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2023 EQS 580 SUV, 2024 EQE 500 SUV, 2024 F150 King Ranch PowerBoost, 1997 BMW M3 Sedan
Cruise control stops too abruptly at stop signs behind a car that It is following
Does everyone agree with me, the EQS distronic comes up upon vehicles at a stoplight or stop sign way too fast and stops way too abruptly, is there a setting that can change this?
after 9 month usage my wild guess is its using some type of confidence rate , if its convinced previous decisicion (i.e. early stop etc...) was bad, in risk or not satisfactory it acts more conservative or tries to involve you more which triggers more annoyance on the driver side, ofc as usual we dont know reason, was it breaks, tyre pressure, imbalance, dirty camera, attention sensors...
Last edited by eqe300CZ; Oct 23, 2025 at 04:44 AM.
How far behind the vehicle in front of you are you when that happens? The radar only has a certain range and it doesn't see the vehicle ahead until you get closer. So if you are far behind the car in front, then it thinks the road is clear until the radar comes in range of the vehicle in front. All Adaptive Cruise systems to this. If you bring up the Assistance Display in the instrument cluster, you can see what it sees, so you know if it sees the vehicle ahead of you or not yet.
Also as mentioned below, the drive mode matters as well as the following distance that you've set. Based on the settings, it will drive more or less aggressive.
I've driven an EQS a few times as a loaner and used DISTRONIC. In my experience it works like any other. If it actually sees and tracks the vehicle ahead, then it keeps pace and slows down at the same rate as the vehicle ahead, but if you come up on a stopped vehicle, or the vehicle wasn't in range of the radar while moving, then it approaches as if the road is clear until it finally sees the vehicle and then depending on the speed it has to decelerate rapidly.
Last edited by superswiss; Oct 23, 2025 at 08:39 AM.
Not the same car....granted....but, in our GLS we can pick with a screen how close the system will stay to a car in front of it. It is a challenge because where I am confortable wtih the car in front of me (set by the car)...well, other cars then think that they have room to get into the space between me and the car in front (then the car hits the brakes!).
I wont explain how to change it in your car as mine is the GLS...but, I am positive you can do it. Just going to need to mess with it bit based on your comfort levels and how traffic around you behaves.
2023 EQS 580 SUV, 2024 EQE 500 SUV, 2024 F150 King Ranch PowerBoost, 1997 BMW M3 Sedan
I’m really happy with how the cruise control lets me set different following distances — it works a lot like our ’24 F-150 and our ’23 Volvo. What I don’t love is how it seems to “not see” cars that are stopped ahead until the very last moment — whether it’s traffic lights, stop signs, or those sudden interstate slowdowns.
The car’s stopping behavior just feels so unnatural compared to how I (or any good driver) would handle that kind of stop. Every time it does it, it feels like a panic stop — the kind of hard braking you’d do only if you weren’t paying attention and suddenly realized traffic had come to a complete halt. It’s that same kind of moment on the interstate where you see cars diving onto the shoulder to avoid a pileup.
It definitely stops in time — I’ve tested it enough to trust that — but the way it does it is so abrupt it freaks me (and anyone riding with me) out every time. What really worries me is that the driver behind me might not react as quickly and end up running into the back of me.
I have adopted this practice, if the car has to stop either via cruise control or intelligent recuperation, I need to take charge.
This does not sound right. I often drive in the city (such as they are, in Sweden) with cruise control, Distronic on and intelligent regen on and let it do all the stopping and starting. While I have this old-school tendency to keep my foot ready near the brake, it has never stopped so abruptly to that I've had any concern about being rear-ended. Maybe there is some calibration that can be done on your car??
2023 EQS 580 SUV, 2024 EQE 500 SUV, 2024 F150 King Ranch PowerBoost, 1997 BMW M3 Sedan
Originally Posted by ScottC2
This does not sound right. I often drive in the city (such as they are, in Sweden) with cruise control, Distronic on and intelligent regen on and let it do all the stopping and starting. While I have this old-school tendency to keep my foot ready near the brake, it has never stopped so abruptly to that I've had any concern about being rear-ended. Maybe there is some calibration that can be done on your car??
Hmmmm, sounds like I need to talk to my dealer about calibration.
Hmmmm, sounds like I need to talk to my dealer about calibration.
What feature(s) are you actually using at that time, and how are they configured? I'm pretty sure that in my car, I have to enable Distronic every time I get in the car.
Are you sure your car is not just doing emergency braking (do you hear any beeping when the brakes are applied by the car)?
What is your following distance set to for Distronic? How is your Distronic configured? What other settings might be coming into play?
2023 EQS 580 SUV, 2024 EQE 500 SUV, 2024 F150 King Ranch PowerBoost, 1997 BMW M3 Sedan
Thanks for suggesting it could be some combination of settings. Again, this is how I stated my problem:
The EQS seems to “not see” cars that are stopped ahead until the very last moment — whether it’s traffic lights, stop signs, or those sudden interstate slowdowns. The car’s stopping behavior just feels so unnatural compared to how I (or any good driver) would handle that kind of stop. Every time it does it, it feels like a panic stop — the kind of hard braking you’d do only if you weren’t paying attention and suddenly realized traffic had come to a complete halt. It’s that same kind of moment on the interstate where you see cars diving onto the shoulder to avoid a pileup.
My settings for Distronic following distance has always been the maximum of 4 lengths.
I have experimented with "Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC" and at this moment it was set to "Based on DYNAMIC SELECT"
I am also experimenting with "Active Brake Assist" and at this moment it is set to "Medium"
I have been experimenting with DYNAMIC SELECT in an attempt to reduce the "panic stop" behavior, selecting either:
COMFORT
ECO
or INDIVIDUAL
My Individual is set to
Drive = Eco
Suspension = Sport
Steering = Sport
ESP = Comfort
Also, I have experimented with recuperation set to none, normal, sport and Intelligent, and none of these lessen athe "panic stop" abrupt braking. In fact, as we all know, when intelligent recuperation is selected the car is adjusting recuperation intelligently, looking ahead at objects or traffic signs etc. and I have found this works very well all except when comping to a stop sign and there is a stopped car at the stop sign, again, the car waits to apply recuperation and/or braking until seemingly the last minute resulting in what I am calling the way too late for comfort, "panic stop".
I have not found the "panic stop" behavior to change at all no matter what DYNAMIC SELECT has been chosen.
Finally, I want to clarify, when the car is moving along with Distronic on, and traffic in front is speeding up and slowing down in a sane easy going fashion, the car adjusts perfectly fine. The only time it behaves in the "panic stop" mode is when I am approaching from a distance a traffic light that is red (or a stop sign with stopped car(s)) and the cars are all stopped, and even though the EQS has plenty of time to "see" the stopped traffic it doesn't seem to "see" the stopped vehicle until far too late when it then exhibits what I am calling the "panic stop" behavior. I am calling it a "panic stop" type of behavior because it is unsettling to the driver and to all passengers. It is not accompanied by flashing red lights or beeps or anything like that, I am assuming that this is how the car is supposed to stop given the settings. I don't believe the car is executing an emergency stop whatsoever as I have been in modern vehicles when executing panic stops accompanied by loud rapid beeps with dash lights flashing etc., and this s NOT what is happening.
I will keep experimenting with different combinations of settings to see if anything I change can affect the "too late" braking behavior.
I just remembered when I used auto parking i had similar hard stop when its finished, i also remembered one viewer had similar experience, found the video, was it like this? afaik you can also involve pressing break to manage speed for similar cases but please dont trust me and try on traffic before making sure , sorry dont have answer but out of curiosity how does your break feels when driving without distronic?
The EQS seems to “not see” cars that are stopped ahead until the very last moment — whether it’s traffic lights, stop signs, or those sudden interstate slowdowns.
My settings for Distronic following distance has always been the maximum of 4 lengths.
This is not normal. In stop 'n go traffic the minimum 1 length is fine. With moving city traffic a 2 length setting should be smooth and is usually enough for another car to jump in front. Use 3 or 4 for highway driving.
Finally, I want to clarify, when the car is moving along with Distronic on, and traffic in front is speeding up and slowing down in a sane easy going fashion, the car adjusts perfectly fine. The only time it behaves in the "panic stop" mode is when I am approaching from a distance a traffic light that is red (or a stop sign with stopped car(s)) and the cars are all stopped, and even though the EQS has plenty of time to "see" the stopped traffic it doesn't seem to "see" the stopped vehicle until far too late when it then exhibits what I am calling the "panic stop" behavior.
The first part is normal but the "panic stop" is not.
Also, I have experimented with recuperation set to none, normal, sport and Intelligent, and none of these lessen the "panic stop" abrupt braking.
Of all of these modes Intelligent is the only one that normally will bring the car to a smooth stop. All the others will result in panic braking if the driver does not take action when approaching a stopped car.
So if both Intelligent and DISTRONIC result in "panic stops" then it points to the camera not being properly calibrated. Visit your MB dealer and get it addressed.
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, sorry dont have answer but out of curiosity how does your break feels when driving without distronic?
