2006 MERCEDES-BENZ G500 airbag off

43 Getting started
Driving
Driving
Fastening the seat belt
Warning!G
Do not lay any objects in the driver’s foot-
well. Be careful that floor mats or carpets in
the driver’s footwell have sufficient clear-
ance for the pedals.
During sudden driving or braking maneu-
vers, the objects could get caught between
the pedals. You could then no longer brake
or accelerate.Warning!G
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure your passengers are
properly restrained, even those sitting in the
rear and 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 passengers should
always 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 wearing your
seat belt. The airbags can only provide the
protection they were designed to afford if
the occupants are using their seat belts
(
page 62).

65 Safety and Security
Occupant safety

Always sit nearly upright, properly use
the seat belts and appropriate size in-
fant or child restraint system.

Children 12 years old and under must
never ride in the front seat, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized
BabySmart
TM1 compatible child seat,
which operates with the BabySmartTM
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.
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.
1BabySmartTM is a trademark of Siemens
Automotive Corp.
Warning!G
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in an automobile is in the
rear seat. Should you choose to place a child
12 years old or under in the front passenger
seat of your vehicle, you must properly use
a BabySmart
TM child restraint which will
turn off the passenger front airbag
(
page 74).
i
Airbags are designed to activate only in
certain frontal (front airbags) impacts
and in side (head protection window
curtain airbags) impacts which exceed
preset thresholds.
Only during these types of impacts, if of
sufficient severity to meet the deploy-
ment thresholds, will they provide their
supplemental protection.
The driver and passenger should al-
ways wear their seat belts. Otherwise it
is not possible for the airbags to pro-
vide their supplemental protection.
In cases of other frontal impacts, an-
gled impacts, roll-overs, other side im-
pacts, rear collisions, or other
accidents, the airbags will not be acti-
vated. The driver and passengers will
then be protected by the fastened seat
belts.
We caution you not to rely on the pres-
ence of the airbags in order to avoid
wearing your seat belt.

69 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
i
For 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 72).
Warning!G
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure your passengers are
properly restrained, even those sitting in the
rear and 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 passengers should
always 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.
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. That could cause serious or
even fatal injuries. The 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.
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.

70 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
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 seat belts which have been ap-
proved by Mercedes-Benz.
Do not make any modifications to the seat
belts. This can lead to unintended activation
or to failure.
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.
Have all work carried out only by qualified
technicians. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.
Warning!G
USE SEAT BELTS PROPERLY

Seat belts can only work when used
properly. Never wear seat belts in any
other way than as described in this sec-
tion, as that could result in serious inju-
ries in case of an accident.

Each occupant should wear their seat
belt at all times, because seat belts help
reduce the likelihood of and potential
severity of injuries in accidents, includ-
ing rollovers. The integrated restraint
system includes SRS (driver airbag and
passenger front airbag, head protection
window curtain airbags for side win-
dows), ETD (seat belt emergency ten-
sioning device for driver’s seat, front
passenger seat and the outboard pas-
senger seats). The system is designed to
enhance the protection offered to prop-
erly belted occupants in certain frontal
(front airbags and EDT) and side (win-
dow curtain airbags and ETD) impacts
which exceed preset deployment
thresholds.

Never wear the shoulder belt under your
arm, against your neck or off your shoul-
der. In a crash, your body would move
too far forward. That would increase the
chance of head and neck injuries. The
belt would also apply too much force to
the ribs or abdomen, which could se-
verely injure internal organs such as
your liver or spleen.

Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eyeglasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
might cause injuries.

Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips and not across the abdo-
men. If the belt is positioned across your
abdomen, it could cause serious injuries
in a crash.

Never use a seat belt for more than one
person at a time. Do not fasten a seat
belt around a person and another per-
son or other objects.

115 Controls in detail
Lighting
Hazard warning flasher
The hazard warning flasher can be
switched on at all times, even with the
SmartKey removed from the starter
switch.
The hazard warning flasher switches on au-
tomatically when an airbag deploys.
The hazard warning flasher switch is locat-
ed on the center console.
1Hazard warning flasher switchSwitching on hazard warning flasher
Press hazard warning flasher
switch1.
All the turn signal lamps are flashing.Switching off hazard warning flasherPress hazard warning flasher switch1
again.
i
With the hazard warning flasher acti-
vated and the combination switch set
for either left or right turn, only the re-
spective turn signals will operate when
the SmartKey is in starter switch
position1or2.
i
If the hazard warning flasher has been
activated automatically, press hazard
warning flasher switch1 once to
switch it off.

297 Practical hints
What to do if …
Lamp in center console
ProblemPossible causeSuggested solution
7The indicator lamp comes on.A BabySmartTM1 child seat is installed on the
front passenger seat. Therefore the passen-
ger front airbag is switched off.
1BabySmartTM is a trademark of Siemens Automotive Corp.
The system is malfunctioning when there is
no BabySmartTM child seat installed on the
front passenger seat.
Have the system checked as soon as
possible by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.
7The indicator lamp does not
come on with a BabySmartTM
child seat properly installed on
the front passenger seat.
The system is malfunctioning.Make sure there is nothing between
seat cushion and child seat and check
installation of the child seat.
If the light remains out, have the sys-
tem checked as soon as possible by
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Light
Truck Center.
Do not use the BabySmart
TM restraint
to transport children on the front pas-
senger seat until the system has been
repaired.

386 Technical terms
Memory function*
Used to store three individual seat,
steering wheel and mirror positions for
each SmartKey.
MON
(M
otor Octane Number)
The Motor Octane Number for gasoline
as determined by a standardized meth-
od. It is an indication of a gasoline’s
ability to resist undesired detonation
(knocking). The average of both the
MON (Motor Octane Number) and
->RON (Research Octane Number) is
posted at the pump, also known as
ANTI-KNOCK INDEX.
Multifunction display
A display field in the instrument cluster
used to present information provided
by the control system.
Normal occupant weight
(
page 274)Overspeed range
Engine speeds within the red marking
of the tachometer dial. Avoid this en-
gine speed range, as it may result in se-
rious engine damage that is not
covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited
Warranty.
Poly-V-belt drive
Drives engine-components (alternator,
AC compressor, etc.) from the engine.
Power train
Collective term designating all compo-
nents used to generate and transmit
motive power to the drive axles, includ-
ing

Engine

Clutch/torque converter

Transmission

Transfer case

Drive shaft

Differential

Axle shafts/axlesProduction options weight
(
page 275)
PSI
(P
ounds per square inch)
(
page 275)
Recommended tire inflation pressure
(
page 275)
Rear Parking Assist*
System which uses visual and acoustic
signals to assist the driver during park-
ing maneuvers.
REST
(Residual engine heat utilization)
Feature that uses the engine heat
stored in the coolant to heat the vehi-
cle interior for a short time after the en-
gine has been turned off.
Restraint system
Seat belts, belt tensioner, airbags and
child seat restraint systems. As inde-
pendent systems, their protective func-
tions complement one another.

389 Index
A
ABS 25, 80, 383
LOW RANGE mode 81
Malfunction indicator lamp 290, 291
Messages in display 300
Warning lamp 290, 291
Accelerator position (Automatic
transmission) 153
Accessory weight 273
Accident
In case of 56
Activating
Air conditioning (cooling) 174
Air recirculation mode 172
Anti-theft alarm system 88
Central locking (control system) 142
Defrost 172
Easy-entry/exit feature 143
ESP 87
Exterior headlamps 51
Exterior lamps 111
Exterior rear view mirror parking
position 164
Headlamps 51
Rear window defroster 166
Windshield wipers 53Adding
Coolant 249
Engine oil 247
Additional turn signals 336
Adjusting 37
Air distribution 171
Air volume 171
Backrest tilt 39
Exterior rear view mirror 41
Head restraint height 39
Head restraint height, rear seats 103
Head restraint tilt 39
Instrument cluster illumination 120
Interior rear view mirror 41
Mirrors 41
Multicontour seat* 104
Seat cushion length 104
Seat cushion tilt 39
Seat fore and aft adjustment 38
Seat height 39
Seats 37
Steering column in/out 40
Steering column up/down 40
Steering wheel 40Air conditioning (cooling)
Turning off 174
Turning on 174
Air conditioning refrigerant 378
Air distribution
Adjusting 171
Air pressure 273
Air pressure see Tire inflation pressure
Air recirculation mode 172
Activating 172
Deactivating 172
Air volume
Adjusting 171
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp 297
Airbags 63
BabySmart
TM airbag deactivation
system 74, 383
Front 67
Safety guidelines 66
Window curtain airbags 68