bdgdl08

Not in my experience, but I don't notice any help there normally. The very first weekend I had my car, I almost hit a curb in a roundabout because I went through it at 25 (it was a large roundabout rated for 15 mph). Anytime that I have experienced understeer in this car the warning triangle did not flash.

W203E35

Are you serious? I honestly think something is wrong with your esp then.

Again I took a turn going 40mph and mashing on the gas too. I lost control and the ESP saved my butt. Keep in mind it's the 3.5 too.

The green is me taking a turn 40mph and mashing on gas and car sliding towards cars stopped (oncomming).

bdgdl08

The only time my car corrects is with rear wheel spin/slide. Never worried much about it before, I didn't notice this ability on my CLK (but then again it never understeered).

samaritrey

am i the only one that activates the esp once a day at least every day?

bdgdl08

For one, it's very easy in a 320. And two, I tend to too. With no low end, you have to put your foot down to pull out, and then the power kicks in as your half way around the corner.

samaritrey

it helps that i need new tires and this one turn i take everyday has some bumps in it and i can make esp go crazy every day and no i am not some crazy driver i actually drive slow compared to 99% of the people in my area.

acr2001

On my car between 4matic and my puny engine I can rarely kick ESP in on dry roads (mostly because it grips SO well). There are times that I am TRYING to get the car to slip so that ESP will kick in and I cant. I remember once taking a 90 degree turn that was at a slight angle so damn hard that I was on three wheels (with one of the rears OFF THE GROUND) and I didn't slip! No ESP light!

LILBENZ230

My car's ESP aggressively counters understeer. This happens to me sometimes on rain slick roads, nothing I do intentionally.

samaritrey

actually my car is pretty hard to get the esp to kick on in normal driving but in the rain or snow/ice i can have so much fun i had way to much fun when we got snow here i almost called in sick to work so that i could just go drive around in it

acr2001

I'm not someone you want to be around when it snows
I take the fun a little too far, every corner starts to look like a good opportunity for a power slide. I actually pulled a very nice 360 on my old tires in an empty (and freshly paved) parking lot when it snowed last year.

But to really get "insanity" status you've got to achieve the red "ESP overheated" screen on the display. Not something I intend to try.

samaritrey

you live up north right i need to stay out of your state when it snows it sounds like.

holycaoAMG

From reading the manual, it states pressing on the ESP off button on the dash will disable the 'torque reduction' feature, but stability control is still on. Basically, it doesnt rein in the power during take off so your throttle response is actually better, but the brakes are still active. On my c320, i can definately feel the low end power a lot more.

Another thing i noticed is if you turn the ESP off, and you suddenly hit the brakes while pressing your horn, the ESP will engage again.

LILBENZ230

That's a smart car.. I will have to test this.

samaritrey

lol how did you figure that one out + that is strange that it would do that.

acr2001

Anyone test this out yet? I find that very interesting and hard to believe!

Norwichdelta06

you know it's funny you rarely see a MB or a BMW in a car accident. And if you did that driver must've done something really stupid or aimed toward that wall because honestly I drive my car hard even in the rain and where i steer my wheel the car goes.

holycaoAMG

To everyone having doubts, i actually found out accidently. I was driving with the ESP off cause i was in a hurry mood and out of no where some guy opens his driver's side door toward the street [mind you it was a very narrow street] and i hit the brakes and honked at the same time, all of a sudden the yellow triangle on the HUD was gone [meaning ESP is on again].

This has happend twice this year, if i can recall.

bdgdl08

The last two accident I saw that involved Mercs were funny. In the first, a w203 was rear-ended (not their fault). They were hit so hard that the back of the trunk was crushed all the way up to the back seat. It amazed me how much damage was done - the person must have been FLYNG!!! THe second was an older S-class. They were driving in stop-and-go traffic and veered off the road to avoid hitting the person in front of them. They spun out through the grass and ended up facing the road up in the tree line. That was just a dumba$$ driver, though.

LILBENZ230

I tested the brake hard and horn thing and it didn't work on my 2005. The car didn't become unstable, but the ESP triangle remained lit.

Also, how about that youtube video from another country where a silver C32 hit a dump truck head on and the driver of the C32 survived but it killed the dump truck driver? .. I mean, not that it's funny.. just weird.

W203E35

Benz has **** sensors. Whenever you **** in your pants the Yellow triangle appears. Are you sure you didn't hit the horn and leave a yellow stain?



Busting your chops my brother

bdgdl08

That's weird. How does a w203 beat a dump truck?

samaritrey

+1 have a link for us matt

LILBENZ230

I can't find the link. It was in a foreign language.

samaritrey

holycaoAMG

LOL, swear dude. I dont know about others, but i remember the esp engaging again during that situation, no doubt.

btw, sorry to hear about that lil situation you had with cop pulling you over recently. If it was me, id bust his face out.