distronic MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS SALOON 2011 Owner's Guide

Driving systems
Problem Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
·
The red distance warn-
ing lamp lights up while
the vehicle is in motion.
G
Risk of accident
The distance to the vehicle in fron tis too small for the speed
selected.
X Increase the distance. ·
The red distance warn-
ing lamp lights up while
the vehicle is in motion.
Aw
arning tone also
sounds. G
Ris
kofa ccident
You are approaching a vehicle or a stationary obstacle in your line
of travel at too high a speed.
X Be prepared to brake immediately.
X Pay careful attention to the traffic situation. You may have to
brake or take evasive action.
More information about DISTRONIC PLUS (Y page 185) and
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake (Y page 75). Tyres
Problem Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
h
The yellow tyre pres-
sure monitor warning
lamp is on.
G
Ris
kofa ccident
The tyre pressure monito rhas detected a loss of pressure in at
least one of the tyres.
X Stop the vehicle without making any sudde nsteering or braking
manoeuvres .Pay attentio nto the traffic conditions as you do
so.
X Observe the additional display messages in the multifunction
display.
X Check the tyre pressure. If necessary, correc tthe tyre pressure
(Y page 368).
X If necessary, change a wheel (Y page 370). Warning and indicator lamps in the instrument cluster
287On-board computer and displays Z

Care of the exterior
Automatic car wash G
WARNING
Braking efficiency is reduced after washing
the vehicle .This could cause an accident. For
this reason, following a car wash, drive with
particular care until the brakes are dry. G
WARNING
The vehicle is braked when the HOLD function
or DISTRONIC PLUS is activated. Therefore,
deactivate the HOLD function and DISTRONIC
PLUS before the vehicle is washed in an auto-
matic car wash.
You can wash the vehicle in an automatic car
wash from the very start.
Wash off excess dirt before cleaning the vehi-
cle in an automatic car wash.
! In car washes with a towing mechanism,
make sure that the automatic transmission
is in transmission position N; otherwise,
the vehicle could be damaged.
R Vehicles with DIRECT SELECT lever and
key:
do not remove the key from the ignition
lock. Do not open the driver's door or
front-passenger door when the engine is
switched off. Otherwise, the automatic
transmission selects park position P
automatically and locks the wheels. You
can prevent this by shifting the auto-
matic transmission to Nbeforehand.
R Vehicles with DIRECT SELECT lever and
KEYLESS-GO:
do not open the driver's door or front-
passenger door when the engine is
switched off. Otherwise, the automatic
transmission selects park position P
automatically and locks the wheels.
Observe the following to make sure that the
automatic transmission on vehicles with
DIRECT SELECT stays in position N:X
Make sure the vehicle is stationary and the
ignition is switched off.
X Turn the key to position 2(Ypage 155) in
the ignition lock.
Use the key instead of the Start/Stop but-
ton on vehicles with KEYLESS-GO.
X Depress and hold the brake pedal.
X Shift the automatic transmission to posi-
tion N.
X Release the brake pedal.
X Release the parking brake.
X Switch off the ignition and leave the key in
the ignition lock.
! Make sure that:
R the side windows and sliding sunroof are
closed completely.
R the blower for the ventilation/heating is
switched off (OFF button is depressed).
R the windscreen wiper switch is at posi-
tion 0.
The vehicle could otherwise be damaged.
After using an automatic car wash, wipe off
wax from the windscreen and the wiper
blades. This will prevent smears and reduce
wiping noises caused by residue on the wind-
screen.
Washing by hand In some countries, washing by hand is only
allowed at specially equipped washing bays.
Observe the legal requirements for each indi-
vidual country.
X
Do not use hot water and do not wash the
vehicle in direct sunlight.
X Use a soft sponge to clean.
X Use a mild cleaning agent, such as a car
shampoo approved by Mercedes-Benz.
X Thoroughly hose down the vehicle with a
gentle jet of water.
X Do not point the water jet directly towards
the air inlet.
X Use plenty of water and rinse out the
sponge frequently. Care
327Maintenance and care Z

R
the engine is not running.
R there is a brake syste mmalfunction.
R there is a malfunctio ninthe power supply
or the vehicle's electrical system.
The power assistance for the steering and the
brake force booster do not work when the
engine is not running. You will need more
force to steer and brake, you may have to
depress the brake pedal with maximum force.
Before towing away, make sure that the steer-
ing can be moved and is not locked.
If you tow or tow-start another vehicle, its
weight must not exceed the maximum per-
missible gross vehicle weight of your vehicle. G
WARNING
The vehicle is braked when the HOLD function
or DISTRONIC PLUS is activated. Therefore,
deactivate HOLD and DISTRONIC PLUS if the
vehicle is to be towed.
It is better to have the vehicle transported
than to have it towed.
! You may tow the vehicle for a maximum
of 50km. A towing speed of 50 km/h must
not be exceeded.
For towing distances over 50 km, the entire
vehicle must be lifted up and transported.
! Only secure the tow rope or towing bar to
the towing eyes. The vehicle may otherwise
be damaged.
! Do not use the towing eye for recovery,
as this could damage the vehicle. If in
doubt, recover the vehicle with a crane.
! Pull away smoothly when towing away or
tow-starting a vehicle. If the tractive power
is too high, the vehicles could be damaged.
! To tow vehicles with KEYLESS-GO, use
the key instead of the Start/Stop button.
The automatic transmission may otherwise
switch to position Pwhen you open the
driver's or front-passenger door which
could damage the transmission. When towing a vehicle with an automatic
transmission, the transmission must be in
position
N.
The battery must be connected and charged.
Otherwise, you:
R cannot turn the key in the ignition lock to
position 2
R cannot shift the transmission to position
N on vehicles with automatic transmission
Vehicles with automatic transmission:
release the selector lever lock manually to
move it out of position P(Y page 172).
i Before the vehicle is towed, switch off the
automatic locking feature (Y page 89). You
could otherwise be locked out when push-
ing or towing the vehicle.
Deactivate tow-away protection
(Y page 78) before the vehicle is towed. Fitting/removing the towing eye
Fitting the towing eye Vehicles with a trailer tow hitch: if you intend
to use the vehicle for towing, fold out the ball
coupling and connect the towbar to it
(Y page 223).
X Remove the towing eye from the vehicle
tool kit (Y page 337). G
WARNING
The exhaust tail pipe may be hot. You could
burn yourself if you touch the tail pipe. Be
particularly careful when removing the rear
cover.
The mountings for the removable towing eyes
are located in the bumpers. They are at the
front and at the rear, under the covers. 356
Towing and tow-startingBreakdown assistance

24 GHz radar sensor system (country overview)
The 24 GHz radar senso rsystem requires separat eapproval for each country. If you are driving
in a country in which the radar senso rsystem is no tapproved, you must deactivate the system
using the on-board computer (Y page 247). The current country overview can be obtained
from a Mercedes-Benz Service Centre.
Vehicles with anavigation system: the radar sensor system is deactivated automatically
near radio telescope facilities.
The currently active systems are automatically deactivated:
R DISTRONIC PLUS (Y page 185)
R Blind Spot Assist (Y page 212)
R Active Blind Spot Assist(Y page 216)
R PRE-SAFE ®
Brake (Y page 75)
Ad isplay message appears in the multifunction display to tell you that the radar sensor system
is being switched off (Y page 268).
BAS PLUS (Y page 70) is the nalso unavailable.
If the deactivation does not occur automatically, you must deactivate the radar sensor system
using the on-board computer (Y page 247).
Vehicles withou tnavigation and vehicles for Australia: you must deactivate the radar
sensor system using the on-board computer whe nyou are near a radio telescope facility
(Y page 247). Country Radio telescope
facilities Geographical latitude and
longitude Distance to be
maintained
from the facility Egypt – – –
Andorra – – –
Australia Parkes 32°59'59" S, 148°15'44" E 10 km
Narrabri 30°18'52" S, 149°32'56" E 10 km
Canberra 35°23'54" S, 148°58'40" E 3 km
Western Australia 26°37'13" S, 117°30'40" E 10 km
Bahrain – – –
Belgium – – –
Bosnia-Herzego-
vina – – –
Bulgaria – – –
Denmark – – –
Germany Effelsberg 50°31'32" N, 06°53'00" E 6.5 km398
24 GHz radar sensor system (country overview)Technical data