Originally Posted by Mark Doiron

The owner's manual runs many, many pages discussing ESP and how it works. I'd encourage each and every one of you who thinks that the ABS is not affected by ESP, that pushing the ESP switch for ten seconds totally turns off ESP, or that ESP is a simple on, partial off, full off control to carefully read your copy. If you didn't get one, I encourage you to download one from here (it implies that you must purchase it, but press on and you'll see that downloads are free):

Download a Free Jeep Owner's Manual

From the manual: "Your vehicle is equipped with an advanced electronic brake control system that includes ABS (Anti-Lock Brake System), TCS (Traction Control System), BAS (Brake Assist System), ERM (Electronic Roll Mitigation), and ESP (Electronic Stability Program). All five systems work together to enhance vehicle stability and control in various driving conditions, and are commonly referred to as ESP."

Me again: What you can conclude from that is that anyone who says that you are totally turning off ESP, is also saying that you're turning off ABS. However, fortunately, that's not exactly true. ABS works with the rest of the systems to provide the necessary braking action for BLD (Brake Locking Differential), ERM, TCS and ESP. Some of that functionality will be turned off or on in each of the four possible modes for ESP: Full On (Normal), Partial Off (Press ESP switch momentarily), "Full Off" (Press and hold ESP switch until you hear the chime--five seconds or so), and "Completely Off" (Only available on newer models. or early models that had the firmware updated, and only after activation with a Nintendo code sequence involving the steering wheel). Even that last mode, what I call "Completely Off" does not turn off the most basic ABS braking function. However, it does turn off the ABS braking functions that support all of the remaining ESP functions--BLD, ERM, TCS, etc. There are also times when ESP goes automatically into various modes of off or on, just based on the manner in which you're driving your vehicle (exceeding certain speeds, using 4WD-Low and turning off the ignition, for example). But even that is not consistent for all modes of ESP.

Bottom line: RTM. And, if you have an early model without the Nintendo code in the manual, download a later year model owner's manual and read the part about using the steering wheel to turn off ESP. It applies to yours if you had the new firmware installed (For me, that was when the brake was recall performed. You should have been given a copy of the addendum for your manual at that time).