econ
omical driving. Ahigher levelindicat esa
more economical driving style.Ifthe three
outer areas arecomplet elyfilled atthe same
time, thedriver hasadopted themost eco-
nomic aldriving styleforthe select edsett ings
and prevailing conditions .The ECO display
border lightsup.
The ECO display doesnotindicat ethe actual
fuel consumption .The additionally achieved
range displayed underBonus fr.start Bonus
fr.start does
not indicat eafixed consumption reduction.
In addition todriving style,theactual con-
sumption isaffect edbyother factors, such as:
R load
R tire pressure
R cold start
R choice ofroute
R active electricalconsumers
These factorsare not included inthe ECO dis-
play.
An econ omical driving stylespecially requires
driving atmoderate enginespeeds.
Ach ieving ahigher valueinthe categor ies
"Acc eleration" and"Constan t":
R observe thegearshift recommendat ions.
R drive thevehicle indrive program Cor E.
In urban trafficand stop- start traffic,drive pro-
gram Cis recom mended.
On long journ eysatacon stant speed, e.g.on
the highway, onlytheouter areafor"const ant"
will change.
The ECO display summarizes thedriving style
from thestart ofthe journ eytoits complet ion.
Therefor e,there aremore marked changes in
the outer areas atthe start ofajourn ey.On
longer journeys,there arefewer changes .For
more marked changes ,perform amanual rest
(Y page 171).
Furt herinfor mation onthe ECO display
(Y page 170). Br
aking
Impor tantsafety notes G
WARN
ING
If you shift down onaslippery roadsurface
in an attem pttoincr ease theengine' sbrak-
ing effec t,the drive wheels couldlosetheir grip.
There isan incr eased danger ofskid-
ding andacciden ts.
Do not shift down foradditional enginebrak-
ing onaslippery roadsurface.
Downhill gradients !
On
long, steep gradient s,you must reduce
the load onthe brakes. Touse engine brak-
ing, shift toalower gearingood time. This
helps youtoavoid overheat ingthe brakes
and wearing themoutexces sively.
When making useofthe engine braking
effec t,itis possible thatadrive wheel may
not turn forsome time,e.g.inthe case of
suddenly changingor slippery roadsurface
con ditions .This could cause damage tothe
drive train.This type ofdamage isnot cov-
ered bythe Mercedes- Benzwarrant y.
Change intoalower gearingood timeonlong
and steep downhill gradients.This isespecially
import antifthe vehicle isladen.
This also applies ifyou have activat edcruise
con trol orAct ive Dist ance Assist DISTRONIC.
Heavy andlight loads G
WARN
ING
If you rest your footonthe brake pedal
while driving, thebraking systemcanover-
heat. Thisincreases thestoppin gdistanc e
and caneven cause thebraking systemto
fail. There isarisk ofan acciden t.
Never usethebrake pedalasafootr est.
Never depress thebrake pedalandthe
accelerat orpedal atthe same time.
! Depress
ingthe brake pedalconstant ly
results inexces siveandpremature wearto
the brake pads.
If the brakes havebeen subject edtoaheavy
load, donot stop thevehicle immediately, but
drive onfor ashort while. Thisallows theair-
flow tocool thebrakes morequickly.
Wet roads If
you have driven foralong time inheavy rain
without braking,there maybeadelayed reac-
tion from thebrakes whenbraking forthe first Driving
tips
139Driving andparking Z
