2006 MERCEDES-BENZ R350 child restraint

82 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyChildren in the vehicle
If an infant or child is traveling with you in
the vehicle:

Secure the child using an infant or child
restraint appropriate to the age and
size of the child.


Make sure the infant or child is proper-
ly secured at all times while the vehicle
is in motion.
Infant and child restraint seats and infor-
mation on choosing an appropriate
restraint system can be obtained at any
authorized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck
Center.Infant and child restraint systems
We recommend all infants and children be
properly restrained at all times while the
vehicle is in motion.
All lap-shoulder belts except the driver’s
seat belt have special seat belt retractors
for secure fastening of child restraints.
To fasten a child restraint, follow child
restraint instructions for mounting. Then
pull the shoulder belt out completely and
let it retract. During seat belt retraction, a
ratcheting sound can be heard to indicate
that the special seat belt retractor is acti-
vated. The belt is now locked. Push down
on child restraint to take up any slack.
To deactivate, release seat belt buckle and
let seat belt retract completely. To deacti-
vate the special seat belt retractor for the
front passenger seat, the front passenger
seat must be in the most backward posi-
tion. The seat belt can again be used in the
usual manner.The use of infant or child restraints is re-
quired by law in all 50 states, the District
of Columbia, the U.S. territories and all Ca-
nadian provinces.
Infants and small children should be seat-
ed in an appropriate infant or child re-
straint system properly secured by a
lap / shoulder belt or, if so equipped, a
child restraint lower anchorage system
that complies with U.S. Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards 213 and 225 and
Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
213 and 210.2.
iFor information on child seats with
mounting fittings for tether anchorag-
es, see “Installation of infant and child
restraint system” (
page 90).
For information on LATCH-type child
seat mounts, see “Child seat
anchors – LATCH type” (
page 92).

83 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
A statement by the child restraint manu-
facturer of compliance with this standard
can be found on the instruction label on
the restraint and in the instruction manual
provided with the restraint.
When using any infant or child restraint
system, make sure to carefully read and
follow all manufacturer’s instructions for
installation and use.
Please read and observe warning labels af-
fixed to inside of vehicle and to infant or
child restraints.Warning!
G
Never release the seat belt buckle while the
vehicle is in motion, since the special seat
belt retractor will be deactivated.
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 OCS 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.


84 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety

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
59indicator lamp is illumi-
nated, indicating that the front passen-
ger front air bag is deactivated. Should
the 59 indicator lamp not
illuminate or go out while the restraint is
installed, please check installation. Peri-
odically check the 59 indi-
cator lamp while driving to make sure
the lamp is illuminated. If the
59indicator 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 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
front air bag may or may not be activat-
ed (
page 85).
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 proper-
ly without a booster.


85 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Occupant Classification System
The Occupant Classification System (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 occu-
pant’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.Furthermore, the occupant weight may ap-
pear to increase or decrease due to
objects hanging on the seat, other passen-
gers pushing on the seat, objects lodged
underneath the seat or stuffed between
seat and middle console or between seat
and door or due to objects applying pres-
sure on the back of the seat. Always make
sure the seat has clearance in all direc-
tions at all times.
Both, driver and the front passenger
should always use the 59 in-
dicator lamp as an indication of whether or
not the front passenger is properly posi-
tioned.
When the child restraint is not in use, re-
move 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 ac-
cident.
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, even if the children are secured in a
child restraint system. Unsupervised chil-
dren in a child restraint system may use
vehicle equipment and may cause an acci-
dent and / or serious personal injury.
iThe system does not deactivate the
front passenger side impact air bag,
the window curtain 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 autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck
Center.
Only seat accessories approved by
Mercedes-Benz may be used.

86 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyWarning!
G
If the 59indicator lamp illumi-
nates when an adult or someone larger than
a small individual is in the front passenger
seat, have the front passenger reposition
himself or herself in the seat until the
59 indicator lamp goes out, or
check whether objects are caught under or
around the seat.
More information about air bag display mes-
sages (
page 423).
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 re-
straint or if the front passenger seat is
sensed as being empty.
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 re-
straint, the 59indicator 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
59indicator lamp will illumi-
nate when the engine is started and remain
illuminated, indicating that the front passen-
ger 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 59 indicator lamp will illu-
minate for approximately 6 seconds when
the engine is started and then, depending on
occupant weight sensor readings from the
seat, remain illuminated or go out. With the
59 indicator lamp illuminated,
the front passenger front air bag is deacti-
vated. With the 59indicator
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
59 indicator lamp will illumi-
nate for approximately 6 seconds when the
engine is started and then go out, indicating
that the front passenger front air bag is acti-
vated.

87 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
If the 59indicator lamp is illu-
minated, the front passenger front air bag is
deactivated and will not be deployed.
If the 59indicator 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 side impact air
bags.
If the front passenger front air bag is de-
ployed, the rate of inflation will be influ-
enced by


the rate of relevant vehicle deceleration
as assessed by the air bag control unit


the front passenger’s weight category
as identified by the Occupant Classifica-
tion System (OCS)
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. 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.


88 Safety and SecurityOccupant 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
59 indicator lamp is illumi-
nated, indicating that the front passen-
ger front air bag is deactivated. Should
the 59 indicator lamp not
illuminate or go out while the restraint is
installed, please check installation. Peri-
odically check the 59 indi-
cator lamp while driving to make sure
the 59 indicator lamp is il-
luminated. If the 59 indica-
tor 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 serious-
ly injured or even killed if the front pas-
senger 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 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 85).
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 85) 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 front
passenger front air bag even
though the impact met the criteria
and was of sufficient severity to de-
ploy 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
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


90 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetySelf-test Occupant Classification Sys-
tem
After turning the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position1or2or pressing the
KEYLESS-GO* start / stop button once or
twice, the59indicator lamp
(page 89) 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, the59indicator lamp
will illuminate and go out after approxi-
mately 6 seconds.
If the seat is not occupied and the system
senses the front passenger seat as being
empty, the59indicator lamp
will illuminate and not go out.For more information, see the “Practical
hints” section (
page 414).Installation of infant and child restraint
system
This vehicle is equipped with tether an-
chorages for a top tether strap at each of
the rear seat backrests.

Remove anchorage ring cover 1 from
seat backrest of the seat on which a
child seat is to be installed.
1Anchorage ring cover
Warning!
G
If the 59 indicator lamp should
not illuminate, the system is not functioning.
You must see an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Light Truck 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.