2006 MERCEDES-BENZ CLK350 weight

77 Safety and Security
Occupant safety


If you must install a rear-facing child
restraint on the front passenger seat
because circumstances require you to
do so, make sure that the
56indicator lamp is illuminated,
indicating that the front passenger front
air bag is deactivated. Should the
56 indicator lamp not illuminate
or go out while the restraint is installed,
please check installation. Periodically
check the 56 indicator lamp
while driving to make sure the
56 indicator lamp is illuminated.
If the 56 indicator lamp goes out
or remains out, do not transport a child
on the front passenger seat until the
system 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
secure 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
front air bag may or may not be
activated (
page 79).
Warning!
G
Infants and small children should never
share a seat belt with another occupant.
During an accident, they could be crushed
between the occupant and seat belt.
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle
and/or the child is not properly secured in
the child restraint.
Children too big for a toddler restraint must
ride in seats using regular seat belts. Posi-
tion shoulder belt across chest and shoul-
der, not face or neck. A booster seat may be
necessary to achieve proper belt positioning
for children from 41 lbs until they reach a
height where a lap/shoulder belt fits
properly without a booster.


78 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyOccupant Classification System
The O
ccupant C
lassification S
ystem (OCS)
automatically turns the front passenger
front air bag on or off based on the classi-
fied occupant weight category determined
by weight sensor readings from the front
passenger seat.Occupants must sit properly belted in a
nearly upright position with their back
against the seat backrest and feet on the
floor to be correctly classified. If the
occupant's weight is transferred to
another object in the vehicle (e.g. by
leaning on armrests), the OCS may not be
able to properly approximate the
occupant’s weight category.
Both driver and the front passenger should
always use the 56 indicator lamp
as an indication of whether or not the front
passenger is properly positioned.
When the child restraint is not in use,
remove it from the vehicle or secure it with
the seat belt to prevent the child restraint
from becoming a projectile in the event of
an accident.
Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle, even if the children are secured in a
child restraint system. Unsupervised
children in a child restraint system may use
vehicle equipment and may cause an
accident and/or serious personal injury.iThe system does not deactivate the
head-thorax air bag and the emergency
tensioning device.
iIf your seat, including your trim cover
and cushion needs to be serviced in
any way, take the vehicle to an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Only seat accessories approved by
Mercedes-Benz may be used.
Warning!
G
If the 56 indicator lamp illuminates
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
56 indicator lamp goes out.
More information about air bag display
messages (
page 389).
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
restraint or if the front passenger seat is
sensed as being empty.


79 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
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
restraint, the 56 indicator lamp will
illuminate when the engine is started and
remain 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
56 indicator lamp will illuminate
when the engine is started and remain
illuminated, indicating that the front
passenger front air bag is deactivated.
When the OCS senses that the front passen-
ger seat occupant is classified as being
heavier than the weight of a typical
12-month-old child seated in a standard
child restraint or as being a small individual
(such as a young teenager or a small adult),
the 56 indicator lamp will illuminate
for approximately six seconds when the
engine is started and then, depending on
occupant weight sensor readings from the
seat, remain illuminated or go out. With the
56 indicator lamp illuminated, the
front passenger front air bag is deactivated.
With the 56 indicator lamp out, the
front passenger front air bag is activated.
When the OCS senses that the front passen-
ger seat occupant is classified as an adult or
someone larger than a small individual, the
56 indicator lamp will illuminate for
approximately six seconds when the engine
is started and then go out, indicating that
the front passenger front air bag is
activated.
If the 56 indicator lamp is
illuminated, the front passenger front air
bag is deactivated and will not be deployed.
If the 56 indicator lamp is not
illuminated, 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
bags and/or rear side impact air bags*.
If the front passenger front air bag is
deployed, the rate of inflation will be
influenced 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).

80 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyWarning!
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, 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
important information when circumstances
require 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
seriously 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-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
restraint on the front passenger seat
because circumstances require you to
do so, make sure that the
56indicator lamp is illuminated,
indicating that the front passenger front
air bag is deactivated. Should the
56 indicator lamp not illuminate
or go out while the restraint is installed,
please check installation. Periodically
check the 56 indicator lamp
while driving to make sure the
56 indicator lamp is illuminated.
If the 56 indicator lamp goes out
or remains out, do not transport a child
on the front passenger seat until the
system 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.

81 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
The 56indicator lamp is located in
the center console.
1Front passenger front air bag off indica-
tor lamp
The 56indicator lamp1 will be
illuminated, except with the SmartKey
removed or in starter switch position0.


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
secure 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
front air bag may or may not be
activated (
page 79).
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 78) may have determined:


that the seat was empty or
occupied by the weight up to or less
than that of a typical 12-month-old
child seated in a
standard child restraint - both
instances where the system sup-
presses deployment of the front
passenger 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
standard child restraint - instances
where the system may suppress
deployment of the front passenger
front air bag even though the
impact met the criteria and was of
sufficient severity to deploy the
driver front air bag.

82 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
Self-test Occupant Classification
System
After turning the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position1 or2 or pressing the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button once or
twice, the 56 indicator lamp
located in the center console illuminates. If
an adult occupant is properly sitting on the
front passenger seat and the system
senses the occupant as being an adult,
the56 indicator lamp will
illuminate and go out after approximately
six seconds.
If the seat is not occupied and the system
senses the front passenger seat as being
empty, the 56 indicator lamp will
illuminate and not go out. More information can be found in the
“Practical hints” section (
page 381).
Warning!
G
If the 1indicator lamp and the
56indicator lamp are lit at the same
time, there is a malfunction in the Occupant
Classification System. The front passenger
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.
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.


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


Do not lean on the armrests or lift your-
self from the seat by using the handle
over the door as this may cause the OCS
to be unable to correctly approximate
the occupant weight category.


Only have the seat repaired or replaced
by an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.


Read and observe all warnings in this
chapter.
Warning!
G
If the 56 indicator lamp should not
illuminate, the system is not functioning.
You must see an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center before seating any child on the front
passenger seat.Warning!
G
Never place anything between seat cushion
and child seat (e.g. pillow), since it reduces
the effectiveness of the Occupant Classifi-
cation System. 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 increasing protec-
tion for the child.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for
installation of child seats.

277 Controls in detail
Loading
Loading instructions
The total load weight including vehicle oc-
cupants and luggage/cargo should not ex-
ceed the load limit or vehicle capacity
weight indicated on the corresponding
placard located on the driver’s door B-pillar
(page 333).
The handling characteristics of a fully load-
ed vehicle depend greatly on the load dis-
tribution. It is therefore recommended to
load the heaviest items being placed to-
wards the front of the vehicle.
Always place items being carried against
rear seat backrests, and fasten them as se-
curely as possible.
The heaviest portion of the cargo should al-
ways be kept as low as possible since it in-
fluences the handling characteristics of
the vehicle.
!To prevent damage to the soft top or
luggage/cargo when lowering the roof:

load trunk only to the height of the
luggage cover


do not permit luggage/cargo to
push up the closed luggage cover


do not place anything on the shelf
behind the roll bar


do not place anything on the soft
top compartment cover
Warning!
G
Always fasten items being carried as secure-
ly as possible.
In an accident, during hard braking or sud-
den maneuvers, loose items will be thrown
around inside the vehicle and can cause in-
jury to vehicle occupants unless the items
are securely fastened in the vehicle.
To help avoid personal injury during a colli-
sion or sudden maneuver, exercise care
when transporting cargo. Put luggage or car-
go in the trunk if possible.
Never drive vehicle with trunk open. Deadly
carbon monoxide (CO) gases may enter ve-
hicle interior resulting in unconsciousness
and death.

280 Controls in detailUseful featuresRuffled storage bags
1Ruffled storage bags
Storage bags are located on the rear side
of the front seats.Parcel net in front passenger footwell
1Parcel net
A small convenience parcel net is located
in the front passenger footwell. It is for
small and light items, such as road maps,
mail, etc.
Warning!
G
The ruffled storage bag is intended for stor-
ing light-weight items only.
Heavy objects, objects with sharp edges or
fragile objects may not be transported in the
ruffled storage bag. In an accident, during
hard braking, or sudden maneuvers, they
could be thrown around inside the vehicle
and cause injury to vehicle occupants.
The ruffled storage bag cannot protect
transported goods in the event of an
accident.