Mercedes-Benz SL-Class 2009 Owners Manual - Manual (Page 69)

Driving safety systems
67
! Avoid spinning of a drive wheel for an
extended period with the ESP ® switched
off. This may cause serious damage to the
drivetrain which is not covered by the Mer-
cedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
X Switching on: Press ESP ® switch 1 until
the ABS/ESP ® warning lamp v in the
instrument cluster goes out.
You are now again in normal driving mode
with the ESP
® switched on.
SL 63 AMG
Switching ESP ® SPORT on or off
G Warning!
ESP ® SPORT should not be switched on
during normal driving.
Switching ESP
® SPORT on will result in the
following:
R no restriction to engine torque
R system supported traction control is lim-
ited
ESP ® SPORT is designed for driving on
closed tracks when the vehicle’s natural
oversteer and understeer characteristics
are desired and requires a highly skilled and
experienced driver able to handle these
critical driving situations.
You could lose control of your vehicle and
cause an accident.
Please be aware of these limits when you
switch on ESP
® SPORT.
Do not switch on ESP ® SPORT when a spare
wheel is mounted.
To improve the vehicle’s traction, switch on
ESP
® SPORT in driving situations in which it
would be advantageous to have the drive
wheels spin and thus cut into surfaces for
better grip such as:
R when driving with snow chains
R in deep snow
R in sand or gravel
G Warning!
Switch off ESP ® SPORT and switch on the
ESP ® immediately if the aforementioned
circumstances do not apply anymore. Oth-
erwise ESP
® SPORT will only stabilize the
vehicle to a limited extent when it is starting
to skid or a wheel is spinning.
When you switch on ESP ® SPORT
R the ESP ® stabilizes the vehicle only to a
limited extent
R the engine output is limited, but only to the
extent that allows the drive wheels to spin
and thus cut into surfaces for better grip
R the ETS will still apply the brakes to a spin-
ning wheel
R the ESP ® continues to operate when you
are braking hard
R you cannot activate the cruise control or
the Distronic system
R the cruise control or the Distronic system
switch off if activated
i When ESP ® SPORT is switched on and
one or more drive wheels are spinning, the
ABS/ESP
® warning lamp v in the
instrument cluster flashes. However, the
ESP
® will then stabilize the vehicle only to
a limited extent.
Safety and security
Z