2000 Mercedes S-Class Owner's Manual - Page 266

Warning! A continuous warning sounds and the distance warning lamp in the speedometer dial is illuminated if the Distronic system calculates that the distance to the vehicle ahead and your vehicle's current speed indicate that Distronic will not be capable of slowing the vehicle sufficiently to maintain the preset following distance, which creates a danger of a collision. Immediately brake the vehicle to increase the distance to the vehicle in front of you. The warning sound is intended as a final caution that you have not interceded with your own braking inputs to avoid a potentially dangerous situation. Do not wait for the operation of the warning signal to intercede with your own braking as that will result in potentially dangerous emergency braking which will not always result an impact being avoided. Tailgating increases the risk of an accident. The distance warning sound continues until the driver activates the brake pedal, or the preset distance is obtained. As soon as the preset distance is obtained, the distance warning lamp goes out. Caution! If the driver's foot is not fully removed from the accelerator pedal, the Distronic control system will be overridden and it will not regulate the preset vehicle speed and following distance. The vehicle speed and following distance is determined only by the accelerator pedal position. Distronic works on steep uphill and downhill gradients by downshifting gears and applying the brakes to maintain the speed selected by the driver. The transmission will upshift again once the gradient evens out. The speed can be increased (e.g. for passing) by using the accelerator. After the accelerator is released, the previously set speed will be resumed automatically. Distronic is deactivated if a vehicle in front causes your vehicle to slow down to less than approximately 25 mph (Canada: 30 km/h). A signal sounds and the message "DTR OFF" appears for 5 seconds in the multifunction display. Driving systems Instruments and controls Operation Driving 263 Instrument cluster display Practical hints Car care Technical data Index