I understand the directions perfectly. I have a 2026 GLE 63 and have been playing around with this.

Gliding mode will be activated if the following conditions are met:
The ECO start/stop function is switched on.
Drive program is (I) selected.
The speed is within a suitable range.
The road layout is suitable, e.g. no steep gradients or tight bends.
The state of charge for the battery is sufficient.
You do not press the accelerator or brake pedal (except for gentle braking).

It seems like with conditions met it works when it wants to. When I'm out for a drive it either works or it doesn't and stays that way. One thing I've noticed is when I drive on the highway it seems like it works the next day. Like the highway drive fully charged the small hybrid battery. Where as in town that doesn't happen so much so it won't activate. Been playing with this a dozen times or so. Is that normal? Any tips or what I might be doing wrong?

 

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure anybody here uses Glide mode in their AMG. I sure haven't ever used it. It used to be that Glide mode was active in Comfort mode, but now as you list in your directions, it's only active in Individual mode and the part you left out, the Drive setting in Individual mode needs to be Reduced or Moderate. Reduced is what's used by Slippery mode and Moderate is used by Comfort mode. I'm assuming your I* mode is set up correctly, because that's the one thing that's missing from your directions. My Individual mode is set up for spirited/dynamic driving, not for economic driving.

 

Oh, one thing I forgot to add, Glide mode also doesn't work in conjunction with DISTRONIC. Since I'm generally using DISTRONIC and Active Steering if I'm just cruising along and eating up miles, Glide mode seems kinda pointless. I also turn off ECO start/stop first thing after starting the car.

 

Yes, I have the "Individual" mode set up for reduced and I'm not using Distronic and ECO is on. As I said I've gotten it to work but it's sporadic. It seems to me if conditions are met it should work every time and that's not the case. In a non ISG (integrated starter generator) vehicle glide mode will drop the car into idle instead of turning the engine completely off like it does in the mild hybrid system.

 

Without knowing the exact details of the algorithm it’s nearly impossible to say. But as an engineer I’m gonna say this. The biggest variable here is the SoC of the 48V battery. In order to turn off the engine when Glide mode engages, it has to have enough juice to keep the AC etc. going and it depends on how hard the AC has to work at the moment. I’m guessing it’ll be less likely to glide on a hot sunny summer day vs a cold overcast winter day.

Maybe you wanna bring up the workshop menu to see the SoC of the 48V battery. That’ll probably shed some light on the situation. Say if it needs at least 75% charge to work, then that would be apparent from watching the SoC.

 

Thank you. Sort of what I was thinking. Now I'm trying to figure out how to access the workshop display menu so I see the SoC.

 

https://mbworld.org/forums/glc-class...ml#post8990140

 

Keeping it short. It's fine and works as designed. Now I know and I'll probably never use it again... lol.

 

Ah nice you got it!

Well, it is still useful if you need to swap rear brake pads or reset service reminder, or use dyno mode.

 

I don't really like glide mode with the V8 and ISG because it shuts off the engine and there's a lag to get it back on, and the engine hardly stays off for long. Sail mode with the V8 is better when the engine rpm goes to idle and disconnects from the transmission, less lag and sail lasts longer. I tried glide/sail when cars were new but otherwise never used it again.

 

Yes I would agree and rather engine is on idle when gliding.

 

Same. I suppose it's theoretically possible between glide, eco start-stop and cylinder deactivation to eke out an additional 30-50 miles on a full tank. Provided conditions were ideal and you maximized the use of all three of those. To be honest I'd rather count ants in my backyard.

 

Double check your individual settings, the engine/performance selection must be in "eco" economy mode (not comfort sport or anything else). For my GLE we have start/stop disabled saved and only consider using the coast/cruise mode on long highway drives. It's easier to just toggle into eco and re-activate start/stop.

For the cruise/engine off to kick in:
Economy mode (whether outright eco or eco selected in individual)
Auto Start/Stop activated.

 

I think it's no secret that these systems primarily help the manufacturers put higher mpg numbers on the window stickers, because the EPA and WLTP drive cycles are favorable to these systems. They have long enough idle times to eke out better mpg. ECO start/stop for example can just as much use more fuel than it saves if the conditions are not favorable, because the engine has to stay off long enough to offset the additional fuel required to restart it. Otherwise it ends up using more fuel.

 

We've already established that in an earlier post. OP has an AMG, and AMGs don't have an Eco mode. There's only Slippery, Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and depending on the model Race. Glide mode is active if the Individual mode settings for the engine are set to the setting that Slippery mode or Comfort mode use. They are called Reduced and Moderate. See the post above. OP confirmed that he had the setting set to Reduced.

 

Is the emissions at least lower (for those enviromental consciousness) or because the restarting uses more fuel, therefore the emission is pretty much the same as vehicle just kept on?

 

Emissions are directly proportional to how much fuel is burned and how rich the air/fuel mixture is, and during engine start the air/fuel mixture is intentional rich, so emissions are actually worse during engine start.

 

Gotcha will keep auto s/s off if parked for less than 20 seconds.

 

Forgot to ask, is the emissions still as much with start/stop systems powered by the ISG and 48V mild hybrid system? Trying to decide if I should just stop using start/stop even on 48V ISG mild hybrid MBs.

 

That I don't know. I haven't come across anything yet that has analyzed this. There's always the need to start the combustions, but with the ISG it spins the engine up to a nominal rpm and then starts injecting fuel to restart the combustion. It's to assume that at least some of that fuel escapes out the exhaust before the combustion is fully firing again, but as opposed to a traditional starter motor, the ISG can hold the engine at the nominal rpm longer. It is noticeable that with the ISG, the engine just sort of springs to life. There isn't that typical cranking of the engine until it finally fires up, but it ultimately comes down to the timing of when fuel starts being injected and how long it takes for that fuel to actually start burning instead of just escaping out the exhaust.

 

My understanding is that MB registers where the engine came to rest, and fires the first cylinder that's available so less fuel is used and less motor assist is needed. This was from a Tech who had just returned from a factory training session. Around 2012, so if true it may not be current.

There isn't much start/stop in the EPA test cycle, so I don't know how fuel savings would be estimated, other than an algorithm similar to the MPGe tomfoolery.

 

Appreciate your thoughts on this, looks like I will just keep the start/stop on for those vehicles.

 

Mhmm MB does and in the form of the "blue leaf".

 

EPA Federal Test Procedure (City) actually has quite a bit of start/stop cycles. I quick google shows a roughly 7.27% improvement in fuel economy on the test cycle with start/stop on.

 

I didn't realize there was so much City driving including 23 start stops. That's a lot more than when I visited the Ann Arbor test site. I also didn't realize the drag coefficient of the GLE is 0.29.
Here's what I found about the EPA ratings. I'm going to try a paste but it's long a long paste:

How the EPA Actually Tests & Rates the Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 (V167)
When the EPA tests a passenger vehicle at the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, they don't just guess a fuel economy number. The vehicle is strapped to a chassis dynamometer and put through a rigorous 5-Cycle Testing Protocol.
Because vehicle weight, aerodynamics, and powertrain tech change how a car behaves, the EPA treats every vehicle class differently. Here is exactly how the GLE 450 4MATIC handles the laboratory gauntlet:

1. Physical Lab Setup: Simulating the GLE's Mass & Aero
Before the rollers spin, the lab dynamometer is programmed with physical parameters measured during real-world coast-down tracking. This ensures the laboratory rollers push back against the tires with the exact same physics the vehicle encounters on the road:

• Equivalent Test Weight (ETW): The GLE 450 has an unladen curb weight of roughly 5,100 lbs. The EPA mandates adding a standard 300 lbs to simulate an occupant and luggage. The lab programs the dynamometer to an Inertia Weight Class of 5,250 lbs to 5,500 lbs (depending on heavy options like the 3rd-row seat or E-ABC suspension). During the 23 complete stops of the City Test, the rollers exert a massive electromagnetic braking load to accurately simulate stopping that heavy physical mass.
• The Rolling Resistance (A-Coefficient): Set to roughly 40 to 45 lbf. This simulates tire friction and 4MATIC drivetrain drag. Note: Mercedes certifies the vehicle using the highest-selling tire configuration (usually 19" or 20" low-rolling-resistance setups). If a consumer buys a GLE 450 optioned with staggered 21" or 22" AMG summer performance tires, the real-world rolling resistance will be noticeably higher than the lab simulation.
• The Aerodynamic Drag (C-Coefficient): Set around 0.024 to 0.026 lbf/mph˛. Even though the V167 has a sleek drag coefficient (\(C_{d}\) 0.29), its large frontal SUV cross-section means aerodynamic drag compounds exponentially at speed. During the aggressive, high-speed US06 protocol (which hits 80 mph), this \(C\)-variable causes the dynamometer to pull backward on the GLE's wheels with immense force.

2. How the 48V Mild-Hybrid (EQ Boost) "Glands" the Test Cycles
The GLE 450 features the M256 3.0L Turbo Inline-6 engine paired with an Integrated Starter-Generator (ISG) and a 48V mild-hybrid electrical architecture. This specific powertrain configuration is optimized to maximize efficiency during the test cycles:

• Regenerative Braking: Instead of wasting kinetic energy as heat during the 23 stops of the City Test, the ISG switches to a generator during deceleration. It captures that energy and feeds it directly into the onboard 48V lithium-ion battery.
• Engine-Off Coasting and Idling: The Core City Test (FTP-75) requires the vehicle to spend 18% of its total time idling at a standstill. The supplemental New York City traffic simulation requires 33% idle time. The 48V architecture allows the GLE's engine to shut down completely while coasting to a stop and during these prolonged idle periods, dropping fuel consumption to zero during those phases.

3. The Mathematical 5-Cycle Weighting
Instead of using a simple fuel economy average or applying a flat 30% penalty calculation (which traditional gas vehicles use to simulate real-world drops), Mercedes utilizes the Full 5-Cycle Regression Equations mandated under 40 CFR 600.114-12.
By running all five lab tests—Standard City (FTP), Standard Highway (HFET), Aggressive/High-Speed (US06), Air Conditioning Load at 95°F (SC03), and Cold Weather Performance at 20°F (Cold CO)—the GLE gets full mathematical credit for its hybrid energy recovery.
The raw data is plugged into the EPA’s harmonic weighting formulas (weighted at 55% City and 45% Highway) to output the official window sticker ratings we see on the market.