2003 MERCEDES-BENZ G500 backrest

35 Getting started
Adjusting
The seat adjustment switches are located
in each front door.
1Seat height
2Seat fore and aft adjustment
3Seat cushion tilt
4Backrest tilt
5Head restraint height

Turn the key in the starter switch to
position1 or2 (
page 33).
or

Open the driver’s or front passenger
door.
Seat fore and aft adjustment

Press the switch forward or back in the
direction of arrow2.
Adjust a comfortable seating position
that still allows you to reach the accel-
erator/brake pedal safely. The position
should be as far rearward as possible,
consistent with ability to properly oper-
ate controls.
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle and
the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint.
iWhen moving the seat, be sure that

there are no items in the footwell or
behind the seats


the cup holder next to the armrest
is removed (
page 178)


the cup holder in the front passen-
ger footwell is folded closed
(page 178)
Otherwise you could damage the seats
and/or cup holders.

36 Getting startedAdjustingSeat height
Press the switch up or down in the di-
rection of arrow1.
Make sure that you have sufficient
headroom.
Seat cushion tilt

Press the switch up or down in the di-
rection of arrow3 until your upper legs
are lightly supported.
Backrest tilt

Press the switch forward or back in di-
rection of arrow4 until your arms are
slightly angled when holding the steer-
ing wheel.Head restraint height
Adjust head restraint to support the back
of the head approximately at ear level.
Driver’s or front passenger seat

Press the switch up and down in the di-
rection of arrow5.
Rear seat

Push down or pull up on the head re-
straint.Head restraint tilt

Manually adjust the angle of the head
restraint. Push or pull on the lower
edge of the head restraint cushion.
More information on the seats can be
found in the “Controls in detail” section
(
page 91).
Warning!
G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust head restraint to support the back of
the head approximately at ear level.
Do not drive the vehicle without the seat
head restraints. Head restraints are intend-
ed to help reduce injuries during an acci-
dent.
iThe memory function can be used to
save the seat settings together with the
steering wheel and exterior mirror set-
tings (
page 97).

41 Getting started
Driving
1Latch plate
2Buckle
3Release button
With a smooth motion, pull the belt
from the belt outlet.

Place the belt over your shoulder.

Push latch plate1 into buckle2 until it
clicks.
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle and
the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint. Warning!
G
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the back-
rest reclined. Sitting in an excessively re-
clined position can be dangerous. You could
slide under the seat belt in a collision. If you
slide under it, the belt would apply force at
the abdomen or neck. That could cause se-
rious or even fatal injuries. The backrest and
seat belt provide the best restraint when the
wearer is in an upright position and the belt
is properly positioned on the body.
Warning!
G
Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are seat belts available. Be sure
everyone riding in the vehicle is correctly re-
strained with a separate seat belt - even
those in the rear.Warning!
G
Read and observe the additional warning no-
tices printed in the “Safety and Security”
section (
page 58) and (
page 60).


42 Getting startedDriving
If necessary, tighten the lap portion to
a snug fit by pulling shoulder portion
up.
Proper use of seat belts


Do not twist the belt when fastening.


Adjust seat belt so that the shoulder
portion is located as close as possible
to the middle of the shoulder (it should
not touch the neck or pass under the
arm). For this purpose, you can adjust
the height of the belt outlet, see below.


Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips (over hip joint) and not
across the abdomen.


Place the seat backrest in a nearly up-
right position.


E a c h s e a t b e l t s h o u l d n e v e r b e u s e d f o r
more than one person at a time.


Do not fasten a seat belt around a per-
son and another object at the same
time.


Check your seat belt during travel to
ensure that it is properly positioned.


Ensure that the seat belt is always fit-
ted snugly. You should avoid wearing
bulky clothing, such as winter coats,
when traveling in the vehicle.Seat belt height adjustment
Adjust the height so that the upper part of
the belt runs over the middle of the shoul-
der.
1Button for belt outlet height adjust-
mentWarning!
G
Do not pass belts over sharp edges. They
could tear.
Do not allow the belt to get caught in the
door or in the seat adjustment mechanism.
This could damage the belt.
Never attempt to make modifications to
seat belts. This could impair the effective-
ness of the belts.
Damaged seat belts or belts that were highly
stressed in an accident must be replaced by
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck
Center.

56 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyWarning!
G
To reduce the risk of injury when the front
airbags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and passenger to always be in a prop-
erly seated position and to wear your seat
belt.
For maximum protection in the event of a
collision always be in normal seated position
with your back against the backrest. Fasten
your seat belt and ensure that it is properly
positioned on your body (
page 60).
Since the airbag inflates with considerable
speed and force, a proper seating and hands
on steering wheel position will help to keep
you at a safe distance from the airbag. Oc-
cupants who are unbelted, out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in-
jured by an airbag as it inflates with great
force in the blink of an eye:


Sit properly belted in an upright position
with your back against the backrest.


Adjust the driver seat as far as possible
rearward, still permitting proper opera-
tion of vehicle controls. The distance
from the center of the driver’s breast-
bone to the center of the airbag cover on
the steering wheel must be at least ten
inches (25 cm) or more. You should be
able to accomplish this by a combina-
tion of adjustments to the seat and
steering wheel. If you have any prob-
lems, please see your authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.


Do not lean with your head or chest
close to the steering wheel or dash-
board.


Keep hands on the outside of steering
wheel rim. Placing hands and arms in-
side the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when driver front airbag inflates.


Adjust the passenger seat as far as pos-
sible rearward from the dashboard when
the seat is occupied.


Always sit upright, properly use the seat
belts and appropriate size infant or child
restraint system.


Children 12 years old and under must
never ride in the front seat, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized
BabySmart
TM compatible child seat,
which operates with the BabySmart
TM
system installed in the vehicle to deacti-
vate the passenger side front airbag
when it is properly installed. Otherwise
they will be struck by the airbag when it
inflates in a crash. If this happens, seri-
ous or fatal injury will result.
Failure to follow these instructions can re-
sult in severe injuries to you or other occu-
pants.
If you sell your vehicle you are responsible
to make the buyer aware of these points. Be
sure to give the buyer this Operator’s
Manual.

61 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!
G
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the back-
rest reclined. Sitting in an excessively re-
clined position can be dangerous. You could
slide under the seat belt in a collision. If you
slide under it, the belt would apply force at
the abdomen or neck. That could cause se-
rious or even fatal injuries. The backrest and
seat belt provide the best restraint when the
wearer is in an upright position and the belt
is properly positioned on the body.Warning!
G
Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are seat belts available. Be sure
everyone riding in the vehicle is correctly re-
strained with a separate seat belt.
Warning!
G
Damaged seat belts or belts that were highly
stressed in an accident must be replaced
and their anchoring points must also be
checked.
Only use seat belts which have been ap-
proved by Mercedes-Benz.
Do not make any modifications to the seat
belts. This can lead to unintended activation
or to failure.
Have all work carried out only by an autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.
Warning!
G
USE SEAT BELTS PROPERLY

Seat belts can only work when used
properly. Never wear seat belts in any
other way than as described in this sec-
tion, as that could result in serious inju-
ries in case of an accident.


Each occupant should wear their seat
belt at all times, because seat belts help
reduce the likelihood of and potential
severity of injuries in accidents, includ-
ing rollovers. The integrated restraint
system includes SRS (driver airbag and
front passenger airbag), ETD (seat belt
emergency tensioning device for driv-
er’s seat, passenger seat and the out-
board passenger seats). The system is
designed to enhance the protection of-
fered to properly belted occupants in
certain frontal (front airbags) impacts
which exceed preset deployment
thresholds.

92 Controls in detailSeatsRemoving and installing head re-straintsFront seat head restraints
1SwitchRemoving front seat head restraint

Press switch 1 upwards and hold until
the head restraint is fully extended.

Pull head restraint out.
Installing front seat head restraint

Press switch 1 upwards and hold for
about five seconds.

Press the head restraint down until it
engages.

Adjust head restraint to the desired po-
sition.
Warning!
G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust head restraint to support the back of
the head approximately at ear level.
Do not drive the vehicle without the seat
head restraints. Head restraints are intend-
ed to help reduce injuries during an acci-
dent.
Do not interchange head restraints from
front and rear seat.
iTilt the seat backrest rearward for eas-
ier removal and installation of the head
restraints.

94 Controls in detailSeatsMulticontour seat*
Some models may be equipped with driv-
er’s multicontour seat. This seat has a
movable seat cushion and inflatable air
cushions built into the seat backrest to
provide additional lumbar and side sup-
port.
The seat cushion movement and amount of
seat backrest cushion height and curva-
ture can be continuously varied with regu-
lators on the right side of the seat after
turning the SmartKey in the starter switch
to position2.1Seat cushion length
2Seat backrest contour in the lumbar
area
3Seat backrest contour in upper back
area
4Seat backrest side bolsters

Check that the ignition is switched on.
All the lamps in the instrument cluster
should light up.
Seat cushion length

Adjust the seat cushion to the length of
your upper leg using switch 1.Backrest contour in the lumbar area

Adjust the contour of the backrest in
the lumbar area to the desired position
using switch 2.
Backrest contour in the upper back
area

Adjust the contour of the backrest in
the upper back area to the desired po-
sition using switch 3.
Backrest side bolsters

Adjust the backrest side bolsters so
that they provide good lateral support
using switch 4.