Mercedes-Benz CLS 2012, Owner'S Manual

Page: 72 / 405

X
To deactivate: press button : until the
å ESP
®
OFF warning lamp lights up in
the instrument cluster.
The ÷ OFF message appears in the mul-
tifunction display.
Deactivate ESP
®
when driving on designa-
ted roads when the vehicle's own over-
steering and understeering characteristics
are desired. Driving without ESP ® requires
an extremely qualified and experienced
driver who is able to cope with these critical
driving conditions.
X
To activate: briefly press button : .
The å ESP
®
OFF warning lamp in the
instrument cluster goes out. The ÷ ON
message appears in the multifunction dis-
play.
ESP
®
is activated automatically when the
engine is started.
If ESP
® is deactivated and one or more wheels
start to spin, the ÷ ESP
®
warning lamp in
the instrument cluster does not flash. In such
situations, ESP
®
will not stabilise the vehicle.
It may be best to deactivate ESP
®
in the fol-
lowing situations:
R
when using snow chains
R
in deep snow
R
on sand or gravel
If you deactivate ESP ® :
R ESP
®
no longer improves driving stability.
R
traction control is still activated.
R
PRE-SAFE ® is no longer available; nor is it
activated if you brake firmly and ESP
®
inter-
venes.
R PRE-SAFE
®
Brake is no longer available; it
is also not activated if you brake firmly and
ESP ® intervenes.
R ESP
®
still provides support when you
brake.
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.
Vehicles with ECO start/stop function: the
ECO start/stop function switches the engine
off automatically when the vehicle comes to
a stop. When pulling away again, the engine
starts automatically. ESP
®
remains in its pre-
viously selected status. Example: if ESP ® was
deactivated before the engine was switched
off, ESP
®
remains deactivated when the
engine is switched on again.
ESP
®
trailer stabilisation
G WARNING
If road and weather conditions are poor,
trailer stabilisation will not be able to prevent
the vehicle/trailer combination from swerv-
ing. Trailers with a high centre of gravity can
tip over before ESP
®
can detect this. There is
a risk of an accident.
Always adapt your driving style to the prevail-
ing road and weather conditions.
If your vehicle/trailer combination begins to
lurch, you can only stabilise the vehicle/
trailer combination by depressing the brake
firmly.
In this situation, ESP
® assists you and can
detect if the vehicle/trailer combination
begins to lurch. ESP
®
slows the vehicle down
by braking and limiting the engine output until
the vehicle/trailer combination has stabi-
lised.
Trailer stabilisation is active above speeds of
about 65 km/h.
Trailer stabilisation does not work if ESP
®
is
deactivated or disabled because of a mal-
function.
EBD (electronic brake force distribu-
tion)
i
Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Y
page 64).
Driving safety systems
69
Safety
Z