Stability control

Your car has stability control systems in place that can help to prevent skidding.

Electronic stability control

Electronic stability control1 can automatically apply your car's brakes to prevent skidding when your car detects a loss of traction or steering control. To do this, ESC applies the brakes to each wheel individually. When this intervention happens, the symbol for ESC flashes in the driver information area.

Electronic stability control symbol

The function can be turned off to allow for a more active driving experience. It can also be useful to turn ESC off if the car is stuck in mud or deep snow.

 Note

Towing a trailer

When you are towing a trailer, the electronic stability control should always be enabled as it helps to prevent snaking. You can read more about this in the manual section about towing.

Your car's stability control includes several other features, such as:
Anti-lock braking system2The car's anti-lock braking system prevents the brakes from locking up during hard braking. This improves manoeuvrability and helps with stabilising the car.
Trailer stability assistThis is part of the ESC and can intervene if snaking is detected when you are towing a trailer.
Spin control and active yaw controlThese features act to prevent the wheels from slipping against the road surface.
Regeneration stability controlHelps with preventing wheel locking when regenerative braking is applied.

 Note

Some of the other stability functions are partially disabled as a part of turning the ESC off. None of them are completely turned off, but their threshold of activation will be increased to allow for a more active driving experience.