MERCEDES-BENZ A-CLASS HATCHBACK 2008 Owners Manual

Driving sys
tems 118
You can set a variable or permanent limit
speed:
R
variable for speed limits, e.g. in built-up
areas
R permanent for long-term speed restric-
tions, e.g. for driving on winter tyres
(Y page 120) G
Risk of accident
Speedtronic is only an aid designed to
assist driving. You are responsible for the
vehicle's speed and for braking in good
time.
i The speed indicated in the speedometer
may differ slightly from the limit speed
stored.
Variable Speedtronic* You can operate cruise control and variable
Speedtronic with the cruise control lever.
The LIM indicator lamp on the cruise control
lever indicates which system you have selec-
ted:
R LIM indicator lamp off:
cruise control is selected
R LIM indicator lamp lit: variable Speedtronic is selected
You can use the cruise control lever to limit
the speed to any speed above 30 km/h while
the engine is running. 1
To store the current or higher speed, roun-
ded up to the nearest ten
2 LIM indicator lamp
3 To resume the last stored speed or to
make fine adjustments in 1 km/h incre-
ments
4 To store the current or lower speed, roun-
ded down to the nearest ten
5 To switch between cruise control and var-
iable Speedtronic
6 Deactivating variable Speedtronic Selecting variable Speedtronic X
Check whether LIM indicator lamp 2is on.
If it is on, variable Speedtronic is already
selected.
If it is not, press the cruise control lever in
the direction of arrow 5.
LIM indicator lamp 2in the cruise control
lever lights up. Variable Speedtronic is
selected. G
Risk of accident
If there is a change of drivers, advise the
new driver of the limit speed stored.
Only use Speedtronic when you do not have
to accelerate suddenly to a speed higher
than the stored limit speed allows. You
could otherwise cause an accident.
You can only exceed the limit speed stored
if you deactivate variable Speedtronic:
R using the cruise control lever
R by depressing the accelerator pedal
beyond the pressure point (kickdown)
It is not possible to deactivate variable
Speedtronic by braking. Controls
* optional
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Driving sys
tems 119
Storing the current speed You can use the cruise control lever to limit
the speed to any speed above 30 km/h while
the engine is running.
X Briefly press the cruise control lever up
1 or down 4.
The current speed is stored. Speedtronic
rounds up or down to the nearest ten. You
will see the message "Limit"and the
stored speed in the upper multi-function
display for approximately five seconds. The
yellow LIM indicator lamp lights up in the
instrument cluster.
i On downhill gradients, the speed can be
exceeded despite Speedtronic. In this
case, you will hear a warning tone and the
Limit exceeded message will appear in
the multi-function display. If necessary,
apply the brakes yourself.
Calling up the last speed stored G
Risk of accident
Only select a stored speed if you know what
that speed is and whether it is suitable for
the current driving and traffic situation.
Otherwise, sudden braking could endanger
you or others. X
Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you 3.
Making adjustments in 10 km/hincre-
ments X
Briefly press the cruise control lever up
1 for a higher speed or down 4for a
lower speed.
or
X Keep the cruise control lever pressed until
the desired speed is set. Press the cruise
control lever, up 1for a higher speed or
down 4for a lower speed.
Making fine adjustments in
1 km/hincrements X
For a higher speed: briefly pull the cruise
control lever towards you 3.
or
X Keep the cruise control lever pulled
towards you 3until the desired speed is
set. Deactivating variable Speedtronic There are several ways to deactivate variable
Speedtronic:
X
Briefly press the cruise control lever for-
wards 6.
or
X Briefly press the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow 5.
LIM indicator lamp 2in the cruise control
lever goes out. Variable Speedtronic is
deactivated.
Cruise control is selected.
Variable Speedtronic is deactivated automat-
ically when you depress the accelerator pedal
beyond the pressure point (kickdown), but
only if your current speed does not differ by
more than 20 km/h from the stored speed. G
Risk of accident
It is not possible to deactivate variable
Speedtronic by braking.
i The last speed stored is cleared when you
switch off the engine. Controls
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Driving sys
tems 120
Permanent Speedtronic* You can use the on-board computer to limit
the speed permanently to a value between
160 km/h (e.g. for driving with winter tyres)
and the maximum speed.
Just before the stored speed is reached, it
appears in the multi-function display.
You cannot exceed the stored limit speed,
even if you depress the accelerator pedal
beyond the pressure point (kickdown).
Setting permanent Speedtronic
X Press èor· to select the Set-
tings menu (Y page 106).
X Press the jbutton to call up the selec-
tion of submenus.
X Press the æorç button to select the
Vehicle submenu.
X Press jto select Speed limit
(tyres). X
Press the æorç button to select the
desired setting.
The following settings can be selected:
R Off
Permanent Speedtronic is deactivated.
R A limit speed between 230 km/hand
160 km/h in increments of 10 km/h
X To select a different display, press the
j, èorÿ button. Parktronic*
G
Risk of accident
Parktronic is only an aid and may not detect
all obstacles. It is not a substitute for atten-
tive driving.
You are always responsible for safety and
must continue to pay attention to your
immediate surroundings when parking and
manoeuvring. You could otherwise endan-
ger yourself and others. G
Risk of injury
Make sure that no persons or animals are
in the manoeuvring range. Otherwise, they
could be injured.
Parktronic is an electronic parking aid using
ultrasound. It indicates visually and audibly
the distance between your vehicle and an
object.
Parktronic is automatically activated when
you switch on the ignition and release the
handbrake.
Parktronic is deactivated at speeds above
18 km/h. It is reactivated at lower speeds.
Parktronic monitors the area around your
vehicle using six sensors in the front bumper
and four sensors in the rear bumper. Controls
* optional
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Driving sys
tems 1211
Example: sensors in the front bumper,
left-hand side
Range of the sensors The sensors must be free of dirt, ice and
slush, otherwise they may not function cor-
rectly. Clean the sensors regularly, taking
care not to scratch or damage them
(Y
page 196). Side view Top view
Front sensors
Centre Approximately 100 cm
Corners Approximately 80 cm
Rear sensors
Centre Approximately 120 cm
Corners Approximately 80 cm
!
When parking, pay particular attention to
objects above or below the sensors, such
as flower pots or trailer towbars. Parktronic
does not detect such objects when they are
in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle. You
could damage the vehicle or the objects. Ultrasonic sources such as an automatic
car wash, a lorry's compressed-air brakes
or a pneumatic drill could cause Parktronic
to malfunction.
Minimum distance Centre Approximately 20 cm
Corners Approximately 20 cm
If there is an obstacle within this range, all
warning displays light up and a tone sounds.
If the distance falls below the minimum clear-
ance, it may no longer be shown.
Warning displays
The warning displays show the distance
between the sensors and the obstacle. The
warning display for the front area is located
on the dashboard above the centre air vents.
The warning display for the rear area is loca-
ted on the roof lining in the rear compart-
ment. Controls
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Driving sys
tems 122Front area warning display
1
Left-hand side of the vehicle
2 Right-hand side of the vehicle
3 Indicator segments
The warning display for each side of the vehi-
cle is divided into five yellow and two red seg-
ments. Parktronic is operational if yellow indi-
cator segments 3light up.
The gear lever or selector lever position*
determines which warning display is active: Manual transmission: Gear lever in Warning display
Forwards gear
or
Neutral
Front area activated
Reverse gear
Rear and front areas
activated
AUTOTRONIC*:
Selector lever at Warning display
D
Front area activated
R
orN Rear and front areas
activated
P
No areas activated
One or more segments light up as the vehicle
approaches an obstacle, depending on the
vehicle's distance to the obstacle.
R Front area: following the sixth segment,
you will hear an intermittent warning tone,
after the seventh segment, you will hear a
continuous warning tone for a maximum of two seconds. You have reached the mini-
mum distance.
R Rear area: from the sixth segment onwards,
you will hear an intermittent warning tone.
At the seventh segment, you will hear a
continuous warning tone for a maximum of
two seconds. You have reached the mini-
mum distance. The continuous warning
tone is muted immediately if you shift out
of reverse gear on vehicles with manual
transmission or if you select Dor Pon vehi-
cles with AUTOTRONIC*.
Deactivating/activating Parktronic 1
Deactivating/activating Parktronic
2 Indicator lamp
If indicator lamp 2is on, Parktronic is deac-
tivated. Controls
* optional
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Driving sys
tems 123
i
Parktronic is automatically activated
when you turn the key to position 2in the
ignition lock.
Trailer towing* Parktronic is deactivated for the rear area
when you establish an electrical connection
between your vehicle and a trailer.
!
Remove the detachable trailer coupling if
it is no longer required. Parktronic meas-
ures the minimum detection range to an
obstacle from the bumper, not the ball cou-
pling. Active parking assist*
Active parking assist is an electronic parking
aid with ultrasound. Ultrasound is used to
measure the road on both sides of the vehicle.
A suitable parking space is indicated by the
parking symbol. Active steering intervention
can assist you during parking. You may also
use Parktronic (Y page 120). When Parktronic
is deactivated, active parking assist is also
unavailable. G
Risk of accident
Active parking assist is merely an aid and
may sometimes recommend parking
spaces that are not suitable for parking.
These might be, for example, spaces where
parking is prohibited, driveways, unsuitable
surfaces, etc.
Active parking assist measures the parking
space as you drive past it. Any later
changes to the parking space are not taken
into account. This may be the case, for
instance, when the vehicle parked in front
of or behind the space changes its position
or when an obstacle is moved into the park-
ing space.
Active parking assist does not relieve you
of the responsibility of paying attention. If
you rely solely on Active parking assist, you
could cause an accident and injure yourself
and others.
You are always responsible for safety and
must continue to pay attention to your
immediate surroundings when parking and
manoeuvring. G
Risk of accident
Objects located above the height range of
Active parking assist will not be detected when the parking space is measured. These
are not taken into account when the park-
ing procedure is calculated, e. g. overhang-
ing loads, tail sections or loading ramps of
goods vehicles. In some circumstances,
Active parking assist may therefore guide
you into the parking space too early. This
may lead to a collision. For this reason, you
should avoid using Active parking assist in
such situations.
G
Risk of accident
The front of the vehicle will veer out in the
direction of the oncoming traffic during the
parking operation. In some cases the vehi-
cle will also take you onto sections of the
oncoming lane during the parking proce-
dure.
You are responsible for safety at all times
and must pay attention to any road users
approaching or passing. Stop the vehicle if
necessary or cancel the Active parking
assist parking procedure. G
Risk of injury
Make sure that no persons or animals are
in the manoeuvring range. Otherwise, they
could be injured. Controls
* optional
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Driving sys
tems 124
Use Active parking assist for parking spaces
R that are parallel to the direction of travel.
R that are on straight roads, not bends.
R that are on the same level as the road, i.e.
not on the pavement, for example;
Parking tips:
R On narrow roads, drive as close to the park-
ing space as possible.
R Parking spaces which are littered, over-
grown or partially occupied by trailer tow-
bars might not be identified properly.
R Snowfall or heavy rain may lead to a parking
space being measured inaccurately.
R Pay attention to the Parktronic warning
messages during the parking procedure
(Y page 121).
R You can intervene in the steering procedure
to correct it at any time. Active parking
assist will then be cancelled.
R When transporting a load which protrudes
from your vehicle you should not use Active
parking assist.
R Never use active parking assist when snow
chains or an emergency spare wheel* are
fitted. R
Make sure that the tyre pressures are
always correct. This has a direct influence
on the parking characteristics of the vehi-
cle.
R The way your vehicle is positioned in the
parking space after parking is dependent
on various factors. These include the posi-
tion and shape of the vehicles parked in
front and behind it as well as the condition
of the location. In some cases, Active park-
ing assist may guide you too far into a park-
ing space, or not far enough into it. In some
cases it may also lead you across or onto
the kerb. If necessary, you should abort the
parking procedure with Active parking
assist.
R You can also engage forward gear prema-
turely. The vehicle redirects and does not
drive as far into the parking space Should
a gear be changed too early to achieve a
sensible parking position, the parking pro-
cedure will be aborted.
! When unavoidable, you should drive over
obstacles such as kerbs slowly and not at
a sharp angle. Otherwise you may damage
the wheel rims or tyres. Detecting parking spaces Active parking assist is switched on automat-
ically when driving forwards. The system is
operational at speeds of up to approximately
35 km/h. While in operation, the system inde-
pendently locates and measures parking
spaces on both sides of the vehicle. When
driving at speeds below 35 km/h, you will see
the parking symbol as a status indicator in the
instrument cluster. Active parking assist only
displays parking spaces on the front-
passenger side as standard. Parking spaces
on the driver's side are displayed as soon as
the turn signal on the driver's side is activa-
ted. If you wish to park in a space on the driv-
er's side, the indicator on the driver's side
must remain on. This must remain switched
on until you acknowledge the use of Active
parking assist by pressing the
jbutton on
the multi-function steering wheel.
When a parking space has been detected, an
arrow towards the right or the left also
appears. Controls
* optional
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Driving sys
tems 125Example: Parking space detected
1
Detected parking space on the left
2 Parking symbol
3 Detected parking space on the right
Active parking assist will only detect parking
spaces:
R that are parallel to the direction of travel.
R that are at least 1.5 m wide.
R that are at least 1.3 m longer than your
vehicle.
A parking space is displayed while you are
driving past it, and until you are approx. 15 m
away from it. Parking G
Risk of accident
Parktronic and Active parking assist are
merely parking aids and may not detect all
obstacles. They do not relieve you of the
responsibility of paying attention.
You are always responsible for safety and
must continue to pay attention to your
immediate surroundings when parking and
manoeuvring. You could otherwise endan-
ger yourself and others.
X Stop the vehicle when the parking space
symbol shows the desired parking space in
the instrument cluster.
X Vehicles with manual transmission: Shift to
reverse gear.
Vehicles with AUTOTRONIC*: move the
selector lever to position R.
On the multi-function display, the message:
Park Assist Activate? Check vehi-
cle surroundings Yes: No: appearsX
To cancel the procedure: press the k
button on the multi-function steering wheel
or pull away.
or
X To park using active parking assist: press
the j button on the multi-function
steering wheel.
On the multi-function display, the message:
Park Assist active Please acceler-
ate and brake the vehicle yourself
appears G
Risk of accident
When parking, you need to make sure that
no obstacles are located in the vicinity of
the vehicle during the entire operation.
Active parking assist does not relieve you
of the responsibility of paying attention. It
merely aids you by intervening actively in
the steering.
To stop the vehicle or avoid an accident you
need to apply the brakes yourself.
X Let go of the multi-function steering wheel.
X Reverse the car, being ready to brake at all
times. When reversing, do not exceed a
speed of approx.10 km/h, otherwise active
parking assist will be deactivated. Controls
* optional
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Driving sys
tems 126
i
In tight parking spaces, you will achieve
the best parking results by reversing as far
as possible. When doing so, also observe
the Parktronic messages.
X Stop as soon as Parktronic sounds the con-
tinuous warning tone, if not before.
Manoeuvring may be required in tight park-
ing spaces.
Vehicles with manual transmission: the mes-
sage Park Assist active Please shift
to a forward gear appears in the multi-
function display.
Vehicles with AUTOTRONIC*: the message
Park Assist active Please shift to
D appears in the multi-function display.
X Vehicles with manual transmission: When
the car is stationary, shift to first gear.
Vehicles with AUTOTRONIC*: When the car
is stationary, set the selector lever to posi-
tion R.
Active parking assist immediately steers in
the other direction.
On the multi-function display, the message:
Park Assist active Please acceler- ate and brake the vehicle yourself
appears.
i You will achieve the best parking results
by waiting for the steering procedure to
complete before moving forwards.
X Drive forwards and be ready to brake at all
times.
X Stop as soon as Parktronic sounds the con-
tinuous warning tone, if not before.
Vehicles with manual transmission: the mes-
sage Park Assist active Please shift
into reverse gear appears in the multi-
function display.
Vehicles with AUTOTRONIC*, the message
Park Assist active Please shift to
R appears in the multi-function display.
X Further gear changes* may be necessary.
As soon as the parking procedure is com-
plete, the message Parking assistance
finished Please take over appears.
Active parking assist is now deactivated.
Parktronic is still available.
X Manoeuvre if necessary.
X Always observe the warning messages dis-
played by Parktronic (Y page 121).Cancelling active parking assist You can cancel active parking assist at any
time.
X
Stop the movement of the multi-function
steering wheel or steer yourself.
Active parking assist will be cancelled at
once. The multi-function display shows the
message: Park Assist cancelled.
or
X Press the Parktronic button on the centre
console (Y page 122).
Parktronic is switched off and active park-
ing assist is immediately cancelled. The
multi-function display shows the message:
Park Assist cancelled.
Active parking assist is cancelled automati-
cally if:
R a gear is changed* too early
R parking using active parking assist is no
longer possible
R you are driving faster than 10 km/h
R a wheel spins, ESP ®
is activated or fails. In
such cases the vwarning lamp lights
up in the instrument cluster. Controls
* optional
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Driving sys
tems 127
A warning tone sounds. the multi-function
display shows the message:
Park Assist
cancelled.
When active parking assist is cancelled, you
must steer again yourself.
Trailer towing* For vehicles with a trailer coupling, the mini-
mum length for parking spaces is slightly
increased.
If you have attached a trailer to your vehicle,
you should not use active parking assist.
Once the electrical connection is established
between your vehicle and the trailer, active
parking assist is no longer available. Park-
tronic is deactivated for the rear area. ECO start/stop function*
The ECO start/stop function automatically
switches off the engine as soon as you stop
the vehicle and restarts the engine as soon as
you prepare to pull away again. Each time the
engine is started using the key, the ECO
start/stop function is activated.
Conditions for the automatic engine
switch-off The ECO start/stop function automatically
switches off the engine if all of the following
conditions are met:
R you have shifted to neutral
R the clutch pedal is not depressed
R the brake pedal is depressed
R the vehicle speed is very low
R the engine has reached its operating tem-
perature
R the indicator lamp in the ECO button is lit
green
R the bonnet is closed
R the outside temperature is within the com-
fort range R
the battery is sufficiently charged
R the brake vacuum is stable
Conditions for the automatic engine
start The ECO start/stop function automatically
switches on the engine if one of the following
conditions is met:
R
the brake pedal is released
R the clutch pedal is depressed
R the vehicle speed exceeds a certain thresh-
old
R the ECO button is pressed
R the brake vacuum has decreased
R the battery charge has dropped
R the demister function of Thermotronic *is
selected Controls
* optional
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