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STARTING AND DRIVING
Trailer Stability Assist*
10
Trailer Stability Assist (TSA
designed to help stabilize a vehicle that is tow-
ing a trailer when the vehicle and trailer have
begun to sway. The function is part of the Elec-
tronic Stability Control system ESC
Reasons for swaying
A vehicle towing a trailer may begin to sway for
various reasons. Normally this only occurs at high
speeds. However, if the trailer is overloaded or
unevenly distributed, e.g. too far back, there is a
risk of swaying even at low speeds.
Swaying may be caused by factors such as:
•
The vehicle and trailer are hit by a sudden,
strong crosswind.
•
The vehicle and trailer are traveling on an
uneven road or over a bump.
•
Sudden movements of the steering wheel.
Once swaying has begun, it can be difficult or
impossible to stop it. This makes the vehicle and
trailer difficult to control and there is a risk of
swerving into oncoming traffic or driving off the
road.
Trailer Stability Assist function
Trailer Stability Assist continuously monitors the
vehicle's movements, particularly lateral move-
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Trailer Stability Assist
11
Electronic Stability Control
442
ments. If swaying is detected, the brakes are
applied individually on the front wheels, which has
) is a function
a stabilizing effect on the vehicle and trailer. This
is often enough to enable the driver to regain
control of the vehicle.
If the Trailer Stability Assist function's first
11
.
attempt is not adequate to stop the swaying
motion, the brakes are applied on all wheels and
engine power is temporarily reduced. As the
swaying motion begins to decrease and the vehi-
cle and trailer have once again become stable,
TSA stops regulating the brakes/engine power
and the driver regains control of the vehicle.
NOTE
Trailer Stability Assist is deactivated if the
driver selects the sport mode by deactivating
ESC
Trailer Stability Assist may not intervene if the
driver tries to compensate for the swaying motion
by moving the steering wheel rapidly, because
the system will then not be able to determine if it
is the trailer or the driver causing the swaying.
in the center display's menu system.
When Trailer Stability Assist is
activated, the ESC symbol is
displayed in the instrument
panel.
Related information
•
Driving with a trailer (p. 440)
•
Electronic Stability Control (p. 268)
* Option/accessory.
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