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Sounds like it was not the Distronic if that was not on. More than likely it was the brake assist. What setting are you on with that? I leave mine on medium. If you feel more comfortable after that experience you could turn it offf. Although doing so you will not get the benefit out of it if somebody jacks up the brakes in front of you. I’d check with another dealer too. I believe they can look at the history of incidents and try to figure out what the heck happened.
I will add one more comment after trying it a few more times... for me, this driver's assist stuff SUCKS and I will never use it again, ever. I "undid" every single assist device on my car and will leave them off and take my chances without them. They are totally distracting to me and I don't trust them. I'll rock it old school, just like I have have for the past 40 years of driving. It's worked fine up till now, unassisted, thank you very much.
Just give my some color in my interior. That's the only tech I like in this car. :o)
I like the semi-autonomous package and understand it is not perfect but here is one reason to distrust the system:
We own a 2018 E300 and are enjoying the new semi-autonomous features. Unfortunately, we recently had an experience that could have had serious consequences: We were driving around the neighborhood at 30 mph - not on cruise control - when the car abruptly beeped, braked, and tightened both the driver’s and the passenger’s seat belts in what can only be described as panic mode. There was no traffic on the street, no pedestrians in sight and nothing that could have indicated an imminent collision of any kind. Had this happened when driving on a highway, at higher speed and heavy traffic, we would have been rear-ended with possible serious consequences. Our Mercedes Benz Service office didn’t have any explanation for this occurrence and indicated that Mercedes Benz doesn’t monitor the performance of these cars, so they have no way to know what happened and no way to fix it. Have you or anyone else have or heard of such malfunction of the MB semi-autonomous system?
I have had false warnings, (about 8 in 4 years) Usually on a freeway coming up to a overpass and I get the warning beep then it disappears, no lights, braking or anything. I believe it has got some reflection that is misinterpreted by the sensors for a moment.
In discussions with MB they say the alignment of the sensors can be sensitive to their effectiveness. So if it's pointed too much to a side or up or down you can get false alarms.
Dealers don't want to be trapped into researching intermittent electronic gremlins. This can take days and days and yield little. So they run a test and they are done. If you can't duplicate it for them it's almost hopeless.
Repetitive complaints will eventually get actions but takes some perseverance.
I like the semi-autonomous package and understand it is not perfect but here is one reason to distrust the system:
We own a 2018 E300 and are enjoying the new semi-autonomous features. Unfortunately, we recently had an experience that could have had serious consequences: We were driving around the neighborhood at 30 mph - not on cruise control - when the car abruptly beeped, braked, and tightened both the driver’s and the passenger’s seat belts in what can only be described as panic mode. There was no traffic on the street, no pedestrians in sight and nothing that could have indicated an imminent collision of any kind. Had this happened when driving on a highway, at higher speed and heavy traffic, we would have been rear-ended with possible serious consequences. Our Mercedes Benz Service office didn’t have any explanation for this occurrence and indicated that Mercedes Benz doesn’t monitor the performance of these cars, so they have no way to know what happened and no way to fix it. Have you or anyone else have or heard of such malfunction of the MB semi-autonomous system?
If you have Distronic Plus, this would be pre-safe braking, otherwise it would be the Collision Prevention Assist Plus. Always has worked without fail for me and saved my bacon a couple of times. What always needs an object (animal?) in front since it uses radar (that tech is pretty fool proof) of you so if that wasn't the case, have this checked. Don't let them just check for codes; request a physical check of all components/wiring.
I will add one more comment after trying it a few more times... for me, this driver's assist stuff SUCKS and I will never use it again, ever. I "undid" every single assist device on my car and will leave them off and take my chances without them. They are totally distracting to me and I don't trust them. I'll rock it old school, just like I have have for the past 40 years of driving. It's worked fine up till now, unassisted, thank you very much.
Just give my some color in my interior. That's the only tech I like in this car. :o)
What was described was not related to Distronic and can't be turned off...
In reading the various posts that have to do with the Driver Assistance Package or semi-autonomous driving, I would love to get a better understanding WHY some people hate it.
Background, I teach students how to do high performance driving <without wrecking the car or hurting themselves.>
Scenario: there is a mild turn up ahead with 2 apexes; with me at the steering wheel, I can choose a single line that touches both apexes and allows the car to take a single set on the turn. Enabling maximum pleasure of traversing this particular turn.
When the auto-drive feature does this it makes 4 individual turn motions trying to keep the car between the lane marking paint.
1 motion of car control versus 4. That is why I leave mine turned off. It is annoying to those of us who actually know how to drive and enjoy driving.
If all you want is to get from point A to point B then it might be the best thing since sliced bread.
I want the smoothness of a great driver controlling a great car, not the car "bouncing" off one side or the other while staying in lane.
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
Some folks enjoy driving, others don't. Some feel that whenever they are behind the wheel, they are in a contest to "out score" everyone else on the road, while others are happy to arrive at their destination unscathed. Some are happy to motor along as peacefully, smoothly and safely as possible, while others are not happy if they haven't "beat" everyone else to some mythical destination. Frankly, with virtually every new car on the market being capable of 0 to 60 times only reserved for high end sports cars in the 1960's, driving peacefully has become much more difficult over the past 20 or so years, as so many drivers feel they are Aryton Senna, behind the wheel of their econobox, not to mention the soccer moms driving their 3-ton SUV's, while screaming at the kids, texting and speeding because they are late. In short, it really is a jungle out there on the road and to me, every little bit of help I can get to keep my driving safe and relaxed is very much appreciated.
To me, the Driver's Assistance Pkg. is "THE" number one, nothing-even-comes-close, option packages that any auto maker has ever offered. The current Distronic Plus system is near flawless and is like having another driver, sitting at another set of controls, with eyes focused on the road 100% of the time, to protect me and my passengers from a sneeze, a yawn or another distraction on my part. The Pre-Safe Braking is absolutely INVALUABLE to me. I'm sure we have ALL had instances of being distracted in city driving, only to have the car in front of us slam on their brakes. We then slam on our brakes, avoiding a collision 99% of the time, but we damn near have a heart attack. The MB system has pretty much done away with such a scenario, and I think that this is a REALLY good thing. The new Rear Cross Traffic Alert system is another, long awaited blessing on my 2018.
I'm pretty much in favor of less government control over our lives, but I feel very strongly that every new car sold should have a system like Pre-Safe Braking As standard equipment, or it shouldn’t be allowed for sale in the USA.
As a side note, to show how different we all are, when I got my 2018 S560, I fooled with the Ambient Light gizmo for about two minutes, found the blue I favored in my 2015, set it and have never touched it again. Things like that, logo projectors and light up stars are absolutely meaningless to me.
Last edited by Streamliner; Dec 6, 2018 at 05:37 PM.
Background, I teach students how to do high performance driving <without wrecking the car or hurting themselves.>
Scenario: there is a mild turn up ahead with 2 apexes; with me at the steering wheel, I can choose a single line that touches both apexes and allows the car to take a single set on the turn. Enabling maximum pleasure of traversing this particular turn.
When the auto-drive feature does this it makes 4 individual turn motions trying to keep the car between the lane marking paint.
1 motion of car control versus 4. That is why I leave mine turned off. It is annoying to those of us who actually know how to drive and enjoy driving.
If all you want is to get from point A to point B then it might be the best thing since sliced bread.
I want the smoothness of a great driver controlling a great car, not the car "bouncing" off one side or the other while staying in lane.
I find that that my 2014 S550 did not do a very good job at all of staying in lane without some weaving. My 2019 S450 is VASTLY improved. Plus, it will drive itself for a least a minute (as opposed to 10-15 seconds) flawlessly in the lane even if there is a significant curve. Again, one needs to be smart and be ready to take control of the wheel but you can glance away for a bit without fear especially in light traffic on the Interstates. As Streamliner stated, it's like having another set of eyes. Semi autonomous features to be followed by fully autonomous driving is the present and the future.
2019 Dune Silver Metallic E-450 Mercedes Cabriolet NEW Mercedes 2020 GLC300 graphite gray SUV
Can't speak to the earlier systems, but my 2019 Distronic system as been almost flawless! There is no jerkiness, and follows the curves smoothly. The lane assist is probably the best feature in busy highway situations. I just activate it when I need to change lanes, and it works perfectly. It's great for long distance traveling. It's truly autonomous driving, save for the nudging of the steering wheel every now and then.
For those with systems 2018 and older, test drive any 2019 and see for yourself.
Can't speak to the earlier systems, but my 2019 Distronic system as been almost flawless! There is no jerkiness, and follows the curves smoothly. The lane assist is probably the best feature in busy highway situations. I just activate it when I need to change lanes, and it works perfectly. It's great for long distance traveling. It's truly autonomous driving, save for the nudging of the steering wheel every now and then.
For those with systems 2018 and older, test drive any 2019 and see for yourself.
Since the refresh came out with the 2018 model year, I believe the semi autonomous system is the same as the 2019, but I don't that for certain. Streamline (has a 2018 S560) says it's awesome. But if there is any further improvement on the auto pilot or whatever you want to call it, then it's even better for those of us owning the 2019 MY. In any case I totally agree with your assessment.
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