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 stabilise the vehicle
if the vehicle starts to skid or a wheel starts to
spin.
Deactivating/activating ESP
®
You can deactivate or activate ESP
®
via the on-
board computer (
Y
page 244)
ESP
®
deactivated:
The
å
ESP
®
OFF warning lamp in the instru-
ment cluster lights up.
ESP
®
activated:
The
å
ESP
®
OFF warning lamp in the instru-
ment cluster goes out.
Characteristics when ESP
®
is deactivated
If ESP
®
is deactivated and one or more wheels
start to spin, the
÷
ESP
®
warning lamp in the
instrument cluster flashes. In such situations,
ESP
®
will not stabilise the vehicle.
If you deactivate ESP
®
:
R
ESP
®
no longer improves driving stability
R
Engine torque is no longer limited and the
drive wheels are able to spin
The spinning of the wheels results in a cutting
action for better traction on loose surfaces.
R
Traction control is still activated
R
COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST is no longer
available; nor is it activated if you brake firmly
with assistance from ESP
®
R
PRE-SAFE
®
is no longer available; it is also not
activated if you brake firmly with assistance
from ESP
®
R
PRE-SAFE
®
Brake is no longer available; it is
also not activated if you brake firmly with
assistance from ESP
®
R
ESP
®
still provides support when you brake
firmly
Deactivating/activating ESP
®
(Mercedes
‑
AMG vehicles)
Important safety notes
i
Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Y
page 66).
You can select between the following statuses
of ESP
®
:
R
ESP
®
is activated
R
SPORT handling mode is activated
R
ESP
®
is deactivated
ESP
®
is activated every time the engine is
switched on, regardless of whether ESP
®
was
deactivated before the engine was switched off.
G
WARNING
When SPORT handling mode is activated,
there is a greater risk of skidding and acci-
dents.
Only activate SPORT handling mode in the sit-
uations described in the following.
G
WARNING
If you deactivate ESP
®
, ESP
®
no longer sta-
bilises the vehicle. There is an increased risk
of skidding and an accident.
Only deactivate ESP
®
in the situations descri-
bed in the following.
In the following situations, it may be better to
activate SPORT handling mode or deactivate
ESP
®
:
R
when using snow chains
R
in deep snow
R
on sand or gravel
R
on specially designated roads when the vehi-
cle's own oversteering and understeering
characteristics are desired
Driving in SPORT handling mode or without
ESP
®
requires an extremely qualified and expe-
rienced driver.
i
Activate ESP
®
as soon as the situations
described above no longer apply. ESP
®
will
otherwise not be able to stabilise the vehicle
if the vehicle starts to skid or a wheel starts to
spin.
Driving safety systems
73
Safety
Z
