vertical axis, vehicle acceleration in the fore -
and-aft and lateral directions, the brake pres-
sure, and the steering angle are all measured .
The direction in which the driver wishes to
travel is determined with the aid of the steer-
ing angle and vehicle speed and is continually
compared with the actual behavior of the ve-
hicle. If the two do not match, for examp le,
when the vehicle starts hydroplaning on a wet
road, ESP will automatically brake the appro-
priate wheel to correct the problem.
The vehicle is then stabilized by the forces act-
ing on the wheel dur ing braking. If the vehicle
is
oversteering (the vehicle turns too sharply
and the rear wheels sl ide toward the outs ide
of a curve), the brakes are main ly applied on
the wheel that is on the outside of the curve.
I n the case of a vehicle tha t is
understeering
(the vehicle does not turn sharply enough and
pushes out of a curve), the brakes are applied
as needed on the wheel that is on the inside of
the curve or additiona lly on the other wheels.
An acoust ic signal indicates when ESP brake
application cuts in
q .&.
The system operates across the entire speed
range in combination with the ABS system
q page 201. If the Anti-Lock Brake System
(ABS) malfunctions, the ESP will be out of ac-
tion as well.
Activat ing
When you turn on the engine, ESP wi ll auto-
mat ically be activated and will perform a self-
test. As soon as the test is completed, the sys-
tem is in normal operating mode.
ESP Offro ad mode
The ESP Offroad mode was developed espe-
cially for offroad driving . In order to maintain
maximum tract ion and optima l braking when
driving offroad, the conditions for the ESP to
work are reduced to such a degree, that the
vehicle wheels could start to spin. The stabi-
lizing effects start to work late r which results
in lim ited vehicle stability.
The ESP Offroad mode should then be used
under the fo ll owing situations:
Int e llig e nt technolog y 197
- rocking the vehicle when it is stuck
- driving in deep snow or on loose gro und
- driving on uneven roads with the wheel
heavily loaded (axle lim itation)
- driving w ith snow chains
- driving dow nhill while braking on loose
ground
For your safety, switch
off the ESP offroad
mode in advance.
Switching on t he ESP Offroad mode
Press the
I~ OFFI button q fig. 197 or
q fig. 198 . The indicator light 11 ill um inates
and Offroad control Warning! Restricted sta-
bility appears in the driver information sys-
tem display.
Switching off th e ESP Offr oad mode
Press
I~ OFF ! button again to switch the ESP
back on. The indicator light
fl goes out and
Stabilisation program on appears in the driv-
er information system display.
Dynamic steering*
Vehicles with dynam ic steering* ESP helps
stabilize the steer ing in critica l sit uatio ns.
A WARNING
- The Electronic Stabilization Program is
nevertheless subject to the laws of phys-
ics. It is particularly important to pay at-
tention to this fact on wet and slippe ry
roads. It is therefore important that you
always adapt your driving to the condi-
tion of the road and t raffic conditions. Do
not all ow t he increased safety provided
by t he Electronic Stabilization Program
system to lull you into accepting addi-
tional safety risks.
- You should switch on the ESP Offroad
mode only when you are driving offroad
or when driv ing with snow chains.
- Please note that the driving wheels can
spin and the vehicle can swerve when
ESP Offroad mode is switched on.
- Driving stability is reduced in the ESP
Offroad mode .
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