Driveway to nowhere
You may remember an exchange about my Mercedes Vito that lost traction on one wheel when reversing into my drive. This was because of the twisting action caused by a significant camber change raising one of the rear driven wheels off the ground. My local Mercedes dealer took a genuine interest and one of the salesmen mentioned that he had driven a similar Vito in snow and found it better with the ASR (acceleration skid control) turned off. A bit counter-intuitive but lo and behold, if I turn it off I can now reverse into my drive. It's quite lucky he spoke up when he did because I had started to make moves to change it for something else that would come into my drive backwards.
Asked on 15 August 2011 by TP, via email
Answered by
Honest John
It’s a good general tip to turn ESP/ASR off in ice and snow. If you take any vehicle onto a skidpan and try it both ways you soon find out. ESP/ASR is an excellent driver aid in wet conditions, but it counters the driver's natural reactions in a skid on an extremely slippery surface.
Tags:
vans
traction control
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