wheel MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS CABRIOLET 2011 Workshop Manual

On long and steep downhill gradients, espe-
cially if the vehicle is laden or towing atrailer,
you must select shift range 1,2or 3in good
time. By doing so, you will make use of the
braking effect of the engine, which relieves
the load on the brake system and prevents
the brakes from overheating and wearing too
quickly.
If as lower-moving vehicle is detected in front,
DISTRONIC PLUS causes your vehicle to
brake and maintain apreset distance to the
vehicle in front. G
WARNING
Do not change down for additional engine
braking on aslippery road surface. This could
cause the drive wheels to lose their grip and
the vehicle could skid. G
WARNING
DISTRONIC PLUS is only an aid designed to
assist driving. The driver remains fully respon-
sible for the vehicle's distance from other
vehicles, the vehicle's speed and for braking
in good time.
DISTRONIC PLUS does not react in particular
to:
R pedestrians
R stationary obstacles on the road, e.g. stop-
ped or parked vehicles
R oncoming and crossing traffic
DISTRONIC PLUS may not detect narrow vehi-
cles driving in front,e .g. motorcycles, or vehi-
cle sd riving on adifferent line. Therefore,
always pa yattention to traffic conditions even
when DISTRONIC PLU Sisactivated. Other-
wise, yo umay fai ltorecognis edanger sin
time ,cause an accident and injure yourself
and others. G
WARNING
DISTRONIC PLU Scanno ttake account of road
and traffic conditions .IfDISTRONIC doe snot
recognise or no longer recognises the vehicle
in front,don ot activate DISTRONIC or, if it is
already active, deactivate it. This is especially
the case:
R before corners
R on filter lanes
R when changing to alane with faster moving
traffic
R in complex driving situations or where lanes
are diverted, e.g. at roadworks on amotor-
way
DISTRONIC PLUS otherwise maintains the
current speed set by you or accelerates up to
the set speed.
DISTRONIC PLUS cannot take account of
weather conditions. Deactivate, or do not
activate, DISTRONIC PLUS:
R if the roads are slippery, snow-covered or
icy. The wheels could lose their grip when
braking or accelerating. The vehicle could
start to skid.
R if the sensors are dirty or there is poor vis-
ibility, e.g. due to snow, rain or fog. Dis-
tancec ontrol may be impaired.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions
even when DISTRONIC PLUS is activated.
Otherwise, you may fail to recognise dangers
in time, cause an accident and injure yourself
and others.
! You must deactivate the radar sensor sys-
tem in certain countries and near radio
telescope facilities. You will find further
information under "Radar sensor system"
in the index.
The radar sensor system is automatically
deactivated near radio telescope facilities
(Y page 345).
If you want DISTRONIC PLUS to assist you,
the radar sensor system must be activated
(Y page 229) and operational. 172
Driving systemsDriving and parking

G
WARNING
Do not change downf or additional engine
braking on aslippery road surface. This could
cause the drive wheels to lose their grip and
the vehicle could skid.
You can set avariable 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. when driving with winter tyres
fitted (Y page 183) G
WARNING
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 General notes
With the cruise control lever, you can operate
cruise control or DISTRONIC PLUS and vari-
able SPEEDTRONIC.
The LIM indicator lamp on the cruise control
lever indicates which system you have selec-
ted:
R LIM indicator lamp off: cruise control or
DISTRONIC PLUS is selected.
R LIM indicator lamp on: variable SPEED-
TRONIC is selected.
You can use the cruise control lever to limit
the speed to any speed above 30 km/hw hile
the engine is running. :
To store the current speed or ahigher
speed
; LIM indicator lamp
= To store the current speed or to call up
the last stored speed
? To store the current speed or alower
speed
A To switch between cruise control or DIS-
TRONIC PLUS and variable SPEEDTRONIC
B To deactivate variable SPEEDTRONIC
Selecting variable SPEEDTRONIC
X Check whether LIM indicator lamp ;is on.
If it is on, variable SPEEDTRONIC is already
selected.
If it is not, press the cruise control lever in
the direction of arrow A.
LIM indicator lamp ;in the cruise control
lever lights up. VariableS PEEDTRONIC is
selected. G
WARNING
If there is achange of drivers, advise the new
driver of the limit speed stored.
Only use variable SPEEDTRONIC if you will not
have to accelerate suddenly to aspeed above
that stored as the limit speed. You could oth-
erwise 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) Driving systems
181Driving and parking
Z

Permanent SPEEDTRONIC
You can use the on-board computer to limit
the speed permanently to avalue between
16 0k m/ h(e.g. for driving on winter tyres)
and th emaximum spee d(Ypage 228).
Shortly before th estoreds peed is reached, it
appears in the multifunction display.
Permanent SPEEDTRONIC remains active,
even if variable SPEEDTRONIC is deactivated.
You cannot exceed the stored limit speed,
even if you depress the accelerator pedal
beyond the pressure point (kickdown). Dynamic handling package with
sports mode
General notes The most important part of the dynamic han-
dling package with sport smode is the adjust-
able suspension system. This automatically
controls and adapts the suspension to the
respective drivin gsituation.
The calibration of the suspension depends
on:
R your drivin gstyle
R the road surface conditions
R your individual selection; see the following
description
If your vehicle is equipped with automatic
transmission ,the dynamic handling package
with sport smode also includes steering
wheel gearshift paddles (Y page 157)with a
manual drive program (Y page 158). Example: position of dynamic handling package
with sport smode button
X Start the engine.
Sports tuning The firmer setting of the suspension tunin
gin
sport smode ensures even better contact
with the road. Select this mode when employ-
ing asport ydrivin gstyle, e.g. on winding
country roads.
Your selection remains stored until you
switc hoff the engine.
X Press button ;.
Indicator lamp :lights up. Sport ssuspen-
sion tunin gisselected. Depending on the
engin eoutput, the accelerator pedal is
more responsive. On vehicles with auto-
matic transmission ,drive program Sis
selected.
Comfor ttuning In comfort mode, the drivin
gcharacteristics
of your vehicle are more comfortable. Select
this mode if you prefer amore comfortable
drivin gstyle, but also when drivin gfast on
straight roads, e.g. motorways.
X Press button ;.
Indicator lamp :goes out. Comfortable
suspension tunin gisselected. On vehicles
with automatic transmission ,drive pro-
gram Eis selected. Driving systems
183Driving and parking Z

might therefore issu
esteering instructions
too soon. This may leadtoac ollision. For this
reason, you should avoi dusing Parking Guid-
ance in such situations. G
WARNING
Make sure that no persons or animals are in
the manoeuvring range. Otherwise, they
could be injured.
When PARKTRONIC is deactivated, Parking
Guidance is alsou navailable.
Use Parking Guidance for parking spaces:
R that are paralleltot he directionoftravel
R that are on straight roads, not bends
R that are on the same leve lasthe road ,i.e.
not on the pavement, for example. Parking
Guidance may not detect flat kerbs
Parking tips:
R on narrow roads, drive pastt he parking
space as close as possible.
R parking spaces that are littered, overgrown
or partially occupied by trailer drawbars
might be identified incorrectly or not at all.
R snowfall or heavy rain may lead to aparking
space being measured inaccurately.
R pay attention to the PARKTRONIC
(Y page 187) warning messages during the
parking procedure.
R when transporting aload which protrudes
from your vehicle, you must not use Parking
Guidance.
R never use Parking Guidance with snow
chains or an emergency spare wheel fitted.
R make sure that the tyre pressures are
always correct.T his hasadirec teffect on
the steering instructions.
R the wayy ourv ehicle is positioned in the
parkin gspace after parkin gisdependent
on various factors. These include the posi-
tion and shape of the vehicles parked in
front and behind it and the conditions of the
location. In some cases, Parking Guidance
may guide you too far or not far enough into
ap arking space. In some cases, it may also lead you across or onto the kerb. If neces-
sary, cancel the parking procedure with
Parking Guidance.
! If unavoidable, you should drive over
obstacles such as kerbs slowly and not at
as harp angle. Otherwise, you may damage
the wheels or tyres.
Detecting parking spaces Example: vehicles with automatic transmission
:
Detected parking space on the left
; Parking symbol
= Detected parking space on the right
Parking Guidance is automaticallya ctivated
when you drive 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 30 km/h ,you will see
parking symbol ;asastatus indicator in the
instrument cluster.
When aparking space has been detected, an
arrow towards the right =or the left :also
appears. Parking Guidance 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 activated. To park on
the driver's side, you must leave the driver's
side turn signal switched on until you have
engaged reverse gear. 190
Driving systemsDriving and parking

Parking Guidance will only detect parking
spaces:
R that are parallel to the direction of travel
R that are at least 1.5 mwide
R that are at least 1.3 mlonger than your
vehicle
Ap arking spac eisdisplayed while you are
driving past it, and until you are approx-
imately 15 maway from it.
Parking G
WARNING
PARKTRONIC and Parking Guidance are
merely parking aids and may no tdetec tall
obstacles. They do not reliev eyou of the
responsibilit yofpaying attention.
You are always responsible for safet yand
must continue to pay attention to your imme-
diate surroundings when parking and
manoeuvring. You could otherwise endanger
yourself and others.
X Stop the vehicle when the parking space
symbol shows the desired parking space in
the instrumen tcluster.
X Vehicles with manual transmission :shift to
reverse gear.
Vehicles with automatic transmission: shift
into position R.
The following message appears in the mul-
tifunction display: Check vehicle sur‐ roundings Confirm with OK .
X Press the abutton on the multifunction
steering wheel to confirm.
The multifunction displays witches to Park-
ing Guidance.
Depending on your distance from the park-
ing space, the Please drive backwards message appears in the multifunction dis-
play. Example: vehicles with automatic transmission
X
If necessary, reverse towards the parking
space. This is indicated by an arrow point-
ing backwards.
Continue reversing until you hear atone.
Stop –the parking position has been
reached. The arrow is white.
The Please steer to the right or
Please steer to the left message
appears in the multifunction display. Example: vehicles with automatic transmission
X
While the vehicle is stationary, turn the
steering wheel in the specified direction
until the arrow is white and awarning tone
sounds.
X To reverse into the parking space: main-
tain the steering wheel angle and reverse
carefully.
X Stop as soon as you hear awarning tone,
The vehicle has reached the position in
which you need to countersteer.
The Please steer to the left or
Please steer to the right message
appears in the multifunction display.
X Countersteering: while the vehicle is sta-
tionary, turn the steering wheel in the
specified direction until the arrow is white
and awarning tone sounds. Driving systems
191Driving and parking Z

X
To revers eintot he parking space: main-
tai nt he steering wheel angle and reverse
carefully.
X Stop as soon as you hear awarning tone,
at the latest when PARKTRONIC sounds the
continuous warning tone.
The Parking Guidance finished mes-
sage appears in the multifunction display
and awarning tone sounds. You may be
asked to steer in adifferen tdirection and
the nchange gear. In this case, further dis-
playsint he multifunction displayw ill direct
you to the final position.
X Manoeuvre if necessary.
X Always observe the warning messages dis-
played by PARKTRONIC (Y page 187).
Cancelling Parking Guidance X
Press the PARKTRONIC button on the
centre console (Y page 188).
Parking Guidance is cancelled immediately
and PARKTRONIC is deactivated.
Parking Guidance is cancelled automatically
if it is no longer possible to guide you into the
parking space, or if amalfunction occurs.
The parking space symbol goes out and a
warning tone sounds. The Parking Guid‐ance cancelled message appears in the
multifunction display.
Trailer towing For vehicles with
atrailer tow hitch, the min-
imum length for parking spaces is slightly
increased.
If you have attached atrailer to your vehicle,
you should not use Parking Guidance. When
the electrical connection is established
between your vehicle and the trailer, Parking
Guidance ceases to be available. PARK-
TRONIC is deactivated for the rear area. Reversing camera
Important safety notes The reversing camera is an optical parking
aid. It shows the area behind your vehicle in
the COMAND APS display.
G
WARNING
Make sure that no persons or animals are in
the manoeuvring range. Otherwise, they
could be injured.
The reversing camera is located in the handle
strip of the boot lid. Example: Coupé
:
Reversing camera
View through the camera The area behind the vehicle is displayed as a
mirror image, as in the rear-view mirror.
G
WARNING
The reversing camera is only an aid and may
display obstacles in adistorted or incorrect
manner, or may not even display them at all.
The reversing camera does not relieve you of
the responsibility to pay attention. The cam-
era cannot show objects:
R very near to the rear bumper
R below the rear bumper
R in the area immediately above the boot lid
handle
You are always responsible for safety and
must continue to pay attention to your imme-
diate surroundings when parking and 192
Driving systemsDriving and parking

R
the lane markings ar eworna way, dark or
covered up ,e.g.byd irtors now.
R the distance to the vehicl einfront is too
small and the lane marking sthu sc anno tbe
detected.
R the lane markings on the road are unclear,
e.g. near roadworks.
R the lane markings chang equickly, e.g.
lanes branc hoff, cros sone another or
merge.
R the road is narro wand winding.
Lane Keeping Assist cannot detec troad and
traffic conditions. It is not asubstitute for
attentive driving .You are responsible for the
vehicle's speed, braking in good time, and
steering correctly. Always adapt your driving
style to suit the prevailing road and weather
conditions. Always pay attention to traffic
conditions and your surroundings. Otherwise,
you may fail to recognise dangers in time,
cause an accident and injure yourself and oth-
ers.
Aw arning may be given if afront wheel
passes over alane marking. It will warn you
by means of intermittentv ibration in the
steering wheel for up to 1.5 seconds.
Activating Lane Keeping Assist
X Symbol :appears in the multifunction
display. Active Driving Assistance package
General notes The Active Drivin
gAssistance package con-
sists of DISTRONIC PLUS (Y page 171), Active
Blind Spot Assist (Y page 199) and Active
Lane Keeping Assist (Y page 202).
Active Blind Spot Assist Important safety notes
Active Blind Spot Assist uses
aradar sensor
system to monitor the side areas of your vehi- cle that are behind the driver.
Awarning dis-
play in th eexteri or mirror sdraws your atten-
tio ntod etected vehicles in the monitored
area. If you then switch on the corresponding
turn signal to change lane, you will also
receive avisual and acoustic collision warn-
ing. If arisk of lateral collision is detected,
corrective braking may help you avoid acol-
lision. To support the course-correcting brake
application, Active Blind Spot Assist also uses
the forward-facin gradar sensor system.
Active Blind Spot Assist provides assistance
at speeds higher than about 30 km/h. G
WARNING
Active Blind Spot Assist is only an aid and may
detect vehicles/obstacles incorrectly or not
at all.
The system may be impaired or may not func-
tion if:
R there is poor visibility, e.g. due to snow,
rain, fog or spray.
R the rear and/or front sensors are dirty.
Active Blind Spot Assist may not detect nar-
row vehicles, such as motorcycles or bicycles,
or only detect them too late. It cannot detect
vehicles which are overtaken at asmall dis-
tancea nd then enter the blind spot area.
Active Blind Spot Assist cannot detect road
and traffic conditions. It is not asubstitute for
attentive driving. You are responsible for the
vehicle's speed, braking in good time, and
steering correctly. Always adapt your driving
style to suit the prevailing road and weather
conditions. Always pay attention to traffic
conditions and your surroundings. Otherwise,
you may fail to recognise dangers in time,
cause an accident and injure yourself and oth-
ers.
The radar sensor system is automatically
deactivated near radio telescope facilities
(Y page 345).
For Active Blind Spot Assist to assist you
when driving, the radar sensor system must
be activated (Y page 229) and operational. Driving systems
199Driving and parking Z

R
the lane markings change quickly, e.g.
lanes branch off ,cros sone anothe ror
merge.
R the road is narrow and winding.
Active Lane Keeping Assist cannot detect
road and traffic conditions. It is not asubsti-
tute for attentive driving. You are responsible
for the vehicle's speed ,braking in good time,
and steering correctly. Always adapt your
driving style to suitt he prevailing road and
weather conditions.A lways pay attention to
traffic condition sand your surroundings. Oth-
erwise, you may fail to recognise danger sin
time, cause an accident and injure yourself
and others.
Warning vibration in th esteering wheel
Aw arnin gmay be given if afront wheel
passes over alane marking. You will be
warned by way of intermitten tvibrations in
the steerin gwheel for up to 1. 5seconds.
In order that you are warned only when nec-
essary and in good time if you cross the lane
marking, the system recognises certain con-
ditions and warns you accordingly.
The warning vibration occur searlier if:
R you approach the outer lane markin gona
bend.
R the road has very wide lanes, e.g. amotor-
way.
R the system recognises solid lane markings.
The warning vibration occur slater if:
R the road has narrow lanes.
R you cut the corner on abend.
No warning vibration occur sif:
R you clearly and actively steer ,brake, or
accelerate.
R you cut the corner on asharp bend.
R ad riving safety system intervenes, such as
ABS, BASorE SP®
.
R you have switched on the turn signals. In
this event ,the warnings are suppressed for
ac ertain period of time. Lane-correcting brak
eapplication
If you leave your lane under certain circum-
stances, the vehicle will brake briefly on one
side. This is designed to help you bring the
vehicle back intot he original lane.
This function is available in the range between
60 km/ha nd 200 km/h.
Al ane-correctingb rake application can only
be made after driving over asolid, recognis-
able lane marking. Befor ethis, awarning
must be emitted by means of intermittent
vibration in the steering wheel. In addition, a
lane with lane markings on both sides must
be recognised. The brake application also
slightly reduces driving speed.
If al ane-correcting brake application occurs,
the following message appears in the multi-
function display: Example: vehicles with automatic transmission
i
Afurther lane-correcting brake applica-
tion can only occur after your vehicle has
returned to the original lane. G
WARNING
Active Lane Keeping Assist does not keep
your vehicle in its lane. It is only an aid
designed to assist driving. It is not asubstitute
for attentive driving. Corrective braking may
not always be sufficient to return your vehicle
to its original lane. In such cases, you must
steer the vehicle yourself to ensure that it
does not leave the lane.
Active Lane Keeping Assist cannot detect the
current traffic situation or other road users.
Ensure at all times that there is sufficient lat-
eral distance between you and other road
users or obstacles. In rare cases, broken lines
or certain structures on the road surface may
be detected by the system as solid lane mark- Driving systems
203Driving and parking
Z

data" section to find out whether this applies
to your vehicle. If you utilise any of the added
maximum rear axle load when towin gatrailer,
the vehicle/trailer combination may not
exceed amaximum speed of 100 km/ hfor
reasons concerning the operatin gpermit.
This also applies in countries in which the
permissible maximum speed for vehicle/
trailer combinations is above 100 km/h.
When towin gatrailer, your vehicle's handling
characteristic swill be differen tincomparison
to when driving without atrailer.
The vehicle/trailer combination:
R is heavier
R is restricted in its acceleration and gradi-
ent-climbing capability
R has an increased braking distance
R is affected more by strongc rosswinds
R demands more sensitive steering
R consumes more fuel
On long and steep downhill gradients, you
must shift to alower gear in good time, or on
vehicles with automatic transmission, select
the shift range 1,2or 3.
i This also applies if you have activated
cruise control, SPEEDTRONIC or DIS-
TRONIC PLUS.
This will use the braking effect of the engine,
so less braking will be required to maintain
the speed. This relieves the load on the brake
system and prevent sthe brakes from over-
heating and wearing too quickly. If you need
additional braking, depress the brake pedal
repeatedly rather than continuously.
Driving tips R
Maintain agreater distance from the vehi-
cle in front than when driving without a
trailer.
R Avoid braking abruptly. If possible, brake
gently at first to allow the trailer to run on.
Then, increase the braking force rapidly.
R The values given for gradient-climbing
capabilities from astandstill refer to sea level. When driving in mountainous areas,
notet hat the power output of the engine,
and consequently the vehicle's gradient-
climbing capability, decrease with increas-
ing altitude.
If the trailer swings from side to side:
X Do not accelerate.
X Do not counter-steer.
X Brake if necessary. Folding out the ball coupling
Before you can tow atrailer with your vehicle,
you must fold out the ball coupling.
The release wheel is located behind the left-
hand side trim panel in the boot. G
WARNING
Make sure that the ball coupling is engaged,
either in its folded-out or folded-in position,
and that the indicator lamp is off.
Do not turn the release wheel when atrailer
is coupled up. Otherwise, the trailer might
detach. X
To open the cover: turn handle:anti-
clockwise and fold down cover ;.206
Trailer towingDriving and parking

X
Pull out release wheel ;.
X Turn release wheel ;anti-clockwise until
the ball coupling releases and folds out
from under the rear bumper. Indicator
lamp :flashes. X
Pull the ball coupling in the direction of the
arrow until it engages in avertical position.
Indicator lamp :goes out. The power
socket folds down automatically.
The multifunction display shows the
Trailer hitch Check lock mech. mes-
sage until the ball coupling is engaged.
X Remove the protective cap from the ball
coupling and store it in asafe place.
X Make sure that the ball of the ball coupling
is clean and that, depending on the trailer
specification, it is greased or dry (without
grease) when used. Coupling up
atrailer G
WARNING
Do not disconnect atrailer with an engaged
overrun brake. Otherwise, your hand could
become trapped between the bumper and
trailer drawbar.
X Make sure that the transmission is in posi-
tion P.
X Apply the parking brake.
X Position the trailer level behind the vehicle.
X Couple up the trailer.
X Establish the electrical connection
between the vehicle and the trailer.
X Check that the trailer lighting system is
working. Decoupling
atrailer G
WARNING
As soon as yo uraise the trailer drawbar ,the
unladen vehicl erises slightly. Th evehicl ethen
lowers to driving level.
Make sure tha tnobody is in the vicinit yofthe
wheel arch or the underbody. You could oth-
erwise trap yourself or others. G
WARNING
The vehicle is lowered as soon as you discon-
nect the trailer cable. Make sure that nobody
is in the vicinit yofthe wheel arch or the
underbody. You could otherwise trap yourself
or others.
As soon as you decouple the trailer, the unla-
den vehicle rises slightly. Make sure that you
or others are not injured in the process.
! Do not disconnect atrailer with an
engaged overrun brake. Otherwise, your
vehicle could be damaged by the rebound-
ing of the overrun brake.
X Make sure that the transmission is in posi-
tion P.
X Apply the parking brake. Trailer towing
207Driving and parking Z