2004 MERCEDES-BENZ E320 child door

58 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 10 in
(25 cm) or more. You should be able to
accomplish this by a combination of ad-
justments to the seat and steering
wheel. If you have any problems, 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 where the side airbag inflates. This
could result in serious injuries or death
should the airbag be triggered. Always
sit upright, properly use the seat belts
and appropriate size infant or child re-
straint 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 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. Be
sure to give the buyer this Operator’s Manu-
al.
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.
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 side
airbag which needs to deploy rapidly in a
side impact in order to do its job.


59 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
To help avoid the possibility of injury, please
follow these guidelines:
(1) Occupants, especially children, should
never place their bodies or lean their
heads in the area of the door where the
side airbag inflates. This could result in
serious injuries or death should the side
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 side airbags deactivated, then deactiva-
tion 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 impacts (front air bags),
side impacts (side impact and head
protection window curtain airbags)
which exceed preset thresholds and in
certain rollovers (head protection win-
dow curtain airbags). Only during these
events will they provide their supple-
mental protection.
The driver and passengers should al-
ways wear their seat belts. Otherwise it
is not possible for airbags to provide
their supplemental protection.
In case of other types of impacts and
impacts below air bag deployment
thresholds, airbags will not be activat-
ed. The driver and passenger will then
be protected to the extent possible by
a properly fastened seat belt. A proper-
ly fastened seat belt is also needed to
provide the best possible protection in
a rollover.
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-
gers 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.

72 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
Blocking of rear door window operation
1Override switch
2Indicator lamp
Press override switch1.
Indicator lamp2 comes on. The rear
door windows can no longer be operat-
ed using the switches located in the
rear doors.For more information on power windows,
see the “Controls in detail” section
(
page 197).
Warning!
G
Children too big for child restraint systems
must ride in back seats using regular seat
belts. Position shoulder belt across chest
and shoulder, not face or neck. A booster
seat may be necessary to achieve proper
belt positioning for children from 41 lbs until
they reach a height where a lap/shoulder
belt fits properly without a booster.
Install child seat according to manufactur-
er’s instructions.
T h e c h i l d s e a t m u s t b e f i r m l y a t t a c h e d i n t h e
right and left side anchors2.
An incorrectly mounted child seat may come
loose during an accident which could result
in serious injury or death to your child.
Damaged or impact damaged child seats or
child seat mounting fittings must be re-
placed.
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, even if the children are secured in a
child restraint system.
!Operation of the rear door windows
with the switches located on the door
control panel of the driver’s door is still
possible.
Warning!
G
Activate the override switch when children
are riding in the back seats of the vehicle.
The children may otherwise injure them-
selves, e.g. by becoming trapped in the win-
dow opening.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, and lock
the vehicle. Do not leave children unattend-
ed in the vehicle, or with access to an un-
locked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehicle
equipment can cause an accident and/or
serious personal injury.

89 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Factory setting
Global unlocking
Press buttonŒ.
All turn signal lamps flash once. The
locking knobs in the doors move up.
The vehicle will lock again automatically
within approximately 40 seconds of un-
locking if:


neither door nor trunk is opened


the SmartKey is not inserted in the
starter switch


the central locking switch is not acti-
vated
Global locking

Press button‹.
All turn signal lamps flash three times.
The locking knobs in the doors move
down.Selective setting
If you frequently travel alone, you may wish
to reprogram the SmartKey so that
pressingŒ only unlocks the driver’s
door and the fuel filler flap.

Press and hold buttonsŒ and‹
simultaneously for about five seconds
until battery check lamp5 flashes
twice.
The SmartKey will then function as fol-
lows:
Unlocking driver’s door and fuel filler
flap
Press buttonΠonce.
Global unlocking

Press buttonΠtwice.
Global locking

Press button‹.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* with you and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. It is possible for children
to open a looked door from the inside, which
could result in an accident or serious injury.!To prevent possible malfunction, avoid
exposing the SmartKey to high levels of
electromagnetic radiation.iYou can also open and close the power
windows (
page 197) and
sliding / pop-up roof* (
page 201) or
panorama sliding / pop-up roof*
(
page 208) using the SmartKey.

99 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Closing the trunk
1Handle
Lower trunk lid by pulling firmly on
handle1.

Close trunk lid with hands placed flat
on it.
Trunk lid opening / closing system*
You can open the trunk from the inside if
the vehicle is stationary.
Opening from the inside
A minimum height clearance of 5.90 ft
(1.80 m) is required to open the trunk lid.
The switch for opening and closing the
trunk is located on the driver’s door.
1Remote trunk lid switch with indicator
lamp
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the trunk
opening when closing the trunk. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Warning!
G
Only drive with the trunk closed as, among
other dangers such as visibility blockage,
exhaust fumes may enter the vehicle
interior.iDo not place the SmartKey in the open
trunk. You may lock yourself out.
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO:
To prevent a possible inadvertent lock-
out, the trunk lid will open automatical-
ly if a SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO is
recognized inside the vehicle or in the
trunk.

101 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Closing the trunk from the outside
(vehicles without KEYLESS-GO*)
1Trunk lid closing switch
Press trunk lid closing switch1 brief-
ly.
The trunk lid closes.When closing, if the trunk lid comes into
contact with an object (e.g. luggage that
has been piled too high), the closing proce-
dure is stopped and the trunk re-opens
slightly.
iDo not place the SmartKey in the open
trunk. You may lock yourself out.Warning!
G
Only drive with the trunk closed as, among
other dangers such as visibility blockage,
exhaust fumes may enter the vehicle
interior.
Warning!
G
Monitor the closing procedure carefully to
ensure that no one is in danger of being in-
jured. To prevent possible personal injury,
always keep hands and fingers away from
the trunk opening when closing the trunk.
Be especially careful when small children
are around. To stop the closing procedure,
press the remote trunk lid switch (on the
driver’s door), the trunk lid closing
switch1 or the Š button on the Smart-
Key.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take the
SmartKey you, and lock your vehicle. Do not
leave children unattended in the vehicle, or
with access to an unlocked vehicle. Unsu-
pervised use of vehicle equipment may
cause an accident and/or serious personal
injury.

102 Controls in detailLocking and unlockingClosing the trunk from the outside
(vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*)
1Trunk lid closing switch
Make sure you have the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO with you.

Press trunk lid closing switch1 brief-
ly.
The trunk lid closes.If the trunk lid comes into contact with an
object while closing (e.g. luggage that has
been piled too high), the closing procedure
is stopped and the trunk re-opens slightly.
iTo prevent a possible inadvertent lock-
out, the trunk lid will open automatical-
ly if a SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO is
recognized inside the vehicle or in the
trunk.Warning!
G
Only drive with the trunk closed as, among
other dangers such as visibility blockage,
exhaust fumes may enter the vehicle
interior.
Warning!
G
Monitor the closing procedure carefully to
ensure that no one is in danger of being in-
jured. To prevent possible personal injury,
always keep hands and fingers away from
the trunk opening when closing the trunk.
Be especially careful when small children
are around. To stop the closing procedure,
press the remote trunk lid switch (on the
driver’s door), the trunk lid closing
switch1 or the Š button on the Smart-
Key with KEYLESS-GO.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO with you, and
lock your vehicle. Do not leave children un-
attended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.

103 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Closing the trunk and locking the vehi-
cle from the outside (vehicles with KEY-
LESS-GO*)
1KEYLESS-GO* locking/closing switch
You can close the trunk lid and lock the ve-
hicle simultaneously.

Make sure you have the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO with you.

Press switch1 briefly.
The vehicle is locked and the trunk lid
closes automatically. The turn signals
flash three times to confirm locking.
If the trunk lid comes into contact with an
object while closing (e.g. luggage that has
been piled too high), the closing procedure
is stopped and the trunk re-opens slightly.iTo prevent a possible inadvertent lock-
out, the trunk lid will open automatical-
ly if a SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO is
recognized inside the vehicle or in the
trunk.
Warning!
G
Monitor the closing procedure carefully to
ensure that no one is in danger of being in-
jured. To prevent possible personal injury,
always keep hands and fingers away from
the trunk opening when closing the trunk.
Be especially careful when small children
are around. To stop the closing procedure,
press the remote trunk lid switch (on the
driver’s door), the trunk lid closing
switch1, the Š button on the SmartKey
with KEYLESS-GO or the remote trunk lid
opening switch (located on the driver’s
door).
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch, take the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* with you, and
lock your vehicle. Do not leave children un-
attended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.