68 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetySafety guidelines for the seat belt, 
emergency tensioning device and 
air bag
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. Use only belts 
installed 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 was activated 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 re-
moving any component or part of the 
SRS, the installation of additional trim 
material, badges etc. over the steering 
wheel hub, front passenger air bag cov-
er, outboard sides of the front seat 
backrests, door trim panels, or door 
frame trims, and installation of addition-
al electrical/electronic equipment on or 
near SRS components and wiring. Keep 
area between air bags and occupants 
free from objects (e.g. packages, purs-
es, umbrellas, etc.).
Do not hang items such as coat hangers 
from the coat hooks or handles over the 
door. These items may turn into projec-
tiles and cause head and other injuries 
when curtain air bag is deployed.
Air bag system components will be hot 
after an air bag has inflated. Do not 
touch.
Improper work on the system, including 
incorrect installation and removal, can 
lead to possible injury through an unin-
tended activation of the SRS.
In addition, through improper work 
there is a risk of rendering the SRS inop-
erative or causing unintended air bag 
deployment. Work on the SRS must 
therefore only be performed by qualified 
technicians. Contact your 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.
Given the considerable deployment 
speed and the textile structure of the 
air bags, there is the possibility of abra-
sions or other, potentially more serious 
injuries resulting from air bag deploy-
ment. 
287 Operation
Driving instructions
Standing water
Passenger compartmentDriving abroad
Abroad, there is an extensive 
Mercedes-Benz service network at your 
disposal. If you plan to drive into areas 
which are not listed in the index of your 
Mercedes-Benz Center directory, you 
should request pertinent information from 
your authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.Control and operation of radio trans-
mitter
COMAND, radio and telephone*
!Do not drive through flooded areas or 
water of unknown depth. Before driving 
through water, determine its depth. 
Never accelerate before driving into 
water. The bow wave could force water 
into the engine and auxiliary equip-
ment, thus damaging them.
If you must drive through standing wa-
ter, drive slowly to prevent water from 
entering the passenger compartment 
or the engine compartment. Water in 
these areas could cause damage to 
electrical components or wiring of the 
engine or transmission, or could result 
in water being ingested by the engine 
through the air intake causing severe 
internal engine damage. Any such dam-
age is not covered by the 
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
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 cause injury 
to vehicle occupants unless the items are 
securely fastened in the vehicle.
The trunk is the preferred place to carry 
objects.
Warning!
G
Please do not forget that your primary re-
sponsibility is to drive the vehicle safely. 
Only operate the COMAND (Cockpit 
Management and Data System), radio or 
telephone
1 if road, weather and traffic con-
ditions permit.
Bear in mind that at a speed of just 30 mph 
(approximately 50 km/h), your vehicle is 
covering a distance of 44 feet (approximate-
ly 14 m) every second.
1Observe all legal requirements