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ln _t _ e _l _ li _ ,..
g "- e _n _ t _ t_ e _c _h _n_ o_ l_ o _....
g ,_, y '-_IJIII
The direction in which the driver wishes to travel is determined with
t he aid of the steering angle and vehicle speed and is con t inua lly
compared with the actual behavior of the vehicle. If the two do not
match, for example, when the vehic le starts hydrop laning on a wet
road, ESP will automatically
brake the appropriate whee l to correct
the prob lem.
The vehicle is then stabi lized by the forces act ing on the whee l
during braking. If the vehicle is oversteering (rear tends to skid out
of the t urn), the brakes are mainly app li ed on the whee l that is on
the outside of the curve. In the case of a vehicle that is understeering
(tendency to sli de out of the curve), t he brakes are applied at the
rear wheel that is on the inside of the curve. An acoustic signal indi -
cates when ESP brake app li cation cuts in =>
& .
The system operates across t he entire speed range in comb inat ion
with the ABS system => page 272 . If the Anti -Lock Brake System
(ABS) malfunctions,
the ESP wi ll be out of act ion as well.
Ac t ivation
When you turn on the eng ine, ESP will automatically
be activated
and wil l perform a self -test.
The system can b e activated or deactivated by pressing the but t on
=>
page
268, fig. 254. The warning light comes on when the system
is switched off => page
18.
Normally, the ESP should always be on, however, it may be advanta-
geous to turn off the system in certain special cases when some
degree of wheel spin is des ired such as:
•
when driving with snow chains
•
whe n driving in deep snow or on a loose surface (to allow the
whee ls to dig in to reach firm ground)
•
whe n trying to "rock" the vehicle free whe n it has become stuck.
The system should be reactivated once you are no longer in such
situations .
Both the ABS and EDS systems are still functioning
even if the ESP
is switched off .
Controls and equip-
ment
Safety first
Vehicle operation
&
WARNING
The Electron ic Stabiliz ation Program is neverthele ss subject to the
laws of physics. It is particularl y important to pay attention to this
fa ct on wet and slippery roads. It is therefore important th at you
alway s adapt your dr iving to the condit ion of the road and traffic
condition s. Do not allow the increased safety provided by the Elec-
tronic Stabilization Program system to lull you into accepting
addition al safety risks. •
Electronic
differential
lock (EDL)
The elec tronic di fferen tial lock moni tors the rotation al
speed of the drive wheels.
G en e ra l not e s
The elect ronic d ifferential lock (EDU helps the ca r to start m ov ing,
accelerate and climb a grad ient on surfaces providing poor or
almost no grip . Without EDL, this would be difficult, if not impos -
sib le.
How
the s yst e m works
The EDL operates automatical ly. It monitors the rotationa l speed of
t he drive wheels on an axle with the he lp of the ABS senso rs
=>
page 272. If a not iceable difference in rotational speed between
the drive wheels on one axle is detected (e.g. on slippery ground on
one side), the spinning w heel is bra ked, thereby transferring
power
to the other drive wheel or wheels (all-whee l drive) . This is done up
t o a speed of about 60 mph (100 km/h). No ises from the brake
system signal that wheel spin is being control led.
Dri vi ng off
When driving off, always be sure to keep road conditions in mind as
you accelerate. If one drive wheel spins because it is on a sur f ace
with less grip, gradual ly increase the pressure on the accelerator
pedal unt il the car star t s to move . The whee l less able to t ransfer
power spins.
.,,
Vehicle care
Do-it-yourself service
Technical data
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