StabiliTrak
Electronic Stability Control helps drivers maintain control of vehicles during certain low-traction driving conditions such as ice, snow, gravel, wet pavement and uneven road surfaces; as well as in emergency lane changes or avoidance maneuvers.
GM began installing ESC, which is marketed as the StabiliTrak Control System, in passenger cars in 1997. It is available on 74 percent of the fleet for the 2007 model year and will be standard on all retail GM cars and trucks in the U.S. and Canada by the end of 2010.
The next generation of StabiliTrak will assess the vehicle response to driver steering, acceleration and braking inputs and help steer the vehicle as necessary to maintain vehicle stability
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), in a study released in June 2006, said ESC:
- Reduced single-vehicle crashes by more than 40 percent and fatal crashes by 56 percent
- Would help avoid as many as 10,000 fatal crashes a year if all vehicles on the road had it.
- Would reduce by 80 percent the risk of fatal single-vehicle rollovers of SUVs.
How it works
StabiliTrak works by recognizing wheel skid. Sensors detect the difference between the steering wheel angle and the direction the driver is actually turning by “reading” the steering wheel position 25 times a second and factoring in the amount of sideways force in play, vehicle speed and the vehicle’s response to steering wheel input. The system then uses the brakes to enhance control of the vehicle’s direction and reduces the engine torque while applying precise amounts of pressure to individual brakes to help keep the vehicle on track. These brake and engine interventions help realign the vehicle’s actual path with that being steered by the driver.
2007 Model Availability [2008 Coming Soon]
| Buick | LaCrosse CXS, Lucerne CXL, CXS, Terraza CX, CXL, Rainier |
| Cadillac | CTS, CTS-V, SRX, DTS, STS, STS-V, XLR, XLR-V, Escalade, Escalade EXT, Escalade ESV |
| Chevrolet | Avalanche, Express 12-passenger, Express 15-passenger, Suburban, Tahoe, TrailBlazer, TrailBlazer SS, Uplander, Ext. LT, Uplander Ext. LT Ent, Silverado, Corvette, Equinox |
| GMC | Acadia, Envoy, Savana 12-passenger, Savana 15-passenger, Yukon, Yukon XL, Yukon Denali, Sierra |
| Hummer | H3 |
| Pontiac | G6, Grand Prix GXP, Vibe, Torrent |
| Saab | 9-7X |
| Saturn | Relay, Sky, Aura, Outlook |
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