Andrew Poole

Searched the forums and the internet far and wide and nobody seems to have a solution for this.

Side note: saw that some track organizers are beginning to ban BMWs equipped with collision avoidance. As far as I can tell, what the AMG cars do is equally intrusive and unsafe, and worst - I have no idea how to disable it.

I had my AMG GTS on the track this past weekend, and despite being in RACE mode, Sport Handling mode, and disabling the automatic seat belt adjustment, the car would simultaneously BEEP BEEP, suffocate me with the seatbelt, and brake the car long before I wanted or needed to.

It would happen at the most inopportune times, mostly when approaching a corner with a car in front, with plenty of safe distance to travel before needing to brake.

How do I fix this?

slk55er

This should work:

- Press "Home" on the left-side steering wheel buttons.
- Scroll up or down to "Settings", click OK
- Scroll (if necessary) to "Drive Assist", click OK
- Scroll (if necessary) to "Collision Prevention", click OK
- Click OK to disable
- Click OK to reactivate

I have not done this yet while driving but will when I hit the track. I have had a few beeps on my GTS and CLC300 Coupe from this feature when approaching a car ahead that is making a right turn. I am glad to have this feature under normal driving conditions. As I recall, this feature only intervenes when the vehicle speed is 65mph or less. I don't know if it will intervene when the vehicle speed does decrease to under 65mph when initially braking from more than 65mph .

emericr

I believe slk55er steps will solve your issue.
I was not able to get an answer at the time of order if distronic could be fully disabled and that is one of the reason why I did not buy the option. I am happy to report that I still get the warning audio and visual signal in my car but no actual car intervention.

slk55er

Judy to clarify -- the Collision Avoidance feature is a standard feature that will bring the car to a stop and is separate from the optional Distronic which lets one follow a leading vehicle ahead at a selected distance and will bring the car to a gradual or even an emergency stop, depending on how the leading vehicle stops. I believe the feature that Andrew is questioning is the standard feature. I do not have or know how to disable Distronic.

California John

In the AMG Driving Academy the same thing happened to us with the GTS. The instructors just said to deal with it. Someone panicked and tried to remove the seat belt! If there were a way to turn it off, they did not have it set that way at the AMG driving school.

austintipton

slk55er's answer is partially correct. It makes things better, but the system is never fully deactivated. Just like the traction control isn't fully deactivated in sport mode.

Case1906

Distronic is not activated by default. You have to elect to use it.

Astolfo

In DA (April2-3) I was shown how to fully disable in the advanced class but asked not disable it during the lapping kind of like race mode.
Where you at Laguna Seca?

Andrew Poole

Thank you, @slk55er, much appreciated! Very simple, should have read the manual! My Google searches for 'disable collision prevention Mercedes' left me with nothing.

@california_john that is honestly shocking that the AMG driving school puts people in cars with this 'feature' on by default. It is a very invasive action and I'm not surprised it scared someone enough to take their seatbelt off.

Astolfo

Don't forget that in the DA specially in the basic, there is all kind of drivers and pretty low speeds compared to the advanced and pro.


I bet that that collision prevention has prevented some accidents. Although I disable it in my car,I have to say that it was a pretty amazing experience realizing that it does work and I tested it a few times.

California John

Yep. I was at Laguna Seca. Also in Advanced.

janstuart

do you know the other modifications AMG Driving Academy made to prepare the GT S for track?

California John

Nothing that I am aware of. Same car.

Astolfo

I was in the garage looking at break pads, oil and tires... they were as you would imagine OEM...


I would not consider the laps in Laguna a "track" day, the autocross was far more intense from the machinery point of view.


I got to follow a few laps with an instructor in C63Black series and me in the GTs, and not once the stability control kicked in which goes to show me that we were going pretty slow, albeit he had the traction control off and saw his tail become lively a couple of times.
The one thing I did notice was the huge difference in feel and consistency of the CCBs vs the steel breaks; even at these low speeds the steel faded quite a bit.

janstuart

there are performance pads available for the front, which is all you would really need for steel; put on Michelin Cup2, and you are in business. Big question (very big) is cold and hot pressure for the tires. I run 23 cold and 30 hot on my Gt3 and it is very sensitive. expect the same from the GT S, and can't get the data anywhere. Also, how to put in a 4 or 5 or 6 point harness.

rsalco

Hafta fabricate a proper crossbar to tether the harness ends to; the stock shock-tower brace in the car cannot be used for that. Will also need to fab and install a anti-submarine belt anchor under the front of the seat.

None of this will be easy or cheap; you'll need a proper race shop to do it IMO.

California John

At Laguna Seca in the School we were always to keep the car in Sport+. A couple of times coming out of a corner hard my car got a little sideways - just more fun to catch it and put the pedal down. As you go up in the settings, the nannies are less and less in the mix of control...and of course the smoother you are who needs them at all.

I have a favorite transition around my home (from the 405N to the 133S) and that is my test. If there is no one in front of my as I approach that transition, I switch to Sport+, and hit it pretty hard, keep on it smoothly as I accelerate around the nice sweeper. My test is my exit speed and if the nannies had to get involved. Every now and then I am not so smooth and the car gets a little squirrelly. Anyway lots of fun - nannies or no!

AtTheGlen

At Laguna Seca in the School, I had the car go into Strangle Mode on one occasion. Early in the day in an SL63 between turns 4 and 5 - following the instructor and using curbing (as designed) to set up for turn 5. It was the first time I felt this in a car and I probably backed off a bit to reset, which of course is not what one wants to do on a track. Later in the day in a GT S at higher speeds and the same line, I never triggered the collision warning.

One of my favorite "test loops" is just up the road from California John's on ramp - Culver Rd S onto 405S. It's taking me in the wrong direction from going home but if the ramp is open, I can't resist. I, too, check my speed and handling. Another is the CA-55 S transition to CA-73 S - high-speed sweeper, fun when little or no traffic. Sounds as if we like driving our cars as they were meant to be driven even without autobahns!