MERCEDES-BENZ SL CLASS 2020 Repair Manual

The
securing systemofchild restraintsystems
is the seat beltsystem.
If you install achild restraintsystem onthe
front passenger seat,besure toobserve the
instr uctions andsafety noteson the "Occu-
pant Classification System(OCS)"(Ypage 48).
There youwillalso findinform ationondisa-
bling thefront passenger frontairbag.
All child restraintsystems mustmeet thefol-
lowing standards:
R U.S. Federal MotorVehicle SafetyStandards
213 and225
R Canadian MotorVehicle SafetyStandards
213 and210. 2
Confirmation thatthechild restraintsystem
correspon dstothe standards canbefound on
an instr uction labelonthe child restraintsys-
tem. Thisconfirmation canalso befound in
the installation instructions thatareincluded
with thechild restraintsystem.
Observe thewarning labelsinthe vehicle inte-
rior and onthe child restraintsystem. Child
restraintsystem onthe front-
passenger seat
General notes If
you install achild restraintsystem onthe
front -passenger seat,alway sobserve the
instr uctions andsafety noteson the "Occu-
pant Classification System(OCS)"(Ypage 48).
You canthus avoid therisks thatcould arise
as aresult of:
R an incorr ectlycategoriz edperson inthe
front -passenger seat
R deactivatin gthe front passenger frontair
bag unint ention ally
R the unsuitable positioningof the child
restr aintsystem, e.g.tooclose tothe dash-
board
Rear ward- facing childrestraintsystem If
circumst ancesrequire youtosecure achild
in arearward-facing childrestraintsystem on
the front -passenger seat,alway smake sure
that thefront passenger frontairbag isdeacti-
vated. Onlyifthe PASS ENGER AIRBAG OFF
indicator lampislit cont inuously (Ypage 41),
is the front passenger frontairbag deactiva-
ted. Always
observe thechild restraintsystem
manufact urer'sinstallation andoperating
instr uctions .
Forward- facingchildrestraintsystem If
you secure achild inaforward-fac ingchild
restr aintsystem onthe front -passenger seat,
alway smove thefront -passenger seatasfar
back aspossible. Fullyretrac tthe seat cushion
length. Theentir ebase ofthe child restraint
system mustalway srest onthe seat cushion
of the front -passenger seat.Thebackrest of
the child restraintsystem mustlieasflat as
possible againstthebackrest ofthe front -
passenger seat.Thechild restraintsystem
must nottouch theroof orbe subject edtoa
load bythe head restraint. Adjust theangle of
the seat backrest andthehead restraintposi-
tion according ly.Always makesurethatthe
shoulder beltstrap iscorrec tlyrouted fromthe
front -passenger seatbeltguide tothe shoulder
belt guide onthe child restraintsystem. The
shoulder beltstrap mustberouted forward
and down fromthefront -passenger seatbelt
guide. Ifnecessary, adjustthefront -passenger
seat according ly.
Always observe thechild restraintsystem
manufact urer'sinstallation andoperating
instr uctions . Pets
inthe vehicle G
WARNIN
G
If you leave animals unsupervised orunse-
cured inthe vehicle, theymaypress button s
or switches, forinstan ce.
In this way, animals may:
R activate vehicleequipment andbecome
trapped, forexample
R switch systems onoroff and thereby
endanger otherroadusers
Further more,unsecured animalsmaybe
flung around insidethevehicle inthe event
of an accident orabrupt steeringor braking
maneuver, andthereby injurevehicle occu-
pants. Thereisarisk ofaccident andinjury.
Never leaveanimals unattendedinthe vehi-
cle. Pets
inthe vehicle
59Safety
Z

Alw
ayssec ureani ma lspro perly when driv-
ing ,for instance with asu ita ble pe tcar rier. Dri
ving safe tysys tems Ove
rviewof driv ingsafe tysys tems
In thi ssec tion,youwi llfind informa tionab ou t
the followi ng driving safety system s:
R ABS (Anti -lock Bra king Syste m)
(Y page 60)
R BAS (Bra keAssist Sy stem )(Y page 61)
R Bra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nctio n
(Y page 61)
R Active BrakeAssi st(Y page 63)
R Ada ptive bra kelights (Ypage 65)
R ESP ®
(El ectro nicStability Pro gram)
(Y page 65)
R EBD (El ectro nicBrake forceDi stri butio n)
(Y page 69)
R ADAPTI VEBRAK E(Y page 70)
R Active BrakeAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nc-
tio n(Y page 70)
R STEER CONTR OL(Ypage 72) Impo
rtant safetynotes
If yo ufai lto adap tyo ur driving styleor ifyo u
ar eina ttenti ve,the driving safety system scan
nei ther reduce theriskof an acci dent nor
ove rride the laws ofphy sics. Driv ingsafety
sy stem sar emer elyai ds designe dto assist
dri ving .
Yo uar eres ponsi ble for mainta ining the dis-
tance tothe vehiclein front, forveh iclespe ed,
for braking ingoo dtime ,and forstaying in
la ne. Alwaysad aptyo ur driving styleto suit
the prevailing roadand weath ercond itions and
ma inta inasa fe dista nce from thevehiclein
front. Drivecar efully.
The driving safety system sde scri bedonl y
wo rkas effe ctive lyas possi ble wh en ther eis
ad eq uate conta ctbetwe enthe tiresand the
roa dsu rfa ce. Paypa rticu laratte ntionto the
info rma tionreg arding tire s,reco mme nded
mini mumtire trea dde pths etc.inthe "Whee ls
and tires"sec tion(Y page 296 ).
In wintry driving cond itions, alwa ysusewi nter
tire s(M +S tire s)and ifnece ssary,snow cha
ins.Onl yin thi swa ywi llthe driving safety
sy stem sde scri bedin thi ssec tionwo rkas
effe ctive lyas possi ble. ABS
(Anti -lock Braki ngSys tem)
Ge neral info rmatio n ABS
regulate sbra kepre ssu reinsuch awa y
tha tthe wheelsdo not lock when youbra ke.
Thi sal lo ws youto conti nuesteering thevehi-
cle when bra king .
The 0025 ABSwarning lamp inthe instrum ent
clu ster lights upwhen the igniti onissw itch ed
on. Itgoe sou twh en the engineisrunning .
ABS works from aspe edofabou t5 mph
(8 km/h ),reg ardless ofroa d-su rface cond i-
tio ns. ABS works onslip pe ry surfa ces ,eve n
wh en youonl ybra kegently .
Impo rtant safetynotes i
Obs
ervethe "Impo rtant safety notes "sec -
tio n(Y page 60). G
WA
RNING
If ABS isma lfunctio ning,the wheelscou ld
lo ck when bra king .The stee rability and
bra king characteri stics wo uld be sev erely
aff ecte d.The reisan incr eased dange rof
ski dding and accidents.
Driv eon car efully. Hav eABS checked imme-
di ate lyat aqu alifi ed spe cialist wo rksh op.
Whe nABS isma lfunctio ning,othe rsy stem s,
incl uding driving safety system s,willal so
be come inoperative .Obs ervethe informa tion
on the ABS warning lamp (Ypage 239 )and
di spl aymes sages which maybe sho wninthe
ins trum entcluster (Ypage 209 ).
Brake s X
IfABS interv enes:conti nuetodepre ssthe
bra kepedalvig oro uslyunti lthe braking sit-
ua tio nis ove r.
X To make aful lbrake application:de pre ss
the brakepedalwi th fullforc e.
If ABS intervenes when bra king ,yo uwi llfee la
pu lsing inthe brakepedal. 60
Dri
ving safe tysys temsSafe ty

The
pulsating brakepedalcanbeanindication
of hazardous roadcondit ions,andfunct ionsas
a reminder totake extracare while driving. BAS
(BrakeAssist System)
General information BAS
operates inemergenc ybraking situations.
If you depress thebrake pedalquickly, BAS
automatically booststhebraking force,thus
shorten ingthe stopping distance.
Import antsafety notes i
Observe
the"Importan tsafety notes" sec-
tion (Ypage 60). G
WARNIN
G
If BAS ismalfunct ioning,thebraking dis-
tanc ein an emergenc ybraking situation is
increased. Thereisarisk ofan accident .
In an emergenc ybraking situation, depress
the brake pedalwithfullforce. ABSprevent s
the wheels fromlockin g.
Br aking X
Keep thebrake pedalfirmly depressed until
the emergenc ybraking situation isover.
ABS prevent sthe wheels fromlockin g.
The brakes willfunct ionasusual onceyou
release thebrake pedal. BASisdeactivated. Br
ake Assist withcross-tr afficfunc-
tion
General information Brake
Assist withcross- trafficfunct ioncan
help youtominimize therisk ofacollision with
a vehicle orapedestrian andreduce the
effect sof such acollision. IfBrake Assist with
cross- trafficfunct iondetect sa danger ofcolli-
sion, youareassisted whenbraking.
i Observe
the"Importan tsafety notes" sec-
tion (Ypage 60).
Brake Assist withcross- trafficfunct ionisonly
availabl ein vehicles withtheDrivin gAssis-
tanc epackage. For
Brake Assist withcross- trafficfunct ionto
assist youwhen driving, theradar sensor sys-
tem andthecamera systemmustbeopera-
tional.
The sensor system andcamera systemhelp
Brake Assist withcross- trafficfunct iondetect
obstacles:
R that areinthe path ofyour vehicle foran
exten dedperiod oftime
R that cross thepath ofyour vehicle
In addition, pedestrians inthe path ofyour
vehicle canbedetect ed.
Brake Assist withcross- trafficfunct iondetect s
pedestrians usingtypical charact eristics such
as body contours andtheposture ofaperson
standin gupright.
If the radar sensor system orthe camera sys-
tem ismalfunct ioning,BrakeAssist withcross-
traff icfunct ionisrestr icted orno longer availa-
ble. Thebrake system isstill availab lewith
complete brakeboosting effectandBAS.
i Observe
therestr iction sdescribed inthe
"Importan tsafety notes" section
(Y page 61).
Import antsafety notes G
WARNIN
G
Act ive Brake Assist withcross- trafficfunc-
tion cann otalway sclearly identify objects
and complex trafficsituations.
In such cases, Active Brake Assist with
cross- trafficfunct ionmight:
R issue anunneces sarywarning orbrake
R issue nowarning ornot brake
Always paycareful attentiontothe traff ic
situation; donot rely onthe Active Brake
Assist withcross- trafficfunct ionalone.
Always beready tobrake andpossibly take
evasive action. G
WARNIN
G
Brake Assist withcross- trafficfunct ioncan-
not alway sclearly identify people,particu-
larly ifthey aremoving. BrakeAssist with
cross- trafficfunct ioncann otinter vene in
these cases. Thereisarisk ofan accident . Driving
safetysystems
61Safety
Z

Alw
ayspa ycar efulatte ntionto the traffic
si tua tionand berea dytobra ke. G
WA
RNING
Active BrakeAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nc-
tio ndo es not react:
R to sma llpe op le,e.g .chi ldren
R to ani ma ls
R to onco ming vehicles
R wh en corne ring
As ares ult, Active BrakeAssi stwith cros s-
traf ficfunctio nma ynot warnyouor eng age
in allcriti calsitua tions. The reisaris kof an
acci dent.
Alw ayspa ycar efulatte ntionto the traffic
si tua tionand berea dytobra ke.
In the eventofsnow fallor hea vyrain, the rec-
ogni tioncan beimp aired .
Re cog nitionbythe rada rsens orsystem isalso
imp aired if:
R ther eis dirt on the sens orsorany thing else
cove ringthesens ors
R ther eis inte rference byothe rra da rsou rces
R ther ear estro ngrada rref lectio ns,forexa m-
pl e in pa rking garages
R anar row vehicleis trav eling infront, e.g.a
moto rbike
R aveh icleis trav eling infront onadi ffer ent
li ne
R veh icles quickl ymove intotherada rsens or
sy stem detecti onrange
Re cog nitionbythe cam erasystem isalso
imp aired inthe eventof:
R dirt on the cam eraorifthe cam eraiscov-
ere d
R glar eon the cam erasystem ,e.g .from the
su nbe ing low in the sky R
da rknes s
R or if:
- pe destri ans move quickl y,e.g .into the
pa th ofthe vehicle
- the cam erasystem nolonge rreco gnizes a
pe destri anasape rso ndu eto spe cial
clo thing orothe rob jects
- ape destri anisconce aled byothe r
ob jects
- the typicalou tline ofape rso nis not dis-
ting uisha ble from thebackgro und
Fol lowi ng dama getothe front endofthe vehi-
cle ,ha ve the confi guratio nand opera tionof
the rada rsens orschecked ataqu alifi ed spe -
cia list wo rksh op.Thi sal so appliesto col lisi ons
at slow spe edswh ere ther eis no visible da m-
ag eto the front ofthe vehicle.
Fol lowi ng dama getothe windsh ield ,ha ve the
confi guratio nand opera tionof the cam erasys-
tem checked ataqu alifi ed spe cialist wo rk-
sho p.
Fu nctio n To
avoid acol lisi on, BrakeAssi stwith cros s-
traf ficfunctio ncal cul ate sthe brakeforc enec-
ess aryif:
R youap pro ach anobsta cle,and
R Bra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nctio nha s
de tecte daris kof col lisi on
Whe ndriv ingat aspe edunde r20 mph
(3 0km/h ):ifyo ude pre ssthe brakepedal,
Bra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nctio nis acti -
va ted .The increase inbra kepre ssu rewillbe
car riedou tat the last po ssi ble mom ent.
Whe ndriv ingat aspe edabo ve20 mph
(3 0km/h ):ifyo ude pre ssthe brakepedal
sha rply,Bra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nc-
tio nau toma tically incr eases thebrakepre s-
su re to ade gre esu ite dto the trafficsitua tion.
Bra keAssi stwith cros s-tra fficfu nctio npro -
vid es bra king assista nce inha zard oussitua -
tio ns with veh icles infront withi naspe ed
ra nge betwe en4mph (7km/h )and 155 mph
(25 0km/h ). 62
Dri
ving safe tysys temsSafe ty

Up
toaspeed ofapproximately 44mph
(70 km/h), BrakeAssist withcross-t raffic
function mayreact to:
R stationary objectsinthe path ofyour vehi-
cle, e.g. stopped orparked vehicles
R pedestrians inthe path ofyour vehicle
R obstacles crossingyourpath which movein
the detection rangeofthe sensors andare
detected
i If
Brake Assist withcross-t rafficfunction
requires aparticularl yhigh braking force,
preventative passengerprotectionmeasures
(PRE-SAF E®
)are activated atthe same time
(Y page 55).
X Keep thebrake pedaldepressed untilthe
emergency brakingsituation isover.
ABS prevents thewheels fromlocking.
Brake Assist withcross-t rafficfunction is
deactivated andthebrakes function asusua l
agai nif:
R you release thebrake pedal
R there isno longer arisk ofcollision
R no obstacle isdetected infront ofyour vehi-
cle
R you depress theaccelerator pedal
R you activate kickdown Active
BrakeAssis t
General information i
Observe
the"Important safetynotes" sec-
tion (Ypage 60).
Act ive Brake Assist consists ofadistance
warning function withanautonomous braking
function andAdaptive BrakeAssist.
Act ive Brake Assist canhelp youtominimize
the risk ofacollision withthevehicle infront
or reduce theeffects ofsuch acollision.
If Act ive Brake Assist detects thatthere isa
risk ofcollision, youwillbewarned visually
and acousticall y.Ifyou donot react tothe vis-
ual collision warningorthe warning tone,
autonomous brakingcanbeinitiated incritical
situations. Ifyou apply thebrake yoursel fin a
critical situation, AdaptiveBrakeAssist ofthe
Act ive Brake Assist system supports you. Importa
ntsafety notes In
particular, thedetection ofobstacles canbe
impaired if:
R there isdirt onthe sensors oranything else
covering thesensors
R there issnow orheavy rain
R there isinterferenc eby other radarsources
R there arestrong radarreflections, forexam-
ple inparking garages
R anarrow vehicle istraveling infront ,e.g. a
motorbike
R avehicle istraveling infront onadifferent
line
R you aredriving anew vehicle orservicing on
the Active Brake Assist system hasjust
been carried out
Observe theimportant safetynotesinthe
"Breaking-in notes"section (Ypage 125).
Followi ngdamage tothe front endofthe vehi-
cle, have theconfiguration andoperation of
the radar sensor checked ataqual ified spe-
cialist workshop. Thisalso appli estocollisions
at slow speeds wherethereisno visible dam-
age tothe front ofthe vehicle.
Activating/ deactivating Act
ive Brake Assist isautomaticall yactive
after switching onthe ignition.
You canactivate ordeactivate Active Brake
Assist usingtheon-board computer
(Y page 200). When deactivated, thedistance
warning function andtheautonomous braking
function arealso deactivated.
If Act ive Brake Assist isdeactivated, the00D4
symbol appearsinthe assistance graphicdis-
play .
Distance warningfunction General
information
The distance warningfunction canhelp youto
minimize therisk ofafront -end collision witha
vehicle aheadorreduce theeffects ofsuch a
collision. Ifthe distance warningfunction
detects thatthere isarisk ofacollision, you
will bewarned visuallyand acousticall y. Driving
safetysystems
63Safety Z

Imp
ortant safety notes
i Obs
erveth e"Im portantsafe tyno tes" sec -
tio nfor driv ingsafe tysyst ems (Ypage 60). G
WAR
NING
The distancewarn ingfunction does not
reac t:
R to peop leor anim als
R to oncomin gveh icles
R to cross ing traff ic
R when cornerin g
The distancewarn ingfunction may notgiv e
warn ingsin all critical situati ons.Ther eis a
ris kof an acc iden t.
Alw ays pay careful attentio nto thetraff ic
sit uati onand beread yto brak e.
Alw ays adapt yourspeedto suit thepre vail-
ing road andtraff icco nd ition s. G
WAR
NING
The distancewarn ingfunction cannot
always clearly iden tifyobj ect sand comple x
tr aff icsit uati ons.
In suc hcas es, thedist ancewarn ingfunction
may:
R giv ean unn ecessar ywarn ing
R no tgiv eawarn ing
Ther eis aris kof an acc iden t.
Alw ays pay careful attentio nto thetraff ic
sit uati onand donotrely solelyon thedis-
tan cewarn ingfunction .
Funct ion
St art ing ataspee dof appr oximat ely4mph
(7 km/ h),the dista nce warning functio nwa rns
yo uif yo ura pidlyap pro ach aveh iclein fro nt.
An inte rmittent warning tone willthe nsou nd,
and the00BA dista nce warning lamp willlight
up inthe instrument cluste r.
X Bra keimmed iatel yin ord erto incr ease the
di sta nce fromthe vehiclein fro nt.
or X Take eva sive acti on, provided itis sa fe to do
so.
Due tothe natu reofthe syste m, partic ular ly
comp licate dbu tnon-cr itical drivin gcond itions ma
yal so cau sethe syste mto disp laya wa rn-
ing .
Wi th the helpof the rada rse nso rsy ste m, the
di sta nce warning functio ncan detect obsta -
cle stha tar ein the path ofyour veh iclefor an
exte ndedpe rio dof tim e.
Up toasp ee dof appro xim ately44 mph
(70 km/h ),the dista nce warning functio ncan
al so rea ctto sta tionar yob sta cles,su ch as
stop pedor parked vehicles .
Au ton omo usbrak ingfun ction If
the driver does not reactto the dista nce
wa rning signa lin acri tica lsi tua tion,Activ e
Bra keAssi stcan assist with the autono mous
bra king functio n.
If the autono mousbra king functio nreq uires a
pa rtic ular ly high bra king force, preventa tive
pa sse nge rpro tecti onmea sures (PRE-S AFE®
)
ar eacti vated simu ltaneo usly.
The autono mousbra king functio nis availa bl e
in the followi ng spee dra nge s:
R 4-65 mph (7-105 km/h )for mov ing
ob jects
R 4-31 mph (7-50 km/h )for stationar y
ob jects
Due tothe natu reofthe syste m, partic ular ly
comp licate dbu tnon-cr itical drivin gcond itions
ma yal so cau sethe autono mousbra king func-
tio nto inte rvene.
If the autono mousbra king functio nreq uires a
pa rtic ular ly high bra king force, preventa tive
pa sse nge rpro tecti onmea sures (PRE-S AFE®
)
ar eacti vated simu ltaneo usly(Y page 55).
Ada ptiv eBrake Assist Ge
neral info rmatio n
i Ob
serve the "Impo rtantsafety note s"sec-
tio n(Y page 60).
Wi th the helpof Ada ptive Bra keAssi st,the dis-
tance warning signa lcan detect obsta clestha t
ar ein the path ofyour veh iclefor anexte nded
pe rio dof tim e.
If Ada ptive Bra keAssi stdetects aris kof col li-
si on with the vehiclein fro nt, itcal cul ate sthe
bra king force nece ssaryto avoid acol lisi on. If
yo uap plythe brakes forcefu lly, Ada ptive
Bra keAssi stwillau toma tically incr ease the
bra king force toalevel suita ble for the traffic
cond itions . 64
Dr
ivi ng safet ysy stem sSafet y

Ada
ptive Bra keAssi stpro vides bra king assis-
tance inha zard oussitua tions atspe edsab ove
4 mph (7km/h ).It us es rada rsens ortech nol-
ogy toasses sthe trafficsitua tion.
Up toaspe edofappro xima tely155 mph
(25 0km/h ),Ada ptive Bra keAssi stiscap able
of rea cting tomovi ngobjects thatha ve
al rea dybeen detecte das such atleas tonce
ove rthe perio dof obser vatio n.
Up toaspe edofappro xima tely44 mph
(70 km/h ),Ada ptive Bra keAssi strea cts to
sta tionar yob sta cles.
If Ada ptive Bra keAssi stdema nds particu larly
hi gh bra king force,pre venta tivepasse nge r
pro tecti onmea sures (PRE-SAFE ®
)ar eacti va-
ted simu ltaneo usly(Y page 55).
X Kee pthe brakepedalde pre sse dunti lthe
eme rgency braking situa tionis ove r.
ABS prevents thewheelsfrom locking .
The brakes willwo rknorma lly ag ain if:
R yourel ease the brakepedal
R ther eis no longe rany dange rof acol lisi on
R no obsta cle isde tecte din front ofyour veh i-
cle
Ada ptive Bra keAssi stisthen deacti vated .
Impo rtant safetynotes G
WA
RNING
Ada ptive Bra keAssi stcanno tal wa yscle arly
id enti fyob jects andcomp lextraf ficsitua -
tio ns.
In such cas es, Ada ptive Bra keAssi stcan:
R inte rveneunne cessarily
R not intervene
The reisaris kof an acci dent.
Alw ayspa ycar efulatte ntionto the traffic
si tua tionand berea dytobra ke. Termi nate
the interventio nin anon-cri ticaldri ving sit-
ua tio n. G
WA
RNING
Ada ptive Bra keAssi stdo es not react:
R to peop leor ani ma ls
R to onco ming vehicles
R to cros sing traf fic
R wh en corne ring As
ares ult, the Adaptive Bra keAssi stma y
not interveneinallcriti calcond itions. There
is aris kof an acci dent.
Alw ayspa ycar efulatte ntionto the traffic
si tua tionand berea dytobra ke.
Alw aysad aptyo ur spe edtosuitthe prevail-
ing roadand trafficcond itions.
Due tothe natu reofthe system ,pa rticu larly
comp licate dbu tnon-cri ticaldri ving cond itions
ma yal so cau seAda ptive Bra keAssi stto inte r-
vene .
If Ada ptive Bra keAssi stisnot availa bl e du eto
a ma lfunctio nin the rada rsens orsystem ,the
bra kesystem remains availa bl e wi th fullbra ke
bo osti ngeffe ctand BAS. Ada
ptiv ebrake lights
i Obs
ervethe "Impo rtant safety notes "sec -
tio n(Y page 60).
If yo ubra kesha rplyfrom aspe edofmore than
50 km/h orifbra king isas sisted byBAS or
Bra keAssi stwith Cross -Tra fficAssi st,the
bra kelamps flash rapidly. In thi swa y,traf fic
trav eling behind youis wa rned inan eve n
more noticeable ma nner.
If yo ubra kesha rplyfrom aspe edofmore than
70 km/h toasta ndsti ll, the hazard warning
la mps areacti vated automa tically. Ifthe
bra kes areap plied ag ain, the brakelamps light
up conti nuously.The hazard warning lamps
sw itch offautoma tically if yo utrav elfas ter
tha n10 km/h .Yo ucan also switch offthe
ha zard warning lamps using the hazard warn-
ing button (Ypage 111 ). ES
P®
(E lectro nicStab ility Pro gram)
Ge neral notes i
Obs
ervethe "Impo rtant safety notes "sec -
tio n(Y page 60) .
ESP ®
moni torsdriving stability and traction,
i.e .po we rtrans mission betwe enthe tiresand
the roadsu rfa ce.
If ESP ®
de tects thatthe vehicleis de via ting
from thedirecti ondesired bythe driver ,one or
more wheelsarebra ked tosta bilize the vehi-
cle .The engineoutpu tis also mod ified tokee p Dri
ving safe tysys tems
65Safety Z

the
vehicleon the desired course withi nph ysi-
cal limi ts. ESP ®
as sists the driver when pulling
aw ay on wetor slip pe ry roa ds.ESP ®
can also
sta bilize the vehicledu rin gbra king .
ETS (Electro nicTrac tionSys tem) i
Ob
serve the "Impo rtantsafety note s"sec-
tio n(Y page 60).
ETS tractio ncontro lis pa rtof ESP ®
.
ETS brakes thedrive wheelsind ividu ally ifthe y
sp in. Thisena bles youto pullaw ay and accel-
era teon slip pe ry surfa ces ,for exa mpl eif the
roa dsu rfa ce isslip pe ry on one side .In addi-
tio n,mor edri ve torq ueistra nsfe rredto the
wh eelor wh eelswith tra ctio n.
ETS remains acti vewhen youde acti vate ESP ®
.
i Me
rce des -AMG vehic les: your veh icle
ma ybe equipp ed with 20-i nch tireson the
rea raxl e.After changing to19 inch wheels,
ETS mayinte rvenenoti ceablyea rlier durin g
the first few kilome ters.After appro xim ately
10 km ETS willfu nctio nas usua lag ain.
Info rma tionon the dimens ions and typesof
wh eelsand tiresfor your veh iclecan be
fou ndinthe "Wheel/tir ecomb inations" sec-
tio n(Y page 321 ).
Impo rtant safety notes G
WA
RNING
If ESP ®
is ma lfunctio ningitwi llnot provide
any vehiclesta bilizati on. Thereisan
incr easedris kof ski dding orofan acc ident.
Exerc ise cau tionwh en conti nuing todrive.
Hav eESP ®
che cked ataqu alifi ed speci alist
wo rksh op. Wh
entow ingthe vehiclewi th the rearaxl e
ra ised ,ob serve the note son ESP ®
(Y page 293 ).
If the 00BB ESP®
OFF warning lamp lights up
conti nuously,the nESP ®
is de acti vated .
If the 00E5 ESP®
wa rning lamp and the00BB
ESP ®
OFF warning lamp arelit conti nuously,
ESP ®
is not availabl e du eto ama lfunctio n.
Ob serve the inform ation onwarning lamps
(Y page 239 )and disp laymes sage swh ich
ma ybe sho wninthe instrument cluste r
(Y page 209 ).
i Onl
yus ewh eelswith the recomm ended
tire sizes .Onl ythe nwi llESP ®
functio npro p-
erl y.
Ch arac teristics ofESP® Ge
neral info rmatio n
If the 00E5 ESP®
wa rning lamp goes out
be for ebe ginning thejourney ,ESP ®
is au to-
ma tica lly acti ve.
If ESP ®
inte rvenes ,the 00E5 ESP®
wa rning
la mp flashe sin the instrument cluste r.
If ESP ®
inte rvenes :
X Do not deacti vate ESP ®
und erany circum -
sta nces .
X Onl yde pre ssthe accelera tor pedalas faras
nece ssarywh en pulling away.
X Ada ptyour drivin gsty leto suitthe prevailing
roa dand weath ercond itions .
The influ ence ofdriv eprog rams onESP®
The drive pro grams allo w ESP ®
to adaptto diffe rent weath ercond itions ,roa dcond itions and the
de sired drivin gsty le.Yo ucan setthe drive pro grams using the DYN AMIC SELEC Tbu tton
(Y page 133) oron AMG vehicles using the DYN AMIC SELEC Tcontro ller (Y page 132 ). 66
Dr
ivi ng safet ysy stem sSafet y

Dri
veprogr am ESP
®
mod e Cha
racte rist ics C
Comf ort
E Ec on omy ES
P®
on This
drive pro gramoff ers thebes tco mpr omise
bet ween tract ion and stabilit y.
Se lec tdri ve pro gramEor Cin dif ficult roa d
co nd ition ssuc has snow and iceoron wet
roa ds. S
Sp ort ES
P®
on This
drive pro gramoff ers thebes tco mpr omise
bet ween tract ion and stabilit y. S+
Sport Plus ES
P®
Sp ort The
vehicle's own overste eri ng and understeer-
ing charac teris tics are emp hasized. This ena-
bles amor eact ive drivin gst yle.
This drive pro gramreq uire sinc reas eddriver
int erac tion .
Se lec tth is dri ve pro gramonlywhen roadco n-
dit ion sare good,e.g. theroa dsare dryand the
rout eis cle ar. Al
ways adapt yourdrivin gst yle and drive pro gramto thepre vaili ngroa dand weat hercond ition s.
Ad dition alinf orm ation for drive pro grams (Ypage 139).
ECO star t/s top funct ion
The ECO start /stopfun ction swit ches the
en gin eoff auto maticallywhen theveh icle
st ops moving.The engin est art sauto matically
when thedri ver wan tsto pull away again.
ES P®
rem ainsin its pre viously selected status ,
e. g. ifES P®
was deac tivat ed bef ore theen gin e
was automaticallyswit ched off.
Deact ivating/a ctivating ESP ®
(excep t
Mer cedes ‑AMGveh icles) Imp
ortant safety notes
i Obs
erveth e"Im portantsaf etyno tes" sec -
ti on (Ypage 60).
You canselectbet ween thefol lowin gst ate sof
ES P®
:
R ES P®
is act ivat ed
R ES P®
is deac tivat ed G
WAR
NING
If you deac tivat eES P®
,ES P®
no longer sta-
biliz estheveh icle. The reisan increas edrisk
of skiddin gand anacc iden t.
On lydeac tivat eES P®
in thesit uati ons
des cribed inthefol lowin g. It
may bebes tto deac tivat eES P®
in thefol -
lowin gsit uati ons:
R when usingsn ow chain s
R in deep snow
R on san dor gra vel
Sp inn ing thewhee lsres ultsin acut ting act ion
whic hpro vides bet tergri p.
i Ac
tivat eES P®
as soo nas thesit uati ons
des cribed aboveno longer apply. ESP®
will
ot her wise notbe able tostabiliz eth eveh icle
if th eveh iclest art sto skid or awhee lst art s
to spin .
! Av
oid spin ningth edri ven whee lsfor an
ex tend ed per iod withES P®
deac tivat ed. You
co uld other wise damag eth edri vet rain . Driv
ingsafety system s
67Safet y Z

Deact
ivating/a ctivating ESP ® X
To dea ctivate: pressbut ton0043.
The 00BB ESP®
OF Fwarn ing lamp inthe
in st rum entclu ster ligh tsup.
X To act ivate: pressbut ton0043.
The 00BB ESP®
OF Fwarn ing lamp inthe
in st rum entclu ster goe sout .
Cha racte rist ics when ESP®
is dea ctiva-
te d
If ES P®
is deac tivat ed and oneor mor ewhee ls
st art tospin ,th e00E5 ESP®
warn ing lamp in
th einst rum entclu ster flas hes .In suc hsit ua-
ti on s,ES P®
will notst abiliz eth eveh icle.
If you deac tivat eES P®
:
R ES P®
no longer improvesdrivin gst abilit y
R en gin eto rque isno longer limitedand the
dri ve whee lsare able tospin
R tract ion control isstill act ivat ed
R Ac tive Brake Assis tis no longer avail able;
no ris itact ivat edifyou brak efir mly with
ass istanc efrom ESP®
R PRE -SAF E®
is no longer avail able, noris it
act ivat edifyou brak efir mly and ESP®
inte r-
ven es
R Ac tive Brake Assis twit hcr oss -traf fic fun c-
ti on isno longer avail able; noris itact ivat ed
if you brak efir mly withass istanc efrom
ES P®
R ES P®
still pro vides supp ortwhen youbrak e
fir mly Deact
ivating/a ctivating ESP ®
(Mer cede s‑AM Gveh icles) Imp
ortant saf etynot es
i Obs
erveth e"Im portantsaf etyno tes" sec -
ti on (Ypage 60).
You canselectbet ween thefo llowi ngstate sof
ES P®
:
R ES P®
is act ivat ed
R SP ORT handlingmod eis act ivat ed
R ES P®
is deac tivat ed. G
WAR
NING
Whe nSP ORT handlingmod eis act ivat ed,
th ere isagre aterris kof skiddin gand acci-
den ts.
On lyact ivat eSP ORT handlingmod ein the
sit uat ionsdes cribed inthefo llowi ng. G
WAR
NING
If you deac tivat eES P®
,ES P®
no longer sta-
biliz estheveh icle. The reisan incr ease dris k
of skiddin gand anacc iden t.
On lydeac tivat eES P®
in thesit uat ions
des cribed inthefo llowi ng.
In thefo llowi ngsituat ions,itmay bebet terto
act ivat eSP ORT handlingmod eor deac tivat e
ES P®
:
R when usingsn ow chain s
R in deep snow
R on san dor gra vel
R on spe ciallydes ignate droa dswhen the
veh icle's own overste eri ng and understeer-
in g ch arac teris tics are desired
Sp inning thewhee lsres ultsin acut ting act ion
whic hpro vides bet tergri p.
Dr iving inSP ORT handlingmod eor wit hout
ES P®
req uire san extreme lyqualif iedand
ex per ienceddri ver .
i Ac
tivat eES P®
as soo nas thesit uat ions
des cribed aboveno longer apply. ESP®
will
ot her wise notbe able tostabiliz eth eveh icle
if th eveh iclest art sto skid or awhee lst art s
to spin . 68
Dri
ving safet ysys temsSaf ety