limiting the engine output until the vehicle/
trailer combination has stabilised.
Trailer stabilisation is active above speeds of
about 65 km/h.
G
Risk of accident
If road and weather conditions are poor,
trailer stabilisation will not be able to prevent
the trailer from swerving and will thus be
unable to reduce the risk of an accident. Trail-
ers with a high centre of gravity can tip over
before ESP
®
can detect this.
Trailer stabilisation does not work if ESP
®
is
deactivated or disabled because of a mal-
function.
ETS (Electronic Traction Support)
Traction control is part of ESP
®
.
Traction control brakes the drive wheels indi-
vidually if they spin. This enables you to pull
away and accelerate on slippery surfaces, for
example, if the road surface is slippery on one
side.
Traction control remains active when you
deactivate ESP
®
.
G
Risk of accident
Traction control cannot reduce the risk of an
accident if you drive too fast. Traction control
cannot override the laws of physics.
Activating/deactivating ESP
®
(except
E 63 AMG)
ESP
®
is activated automatically when the
engine is running.
It may be best to deactivate ESP
®
in the fol-
lowing situations:
R
when using snow chains
R
in deep snow
R
on sand or gravel
G
Risk of accident
Activate ESP
®
as soon as the situations
described above no longer apply. ESP
®
will
otherwise not be able to stabilise the vehicle
if the vehicle starts to skid or a wheel starts
to spin.
If you deactivate ESP
®
:
R
ESP
®
no longer improves driving stability.
R
engine torque is not limited and the drive
wheels are able to spin. The spinning
wheels produce a cutting effect for better
traction.
R
traction control is still activated.
R
ESP
®
still provides support when you
brake.
i
If ESP
®
is deactivated and one or more
wheels start to spin, the
ä
warning lamp
in the instrument cluster flashes. In such
situations, ESP
®
will not stabilise the vehi-
cle.
X
To deactivate: press button
:
.
The
å
warning lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up.
G
Risk of accident
If the
å
warning lamp in the instrument
cluster is lit when the engine is running,
ESP
®
is deactivated or not available due to a
malfunction. There is an increased risk of your
vehicle skidding in certain situations.
Driving safety systems
61
Saf
ety
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