2020 MERCEDES-BENZ SL CLASS ESP

the
vehicleon the desired course withi nph ysi-
cal limi ts. ESP ®
as sists the driver when pulling
aw ay on wetor slip pe ry roa ds.ESP ®
can also
sta bilize the vehicledu rin gbra king .
ETS (Electro nicTrac tionSys tem) i
Ob
serve the "Impo rtantsafety note s"sec-
tio n(Y page 60).
ETS tractio ncontro lis pa rtof ESP ®
.
ETS brakes thedrive wheelsind ividu ally ifthe y
sp in. Thisena bles youto pullaw ay and accel-
era teon slip pe ry surfa ces ,for exa mpl eif the
roa dsu rfa ce isslip pe ry on one side .In addi-
tio n,mor edri ve torq ueistra nsfe rredto the
wh eelor wh eelswith tra ctio n.
ETS remains acti vewhen youde acti vate ESP ®
.
i Me
rce des -AMG vehic les: your veh icle
ma ybe equipp ed with 20-i nch tireson the
rea raxl e.After changing to19 inch wheels,
ETS mayinte rvenenoti ceablyea rlier durin g
the first few kilome ters.After appro xim ately
10 km ETS willfu nctio nas usua lag ain.
Info rma tionon the dimens ions and typesof
wh eelsand tiresfor your veh iclecan be
fou ndinthe "Wheel/tir ecomb inations" sec-
tio n(Y page 321 ).
Impo rtant safety notes G
WA
RNING
If ESP ®
is ma lfunctio ningitwi llnot provide
any vehiclesta bilizati on. Thereisan
incr easedris kof ski dding orofan acc ident.
Exerc ise cau tionwh en conti nuing todrive.
Hav eESP ®
che cked ataqu alifi ed speci alist
wo rksh op. Wh
entow ingthe vehiclewi th the rearaxl e
ra ised ,ob serve the note son ESP ®
(Y page 293 ).
If the 00BB ESP®
OFF warning lamp lights up
conti nuously,the nESP ®
is de acti vated .
If the 00E5 ESP®
wa rning lamp and the00BB
ESP ®
OFF warning lamp arelit conti nuously,
ESP ®
is not availabl e du eto ama lfunctio n.
Ob serve the inform ation onwarning lamps
(Y page 239 )and disp laymes sage swh ich
ma ybe sho wninthe instrument cluste r
(Y page 209 ).
i Onl
yus ewh eelswith the recomm ended
tire sizes .Onl ythe nwi llESP ®
functio npro p-
erl y.
Ch arac teristics ofESP® Ge
neral info rmatio n
If the 00E5 ESP®
wa rning lamp goes out
be for ebe ginning thejourney ,ESP ®
is au to-
ma tica lly acti ve.
If ESP ®
inte rvenes ,the 00E5 ESP®
wa rning
la mp flashe sin the instrument cluste r.
If ESP ®
inte rvenes :
X Do not deacti vate ESP ®
und erany circum -
sta nces .
X Onl yde pre ssthe accelera tor pedalas faras
nece ssarywh en pulling away.
X Ada ptyour drivin gsty leto suitthe prevailing
roa dand weath ercond itions .
The influ ence ofdriv eprog rams onESP®
The drive pro grams allo w ESP ®
to adaptto diffe rent weath ercond itions ,roa dcond itions and the
de sired drivin gsty le.Yo ucan setthe drive pro grams using the DYN AMIC SELEC Tbu tton
(Y page 133) oron AMG vehicles using the DYN AMIC SELEC Tcontro ller (Y page 132 ). 66
Dr
ivi ng safet ysy stem sSafet y

Dri
veprogr am ESP
®
mod e Cha
racte rist ics C
Comf ort
E Ec on omy ES
P®
on This
drive pro gramoff ers thebes tco mpr omise
bet ween tract ion and stabilit y.
Se lec tdri ve pro gramEor Cin dif ficult roa d
co nd ition ssuc has snow and iceoron wet
roa ds. S
Sp ort ES
P®
on This
drive pro gramoff ers thebes tco mpr omise
bet ween tract ion and stabilit y. S+
Sport Plus ES
P®
Sp ort The
vehicle's own overste eri ng and understeer-
ing charac teris tics are emp hasized. This ena-
bles amor eact ive drivin gst yle.
This drive pro gramreq uire sinc reas eddriver
int erac tion .
Se lec tth is dri ve pro gramonlywhen roadco n-
dit ion sare good,e.g. theroa dsare dryand the
rout eis cle ar. Al
ways adapt yourdrivin gst yle and drive pro gramto thepre vaili ngroa dand weat hercond ition s.
Ad dition alinf orm ation for drive pro grams (Ypage 139).
ECO star t/s top funct ion
The ECO start /stopfun ction swit ches the
en gin eoff auto maticallywhen theveh icle
st ops moving.The engin est art sauto matically
when thedri ver wan tsto pull away again.
ES P®
rem ainsin its pre viously selected status ,
e. g. ifES P®
was deac tivat ed bef ore theen gin e
was automaticallyswit ched off.
Deact ivating/a ctivating ESP ®
(excep t
Mer cedes ‑AMGveh icles) Imp
ortant safety notes
i Obs
erveth e"Im portantsaf etyno tes" sec -
ti on (Ypage 60).
You canselectbet ween thefol lowin gst ate sof
ES P®
:
R ES P®
is act ivat ed
R ES P®
is deac tivat ed G
WAR
NING
If you deac tivat eES P®
,ES P®
no longer sta-
biliz estheveh icle. The reisan increas edrisk
of skiddin gand anacc iden t.
On lydeac tivat eES P®
in thesit uati ons
des cribed inthefol lowin g. It
may bebes tto deac tivat eES P®
in thefol -
lowin gsit uati ons:
R when usingsn ow chain s
R in deep snow
R on san dor gra vel
Sp inn ing thewhee lsres ultsin acut ting act ion
whic hpro vides bet tergri p.
i Ac
tivat eES P®
as soo nas thesit uati ons
des cribed aboveno longer apply. ESP®
will
ot her wise notbe able tostabiliz eth eveh icle
if th eveh iclest art sto skid or awhee lst art s
to spin .
! Av
oid spin ningth edri ven whee lsfor an
ex tend ed per iod withES P®
deac tivat ed. You
co uld other wise damag eth edri vet rain . Driv
ingsafety system s
67Safet y Z

Deact
ivating/a ctivating ESP ® X
To dea ctivate: pressbut ton0043.
The 00BB ESP®
OF Fwarn ing lamp inthe
in st rum entclu ster ligh tsup.
X To act ivate: pressbut ton0043.
The 00BB ESP®
OF Fwarn ing lamp inthe
in st rum entclu ster goe sout .
Cha racte rist ics when ESP®
is dea ctiva-
te d
If ES P®
is deac tivat ed and oneor mor ewhee ls
st art tospin ,th e00E5 ESP®
warn ing lamp in
th einst rum entclu ster flas hes .In suc hsit ua-
ti on s,ES P®
will notst abiliz eth eveh icle.
If you deac tivat eES P®
:
R ES P®
no longer improvesdrivin gst abilit y
R en gin eto rque isno longer limitedand the
dri ve whee lsare able tospin
R tract ion control isstill act ivat ed
R Ac tive Brake Assis tis no longer avail able;
no ris itact ivat edifyou brak efir mly with
ass istanc efrom ESP®
R PRE -SAF E®
is no longer avail able, noris it
act ivat edifyou brak efir mly and ESP®
inte r-
ven es
R Ac tive Brake Assis twit hcr oss -traf fic fun c-
ti on isno longer avail able; noris itact ivat ed
if you brak efir mly withass istanc efrom
ES P®
R ES P®
still pro vides supp ortwhen youbrak e
fir mly Deact
ivating/a ctivating ESP ®
(Mer cede s‑AM Gveh icles) Imp
ortant saf etynot es
i Obs
erveth e"Im portantsaf etyno tes" sec -
ti on (Ypage 60).
You canselectbet ween thefo llowi ngstate sof
ES P®
:
R ES P®
is act ivat ed
R SP ORT handlingmod eis act ivat ed
R ES P®
is deac tivat ed. G
WAR
NING
Whe nSP ORT handlingmod eis act ivat ed,
th ere isagre aterris kof skiddin gand acci-
den ts.
On lyact ivat eSP ORT handlingmod ein the
sit uat ionsdes cribed inthefo llowi ng. G
WAR
NING
If you deac tivat eES P®
,ES P®
no longer sta-
biliz estheveh icle. The reisan incr ease dris k
of skiddin gand anacc iden t.
On lydeac tivat eES P®
in thesit uat ions
des cribed inthefo llowi ng.
In thefo llowi ngsituat ions,itmay bebet terto
act ivat eSP ORT handlingmod eor deac tivat e
ES P®
:
R when usingsn ow chain s
R in deep snow
R on san dor gra vel
R on spe ciallydes ignate droa dswhen the
veh icle's own overste eri ng and understeer-
in g ch arac teris tics are desired
Sp inning thewhee lsres ultsin acut ting act ion
whic hpro vides bet tergri p.
Dr iving inSP ORT handlingmod eor wit hout
ES P®
req uire san extreme lyqualif iedand
ex per ienceddri ver .
i Ac
tivat eES P®
as soo nas thesit uat ions
des cribed aboveno longer apply. ESP®
will
ot her wise notbe able tostabiliz eth eveh icle
if th eveh iclest art sto skid or awhee lst art s
to spin . 68
Dri
ving safet ysys temsSaf ety

!
Avoid
spinning thedriven wheels foran
extended periodwithESP®
deactivated. You
could otherwise damagethedrivetrain.
Deac <0057004C005900440057004C0051004A0012004400460057004C005900440057
004C0051004A> ESP® X
To activate SPORThandling mode:briefly
press button 0043.
The 0074 SPORT handling modewarning
lamp inthe instrument clusterlightsup.The
SPORT Handling Mode SPORT
Handling Modemessage appearsin
the multifunction display.
X To
deactivate SPORThandling mode:
briefly pressbutton 0043.
The 0074 SPORT handling modewarning
lamp inthe instrument clustergoesout.
X To deactivate ESP®
:press button 0043until
the 00BB ESP®
OFF warning lamplights up
in the instrument cluster.
The 00E5 OFF OFF
message appearsinthe multi-
function display.
X To activate ESP®
:briefly pressbutton 0043.
The 00BB ESP®
OFF warning lampinthe
instrument clustergoesout.The00E5 ESP®
ON ON
message appearsinthe multifunction
displa y.
Characteristics ofactivated SPORThan-
dling mode
If SPORT handling modeisactivated andone
or more wheels starttospin, the00E5 ESP®
warning lampinthe instrument clusterflashes.
ESP ®
only stabilizes thevehicle toalimited
degree.
When SPORT handling modeisactivated:
R ESP ®
only improves drivingstability toa
limited degree
R traction controlisstill activated R
engine torqueisno longer limited andthe
drive wheels areable tospin
R ESP ®
still provides supportwhenyoubrake
firmly
Characteristics whenESP®
is deactiva-
ted
If ESP ®
is deactivated andone ormore wheels
start tospin, the00E5 ESP®
warning lampin
the instrument clusterflashes. Insuch situa-
tions, ESP®
will notstabilize thevehicle.
If you deactivate ESP®
:
R ESP ®
no longer improves drivingstability
R engine torqueisno longer limited andthe
drive wheels areable tospin
R traction controlisstill activated
R Act ive Brake Assist isno longer available;
nor isitactivated ifyou brake firmlywith
assistance fromESP®
R PRE-SAF E®
is no longer available, norisit
activated ifyou brake firmlyandESP®
inter-
venes
R Act ive Brake Assist withcross-t rafficfunc-
tion isno longer available; norisitactivated
if you brake firmlywithassistance from
ESP ®
R ESP ®
still provides supportwhenyoubrake
firmly EBD
(electronic brakeforcedistribu-
tion)
General information EBD
monitors andcont rolsthebrake pressure
on the rear wheels toimprove drivingstability
while braking.
Importa ntsafety notes i
Observe
the"Important safetynotes" sec-
tion fordriving safetysystems (Ypage 60). G
WARNING
If EBD ismalfunctioning, therear wheels can
lock, e.g.under fullbraking. Thisincreases
the risk ofskidding andanaccident.
You should therefore adaptyour driving
style tothe different handling characteris- Driving
safetysystems
69Safety
Z

tics
.Hav ethe brakesyste mche cked ata
qu alifi ed speci alistwo rksh op.
Ob serve inform ation reg arding indicator and
wa rning lamps (Ypage 239 )as wellas disp lay
mes sage s(Y page 211 ). AD
APTIVE BRAKE
i Ob
serve the "Impo rtantsafety note s"sec-
tio n(Y page 60).
ADAPT IVEBRAKE enhance sbra king safety and
off ers incr easedbra king comf ort.Inadditio n
to the braking functio n,ADAPT IVEBRAKE also
ha sthe HOLD functio n(Y page 166) andhill
sta rtas sist (Y page 129 ). Ac
tiv eBrake Assist with cro ss-traffi c
fun ction
Ge neral info rmatio n Activ
eBra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nctio n
can helpyouto minim izethe riskof acol lisi on
wi th the vehiclein fro ntor ape destri an. Activ e
Bra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nctio ncan
al so red uce theeffects ofsuch acol lisi on. If
Activ eBra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nctio n
ha sde tecte daris kof col lisi on, youwi llbe
wa rned visually and acoustica lly as wellas by
au toma ticbra king .
i Pa
yatte ntionto the impo rta ntsafety note s
in the "Driving safety syste ms" sectio n
(Y page 60).
Activ eBra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nctio n
is onl yav ailabl e in veh icles with the Driving
Assi stance Plus packag e.
For Activ eBra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nc-
tio nto assist youwh en drivin g,the rada rse n-
sor syste mand thecam erasyste mmu stbe
op era tional .
The rada rse nso rsy ste mand camerasyste m
he lpActiv eBra keAssi stwith cros s-tra ffic
fu nctio nto detect obsta clestha tar ein the
pa th ofyour veh iclefor anexte ndedpe rio dof
tim e.
In additio n,pe destri ans inthe path ofyour
veh iclecan bedetecte d.
Activ eBra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nctio n
de tects pedestri ans using typicalcha racteri s- tics
such asbody conto ursand thepostu reof
a pe rso nsta ndi ng uprig ht.
i Ob
serve the restric tions descri bedin the
"I mpo rtantsafety note s"sectio n
(Y page 70).
Impo rtant safety notes G
WA
RNING
Activ eBra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nc-
tio nwi llini tia lly bra keyour veh icleby apa r-
tia lap plica tionof the brakes ifada nge rof
col lisi on isde tecte d.There maybe acol li-
si on unlessyo ubra keyourse lf. Even after
su bs eq uent fullap plica tionof the brakes a
col lisi on cann otalwa ysbe avoide d, partic u-
la rly when appro ach ing attoo high asp ee d.
Th ere isaris kof an acc ident.
Alw aysap plythe brakes yourse lfand tryto
take evasive acti on, provided itis sa fe to do
so.
If yo upa rtia lly ap plythe brakes ,the vehicleis
bra ked with up to50% ofthe fullbra king force. G
WA
RNING
Activ eBra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nc-
tio ncann otalwa yscle arly identi fyob jects
and comp lextra fficsitua tions.
In such cas es,Activ eBra keAssi stwith
cros s-tra fficfu nctio nmi ght:
R give an unne cessary wa rning and then
bra kethe vehicle
R nei the rgi ve awa rning nor intervene
The reisaris kof an acc ident.
Alw ayspa ypa rtic ular atte ntionto the traffic
si tua tionand bepre pared tobra ke, espe -
cia lly if Activ eBra keAssi stwith cros s-tra ffic
fu nctio nalerts you. Termi nate theinterven-
tio nin anon-cr itical drivin gsitua tion. G
WA
RNING
Activ eBra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nc-
tio ncann otalwa yscle arly identi fype op le,
pa rtic ular ly ifthe yar emov ing.Activ eBra ke
Assi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nctio ncann ot 70
Dr
ivi ng safet ysy stem sSafet y

int
erve neinthe secases .There isarisk of
an acc ident .
Always payparticular attent ion tothe traffic
situat ionand beprepar edtobrak e,espe-
cially ifAc tiveBrak eAss istwith cross-traffic
func tion alert syou.
In order tomaint ainthe appropr iatedistance
to the vehic lein fro ntand thus preventacolli-
sion ,you must apply thebrak esyourself . G
WARN
ING
Ac tiveBrak eAss istwith cross-traffic func-
tion does notreact :
R to small people, e.g.childr en
R to animals
R to onc omin gvehic les
R when corner ing
As aresult ,Ac tiveBrak eAss istwith cross-
tr affic function may notwarn youorengag e
in all crit ical situat ions.There isarisk ofan
acc ident .
Always paycaref ulatt ent ion tothe traffic
situat ionand beready tobrak e.
In the even tof sno wfall orheavy rain,therec-
ogn ition canbeimpaired .
Recogn itionbythe radar sensor syst emisalso
impaired if:
R the reisdirt onthe sensors oranyt hing else
cov erin gthe sensors
R the reisint erfe rencebyoth erradar sources
R the reare strong radar reflections ,for exam -
ple inpark inggarages
R anarr owvehic leistravelin gin fro nt,e.g. a
mot orbik e
R avehic leistravelin gin fro nton adiffe rent
line
Recogn itionbythe camer asyst emisalso
impaired inthe even tof:
R dirt onthe camer aor ifthe camer ais cov -
ered
R glare onthe camer asyst em, e.g.fromthe
sun being lowinthe sky R
dark ness
R or if:
- pedest riansmove quickly,e.g. intothe
path ofthe vehic le
- the camer asyst emnolong errec ogn izes a
pedest rianasaperso ndue tospec ial
clot hing oroth erobje cts
- apedest rianiscon cealed byoth er
obje cts
- the typic aloutlin eof apedest rianisnot
dist inguish ablefromthe back groun d
Followin gdamage tothe frontend ofthe vehi-
cle, have theconfigurat ionand operat ionof
the radar sensors checkedataqualified spe-
cialist workshop. Thisalso applies tocollis ions
at slow speeds wherethereisno visible dam-
age tothe frontofthe vehic le.
Followin gdamage tothe windsh ield,have the
con figurat ionand operat ionofthe camer asys-
tem chec kedataqualified specialist work-
shop.
Function X
To acti vateor deact ivate:act ivat eor
deact ivateAc tiveBrak eAss istwith cross-
tr affic function using theon-board computer
(Y page 200).
When ActiveBrak eAss istwith cross-traffic
func tion isdeact ivated, the 00D4 symbol
appears inthe assist ancegraphic displayof
the multif unction display.
St artin gat aspeed ofaround 4mph (7km /h),
this func tion warns youifyou rapidly approac h
a vehic lein fro nt.An intermit tentwarnin gton e
will thensound andthe00BA distancewarnin g
lamp willlight upinthe instrumen tclust er.
X Brak eimmed iatelytodefuse thesituat ion.
or
X Take evasiv eact ion prov ided itis safe todo
so.
Ac tiveBrak eAss istwith cross-traffic function
can also brakethe vehic leautom atically under
the followin gcon dition s:
R the drive rand frontpassen gerhave their
seat belts fastened
and
R the vehic lespeed isbetwee napprox imately
4 mph (7km /h) and 124 mph (200 km/h) Driving
safety syst ems
71Safety Z

Up
toaspeed ofapproximately 44mph
(70 km/h), Active Brake Assist withcross-t raf-
fic function mayreact to:
R stationary objectsinthe path ofyour vehi-
cle, e.g. stopped orparked vehicles
R pedestrians inthe path ofyour vehicle
i If
there isan increased riskofacollision,
preventive passengerprotectionmeasures
(PRE-SAF E®
)are triggered (Ypage 55).
If the risk ofcollision withthevehicle infront
remains andyoudonot brake, takeevasive
action oraccelerate significantly, thevehicle
may perform automatic emergency braking,up
to the point offull brake application. Auto-
matic emergency brakingisnot performed
until immediately priortoan imminent acci-
dent.
You canprevent theintervent ionofAct ive
Brake Assist withcross-t rafficfunction atany
time by:
R depressing theaccelerator pedalfurther
R activating kickdown
R releasi ngthe brake pedal
The braking application ofAct ive Brake Assist
with cross-t rafficfunction isended automati-
cally if:
R you maneuver toavoid theobstacle
R there isno longer arisk ofcollision
R an obstacle isno longer detected infront of
your vehicle STEER
CONTROL
General information STEE
RCONTROL helpsyoubytransmitt inga
noticeable steeringforcetothe steering wheel
in the direction requiredforvehicle stabiliza-
tion.
This steering assistance isprovided inparticu-
lar if:
R both right wheels orboth leftwheels areon
a wet orslippe ryroad surface whenyou
brake
R the vehicle startstoskid Importa
ntsafety notes i
Observe
the"Important safetynotes" sec-
tion (Ypage 60).
No steering supportisprovided fromSTEER
CONTROL, if:
R ESP ®
is deactivated
R ESP ®
is malfunctioning
R the steering isfaulty
If ESP ®
is malfunctioning, youwillbeassisted
further bythe electrical powersteering. Protection
againsttheft Immobilizer
X To activate withtheSmart Key:remove
the SmartKey fromtheignition lock.
X To activate withKEYLESS-GO: switchthe
ignition offand open thedriver's door.
X To deactivate: switchonthe ignition.
The immobili zerprevents yourvehicle from
being started without thecorrect SmartKey.
When leaving thevehicle, alwaystake the
SmartKey withyouand lock thevehicle. The
engine canbestarted byanyone withavalid
SmartKey thatisleft inside thevehicle.
i The
immobili zerisalwa ysdeactivated
when youstart theengine.
In the event thattheengine cannot bestar-
ted (yet thevehicle's batteryischarged),
the system isnot operational. Contactan
authorized Mercedes-Benz Centerorcall
1-800 -FOR-MERCedes (inthe USA) or
1-800 -387-0100 (inCanada ). ATA
(anti-theft alarmsystem) 72
Protection
againsttheftSafety

X
To arm: lock the vehiclewi th the Sma rtKey
or KEYL ESS-GO .
Indi cato rla mp 0043flashe s.The alarm system
is arm edafte rap pro xima tely15 seco nds.
X To switchoff :unl ock thevehiclewi th the
Sma rtKey orKEYL ESS-GO .
A vis ualand audible alarm istrig geredifthe
al arm system isarm edand youop en:
R ado or
R the vehiclewi th the mech anical key
R the trunk lid
R the hood
R the glove comp artment
R the stow agespa ceund erthe arm rest
R astow agecomp artmentinthe rear
pa sse nger comp artment
X To
sto pthe alarm with the SmartK ey:
pre ssthe 0036 or0037 button onthe
Sma rtKey .
The alarm isstop ped.
or X Inse rtthe Sma rtKey intotheigniti onlock.
The alarm isstop ped.
X To
sto pthe alarm using KEYLES S-GO :
gra spthe outsid edo or handl e.The Sma rt-
Key mustbe outsid ethe vehicle.
The alarm isstop ped.
or
X Pre ssthe Start/ Stopbutton onthe dash-
bo ard .The Sma rtKey mustbe inside the
veh icle.
The alarm isstop ped.
The alarm isnot stop ped, eve nif yo uclo sethe
op en door tha ttrig geredit,for exa mpl e.
If the alarm stayson for more than
30 seco nds,the Mer cedesme conne ct
eme rgency callsy stem automa tically send s
a mes sage tothe Custom erCe nter.
Thi sis do ne either bytext message ordata
conne ction.The eme rgency callsy stem
send sthe mes sage ordata pro vided tha t:
R youha ve subsc ribed toMer cedesme
conne ct
R the Mer cedesme conne ctser vice has
be en acti vate dpro perly
R the nece ssarymob ile pho nenetw orkis
ava ilab le Pro
tectionagai nstthef t
73Safe ty Z