Mercedes-Benz

Functions of ESP® (Electronic Stability Program)

WARNING Risk of skidding if ESP® is deactivated

If you deactivate ESP®, ESP® cannot carry out vehicle stabilisation.

ESP® should only be deactivated in the following situations.

NOTE Mercedes-AMG vehicles

Observe the notes in the Supplement. You could otherwise fail to recognise dangers.

ESP® can monitor and improve driving stability and traction in the following situations, within physical limits:

When pulling away on wet or slippery carriageways.
When braking.

If the vehicle deviates from the direction desired by the driver, ESP® can stabilise the vehicle by intervening in the following ways:

One or more wheels are braked.
The engine output is adapted according to the situation.

ESP® is deactivated if the ESP® OFF warning lamp lights up continuously in the instrument cluster.

Observe the following points when ESP® is deactivated:

Driving stability will no longer be improved.
The drive wheels could spin.
ETS/4ETS traction control is still active.

When ESP® is deactivated, you are still assisted by ESP® when braking.

If the

ESP® warning lamp flashes in the instrument cluster, one or several wheels has reached its grip limit:

Adapt the driving style to suit the prevailing road and weather conditions.
Do not deactivate ESP® under any circumstances.
Only depress the accelerator pedal as far as is necessary.

It may be best to deactivate ESP® in the following situations:

When using snow chains.
In deep snow.
On sand or gravel.

Spinning the wheels results in a cutting action, which enhances traction.

If the ESP® warning lamp lights up continuously, ESP® is not available due to a malfunction.

Observe the following information:

Warning and indicator lamps More
Display messages More

ETS/4ETS (Electronic Traction System)

ETS/4ETS traction control is part of ESP® and makes it possible to pull away and accelerate on a slippery carriageway.

ETS/4ETS can improve the vehicle's traction by intervening in the following ways:

The drive wheels are braked individually if they spin.
More drive torque is transferred to the wheel or wheels with traction.

Influence of drive programs on ESP®

The drive programs enable ESP® to adapt to different weather and road conditions as well as the driver's preferred driving style. Depending on the selected drive program, the appropriate ESP® mode will be activated. You can select the drive programs using the DYNAMIC SELECT switch More.