70 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
Emergency tensioning device (ETD),
seat belt force limiter
The seat belts are equipped with emergen-
cy tensioning devices and belt force
limiters.
The ETD is designed to activate in the
following cases:
in frontal or rear-end impacts
exceeding a preset severity level
if the restraint systems are operational
and functioning correctly, see
1indicator lamp (
page 60)In an impact, emergency tensioning
devices remove slack from the belts. Belt
force limiters reduce the force exerted by
the seat belts on occupants 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.
Belts should not be worn twisted. In a
crash, you wouldn’t have the full width
of the belt to distribute 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, dashboard, or on the seat. Always
keep both feet on the floor in front of the
seat.
When using a seat belt to secure infant
or toddler restraints or children in
booster seats, always follow the child
seat manufacturer’s instructions.
!The ETDs for the front seats will only
activate if the front seat belts are fas-
tened (latch plate properly inserted
into buckle).
The ETDs for the rear seats will activate
with or without the respective seat
belts fastened.
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
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
77 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
If the 56 indicator lamp is illuminat-
ed, the front passenger front air bag is
deactivated and will not be deployed.
If the 56 indicator lamp is not illumi-
nated, the front passenger front air bag is
activated and will be deployed:
in the event of certain frontal impacts
if impact exceeds a preset deployment
threshold
independently of the head-thorax air
bag and rear side-impact air bags.
If the front passenger front air bag is de-
ployed, the rate of inflation will be influ-
enced by:
the rate of relevant vehicle deceleration
as assessed by the air bag control unit
front passenger's weight category as
identified by the Occupant Classification
System (OCS).
Warning!
G
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing position. Thus, we strongly recommend
that children be placed in the rear seats
whenever possible. Regardless of seating
position, children 12 years old and under
must be seated and properly secured in an
appropriate infant or child restraint
recommended for the size and weight of the
child.
The infant or child restraint must be properly
secured with the vehicle's seat belt, or seat
belt and lower anchors, fully in accordance
with the child seat manufacturer's
instructions.
Children can be killed or seriously injured by
an inflating air bag. Note the following im-
portant information when circumstances re-
quire you to place a child in the front
passenger seat:
Your vehicle is equipped with air bag
technology designed to turn off the front
passenger front air bag in your vehicle
when the system senses the weight of a
typical 12-month-old child or less along
with the weight of a standard appropri-
ate child restraint on the front passen-
ger seat.
A child in a rear-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat will be serious-
ly injured or even killed if the front
passenger front air bag inflates in a
collision which could occur under some
circumstances, even with the air bag
technology installed in your vehicle. The
only means to completely eliminate this
risk is to never place a child in a rear-fac-
ing child restraint in the front seat. We
therefore strongly recommend that you
always place a child in a rear-facing
child restraint in the back seat.
110 Controls in detailLocking and unlockingAutomatic central locking
The doors and the trunk automatically lock
when the ignition is switched on and the
wheels are turning at vehicle speeds of
approximately 9 mph (15 km/h) or more.
You can open a locked door from the
inside. Open door only when conditions
are safe to do so.
You can deactivate the automatic locking
mode using the control system, see “Set-
ting automatic locking” (
page 155).
Locking and unlocking from the inside
You can lock or unlock the doors and the
trunk from inside using the central locking
or unlocking switch. This can be useful, for
example, if you want to lock the vehicle
before starting to drive.
You cannot lock or unlock the fuel filler flap
with the central locking or unlocking
switch.Depending on production date, your
vehicle is equipped with either switch
design A or B.
The switches are located in the center
console.
Switch design A1Central locking switch
2Central unlocking switch
iThe doors unlock automatically after an
accident if the force of the impact
exceeds a preset threshold.
To prevent the vehicle door locks from
locking, deactivate the automatic
central locking when the vehicle
is pushed or towed
is on a test stand
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended 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.
127 Controls in detail
Lighting
Driving forward
Switching on cornering fog lamps
Depending on whether you are turning
left or right, switch on the left or right
turn signal (
page 51).
The respective front fog lamp comes on
and illuminates the road into which you
are turning.
Switching off cornering fog lamps
The combination switch for the turn signal
resets automatically after major steering
wheel movements. This will switch off thecornering fog lamps if they where
activated by switching on the left or right
turn signal.
If the turn signal should stay on after mak-
ing the turn, the turn signal and cornering
fog lamps can be switched off by returning
the combination switch to its original
position.
Driving rearward
Switching on cornering fog lamps
Place the gear selector lever in
positionR.
The inverse front fog lamp comes on
automatically depending on the steer-
ing direction and steering angle.
Switching on cornering fog lamps
Place the gear selector lever out of
positionR.
The respective front fog lamp goes out.
Hazard warning flasher
The hazard warning flasher can be
switched on at all times, even with the
SmartKey or the SmartKey with
KELESS-GO* removed from the starter
switch or with the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* removed from the vehicle.
The hazard warning flasher switches on
automatically when an air bag deploys.
The hazard warning flasher switch is
located on the upper part of the center
console.
1Hazard warning flasher switch
iThe cornering fog lamps will come on
automatically depending on the
steering angle, even if you did not
switch on either turn signal.
If the cornering fog lamps came on
automatically, they will also go out au-
tomatically depending on the steering
angle.
128 Controls in detailLightingSwitching on hazard warning flasher
Press hazard warning flasher
switch1.
All turn signals are flashing.
Switching off hazard warning flasher
Press hazard warning flasher switch1
again.
Interior lighting
The controls are located in the overhead
control panel.
1Left front reading lamp
2Rocker switch for automatic control
system
3Right front reading lampActivating automatic control
Press the rocker switch2 to the cen-
ter position.
Interior lamps are switched on in dark-
ness when you:
unlock the vehicle
open a door
remove the SmartKey from the
starter switch
The interior lamps are switched off after a
preset time, see “Setting interior lighting
delayed shut-off” (
page 154).
iWith the hazard warning flasher
activated and the combination switch
set for either left or right turn, only the
respective turn signals will operate
when the ignition is switched on.iIf the hazard warning flasher has been
activated automatically, press hazard
warning flasher switch1 once to
switch it off.
iIf the door remains open, the interior
lamps switch off automatically after
approximately five minutes when the
SmartKey is removed or in starter
switch position 0.
An interior lamp switched on manually
does not go out automatically.
130 Controls in detailInstrument clusterFor a full view illustration of the instrument
cluster, see “Instrument cluster”
(page 24).
1Reset button
The instrument cluster is activated when
you
open a door
switch on the ignition (
page 36)
press reset button1
switch on the exterior lamps
You can change the instrument cluster
settings in the Instrument cluster submenu
of the control system (
page 145).
Instrument cluster illumination
Use the reset button1 to adjust the
illumination brightness for the instrument
cluster.To brighten illumination
Turn reset button1 clockwise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
brighten.
To dim illumination
Turn reset button1 counterclock-
wise.
The instrument cluster illumination will
dim.
iThe instrument cluster illumination is
dimmed or brightened automatically to
suit ambient light conditions.
The instrument cluster illumination will
also be adjusted automatically when
you switch on the vehicle’s exterior
lamps.
131 Controls in detail
Instrument cluster
Coolant temperature indicator
The coolant temperature indicator is on
the right side in the instrument cluster
(page 24).
During severe operating conditions, e.g.
stop-and-go traffic, the coolant tempera-
ture may rise close to 120°C.
The engine should not be operated with
the coolant temperature above 120°C.
Doing so may cause serious engine
damage which is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Trip odometer
Make sure you are viewing the stan-
dard display in the multifunction dis-
play (
page 138).
If it is not displayed, press buttonè
orÿ on the multifunction steering
wheel repeatedly until the standard dis-
play appears (
page 134).
Press and hold the reset button on the
instrument cluster (
page 130) until
the trip odometer is reset.
Warning!
G
Driving when your engine is badly over-
heated can cause some fluids which
may have leaked into the engine com-
partment to catch fire. You could be se-
riously burned.
Steam from an overheated engine can
cause serious burns and can occur just
by opening the hood. Stay away from
the engine if you see or hear steam com-
ing from it.
Turn off the engine, get out of the vehicle
and do not stand near the vehicle until the
engine has cooled down.
iExcessive coolant temperature triggers
a warning in the multifunction display
(page 377) and the red coolant warn-
ing lamp in the instrument cluster
comes on (
page 357).
137 Controls in detail
Control system
Menus, submenus and functions
Menu1
Menu2
Menu3
Menu4
Menu5
Menu6
Menu7
Commands/submenusStandard dis-
play
AUDIO
NAV*
Vehicle status
message memory
Settings
Trip computer
Telephone
(page 138)
(page 139)
(page 141)
(page 141)
(page 142)
(page 158)
(page 160)
Digital speed-
ometer
Select radio
station
Activate route
guidance
Call up vehicle
malfunction, warning
and system status
messages stored in
memory
Reset to factory
settings
Fuel consumption
statistics after
start
Load phone
book
Call up mainte-
nance service
display
Select satellite
radio station*
(USA only)
Instrument clus-
ter submenu
Fuel consumption
statistics since the
last reset
Search for name
in phone book
Check engine
oil level
Operate CD
player
Time/Date sub-
menu
Call up range
Lighting
submenuVehicle submenuConvenience
submenu