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Date of printing:
05/16/2012Online Owner's Manual [In depth | Safety | Occupant safety]
Owner's Manual version: H 09/10
Note: The online Owner's Manual is the latest version available. Deviations between this manual and items specific to your vehicle may occur since Mercedes-Benz constantly adapts its vehicles to the latest technology and modifies design and equipment. Please note that this online Owner's Manual does not under any circumstances replace the printed Owner's Manual which is supplied with the vehicle.
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Contents
| Restraint systems |
| Seat belts |
| SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) |
| Children in the vehicle |
The seat belts, belt tensioners and driver's front airbag are restraint systems designed to complement one another. They reduce the risk of injury in specific, pre-defined types of accident situations and thereby increase occupant safety. Neither seat belts nor the driver's front airbag generally provide any protection from objects that enter the vehicle.
In order for the restraint systems to offer the intended level of protection, make sure that:
An airbag increases the degree of protection afforded to a vehicle occupant who is wearing a seat belt. It is therefore only an additional restraint system which complements, but does not replace, the seat belt. Airbags do not replace the need for all vehicle occupants to wear their seat belt correctly at all times. This is in part because airbags are not deployed in all types of accident, as in some situations, airbag deployment would not increase the protection afforded to vehicle occupants, provided they are wearing their seat belt correctly.
Airbag deployment also only provides increased protection if the seat belt is worn correctly because:
Thus, in the event of an accident in which an airbag is deployed, it only provides protection in addition to the seat belt if the seat belt is being worn correctly.
WARNING
Modifications to or work performed incorrectly on the following parts can result in the restraint systems not functioning as intended:
The driver's front airbag and the belt tensioners could fail, e.g. in the event of an accident, the deceleration force of which would normally be sufficient to trigger the systems, or could be triggered unintentionally. For this reason, never make any modifications to the restraint systems.
Therefore, you must not tamper with electronic components or their software.
WARNING
Airbags provide additional protection, but are not a substitute for the seat belts. To reduce the risk of serious or even fatal injuries, make sure that all occupants - in particular, pregnant women - wear their seat belt correctly at all times and have adopted a normal sitting position, and that their seat backrest is positioned as close to the vertical as possible.
Seat belts are the most effective means of reducing the occupants' motions in the event of a collision. This reduces the danger of occupants hitting the vehicle interior.
WARNING
A seat belt which is not worn, which is worn incorrectly, or which has not been engaged in the seat belt buckle correctly, cannot perform its intended protective function. Under certain circumstances this could cause severe or even fatal injuries. Make sure that all vehicle occupants - in particular, pregnant women - wear their seat belt correctly at all times.
Make sure that the belt:
Do not secure any objects with a seat belt if the seat belt is being used by one of the vehicle's occupants.
Avoid wearing bulky clothing, e.g. a winter coat.
Do not route the belt strap across sharp-edged or fragile objects, especially if these are on or in your clothing, e.g. spectacles, pens, keys, etc. The seat belt strap could be damaged and you could be injured.
Only one person should use each seat belt at any one time.
On no account should children travel in the vehicle while sitting on the lap of another occupant. It would not be possible to restrain the child, and the child and other vehicle occupants could be injured seriously or even fatally in the event of abrupt braking.
Persons under 1.50 m tall or under twelve years of age cannot wear the seat belts properly. They therefore require additional suitable restraint systems fitted on appropriate seats for protection in an accident. Always follow the manufacturer's installation instructions when fitting a child seat.
WARNING
A seat belt only offers its intended degree of protection if the backrest is positioned as close to the vertical as possible and if the occupant is sitting upright. Avoid seat positions that prevent the seat belt from being correctly routed. You will find further information under "Seat" in the index. You should therefore position the backrest as close to the vertical as possible. Never drive with the backrest tilted too far back. You could otherwise be seriously or even fatally injured in the event of an accident or sudden braking.
WARNING
WARNING
The seat belt cannot function correctly if the belt or buckle is dirty or damaged. Keep the belt and buckle clean, otherwise the belt tongue cannot engage correctly.
Regularly check the seat belts to make sure that they:
Otherwise, the belt could tear in the event of an accident. You or others could be seriously or even fatally injured.
Have seat belts which have been damaged or subjected to heavy loads in an accident replaced and have their anchorages checked.
For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz recommends that you only use seat belts which have been specially approved for your vehicle by Mercedes-Benz.
SRS reduces the risk of occupants hitting parts of the vehicle interior in the event of an accident. In addition, it can reduce the forces the occupants are subjected to during an accident.
warning lamp
SRS regularly performs self-checks when the ignition is switched on and while the engine is running. This allows faults to be detected in good time.
The warning lamp lights up in the instrument cluster for approximately four seconds when you switch on the ignition.
WARNING
A malfunction has occurred if the warning lamp:
Individual systems could be triggered inadvertently or might not be triggered at all in the event of an accident with a high rate of vehicle deceleration. If a malfunction occurs, have the SRS checked and repaired immediately at a qualified specialist workshop which has the necessary specialist knowledge and tools to carry out the work required. Mercedes-Benz recommends that you use a Mercedes-Benz Service Centre for this purpose. In particular, work relevant to safety or on safety-related systems must be carried out at a qualified specialist workshop.
In the event of a collision, the sensor in the airbag control unit evaluates important physical data such as the duration, direction and rate of vehicle deceleration or acceleration. Based on the evaluation of this data and depending on the vehicle's rate of longitudinal deceleration in a collision, the belt tensioners are the first to be triggered by the airbag control unit.
The driver's front airbag is not deployed unless a second activation threshold is reached, i.e. there is a higher rate of vehicle deceleration in a longitudinal direction.
In the first stages of a collision, the control unit evaluates physical data such as duration, direction and rate of vehicle deceleration or acceleration in order to determine whether it is necessary to trigger the belt tensioners or deploy the airbags.
The triggering thresholds for the belt tensioners and driver's front airbag are variable and are adapted to the rate of the vehicle deceleration. This process is pre-emptive in nature since the airbag must be deployed during, and not at the end of, the collision.
Vehicle deceleration or acceleration and the direction of the force are essentially determined by:
Factors which can only be seen and measured after the collision has occurred are not decisive for airbag deployment and do not provide an indication of their deployment.
The vehicle may be considerably deformed without the driver's front airbag being deployed if, for example, only relatively easily deformable parts, such as the bonnet or wings, have been hit and the required rate of deceleration has not been reached. It is also possible that the driver's front airbag may be deployed even though the vehicle is only slightly deformed, if, for example, very rigid vehicle parts such as the longitudinal members are hit in an accident and the rate of deceleration is sufficient.
If the vehicle is equipped with a driver airbag, the seat belt of the driver's seat has a belt tensioner. Whether or not the co-driver's seat has a belt tensioner depends on the vehicle's equipment.
Belt tensioners tighten the seat belts in an accident, pulling them close against the seat occupant's body.
While the ignition is switched on, the belt tensioner is triggered only:
if the restraint systems are operational; see warning lamp more
in the event of head-on and rear-end impacts if the vehicle decelerates or accelerates rapidly in a longitudinal direction in the initial stages of the impact
If the belt tensioner is triggered, you will hear a bang and powder may also be released. The bang will generally not affect
your hearing, except in extremely rare circumstances. The powder emitted is not hazardous to health. The warning lamp lights up.
WARNING
If the belt tensioners have been triggered, no protection is offered by the belt tensioners in the event of another collision. Have triggered belt tensioners replaced at a qualified specialist workshop which has the necessary specialist knowledge and tools to carry out the work required. Mercedes-Benz recommends that you use a Mercedes-Benz Service Centre for this purpose. In particular, work relevant to safety or on safety-related systems must be carried out at a qualified specialist workshop.
Comply with safety regulations when disposing of belt tensioners. The regulations can be obtained from any Mercedes-Benz Service Centre.
Your vehicle may be equipped with a driver's front airbag in the steering wheel. The airbag cover is marked with "SRS AIRBAG".
WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious or fatal injuries in the event of an accident with a high rate of deceleration, e.g. injuries caused by an airbag deploying within milliseconds or sudden braking, observe the following points:
all vehicle occupants must select a seat position which allows them to wear their seat belt correctly and which is as far away from the airbag as possible. The driver's seat position must be such that the vehicle can be driven safely. The distance from the driver's seat to the pedals must be such that the driver is able to depress them fully. The distance between the driver's chest and the centre of the airbag cover must be more than 25 cm. The driver's arms should be slightly bent when holding the steering wheel.
vehicle occupants should always wear their seat belt correctly and position their backrest as close to the vertical as possible.
adjust the head restraints in such a way that their upper edge is at the same height as the seat occupant's head.
move the co-driver's seat as far back as possible, especially if a child is secured in a restraint system on this seat.
do not lean forwards, e.g. over the padded boss of the steering wheel, particularly when the vehicle is in motion.
only hold the steering wheel by the rim; this allows the airbag to deploy fully. If you hold the inner part of the steering wheel, you could be injured when the airbag deploys.
make sure that there are no people, animals or objects between the vehicle occupants and the area of deployment of the airbag.
do not hang any hard objects, e.g. coat hangers, on the grab handles or coat hooks.
Due to the high speed of airbag deployment, it is not possible to entirely rule out the risk of injuries caused by the airbag deploying.
WARNING
The operation of the driver's front airbag is only guaranteed if you:
A deployed airbag slows and reduces the movement of the vehicle occupants.
If the airbag is deployed, you will hear a bang and powder may also be released. The bang will generally not affect your hearing,
except in extremely rare circumstances. The powder emitted is not hazardous to health. An airbag deploys within milliseconds.
The warning lamp lights up.
When the vehicle occupant makes contact with the airbag, hot gas flows out of the deployed airbag. This feature is designed to reduce the force acting on the occupant's head and chest. The airbag is therefore in a deflated state after an accident.
WARNING
Immediately after the driver's front airbag has been triggered the airbag parts are hot. Do not touch them, or you could be burned.
After the driver's front airbag has been triggered, it must be replaced at a qualified specialist workshop which has the necessary specialist knowledge and tools to carry out the work required. Occupants are otherwise no longer protected by the airbag in the event of another accident. Mercedes-Benz recommends that you use a Mercedes-Benz Service Centre for this purpose.
All work relevant to safety or on safety-related systems must be carried out at a qualified specialist workshop.
WARNING
A small amount of powder is released when an airbag is deployed. The powder could cause short-term breathing difficulties in people with asthma or other respiratory problems.
In order to prevent breathing difficulties, you should leave the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so. You can also open the window to allow fresh air to enter the interior. The powder does not constitute a health hazard and does not indicate that there is a fire in the vehicle.
If a child is travelling in the vehicle:
You can obtain child seats and information about the correct child restraint system from any Mercedes-Benz Service Centre.
WARNING
Do not leave children unsupervised in the vehicle, even if they are secured in a child restraint system. Children could otherwise injure themselves on parts of the vehicle. They could be severely or even fatally injured by prolonged exposure to intense heat or cold.
If children open a door, they could:
Always take the key with you when leaving the vehicle, even if you are only leaving for a short time.
WARNING
Mercedes-Benz recommends that you only use "Universal" category child restraint systems suitable for the age and size of the children on the different seats.
You can obtain child seats and information about the correct child restraint system from any Mercedes-Benz Service Centre.
"Universal" category child restraint systems can be recognised by their orange approval label. The label is affixed to the child restraint system and identifies it.
Example of an approval label
on the child restraint system
WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious or even fatal injury to children in the event of an accident, braking or sudden change in direction:
Always secure children less than 1.50 m tall and under 12 years of age in a special child restraint system installed on a suitable vehicle seat, as the seat belts are not designed for passengers of this size.
Do not secure children under 12 years of age on the co-driver's seat without a suitable forward-facing child restraint system.
If you secure a forward-facing child restraint system to the co-driver's seat, you must move the co-driver's seat as far back as possible.
On no account should children travel sitting on the lap of another occupant. The forces produced in the event of an accident, sharp braking or a sudden change in direction make it impossible for children to be held securely. They would be thrown against parts of the vehicle interior and be seriously or even fatally injured.
All vehicle occupants must always have their seat belt fastened correctly.
WARNING
If the child restraint system is not fitted correctly to a suitable vehicle seat, the child may not be secured in the event of an accident or sudden braking and may be seriously or even fatally injured. Therefore, when fitting a child restraint system, you must observe the manufacturer's installation instructions as the notes on use of the child restraint system.
Child restraint systems should preferably be fitted to the rear seats. Children are generally better protected there.
Never place objects, e.g. cushions, under the child restraint system. The entire base of the child restraint system must always be resting on the seat cushion.
A child restraint system must not be used without the genuine cover designed for it. Only replace damaged covers with genuine covers.
On the rear seats, only use child restraint systems that have been recommended for use in Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
WARNING
WARNING
If the child restraint system or its securing system has been damaged or subjected to a load in an accident, a child secured in it could be seriously or even fatally injured in the event of an accident, braking or a sudden change in direction.
Have restraint systems and their securing systems which have been damaged or subjected to a load in an accident checked and, if necessary, replaced immediately at a qualified specialist workshop which has the necessary specialist knowledge and tools for the work required.
Mercedes-Benz recommends that you use a Mercedes-Benz Service Centre for this purpose. All work relevant to safety or on safety-related systems must be carried out at a qualified specialist workshop.
Notes
Date of printing:
05/16/2012Online Owner's Manual [In depth | Safety | Occupant safety]
Owner's Manual version: H 09/10
Note: The online Owner's Manual is the latest version available. Deviations between this manual and items specific to your vehicle may occur since Mercedes-Benz constantly adapts its vehicles to the latest technology and modifies design and equipment. Please note that this online Owner's Manual does not under any circumstances replace the printed Owner's Manual which is supplied with the vehicle.
in seat belt buckle 
.
on seat belt buckle 
The driver's front airbag increases the degree of protection afforded to the driver against head and chest injuries.