Driving
WARNING
Observe the safety warnings ››
› in Con-
tr ol and w
arning lamps on page 70. Brake assist systems
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)*
The ESC helps t
o impr
ove safety. It reduces
the tendency to skid and improves the stabili-
ty and roadholding of the vehicle. The ESC
detects critical handling situations, such as
vehicle understeer or oversteer, or wheelspin
on the driving wheels. It stabilises the vehicle
by braking individual wheels or by reducing
the engine torque. The warning lamp will
flash on the instrument panel when the ESC is
intervening !.
The ESC includes the anti-lock brake system
(ABS), the hydraulic brake assist (HBA), the
traction control system (ASR) and the elec-
tronic differential lock (EDS)
ESC also helps stabilise the vehicle by
changing the torque.
Anti-lock brake system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up un-
der braking until the vehicle has reached a
virtual standstill. You can continue to steer the
vehicle even when the brakes are on full.
Keep your foot on the brake pedal and do not pump the brakes. You will feel the brake pedal
pul
sat
e while the ABS is working.
If the running gear or brake system is modi-
fied, the effectiveness of the ABS could be se-
verely limited.
Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA)*
The brake assist system can reduce the re-
quired braking distance. The braking force is
automatically boosted if you press the brake
pedal quickly in an emergency. You must
keep pressing the brake pedal until the dan-
ger has passed.
Traction control system (ASR)
In the event of wheelspin, the traction control
system reduces the engine torque to match
the amount of grip available. This helps the
car to start moving, accelerate or climb a
gradient.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)*
When the EDL detects wheelspin, it brakes
the spinning wheel and directs the power to
the other driven wheel. This function is active
up to approximately 100 km/h (62 mph).
To prevent the disc brake of the braked wheel
from overheating, the EDL cuts out automati-
cally if subjected to excessive loads. The ve-
hicle can still be driven. The EDL will switch on
again automatically when the brake has
cooled down. Electronic brake pressure distribution
(EBV)
In all vehicl
es, when the brakes are applied,
the centre of gravity of the vehicle moves for-
ward. As a consequence, there is a danger
that the rear wheels may lock due to their low
traction. The electronic brake pressure distri-
bution controls the brake pressure for the rear
wheels and ensures that this pressure is dis-
tributed optimally between the front and rear
axles. Under normal circumstances it pre-
vents the rear part of the vehicle from skid-
ding due to excessive braking of the rear
wheels. The function of the electronic brake
pressure distribution is incorporated in the
ABS function.
Electromechanical brake servo (eBKV)
With the ignition switched on, the electrome-
chanical brake servo supports the force of
the foot by increasing the pressure that the
driver exerts on the brake pedal. After discon-
necting the ignition, the assistance of the
brake servo is progressively reduced. Once
stopped, immobilise the vehicle to prevent it
from moving ››› page 159.
If the electromechanical brake servo does
not work, the yellow control lamps
