i
Only use wheels with the recommended
tyre sizes. Only then will ESP ®
function
properly.
ESP ®
trailer stabilisation If your trailer begins to lurch, you can only
stabilise the vehicle/trailer combination by
depressing the brake firmly.
In this situation, ESP
®
assists you and detects
if the trailer begins to lurch. ESP ®
slows the
vehicle down by braking and limiting the
engine output until the vehicle/trailer com-
bination has stabilised.
Trailer stabilisation is active above speeds of
about 65 km/h. G
Risk of accident
If road and weather conditions are bad, trailer
stabilisation will not be able to prevent the
trailer from swerving and thereby reduce the
risk of accident. Trailers 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.
i If heavy demands are made on the brakes,
traction control switches off automatically
for a brief period so that the brakes do not heat up even further. If traction control
does not intervene for this reason, the
d
warning lamp in the instrument clus-
ter lights up. In addition the multi-function
display shows one of the following mes-
sages: ESP inoperative (vehicles with 4-
button multi-function steering wheel) or
ESP currently unavail. See Owner's
Manual (vehicles with 12-button luxury
multi-function steering wheel)*.
Activating/deactivating ESP ® 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 the engine's torque is no longer limited and
the drive wheels can spin. Spinning of the
wheels results in a cutting action, which
provides better grip.
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 dwarning lamp
in the instrument cluster flashes. In such
situations, ESP ®
will not stabilise the vehi-
cle. Driving safety systems
53Safety
* optional
X204_AKB; 1; 5, en-GB
wobuchh,
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