2016 MERCEDES-BENZ S CLASS ESP

If ABS intervenes when braking, you will feel a
pulsing in the brake pedal.
The pulsating brake pedal can be an indication
of hazardous road conditions, and functions as a
reminder to take extra care while driving.
BAS (Brake Assist System)
General information BAS operates in emergency braking situations.
If you depress the brake pedal quickly, BAS
automatically boosts the braking force, thus
shortening the stopping distance.
Important safety notes
i Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion ( Y
page 68).
G WARNING
If BAS is malfunctioning, the braking distance
in an emergency braking situation is
increased. There is a risk of an accident.
In an emergency braking situation, depress
the brake pedal with full force. ABS prevents
the wheels from locking.
Braking X
Keep the brake pedal firmly depressed until
the emergency braking situation is over.
ABS prevents the wheels from locking.
The brakes will function as usual once you
release the brake pedal. BAS is deactivated.
BAS PLUS (Brake Assist System
PLUS) with Cross-Traffic Assist
General information BAS PLUS can help you to minimize the risk of a
collision with a vehicle or a pedestrian and
reduce the effects of such a collision. If BAS
PLUS detects a danger of collision, you are
assisted when braking.
i Pay attention to the important safety notes
in the "Driving safety systems" section
( Y
page 68). BAS PLUS is only available in vehicles with the
Driving Assistance Plus package.
For BAS PLUS to assist you when driving, the
radar sensor system and the camera system
must be operational.
With the help of a sensor system and a camera
system, BAS PLUS can detect obstacles: R
that are in the path of your vehicle for an
extended period of time R
that cross the path of your vehicle
In addition, pedestrians in the path of your vehi-
cle can be detected.
BAS PLUS detects pedestrians by using typical
characteristics such as the body contours and
posture of a person standing upright.
If the radar sensor system or the camera system
is malfunctioning, BAS PLUS functions are
restricted or no longer available. The brake sys-
tem is still available with complete brake boost-
ing effect and BAS.
i Observe the restrictions described in the
"Important safety notes" sec-
tion“ ( Y
page 69).
Important safety notes
G WARNING
BAS PLUS cannot always clearly identify
objects and complex traffic situations.
In such cases, BAS PLUS may: R
intervene unnecessarily R
not intervene
There is a risk of an accident.
Always pay careful attention to the traffic sit-
uation and be ready to brake. Terminate the
intervention in a non-critical driving situation.
G WARNING
BAS PLUS cannot always clearly identify peo-
ple, this is especially the case if they are mov-
ing. BAS PLUS cannot intervene in these
cases. There is a risk of an accident.
Always pay careful attention to the traffic sit-
uation and be ready to brake.Driving safety systems 69
Safety Z

There is a risk of an accident.
Always pay careful attention to the traffic sit-
uation and be ready to brake. Terminate the
intervention in a non-critical driving situation.
G WARNING
Adaptive Brake Assist does not react: R
to people or animals R
to oncoming vehicles R
to crossing traffic R
when cornering
As a result, the Adaptive Brake Assist may not
intervene in all critical conditions. There is a
risk of an accident.
Always pay careful attention to the traffic sit-
uation and be ready to brake.
Due to the nature of the system, particularly
complicated but non-critical driving conditions
may also cause Adaptive Brake Assist to inter-
vene.
If adaptive Brake Assist is not available due to a
malfunction in the radar sensor system, the
brake system remains available with full brake
boosting effect and BAS.
ESP ®
(Electronic Stability Program)
General notes
i Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion ( Y
page 68).
ESP ®
monitors driving stability and traction, i.e.
power transmission between the tires and the
road surface.
If ESP ®
detects that the vehicle is deviating from
the direction desired by the driver, one or more
wheels are braked to stabilize the vehicle. The
engine output is also modified to keep the vehi-
cle on the desired course within physical limits.
ESP ®
assists the driver when pulling away on
wet or slippery roads. ESP ®
can also stabilize
the vehicle during braking. ETS/4ETS (Electronic Traction System)
i Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion ( Y
page 68).
ETS traction control is part of ESP ®
. On vehicles
with 4MATIC, 4ETS 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. In addition, more drive torque is transfer-
red to the wheel or wheels with traction.
Traction control remains active, even if you
deactivate ESP ®
.
Important safety notes
G WARNING
If ESP ®
is malfunctioning, ESP ®
is unable to
stabilize the vehicle. Additionally, further driv-
ing safety systems are deactivated. This
increases the risk of skidding and an accident.
Drive on carefully. Have ESP ®
checked at a
qualified specialist workshop.
If the

If ESP ®
intervenes:X
Do not deactivate ESP ®
under any circum-
stances. X
Only depress the accelerator pedal as far as
necessary when pulling away. X
Adapt your driving style to suit the prevailing
road and weather conditions.
ECO start/stop function The ECO start/stop function is not available for
PLUG-IN HYBRID vehicles.
The ECO start/stop function switches the
engine off automatically when the vehicle stops
moving. The engine starts automatically when
the driver wants to pull away again. ESP ®
remains in its previously selected status. Exam-
ple: if ESP ®
was deactivated before the engine
was switched off, ESP ®
remains deactivated
when the engine is switched on again.
Deactivating/activating ESP ®
Important safety notes
i Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion ( Y
page 68).
You can select between the following states of
ESP ®
:R
ESP ®
is activated.R
ESP ®
is deactivated.
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 descri-
bed in the following.
It may be best to deactivate ESP ®
in the follow-
ing 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 269).
ESP ®
deactivated:
The

Important safety notes
G WAR NING
If road and weather conditions are poor,
trailer st abiliz ation will not be able to prevent
the veh icle/t railer co mbin ation from swerv-
ing. Trailers wit h a high center of gravity can
tip over before ESP ®
can detect this. There is
a risk of an acc iden t.
Always adapt your driv ing style to the prevail-
ing road and weather conditions.
If your veh icle wit h trailer (veh icle/t railer com-
bin ation) begins to lurch, you can on ly st abiliz e
the veh icle/t railer co mbin ation by depr essing
the brake firmly.
ESP ®
trailer st abiliz ation is active above spee ds
of about 65 km/h.
ESP ®
trailer st abiliz ation does not work if ESP ®
is deactivated or disabled because of a malfunc-
tion.
Crosswind Assist (vehicles without
MAGIC BODY CONTROL)
General information Veh icle s wit h MAGIC BODY CONTROL: informa-
tion on st abiliz ing the veh icle in the event of
cross win d ( Y
page 210).
St rong cross winds can cause your veh icle to
deviate from a straight course. The cross win d
driv ing assistance function integrated in ESP ®
noticeably reduces these impairments.
ESP ®
intervenes automatical ly according to the
dire ction and intensity of the cross winds affect-
ing your veh icle .
ESP intervenes wit h st abiliz ing braking to assist
you in ke epin g the veh icle in the lane.
Cros swin d Assist is active at veh icle spee ds
above 50 mph (80 km/h) when driv ing straight
ahead or cornering gently.
Important safety notes
Cros swin d Assist does not work if ESP ®
is
swit ched off or deactivated because of a mal-
function. EBD (electronic brake force distribu-
tion)
General information EBD monitors and controls the brake pressure
on the rear wheels to improve driving stability
while braking.
Important safety notes
i Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion ( Y
page 68).
G WARNING
If EBD is malfunctioning, the rear wheels can
lock, e.g. under full braking. This increases the
risk of skidding and an accident.
You should therefore adapt your driving style
to the different han dlin g characteristics. Have
the brake system checked at a qualified spe-
cialist workshop.
Observe information regarding indicator and
warning lamps ( Y
page 316) as well as display
messages ( Y
page 280).
ADAPTIVE BRAKE ADAPTIVE BRAKE enhances braking safety and
offers increased braking comfort. In addition to
the braking function, ADAPTIVE BRAKE also has
the HOLD function ( Y
page 208) and hill start
assist ( Y
page 165).
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake
General information PRE-SAFE ®
Brake can help you to minimize the
risk of a collision with a vehicle ahead or a
pedestrian, and reduce the effects of such a
collision. If PRE-SAFE ®
Brake has detected a risk
of collision, you will be warned visually and
acoustically as well as by automatic braking.
i Pay attention to the important safety notes
in the "Driving safety systems" section
( Y
page 68).
PRE ‑ SAFE ®
Brake is on ly availab le in vehicles
wit h the Driving Assistance Plus package.Driving safety systems 75
Safety Z

For PRE-SAFE ®
Brake to assist you when driving,
the radar sensor system and the camera system
must be switched on and be operational.
With the help of the radar sensor system and the
camera system, PRE-SAFE ®
Brake can detect
obstacles that are in front of your vehicle for an
extended period of time.
In addition, pedestrians in the path of your vehi-
cle can be detected.
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake detects pedestrians using
typical characteristics such as the body con-
tours and posture of a person standing upright.
i Observe the restrictions described in the
"Important safety notes" sec-
tion“ ( Y
page 76).
Important safety notes
G WARNING
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake will initially brake your vehi-
cle by a partial application of the brakes if a
danger of collision is detected. There may be
a collision unless you brake yourself. Even
after subsequent full application of the brakes
a collision cannot always be avoided, partic-
ularly when approaching at too high a speed.
There is a risk of an accident.
Always apply the brakes yourself and try to
take evasive action, provided it is safe to do
so.
In the event of a partial application of the brakes,
the vehicle is braked with up to 50% of the full
braking pressure.
G WARNING
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake cannot always clearly iden-
tify objects and complex traffic conditions.
In these cases, PRE-SAFE ®
Brake may:R
give an unnecessary warning and then
brake the vehicle R
not give a warning or intervene
There is a risk of an accident.
Always pay particular attention to the traffic
situation and be ready to brake, especially if
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake warns you. Terminate the
intervention in a non-critical driving situation. G WARNING
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake cannot always clearly iden-
tify people, especially if they are moving. In
these cases, PRE-SAFE ®
Brake cannot inter-
vene. There is a risk of an accident.
Always pay particular attention to the traffic
situation and be ready to brake, especially if
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake warns you.
In order to maintain the appropriate distance to
the vehicle in front and thus prevent a collision,
you must apply the brakes yourself.
G WARNING
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake does not react: R
to small people, e.g. children R
to animals R
to oncoming vehicles R
to crossing traffic R
when cornering
As a result, PRE-SAFE ®
Brake may neither
give warnings nor intervene in all critical sit-
uations. There is a risk of an accident.
Always pay careful attention to the traffic sit-
uation and be ready to brake.
In the event of snowfall or heavy rain, the rec-
ognition can be impaired.
Recognition by the radar sensor system is also
impaired in the event of: R
there is dirt on the sensors or anything else
covering the sensors R
there is interference by other radar sources R
there are strong radar reflections, for exam-
ple in parking garages R
a narrow vehicle traveling in front, e.g. a
motorbike R
a vehicle traveling in front on a different line
relative to the center of your vehicle
Recognition by the camera system is also
impaired in the event of: R
dirt on the camera or if the camera is covered R
there is glare on the camera system, e.g. from
the sun being low in the sky76
Driving safety systems
Safety

X
To unlock centrally: press the 6 button.
If you do not open the vehicle within approx-
imately 40 seconds of unlocking: R
the vehicle is locked again. R
anti-theft protection is reactivated. X
To lock centrally: press the 7 button.
The SmartKey centrally locks and unlocks the
following components: R
the doors R
the trunk lid R
the fuel filler flap
The turn signals flash once when unlocking and
three times when locking.
You can also set an audible signal to confirm
that the vehicle has been locked. The audible
signal can be activated and deactivated via the
multimedia system; see the separate operating
instructions.
You will receive visual and acoustic locking con-
firmation if all components were able to be
locked.
When the locator lighting is activated via the
multimedia system, it lights up when it is dark
after the vehicle is unlocked with the SmartKey.
Information on activating and deactivating the
locator lighting can be found in the separate
operating instructions. X
To open the trunk lid automatically from
outside the vehicle: press and hold the T
button until the trunk lid opens. X
To open the trunk lid automatically from
outside the vehicle: if the SmartKey is loca-
ted in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle ,
p
ress the T button on the SmartKey.
When the trunk lid closes you can then
release the button.
KEYLESS-GO
General notes
Bear in mind that the engine can be started by
any of the vehicle occupants if there is a Smart-
Key in the vehicle ( Y
page 164).
Locking/unlocking centrally
You can start, lock or unlock the vehicle using
KEYLESS-GO. To do this, you only need carry the
SmartKey with you. You can combine the func- tions of KEYLESS-GO with those of a conven-
tional SmartKey. Unlock the vehicle by using
KEYLESS-GO, for instance, and lock it using the
7 button on the SmartKey.
The driver's door and the door at which the han-
dle is used, must both be closed. The SmartKey
must be outside the vehicle. When locking or
unlocking with KEYLESS-GO, the distance
between the SmartKey and the corresponding
door handle must not be greater than 3 ft (1 m).
A brief radio connection between the vehicle
and the SmartKey determines whether a valid
SmartKey is in, or in the direct vicinity of, the
vehicle. This occurs, for example: R
when starting the engine R
while driving R
when using HANDS-FREE ACCESS R
when the external door handles are touched R
during convenience closing
X
To unlock the vehicle: touch the inner sur-
face of the door handle. X
To lock the vehicle: touch sensor surface C
or D .
Make sure that you do not touch the inner
surface of the door handle. X
Convenience closing feature: touch
recessed sensor surface D for an extended
period.
Further information on the convenience clos-
ing feature ( Y
page 96). X
To unlock the trunk lid: pull the handle on
the trunk lid.
Deactivating and activating
If you do not intend to use a SmartKey for an
extended period of time, you can deactivate the
KEYLESS-GO function of the SmartKey. The
SmartKey will then use very little power, thereby80
SmartKey
Opening and closing

firmly. Do not pull the door handle when doing
so.
If you use the mechanical key to unlock and
open the driver's door, the anti-theft alarm sys-
tem will be triggered. Switch off the alarm
( Y
page 78).
Locking the vehicle (mechanical key) If the vehicle can no longer be locked with the
SmartKey or KEYLESS-GO, use the mechanical
key. X
Open the driver's door. X
Close the front-passenger door, the rear
doors and the trunk lid. X
Press the locking button ( Y
page 86).X
Check whether the locking knobs on the
front-passenger door and the rear doors are
still visible. Press down the locking knobs by
hand, if necessary. X
Close the driver's door. X
Take the mechanical key out of the SmartKey
( Y
page 81).
X
Insert the mechanical key as far as it will go
into opening C in the protective cap.X
Pull and hold the door handle. X
Pull the protective cap on the mechanical key
as straight as possible away from the vehicle
until it releases. X
Release the door handle. X
Insert the mechanical key into the lock of the
driver's door as far as it will go. X
Turn the mechanical key clockwise as far as it
will go to position G .
The locking knob drops down and the driver's
door is locked. X
Turn the mechanical key back and remove it. X
Make sure that the doors and the trunk lid are
locked. X
Insert the mechanical key into the SmartKey
( Y
page 82). X
Carefully press the protective cap onto the
lock cylinder until it engages and is seated
firmly. Do not pull the door handle when doing
so.
If you lock the vehicle as described above, the
fuel filler flap is not locked. The anti-theft alarm
system is not armed.
Trunk
Important safety notes
G WARNING
Combustion engines emit poisonous exhaust
gases such as carbon monoxide. Exhaust
gases can enter the vehicle interior if the
trunk lid is open when the engine is running,
especially if the vehicle is in motion. There is a
risk of poisoning.
Always switch off the engine before opening
the trunk lid. Never drive with the trunk lid
open.
G WARNING
If objects, luggage or loads are not secured or
not secured sufficiently, they could slip, tip88
Trunk
Opening and closing

Vehicles with trunk lid remote closing fea-
ture or power closing: X
Lightly push the trunk lid closed.
The power closing function pulls the trunk lid
closed. X
Lock the vehicle if necessary with the 7
button on the SmartKey or with KEYLESS-GO
( Y
page 80).
i If KEYLESS-GO detects a SmartKey in the
trunk, the trunk lid cannot be locked. It then
opens again.
Opening/closing automatically from
outside
Important safety notes
G WARNING
Parts of the body could become trapped dur-
ing automatic closing of the trunk lid. More-
over, people, e.g. children, may be standing in
the closing area or may enter the closing area
during the closing process. There is a risk of
injury.
Make sure that nobody is in the vicinity of the
closing area during the closing process.
Use one of the following options to stop the
closing process: R
press the T button on the SmartKey.R
pull or press the remote operating switch
on the driver's door. R
press the closing or locking button on the
trunk lid. R
pull the trunk lid handle
Vehicles with HANDS-FREE ACCESS: it is also
possible to stop the closing process by perform-
ing a kicking movement under the rear bumper.
G WARNING
Combustion engines emit poisonous exhaust
gases such as carbon monoxide. Exhaust
gases can enter the vehicle interior if the
trunk lid is open when the engine is running,
especially if the vehicle is in motion. There is a
risk of poisoning. Always switch off the engine before opening
the trunk lid. Never drive with the trunk lid
open.
! The trunk lid swings upwards when opened.
Therefore, make sure that there is sufficient
clearance above the trunk lid.
The opening dimensions of the trunk lid can be
found in the "Vehicle data" section
( Y
page 433).
Opening You can open the trunk lid automatically using
the SmartKey or the handle in the trunk lid. X
Press and hold the T button on the Smart-
Key until the trunk lid opens.
or X
If the trunk lid is unlocked, pull the trunk lid
handle and let it go again immediately.
Closing You can close the trunk lid automatically using
the SmartKey or the closing button in the trunk
lid.
X
Press closing button C on the trunk lid.
or X
If the SmartKey is located in the immediate
vicinity of the vehicle: press the T button
on the SmartKey.
You can release the button as soon as the
trunk lid starts to close. X
To stop the closing process: R
Press the T button on the SmartKey or R
Pull the trunk lid handle, or R
Press closing button C or locking but-
ton D on the trunk lid, or90
Trunk
Opening and closing