2005 MERCEDES-BENZ SL600 Owner's Manual

63 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Airbags
Warning!
G
In the event that the 1 indicator lamp
comes on during driving or does not come
on at all, the SRS self-check has detected a
malfunction. For your safety, we strongly
recommend that you visit an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center immediately to have
the system checked; otherwise the SRS may
not be activated when needed in an acci-
dent, which could result in serious or fatal
injury, or it might deploy unexpectedly and
unnecessarily which could also result in
injury.
In addition, improper work on the SRS cre-
ates a risk of rendering the SRS inoperative
or causing unintended airbag deployment.
Work on the SRS must therefore only be per-
formed by qualified technicians. Contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
Airbags are designed to reduce the potential
of injury and fatality in certain frontal im-
pacts (front airbags, driver-side kneebag) or
side impacts (head-thorax airbags). Howev-
er, no system available today can totally
eliminate injuries and fatalities.
The activation of the airbags temporarily re-
leases a small amount of dust from the air-
bags. This dust, however, is neither injurious
to your health, nor does it indicate a fire in
the vehicle. The dust might cause some tem-
porary breathing difficulty for people with
asthma or other breathing trouble. To avoid
this, you may wish to get out of the vehicle
as soon as it is safe to do so. If you have any
breathing difficulty but cannot get out of the
vehicle after the airbag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
Warning!
G
To reduce the risk of injury when the front
airbags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and passenger to always be in a prop-
erly seated position and to wear your seat
belts.
For maximum protection in the event of a
collision always be in normal seated position
with your back against the backrest. Fasten
your seat belt and ensure that it is properly
positioned on your body (
page 45).
Since the airbag inflates with considerable
speed and force, a proper seating and hands
on steering wheel position will help to keep
you at a safe distance from the airbag. Oc-
cupants who are unbelted, out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in-
jured by an airbag as it inflates with great
force in the blink of an eye:


Sit properly belted in a nearly upright
position with your back against the seat
backrest.


64 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 ten
inches (25 cm) or more. You should be
able to accomplish this by a combina-
tion of adjustments to the seat and
steering wheel. If you have any prob-
lems, please see an 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 passenger seat as far as pos-
sible 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 head-thorax airbag in-
flates. This could result in serious inju-
ries or death should the airbag be
triggered. Always sit nearly upright,
properly use the seat belts and appropri-
ate size infant or child restraint system.


Children 12 years old and under must
never ride in this vehicle, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized
BabySmart
TM1
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.
1BabySmart
TM
is a trademark of Siemens
Automotive Corp.
Failure to follow these instructions can re-
sult in severe injuries to you or other occu-
pants.
If you sell your vehicle, it is important that
you make the buyer aware of this safety in-
formation. Be sure to give the buyer this
Operator’s Manual.


65 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!
G
Should you choose to place a child 12 years
old or under in the passenger seat of your
vehicle, you must properly use a
BabySmart
TM child restraint which will turn
off the passenger front airbag (
page 74).
BabySmart
TM will not, however, turn off any
side impact airbag.
It should be noted, however, that there is a
possibility for a head-thorax airbag related
injury if occupants, especially children, are
not properly seated or restrained when next
to a head-thorax airbag which needs to de-
ploy rapidly in a side impact in order to do its
job.
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
head-thorax airbag inflates. This could
result in serious injuries or death should
the head-thorax airbag be activated.
(2) Always sit nearly upright, properly use
the seat belts and use an appropriately
sized infant or child restraint system for
all children 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
passenger seat occupants to have the pas-
senger side head-thorax airbag deactivated,
then deactivation can be accomplished
upon your written election to do so at an au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center at an addi-
tional 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.

66 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
iAirbags are designed to activate only in
certain frontal impacts (front airbags,
driver-side kneebag) and side impacts
(head-thorax airbags) which exceed
preset thresholds. Only during these
types of impacts, if of sufficient severi-
ty to meet the deployment threshold,
will they provide their supplemental
protection.
The driver and passengers should al-
ways wear their seat belts. Otherwise it
is not possible for the airbags to pro-
vide their intended supplemental pro-
tection.
In cases of other frontal impacts, an-
gled impacts, roll-overs, other side im-
pacts, rear collisions, or other
accidents and impacts below airbag
deployment thresholds, the airbags will
not be activated. The driver and pas-
senger will then be protected to the ex-
tent possible by a properly fastened
seat belt.
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 which are designed to ac-
tivate 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-
ger 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.

67 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Safety guidelines for the seat belt,
emergency tensioning device and
airbag
When you sell your vehicle, we strongly
urge you to give notice to the subsequent
owner that it is equipped with an SRS by
alerting them to the applicable section in
the Operator’s Manual.Warning!
G


Damaged seat belts or belts that were
highly stressed in an accident must be
replaced and their anchoring points
must also be checked. Only use belts in-
stalled or supplied by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


Airbags and ETDs (Emergency Tension-
ing Devices) are designed to function on
a one-time-only basis. An airbag or ETD
that was activated must be replaced.


No modifications of any kind may be
made to any components or wiring of
the SRS. This includes changing or re-
moving any component or part of the
SRS, the installation of additional trim
material, badges, etc. over the steering
wheel hub, passenger front airbag cover
or door trim panels, and installation of
additional electrical /electronic equip-
ment on or near SRS components and
wiring. Keep area between airbags and
occupants free from objects (e.g. pack-
ages, purses, umbrellas, etc.).


Do not pass belts over sharp edges.
They could tear.


D o n o t m a k e a n y m o d i f i c a t i o n t h a t c o u l d
change the effectiveness of the belts.


Do not bleach or dye seat belts as this
may severely weaken them. In a crash,
they may not be able to provide ade-
quate protection.


Airbag system components will be hot
after an airbag has inflated. Do not
touch.


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.


In addition, improper repair work on the
SRS creates a risk of rendering the SRS
inoperative or causing unintended air-
bag deployment. Work on the SRS must
therefore only be performed by qualified
technicians. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


For your protection and the protection
of others, when scrapping the airbag
unit or emergency tensioning device,
our safety instructions must be fol-
lowed. These instructions are available
from your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.


Given the considerable deployment
speed and the textile structure of the
airbags, there is the possibility of abra-
sions or other injuries resulting from air-
bag deployment.

68 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyFront airbags
Driver and passenger airbags are de-
ployed:

in the event of certain frontal impacts


if impact exceeds a preset deployment
threshold


independently of the head-thorax 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 passenger airbag will only be deployed
if:


the passenger seat is occupied


the 7 indicator lamp on the glove
box is not lit (
page 76)


the impact exceeds a preset deploy-
ment threshold1Driver airbag
2Passenger airbag
3KneebagKneebag
The kneebag is located on the driver-side
lower instrument panel. It is designed to
operate together with the driver airbag in
certain frontal impacts exceeding a preset
threshold. The kneebag operates best in
conjunction with a properly positioned and
fastened seat belt.
!Do not place objects heavier than 20
lbs (9 kg) on the front passenger seat.
This could cause the front airbag or the
head-thorax airbag on the front passen-
ger side to deploy in a crash which ex-
ceeds the system’s deployment
threshold.

69 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Head-thorax airbags
The head-thorax airbags are deployed:

on the impacted side of the vehicle


in impacts exceeding a preset deploy-
ment threshold


independently of the front airbags
The head-thorax airbags are not deployed
in impacts which do not exceed the sys-
tem’s deployment threshold.
The passenger head-thorax airbag will only
deploy if the system senses that the pas-
senger seat is occupied.
1Head-thorax airbag
Seat belts
When the engine is started, the seat belt
telltale < illuminates to remind you and
your passenger to fasten your seat belts. If
the driver’s seat belt is not fastened before
the engine is started, the seat belt
telltale< illuminates and a warning
chime sounds for approximately six sec-
onds 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 provinc-
es. Even where this is not the case, all ve-
hicle occupants should have their seat
belts fastened whenever the vehicle is in
motion.
For information on fastening seat belts,
see “Fastening the seat belts” (
page 45).
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 74).

70 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyWarning!
G
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure your passengers are
properly restrained, even 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 passenger should al-
ways 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 (
page 63).
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. This 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.
Keep door storage compartments closed
while vehicle is in motion. Failure to do so
may cause the seat belt to catch at the rear
and prevent proper positioning of the seat
belt.
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 re-
strained with a separate seat belt. Never use
a seat belt for more than one person at a
time.