Distronic Plus(if one driver stops the engine)

[ChrisAlex]

Hi guys!!
distronic plus sensors cannot detect parked vehicles,other materials on the road and animals,narrow objects(bikes).
but my problem is if one guy(obviously the front vehicle) stops the engine,will our vehicle(distronic activated) be stopped(break) or not?? be course its same as another parked vehicle.i am not going to try it!!!!!
Do you guys have any idea??

 

[whitenemesis]

Why would Distronic not detect parked vehicles? I thought it was a radar based system, similar to but vastly more sophisticated than, parking sensors?

 

[davidjpowell]

Why would you use it in this scenario? I always thought it was really for use on motorway style traffic, rather than town clutter?

 

[ChrisAlex]

Read this!!i copied it from their owners manual!!

Tips for driving with DISTRONIC PLUS

General notes

The following contains descriptions of certain road and traffic conditions in which you must be particularly attentive. In such situations, brake if necessary. DISTRONIC PLUS is then deactivated.

Cornering, going into and coming out of a bend


The ability of DISTRONIC PLUS to detect vehicles when cornering is limited. Your vehicle may brake unexpectedly or late.

Vehicles travelling on a different line


DISTRONIC PLUS may not detect vehicles travelling on a different line. The distance to the vehicle in front will be too short.

Other vehicles changing lane


DISTRONIC PLUS has not detected the vehicle cutting in yet. The distance to this vehicle will be too short.

Narrow vehicles


DISTRONIC PLUS has not yet detected the vehicle in front on the edge of the carriageway, because of its narrow width. The distance to the vehicle in front will be too short.

Obstructions and stationary vehicles


DISTRONIC PLUS does not brake for obstacles or stationary vehicles. If, for example, the detected vehicle turns a corner and reveals an obstacle or stationary vehicle, DISTRONIC PLUS will not brake for these.

Crossing vehicles


DISTRONIC PLUS may detect vehicles that are crossing your lane by mistake. Activating DISTRONIC PLUS at traffic lights with crossing traffic, for example, could cause your vehicle to pull away unintentionally.

 

[whitenemesis]

Interesting, seems to go against the familiar promotional vids showing the car slowing to a stop in traffic?

Reading that list makes one wonder why anyone would trust that system!

 

[artyman]

To have any confidence in such systems they have to be foolproof, having something which may/may not react is pointless. I wouldn't want something controlling my car that behaved in an unpredictable manner.

 

[developer]

Mine with Distronic (without the +) has the same warnings in the manual except for the final two.

I'm sure there are H&S and product liability reasons for providing these warnings, however, I've used mine regularly without incident.

I'm betting the two Distronic + warnings will be the same in real world driving situations.

Worry not.

 

[elisetype25]

Tips for driving with DISTRONIC PLUS

General notes

The following contains descriptions of certain road and traffic conditions in which you must be particularly attentive. In such situations, brake if necessary. DISTRONIC PLUS is then deactivated.

Cornering, going into and coming out of a bend


The ability of DISTRONIC PLUS to detect vehicles when cornering is limited. Your vehicle may brake unexpectedly or late.

Vehicles travelling on a different line


DISTRONIC PLUS may not detect vehicles travelling on a different line. The distance to the vehicle in front will be too short.

Other vehicles changing lane


DISTRONIC PLUS has not detected the vehicle cutting in yet. The distance to this vehicle will be too short.

Narrow vehicles


DISTRONIC PLUS has not yet detected the vehicle in front on the edge of the carriageway, because of its narrow width. The distance to the vehicle in front will be too short.

Obstructions and stationary vehicles


DISTRONIC PLUS does not brake for obstacles or stationary vehicles. If, for example, the detected vehicle turns a corner and reveals an obstacle or stationary vehicle, DISTRONIC PLUS will not brake for these.

Crossing vehicles


DISTRONIC PLUS may detect vehicles that are crossing your lane by mistake. Activating DISTRONIC PLUS at traffic lights with crossing traffic, for example, could cause your vehicle to pull away unintentionally.

You are misunderstanding how the system works and therefore what Mercedes can claim and what it can't.

As mentioned earlier the system is a radar system, so it will detect 'everything'. The key aspect is how it responds, this is all down to the algorithms and rules used to dictate how the car responds to any given situation ie. it is designed to detect other moving vehicles travelling in the direction and lane as you.

Although Mercedes state it 'may not' detect narrow vehicles or cars cutting in, in my experience it does this very well. (The Mercedes statement simply covers the fact that they cannot explicitly claim it always will).

The system is also very intelligent at 'judging' vehicles in front and whether they are following a bend, turning off or joining the traffic (this will be part of the algorithms used to 'decide' what vehicle to lock onto). Of course the system is not GPS/Satnav linked so it does this by reading the speed and direction of the car in front in relation to itself and will act accordingly (the system doesn't know which direction the road is taking, just your inputs and the behaviour of the car in front in relation to it).

As mentioned, the system works by 'locking on' to a single vehicle in front. This means that there is the potential of a 'gap' where no lock will be detected should a vehicle change lanes, turn off, or cut in where the system needs to 're-lock' onto an alternative target.

Hence again, Mercedes cannot claim the system will always respond in all situations, but again, in reality, it is very good at doing so.

An extension of this principle is that this could theoretically lead to a situation where a car turns off (leaving no lock) leaving a stationary vehicle in front which the system may not detect as a stationary vehicle to re-lock onto. This is an extreme example but an entirely logical one as you could just be heading towards a bend with a metal chevron sign or a wall. Hence it is nothing directly to do with whether the car in front has its engine is on, merely is it recognised as a car (something the system cannot do if it is stationary). Please be clear that if a car in front to which the system is locked onto stops then so will you. In some cases where cars are braking heavily in front I do tend to take control myself to scrub of more speed earlier than the system tends to, this simply gives me greater contingency to use later if the braking continues in front.

Again, in reality the system is much better than this and such a situation implies a degree of complacency on behalf of the driver.

If you were driving carelessly there is a back up plan, in conjunction with the pre-safe system, distronic plus will brake the car to reduce the effect of imminent impact (or avoid it altogether - though again Mercedes cannot state this).

The Distronic system is quite superb IMO. As I stated on an alternative thread if every car and HGV had this the world would be a safer place. However, it is not excuse to drive without due care and attention.

Regards, Neil

 

[MOCAŠ]

Of course the system is not GPS/Satnav linked so it does this by reading the speed and direction of the car in front in relation to itself and will act accordingly (the system doesn't know which direction the road is taking, just your inputs and the behaviour of the car in front in relation to it).

Excellent, informative post.

However, it seems that DISTRONIC PLUS is linked to the car's sat nav:

DISTRONIC PLUS uses additional information from your navigation system so that it can adapt to certain traffic situations. This is the case if, while following a vehicle, DISTRONIC PLUS is active and you:

• approach or drive around a roundabout
• approach a T junction
• turn off at a motorway exit

Even if the vehicle in front leaves the detection range, DISTRONIC PLUS temporarily maintains the current driving speed and does not accelerate. This is based on the current map data in the navigation system.

 

[ChrisAlex]

Thanks Neil!!

 

[elisetype25]

Indeed it does.

This feature is quite crude both in principle and application, and only applies to junctions, so wouldn't differentiate between a parked car and a wall on a bend. I should have said isn't fully integrated to GPS/Satnav.

I'm sure that in time such integrated systems will become available, perhaps as passive safety features at first (ie. to get you out of trouble, rather than be in total control) and will be coupled to automated accident avoidance (radar surrounding the car, object recognition, GPS, mapping, traction control, and automated braking and steering inputs).

Regards, Neil

 

[oldcro]

Stealth?

 

[LTD]

Distronic ?

I prefer vision and two shoes - one to go and the other to stop.

 

[redbaron]

Distronic ?

I prefer vision and two shoes - one to go and the other to stop.

do you left foot brake in normal driving? ( just curious )

 

[LTD]

do you left foot brake in normal driving? ( just curious )

Yes.

Drove manual cars for 25 years then moved to an automatic. Often used left-foot braking when driving rather enthusiastically at times with a manual.

Initially, I drove with the right foot then sage knowledge from Derek (pontoneer) made me evaluate and investigate two-footed automatic driving.

Was difficult at first but totally logical to have one foot governing throttle and the other stopping.

 

[st4]

do you left foot brake in normal driving? ( just curious )

I do

Yes.

Drove manual cars for 25 years then moved to an automatic. Often used left-foot braking when driving rather enthusiastically at times with a manual.

Initially, I drove with the right foot then sage knowledge from Derek (pontoneer) made me evaluate and investigate two-footed automatic driving.

Was difficult at first but totally logical to have one foot governing throttle and the other stopping.

Good man, I recall you saying you didn't ages ago when I was round at yours.

It particularly facilitates maneuvering an automatic car (in my experience) and is a good method for back road driving.

 

[redbaron]

Yes.

Drove manual cars for 25 years then moved to an automatic. Often used left-foot braking when driving rather enthusiastically at times with a manual.

Initially, I drove with the right foot then sage knowledge from Derek (pontoneer) made me evaluate and investigate two-footed automatic driving.

Was difficult at first but totally logical to have one foot governing throttle and the other stopping.

Interesting - have tried but never persevered as still drive manuals too..

 

[LTD]

Interesting - have tried but never persevered as still drive manuals too..

So do I.

It's a great technique to learn as you then adopt two driving styles and adapt to suit each different form of machinery.