In my opinion, esp is the only thing that let me drive around with km2's on after winter hit last year, but I swapped over to studded tires as soon as it was economically convenient.
My esp, bas light has been coming on intermittently for awhile, my dealership at first said that it was a bunch of mud packed into the wheel but after it was all cleaned out and the problem kept happening they say its a faulty sensor. I missed my appointment to have the new one installed and thats my bad, my dealership has been awesome.

I don't honestly care about it going out except that it takes out my cruise control with it. I didn't buy the cruise control, pay quadratecs outrageous "we only ship via ups ground" shipping prices and installation, just to Not have cruise control when the ding noise randomly decides it needs to assert its dominance...

But thats my only complaint about it.

 

Did only the 07s have the switch to turn it off stock?

 

ESP, ABS and BAS are there to protect the average driver on the ROAD. Average means most of you guys...

ESP is your friend. So is ABS. Not many years back, a Formula 1 car was fitted with ABS. The team driver than performed max braking tests with and without ABS enabled. Every stop using ABS was shorter then those without. So, inasmuch as a world class driver could benefit from ABS, so will you (even more so). Also, the FIA decided to ban traction control in F1 cars due to the performance increase.

You can disable ESP for off road use as long as you remain under the programmed speed of 40 mph.

From the manual: The ESP system will change to “Partial Off” mode if the vehicle speed exceeds 40 mph (64 km/h). After the vehicle speed is reduced below 35 mph (56 km/h), the ESP system will return to “Full Off” mode.


If you're picking your way along a moderate trail, you'll be in low range anyway and ESP and TCS are shut off automatically. In between trails.... Who cares?

 

I really like it on the road in the winter. It's saved my ass more than once. I don't drive like a maniac but sometimes there are just some really crappy roads and you have to go on them anyway. I also wish that sometimes I could just turn it right off without any trouble off road.

 

The switch doesn't turn it all the way off.....only partially, so it's not quite as sensitive.

 

The hokey pokey works quite well if you use a watch to coordinate your timing. I have had mine off permanently for over 21000 KM's. It does have a purpose but for me its just more of a PITA then gain. Our winters are like most your summers so I do not miss it. I know one guy who has the bypass switch on his '07 and it was done before the ECU Programming upgrade was announced.

The best part of the ESP being off is that my local dealership are a bunch of flaming idiots and have spent hours trying to figure out why my ESP light is on every time I have it in for servicing. Doesn't mater how many times I tell them or show them they are still too stupid to understand.

 

its great if your a dipshit that buries the speedo down dirt roads. until i got my JK i never had anything with it and i cant stand it. Turned it off as soon as there was snow on the ground and i havent wrecked. i have an 09 and the switch seems to turn it off but i did the whole steereing wheel bull shit dance and it worked.

 

not enough argument can be made for me to keep the ESP on my jeep. i've had several lifted jeeps and this is the first one that's tried to kill me on a 4 lane mountain pass.

i may give it a run this winter in the ice but other than that... it's gone. the switch will get put in a little later today.



sooo, will this kill the BAS too? that must go as well.

 

I hated my ESP. Especially in the wintertime. It kept braking out of the blue. When my tires slip a little bit the Jeep jerks back and forth. I disabled mine with the wheel dance, and I still retain my ABS functionality. I love driving the jeep in the winter. If I am going up a hill I can give it gas without worrying about jerking back and forth and losing control. Just need to know how to control your wheel spin, is all. With ESP on, be careful going uphill in snow. I did and the jeep kept cutting the throttle to the wheels and someone nearly rear ended me. And another time it jerked so bad the front end went out on me.

ESP off, I spin the wheels yeah... but at least I control where I am going and no computer is cutting my throttle and making it feel like the jeep slammed on the brakes while I'm trying to go forward.

I refuse to ever put ESP back on...

NOTE: the steering wheel trick disables ESP and BAS, but retains the ABS.

 

thank you.

i can live with ABS... ESP & BAS are another story.