Have you ever been driving your Mercedes and noticed that there is a red triangle on your dash? Well if you have then you’re not alone. This light is one when your Active Brake Assist function is enabled.
What does a red triangle with a car in it mean Mercedes? It means that your Active Brake Assist feature is enabled. The feature notifies you in the event that you should apply your brakes. The sensor is there to help prevent you from getting into an accident.
What is the Active Brake Assist feature?
If your Mercedes came equipped with this feature you will have tiny sensors that emit a radar. These sensors can detect if a vehicle or other object is too close to the front of your vehicle. If the distance between you and the object isn’t sufficient enough the warning light may illuminate.
The sensor will pick up things like other vehicles, pedestrians, and objects large enough to detect. This feature is in place to let you know when to press the brakes to prevent the driver from getting into an accident.
Using a few different variables like time and your current speed the car’s computer determines that you should press the brakes and increase the distance between you and the potential hazard
Is the Active Brake Assist feature accurate?
Under normal driving conditions, the Active Brake Assist function can be useful. Although, there are quite a few things that can produce false alarms. Things like inclement weather can cause the feature to not work correctly. In addition, differences in lighting, dirt, radar interference, tire pressure, complex road situations, curly roads, and more can cause the sensor to work incorrectly. Sometimes it doesn’t work at all.
This being said it’s not safe to rely on the system. You’re better off being a defensive driver and placing all of your focus on the road.
Things that can cause your Active Brake Assist Feature to not work correctly
| Reason | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Weather conditions | Rain, snow, or other conditions can cause the sensor to misread objects. It can also cover the sensor and prevent it from working |
| Lighting | Depending on the lighting the sensor can misread some objects’ reflections and glares can also cause inaccurate readings. |
| Dirt | Dirt on the sensor can prevent it from reading correctly. If it can’t send our the radar or read the results then it may cause your light to illuminate |
| Interference | Interference from other radars can cause your Active Brake Assist feature to present false alarms. Things like police radars and the radars from other cars can affect your sensor. |
| Tire pressure | The sensor uses your speed to determine if you should press the brake, If your tire pressure is off it may miscalculate the speed that you’re traveling. This can cause the sensor to go into alarm. |
| Road objects | Some fast-moving objects like birds or debris can trigger the Active Brake Assist feature. If something moves by quickly your car may determine it to be a risk and prompt you to press the brakes. |
Can you turn off the Active Brake Assist feature?
In most Mercedes cars you can turn the Active Brake Assist feature off. This can usually be done by changing the settings in your infotainment system. You should refer to your user’s manual for the exact steps to disabling the system.
While the system can have some false alarms it does cause you to be a more defensive driver. Some cars allow you to lower the sensitivity. This will prevent false alarms from being triggered as often.
To Sum Up
The red triangle with a car in it means for a Mercedes is suggesting that you are close to an object and that your should break. By creating some distance between you and the potential hazard you’ll be able to avoid a wreck. While the sensor isn’t 100% accurate it is a nice feature to have.