2006 MERCEDES-BENZ CLK55AMG belt

47 Getting started
Driving

Place the shoulder portion of the belt
across the top of your shoulder and the
lap portion across your hips.

Push latch plate1 into buckle3 until
it clicks.

If necessary, tighten the lap portion to
a snug fit by pulling shoulder portion
up.
Proper use of seat belts


Do not twist the belt when fastening.


Adjust seat belt so that the shoulder
portion is located as close as possible
to the middle of the shoulder (it should
not touch the neck). Never pass the
shoulder portion of the belt under your
arm.


Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips (over hip joint) and not
across the abdomen.


Place the seat backrest in a nearly
upright position.


Never use a seat belt for more than one
person at a time.


Do not fasten a seat belt around a
person and another object at the same
time. When using a seat belt to secure
infant or toddler restraints or children
in booster seats, always follow the
child seat manufacturer's instructions.


Check your seat belt periodically
during travel to make sure that it is
properly positioned.


Make sure that the seat belt is always
fitted snugly. Take special care of this
when wearing loose clothing.
Warning!
G
Do not pass belts over sharp edges. They
could tear.
Do not allow the belt to get caught in the
door or in the seat adjustment mechanism.
This could damage the belt.
Never attempt to make modifications to
seat belts. This could impair the effective-
ness 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 adequate protection.
Damaged seat belts or belts that were highly
stressed in an accident must be replaced.
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.

48 Getting startedDrivingThe seat belt presenter slides back:

right after you pushed the latch
plate1 into buckle3 and heard it
click.


after approximately 60 seconds if you
did not push latch plate 1 into
buckle3.


if your door is opened.


if you turn the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position 0.


if you release a front seat backrest and
fold it forward.
Starting the engine Automatic transmission
Gearshift pattern for automatic
transmissionPPark position with gear selector lever
lock
RReverse gear
NNeutral
DDrive position
For more information, see “Automatic
transmission” (
page 166).
Warning!
G
The seat belt presenter must be retracted
while the vehicle is in motion. Only when the
seat belt presenter is retracted can the seat
belt be properly positioned on the body and
protect the occupant as intended.
Warning!
G
Inhalation of exhaust gas is hazardous to
your health. All exhaust gas contains carbon
monoxide, and inhaling it can cause uncon-
sciousness and possible death.
Do not run the engine in confined areas
(such as a garage) which are not properly
ventilated. If you think that exhaust gas
fumes are entering the vehicle while driving,
have the cause determined and corrected
immediately. If you must drive under these
conditions, drive with at least one window
fully open.

59 Getting started
Parking and locking
Turning off the engine with
KEYLESS-GO* 
Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop but-
ton to shut off the engine.
With the driver's door closed, the start-
er switch is now in position1. With the
driver’s door opened, the starter switch
is set to position0, same as SmartKey
removed from starter switch
(page 34).
Releasing seat belts
Press the seat belt release button
(page 46).
Allow the retractor to completely re-
wind the seat belt by guiding the latch
plate.
Locking
!If you hear a warning signal you have
either tried to turn off the engine while
the gear selector lever is not inP.
Place the gear selector lever inP.
!Make sure the seat belt retracts fully so
that the seat belt and/or latch plate
cannot get caught or pinched in the
door or in the seat mechanism. This
can damage the seat belt and impair
the effectiveness of the seat belt,
and/or cause damage to the door
and/or door trim panel. Such damage
is not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limit Warranty.
Damaged seat belts must be replaced.
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the door
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Before closing doors, make sure there is no
possibility of someone getting caught in a
door during closing.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.

62 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyIn this section you will learn the most im-
portant facts about the restraint system
components of the vehicle.

Seat belts (
page 69)


Child restraints (
page 75)


Lower anchors and tethers for children
(LATCH) (
page 83)
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) with


Air bags (
page 63)


Air bag control unit (with crash
sensors)


Emergency tensioning device (ETD) for
seat belts (
page 72)Air bag system components with


Front passenger front air bag off
indicator lamp (
page 81)


Front passenger seat with Occupant
Classification System (OCS)
(page 78)
As independent systems, their protective
functions work in conjunction with each
other.The SRS system conducts a self-test when
the ignition is switched on and in regular
intervals while the engine is running. This
facilitates early detection of malfunctions.
The
1
indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster comes on when the ignition is
switched on and goes out no later than a
few seconds after the engine has been
started.
The SRS components are in operational
readiness if the
1
indicator lamp is not
lit when the engine is running.
A malfunction in the system has been
detected if the
1
indicator lamp:


fails to go out after approximately four
seconds after the engine was started


does not come on at all


comes on after the engine was started
or while driving
iFor information on infants and children
traveling with you in the vehicle and
restraint systems for infants and chil-
dren, see “Children in the vehicle”
(page 75).

64 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyWarning!
G
To reduce the risk of injury when the front
air bags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and front passenger to always be in a
properly seated position and to wear their
respective 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 make sure that it is prop-
erly positioned on your body.
Since the air bag 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 air bag.
Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the air bag can be seriously
injured or killed by an air bag 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.


Adjust the driver’s seat as far as possi-
ble rearward, still permitting proper op-
eration of vehicle controls. The distance
from the center of the driver’s breast-
bone to the center of the air bag 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 your head or chest close to
the steering wheel or dashboard.


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’s front air bag inflates.


Adjust the front passenger seat as far as
possible rearward from the dashboard
when the seat is occupied.


Occupants, especially children, should
never place their bodies or lean their
heads in the area of the door or the rear
side trim panel where the head-thorax
air bag and/or the rear side impact air
bag* inflates. This could result in seri-
ous injuries or death should the air bag
be triggered. Always sit nearly upright,
properly use the seat belts and use an
appropriately sized infant or toddler re-
straint or booster seat recommended
for the size and weight of the child.
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 Op-
erator's Manual.

65 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!
G
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in an automobile is in the
rear seat.
It should be noted that with respect to both
head-thorax air bags and rear side impact air
bags* there is a possibility for a head-thorax
or rear side impact air bag* related injury if
occupants, especially children, are not prop-
erly seated or restrained when next to a
head-thorax air bag or a rear side impact air
bag* which needs to deploy 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 or the rear
side trim panel where the head-thorax
air bag and/or the rear side impact air
bag* inflates.
This could result in serious injuries or
death should the head-thorax air bag
and/or the rear side impact air bag* be
deployed.
(2) Always sit nearly upright, properly use
the seat belts and for children 12 years
old and under, use an appropriately
sized infant or toddler restraint or
booster seat recommended for the size
and weight of the child.
(3) Always wear seat belts properly.
If you believe that, even with the use of
these guidelines, it would be safer for your
rear seat occupants to have the rear mount-
ed side impact air bags* deactivated, then
deactivation can be accomplished upon
your written request to do so at an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center at an
additional 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.
iAir bags are designed to deploy only in
certain frontal impacts (front air bags),
and in side impacts (head-thorax air
bags and rear side impact air bags*)
which exceed preset thresholds. Only
during these events will they provide
their supplemental protection.
The driver and passengers should al-
ways wear their seat belts. Otherwise it
is not possible for the air bags to pro-
vide their supplemental protection.
In case of other types of impacts and
impacts below air bag deployment
thresholds, air bags will not deploy. The
driver and passenger will then be pro-
tected to the extent possible by a prop-
erly fastened seat belt. A properly
fastened seat belt is also needed to
provide the best possible protection in
a rollover.

66 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetySafety guidelines for the seat belt,
emergency tensioning device and
air bagWe caution you not to rely on the pres-
ence of the air bags in order to avoid
wearing your seat belt.
It is important to your safety and that of
your passengers that you replace de-
ployed air bags and repair any malfunc-
tioning air bags to make sure that the
vehicle will continue to provide supple-
mental crash protection for occupants.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.


Air bags and emergency tensioning de-
vices (ETDs) are designed to function on
a one-time-only basis. An air bag or ETD
that is deployed must be replaced.


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


Do not make any modification that could
change the effectiveness of the belts.


No modifications of any kind may be
made to any components or wiring of
the SRS. This includes changing or
removing any component or part of the
SRS, the installation of additional trim
material, seat covers, badges, etc. over
the steering wheel hub, front passenger
front air bag cover, outboard sides of the
front seat backrests, door frame trims,
or rear side trim panels, and installation
of additional electrical/electronic
equipment on or near SRS components
and wiring. Keep area between air bags
and occupants free from objects (e.g.
packages, purses, umbrellas, etc.).


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.


Air bag system components will be hot
after an air bag 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 air bag
unit or emergency tensioning device,
our safety instructions must be fol-
lowed. These instructions are available
from your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.

67 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
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.Front air bags
1Driver air bag
2Passenger air bag
Driver and front passenger front air bags
are 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*The air bags 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.


Given the considerable deployment
speed, required inflation volume, and
the textile structure of the air bags,
there is the possibility of abrasions or
other more significant injuries resulting
from air bag deployment.
Warning!
G
Only use seat covers which have been
tested and approved by Mercedes-Benz for
your vehicle model. Using other seat covers
may interfere with or prevent the
deployment of the head-thorax air bags.
Contact your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center for availability.
iThe front air bags in this vehicle have
been designed to inflate in two stages.
This allows the air bag to have different
rates of inflation that are based on the
rate of relevant vehicle deceleration as
assessed by the air bag control unit.
On the front passenger side, the front
air bag deployment is additionally influ-
enced by the passenger’s weight cate-
gory as identified by the Occupant
Classification System (OCS)
(page 78).
The lighter the front passenger side oc-
cupant, the higher the vehicle deceler-
ation rate required for the second
stage inflation of the air bag.