W211 E220 CDi 2008 Adaptive Braking

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Crustyoldbloke

Active Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2015
Messages
73
Location
Kidderminster, Worcestershire
Car
E220 CDi (W211) 2008
Hi

I wonder if anyone can tell me if my car has adaptive braking? The manual mentions it and from what I've seen on YouTube, it's a very neat idea.

I have only "hit the brakes" twice since owning the car and although it stopped very quickly, I wonder if that was me pressing the brake pedal or the adaptive braking taking over. Also I wondered if my rear brake lights flashed 5 times a second as a warning to a following vehicle.

Is there anyway I can find out, other than hitting 50 mph with my wife following (at a safe distance) and hitting the brakes?

Thanks

Phil
 
I believe it does.

A 2008 car will have the later SBC system which is more like a conventional braking system. My understanding is that it is not quite as powerful as the original SBC but much more reliable.

In my 2008 car, the brakes work just like other cars apart from two things that I've noticed:

1. If you go from pressing the accelerator to pressing the brake quickly and suddenly (and with some force) it will give you additional assistance that will bring you to a stop very quickly. The pedal feels firmer and the seatbelts tighten up to prepare you for impact. Don't know about the brake lights - I assume they do flash whilst this is happening.

2. When you have the cruise control (or speed limit) on, the car also brakes to keep the desired speed when you're going down hill. I've had loads of cars with cruise control before and this is the only one that has ever had this excellent feature.

You should also find that you have a "HOLD" feature if you're driving an auto. When sitting at a standstill in DRIVE if you dab the brake pedal a bit further the brakes will hold on (and HOLD will appear on the dash) until you press the accelerator again. I use that all the time but didn't even know about it for ages.
 
Thanks selphy. I knew about the HOLD feature, I use it all the time, and I like the engine braking when in cruise control.

I just had new discs and pads fitted, they've bedded in now and are very good, in fact better than any other car I have driven and there have been plenty.

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving north on the M6 around the Stoke area, nose to tail in lane 3 and suddenly had to do an emergency stop. I stopped a lot quicker than the car in front and noticed that the Honda Accord driver behind me was approaching my rear very quickly with a look of sheer terror on his face and wondered if he had just seen a computer braking with flashing brake lights. When we started rolling again and up to normal speed, he dropped a fair way back; if only the VW Golf drivers would do the same.

There's a video worth watching on YouTube about some of the hidden features:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUCV_2ci7PU
 
Selphy's 1st point - the seat belts tightening up is part of the "pre-safe" system that the car will have. You would also find that the windows and sunroof would automatically close at the same time (if they were open).

I was never actually sure about the type of braking system used in w211 facelifts. I know that it is not SBC like the pre facelift has. It feels more like a conventional system but with a nice hill hold function, which i really enjoy.
 
My pre-facelift has SBC hold also. I've only had to use SBC in anger once when someone pulled out in front of me, needless to say the car stopped very quickly.
 
Thanks for your replies.

The information I now seek is to do with the "adaptive brake lights"; when did they get fitted? This is from MB tech centre:

The adaptive brake lights warn vehicles behind by flashing rapidly in the event of sharp braking. The hazard warning lights are also activated automatically in emergency braking situations. In this way, following traffic can react more quickly and the risk of an accident can be reduced.

The adaptive brake lights are activated in the event of sharp braking from speeds above 50 km/h, for example, because Brake Assist (BAS) was triggered. Drivers behind are warned in good time by the rapidly flashing brake lights and can therefore react more quickly. The hazard warning lights activate automatically when the vehicle slows from a speed of over 70 km/h to a standstill during emergency braking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0hewVV_CrU
------------
I like this safety feature and wondered if I don't have it, is it possible to upgrade to it?

I found this snippet too:

Automatic activation of the hazard warning system
If the “Adaptive Brake Light” function is activated at a speed exceeding 70km/h, and remains active until the vehicle comes to a halt, the hazard warning system is automatically switched on when the vehicle stops.
It can be manually switched off again at any time. Once the vehicle begins to move at a speed over 10 km/h again, as often happens in dense moving traffic, the system switches the hazard warning lights off.

  • Available as standard equipment in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class since February 2005
  • Standard equipment on the new generation E-Class 2006-
  • Braking distance reduced by more than four metres at a speed of 80 km/h
 
This is really old thread but I found it while looking for something else. You can tell from your VIN whether or not your car has adaptive braking. In the EU, this was available earlier than 2006 but may need to be coded into your rear SAM. In the USA, it was never even programmed into rear SAM until 2007. After which time it still needs to be coded. You need a developer DAS to code if it is not enabled. If you are willing to send me your VIN, I may be able to decode SA Codes to let you know what options you have on your car. This is a very helpful function that I don't understand why they never allowed in the USA.

I have enabled this function on my vehicle and have helped decode a couple of VINs for guys in the EU.
 
as per turbo`s post, it may have adaptive braking, it may just need coding in using STAR.

I had it enabled on mine.
 

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