There is a risk of an accident.
Always pay careful attention to the traffic sit-
uation and be ready to brake. Terminate the
intervention in a non-critical driving situation.
G
WARNING
Adaptive Brake Assist does not react:
R
to people or animals
R
to oncoming vehicles
R
to crossing traffic
R
when cornering
As a result, the Adaptive Brake Assist may not
intervene in all critical conditions. There is a
risk of an accident.
Always pay careful attention to the traffic sit-
uation and be ready to brake.
Due to the nature of the system, particularly
complicated but non-critical driving conditions
may also cause Brake Assist to intervene.
If adaptive Brake Assist is not available due to a
malfunction in the radar sensor system, the
brake system remains available with full brake
boosting effect and BAS.
ESP
®
(Electronic Stability Program)
General notes
i
Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Y
page 65).
ESP
®
monitors driving stability and traction, i.e.
power transmission between the tires and the
road surface.
If ESP
®
detects that the vehicle is deviating from
the direction desired by the driver, one or more
wheels are braked to stabilize the vehicle. The
engine output is also modified to keep the vehi-
cle on the desired course within physical limits.
ESP
®
assists the driver when pulling away on
wet or slippery roads. ESP
®
can also stabilize
the vehicle during braking.
ETS/4ETS (Electronic Traction System)
i
Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Y
page 65).
ETS traction control is part of ESP
®
. On vehicles
with 4MATIC, 4ETS is part of ESP
®
.
Traction control brakes the drive wheels indi-
vidually 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. In addition, more drive torque is transfer-
red to the wheel or wheels with traction.
Traction control remains active, even if you
deactivate ESP
®
.
Important safety notes
G
WARNING
If ESP
®
is malfunctioning, ESP
®
is unable to
stabilize the vehicle. Additionally, further driv-
ing safety systems are deactivated. This
increases the risk of skidding and an accident.
Drive on carefully. Have ESP
®
checked at a
qualified specialist workshop.
If the
å
ESP
®
OFF warning lamp lights up
continuously, then ESP
®
is deactivated.
If the
÷
ESP
®
warning lamp lights up contin-
uously, ESP
®
is not available due to a malfunc-
tion.
Observe the information on warning lamps
(
Y
page 259) and display messages which may
be shown in the instrument cluster
(
Y
page 225).
Only use wheels with the recommended tire
sizes. Only then will ESP
®
function properly.
Characteristics of ESP
®
General information
If the
÷
ESP warning lamp goes out before
beginning the journey, ESP
®
is automatically
active.
If ESP
®
intervenes, the
÷
ESP
®
warning lamp
flashes in the instrument cluster.
If ESP
®
intervenes:
X
Do not deactivate ESP
®
under any circum-
stances.
X
Only depress the accelerator pedal as far as
necessary when pulling away.
X
Adapt your driving style to suit the prevailing
road and weather conditions.
70
Driving safety systems
Safety
