CLA Coupe (C118) (2019-present) that is debuting as a 2020 model

Eco Assist driving me mad.

Old Jun 14, 2024 | 05:19 AM
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CLA 200 AMG Line Executive 2023 facelift model, Cosmos Black with Sage Grey interior.
Eco Assist driving me mad.

I have the 2023 facelift CLA 200 AMG line Executive. (Mild hybrid with 48v electric motor)

So now I have figured out it's Eco Assist that is the problem, not Active Brake Assist, which I initially thought.

When in Eco mode or Comfort mode the Eco Assist seems to brake and slow the car when you lift off the accelerator. In previous cars I have got used to coming off the accelerator to slow down naturally or come down a gradient. I am finding that when ever I do this the Eco Assist is unnaturally braking and slowing the car when I don't want it to.

I don't want to drive round in Sport all the time but can't find anywhere where this can be turned off.

Anyone else having this problem and found a fix for it.

I am going to try the Dynamic Select in Individual mode, and try some of the configuration settings.

Last edited by N31PMR; Jun 14, 2024 at 05:28 AM.
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Old Jun 18, 2024 | 08:03 AM
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From: Halesowen, West Midlands.
CLA 200 AMG Line Executive 2023 facelift model, Cosmos Black with Sage Grey interior.
Had a good look through all of the menus and there is no way of turning ECO assist off. I either have to drive in Comfort mode with ECO assist still slowing the car when it detects traffic in front or drive in Sport mode where it is deactivated.
Tried Individual mode but if ECO or Comfort engine is selected it's the same as selecting ECO or Comfort mode with ECO assist on and partially on.


Last edited by N31PMR; Jun 18, 2024 at 08:05 AM.
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Old Jun 22, 2024 | 12:15 AM
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C118 Facelift CLA 180
My Individual mode is set to comfort engine, sports steering & sports suspension and no self breaking occurs.
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Old Jun 22, 2024 | 03:26 AM
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From: Halesowen, West Midlands.
CLA 200 AMG Line Executive 2023 facelift model, Cosmos Black with Sage Grey interior.
Originally Posted by Dave~
My Individual mode is set to comfort engine, sports steering & sports suspension and no self breaking occurs.
Thanks for the reply.
Okay, will give that a go. I had thought it was still doing it in Individual mode with comfort engine when approaching other cars in my lane, but will try the settings you mentioned. Got a long drive today, so will give me a chance to experiment.
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Old Jun 22, 2024 | 08:12 PM
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In some models such as the EQ models, ECO Assist can be turned off in the vehicle assistance settings, but it looks like for other models it can't be turned off and is always on in drive programs E and C. To turn it off you have to use drive programs S, S+ or I*.






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Old Jun 23, 2024 | 03:04 AM
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From: Halesowen, West Midlands.
CLA 200 AMG Line Executive 2023 facelift model, Cosmos Black with Sage Grey interior.
Originally Posted by superswiss
In some models such as the EQ models, ECO Assist can be turned off in the vehicle assistance settings, but it looks like for other models it can't be turned off and is always on in drive programs E and C. To turn it off you have to use drive programs S, S+ or I*.





I have been through all of the menus and there doesn't appear to be anywhere that allows for ECO Assist to be deactivated in my model.

Those screenshots of the manual appear in mine too and I did read them. It implies that in Individual mode ECO assist is not active, but I still found it to be fully on when ECO engine is selected in Individual mode.

In Comfort mode it is partially active for braking behind vehicles, so have selected Comfort engine in Individual mode with sport steering as suggested above to see if ECO Assist still cuts in. We shall see.

It's poor from Mercedes that they allow ECO Assist to be turned off on some models, but not others.
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Old Jun 25, 2024 | 01:27 PM
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From: Halesowen, West Midlands.
CLA 200 AMG Line Executive 2023 facelift model, Cosmos Black with Sage Grey interior.
So now I can update, having done some tests on the Individual mode. It seems the Indivual mode mirrors ECO, Comfort and Sport when they are selected as the 'engine'. What this means is that if you select ECO as the engine in Individual mode the Eco Assist is fully active. If you select Comfort in Individual mode it mirrors Comfort mode for Eco Assist and slows you down when following vehicles. However, I dint want to drive round in Sport mode all the time, with higher revs.

The best compromise is to drive in Comfort mode and just get used to Eco Assist braking when behind other vehicles. It's not ideal and I hate this 'nanny state' where Mercedes wants to drive my car for me. Coming from a BMW, this iscaxstep backwards in tge driving experience.
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Old Jun 25, 2024 | 03:26 PM
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Originally Posted by N31PMR
So now I can update, having done some tests on the Individual mode. It seems the Indivual mode mirrors ECO, Comfort and Sport when they are selected as the 'engine'. What this means is that if you select ECO as the engine in Individual mode the Eco Assist is fully active. If you select Comfort in Individual mode it mirrors Comfort mode for Eco Assist and slows you down when following vehicles. However, I dint want to drive round in Sport mode all the time, with higher revs.

The best compromise is to drive in Comfort mode and just get used to Eco Assist braking when behind other vehicles. It's not ideal and I hate this 'nanny state' where Mercedes wants to drive my car for me. Coming from a BMW, this iscaxstep backwards in tge driving experience.
The problem is everybody is under pressure to meet the fuel economy and emissions requirements. I'm guessing ECO Assist is beneficial in the WLTP and EPA cycles and if ECO Assist was used to achieve the numbers, then MB is forced to have it active by default. It's a similar thing with ECO start/stop. It's on by default, because they use it during homologation to meet the numbers. Except they do give you a button to turn it off temporarily. Some of the the eco features are tied to ECO start/stop. Are you driving with ECO start/stop on or off and if it's off, does ECO Assist still intervene?
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Old Jun 25, 2024 | 03:39 PM
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From: Halesowen, West Midlands.
CLA 200 AMG Line Executive 2023 facelift model, Cosmos Black with Sage Grey interior.
Originally Posted by superswiss
The problem is everybody is under pressure to meet the fuel economy and emissions requirements. I'm guessing ECO Assist is beneficial in the WLTP and EPA cycles and if ECO Assist was used to achieve the numbers, then MB is forced to have it active by default. It's a similar thing with ECO start/stop. It's on by default, because they use it during homologation to meet the numbers. Except they do give you a button to turn it off temporarily. Some of the the eco features are tied to ECO start/stop. Are you driving with ECO start/stop on or off and if it's off, does ECO Assist still intervene?
I hadn't thought of that as ECO start/stop doesn't bother me at all and it's always left on. I have had it on my last three cars and always left it on.

Sounds like I will have to do some more tests in ECO mode, Comfort mode, Individual mode with ECO engine and Comfort engine, all with ECO start/stop switched off.
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Old Jun 26, 2024 | 03:34 PM
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From: Halesowen, West Midlands.
CLA 200 AMG Line Executive 2023 facelift model, Cosmos Black with Sage Grey interior.
Tried ECO start/stop switched off and it made no difference to the ECO Assist.

So, I can drive in Comfort mode and have ECO Assist braking cutting in when I come off the accelerator when behind other cars...
or drive in Sport mode and have it revving high.
There is nothing for a nice relaxed comfortable drive.

My last car was a 2019 BMW 420i Gran Coupe M-Sport RWD and before that a 2015 BMW 320i M-Sport RWD. Both drove very nicely, so I am disappointed with how the CLA drives. Maybe I will get used to it.
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Old Jun 26, 2024 | 05:01 PM
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Originally Posted by N31PMR
My last car was a 2019 BMW 420i Gran Coupe M-Sport RWD and before that a 2015 BMW 320i M-Sport RWD. Both drove very nicely, so I am disappointed with how the CLA drives. Maybe I will get used to it.
Just to put it in perspective. M-Sport are not your regular BMW models. Those are the entry level performance models, sometimes referred to as M lite. They line up with the AMG 35, 43 and 53 models. AMGs don't have most of this ECO crap, either. They do have ECO start/stop, but pretty much nothing else and ECO start/stop is automatically disabled in Sport, Sport+ and Race or once you turn it off via the button it stays off even when changing drive modes, whereas in the regular MB models ECO start/stop turns back on every time you change the drive mode and is on even in the sport modes.

I see yours is an AMG line, but that's just body styling. On some models it adds slightly upgraded brakes or a slightly sportier suspension setup, but for the most part it's just trim, seats and such. The car you probably wanted is the CLA 35 coming from BMW M-Sport models. It drives much better.
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Old Jun 26, 2024 | 05:43 PM
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From: Halesowen, West Midlands.
CLA 200 AMG Line Executive 2023 facelift model, Cosmos Black with Sage Grey interior.
Yes, mine is can AMG line with sports brakes and suspension. The M-Sport was a similar trim line with sports suspension and sports blue brakes. Both the CLA and 420i/320i had similar bhp and torque, so I am not after an AMG car or an M car (which would be in that category).

There's a lot I like about the CLA over the BMW. The interior is a lot nicer with modern tech, whereas the BMW was looking dated. The CLA is a lot more economical too, but the BMW did drive nicely.

I always knew going back to FWD was going to be a compromise, but I was getting sick of changing over to winter wheels and tyres twice a year. I just wish I could turn off the ECO Assist from inferring with my driving.

Last edited by N31PMR; Jun 26, 2024 at 05:48 PM.
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Old Jun 29, 2024 | 05:30 AM
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C118 Facelift CLA 180
Apologies, I checked this again after reading the subsequent posts and yes I do have self-breaking in comfort / individual, it’s just much less pronounced then in eco mode (which I use most of the time).
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Old Jul 18, 2024 | 06:42 AM
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Getting used to it now, maybe it's not so bad.

Using a more relaxed driving style in ECO when on longer journeys and Comfort when around town. Leaving a bigger gap between the car in front also helps with the ECO Assist.
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