Mercedes-Benz E-Class 2010 Owner's Manual page 61

Driving safety systems
58
Traction control remains active if you deacti-
®
vate 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
lowing situations:
when using snow chains
R
in deep snow
R
on sand or gravel
R
G
Risk of accident
®
Activate ESP as soon as the situations
described above no longer apply. ESP
otherwise not be able to stabilise the vehicle
if the vehicle starts to skid or a wheel starts
to spin.
If you deactivate ESP
®
R ESP no longer improves driving stability.
the engine's torque is no longer limited and
R
the drive wheels can spin. The spinning of
the wheels results in a cutting action, which
provides better grip.
traction control is still activated.
R
®
R ESP still provides support when you
brake.
®
If ESP is deactivated and one or more wheels
start to spin, the ä warning lamp in the
instrument cluster flashes. In such situations,
®
ESP will not stabilise the vehicle.
To deactivate:(
X
The å warning lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up.
G
Risk of accident
If the å warning lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up when the engine is running,
®
®
in the fol-
®
will
®
:
page 203).
Y
®
ESP is deactivated or is unavailable due to a
malfunction. The risk that your vehicle may
start to skid then increases in certain situa-
tions.
Always adapt your driving style to the prevail-
ing road and weather conditions.
To activate:( page 203).
X
Y
The å warning lamp in the instrument
cluster goes out.
®
ESP trailer stabilisation
If your trailer begins to lurch, you can only
stabilise the vehicle/trailer combination by
depressing the brake firmly.
®
In this situation, ESP
detect if the trailer begins to lurch. ESP
slows the vehicle down by braking and limit-
ing the engine output until the vehicle/trailer
combination has stabilised.
Trailer stabilisation is active above speeds of
about 65 km/h.
G Risk of accident
If road and weather conditions are poor,
trailer stabilisation will not be able to prevent
the trailer from swerving and will thus be
unable to reduce the risk of an accident. Trail-
ers with a high centre of gravity can tip over
®
before ESP can detect this.
Trailer stabilisation does not work if ESP
deactivated or disabled because of a mal-
function.
EBD (Electronic Brake-force Distribu-
tion)
EBD monitors and controls the brake pres-
sure on the rear wheels to improve driving
stability while braking.
G Risk of accident
If EBV is malfunctioning, the brake system is
still available with full brake boosting effect.
However, the rear wheels can still lock, e.g.
assists you and can
®
®
is