2006 MERCEDES-BENZ R500 steering wheel

72 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 belt.
For maximum protection in the event of a
collision always be in normal seated position
with your back against the seat backrest.
Fasten your seat belt and make sure it is
properly positioned on your body
(page 50).
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 seat as far as possible
rearward, still permitting proper opera-
tion 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
10 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 Light Truck 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 where the
side impact air bag inflates. This could
result in serious injuries or death should
the air bag be triggered. Always sit near-
ly upright, properly use the seat belts
and use an appropriately sized infant or
toddler restraint or booster seat recom-
mended 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
information. Be sure to give the buyer this
Operator’s Manual.

74 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
Safety guidelines for the seat belt,
emergency tensioning device and
air bag We caution you not to rely on the
presence 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 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. Use only belts in-
stalled or supplied by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.


Air bags and pyrotechnic emergency
tensioning devices (ETDs) are designed
to function on a one-time-only basis. An
air bag or ETD that is deployed must be
replaced. PRE-SAFE
®* has electrically
operated reversible pre-tensioners in
addition to the pyrotechnic ETDs.


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


Do not make any modification that could
change the effectiveness 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 ade-
quate protection.


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, badges, etc. over the steering
wheel hub, front passenger front air bag
cover, 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.

98 Safety and SecurityDriving safety systemsBraking
At the instant one of the wheels is about to
lock up, a slight pulsation can be felt in the
brake pedal, indicating that the ABS is in
the regulating mode.
Keep firm and steady pressure on the
brake pedal while experiencing the pul-
sation.
Continuous, steady brake pedal pressure
yields the advantages provided by the ABS,
namely braking power and ability to steer
the vehicle.
The pulsating brake pedal can be an
indication of hazardous road conditions
and functions as a reminder to take extra
care while driving.Emergency brake maneuver

Keep continuous full pressure on the
brake pedal.
For more information, see the “Practical
Hints” section (
page 404).
Warning!
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When the ABS is malfunctioning, the BAS,
the ESP
®, and the 4-ETS are also switched
off. The basic driving and braking functions
are still available
When the ABS is malfunctioning, the wheels
may lock during hard braking, reducing
steering capability and extending the brak-
ing distance.
Warning!
G
The ABS cannot prevent the natural laws of
physics from acting on the vehicle, nor can
it increase braking or steering efficiency be-
yond that afforded by the condition of the
vehicle brakes and tires or the traction
afforded. The ABS cannot prevent acci-
dents, including those resulting from exces-
sive speed in turns, following another
vehicle too closely, or hydroplaning. Only a
safe, attentive, and skillful driver can pre-
vent accidents. The capabilities of an ABS
equipped vehicle must never be exploited in
a reckless or dangerous manner which
could jeopardize the user’s safety or the
safety of others.

107 Safety and Security
Anti-theft systems
Arming the tow-away alarm
Make sure all doors and the tailgate are
closed.

Lock your vehicle.
The tow-away alarm is automatically
armed after about 10 seconds.
Disarming the tow-away alarm

Unlock your vehicle.Switching off the tow-away alarm
To prevent triggering the tow-away alarm
feature, switch off the tow-away alarm be-
fore towing the vehicle, or when parking on
a surface subject to movement, such as a
ferry or auto train.
If the tow-away alarm is set to default en-
abled (
on) in the control system and you
wish to retain the default setting, you can
switch off the tow-away alarm temporarily
on a one-time basis as follows:

Switch off the ignition (
page 38).
With the tow-away alarm set to default
enabled (
on) in the control system, the
following message appears in the mul-
tifunction display.

If you now wish to deactivate the
tow-away alarm on a one-time basis,
press button + or - on the mul-
tifunction steering wheel.
The tow-away alarm is switched off.
The following message appears in the
multifunction display.
iWhen you unlock your vehicle, the
tow-away protection disarms automati-
cally.
The tow-away alarm remains disarmed
until you lock your vehicle again.
iThe tow-away alarm feature can be set
to default enabled (
on) or disabled (
off
)
using the control system (
page 191).


132 Controls in detailSeatsFor information on seat adjustment, see
the “Getting started” section (
page 43).
For more information on seats, see “Load-
ing” (
page 279).
Easy-entry/exit feature*
Easy-entry/exit feature for driver’s
seat
This feature allows for easier entry into and
exit from the vehicle.
The easy-entry/exit feature can be
activated or deactivated in the Convenience
submenu of the control sys-
tem (
page 189).When exiting the vehicle, with the
easy-entry/exit feature activated and
depending on your selection, the steering
wheel tilts upwards and/or the driver’s
seat moves a few inches to the rear when
you


remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch
or


open the driver’s door with the
SmartKey in starter switch position
0or1(
page 38) or the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button in
position1 (page 40)
Warning!
G
You must make sure no one can become
trapped or injured by the moving steering
wheel and driver’s seat when the
easy-entry/exit feature is activated.
To cancel seat/steering wheel movement,
do one of the following:

Press seat adjustment switch
(page 43).


Move steering column stalk*
(page 46).


Press memory buttonM* (
page 145).
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Children could open the driver’s door and
unintentionally activate the easy-entry/exit
feature, which could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
!Do not activate the easy-entry/exit fea-
ture if the seat backrest is in an exces-
sively reclined position. Doing so could
cause damage to the driver’s seat or
left rear seat.
Move the seat backrest to an upright
position first.

133 Controls in detailSeats
When entering the vehicle, with the
easy-entry/exit feature activated, the
steering wheel or, depending on your se-
lection, the steering wheel and driver’s
seat will return to their last set memory po-
sition or a factory-set maximum forward
position when you

close the driver’s door with the ignition
switched on


insert the SmartKey into the starter
switch or press the KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button (
page 40) once
with the driver’s door closed
iIf the current position for the steering
wheel is in the uppermost tilt position,
the steering wheel will no longer be
able to move upward when the
easy-entry/exit feature is activated.
If the current seat position falls into a
factory-set position range and the sys-
tem recognizes the current seat posi-
tion to be rearward enough for easy
entry and exit, the driver’s seat will not
move to the rear when the
easy-entry/exit feature is activated.
iFor safety reasons, the driver’s seat will
not return to its last set position with
the easy-entry/exit feature activated if
the system recognizes the last set posi-
tion as an extreme forward position. In-
stead, the driver’s seat will remain at or
move to a factory-set maximum for-
ward position. To again fully return the
driver’s seat to your last set position or
to memory position, adjust the seat to
the desired position or press and hold
the respective memory position button
(page 145).
iVehicles with memory function*:
The steering wheel and seat position is
stored into memory when you

switch off the ignition (
page 38)


allocate the current position steer-
ing wheel and seat position to a cer-
tain memory position button
(page 145)

144 Controls in detailMemory function*Prior 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 71) for proper seat positioning.
In addition, adjust the steering wheel to
ensure adequate control, reach, operation
and comfort. Both the interior and exterior
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-
dard 213 and 225 and Canadian Motor Ve-
hicle Safety Standards 213 and 210.2.With the memory function you can store up
to three different settings for each front
seat.
The following settings are saved for each
stored position on the entry side of the
driver’s seat:


Driver’s seat, head restraint height and
backrest position


Steering wheel position


Driver’s side exterior rear view mirror
position


Passenger-side exterior rear view
mirror position
The following are saved for each stored po-
sition on the entry side of the front passen-
ger seat:


Front passenger seat, head restraint
height and backrest position
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.

145 Controls in detail
Memory function*
The memory button and stored position
buttons are located on the entry side of
each front seat base.
MMemory button
1, 2, 3Stored positions
Switch on the ignition (
page 38).
or

Open the respective door.
Storing positions into memory
Adjust the seats, steering wheel and
exterior rear view mirrors to the de-
sired position (
page 42).

Press memory buttonM.

Release memory button M and press
stored position 1, 2 or 3 within
3 seconds.
All settings are stored to the selected
position.
Recalling positions from memory
Press and hold memory position
button1,2 or3 until the seat, steering
wheel and exterior rear view mirrors
have fully moved to the stored posi-
tions.!Do not operate the power seats using
memory button M if the seat backrest
is in an excessively reclined position.
Doing so could cause damage to front
or rear seats.
First move seat backrest to an upright
position.iReleasing the memory position button
stops movement to the stored posi-
tions immediately.