2005 MERCEDES-BENZ E500 Page 37

67 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
In addition, the window curtain air bags 2
are deployed:

in certain vehicle rollovers
The front passenger side impact
air bags1 will only deploy if the system
senses that the front passenger seat is oc-
cupied.
The side impact air bags and window cur-
tain air bags 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
telltale< illuminates for a maximum of
six seconds and a warning chime sounds
to remind you and your passengers to fas-
ten your seat belts.If after these six seconds, the driver's or
the front passenger's seat belt (with the
front passenger seat occupied) are not fas-
tened with all doors closed,


and the vehicle speed does not exceed
15 mph (25 km/h), the seat belt tell-
tale < remains illuminated for as
long as either the driver's or front pas-
senger's seat belt are not fastened.


and the vehicle speed exceeds 15 mph
(25 km/h), the seat belt telltale <
starts flashing and a warning chime
sounds with increasing intensity until
both the driver's and front passenger's
seat belt are fastened, or for a maxi-
mum of 60 seconds from the time the
vehicle speed exceeded 15 mph
(25 km/h) if either the driver's or front
passenger's seat belt remains unfas-
tened.
If the driver's or front passenger's seat
belt remains unfastened after 60 sec-
onds, the seat belt telltale< stops
flashing and the warning chime stops
sounding. The seat belt telltale < then continues to be illuminated for as
long as either the driver's or front pas-
senger's seat belt are not fastened.
The seat belt telltale will only go out if both
the driver and front passenger's seat belt
(with the front passenger seat occupied)
are fastened, or the vehicle is standing still
and a front door is opened.
For more information, see “Practical hints”
(
page 362)
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 43).

68 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
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 71).
Warning!
G
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure all of 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. Air bags can only protect as
they are designed if the occupants are prop-
erly wearing their seat belts.
Warning!
G
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
backrest in an excessively reclined position
as this can be dangerous. You could slide
under the seat belt in a collision. If you slide
under it, the belt would apply force at the ab-
domen or neck. That could cause serious or
even fatal injuries. The seat backrest and
seat belt provide the best restraint when the
wearer is in a nearly upright position and the
belt is properly positioned on the body.Warning!
G
Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are seat belts available. Be sure
everyone riding in the vehicle is correctly
restrained with a separate seat belt. Never
use a seat belt for more than one person at
a time.

70 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:

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 60)


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 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 boost-
er seats, always follow the child seat
manufacturer's instructions.
iThe 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 outer seats will
activate with or without the respective
seat belts fastened.


72 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
iInformation on child seats with mount-
ing fittings for tether anchorages
(page 80).
For information on LATCH-type child
seat mounts (
page 81).
!The use of infant or child restraints is
required by law in all 50 states, the Dis-
trict of Columbia, the U.S. territories
and all Canadian provinces.
Infants and small children should be
seated in an appropriate infant or child
restraint system properly secured by a
lap / shoulder belt or, if so equipped, a
top tether anchorage point and a child
restraint lower anchorage system that
complies with U.S. Federal Motor Vehi-
cle Safety Standards 213 and 225 and
Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Stan-
dards 213 and 210.2.
Warning!
G
Never release the seat belt buckle while the
vehicle is in motion, since the special seat
belt retractor will be deactivated.!A statement by the child restraint man-
ufacturer of compliance with this stan-
dard can be found on the instruction
label on the restraint and in the instruc-
tion manual provided with the restraint.
When using any infant or child restraint
system, be sure to carefully read and
follow all manufacturer’s instructions
for installation and use.
Please read and observe warning labels
affixed to the inside of the vehicle and
to infant or child restraints.
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 recom-
mended for the size and weight of the child.
The infant or child restraint must be properly
secured with the vehicle's seat belt, the seat
belt and top tether strap, or lower anchors
and top tether strap, fully in accordance
with the child seat manufacturer's instruc-
tions.

73 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
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 OCS 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 pas-
senger front air bag inflates in a collision
which could occur under some circum-
stances, even with the air bag technolo-
gy installed in your vehicle. The only
means to completely eliminate this risk
is to never place a child in a rear-facing
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.


If you must install a rear-facing child re-
straint on the front passenger seat be-
cause circumstances require you to do
so, make sure that the 75 in-
dicator lamp is illuminated, indicating
that the front passenger air bag is deac-
tivated. Should the light not illuminate
or go out while the restraint is installed,
please check installation. Periodically
check the indicator lamp while driving to
make sure the lamp is illuminated. If the
75 indicator lamp goes out or
remains out, do not transport a child on
the front passenger seat until the sys-
tem has been repaired. A child in a
rear-facing child restraint on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured
or even killed if the front passenger front
air bag inflates.


If you have to place a child in a
forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger seat, move the seat as
far back as possible, use the proper
child restraint recommended for the
age, size and weight of the child, and se-
cure child restraint with the vehicle's
seat belt according to the child seat
manufacturer's instructions. For
children larger than the typical
12-month-old child, the front passenger
air bag may or may not be activated
(page 76).

75 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Furthermore, the occupant weight may ap-
pear to increase or decrease due to
objects hanging on the seat, other passen-
gers pushing on the seat, objects lodged
underneath the seat or stuffed between
seat and middle console or between seat
and door or due to objects applying pres-
sure on the back of the seat. Always make
sure that the seat has clearance in all di-
rections at all times.
Both driver and the front passenger should
always use the 75 indicator
lamp as an indication of whether or not the
front passenger is properly positioned.
iIf your seat, including your trim cover
and cushion needs to be serviced in
any way, take the vehicle to your autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Only seat accessories approved by
Mercedes-Benz may be used.
Warning!
G
If the 75 indicator lamp illumi-
nates when an adult or someone larger than
a small individual is in the front passenger
seat, have the front passenger re-position
himself or herself in the seat until the light
goes out, or check whether objects are
caught under or around the seat.
More information about air bag display mes-
sages (
page 374).
In the event of a collision, the air bag control
unit will not allow front passenger front
air bag deployment when the OCS classified
the front passenger seat occupant as being
up to or less than the weight of a typical
12-month-old child in a standard child re-
straint or if the front passenger seat is
sensed as being empty.
When the OCS senses that the front passen-
ger seat occupant is classified as being up
to or less than the weight of a typical
12-month-old child in a standard child re-
straint, the 75 indicator lamp will
illuminate when the engine is started and re-
main illuminated, indicating that the front
passenger front air bag is deactivated.
When the OCS senses that the front passen-
ger seat is classified as being empty, the
75 indicator lamp will illuminate
when the engine is started and remain illu-
minated, indicating that the front passenger
front air bag is deactivated.


77 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
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 pas-
senger front air bag inflates in a collision
which could occur under some circum-
stances, even with the air bag technolo-
gy installed in your vehicle. The only
means to completely eliminate this risk
is to never place a child in a rear-facing
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.


If you must install a rear-facing child re-
straint on the front passenger seat be-
cause circumstances require you to do
so, make sure that the 75 in-
dicator lamp is illuminated, indicating
that the front passenger air bag is deac-
tivated. Should the light not illuminate
or go out while the restraint is installed,
please check installation. Periodically
check the indicator lamp while driving to
make sure the lamp is illuminated. If the
75 indicator lamp goes out or
remains out, do not transport a child on
the front passenger seat until the sys-
tem has been repaired. A child in a
rear-facing child restraint on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured
or even killed if the front passenger front
air bag inflates.


If you have to place a child in a
forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger seat, move the seat as
far back as possible, use the proper
child restraint recommended for the
age, size and weight of the child, and se-
cure child restraint with the vehicle's
seat belt according to the child seat
manufacturer's instructions. For
children larger than the typical
12-month-old child, the front passenger
air bag may or may not be activated
(page 76).

78 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
The 75 indicator lamp is located
in the center console.
1Indicator lampThe 75 indicator lamp1 will be
illuminated, except with the SmartKey re-
moved or in starter switch position0.
iDeployment of the driver front air bag
does not mean that the front passenger
front air bag also should have de-
ployed.
The Occupant Classification System
(page 74) may have determined:


that the seat was empty or occu-
p i e d b y t h e w e i g h t u p t o o r l e s s t h a n
that of a typical 12-month-old child
seated in a standard child restraint
- both instances where the system
suppresses deployment of the pas-
senger front air bag even though
the impact met the criteria and was
of sufficient severity to deploy the
driver front air bag.


that the seat was occupied by a
small individual (such as a young
teenager or a small adult) or a child
weighing more than the weight of a
typical 12-month-old child in a stan-
dard child restraint - instances
where the system may suppress de-
ployment of the passenger front
air bag even though the impact met
the criteria and was of sufficient se-
verity to deploy the driver front
air bag.
Warning!
G
If the 1indicator lamp and the
75 indicator lamp are lit at the
same time, there is a malfunction in the Oc-
cupant Classification System. The front pas-
senger front air bag will be deactivated in
this case.
In order to ensure proper operation of the
air bag system and OCS:

Have the system checked as soon as
possible by qualified technicians. Con-
tact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Cen-
ter.


Do not place more than 4.4 lbs (2 kg)
into the ruffled storage bag on the back
of the front passenger seat. Otherwise,
the OCS may not be able to properly ap-
proximate the occupant weight catego-
ry.