm)
CornersApprox. 32 in (approx.80 cm)
Minimum distance
CenterApprox. 8 in (approx.20 cm)
CornersApprox. 6 in (approx.15 cm)
If there is an obstacle within this range, therelevant warning displays light up and a warn-ing tone sounds. If the distance falls below theminimum, the distance may no longer beshown.
154Driving systems
Driving and parking