2004 MERCEDES-BENZ CLK-CLASS Owners Manual

57 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Panic alarm
Driving safety systems
Anti-theft systems
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58 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
Occupant safetyIn this section you will learn the most im-
portant facts about the restraint systems
of the vehicle.
The restraint systems are

Seat belts


Emergency tensioning device


Airbags


Child seats


Child seat recognition


Lower anchors for children (LATCH)
As independent systems, their protective
effects work in conjunction with each oth-
er.The 1 indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster comes on:


for about 4 seconds when you turn the
SmartKey in the starter switch to
position1 or press the KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button once.


for about 4 seconds when you start the
engine by turning the SmartKey or
pressing the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button.The 1 indicator lamp goes out shortly
after you start the engine. This shows that
the restraint systems are operational.
A malfunction in the system has been de-
tected if the 1 indicator lamp:


fails to extinguish after approximately
4 seconds.


does not come on at all.


comes on after the engine was started
or while driving.
For safety reasons, we strongly recom-
mend that you visit an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center immediately to
have the system checked.
More information can be found in the
“Practical hints” section (
page 318).
iFor information on infants and children
traveling with you in the vehicle and re-
straint systems for infants and chil-
dren, see “Children in the vehicle”
(page 69).
iThe 1 indicator lamp remains lit if
the SmartKey is turned to position2
and left there or if the KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button is pressed twice. The
1 indicator lamp will go out when
you start the engine.
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59 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Airbags
Warning!
G
In the event that the 1 indicator lamp
comes on during driving or does not come at
all, the SRS may not be operational. For your
safety, we strongly recommend that you vis-
it an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center im-
mediately to have the system checked;
otherwise the SRS may not be activated
when needed in an accident, which could re-
sult in serious or fatal injury, or it might de-
ploy unexpectedly and unnecessarily which
could also result in injury.
Improper work on the restraint systems, in-
cluding incorrect installation and removal,
can lead to possible injury through an unin-
tended activation of the SRS.
In addition, through improper work there is
a risk of rendering the SRS inoperative or
causing unintended airbag deployment.
Work on the SRS must therefore only be per-
formed by qualified technicians. Contact
your authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
Airbags are designed to reduce the potential
for injury resulting from certain frontal im-
pacts (front airbags) or side impacts
(head-thorax airbags and rear side-impact
airbags) which may cause significant inju-
ries. However, no system available today
can totally eliminate injuries and fatalities.
The activation of the SRS temporarily releas-
es a small amount of dust from the airbags.
This dust, however, is neither injurious to
your health, nor does it indicate a fire in the
vehicle. The dust might cause some tempo-
rary breathing difficulty for people with asth-
ma or other breathing trouble. To avoid this,
you may wish to get out of the vehicle as
soon as it is safe to do so. If you have any
breathing difficulty but cannot get out of the
vehicle after the airbag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
Warning!
G
To reduce the risk of injury when the front
airbags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and front passenger to always be in a
properly seated position and to be wearing
seat belts.
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.
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 seat back-
rest.

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60 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety

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 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 front passenger seat as far as
possible rearward from the dashboard
when the seat is occupied.


Occupants, especially children, should
never lean their heads in the area of the
door or the side where the head-thorax
and rear side-impact airbags inflate.
This could result in serious injuries or
death should the airbag be triggered. Al-
ways 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
TM1 compatible child seat,
which operates with the BabySmart
TM
system installed in the vehicle to deacti-
vate the passenger front airbag when it
is properly installed. Otherwise they will
be struck by the airbag when it inflates
in a crash. If this happens, serious or fa-
tal 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.
Make sure to give the buyer this Operator’s
Manual.
1BabySmart
TM is a trademark of Siemens
Automotive Corp.
Warning!
G
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in an automobile is in the
rear seat. Should you choose to place a child
12 years old or under in the passenger front
seat of your vehicle, you must properly use
a BabySmart
TM child restraint which will
turn off the passenger front airbag.
BabySmart
TM will not, however, turn off any
side impact airbag (front head-thorax airbag
and rear side impact airbags).
It should be noted that with respect to both
front and rear side impact airbags there is a
possibility for a side airbag related injury if
occupants, especially children, are not prop-
erly seated or restrained when next to a
front head-thorax airbag or a rear side im-
pact airbag which need to deploy rapidly in
a side impact in order to do its job.
To help avoid the possibility of injury, please
follow these guidelines:
(1) Occupants, especially children, should
never lean their heads in the area of the

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61 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
door or the side where the front
head-thorax or rear side-impact airbag
inflates. This could result in serious inju-
ries or death should the front
head-thorax airbag or rear side-impact
airbag be activated.
(2) Always sit upright, properly use the seat
belts and use an appropriately sized in-
fant or child restraint system for all chil-
dren 12 years old or under.
(3) Always wear seat belts properly.
If you believe that, even with the use of
these guidelines, it would be safer for your
rear seat occupants to have the rear mount-
ed thorax airbags deactivated, then deacti-
vation can be accomplished upon your
written request to do so at your authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center at an additional cost.
Please contact your local authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center or call our Customer
Assistance Center at 1-800-FOR-MERCedes
(1-800-367-6372) for details.
iAirbags are designed to activate only in
certain frontal (front airbags) impacts,
or side (head-thorax airbags and rear
side-impact airbags) impacts which ex-
ceed preset thresholds.
Only during these types of impacts, if of
sufficient severity to meet the deploy-
ment thresholds, will they provide their
supplemental protection.
The driver and passenger should al-
ways wear their seat belts. Otherwise it
is not possible for the airbags to pro-
vide their supplemental protection.
In cases of other frontal impacts, an-
gled impacts, roll-overs, other side im-
pacts, rear collisions, or other
accidents, the airbags will not be acti-
vated. The driver and passengers will
then be protected by the fastened seat
belts.
We caution you not to rely on the pres-
ence of the airbags in order to avoid
wearing your seat belt.
Your vehicle was originally equipped
with airbags that are designed to acti-
vate in certain impacts exceeding a
preset threshold to reduce the poten-
tial and severity of injury. It is important
to your safety and that of your passen-
ger that you replace deployed airbags
and repair any malfunctioning airbags
to ensure that the vehicle will continue
to provide supplemental crash protec-
tion for occupants.
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62 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetySafety guidelines for the seat belt,
emergency tensioning device and
airbag
When you sell your vehicle, we strongly
urge you to give notice to the subsequent
owner that it is equipped with an SRS by
alerting them to the applicable section in
the Operator’s Manual.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 belts in-
stalled or supplied by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


Airbags and ETDs are designed to func-
tion on a one-time-only basis. An airbag
or emergency tensioning device (ETD)
that was activated must be replaced.


No modifications of any kind may be
made to any components or wiring of
the SRS. This includes changing or re-
moving any component or part of the
SRS, the installation of additional trim
material, seat covers, badges, etc. over
the steering wheel hub, passenger front
airbag cover, front seat backrests or
rear side trim panels, and installation of
additional electrical/electronic equip-
ment on or near SRS components and
wiring. Keep area between airbags and
occupants free from objects (e.g. pack-
ages, purses, umbrellas, etc.).


Do not pass belts over sharp edges.
They could tear.


Do not make any modification that could
change the effectiveness of the belts.


An airbag system component within the
steering wheel gets hot after the airbag
has inflated. Do not touch.


Improper work on the system, including
incorrect installation and removal, can
lead to possible injury through an unin-
tended activation of the SRS.


In addition, through improper work
there is a risk of rendering the SRS inop-
erative or causing unintended airbag de-
ployment. Work on the SRS must
therefore only be performed by qualified
technicians. Contact your authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


For your protection and the protection
of others, when disposing of the airbag
unit or emergency tensioning device,
our safety instructions must be fol-
lowed. These instructions are available
from your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.


Given the considerable deployment
speed and the textile structure of the
airbags, there is the possibility of abra-
sions or other injuries resulting from air-
bag deployment.
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63 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Front airbags
1Driver airbag
2Passenger airbag
Driver and passenger airbags are de-
ployed:

in the event of a frontal impact


if impact exceeds a preset deployment
threshold


independently of the side impact air-
bagsThe airbags will not deploy in impacts
which do not exceed the system’s deploy-
ment thresholds. You will then be protect-
ed by the fastened seat belts.
The passenger front airbag will only be de-
ployed if:


the front passenger seat is occupied.


the PASS. AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp
in the center console is not lit
(page 71).


impact exceeds a preset deployment
thresholdHead-thorax airbags
1Head-thorax airbag
The head-thorax airbags1 in the driver
and front passenger seat are deployed:


on the impacted side of the vehicle


in impacts exceeding a preset deploy-
ment threshold


independently of the front airbags
The head-thorax airbags1 are not de-
ployed in impacts which do not exceed the
system’s deployment threshold.
!Do not place objects heavier than 20
lbs (9 kg) on the front passenger seat.
This could cause the front or
head-thorax airbag on the front passen-
ger side to deploy in a crash which ex-
ceeds the system's deployment
threshold.
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64 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyThe front passenger head-thorax airbag
will only deploy if the system senses that
the front passenger seat is occupied.Rear side-impact airbags
1Rear side-impact airbag
The rear side-impact airbags1 are de-
ployed:


on the impacted side of the vehicle


in impacts exceeding a preset deploy-
ment threshold


independently of the front airbags
The rear side-impact airbags1 are not
deployed in impacts which do not exceed
the system’s deployment threshold.
Seat belts
When the engine is started, the seat belt
non-usage warning lamp < illuminates
to remind you and your passengers to fas-
ten your seat belts. If the driver’s seat belt
is not fastened before the engine is start-
ed, the seat belt non-usage warning lamp
< illuminates and a warning chime
sounds for approximately six seconds
when the engine is started.
The use of seat belts and infant and child
restraint systems is required by law in all
50 states, the District of Columbia, the
U.S. territories and all Canadian provinces.
Even where this is not the case, all vehicle
occupants should have their seat belts fas-
tened whenever the vehicle is in motion.
Information on fastening seat belts is
found in the “Getting started” section
(page 40).
Warning!
G
For the front seats, only use seat covers that
have been approved by Mercedes-Benz for
this model. Other seat covers may prevent
the head-thorax bags from deploying
correctly.
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