Only deactivate ESP
®
in the situations
described in the following.
The spinning of the wheels results in a cutting
action for better traction on loose surfaces.
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
i
Activate ESP
®
as soon as the situations
described above no longer apply. ESP
®
will
otherwise not be able to stabilize the vehicle
if the vehicle starts to skid or a wheel starts
to spin.
!
Avoid spinning the driven wheels for an
extended period with ESP
®
deactivated. You
could otherwise damage the drivetrain.
Deactivating/activating ESP
®
You can deactivate or activate ESP
®
via the
on-board computer (
Y
page 197).
ESP
®
deactivated:
The
å
ESP
®
OFF warning lamp in the
instrument cluster lights up.
ESP
®
activated:
The
å
ESP
®
OFF warning lamp in the
instrument cluster goes out.
Characteristics when ESP
®
is deactiva-
ted
If ESP
®
is deactivated and one or more wheels
start to spin, the
÷
ESP
®
warning lamp in
the instrument cluster flashes. In such situa-
tions, ESP
®
will not stabilize the vehicle.
If you deactivate ESP
®
:
R
ESP
®
no longer improves driving stability.
R
Engine torque is no longer limited and the
drive wheels are able to spin.
R
Traction control is still activated.
R
Active Brake Assist is no longer available;
nor is it activated if you brake firmly with
assistance from ESP
®
.
R
STEER CONTROL is no longer active.
R
ESP
®
still provides support when you brake
firmly.
Deactivating/activating ESP
®
(Mercedes
‑
AMG vehicles)
Important safety notes
i
Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Y
page 60).
You can select between the following states of
ESP
®
:
R
ESP
®
is activated.
R
SPORT handling mode is activated.
R
ESP
®
is deactivated.
G
WARNING
When SPORT handling mode is activated,
there is a greater risk of skidding and acci-
dents.
Only activate SPORT handling mode in the
situations described in the following.
G
WARNING
If you deactivate ESP
®
, ESP
®
no longer sta-
bilizes the vehicle. There is an increased risk
of skidding and an accident.
Only deactivate ESP
®
in the situations
described in the following.
In the following situations, it may be better to
activate SPORT handling mode or deactivate
ESP
®
:
R
when using snow chains
R
in deep snow
R
on sand or gravel
R
on specially designated roads when the
vehicle's own oversteering and understeer-
ing characteristics are desired
Driving in SPORT handling mode or without
ESP
®
requires an extremely qualified and
experienced driver.
i
Activate ESP
®
as soon as the situations
described above no longer apply. ESP
®
will
otherwise not be able to stabilize the vehicle
if the vehicle starts to skid or a wheel starts
to spin.
!
Avoid spinning the driven wheels for an
extended period with ESP
®
deactivated. You
could otherwise damage the drivetrain.
Driving safety systems
65
Safety
Z
