Mercedes-Benz 280 C, Owner'S Manual

Page: 71 / 337

ESP
®
(Electronic Stability Program)
ESP
®
monitors driving stability and trac-
tion, i.e. power transmission between the
tyres and the road surface.
ESP
®
detects when a wheel spins or the
vehicle enters a skid. ESP
®
stabilises the
vehicle by braking individual wheels and
limiting the engine power output, and as-
sists you when pulling away on a wet or
slippery road surface. ESP
®
also stabilises
the vehicle during braking.
When ESP
®
intervenes, the
v
warning
lamp flashes in the instrument cluster.
G
Risk of accident
If the
v
warning lamp in the instrument
cluster flashes, proceed as follows:
I Do not deactivate ESP
®
under any cir-
cumstances.
I Only depress the accelerator pedal as
far as necessary when pulling away.
I Adapt your driving style to suit the pre-
vailing road and weather conditions.
The vehicle could otherwise go into a skid.
ESP
®
cannot reduce the risk of an accident
if you drive too fast. ESP
®
cannot override
the laws of physics.
!
If the vehicle is to be towed with the front
or rear axle raised, the ignition must be
switched off (key in position
0 or 1 in the igni-
tion lock). Application of the brakes by ESP
®
could otherwise destroy the brake system on
the front or rear axle.
i
Only use wheels with the recommended
tyre sizes. Only then will ESP
®
function prop-
erly.
ESP
®
trailer stabilising
If your trailer begins to lurch, you can only
stabilise the vehicle/trailer combination
by depressing the brake firmly.
In this situation, ESP
®
assists you and de-
tects any lurching by the trailer. ESP
®
slows the vehicle down by braking and lim-
iting the engine output until the vehicle/
trailer combination has stabilised.
Trailer stabilising is active from about
65 km/h.
G
Risk of accident
If the road and weather conditions are bad,
trailer stabilising will not be able to prevent
the trailer from lurching or reduce the risk
of accident. Trailers with a high centre of
gravity can tip over before ESP
®
can detect
this.
Trailer stabilising does not work if ESP
®
is
deactivated or switched off because of a
malfunction.
ETS (Electronic Traction Support)
Traction control is part of ESP
®
.
Traction control brakes the drive wheels
individually 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.
Traction control remains active when you
deactivate ESP
®
.
G
Risk of accident
Traction control cannot reduce the risk of
an accident if you drive too fast. Traction
control cannot override the laws of physics.
Deactivating/activating ESP
®
ESP
®
is activated automatically when the
engine is running.
It may be best to deactivate ESP
®
in the
following situations:
Safety
Driving safety systems
69
ee
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