2006 MERCEDES-BENZ E WAGON belt

83 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
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.
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
75indicator lamp is illuminat-
ed, indicating that the front passenger
air bag is deactivated. Should the light
not illuminate or go out while the re-
straint is installed, please check installa-
tion. Periodically check the indicator
lamp while driving to make sure the
lamp is illuminated. If the
75indicator 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.


84 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
The 75indicator lamp is located
in the center console.
1Indicator lamp


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 82).
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 81) may have determined:


that the seat was empty or occu-
pied 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
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.


85 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
The 75indicator lamp1 will be
illuminated, except with the SmartKey
removed or in starter switch position0.Self-test Occupant Classification Sys-
tem
After turning the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position1 or2 or pressing the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button once or
twice, the 75indicator lamp1
located in the center console illuminates. If
an adult occupant is properly sitting on the
front passenger seat and the system sens-
es the occupant as being an adult, the
75indicator lamp will illuminate
and go out after approximately 6 seconds.
If the seat is not occupied and the system
senses the front passenger seat as being
empty, the 75indicator lamp
will illuminate and not go out. Warning!
G
If the 1indicator lamp and the
75indicator 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.


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
category.


Do not place objects under and/or
around the front passenger seat.


Do not hang anything from or attach any
items to the seats.


Do not stuff objects such as books be-
tween the middle console and the front
passenger seat.


Do not move the front passenger seat
backwards against stiff objects.


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.

88 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyChild seat anchors - LATCH type
This vehicle is equipped with two LATCH
(Lower A
nchors and T
ethers for CH
ildren)
type anchors (at each of the outer rear
seats) for the installation of a “LATCH”
child seat with the matching mounting fit-
tings.
The anchors are located behind an uphol-
stery blend.
1Indicates the position of the anchors
2Anchors

Lift up upholstery blend to access the
anchors.

Install child seat according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.!Make sure the seat belt for the center
seat can operate freely with a child
seat installed.
iNon-LATCH type child seats may also
be used and can be installed using the
vehicle’s seat belt system (
page 78).
Install child seat according to the man-
ufacturer’s instructions.
Warning!
G
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 over 41 lbs until they reach a
height where a lap/shoulder belt fits proper-
ly without a booster.
Install child seat according to manufactur-
er’s instructions.
T h e c h i l d s e a t m u s t b e f i r m l y a t t a c h e d i n t h e
right and left side anchors2.
An incorrectly mounted child seat may come
loose during an accident which could result
in serious injury or death to the child.

137 Controls in detailSeats
Folding bench seat in cargo compart-mentFolding out the folding bench seat
1Release handle for seat backrest
2Release handle for seat cushion
Before folding out the seat backrest, you
must:


fold the rear seat backrests into an up-
right position and lock them into place


move the handle for the twin roller
blind into the upper position
iThe folding bench seat in the cargo
compartment is approved only for per-
sons up to a height of 4.6 ft (1.40 m)
and a maximum weight of 110 lbs
(50 kg).
The twin roller blind must be installed
when the folding bench seat is in use.Warning!
G
When using the folding bench seat in the
cargo compartment, the seats in front of it
must be in the driving position.
Only drive when the head restraints for the
folding bench seat have been properly ad-
justed. The head restraints should be adjust-
e d so t ha t th e ba c k of th e h ea d is s uppo r te d
at approximately eye level. This can reduce
a child’s risk of injury in the event of an ac-
cident.
Warning!
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Make sure that the seat belt is positioned
correctly on the body and is engaged in the
seat belt buckle.
Damaged covers should be replaced with
original covers only.
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, even when they are secured in a child
restraint system.
Make sure that luggage and other objects
are adequately secured. The load could oth-
erwise injure someone in the event of an ac-
cident, during hard braking or steering
maneuvers.
iThe rear seat backrests can be adjust-
ed to a more reclined position to make
the folding bench seat more comfort-
able (
page 262).

138 Controls in detailSeats
Pull release handle 1 and fold seat
backrest for the folding bench seat up-
ward.
3Mountings for seat belts

Hook seat belts into mountings 3.

Pull release handle 2 and fold seat
cushion for the folding bench seat into
sitting position.

Press seat cushion as far down as it will
go.
The backrest will then also engage
properly.

Fold head restraints into upright posi-
tion.Removing and installing seat cushions
Removing
1Seat guides
2Seat cushion

Fold seat cushion 2 upward and re-
move it from seat guides 1.Installing

Insert seat cushion 2 into seat guides
1 from behind 3 at a slight angle.

Fold seat cushion 2 back into original
position 4 until it engages.
iYou must remove the seat cushion
when you want to raise the loading
floor, e.g. in the event of a flat tire.

139 Controls in detailSeats
Folding back folding bench seat
1Tab
2Backrest
Pull seat cushion upward using tab 1
and fold it back into original position
until it engages.1Release knob

Press release knob 1 and fold head
restraints down.1Release catch

Press release catch 1 and push head
restraints as far in as they will go.

Fold seat backrest of folding bench
seat back into original position until it
engages.
!To avoid damage, insert the head re-
straints completely into their guides
and engage the seat belt buckles in
their guides.

140 Controls in detailMemory functionPrior to operating the vehicle, the driver
should check and adjust the seat height,
seat position fore and aft, and seat back-
rest angle if necessary, to ensure adequate
control, reach and comfort. The head re-
straint should also be adjusted for proper
height. See also the section on air bags
(page 67) for more information on prop-
er seat positioning.
In addition, adjust the steering wheel to
ensure adequate control, reach, operation
and comfort. Both the interior and outside
rear view mirrors should be adjusted for
adequate rear vision.
Fasten seat belts. Infants and small chil-
dren should be seated in a properly se-
cured restraint system that complies with
U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Stan-
dards 213 and 225 and Canadian Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards 213 and 210.2.The following settings are stored when
using the buttons on the driver’s door:


Driver’s seat, backrest and head
restraint position and settings for
multicontour seat


Steering wheel position


Exterior rear view mirror positions
The following settings are stored when us-
ing the buttons on the front passenger
door:


Front passenger seat, backrest and
head restraint position and settings for
multicontour seatThe memory button and memory position
buttons are located on the door.
MMemory button
1, 2, 3Memory position button

Switch on the ignition (
page 36).
or

Open the respective door.
Warning!
G
Do not activate the memory function while
driving. Activating the memory function
while driving could cause the driver to lose
control of the vehicle.