2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class traction control

R
to cros sing traffic
R in cur ves
As ares ult, BAS PLUScann otinte rvenein
cri tica lsi tua tions. The reisaris ko fan
acc iden t.Always paycareful attent ion tothe
tr aff icsit uatio nand berea dytobra ke.
Fol lowi ng dama getothe front endofthe
veh icle, ha ve the confi guratio na nd opera tion
of the rada rs ensor schec kedataqualified
specialist workshop.This also applies to
collisions atlow speeds wherethereis no
visible damage tothe fron tofthe vehicle.
If BAS PLUS isnot availa bledue toa
malfunction inthe radar sensor system, the
brake system remains availablewith full
brake boosting effectandBAS. ESP
®
(Ele ctronic Stability Program)
Import antsafety notes i
See
the"Important safetynotes" section
(Y page 61).
If ESP ®
detect sthat thevehicle isdeviating
from thedirection desiredbythe driver, one
or more wheels arebraked tostabilize the
vehicle. Ifnecessary, theengine outputisalso
modified tokeep thevehicle onthe desired
course withinphysical limits.ESP®
assists
the driver whenpullingaway onwet or
slippery roads.ESP®
can also stabilize the
vehicle duringbraking.
If ESP ®
interven es,the ÷ ESP®
warning
lamp flashes inthe instrumen tcluster . G
WARN
ING Und
erno circums tances should you
deact ivateES P®
when the÷ ESP®
warnin glamp inthe instrumen tclust er
flashe s.Proc eedasfollows :
R when drivingoff ,apply aslittlethr ottleas
possible .
R while driving,ease upon the accelerat or
pedal.
R adapt yourspeed tosuit theprev ailing road
and weathe rconditions .
Failure toobserve theseguidelines could
cause thevehicle toskid. ESP®
cann ot
prevent accident sresulting fromexcessive
speed.
! Only operate thevehicle foramaximum
of ten seconds onabrake test
dynamometer. Switchoffthe ignition.
Application ofthe brakes byESP ®
may
otherwise destroythebrake system.
! Funct ionorperformanc etest smay only
be performed ona2-axle dynamometer. If
you wish tooperate thevehicle onsuch a
dynamometer, pleaseconsult an
authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter
beforehand. Youcould otherwise damage
the drive trainorthe brake system. i
Only
usewheels withtherecommen ded
tire sizes. OnlythenwillESP ®
funct ion
properly.
4ETS (Electronic Traction System) i
Observe
the"Important safetynotes"
section (Ypage 61).
Traction controlispart ofESP ®
.
Traction controlbrakes thedrive wheels
individuall yif they spin. Thisenables youto
pull away andaccelerate onslippery surfaces,
for example ifthe road surface isslippery on
one side. Inaddition, moredrivetorque is
trans ferred tothe wheel orwheels with
tract ion. Driving
safetysystems
63Safety Z

Traction
controlremains activeifyou
deactivate ESP®
. G
WARNIN
G Traction
controlcann otreduce therisk ofan
accident ifyou drive toofast. Traction control
cann otoverride thelaws ofphysics.
Deactivating/activat ingESP ® i
Observe
the"Importan tsafet yno tes"
sec tion(Ypage 61). G
WARN
ING ES
P®
should notbedeactiv atedduring
norm aldrivin gother thaninthe
circ umstan cesdescribed below.Disabling
the system willreduce vehicle stability in
drivin gmaneuver s.
Do not deactiv ateESP®
when theemergen cy
or spare wheel ismount ed.
ES P®
is activ ated automatic allywhen the
engin eis start ed.
It may bebest todeactiv ateESP®
in the
following situations:
R when usingsnowchains
R in deep snow
R on sand orgravel G
WARN
ING Switc
hon ESP®
immediately ifone ofthe
previously statedcon dition sis no longer met.
Other wise, ESP®
cann otstabilize thevehicle
if it begins tolurch orwhen awheel spins.
When youdeactiv ateESP®
:
R ES P®
no longer improves drivingstability.
R the engin e'storque isno longer limited and
the drive wheels canspin. Thespinn ingof
the wheels resultsinacutt ingaction ,which
provides bettergrip.
R trac tion controlis still activ ated.
R ES P®
still provides supportwhenyou
brake. If
ES P®
is deactiv atedandone ormore wheels
start tospin, the÷ ESP®
warning lampin
the instrument clusterflashes. Insuch
situation s,ES P®
will notstabilize thevehicle. X
To deact ivate:press button:.
The å ESP®
OFF warning lampinthe
inst rument clusterlightsup. G
WARN
ING When
theå ESP®
OFF warning lampislit,
ES P®
is deactiv ated.
If the ÷ ESP®
warning lampandthe
å ESP®
OFF warning lampremain lit,
ES P®
is not available duetoam alfun ction .
When ESP®
is deac tivate dor noto peration al,
vehicle stability instan dard driving
maneuver sis reduced.
Adapt yourspeed anddriving tothe prevailing
road condition sand tothe non-operat ing
stat usofthe ESP®
.
! Avoid spinningthe driven wheels foran
ext ended period withESP®
deactiv ated.
You could otherwisedamage thedrivet rain.
X To activa te:press button:.
The å ESP®
OFF warning lampinthe
inst rument clustergoesout.
ESP ®
trailer stabiliz ation If
your vehicle withtrailer (vehicle/ trailer
combin ation)begins tolurch, youcan only
stabilize thevehicle/ trailercombin ationby
depressin gthe brake firmly. 64
Driving
safetysystemsSafety

Maximum
tireload :isthe maximum
permitted weightforwhich thetire is
approved.
Further information ontire loads
(Y page 367). Uniform
TireQuality Grading
Stand ards Overview
ofTire Quality Grading
Stand ards The
Uniform TireQuality Grading isaU.S.
Government requirement. Theirpurpose isto
provide driverswithconsist entand reliabl e
information regardingtireperformance. Tire
manufacturers arerequired tograde tires
using threeperformance factors:tread
wear :,tire tract ion;, and temperature
resistance =.Although notaGover nment of
Canada requirement,all tires made forsale in
Nort hAm eric ahave thesegrades brandedon
the sidewall. i
The
actual values fortires are vehic le-
spec ificand may deviat efro mt hevalues in
the illustration .
Where applicable, thetire grading
information canbefound onthe tire sidewa ll
between thetread shoulder andmaximum
tire width.
For example: Tread
wear Tra
ction Temp
erature 200 AA A All
passenger cartires must confor mto the
statutory safetyrequirements inaddition to
these grades. Tread
wear
The tread weargrade isac omparative rating
based onthe wear rateofthe tire when tested
under controlled conditionsonaspecified
U.S. governm entcourse. Forexample, atire
graded 150would wearoneandone-half
times aswell onthe governm entcourse asa
tire graded 100.
The relative performanc eof tires depends
upon theactual conditionsoftheir use,
however, andmay depart significant lyfrom
the norm, duetovariations indriving habits,
service practices anddifferenc esinroad
charact eristics andclimate conditions. Tr
action G
WARNIN
G The
tract iongrade assigned tothis tireis
based onstraight- aheadbraking traction
test s,and does notinclude acceleration,
corn ering, hydroplaning, orpeak traction
character istics.
The tract iongrades, fromhighest tolowest,
are AA, A,B,and C.Those grades represent
the tire's ability tostop onawet surface as
measured undercontrolled conditionson
specified governmenttest surfaces ofasphalt
and conc rete. Atire mark edCmay have poor
tr act ion perf ormance. G
WARN
ING If
ice has formed onthe road, tiretract ion will
be subst antially reduc ed.Und ersuch weathe r
con ditio ns,drive ,ste erand brak ewith
ext reme caution.
The safe speed onawet, snowcov ered oricy
road isalways lowerthanondry road
surf aces. 366
Unifor
mTir eQua lityGrad ing Stand ardsWheels and tires