2004 MERCEDES-BENZ E320 Ac off

52 Getting startedParking and locking
Switching off headlamps
Turn the exterior lamp switch toM
(page 47).
More information can be found in the
“Controls in detail” section (
page 119).
Turning off engine 
Place the gear selector lever in
positionP.
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. Children could release the
parking brake and/or move the gear selec-
tor lever from positionP, either of which
could result in an accident and/or serious
injury.
Warning!
G
Getting out of your vehicle with the gear se-
lector lever not fully engaged in positionP is
dangerous. Also, when parked on an incline,
positionP alone may not prevent your vehi-
cle from moving, possibly hitting people or
objects.
Always set the parking brake in addition to
shifting to positionP.
When parked on an incline, turn front wheels
towards the road curb.
iAlways set the parking brake in addi-
tion to shifting to positionP.
On steep slopes, turn the front wheels
towards the road curb.

53 Getting started
Parking and locking
Turning off with the SmartKey
Turn the SmartKey in the starter switch
(page 31) to position0 and remove
it.
The immobilizer is activated.

Press the seat belt release button
(page 41).
Allow the retractor to completely re-
wind the seat belt by guiding the latch
plate.

After exiting the vehicle press the lock
button‹ on the SmartKey
(page 30).
All turn signal lamps flash three times.
The locking knobs on the doors move
down.More information can be found in the
“Controls in detail” section (
page 88).
Turning off with KEYLESS-GO*

Place the gear selector lever inP.

Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop but-
ton to shut off the engine.
With the driver's door closed, the start-
er switch is now in position1. With the
driver’s door opened, the starter switch
is set to position0, same as SmartKey
removed from starter switch
(page 31).
iThe SmartKey can only be removed
from the starter switch with the gear
selector lever in positionP.!With the SmartKey removed and the
driver’s door open, a warning sounds if
the vehicle’s exterior lamps are not
switched off.
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the door
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Before closing doors, make sure that there
is no possibility of someone getting caught
in a door during closing.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch and lock
your vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle may cause an accident and/or serious
personal injury.


54 Getting startedParking and locking
Press the seat belt release button
(page 41).
1Lock button on the door handle

After exiting the vehicle, press lock
button1 on the door handle or on the
trunk lid.
All turn signal lamps flash three times.
The locking knobs on the doors move
down.
More information can be found in the
“Controls in detail” section (
page 91).
!If you hear a warning signal, you have
either

forgotten to switch off the vehicle’s
exterior lamps before opening the
driver’s door,
or


tried to turn off the engine while the
gear selector lever is not inP.
Turn off the lights or place the gear se-
lector lever inP.
iOpening a door causes the windows on
the side of the car to open slightly. They
will return to the up position when the
door is closed.
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the door
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Before closing doors, make sure that there
is no possibility of someone getting caught
in a door during closing.
Warning!
G
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.


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.


61 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-
bags
The 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 front passenger airbag will only be de-
ployed if:


the front passenger seat is occupied


the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator
lamp in the center console is not lit
(page 67)


the impact exceeds a preset deploy-
ment thresholdSide impact airbags, window curtain
airbags
1Side impact airbags
2Window curtain airbag
The side impact airbags and window cur-
tain airbags are deployed:


on the impacted side of the vehicle


in impacts exceeding a preset deploy-
ment threshold


independently of the front airbags
In addition, the window curtain airbags2
are deployed:


in certain vehicle rollovers
!Do not place objects heavier than
20 lbs (9 kg) on the front passenger
seat. This could cause the front or side
impact airbag on the front passenger
side to deploy in a crash which exceeds
the system's deployment threshold.

62 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyThe front passenger side airbag will only
deploy if the system senses that the front
passenger seat is occupied.
The side impact airbags and window cur-
tain airbags are not deployed in impacts
which do not exceed the system’s deploy-
ment 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.
For more information, see “Fastening the
seat belts” (
page 40).
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 65).
Warning!
G
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure your passengers are
properly restrained, even those sitting in the
rear and pregnant women.
Failure to wear and properly fasten and po-
sition your seat belt greatly increases your
risk of injuries and their likely severity in an
accident. You and your passengers should
always wear seat belts.
If you are ever in an accident, your injuries
can be considerably more severe without
your seat belt properly buckled. Without
your seat belt buckled, you are much more
likely to hit the interior of the vehicle or be
ejected from it. You can be seriously injured
or killed.
In the same crash, the possibility of injury or
death is lessened if you are properly wearing
your seat belt. Airbags can only protect as
they are designed if the occupants are prop-
erly wearing their seat belts.

64 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
Emergency tensioning device (ETD),
seat belt force limiter
The seat belts for the front and rear outer
seats are equipped with emergency ten-
sioning devices and belt force limiters.
The ETD is designed to activate in the fol-
lowing cases when the seat belts are fas-
tened:

in frontal or rear-end impacts exceed-
ing a preset severity level


in certain vehicle rollovers


if the restraint systems are operational
and functioning correctly, see
1indicator lamp (
page 56)


Never wear the shoulder belt under your
arm, against your neck or off your shoul-
der. In a crash, your body would move
too far forward. That would increase the
chance of head and neck injuries. The
belt would also apply too much force to
the ribs or abdomen, which could se-
verely injure internal organs such as
your liver or spleen.


Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eyeglasses, pens, SmartKeys etc., as
these might cause injuries.


Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips and not across the abdo-
men. If the belt is positioned across your
abdomen, it could cause serious injuries
in a crash.


Never use a seat belt for more than one
person at a time. Do not fasten a seat
belt around a person and another per-
son or other objects.


Belts should not be worn twisted. In a
crash, you wouldn’t have the full width
of the belt to manage impact forces. The
twisted belt against your body could
cause injuries.


Pregnant women should also use a
lap-shoulder belt. The lap belt portion
should be positioned as low as possible
on the hips to avoid any possible pres-
sure on the abdomen.


Never place your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the floor in front of the seat.


68 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetySpecial BabySmart
TM1
compatible child
seats, designed for use with the
Mercedes-Benz system and available at
any authorized Mercedes-Benz Center, are
required for use with the BabySmart
TM air-
bag deactivation system. With the special
child seat properly installed, the passenger
front airbag will not deploy.
The PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator
lamp1 located in the center console will
be illuminated, except with the SmartKey
removed or in starter switch position0.Self-test BabySmart
TMwithout special
child seat installed
After turning the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position1 or2 or pressing the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button once or
twice, the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
indicator lamp1 located in the center
console comes on for approximately
six seconds and then goes out.
If the indicator lamp should not come on or
is continuously lit, the system is not func-
tioning. You must see an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center before seating any
child on the passenger seat.
More information can be found in the
“Practical hints” section (page 317).
1BabySmart
TM is a trademark of Siemens Automo-
tive Corp.
iThe system does not deactivate the
side impact airbag, the window curtain
airbag and the emergency tensioning
device.
Warning!
G
The BabySmart
TM airbag deactivation sys-
tem will ONLY work with a special child seat
designed to operate with it. It will not work
with child seats which are not BabySmart
TM
compatible.
Never place anything between seat cushion
and child seat (e.g. pillow), since it reduces
the effectiveness of the deactivation sys-
tem. The bottom of the child seat must
make full contact with the passenger seat
cushion. An incorrectly mounted child seat
could cause injuries to the child in case of an
accident, instead of protecting the child.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for
installation of special child seats.