DISTRONIC PLUS
Important safety notes
WARNINGOn slippery roads, do not downshift to brake the vehicle. The drive wheels may lose traction and the vehicle may skid.
WARNINGDISTRONIC PLUS is only a driver assistance system. You are responsible for maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles, for the vehicle speed and for deciding whether to brake.
In particular, DISTRONIC PLUS does not detect
- pedestrians
- stationary obstacles on the roadway (for example, stopped or parked vehicles)
- vehicles travelling in the opposite direction or on a crossing road
DISTRONIC PLUS may not detect narrow vehicles, such as motorcycles or vehicles travelling with an offset course. Therefore, always pay attention to traffic conditions, even when DISTRONIC PLUS is activated, so that you can detect hazards in time. Otherwise, you could cause an accident and injure yourself or others.
WARNINGDISTRONIC PLUS cannot assess road or traffic conditions.
Deactivate DISTRONIC PLUS or do not activate it if it does not detect or no longer detects the vehicle ahead.
This is particularly the case
- before curves
- on ramps
- when the vehicle enters a lane with faster-moving traffic
- in complex traffic situations (for example, construction zones on motorways)
Otherwise, DISTRONIC PLUS maintains the vehicle speed at the value you have set or accelerates the vehicle up to the set speed.
DISTRONIC PLUS does not take weather conditions into account. Deactivate DISTRONIC PLUS or do not activate it
- on slippery, snow-covered or icy roads. Otherwise, the wheels could lose grip when braking or accelerating, and your vehicle could skid.
- when the sensors are dirty or visibility is poor (for example, in snow, rain or fog). Distance control may be impaired.
Always pay attention to traffic conditions, even when DISTRONIC PLUS is activated, so that you can detect hazards in time. Otherwise, you could cause an accident and injure yourself or others.
WARNINGDISTRONIC PLUS brakes your vehicle according to its speed, with a maximum deceleration of 4 m/s². This corresponds to approx. 40 % of the vehicle's maximum braking power. If this braking power is not sufficient, you must also brake.
When DISTRONIC PLUS detects a risk of collision with the vehicle ahead, an intermittent warning signal sounds. In addition, the distance warning lamp
the indicator located on the instrument cluster lights up. Brake to avoid a collision!
DISTRONIC PLUS can brake your vehicle when it is activated. Therefore, deactivate DISTRONIC PLUS if the vehicle must be towed (or driven through an automatic car wash).
General notes
DISTRONIC PLUS controls the speed and automatically helps you maintain the safe distance to the vehicle ahead. DISTRONIC PLUS brakes the vehicle automatically so that the set speed is not exceeded.
On long and steep downhill gradients, shift to a lower gear in good time, especially when the vehicle is loaded or towing a trailer. To do this, first select the manual driving program M. This allows you to use the engine braking effect. In doing so, you relieve the braking system and prevent overheating and rapid brake wear.
When DISTRONIC PLUS detects a slower vehicle ahead of you, it brakes your vehicle as you approach in order to maintain the distance to the other vehicle at the set value.
When no vehicle is ahead of you, DISTRONIC PLUS functions like CRUISE CONTROL and operates between 30 km/h and 200 km/h. When a vehicle is ahead of you, it operates between 0 km/h and 200 km/h.
Do not use DISTRONIC PLUS on roads with steep gradients (uphill or downhill).
CRUISE control lever
The CRUISE CONTROL lever allows you to control DISTRONIC PLUS and SPEEDTRONIC variable.
The LIM indicator lamp built into the CRUISE CONTROL lever shows which system you have selected:
- LIM lamp off: DISTRONIC PLUS is selected
- LIM lamp on: SPEEDTRONIC variable is selected

- Storing the current speed or a higher speed
- Setting the set distance
- LIM indicator lamp
- Storing the current speed or recalling the last stored speed
- Storing the current speed or a lower speed
- Switching between DISTRONIC PLUS and SPEEDTRONIC variable
- Deactivating DISTRONIC PLUS
Selecting DISTRONIC PLUS
- Check whether the LIM lamp 3 is off.
If it is, DISTRONIC PLUS is already selected.
If it is not, move the CRUISE CONTROL lever in direction 6.
The LIM lamp 3 integrated in the CRUISE CONTROL lever goes out. DISTRONIC PLUS is selected.
Activating DISTRONIC PLUS, storing, maintaining and resuming the speed
Activation conditions
To activate DISTRONIC PLUS, the following activation conditions must be met:
- The engine must be running. If necessary, up to 2 minutes may pass after starting the vehicle before DISTRONIC PLUS is operational.
- The electric parking brake must be released.
- ESP
Test yourself
A quick Mercedes-Benz B-Class quiz: every answer comes with an explanation and a link to the manual page.