Greetings All...

I've had a 2015 C300 Sport for a few months now and have never been able to get the brake to automatically hold. In my BMW I press the Auto Hold button to activate it and just press down a little harder when I break to have the brake hold automatically. I thought the Mercedes just didn't have this feature.

Well to my surprise today out of the blue I noticed that the word "HOLD" appeared in the main display and the brake was holding by itself. It happened again, but I haven't been able to recreate it afterwards. I thought if I pressed the brake pedal harder it would make it auto-hold, but that didn't seem to do it. So I can't figure out how to get it to auto hold again.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks!

 

You are doing it correctly, you just press down hard on the brake and it will hold the car. But it doesn't seem to work well in stop and go traffic. If you come to a stop, put it in hold, then move forward a bit and try to put it in hold again it probably wont work.

 

You were right the first time - it's through the pedal. Just stab at it when in drive and stationary. You do have to push firmly though.

 

The brake hold feature is much easier in the e class for some reason.

 

It seems extremely hit and miss in my car. Like I said, I never actually saw it go on until yesterday and I've had the car for more than a month. I also tried pressing hard on the brake pedal at a complete stop and it was a no go still.... the car wouldn't go into hold

I'm beginning to wonder if there is a mechanical or sensor malfunction somewhere that is causing it to not register properly. I mean at a complete stop and I push down on the brake pedal it should technically go into hold.

 

If it's like many of the ones used by other manufacturers, it's a "hill hold" feature and has to detect some slope or backward pressure in order to engage properly. I always use mine when I have to stop on a hill, and it has always worked flawlessly.

 

I'm comparing it to the hold function in my X5. I basically press a button to activate it and whenever I am stopped I just need to push the brake pedal a "little" more and it will hold the car in place regardless of slope. You can actually feel the brake pedal grip down a bit when you engage it.

I find it a nice feature to have when stopped at a long light, etc. Like I said, I originally thought the C class didn't have it, but saw it engage twice yesterday out of the blue, but have never been able to recreate it since.

Makes me think something is wrong and that I have to bring it back to the dealer for a check.

 

I think it only works on a hill.......I've personally never been able to get mine to engage on level pavement.

 

Mine works very well.

When I am braking and my car comes to a stop.... I give an extra push on the pedal and the vehicle is in " Hold" position.

It takes a bit of practice but now I use it all the time.
I also own a 2011 ML550 and unfortunately it does not have this feature.
I have really gotten used to this feature and its fantastic.

Works in all stop and go situations.

 

Mine works on any gradient

Just press a bit harder.

Never had an issue of mine not working though you do need to press a little further on the brake pedal.

 

You do not have to be on a hill, I use mine all the time. You just have to do a quick pulse of the brake pedal.

 

I must not be doing it right then. I've gotten to hold on hills, but not on flat ground.

 

I use it all the time. In traffic and also on slopes. It works everywhere. Seems a bit confusing initially to understand how it needs to be activated. Once I learned, I have been happy with it.

Note: This is my only car with this functionality. So I cannot compare how easy/difficult it is compared to others offering this feature.

 

Note there are two features being intermingled here. One is the hill start assist, which will keep the brakes on automatically when on a hill for a second as you move from the brake to the accelerator in order to prevent the car form rolling. No user intervention needed. The other is the general hold features, which allows you to remove your foot from the brake until you press the accelerator on any type of plane. For the hold feature, you do need to activate it as noted, but pressing down again (or harder) on the brake as you come to a stop.

 

This is all taken directly from the owner's manual. It covers the Hill Hold and the Hold functions. The manual really is a good source of information and should be required reading for every owner.

Hill start assist
Hill start assist helps you when pulling away
forwards or in reverse on an uphill gradient. It
holds the vehicle for a short time after you
have removed your foot from the brake pedal.
This gives you enough time to move your foot
from the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal
and to depress it before the vehicle begins to
roll.
WARNING
After a short time, hill start assist will no longer
brake your vehicle and it could roll away.
There is a risk of an accident and injury.
Therefore, quickly move your foot from the
brake pedal to the accelerator pedal. Never
leave the vehicle when it is held by hill start
assist.
Remove your foot from the brake pedal.
The vehicle is then held for about a second.
Pull away.
Hill start assist is not active if:
you are pulling away on a level road or on a
downhill gradient.
the transmission is in position N.
160 Driving Driving and parking
the electric parking brake is applied.
ESP® is malfunctioning.



You can activate the HOLD function if all of
the following conditions are fulfilled:
the vehicle is stationary.
the engine is running or if it has been automatically
switched off by the ECO start/
stop function.
the driver's door is closed or your seat belt
is fastened.
the electric parking brake is released.
the transmission is in position D, R or N.
DISTRONIC PLUS is deactivated.
Driving systems Driving and parking
Activating the HOLD function
Make sure that the activation conditions
are met.
Depress the brake pedal.
Quickly depress the brake pedal further
until : appears in the multifunction display.
The HOLD function is activated. You can
release the brake pedal.
If depressing the brake pedal the first
time does not activate the HOLD function,
wait briefly and then try again.
Deactivating the HOLD function
The HOLD function is deactivated automatically
if:
you accelerate and the transmission is in
position D or R.
the transmission is in position P.
you depress the brake pedal again with a
certain amount of pressure until : disappears
from the multifunction display.
you secure the vehicle using the electric
parking brake.
you activate DISTRONIC PLUS.
After a time, the electric parking brake
secures the vehicle and relieves the service
brake. The HOLD function is then deactivated.
The electric parking brake automatically
secures the vehicle if the HOLD function is
activated and:
the driver's door is open and the driver's
seat belt is unfastened.
the engine is switched off, unless it is automatically
switched off by the ECO start/
stop function.
a system malfunction occurs.
the power supply is not sufficient.
If a malfunction occurs, then the transmission
may be shifted into position P automatically

 

You don't have to push hard. It is triggered by the rate of push. Meaning, give it a rapid push down. I.e., after coming to a complete stop, quickly push it in. Slow and hard won't trigger, fast and light will.

The feature is cool but I personally don't use it too often. I find that it's more comfortable to rest my foot on the brake than somewhere else. But I have long legs.

 

this is absolutely incorrect

 

Yes I know. And I had already said I clearly didn't know how to use it. So, I'm not sure why you felt it important to point out something I already admitted. Maybe read all the posts before jumping on one.

 

I like the auto brake hold feature, and use it quite often at intervals where I would be holding the brake pedal for long periods of time...like long traffic lights or being stuck in very heavy traffic.

All I do is when at a stop, I just push the brake pedal down farther until the "Hold" light comes on the dash. This feature works in S+ as well.

 

Now that I finally figured out how to use it, I too am using it when I have to sit in traffic an extended time!

 

Mine consistently works, on any grade. I didn't even know I had it until I tried to get my engine to start up after it turned off at a stop to save gas. On the BMW a hard press on the brakes would start the engine up again, but on the mercedes it did the brake hold. And it is one of those features that seems to work for me every time (unlike, say, the key allowing me to open the doors or trunk by pressing on the door handle or trunk latch, which seems ... more important).

 

Agreed. very helpful to stretch the legs a bit.

Also kind of fun when you are looking to do a sport+ acceleration when the light turns green...

 

The best 'technique' I've found is to just sharply 'pump' the brake pedal and quickly release force. I then make sure it shows HOLD before removing my foot completely.

Love the feature. I also like the fact I can put the parking brake on for extended waits and then just lightly tap to set off. I remember trying to do that during my test drive and the dealer accompanying me said it couldn't be done.

 

Great thread! I couldn't figure out how to make it work and now I know, the quick tap on the brake after stopping does the trick. Definitely a lot easier than putting it in park for those long lights in LA traffic.

 

Best place to use it is at any drive thru while waiting for your food!