Do you put the car in neutral (automatics) when at traffic lights etc?

[guydewdney]

better than Park - as that holds the rear wheels only - and on a cam mechanism that CAN spring out... at least foot on brake a) the brake lights are on, and b ) the wheels are ALL held...

 

[gina2201]

I leave it in D, but don't have to press the footbrake.
My car stays stationary (unless pointing downhill, when I do use the footbrake)

Same here, up a hill the car would just "sit" and hold itself, not sure if that was good for it or not! Oh well, got a manual now - clutch control!!

 

[SSBB]

This may help you understand whats going on in that amazing piece of engineering.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/automatic-transmission.htm

 

[masqueraid]

It stays in Drive and depending on how long I'm waiting the handbrake may go on too. Don't really like lighting up the car behind with my brake lights.

 

[Silestanix]

In the Vito, D and Brakes; Handbrake on if I'ma be sat there for more then 10-15 secs, I don't like leaving the brake lights on for the car behind, they're pretty bright on these new Vitos.

 

[Diapason]

Is SBC hold as secure as the handbrake?

SBC hold has already been mentioned in this thread. If the car is stationary a second depression and then release of the footbrake holds the car from creeping or rolling forwards by maintaining brake pressure until a) the brake is pressed momentarily again, or b) the accelerator is depressed. It also has the advantage that the brake lights remain on - clearly signalling to motorists behind that the vehicle is stopped.

What I would like to know, and this isn't mentioned in the handbook, is what happens if the car is shunted from behind. Does the SBC continue to provide brake pressure (and prevent the car from causing damage to vehicles in front) or does the system detect motion and release the brake? For obvious reasons I haven't been able to test this, but I'd like to know the answer. If the system releases pressure then I will be far more inclined to use the handbrake.

Does anyone know the answer to this?

Regards,

Simon

 

[Hanzz]

I always keep the car in drive when at lights.

Couldn't imagine putting it in park or neutral, and then if you wanted to be extra cautious and put the handbrake on.... Then you have to take it all back off again!

 

[fuzzer]

the only time i tend to flick it into neutral is when ive braked hard to slow the car down. I remember reading somewhere that hot discs tend to warp more if you keep the pads sitting againsed them.

I just remembered that last night when i decided to stop at a set of lights. Jeepers did the car stop quick !

 

[DansSlk]

SBC hold has already been mentioned in this thread. If the car is stationary a second depression and then release of the footbrake holds the car from creeping or rolling forwards by maintaining brake pressure until a) the brake is pressed momentarily again, or b) the accelerator is depressed. It also has the advantage that the brake lights remain on - clearly signalling to motorists behind that the vehicle is stopped.

What I would like to know, and this isn't mentioned in the handbook, is what happens if the car is shunted from behind. Does the SBC continue to provide brake pressure (and prevent the car from causing damage to vehicles in front) or does the system detect motion and release the brake? For obvious reasons I haven't been able to test this, but I'd like to know the answer. If the system releases pressure then I will be far more inclined to use the handbrake.

Does anyone know the answer to this?

Regards,

Simon

I can't be 100% on this just from memory and i am not at work so i cant check it so don't hold me to this but the SBC system in hold mode is using the wheel speed sensors to keep the car stationary if it detects movement while active it applies increasing pressure so if a vehicle where to collide with the rear it should detect that movement and nail the brakes, its looking for pedal travel to release the system not wheel motion.

 

[gbrickwood123]

Many moons ago my dad was told by a police friend that the best course of action was to leave in D and apply the hand brake. This held the car securely but also gets rid of the wear on the clutch etc and meant there was no need to shift to P. If it is < 30 secs I normally do the above, any longer I will shift to N.

 

[glojo]

SBC hold has already been mentioned in this thread. If the car is stationary a second depression and then release of the footbrake holds the car from creeping or rolling forwards by maintaining brake pressure until a) the brake is pressed momentarily again, or b) the accelerator is depressed. It also has the advantage that the brake lights remain on - clearly signalling to motorists behind that the vehicle is stopped.

Don't forget SBC Stop which is another option on some vehicles. Just lift off the throttle and the car will come to a halt and remain stationary until the throttle is applied.

John

 

[Diapason]

Some do, some don't

Don't forget SBC Stop which is another option on some vehicles. Just lift off the throttle and the car will come to a halt and remain stationary until the throttle is applied.

John

I was looking forward to having both the SBC Hold and SBC Stop features, but found that Mercedes no longer include this in the 211 . I seem to remember there's a reason, but in principle it seemed a really sensible feature to me. Do you know why they stopped including it John?

Simon

 

[glojo]

I was looking forward to having both the SBC Hold and SBC Stop features, but found that Mercedes no longer include this in the 211 . I seem to remember there's a reason, but in principle it seemed a really sensible feature to me. Do you know why they stopped including it John?

Simon

Hi Simon,
Sadly the accountants have attacked the 211 far quicker than corrosion There are numerous threads on this subject and I have always maintained the best 211s were constructed between January 2004 and the summer of that year. After that date standard features have disappeared quicker than money from my wallet SBC Stop is just one small feature that has been struck down by the pen. I believe the Easy Entrance\Exit feature is now a cut down version. On the wing mirrors of your car you have the indicator lights, are there nice little puddles lights on the underside of these mrrors?

Going back to this topic, SBC Stop is only a convienant feature in slow, stop start traffic and I don't think we have really used it, but in inner cities where the driver might be at low speeds and stopping at lots of traffic lights, hold-ups etc then it will not kick out so it might be a nice option.

John

 

[prprandall51]

Hi John

Heading off-topic, whilst I agree that the accountants did a quick asset strip on mid-2004 cars onwards, I would personally bet that SBC stop was dropped for fear of litigation, rather than cost cutting.

As it is simply another part of the SBC computer-controlled system, cutting it would not have saved a single penny - in fact, it must have cost them money (a small amount) to alter the SBC ECU and then carry an additional part number in stock.

Having used SBC Stop, I can imagine many people unwittingly sailing into the boot of the car in front and then trying to blame MB because the car "failed to stop in time". When you hand over responsibility for all braking function to the car itself (as SBC stop effectively does), you are (in my opinion) just asking for trouble.

I never really felt comfortable with it, anyway - it's a bit spooky seeing your car heading towards stationary traffic and then relying on the car to stop itself.

Philip

PS: In compensation for all the stuff they took out of the cars, they compensated us with a nice piece of metal mesh on the dashboard top in place of the plastic louvres and also ... err .. .no, that's all.

 

[prprandall51]

I was looking forward to having both the SBC Hold and SBC Stop features, but found that Mercedes no longer include this in the 211 . I seem to remember there's a reason, but in principle it seemed a really sensible feature to me. Do you know why they stopped including it John?

Simon

See post above for possible SBC Stop removal. But SBC Hold?? That's still there on the post-SBC (Facelift) cars, isn't it??

 

[miro]

Engaging the torque converter after disengaging merely adds to the wear and tear on rather expensive moving parts. There are no real benefits if you blow the torque converter.

 

[miro]

I was looking forward to having both the SBC Hold and SBC Stop features, but found that Mercedes no longer include this in the 211 . I seem to remember there's a reason, but in principle it seemed a really sensible feature to me. Do you know why they stopped including it John?

Simon

They no longer install SBC in the newer W211. Hence no SBC hold.

 

[Glenn Smith]

I do a mixture of both holding with foot brake and slipping into neutral with the hanbrake if stopped for a while but never use park. Leaving aside any mechanical issues i think on a driving test you would be expected to use the handbrake if you come to a halt and do not move off virtually straight away as you would in a manual. Personaly i don't think it matters that much and doubt if either method would cause any harm unless you are constantly slipping in and out of D or possibly on hot days keeping in D for long periods without moving could cause overheating problems.

 

[prprandall51]

They no longer install SBC in the newer W211. Hence no SBC hold.

It's not called SBC Hold, but it's still there, just called "Hold" now.

 

[BTB 500]

BTW I also checked my handbook - that says to leave it in D and use the foot brake or parking brake to hold the car stationary.