Mercedes-Benz 2006 CL-Class, Owner'S Manual

Page: 70 / 555

49
Safety
Driving safety systems
ESP
®
monitors the driving stability and
the traction, i.e. transfer of power from the
tyres to the road surface.
ESP
® detects when a wheel spins or the ve-
hicle enters a skid. ESP
®
stabilises the ve-
hicle by braking individual wheels, limiting
the engine power output, and assists you
when pulling away on a wet or slippery
road surface. ESP
®
also stabilises the vehi-
cle when braking.
When ESP
®
intervenes, the v warning
lamp flashes in the instrument cluster.
!
The ignition must be switched off (key in po-
sition 0 or 1 in the ignition lock) if the vehicle is
to be towed with the front or rear axle raised. Ap-
plication of the brakes by ESP
®
could otherwise
destroy the braking system on the front/rear ax-
le.
ETS (electronic traction control
system)
The traction control system is a compo-
nent of ESP
®
.
The traction control system brakes the
drive wheels individually if they start to
spin. You can therefore pull away or accel-
erate on slippery surfaces, e.g. on roads
that are slippery on one side.
The traction control system is still active if
you deactivate ESP ® .
Deactivating/activating ESP ®
ESP ® is activated automatically when the
ignition is switched on.
It may be best to deactivate ESP
® in the
following situations:
if snow chains are being used
in deep snow
on sand or gravel
ESP
®
(Electronic Stability Program)
G
Risk of accident
If the v warning lamp flashes in the in-
strument cluster, proceed as follows:
Under no circumstances should you de-
activate ESP
®
.
Only depress the accelerator pedal as
far as necessary when pulling away.
Adapt your driving style to suit the pre-
vailing road and weather conditions.
Otherwise, the vehicle could begin to skid.
ESP
®
cannot reduce the risk of an accident
if you drive too fast. ESP
®
cannot override
the laws of physics.
G
Risk of accident
The traction control system cannot reduce
the risk of an accident if you drive too fast.
The traction control system cannot override
the laws of physics.
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