Distronic MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class 2012 W166 User Guide

speed
anddoes notaccelerate. Thisisbased
on the current mapdata inthe navigation
system. Example:
trafficcircle
The current speedismaintained:
R approximately 10seconds beforethe
traffic circle/T intersect ionand for
approximately 1.5seconds whendriving on
the traffic circle
R approximately 12seconds beforereaching
a freeway exitand approximately
4s econ dsafter thefreeway exit
Aft erwards, thevehicle accelerat esback to
the setspeed youspecified.
Stopp ing G
WARN
ING Never
getout ofthe vehicle whenDISTRONIC
PLUS isactivat ed.
DIS TRONIC PLUSmustalsonever be
operated, activatedordeactivat edbya
passenger orfrom outside thevehicle.
DIS TRONIC PLUSdoesnotreplace the
electr icparkin gbrake andmust notbeused
for parkin g.
The DISTRONIC PLUSbrakin geffec tis
canc eled andthevehicle canstart movin gif:
R DIS TRONIC PLUSisdeactivat edusing the
cruise control lever.
R you accelerat e.
R there isamalfunct ioninthe system oran
inte rruption inthe power supply, e.g.
batter yfailure. R
the electr icalsystem inthe engin e
compart ment,the batter yor the fuses are
tampered with.
R the batter yis discon nected.
If you wish toleave thevehicle orpark it,
deactivat eDIS TRONIC PLUSandsecure the
vehicle against rollingaway.
If DIS TRONIC PLUSdetectsthat thevehicle
in fron tisstopping, itbrakes yourvehicle until
it is stationary.
Once yourvehicle isstationary, itremains
stationary andyoudonot need todepress the
brake. i
Aft
eratime, theelectric parking brake
secures thevehicle andrelieves theservice
brake. i
Depending
onthe specified minimum
distance, yourvehicle willcome toa
standstill atasufficient distancebehindthe
vehicle infront .The specified minimum
distance isset using thecont rolonthe
cruise controllever.
The electric parking brakeautomatically
secures thevehicle ifDIS TRONIC PLUSis
activated and:
R the driver's doorisopen andthedriver's
seat beltisunfastened.
R the engine isswitched off.
R asystem malfunction occurs.
R the power supply isnot sufficient.
On steep uphillordownhill inclinesorifthere
is amalfunction, thetransmission mayalso
automatically beshifted intoposition P.
Setting aspee d G
WARNI
NG Kee
pin mind thatitm aytak eabrie fmoment
until thevehicle hasmade thenecessary
adjustmen ts.
Inc rease ordecrease thesetvehicle speedto
a value thattheprevailing roadcondit ionsand
legal speed limitspermit. Otherwise, sudden Driving
systems
175Driving and parking
Z

and
unex pectedacc eler ationordeceleration
of the vehicle couldcause anacciden tand/
or ser ious inju ryto youa nd othe rs. X
Pre ssthe cruise contro lle ver up: for a
hi ghe rspeed ordown ;for alower speed.
X Keep thecruise controllever pressed until
the desired speedisreached.
X Release thecruise controllever.
The new speed isstor ed.DISTRONIC PLUS
is activ ated andadjusts thevehicle's speed
to the new speed stored.
X Mak ingadjustm entsin1mp h
increment s(1 km/h increment s):briefly
press thecruise controllever tothe
pressure point.
The laststoredspeed increases or
decreases in1m phincr ement s(in Canada:
1 km/ hincr ement s).
X Mak ingadjustm entsin5mp h
increment s(10 km/h increment s):
briefly pressthecruise controllever
beyond thepressure point.
The laststoredspeed increases or
decreases in5mph increment s(10 km/ h
incr ement s).
Sett ingthe specified minimumdist ance G
WARN
ING It
is up tothe driver toexerc isediscret ionto
select theappropriate settinggiven road
con dition s,traf fic, driver' sprefer reddrivin g
style andapplicable lawsanddrivin g
recom mendat ionsforsafe following distance. You
cansetthe specified minimum distance
for DIS TRONIC PLUSbyvarying thetime span
between oneandtwosecon ds.With this
func tion,you can setthe minimum distance
that DISTRONIC PLUSkeeps tothe vehicle in
fron t,dependen tonv ehicle speed. Youcan
see this distanc ein the multifunc tiondisplay
(Y page 173). X
To increase: turncontrol ;indirect ion
=.
DIS TRONIC PLUSthenmaint ainsagreater
distanc ebetween yourvehicle andthe
vehicle infron t.
X To decrease: turncontrol ;in
direct ion:.
DIS TRONIC PLUSthenmaint ainsashort er
distanc ebetween yourvehicle andthe
vehicle infron t. i
Make
surethatyoumaint ainasufficien tly
safe distanc efrom thevehicle infron t.
Adj ust the distanc eto the vehicle infron tif
nece ssary.
De activ atin gDI STRO NICPLUS G
WA
RNING The
DISTR ONICPLU Ssw itch esoff and
rel eases thebrakes when the vehicle
de cel era tes below the mini mums peed of
20 mph (30km/ h)by operation ofthe system
unless theDISTRONIC PLUSdetectsavehicle
direct lyahead ofyou. Atthat time thedriver
must apply thebrakes inorder toreduce
vehicle speedfurtheror bring itto astop. 176
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

There
areseveral waystodeactivate
DIS TRONIC PLUS:
X Briefly pressthecruise controllever
forwards :.
or
X Brake, unless thevehicle isstation ary.
When youdeactivate DISTRONIC PLUS,the DISTRONIC
PLUSOff message
isshown in
the multifunct iondisplay forapproximately
five seconds. i
The
lastspeed stored remains storeduntil
you switch offthe engine. i
DIS
TRONIC PLUSisnot deactivated ifyou
depress theaccelerator pedal.Ifyou
accelerate toovert ake,DISTRONIC PLUS
adjusts thevehicle's speedtothe last
speed stored afteryouhave finished
overt aking.
DIS TRONIC PLUSisautomatically
deactivated if:
R you engage theelectric parking brakeorif
the vehicle isautomatically securedwith
the electric parking brake
R you aredriving slowerthan
15 mph (25km/ h)and there isno vehicle
in fron t,or ifthe vehicle infron tisno longer
detected
R ESP ®
interven esoryou deactivate ESP®
.
R the transmission isin the P,Ror Nposition.
R you switch offthe radar sensor system
(Y page 236).
R you pull thecruise controllever towards
you inorder topull awayand the front- pa
sse nge rdoor orone ofthe rear doors is
open.
R you activate DSR.
R the vehicle hasskidded.
If DIS TRONIC PLUSisdeactivated, youwill
hear awarning tone.The DISTRONIC
PLUS Off message
isshown inthe multifunct ion
display forapproximately fiveseconds.
You canselect thedistance displayinthe
Assist ancemenu (Ypage 232)ofthe on-
board computer. Distan
cedisplay whenDISTRONIC PLUSis
deactivated
: Vehicle infront ,if detect ed
; Distan ceindicator, currentdistance to
the vehicle infront
= Specified minimum distancetothe
vehicle infront ;adjustable
? Own vehicle
X Select the Distance
Display funct
ion
using theon-board computer
(Y page 232).
Tips fordriving withDISTRONIC PLUS Import
antsafety notes G
WARNIN
G The
DISTRONIC PLUSworks tomaintain the
speed selected bythe driver unless amoving
obstacle proceeding directlyaheadofitin the
same travel direction isdetect ed(e.g.
following anothervehicleaheadofyou atyour
set distance). Driving
systems
177Driving and parking
Z

This
means that:
R Your vehicle canpass another vehicleafter
you have changed lanes.
R While inasharp turnorifthe preceding
vehicle isin asharp turn,theDISTRONIC
PLUS could losesight ofthe preceding
vehicle. Yourvehicle couldthenaccelerate
to the previously selectedspeed.
The DISTRONIC PLUSregulates onlythe
distance between yourvehicle andthose
directly aheadofit. Itmay notregister
station aryobject sin the road, e.g.:
R astopped vehicleinatraff icjam
R adisabled vehicle
R an oncom ingvehicle
The driver mustalway sbe alert, observe all
traff icand inter cede asrequired bymeans of
steerin gor braking thevehicle. G
WARNIN
G The
DISTRONIC PLUSshould notbeused in
snowy oricy road condit ions.
The following contains description sof cert ain
road andtrafficcondit ionsinwhich youmust
be particularly attentive.Insuch situations,
brake ifnecessary. DISTRONIC PLUSisthen
deactivated.
Cornering, goingintoandcoming outofa
bend The
ability ofDIS TRONIC PLUStodetect
vehicles whencornering islimited. Your
vehicle maybrake unexpect edlyorlate. Vehicles
traveling onadiffer entline DI
STRON ICPLUS maynotdetec tvehic les
tr aveling onadiffer entline. Thedistan ceto
the vehic lein fron twillbe too shor t.
Oth ervehicles changinglanes DI
STRON ICPLUS hasnotdete cted the
vehic lecut tingin yet. Thedistanceto this
vehic lewill betoo shor t.
Na rrow vehicles DI
STRON ICPLUS hasnotyetdete cted the
vehic lein fro nton the edge ofthe road, 178
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

i
If
depres singthebrake pedalthe first
time does notactivate theHOLD function,
wait briefly andthen tryagain. G
WARNING The
vehicle's brakesareappli edwhen the
HOLD functionisactivated. Forthis reason,
deactivate theHOLD functionifthe vehicle is
to be set inmotion byother means (e.g.ina
car wash orby towing).
Deactivating theHOLD function The
HOLD functionisdeactivated
automatically if:
R you accelerate andthetransmission isin
position Dor R.
R the transmission isin position P.
R you apply thebrakes againwithacertain
amount ofpressure until HOLD disappe
ars
from themultifunction display.
R you secure thevehicle usingtheelectric
parking brake.
R you activate DISTRONIC PLUS. i
Aft
eratime, theelectric parking brake
secures thevehicle andrelieves theservice
brake. G
WARNING Never
getout ofthe vehicle whentheHOLD
funct ionisactivated.
The HOLD functionmust never beoperated
or deactivated byapassenger orfrom outside
the vehicle.
The HOLD functiondoes notreplace the
electric parking brakeandmust notbeused
for parking.
The braking effectofthe HOLD functionis
canceled andthevehicle couldrollaway if:
R the HOLD functionisdeactivated by
depressing theaccelerator pedalorthe
brake pedal.
R there isamalfunction inthe system oran
interruption inthe power supply,e.g.
battery failure. R
the electrical systeminthe engine
compartmen t,the battery orthe fuses are
tampered with.
R the battery isdisconnec ted.
The electric parking brakeautomatically
secures thevehicle ifthe HOLD functionis
activated and:
R the driver's doorisopen andthedriver's
seat beltisunfastened.
R the engine isswitched off.
R asystem malfunction occurs.
R the power supply isnot sufficient.
On steep uphillordownhill inclinesorifthere
is amalfunction, thetransmission mayalso
automatically beshifted intoposition P. AIRMATIC
package
General notes AIRMATIC
enablesasuspension tuning
settin gto be selected andregulates the
damping behaviorandlevel ofyour vehicle.
The system comprises aminimum oftwo
componen ts:ADS (Adaptive Damping
System) (Ypage 180)andlevel control
(Y page 181). Yourvehicle mayalsobe
equipp edwith theActive Curve System
(Y page 181).
Observe thenotes ondriving withatrailer
(Y page 210).
ADS (Adaptive DampingSystem) General
notes
ADS adapts thedamping characterist icsto
the current operating anddriving situation.
This depends on:
R your driving style
R the road surface condition s
R the ADS settin g
R the vehicle levelsettin g
Your selection remainsstoredevenifyou
remove theSmartK eyfrom theignition lock. 180
Driving
systemsDriving and parking

Please
notethat when towing atrailer,
PARKTRONIC (Ypage 183)andBlind Spot
Assist (Ypage 198)areonly availabl ewith
limitations ,or not atall. i
On
vehicles withoutlevelcontrol,the
height ofthe ball coupling willalter
accordin gto the load placed onthe vehicle.
If necess ary,useatrailer withaheight-
adjustable drawbar.
Driving tips i
Observe
theinform ationonESP®
trailer
stabilization (Ypage 64)and onpulling
away withatrailer. (Ypage 141).
The maximum permissible speedforvehicle/
trailer combinat ionsdepends onthe type of
trailer. Before beginnin gthe journ ey,check
the trailer's document sto see what the
maximum permittedspeed is.Observe the
legally prescribed maximumspeedinthe
relevant country.
For cert ainMercedes- Benzvehicles, the
maximum permissible rearaxle load is
incr eased whentowing atrailer. Refertothe
"Technical data"sectiontofind outwhether
this applies toyour vehicle. Ifyou utilize any
of the added maximum rearaxle load when
towing atrailer, thevehicle/t railer
combinat ionmay notexceed amaximum
speed of60 mph(100 km/h)for reasons
conc ernin gthe operating permit.Thisalso
applies incount riesinwhich thepermissible
maximum speedforvehicle/t railer
combinat ionsisabove 60mph(100 km/h).
When towing atrailer, yourvehicle's handling
charact eristics willbedifferen tinc omparison
with when driving without atrail er.
On long andsteep downhill gradients, you
must selectshift range 1,2or 3in good time. i
This
alsoapp liesif you have activated
cruise control orDISTRONIC PLUS.
This willuse thebraking effectofthe engine,
so that lessbraking willbe requ iredto
maintai nthe speed. Thisrelieves theload on
the brake system andprevents thebrakes from
overheating andwearing tooquickly. If
you need additional braking,depressthe
brake pedalrepeatedly ratherthan
cont inuously .
Driving tips R
Maintain agreater distance fromthe
vehicle infront thanwhen driving without a
trailer.
R Avoid braking abruptly. Ifpossible, brake
gently atfirst toallow thetrailer torun on.
Then, increase thebraking forcerapidly .
R The values givenforgradient-c limbing
capabil itiesfrom astandst illrefer tosea
level. When driving inmountainous areas,
note thatthepower output ofthe engine,
and consequent lythe vehicle's gradient-
climbing capability,decrease with
increasing altitude.
If the trailer swings fromsidetoside:
X Do not accelerate.
X Do not counter- steer.
X Brake ifnecessary. Assemblin
gthe ball coupling
! Mercedes-Ben zrecomm endsthatyou
have theball coupling assembled ata
qualified specialist workshop.Only a
qualified specialist workshophas the
nec essary specialist knowledge andtools
to carry outthework required. Youcould
other wiseincorrectlyassemble theball
coupling ortight enthe nut with the
incor recttorque. Thiscould leadtothe ball
coupling andtheball coupling carrier
becomin gdetached whiletowing atrailer.
As aresult, youcould cause anacciden t.
Therefor e,have theball coupling
assembled ataqualified specialist
worksho p.
If the assembled ballcoupling hasbeen
permanen tlymount edon the vehicle, have
the ball coupling regularly checkedfor 212
Tr
ailer towingDriving and parking

!
Ifthe coolant temperature istoo high a
displa ymessage isshown.
If the coolant temperature risesabove
248 ‡(120 †),donot drive anyfurther as
this could damage theengine. Tachometer
The redband inthe tachometer indicatesthe
engine's overrevving range.
! Donot drive inthe overrevving range,as
this could damage theengine.
The fuel suppl yis interrupted toprotect the
engine whenthered band isreached. Outside
tempera turedisplay
The outside temperature displayis in the
multifunction display(Y page 224). G
WARNING The
outside temperature indicatorisnot
designed toserve asan ice-warning device
and istherefore unsuitablefor that purpose.
Indicated temperatures justabove the
freezing pointdonot guara nteethattheroad
surface isfree ofice. The road maystillbeicy,
especial lyin wooded areasoron bridges.
Changes inthe outside temperature are
displa yedafter ashort delay. Speedometer
withsegments
The segments inthe speedometer indicate
which speed rangeisavail able.
Cruise control(Ypage 167)activated:
The segments lightupfrom thestored speed
to the maximum speed.
DISTRONIC PLUS(Ypage 169)activated:
One ortwo segments inthe setspeed range
light up.
DISTRONIC PLUSdetects avehicle infront :The
segments betweenthespeed ofthe
vehicle infront andthestored speedlightup. Operating
theon-board computer
Overview The
on-board computer isactivated assoon
as you turn theSmartKey toposition 1in the
ignition lock.
You cancont rolthe multifunction displayand
the settings inthe on-board computer using
the buttons onthe multifunction steering
wheel. :
Multifunction display
; Toswitch onthe Voice Control System;
see theseparate operating instructions
= Right controlpanel
? Left controlpanel
A Back button Dis
plays andoperation
223On-board computer and displays Z

Assis
tance men u
Int rod uction In
the Dri
veAssist. men
uyou can:
R sho wthedist ancedisp lay
R act ivat e/deac tivat ePRE -SAF E®
Br ake
R act ivat e/deac tivat eAT TENTI ON ASSIST
R act ivat e/deac tivat eBli nd Spot Assis tor
Activ eBli nd Spo tAssi st
R acti vate/d eactiv ate Lane Kee ping Assi stor
Activ eLa ne Kee ping Assi st
Sho wing the distanc edis play Thi
sfu nctio nisonly available with
DISTRONIC PLUS.
X Press the= or; button onthe
steering wheeltoselect the DriveAssist
menu.
X Press the9 or: button toselect Distance
Display .
X Press a.
The DISTRONIC PLUSdistance display
(Y page 173)appea rsinthe multifunction
displa y.
Activating/deac tivatingPRE-SAFE ®
Bra ke PRE-SA
FE®
Brake isonly available invehicles
with DISTRONIC PLUS.
X Press the= or; button onthe
steering wheeltoselect the DriveAssist
menu.
X Press 9or: toselect PRE-SAFE
Brake . X
Press a.
The current selection isdispla yed.
X To activate/deactivate: pressa
agai n.
When PRE-SA FE®
Brake (Ypage 65)is
activated, themultifunction displayshows
the Ä symbol aslong asthe HOLD
function isnot activated (Ypage 179).
Vehicles withActive Parking Assist:if
PARKTRONIC isactivated andyouaredriving
at aspeed under22mph (35km/h), thej
Act iveParking Assistsymbol willbedispla yed
instead ofthe Ä symbol.
Activating/deac tivatingATTENTION
ASSIST X
Press the= or; button onthe
steering wheeltoselect the DriveAssist
menu.
X Press the9 or: button toselect Attention
Asst. .
X Press a.
The current selection isdispla yed.
X To activate/deactivate: pressa
agai n.
When ATTENTION ASSIST(Ypage 194)is
activated, theÀ symbol appearsinthe
multifunction displaywhen theignition ison.
Activating/deac tivatingBlindSpot
Assis t You
canusethe Blind Spot Asst. function
to activate ordeactivate BlindSpotAssist
(Y page 198)orAct ive Blind SpotAssist
(Y page 202).
X Press =or; onthe steering wheel
to select the DriveAssist menu.
X Press 9or: toselect Blind Spot
Asst. .
X Press a.
The current selection isdispla yed.
X To activate/deactivate: pressa
agai n. 232
Menus
andsubmenusOn-board computer and displays

Disp
laymessa ges Poss
iblecauses/c onseq uences and M Solu
tions DIS
TRONIC PLUS Cur
rently Una
vailableSee Ope
rator'sMan ual DI
ST RON ICisdeac tivat ed and tempo rarily inoper ative. Pos sible
caus esare:
R theDI ST RON ICPLU Sco ver intheradi atorgri lle isdir ty.
R fun ction isimp aire ddue toheav yrain orsnow.
R thesen sorsin thebump ersare dirty.
R therada rsensor system istempor arilyinoperat ive,e.g. due to
electr omagnet icradiation emittedbynearby TVorradio
stat ions orother sources ofelectr omagnet icradiation.
R the system isoutside theoperatin gtemper aturerange.
R The on-board voltage istoo low.
Aw arning tone also soun ds.
If th edispl aymes sage does notd isappear:
X Pull over andstop the vehic lesafely assoon aspossible ,paying
att ent ion toroad andtraffic conditio ns.
X Apply theelect ricpark ingbrak e.
X Clean theDISTRON ICPLUS coverinthe radiat orgrille
(Y page 322).
X Clean thebumper s(Y page 322).
X Restar tthe engine.
If the system detectsthat thesensors arefully operational, the
displa ymessage disappears.
DIS TRONIC isoperational again. DISTRONIC
PLUS Inoperative DIS
TRONIC PLUSisdefective. BASPLUS (Brake AssistPLUS) and
PRE-SA FE®
Brake maybeinoperative aswell.
Aw arning tone also soun ds.
X Visi taqu alified specialist workshop. DISTRO
NICPLUS Passiv
e You
have depressed theacceler atorpedal. DISTRONIC PLUSisno
longer controlling thespeed ofthe vehicle.
X Take yourfootoffthe acceler atorpedal. DISTRO
NICPLUS ---
mph An
activ ation condition forDIS TRONIC PLUSisnot fulfilled.
X Check theactiv ation condition sfor DIS TRONIC PLUS
(Y page 169). 262
Display
messagesOn-board computer and displays

G
WARNING Driving
whenyourengi ne isove rheatedcan causesom efluids which mayhave leaked intothe
engin ecom partmen ttocatch fire.Youcould beseriously burned.
Steam fromanoverheated enginecancause serious burnswhich canoccur justbyopening the
engine hood.Stayaway fromtheengine ifyou seeorhear steam coming fromit.
Stop thevehicle inasafe location awayfromother traffic.Turn offthe engine, getout ofthe
vehicle anddonot stand nearthevehicle untiltheengine hascooled down.
! Ifthe coolant temperature exceeds248‡(120 †)donot cont inue driving. Theengine will
otherwise bedamaged. Driving
systems Problem Possible
causes/cons equencesandM Solutions
·
The
reddistance
warning lamplights up
while thevehicle isin
motion .A warning tone
also sounds. G
Risk
ofaccident The
warning isissued ifyou approach astation aryvehicle ora
vehicle drivingaheadofyou attoo high aspeed.
X Be prepared tobrake immediately.
X Pay careful attentiontothe traffic situation. Youmay have to
brake ortake evasive action.
More informat ionabout DISTRONIC PLUS(Ypage 169)and
PRE-S AFE®
Brake (Ypage 65). War
ning andindicator lampsin the instru mentcluster
279On-board computer and displays Z