2004 MERCEDES-BENZ E320 limiter

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.


65 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
In an impact, emergency tensioning devic-
es remove slack from the belts in such a
way that the seat belts fit more snugly
against the body. Belt force limiters reduce
the force exerted by the seat belts on oc-
cupants during a crash.Automatic comfort-fit feature seat belt
An automatic comfort-fit feature for front
seats reduces the retracting force of the
seat belts when they are in normal use.
Children in the vehicle
If an infant or child is traveling with you in
the vehicle:

Secure the child using an infant or child
restraint appropriate to the age and
size of the child and recommended for
use by Mercedes-Benz.


Ensure that the infant or child is prop-
erly secured all times while the vehicle
is in motion.
Infant and child restraint seats and infor-
mation on choosing an appropriate re-
straint system can be obtained from any
Mercedes-Benz Center.Infant and child restraint systems
Use only a BabySmart
TM1
compatible child
restraint for the front passenger seat in
this vehicle.
We recommend all infants and children be
properly restrained at all times while the
vehicle is in motion.
All lap-shoulder belts except the driver’s
seat belt have special seat belt retractors
for secure fastening of child restraints.
To fasten a child restraint, follow child re-
straint instructions for mounting. Then pull
the shoulder belt out completely and let it
retract. During seat belt retraction, a ratch-
eting sound can be heard to indicate that
the special seat belt retractor is activated.
The belt is now locked. Push down on child
restraint to take up any slack.
Warning!
G
An emergency tensioning device (ETD) that
was activated must be replaced.
When disposing of the emergency tension-
ing device, our safety instructions must be
followed. These are available at your autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.!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.
1BabySmart
TM is a trademark of Siemens Automo-
tive Corp.

150 Controls in detailControl system
Move the selection marker with
theæ orç button to the
Vehi-
cle
submenu.

Press buttonj ork repeatedly
until you see this message in the dis-
play:
Automatic door lock
.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.

Pressæ orç to switch
Automat-
ic door lock
on or
off
.Limiting opening height of trunk lid*
Use this function to activate or deactivate
the limiting opening height of trunk lid.

Move the selection marker with
theæ orç button to the
Vehi-
cle
submenu.

Press buttonj ork repeatedly
until you see this message in the dis-
play:
Opening limiter trunk lid
.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.

Pressæ orç to switch
Opening
limiter Trunk lid On
or
Off
.Convenience submenu
Access the
Convenience
submenu via the
Settings
menu. Use the
Convenience
sub-
menu to change the settings for a number
of convenience features. The following
functions are available:
Activating easy-entry / exit feature*
Use this function to activate and deacti-
vate the easy-entry / exit feature. When
the feature is activated, the steering wheel
and driver’s seat will move back to facili-
tate exiting when you


remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch


open the driver’s door
However, the engine must be turned off.
Function
Page
Activate easy-entry / exit feature
150
Set SmartKey-dependency
152
Set parking position for exterior
rear view mirror
152

272 OperationDriving instructionsTire traction
The safe speed on a wet, snow covered or
icy road is always lower than on a dry road.
You should pay particular attention to the
condition of the road whenever the outside
temperatures are close to the freezing
point.
Mercedes-Benz recommends M+S rated
radial-ply tires with a minimum tread depth
of approximately
1/6in (4 mm) on all four
wheels for the winter season to ensure
normal balanced handling characteristics.
On packed snow, they can reduce your
stopping distance compared to summer
tires. Stopping distance, however, is still considerably greater than when the road is
not covered with snow or ice. Exercise ap-
propriate caution.
Tire speed rating
Regardless of the tire speed rating, local
speed limits should be obeyed. Use pru-
dent driving speeds appropriate to prevail-
ing conditions.E 320, E 320 4MATIC,
E 500, E 500 4MATIC
Your vehicle is factory equipped with
“H”-rated tires, which have a speed rating
of 130 mph (210 km / h).
E 320 4MATIC (Sport Package*),
E 500 4MATIC (Sport Package*)
Your vehicle is factory equipped with
“H”-rated tires, which have a speed rating
of 130 mph (210 km / h).
E 320 (Sport Package*),
E500(Sport Package*)
Your vehicle is factory equipped with
“W”-rated tires, which have a speed rating
of 168 mph (270 km / h).
An electronic speed limiter prevents your
vehicle from exceeding a speed of
130 mph (210 km/h).
Warning!
G
If ice has formed on the road, tire traction
will be substantially reduced. Under such
weather conditions, drive, steer and brake
with extreme caution.
Warning!
G
Even when permitted by law, never operate
a vehicle at speeds greater than the maxi-
mum speed rating of the tires.
Exceeding the maximum speed for which
tires are rated can lead to sudden tire fail-
ure, causing loss of vehicle control and pos-
sibly resulting in an accident and/or
personal injury and possible death, for you
and for others.

273 Operation
Driving instructions
E55AMG
Your vehicle is factory equipped with
“Z”-rated tires, which have a speed rating
above 149 mph (above 240 km / h).
An electronic speed limiter prevents your
vehicle from exceeding a speed of
155 mph (250 km/h).
Winter driving instructions
The most important rule for slippery or icy
roads is to drive sensibly and to avoid
abrupt acceleration, braking and steering
maneuvers. Do not use the cruise control
system under such conditions.
When the vehicle is in danger of skidding,
move gar selector lever to position N or in
case you have a manual transmission, de-
clutch. Try to keep the vehicle under con-
trol by corrective steering action.Road salts and chemicals can adversely af-
fect braking efficiency. Increased pedal
force may become necessary to produce
the normal braking effect.
Depressing the brake pedal periodically
when traveling at length on salt-strewn
roads can bring road-salt-impaired braking
efficiency back to normal.
If the vehicle is parked after being driven
on salt-treated roads, the braking efficien-
cy should be tested as soon as possible af-
ter driving is resumed.
iFor information on speed ratings for
winter tires, see “Winter driving”
(page 295).
iFor more information on driving with
snow chains, see “Snow chains”
(page 296).
Warning!
G
On slippery road surfaces, never downshift
in order to obtain braking action. This could
result in drive wheel slip and reduced vehi-
cle control. Your vehicle’s ABS will not pre-
vent this type of control loss.
Warning!
G
Make sure not to endarger any other road
users when carrying out these braking ma-
neuvers.

433 Index
Removing
Ski sack 236
Vehicle battery 377
Wheel 372
Wiper blades 365
removing and installing
Front seat head restraints 109
Replacing
Bulbs 359
Front lamp bulbs 361
Front turn signal lamp bulb 362
Fuses 385
License plate lamp bulbs 363
Parking and standing lamp bulb 362
Rear lamp bulbs 360, 363
Side marker lamp bulb 363
Wiper blades 364
Reporting
Safety defects 18
Reprogramming
integrated remote control 263
Reset button in the instrument
cluster 138Resetting
All functions (control system) 138
All functions of a submenu 139
Fuel consumption 154
Service indicator (FSS) 298, 300,
301
Trip odometer 127
Residual heat utilization 182, 194
Residual ventilation 182, 194
REST (Residual engine heat
utilization) 194
Restraint system see Infant and child re-
straint systems 65
Rims and Tires 394
Roadside Assistance
Tele Aid* 250
Roadside assistance 12
Rolling code programming 261
RON (Research Octane Number) 279,
414
Roof rack* 233
Rotating wheels 293
Rubber parts
Cleaning 308S
Safety
Occupant 56
Safety belts see Seat belts 40
Safety defects
Reporting 18
Safety systems
Driving 74
Saving current speed 212
SBC 79
SBC brake system 415
Activation 80
Deactivation 81
Driving hints 81
Messages in display 326, 327
Self-check 81
Warning lamp 79
Sealing tires with TIREFIT 366
Seat belt force limiter 64
Seat belts 62
Cleaning 307
Fastening 40
Proper use of 42, 63
Safety guidelines 60
Warning lamp 315